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Exploring His

Excellencies
John Isaacs
March 1, 2009
KingsWay Community Church
“Everything will
work out fine,
if we press into
God's presence
in 2009!”
“And we will
do it again
in 2010”
The Most Common
Barrier To
“Pressing Into God”

Not Knowing
Who God is.
What is God like?
I think God is like …
- Will lead to idolatry!
God has revealed Himself
in the Bible to be …
- Will inspire worship!
We experience
God more fully
when we know His
attributes more
clearly.
“The foundation of all true
knowledge of God must be a
clear mental apprehension of
His perfections as revealed in
Holy Scripture. An unknown
God can neither be trusted,
served, nor worshiped.”
- A. W. Pink
“What comes into our
minds when we think
about God is the most
important thing about us.”
- A. W. Tozer
Job 22:21
Now acquaint yourself with
Him, and be at peace.
Daniel 11:32
The people who know their
God shall be strong, and
carry out great exploits.
Jeremiah 9:23-24
This is what the LORD says:
“Don’t let the wise boast in their
wisdom, or the powerful boast
in their power, or the rich boast
in their riches.
But those who wish to boast
should boast in this alone:
Jeremiah 9:23-24 (cont.)
that they truly know Me and
understand that I am the LORD
who demonstrates unfailing
love and who brings justice and
righteousness to the earth, and
that I delight in these things. I,
the LORD, have spoken!”
God is who the
Bible (in its
totality) reveals
Him to be.
The Glory of God
• His Goodness
• His Power
• His Wisdom
What Is His Goodness?
• His Character
• His Attributes
• His Excellencies
• His Perfections
Psalm 107:1
Give thanks to the LORD,
for He is good! His
faithful love endures
forever.
Psalm 31:19
How great is the goodness
you have stored up for
those who fear you. You
lavish it on those who
come to you for protection,
blessing them before the
watching world.
Hosea 3:5
Afterward the children of
Israel shall return and seek
the LORD their God, and
David their king, and they
shall come in fear to the
LORD and to His goodness
in the latter days.
The Goodness of God is
the sum total of all of
God’s attributes or
excellencies.
Exodus 33:19
The LORD replied, “I will make
all my goodness pass before
you, and I will call out my
name, Yahweh, before you.
For I will show mercy to
anyone I choose, and I will
show compassion to anyone I
choose.
God is “good.” You can’t
have goodness without
God and you can’t have
God without goodness.
Psalm 16:2
I said to the LORD, “You
are my Master! Every
good thing I have comes
from you.”
James 1:17
Every good gift and every
perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the
Father of lights with whom
there is no variation or
shadow due to change.
Psalm 84:11
For the LORD God is our
sun and our shield. He
gives us grace and glory.
The LORD will withhold no
good thing from those
who do what is right.
Romans 8:28
And we know that God
causes everything to work
together for the good of
those who love God and
are called according to his
purpose for them.
God’s goodness is not
always experienced as
what we think to be
“good.”
Psalm 73
1
Truly God is good to Israel, to
those whose hearts are pure.
2
But as for me, I almost lost my
footing. My feet were slipping,
and I was almost gone.
3
For I envied the proud when I
saw them prosper despite their
wickedness.
Psalm 73 (cont.)
4
They seem to live such painless
lives; their bodies are so healthy
and strong.
5
They don’t have troubles like
other people; they’re not plagued
with problems like everyone else.
6
They wear pride like a jeweled
necklace and clothe themselves
Psalm 73 (cont.)
with cruelty.
7
These fat cats have everything
their hearts could ever wish for!
8
They scoff and speak only evil;
in their pride they seek to crush
others.
9
They boast against the very
heavens, and their words strut
Psalm 73 (cont.)
throughout the earth.
10
And so the people are
dismayed and confused, drinking
in all their words.
11
“What does God know?” they
ask. “Does the Most High even
know what’s happening?”
12
Look at these wicked people—
Psalm 73 (cont.)
enjoying a life of ease while their
riches multiply.
13
Did I keep my heart pure for
nothing? Did I keep myself
innocent for no reason?
14
I get nothing but trouble all day
long; every morning brings me
pain.
Psalm 73 (cont.)
15
If I had really spoken this way
to others, I would have been a
traitor to your people.
16
So I tried to understand why
the wicked prosper. But what a
difficult task it is!
17
Then I went into your
sanctuary, O God,
Psalm 73 (cont.)
and I finally understood the
destiny of the wicked.
18
Truly, you put them on a
slippery path and send them
sliding over the cliff to
destruction.
19
In an instant they are
destroyed, completely swept
Psalm 73 (cont.)
away by terrors.
20
When you arise, O Lord, you
will laugh at their silly ideas as a
person laughs at dreams in the
morning.
21
Then I realized that my heart
was bitter, and I was all torn up
inside.
Psalm 73 (cont.)
22
I was so foolish and ignorant - I
must have seemed like a
senseless animal to you.
23
Yet I still belong to you; you
hold my right hand.
24
You guide me with your
counsel, leading me to a glorious
destiny.
Psalm 73 (cont.)
25
Whom have I in heaven but
you? I desire you more than
anything on earth.
26
My health may fail, and my
spirit may grow weak, but God
remains the strength of my heart;
he is mine forever.
Psalm 73 (cont.)
27
Those who desert him will
perish, for you destroy those who
abandon you.
28
But as for me, how good it is to
be near God! I have made the
Sovereign LORD my shelter, and
I will tell everyone about the
wonderful things you do.
• He is originally good:
Good in Himself, which nothing else is.
• He is essentially good:
Not only good, but goodness itself.
• He is infinitely good:
There is no measure to His goodness.
• He is eternally and
immutably good:
He can not be less good than He is.
God is summum bonum

The highest good!

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