Participants: David Down
Series Code: DUTP
Program Code: DUTP000009
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00:01 In this program we discuss the question, Who is God?
00:05 When we look at the flowers, and birds, and the stars, 00:08 and our own marvelous bodies and minds, surely we must conclude 00:12 that there is a God. 00:14 But who is God? 00:16 Where is He, and what's He like? 00:18 Well, what does the Bible teach? 00:20 David has given us plenty of evidence that the Bible is a 00:24 book that God's inspired. 00:25 So what does God tell us about Himself? 00:29 Well, to answer that question we go next to Jerash. 01:04 This is the gateway to Jerash, the best preserved Roman ruins 01:09 in the Middle East. 01:10 Jerash was one of the ten cities of the Decapolis. 01:14 The word Decapolis means ten cities. 01:16 This was one of the prominent cities. 01:18 The gateway that you see behind me was built to commemorate the 01:23 visit of the Emperor Hadrian in the year 129 A.D. 01:28 In fact he spent a whole winter here. 01:30 An inscription around the back of the gateway tells us that it 01:34 was built and dedicated by a man by the name of Flavius Agrippa. 01:42 This is the Roman forum of Jerash. 01:45 It's quite a spectacular place; these beautiful big columns here 01:49 and behind this were shops. 01:52 The forum, you know, was where all the city activities used 01:55 to place; where the city fathers met together and deliberated. 01:59 If anyone had something to say, well this is where he came 02:02 to say it. 02:03 So this was a hive of activity. 02:06 Now a very remarkable thing about these pillars is that they 02:11 are built on a very thick wall. 02:13 That wall goes down ten meters. 02:17 You see, they didn't want their beautiful colonnade to 02:21 topple over. 02:22 And from here leads the main street of Jerash. 02:30 And what a beautiful street this was! 02:33 These great big limestone pillars here; do you know there 02:36 were 260 of them on each side of the street? 02:40 There were shops out there. 02:42 It was a real shopping plaza, you know, fashionable center. 02:44 This place was very well drained. 02:47 There's a drainage system running right along underneath. 02:49 In fact you can see here one of the man holes. 02:52 These could be removed and somebody could go down there 02:55 and crawl along underneath, and clean it out if there 02:58 was any blockage. 03:03 Chariots used to rumble along this street. 03:05 You can still see the rub marks. 03:07 See them here? 03:08 And if you think that traffic roundabouts are anything new, 03:12 well, think again, because at the intersection along there 03:15 of the roads they had one. 03:23 This is known as the nymphaeum because there were statues of 03:27 nymphs in the alcoves up there. 03:29 It must have been a beautiful sight. 03:32 Water gushed out of these holes that you can see, onto the 03:36 platform here, and down into this basin. 03:39 From here there were some carved lions. 03:41 The water came out of their mouths. 03:43 They are one of the beauty spots of the city of Jerash. 04:03 The Romans did not neglect the worship of the gods. 04:07 Over there was the temple of Zeus and here was the temple 04:11 of Artemis. 04:12 You know the goddess mentioned in the book of Acts in the Bible 04:16 as Diana of the Ephesians. 04:18 All of the Ephesians started shouting, Great is Diana 04:21 of the Ephesians. 04:22 Well, this was Artemis, and this is the very fine temple that 04:27 was devoted to her. 04:32 The Romans had to have their entertainment, of course. 04:35 This is one of two theaters in Jerash, and it's quite 04:39 a big one. 04:40 It holds four thousand people, and you could even 04:42 reserve your seats. 04:44 Down the front there are some Greek letters so that you could 04:48 identify which seat you'd reserved. 04:50 The acoustics in this place are marvelous. 04:53 You can just stand here and whisper and you'll hear it right 04:56 up on the top row. 05:22 Very early in the peace Christianity came to Jerash. 05:25 By the fourth century there was a very strong Christian 05:30 community here. 05:31 By the fifth century it had become the ruling religion. 05:34 In the sixth century there were no less than seven churches 05:37 built here. 05:38 But, of course, when the Muslims came they were very much opposed 05:43 to idols, or pictures, and they demolished a lot of the 05:48 beautiful mosaics. 05:49 This one escaped because it was partially buried by the time the 05:54 Muslims got here. 05:57 Well I suppose you're wondering what all this has to do with the 06:01 question, Who is God? 06:02 And, I suppose, that's a fair enough question. 06:06 Well, it is just possible that it was here in Jerash that 06:11 a Biblical parable was enacted. 06:14 Do you remember the story that Jesus Christ told of the 06:18 prodigal son? 06:19 Everyone's heard of the prodigal son. 06:21 The story was that there were two sons, and one of them came 06:25 to his father and said, Father, I want my share of the property. 06:30 So the father, being a very understanding father, 06:34 allowed him to have half of the property. 06:35 A few days later he picked up and left. 06:39 The Bible says he went to a far country. 06:42 Now we don't know where that far country was, but who knows, 06:45 it could have been right here in Jerash. 06:47 In which case, this is where he spent all his money. 06:51 This is where he went to all the entertainments, the brothels, 06:55 and pretty soon got rid of all his money. 06:59 But, of course, the time came when his money was all gone, 07:03 and with the money gone, so were the friends. 07:06 That's when he was obliged to go and get a job, and he finished 07:10 up just feeding pigs. 07:11 For a Jew; feeding pigs! 07:13 What a job! 07:14 Finally he said to himself, Well listen, this is a fools game. 07:17 My fathers hired servants are better off than I. 07:21 I'll go to my father and say to him, Father, I have sinned 07:25 against heaven, and against you. 07:27 I'm no more worthy to be called your son. 07:29 Just make me one of your hired servants. 07:31 Having made the decision, he packed up and went home. 07:34 Well, his father saw him coming afar off. 07:37 Father was looking for him, you know. 07:38 That tells you something about God. 07:40 When he saw his son coming he was just so thrilled. 07:43 He ran forward, fell on his neck, and kissed him, 07:46 embraced him, and called for the servants to bring forth 07:49 a good robe and put it on him. 07:51 The boy muttered out his words, you know, Father I've sinned 07:53 against heaven and against you. 07:55 I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. 07:57 But the father didn't want that. 07:59 He said, You are my son. 08:01 The son who was lost has returned. 08:04 So he clothed him with a beautiful garment and restored 08:08 him fully to the position of a son. 08:11 That tells you something about God, doesn't it? 08:15 To me God is very real. 08:17 I think He can be real to anyone because God is real. 08:22 What does the Bible teach about the nature of God? 08:26 It says in Matthew 28:19, Go therefore and make disciples 08:30 of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, 08:34 and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit... 08:37 Now that mentions three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 08:41 sometimes referred to as the Trinity. 08:43 Some people say, Oh, this is where I get lost. 08:46 You know, the Trinity, you just can't fathom it. 08:48 I don't see any problem. 08:49 What does it mean by three in one? 08:51 Well, Jesus made it plain in John 17:11 when He said, 08:56 I come to you, Holy Father, keep through your name those 09:01 whom you have given me, that they may be one, as we are. 09:06 Now, you and I are two separate persons, aren't we? 09:09 And yet we can be one; perfectly united in thought, 09:13 in motivation, and in character. 09:16 And that's the way it is with God. 09:18 There are three distinct persons, but these three persons 09:22 are so perfectly united that they are one. 09:25 Not like the Hindu gods, or the Greek gods; always fighting 09:27 against each other, at cross purposes with each other. 09:30 No, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are perfectly united. 09:36 Now, does that mean then that God is not a Spirit, 09:41 or He is a Spirit? 09:42 Jesus said, God is a Spirit. 09:44 Yeah, sure! 09:45 But you see there is the person of the Father, there is the Son, 09:49 a separate person. 09:50 It says when Jesus ascended up to heaven He sat on the right 09:53 hand of the Father. 09:54 But there is also the Holy Spirit, who is present 09:57 everywhere in the Universe. 09:59 Now God has a real dwelling place. 10:02 I'm not talking about the Spirit, which is everywhere, 10:04 but the person of God Himself. 10:07 You know, when Solomon was praying in 1 Kings 8:30 he says, 10:13 May you hear the supplication of your servant, and of your people 10:18 Israel, when they pray toward this place: then hear in heaven 10:22 your dwelling place: and when you hear, forgive. 10:26 So God has a real dwelling place. 10:29 I think it's just as solid and real as the ground on which I am 10:33 standing at the present time. 10:35 So God is a real person, and heaven is a real place, 10:38 but by His Spirit He can be present everywhere. 10:44 Now God is likened to a father, not because God is male or 10:49 female, but simply because that is His nature. 10:52 Jesus taught us to pray, Our Father, which art in heaven... 10:56 So much for the Father. 10:58 What about the Son? 10:59 I want to tell you something you might not know. 11:01 That is revealed in John 1:1-3. 11:05 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 11:10 and the Word was God. 11:12 He was in the beginning with God. 11:14 All things were made through him; and without him nothing 11:19 was made that was made. 11:21 Now it's talking about Jesus because over here in verse 14 11:25 it says, And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us,... 11:30 Don't get the idea that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem that 11:33 was the beginning of His existence. 11:35 Oh, no! 11:36 Jesus existed from all eternity. 11:39 He was one of the three persons of the Godhead. 11:42 From all eternity He was one with the Father. 11:45 It was through Him, Christ, that the world was created. 11:49 It is through Him that the world is upheld today. 11:54 And so He, God, became flesh and dwelt among us, 12:00 and He lived a man. 12:01 What an amazing condensation for the Creator to come down to 12:05 this world and be born as a little baby in Bethlehem, 12:07 and live a life on this world for thirty years, 12:10 and then enter upon His ministry. 12:13 After 31/2 years He was crucified. 12:16 He suffered a cruel death on the cross. 12:18 Why? 12:20 To take our place as sinners. 12:22 You see we've all done wrong. 12:23 We've all gone astray. 12:24 We all deserve to be punished, but we don't need to have any 12:28 sense of burden of guilt. 12:30 You know there's some people that have got some very heavy 12:32 burdens in this world. 12:33 We saw this man, for instance, in Jerusalem staggering along 12:37 carrying a refrigerator on his back. 12:40 There are some people who are carrying a heavier burden 12:43 than that; the burden of guilt, the burden of shame, 12:47 a sense of wrong, and they feel that they are unworthy. 12:50 Well, Jesus says in Matthew 11: 28, Come unto me all you that 12:58 labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 13:01 You see, He says to us, I've paid it. 13:04 I've paid the penalty for your sins. 13:06 So He throws His garment of righteousness about us, 13:09 just like the Father did to the prodigal, and we stand before 13:14 God in those beautiful garments of Christ's righteousness 13:17 just as if we'd never sinned. 13:18 That's why the Bible tells us to come boldly before the throne 13:23 of grace in prayer, because we can come clothed in Christ's 13:27 righteousness, and stand before Him fully accepted 13:31 as His children. 13:34 Well, something happened in Jerusalem that illustrates this 13:37 point that God does something for us that we don't 13:40 really deserve. 13:50 One early morning Jesus came to the temple and began to teach 13:54 the people, and they crowded in to hear His wonderful 13:56 words of life. 13:57 But right in the middle of His teaching the Pharisees arrived, 14:02 dragging a reluctant woman, and standing her right 14:04 in front of Him. 14:05 They piously said, Master, we found this woman 14:10 committing adultery; caught her in the very act. 14:12 Now Moses in his law said that such should be stoned, 14:17 but what do you say? 14:18 Now, you see, these fellows knew how ask some hard questions. 14:22 It was a loaded question, you see. 14:24 They thought they had Jesus trapped. 14:25 If Jesus had said, Well, okay, take her out and stone her 14:29 as Moses said, they would have immediately gone running off 14:32 to the Romans saying, He's usurping Roman authority. 14:35 On the other hand, if Jesus had said, No, don't stone her, 14:40 they would have turned to the people and said, 14:43 There you are; you see? 14:44 He does not uphold the law of Moses. 14:47 So they thought they had Jesus cornered. 14:50 Well, what did Jesus do about it? 14:52 He didn't say a thing! 14:53 He just knelt down and He began to write in the dust 14:59 on the temple floor. 15:06 And then He looked up and He said to them, He that is without 15:12 sin, let him cast the first stone. 15:15 I can just imagine the woman when Jesus said that, hearing 15:20 for herself a death sentence, and covering her face in anguish 15:24 and fear, dreading the first stone striking. 15:30 But Jesus knelt down again and He continued to write, 15:40 and one by one those pious hypocrites came and looked over 15:44 His shoulder. 15:46 They saw Him writing there sins which they had committed, 15:50 that they thought nobody else knew about. 15:52 One by one they decided it was time to leave. 15:55 So at last Jesus stood up and He said to the cowering woman, 16:02 Woman, where are your accusers? 16:06 Has no man condemned you? 16:08 And it was then, probably for the first time, that the woman 16:13 looked around and there was nobody there. 16:17 She said, No man condemns me, Lord. 16:21 Jesus said, Neither do I condemn you. 16:26 Go and sin no more. 16:29 I think that's probably where this poor repentant woman 16:34 flung herself at Jesus' feet and sobbed out her repentance, 16:38 and the forgiveness Jesus was offering her. 16:43 Have you done something wrong? 16:47 Have you done something you're sorry for? 16:50 Why don't you just come and fling yourself at Jesus' feet 16:53 and say, Lord I'm sorry? 16:55 You'll hear the very same words: Neither do I condemn you. 17:00 Go and sin no more. 17:02 That's the sort of God He is. 17:06 We travel right around the world in our next program to answer 17:09 the question, Where did the world come from? 17:11 Did it all take millions of years? 17:13 Are we related to monkeys? 17:15 How did it all happen? 17:16 David will be talking to some scientists in our next program 17:20 to get some answers to these questions. |
Revised 2014-12-17