The Great God of the Bible — E.A. Johnston

I have been asked to speak on the greatness of God this evening, and I tend to do just that, though I do not believe I can do him any justice in that regard. God is great. His ways are not man's ways, God declares in the book of Isaiah, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

The Greatness of God Beyond Human Measures

God is always great, but greatness in other things fades away. America used to be a great country, but it is not as great as it once was. There was a time in America years ago when there was still a fear of God in the land, but not today.

The nation lies in gross immorality, and it has departed from the living God of the Bible. There was a time in former days when ministers spoke of the Lord, they referred to him as the Almighty or the Great God, and that is the title of my message this evening, The Great God of the Bible.

I fear many today do not know this God, for they have carved out for themselves a different God whom they serve, but the God of the Bible declares, I change it not. I want us to look at the greatness of God this evening, because I feel if we took a vote in America tonight on how many people thought God was great, we would come up short from a majority.

Today, even the church has reduced God down to man size or smaller, he is just a pal, a friend, no more. I vividly recall sitting in the audience of a Baptist church and listening to a seminary trained pastor make the following comments, he said, I can't wait to get to heaven, because when I get to heaven, I am going to walk up to Jesus and grab his hand and shake it and thank him for all he has done for me.

I guess that seminary graduate was not familiar with the passage from the book of Revelation where the apostle John encounters the risen Christ and falls down as dead. No this pastor is going to walk up to Jesus like he'd walk up to a deacon and pump his hand like he was his pal.

I believe that is the majority mentality today concerning God. He is no bigger than man and he is on man's level, but that is not what the Bible declares about him. Allow me to read you a chapter from the book of Job, chapter 37, which tells how God is to be feared for his great works.

You may turn in your Bibles there now. At this also my heart trembleth, and is moved out of his place. Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth out of his mouth. He directeth it unto the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth.

After it a voice roareth, he thundereth with the voice of his excellency, and he will not stay them when his voice is heard. God thundereth marvelously with his voice. Great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.

For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth, likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength. He sealeth up the hand of every man, that all men may know his work. Then the beasts go into their dens, and remain in their places.

Out of the south cometh the whirlwind, and cold out of the north. By the breath of God frost is given, and the breath of the waters is straightened. Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud, he scattereth his bright cloud.

And it is turned round about by his counsels, that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the face of the world and the earth. He causes it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy.

Hearken unto this, O Job, stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God. Dost thou know when God disposed them, and caused the light of his cloud to shine? Dost thou know the balancing of the clouds, how the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge, how thy garments are warm, when he quietseth the earth by the south wind?

Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking glass? Teach us what we shall say unto him, for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness. Shall it be told him that I speak?

If a man speak, surely he shall be swallowed up. And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds, but the wind passeth and cleanseth them. Fair weather cometh out of the north, with God his terrible majesty, touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out.

He is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice, he will not afflict. Men do therefore fear him, he respecteth not any that are wise of heart. Listen friends, this is the great God of the Bible.

Creation, Mercy, and the God Who Punishes Sin

See him in the wonders of creation, see his greatness in all things, the very fact of his greatness should humble us in thanksgiving to him. We should be thankful to him every day of our lives, that rebels that we are, he did not destroy us, but instead showed us mercy.

How great is his mercy, how great is this great God Almighty whom we serve. But today, many do not recognize his greatness, for they have reduced him down to their level. I recall a story I learned while conducting research on the life and ministry of Ralph Barnard for my biography on his life, an incident in his life sticks out in my mind.

Ralph Barnard had been preaching at a church on the greatness of God and how God was a God who must punish sin, and Ralph Barnard used all the passages in the Bible like the flood and the days of Noah, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and he demonstrated that God is still a God who will and must punish sin because God changeth not.

And a deacon in the church invited him and the pastor to lunch that Sunday at his farm out in the country. The table was laden with four kinds of meat, seven types of vegetables, baskets of hot rolls and homemade jam.

Ralph Barnard could not believe the feast he was enjoying, but every time he glanced over at his host, the man's face got more red with anger. The farmer had an oversized Adam's apple, and every time he swallowed his food, that big Adam's apple moved up and down his neck like a turkey's gobbler.

Finally, this deacon leaned across the table and with an angry voice said to Barnard, I don't agree with your preaching, I just don't agree with your preaching. Ralph Barnard just kept on eating because he knew he wouldn't be at a feast like that anytime soon, and he didn't want to disagree with his host, especially since the deacon was a big, strong man, much bigger than him.

Finally the deacon cried out, did you hear me, preacher? I said, I don't agree with your preaching because my God wouldn't send anybody to hell. Do you hear me, preacher? My God wouldn't act that way.

Finally Ralph Barnard put down his knife and fork and replied, I reckon you're right. Your God wouldn't act that way, but the God of the Bible would. Listen friends, I fear many today have shrunken God down to our size or smaller, and few today worship the great God of the Bible.

The Church's Loss of the Fear of God

In America, during the 18th century, ministers referred to God as the Great God or the Almighty, and there was a fear of God and the land back then. Sin was in check, and gross immorality did not abound in society because of that fear of God and the land, because people viewed God as great, but now we put him on our level.

Society has lost its moral compass, and the moral compass was the church. When the church began to shrink God down to a human level and remove the fear of God in the church, then the fear of God was removed in the land.

Mount Sinai and the Majesty of God's Presence

But the great God should make men tremble. I want to read us a passage of scripture from the book Hebrews in chapter 12, beginning in verse 18 through 21. Allow me to read it to you now. For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words, which voice they heard, entreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more.

For they could not endure that which was commanded, and if so much as a beast touched the mountain, it shall be stoned or thrust through with a dart. And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake.

This passage in the book Hebrews is relating the terrible scene at Mount Sinai from the book of Exodus chapter 19, which declares,. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the nether part of the mount, and Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire, and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.

Listen friends, the word of God states that the whole mount quaked greatly, and it did so because of the greatness of God. My message tonight is on the greatness of God, I am referring to the Almighty God, the God who is high and lifted up, who dwells with the cherubim, and whose name is holy, the God of all creation, who made the heavens and the earth, the God of the miracles performed throughout the Bible, the God who is compassionate and long-suffering, because he wants all to come to repentance, but he is also the God who must punish sin, because he hates sin, he hates sin so much that he sent his only begotten son into this world to die on a bloody cross as a sin substitute, so we may have life.

He is a great God, but do we recognize his greatness? When God was atop Mount Sinai, his presence was so terrifying that it shook up old Moses, it made that old boy tremble and quake. Listen, friends, God is a great God, he is not like man, he does not think like man or act like man, too many of us today have taken out our pocket knives and whittled out for ourselves a God we feel comfortable with, a God who is comfortable with our sins, but it is not the God of the Bible, the God of the Bible is described in Hebrews 12, 29, which declares for our God is a consuming fire.

The Consuming Fire and the Fear of God

When God was atop Mount Sinai, it was all together on a smoke, because he is a God who is a consuming fire, he is the great God, the Ancient of Days, the Almighty, Moses saw that mountain all on a smoke because of the presence of God and all his terrible majesty, and Moses cried out, I exceedingly fear and quake, in our passage from Job states, men do therefore fear him, and there used to be a fear of God in the land, but not anymore, we sin with impunity because we as a nation do not fear God, I even heard a big preacher one time say from the pulpit that he believed the word fear in the Bible did not mean to tremble before God and fear him, but just to show him reverence, but that dear man was dead wrong, in Romans 3 .18 it reads, there is no fear of God before their eyes, and when you look up the word fear in the Greek, the primary definition is to exceedingly fear with terror, the secondary definition is reverence, when the church started telling folks you didn't have to fear God anymore, then the nation stopped fearing him as well, but that's not what the Bible declares, listen to the words of Jesus as he describes his father as found in Matthew 10 .28, and fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell, the Bible commentator Matthew Henry says of this text, they who truly, truly fear God need not fear man, it is better to fall under the frowns of all the world than under God's frowns, but today we only preach about a loving God and seldom mention that he is a God to be feared, we just don't preach that way because our God wouldn't act that way, but listen friends, the God of the Bible would, Duncan Campbell was a man used mightily in revival in the Scottish Hebrides, and when Duncan Campbell first landed on the Isle of Lewis, he was greeted by the elders of the church who asked him, Mr. Campbell are you walking with God, to which Duncan replied, I can say this, I fear God, but many in the church today do not fear God, because we have turned him into a big teddy bear, but listen friends, the living God of the Bible is a great God, and how we view him will affect our behavior and the conduct in our lives, if we hold to a high view of God, and see him as the great God of the Bible, in all his majesty and power, then we will maintain a high view of sin, we will be careful not to sin and fall under his frowns, but if we maintain a low view of God, if we put him on our level, then we will maintain a low view of sin, and sin carelessly and even recklessly, because our view of God is too small, and I am afraid that is where many are today, our fathers knew better, and maintained a high view of God, and a high view of sin, and they did one other thing, they maintained a low view of themselves, you see friends, when you see God in all his glory and greatness, then you see yourself as a worm, a hell deserving worm, but when you maintain a low view of God, then you will elevate your opinion of yourself, and pride settles in, and that is one of the main hindrances to seeing revival, and that is a self-reliant church that is settled in pride and self-sufficiency, but when we adjust our view of God to the proper view of the God of the Bible, then everything else is kept in balance, do you see what I mean friends, let us spend less time on the amusements and entertainments of this world, and spend more time in our Bibles and on our knees in prayer, and let us behold his majesty, and the greatness of God, as the word of God declares, great is the holy one of Israel, and once again let us realign ourselves to the great God of the Bible, and perhaps there will be once again a healthy fear of God in the land, and through this, the people of God will come to repentance, and seek him earnestly in prayer to send revival in the land once again.