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“There is but one only living and true God, who is infinite
in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible,
without body, parts, or passions, immutable, immense,
eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy,
most free, most absolute, working all things according to
the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will…” (Westminster
Confession of Faith, Chapter 2.1)
God is a Spirit
(John 4:24).
God is also person in the sense that He has
self-consciousness; He has intelligence; He has free-will;
and He has emotions. God also has certain characteristics
(attributes). There are some attributes which God shares
with His people. These are called the communicable
attributes. Example: holiness
(1 Pet 1:15-16).
There are also some attributes that are uniquely God’s; they
are called the incommunicable attributes. Example: the
eternality of God.
The reality of God’s eternity (Psalm 90:1-2)
“Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst
formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to
everlasting, thou art God” (Psalm 90:1-2).
Generation after generation, God remains the
dwelling place for man. This is the eternality of God – the
timelessness of God. God is outside of time. We, on the
other hand, are bound by time. Time is a series of events
coming one after and another. In fact, that is the only way
we experience time. Our time on earth is limited (Ps. 90:12)
As far as God is concerned, there is no succession
of time. There was never a time in the past that God was
not. And there will never be a time in the future that God
will cease to be. God always is. God is the abiding,
constant, unceasing present. God is the “I AM.” He is not
the “I WAS” or “I WILL BE.”
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While God is timeless, He acts in time. And His plan
for us is perfect (Isa
46:9-10; Gal 4:4-5).
The truth of an eternal God is the source
of our comfort.
The certainty of Man’s brevity (Psalm 90:4-6; 9-10)
In contrast to the eternality of God is the certainty of
man’s brevity. Moses describes life as a watch in the night
(v. 4); a flash flood and grass (v. 5); a story (v. 9).
Moses tells us to “number
our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom”
(v. 12).
+ To number our days is therefore to make each day
count for God.
Living in the light of eternity (Heb. 11:23-27)
In Psalm 90, Moses wrote about eternity. In Hebrews
11:23-27, Moses lived his life in light of eternity.
A. To Live in Faith of God and not in the Fear of Man
Moses’ parents were not afraid of the
king’s commandment. By faith, Amram and Jochebed obeyed God.
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We demonstrate our faith by doing what is right in the eyes
of God.
B. To Choose God and not the world
Moses grew up in Egypt, and “when
Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and
looked on their burdens” (Exod. 2:11). The reason was that,
“by faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be
called the son of Pharaoh's daughter” (Heb. 11:24).
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The most important decision will be the one with
eternal consequences – your relationship with our Lord Jesus
Christ.
C. To Live in the Will of God and not for the Pleasure
of the World
When Moses came of age, he refused to
be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to
suffer affliction with the people of God (Heb. 11:24).
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Beware of the pleasure of sin.
D. To Live under the Provision of God and not in the
Wealth of the World
By faith Moses chose suffering over
pleasure, “esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches
than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the
recompence of the reward” (Heb. 11:26)
The word “esteemed” here
means “to count.”
It means to consider carefully. Moses thought carefully
about his decision, weighing out the pros and cons, weighing
the evidence before him.
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Moses made the choice – deliberately, rationally, and
consciously. And make no mistake, it was a costly choice.
Do you have the faith to make such a choice?
E. To Worship the Invisible God and not the Visible
Pharaoh
“By faith he forsook Egypt, not
fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him
who is invisible” (Heb. 11:27).
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Do not look “at the things which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen: for the things which are seen are
temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2
Cor. 4:18).
Conclusion
The decisions you make today will have effects beyond
yourself and beyond your life-time.
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Sinner: Have you made faith’s choice? Do you believe
what God has said about sin and about the Saviour? “For what
shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and
lose his own soul? (Mark 8:36).
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Christian: Are you living your life in the light of
eternity, making every day you have count for God? |
