Focus: Behold Your God! (Pt.4)

Text: Isa.40:9

"Say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God."

I believe that we are still in the place of beholding our God in His diverse perfections.

*The next thing to behold of our God is His light - God is light.

John declares, "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1Jh.1:5). In God not an iota of darkness exists. His glory radiates light - the light of His glory. While on earth, Christ says, "I am the light of the world" (Jh.8:12). He attests that "in him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not" (Jh.1:4-5). In the book of 1st Timothy, Paul describes God as the one "who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see…" (1Tim.6:16). 

He lives inside His own light, and the light is unapproachable.

James calls God "the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (Jam.1:17). There is no orbital circuit in God, and He never casts shadows by shifting, for He shines constantly and permanently from His own self-caused Meridian. No one can trace the darkness of moral evil to Him.

Part of Paul's commission was to "to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light…" (Act.26:18). He was commissioned to pull men out of the darkness of evil and ignorance. Peter says that the purpose of our salvation is "that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1Pet.2:9).

His light is a wonder to see. It is beyond what we know of natural light. Coming to the Lord means coming into His light. Paul says, "Christ shall give thee light" (Eph.5:14). Micah testifies, "When I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me" (Mic.7:8). The psalmist says, "The LORD is my light and my salvation…" (Ps.27:1). And again, he says, "For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light" (Ps.36:9). 

His light speaks of goodness, beauty and excellence.

*The next point is that God is good.

The psalmist sang, "O taste and see that the LORD is GOOD…" (Ps.34:8). God is good. He is perfect goodness, and all He does is good. In the six creative days of Genesis one, the writer of Genesis tells us, "And God saw…that it was good," and when He was fully done, the writer says, "And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold, it was VERY GOOD" (Gen.1:4,10,12,18,21,25,31). He evaluated and endorsed the goodness of creation. 

Interestingly, the good God gives good gifts. James says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (Jam.1:17). Light and goodness belong together. The Father of lights bestows good gifts. The psalmist says that "they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing" (Ps.34:10). He is good to His people. In a psalm ascribed to Asaph, he says, "Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart" (Ps.73:1). He withholds nothing good from His children.

All the false gods headed by Satan and worshipped by men are evil and capricious. They never mean well for human beings. All they do is destroy rather than create. They are evil-minded. But our one and only God is good.

Behold the light of His glory and taste His all-round goodness. He means well for you. He has no evil intentions towards you. According to Jeremiah, God's thoughts towards us are thoughts of good, and not of evil, to give us a hope and a future. According to the psalmist, God is good, and His mercies endure forever. Behold your God! Embrace His love, enjoy His marvelous light, and experience His tremendous goodness.

We'll continue on Monday.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter