10 Years of Beholding God | Introduction
Dr. John Snyder is the pastor of Christ Church New Albany, director of Media Gratiae, and author of multiple multimedia Bible studies including the Behold Your God series and Media Gratiae’s newest release: Living with the True God: Lessons from Judges.
This winter, we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of Behold Your God: Rethinking God Biblically and the birth of this ministry. As we prepare a book containing the sermons from this series and release never-before-seen interview footage on The Whole Counsel podcast, we are sharing the introduction to the workbook component of Rethinking God Biblically.
If you have done this study before, may it remind you that there is no end to the adventure of knowing God; if you have not done this study, may these words entice you to a deeper walk with Him.
In Psalm 113, the psalmist calls us to a duty:
Praise the LORD!
Praise,O servants of the LORD,
Praise the name of the LORD!
Blessed be the name of the LORD
From this time forth and forevermore!
From the rising of the sun to its going down The LORD’s name is to be praised.
The LORD is high above all nations,
His glory above the heavens.
Then the psalmist asks a question:
Who is like the LORD our God, Who dwells on high, Who humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?
Not all religious effort is headed in the right direction.
We are setting out today on a twelve-week journey. Before we open the gate and take our first step, we must make sure we are headed down the right path. In a race, running fast is a bad idea if you’re headed in the wrong direction. Not all religious effort is headed in the right direction. The Psalm above can be a spiritual compass to help us set the course. Our journey and our destination will be God Himself. We will give our time and effort to seeking a clearer understanding of the God of the Bible. His name or character is worthy to be praised from east to west, “from this time forth and forevermore.” In this glory He is solitary; none are like Him. He is elevated above all else, yet He humbles Himself to take notice of the things of heaven and earth. This is the God who has called us to Himself, to be reconciled through His Son, and to walk with Him by His Spirit. It is almost too much to take in!
In light of these truths, we need to be clear about two things:
1. This study will be about him, not us
This study will be about Him, not us.
Throughout these weeks, we must examine ourselves and our responses to what we are learning about God, but He will be the ultimate object of our attention.
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
— A. W. Tozer
The end of all learning is to know God, and out of that knowledge to love and imitate Him.
— John Milton
2. this study is not ultimately aimed at our good.
This study is not ultimately aimed at our good.
We will find ourselves benefitted by the time we devote to the pursuit of knowing God and the transformation which that knowledge brings. However, we are not hoping to use this knowledge of our Lord for some greater end. The goal of the study is not to relieve us of our emptiness, fix our families, grow our churches, or even to find our significance and sense of purpose in Him. The goal of this study is to see God’s name lifted high above all else. Therefore, our desire is not to use God for our advancement but rather to forget ourselves as we worship Him.
In truth, we cannot give ourselves to a more thrilling, worthwhile, or practical pursuit. If you are tempted to think that He might not be worth knowing, recall these words written by John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim’s Progress:
God is the only desirable good; nothing without him is worthy of our hearts. . . . The life, the glory, the blessedness, the soul-satisfying goodness that is in God are beyond all expression.
When Bunyan penned these words over three hundred years ago, he was not exaggerating—he was understating the matter!
This week you will be considering the significance of what you think of God— not your official beliefs about this Being, but your actual ideas of Him. The true knowledge of God, provided through the mighty labors of His Son, is the great treasure of Christianity. It has a beginning but will never end, enduring through the most desperate of times. However, even a believer can take this treasure for granted. We need a revolution in how we think of God. In seeking to know Him, we must guard against settling for a counterfeit Christianity that looks like the real thing but is of no value.
In the eleventh century, St. Anselm gave advice that is relevant to us today:
Up now, slight man! Flee for a little while your occupations; hide yourself for a time from your disturbing thoughts. Cast aside now your burdensome cares and put away your toilsome business. Yield room for some little time to God, and rest for a little time in Him. Enter the inner chamber of your mind; shut out all thoughts save that of God and such as can aid you in seeking Him. Speak now, my whole heart! Speak now to God, saying, I seek Your Face; Your face, Lord, will I seek.