1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,160 Who is God? Let's try to tackle this 2 00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:05,560 infinite subject in a very finite amount of time on this 3 00:00:05,560 --> 00:00:07,000 week's episode of Liberty at Home. 4 00:00:16,050 --> 00:00:18,330 Hello, my friends. I'm Pastor Adam Rivero, and 5 00:00:18,330 --> 00:00:20,770 welcome to our latest edition of Liberty at Home. 6 00:00:21,130 --> 00:00:23,650 This weekly devotional series is brought to you by Liberty 7 00:00:23,650 --> 00:00:25,570 Baptist Church right here in town. 8 00:00:25,970 --> 00:00:28,930 Today, as always, we're broadcasting from Easton, MA, 9 00:00:29,170 --> 00:00:32,290 where the Patriots have defied all odds and are the winners of 10 00:00:32,290 --> 00:00:35,840 Super Bowl 60. Now Full disclosure, I recorded 11 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:38,400 this a good two weeks before the Super Bowl and boy I hope I 12 00:00:38,400 --> 00:00:41,880 didn't just embarrass myself. Well, on to more important 13 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:43,840 matters. In fact, much more important 14 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,440 matters. Who exactly is God? 15 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,760 Now we can't answer this limitless question in a limited 16 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:53,440 5 minute TV episode, but we can look at one very interesting 17 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:56,560 facet of who He is and how it relates to you. 18 00:00:57,320 --> 00:00:59,640 You know, people have many different concepts of who God 19 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:01,520 is. Some believe it would be a cruel 20 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:04,360 taskmaster looking down from heaven, ready to rap the 21 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:06,640 knuckles of anyone who doesn't toe the line. 22 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:09,840 Others think of him as a doddering old grandfather, 23 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:13,920 sitting bleary eyed in heaven and unable or unwilling to act 24 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:16,480 in the affairs of men. Still others consider him to be 25 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:20,120 a magic genie, only to be turned to when it's time to cash in on 26 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:22,320 one of their wishes. Of course, still others don't 27 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:24,760 believe he exists at all, that he's a figment of the 28 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:28,240 imaginations of weak minded, silly individuals who can't live 29 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:32,800 life without a religious crutch. When we consider who God is, our 30 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:36,040 thinking cannot be shaped by our own thoughts or wishes, rather, 31 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:40,120 it must match up to God's Word. Some time ago, as I was reading 32 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:43,080 Genesis 15, I took special notice of verse one. 33 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:46,960 After these things, the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a 34 00:01:46,960 --> 00:01:50,840 vision, saying, fear not Abram, I am thy shield and thy 35 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,200 exceeding great reward. I'd like to take a moment to 36 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:57,160 pause and consider that God is our reward. 37 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,240 Many people look at God as simply a rewarder. 38 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:03,080 They serve Him to receive earthly benefits in return. 39 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,160 Now certainly God is gracious and meets the needs of His 40 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:09,400 people, and Hebrews 11 verse 6 talks about this. 41 00:02:09,759 --> 00:02:13,520 Yet Genesis chapter 15 verse one tells us that He is a reward, 42 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:17,000 not a rewarder. This is a distinction with a 43 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:19,120 difference. A reward is something that is 44 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:21,960 received in exchange for consideration from another 45 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:24,080 person. For instance, to collect a 46 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:27,160 reward at the police station, you can't just walk in and 47 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:29,160 request some. You have to give some 48 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:31,880 information about a crime that leads to an arrest. 49 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:34,800 This exchange will net you the reward. 50 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:38,960 If God is our reward, what do we need to possess for him to 51 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:42,400 become our reward? The answer is clear faith. 52 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:46,280 Consider a few verses later in Genesis 15, verse 6, And he, 53 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:49,800 Abram, believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for 54 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:52,640 righteousness. Hebrews 11 verses 8 and 9 also 55 00:02:52,640 --> 00:02:55,760 speak of this when they say by faith, Abraham, when he was 56 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:59,200 called to go out into a place which he should after receive 57 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,600 for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whither 58 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:05,240 he went. By faith he sojourned in the 59 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:08,840 land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles 60 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,720 with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. 61 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,080 When we trust in God for salvation, understanding that is 62 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:19,240 by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven of 63 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:22,000 our sins. God becomes our exceeding great 64 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:23,760 reward. We don't need to look for 65 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:27,120 heavenly handouts to be blessed. We don't even need to wait for 66 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:30,480 heaven for our reward. We're blessed right here and now 67 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:32,840 because God himself is our reward. 68 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:35,600 How exciting. This encourages believers that 69 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:39,200 no matter how difficult life may get, we still have the greatest 70 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,280 treasure of all, God's presence and power in our lives. 71 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:45,200 What could possibly be a greater reward than that? 72 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,520 If you've never put your faith in Jesus Christ, I implore you 73 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,640 to call upon Him to save you today so that you can receive 74 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,040 your blessed reward. You know, as we close, I want to 75 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,720 say that I'm always thankful when you take the time to watch 76 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:01,120 Liberty at Home, whether on your TV, YouTube, or some other 77 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:03,920 social media platform. At Liberty Baptist Church, it's 78 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:06,640 our goal to preach the word of God to the community and 79 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:08,680 proclaim the glorious gospel of Christ. 80 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,600 And Speaking of that, we love to invite you to one of our 81 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:14,960 upcoming services at 800 Washington St. here in Easton. 82 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:19,079 You can visit at 10 AM, eleven AM, 5:00 PM on Sunday, and 7:00 83 00:04:19,079 --> 00:04:21,640 PM on Wednesday. To learn more about a church, 84 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:24,440 visit online@mylibertybaptist.org. 85 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:26,800 Thanks for tuning in. And don't forget that where the 86 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:28,720 Spirit of the Lord is, there's Liberty. 87 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:33,640 See you next week right here on Liberty at Home I.