Portraits of God - Travis Kropf

Good morning, greetings to each one in Jesus' name this morning. The message

I have to share this morning I have entitled portraits of God. And I

realized that it's possible. A few of you have heard me say some of

this before. You know, when we go visit in someone's home and sometimes

you like to look at a photo album and you see these pictures, and

a picture is a it's a snapshot from someone's life. And you can often

even without opening a photo album, just walking into a home, you can

get a sense of what their interests are, maybe, what they do,

where they go to church, who their friends are. There's all these pieces

of their lives that we have and just it's a picture. It's just it's

one aspect of their life. And we want to look at God and we

want to look at some pictures of God. Now. At the same time,

God is so far beyond what we can understand. He's so far beyond

our human reasoning, beyond human comparison. I guess might be the better way

to say that that it's a feeble attempt in many ways. And yet I

think we can get a little clear picture of God by looking at some of

these things. You remember the poem about the blind man and the elephant,

and these was it? Seven blind men. They all came up to an

elephant, and they were trying to figure out what an elephant is like.

And one grabbed his trunk and said, well, it's like a snake,

and the next one grabbed its leg and said, well, it's like a

tree. The other one felt its tail and said it's like a rope.

And they all touched something different, and they all had a completely different picture

of what the elephant was. And how does a poem man. They were

all partly right and all partly wrong. Something like that. Another example,

as you think of people, you've probably been to funerals. I think of

one in particular. I was two, and I thought of a man who

was hurting, a man who was probably a little proud, some thorny relationships

in his life. And yet what I heard there was a very generous man,

a man who had many friends. I think everything was true. Maybe

some of those were more true at different times in his life. But it

was not that my picture of the man was completely right, or that maybe

the other person's picture was completely right. It was they were all parts of

his life. They were all just different snapshots from his life. As we

look at these aspects of God, these pictures of God, there's different times

in our lives depending what we're facing that there's different aspects of God, different

portraits of God that stand out to us. And we can view these things

as just while God's so great and he does this and it makes me feel

good, and I think there's a place for that. There's also a side

that My goal this morning is for us to think about God, think about

these different aspects of God and his case character, and then apply them to

our lives. How does this affect the way I live? How does this

affect my relationships? How does this affect whatever you want to put in there?

How I spend my time, how I make a living, how I

interact with my neighbors. How does this portrait of God affect the choices I

make in life? How does it affect how I respond to the experiences that

I have. Going to begin in the Old Testament, we're going to look

at a number of portraits of God, and then in the New Testament will

actually be looking at Jesus, so a few experiences from his life. First

of all, I'd like to think about God as a creator. You have

some very gifted men here this morning, and ladies. Some of you are

just excellent cooks. Some of you know how to comfort other people. Some

of you men know how to run a business. Some of you know how

to build things. Some of you know how to sing well, how to

direct other people, some of you how to teach. God is a creator.

If you go to Genesis, we start in chapter one, and God

took this dark mass spinning through space, and he created this beautiful world.

And he took a piece of himself, and he brought light and took away

darkness. He took a star, and he took a moon, and he

placed them at just the right places to give us light, to give us

warmth. Then he started creating things on the earth. He made plants infinite

variety, from the trees to the flowers, to the vegetables. Then he

made animals, birds, insects. Then he took all these different species and

varieties and he put them in ecosystems where this animal and this plant benefit each

other, and these two working together benefit the third one. And they all

depend on each other for survival and propagation, and all working together. And

then God made this unending genetic diversity within species. And I think in simple

terms, you think of an apple, and the seeds in an apple have

genetic code to make how many different varieties of apples. And you have some

apples that are sweet and some that are tart, and you have crisp ones

and mushy ones, and some that get brown as soon as you cut them

in some that barely get brown in six hours. You have all that,

just little genetic diversities. And that's just apples. And then you take that

to all these other different plants. And God is a creator. And then

God made the best part of his creation. He made man. He took

some dirt and he formed man, and he made a man who can think,

and a man who can reason, and a man who can have a

relationship with his creator. And we can go into the human body and just

the complexity. Man can do amazing things, but man cannot create one bit

of that. He can take what God created and he can read, take

things apart and put it back together in a different way, do amazing things.

But man is not creating. He's just restructuring what's already been created.

God is a god of beauty, He's a god of order. He's a

god of absolute truth. God creates. Just in contrast to that, Satan

is all about destruction. Everything Satan does is aimed at destruction. You think

of a bomb. A bomb is made of elements that God created, but

it's destructive. In that same creation that God made, Satan has taken every

piece of that and turned it for destruction, to destroy. The next portrait

of God is a god hard to understand. Turning your Bibles to Exodus chapter

two. The children of Israel come to Egypt back in Genesis to escape of

famine and Jena Sorry. Exodus chapter one says there was a king came to

power in Egypt who didn't know Joseph. He forgot this Hebrew man who had

saved Egypt, and he said, these people are a problem, these Hebrew

people. They're getting to be more of them than there are of us,

and they are going to conquer us at some point. So it says they

made them serve with rigors and the word it uses hard work, and they

said this isn't working, so we need to kill all the men. All

the baby boys as they're born need to be killed. I don't have an

exact timeline how long that slavery there in Egypt lasted. They were in Egypt

for four hundred years, so it would have been probably at least two hundred

of that one hundred and fifty two hundred of that at least. Chapter two

begins with the birth of Moses. Exodus chapter two talks about Moses being born,

But I want to read a few verses. Oh, it's hold off

just a minute. Exodus chapter three is eighty years later Exdus to verse one

Texas three, Verse one is basically eighty years. How many of you here

eighty years old? Anyone? They're Leonard? The only one that I saw

a hand go up anyway that would have been here from Exus chapter two to

Exus chapter three is brother Leonard. All they asked of you would have been

born. Since then, you think it's rough if you have a few years

of your life where you have to go do some vs wort. You think

it's rough if for ten years in ten years time, you don't make any

progress financially, eighty years of trying to kill off all your baby boys,

Where's God? You're going back to grandparents and great grandparents. Ever since then,

they've been trying to kill off every baby boy the whole time you've been

in slavery. You think of forty hour workweek's bad or maybe a fifty I'm

pretty sure it was a lot more than that. There wasn't any overtime.

Where's God? Verse twenty three in chapter two. And it came to pass

in the process of time, the King of Egypt died, and the children

of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their

cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their

groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.

And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto

them, but he didn't say anything. So one writer has pointed out,

the amazing thing is that they still had faith in God at all, a

God who is silent. Well, they suffered a God who is silent while

their baby boys are thrown in the river. It's a god they did not

understand. You fast forward a thousand or so years to the streets of Bethlehem,

and King Herod's soldiers sweep through Bethlehem house to house, looking for babies,

baby boys two years and younger ripped from their mother's arms killed. Where's

God? Thirty years after that, John the Baptist is in prison. Can

look at Luke chapter seven if you want to read that. He's in prison

the man that God had said, you're going to prepare the way for the

Messiah because a man Jesus said, there is no greater man born on earth

than John the Baptist. And he's rotting in a dungeon and he sends his

disciples to Jesus with a message. He says, are you actually the Messiah?

I thought you were, but it doesn't make sense. And if you

read that story, Jesus didn't say anything. He just kind of ignored the

question, went on teaching, went on healing, and after a why he

told John's disciples he said, you go back and you tell John, tell

him what's happening here. People are being healed, the blind can see the

gospel is being preached to the poor. And blessed is he who is not

offended in me. And you bring that back down to our day today and

the God that can allow what happened over in Israel in October seven and as

a husband and a father. Can you really think about that and put yourself

in that position? Where's God? Where would you be if you lived over

there? A God who is hard to understand. Turn over to Axdas,

chapter nineteen, and we have a God who is so great and powerful,

a mighty God. It's the portrait here if you have the children of Israel.

They've finally been given deliverance from that slavery, they've finally been brought out

of the land of Egypt. But it's a people who have very little knowledge

of God, very little experience with God. And God brings them out,

and he takes them out to the Red Sea, and it was a great

experience. In what a few days after that, they were worrying about what

they were going to eat or drink. They're not sure about living a life

of faith. I'm not sure if they can handle living by faith, trusting

God for the next meal, trusting God to supply the next water for them.

And they're already saying things about you know, we were slaves, but

at least we knew what we were going to eat back in Egypt, and

we had good food. So God brings them to Mount Sinie, and you

remember that Egypt was the at least one of the world powers at the time.

And Egypt is an idol worshiping nation. They have this host of gods

and idols that they worship, and they're powerful. So the children of Israel,

they're weak. They don't know how to fight. And God says,

come to mount signing, we need to have a meeting here. And God

wants to make sure there's no question in their minds who is powerful and who

is strong and who can take care of things. Exodus nineteen. I'm going

to read several verses here. I'm going to jump around a little bit verse

three, and you schoolboys, I'm going to pick on you in a little

bit, so pay attention and be thinking about what we're reading. And Moses

went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain,

saying, thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell

the children of Israel, you have seen what I did unto the Egyptians,

and how I bear you on eagles wings and brought you unto myself. Now,

therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant,

then shall ye be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, for

all the earth is mine, And ye shall be unto me, a kingdom

of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak

unto the children of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of

the people and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord had commanded

him. And all the people answered together and said all that the Lord hath

spoken, we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto

the Lord. And the Lord said, unto Moses, lo I come unto

THEE in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with

THEE, and believe THEE forever. And Moses told the words of the people

unto the Lord. And God told Moses, I need to sanctify the people,

need to sanctify themselves. And you need to set boundaries around the mountain.

Nobody can touch it verse sixteen. And it came to pass on the

third day in the morning that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick

cloud upon the mount and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud, so that

all the people that was in the camp trembled, 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 SINEI was altogether on a smoke,

because the Lord descended upon it in a fought, descended upon it in fire,

and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace. And the

whole mount quit greatly in the voice of the trumpet sounded long and wax louder

and louder. Moses spake, and God answered him by voice, going to

stop there for a moment? Boys, what happened to Mount SINEI? If

you were standing in front of Mount Signing I, what would you think was

going on? Says? There was thunder and lightning, and a thick cloud,

a very loud noise, and there was a great smoke coming off the

mountain, like the smoke of a furnace. Any ideas from your science book?

Scared to stick your neck out, you girls want to take a guess

at it? How about a volcano? Does that sounded all like it?

How many of you remember where you were when you heard Mount Saint Helens had

blown? Remember the day at least that was before I was born. If

you were within sight of Mount Saint Helen's when it blew, do you think

you would ever forget that? Would that picture ever leave your mind? You

have phone, so you don't need to keep the picture in your mind,

right. I think for myself, if I was standing over here by one

of these hills along the freeway and that thing it became a volcano, had

a volcanic explosion, I don't think I'd forget it. That's the picture we

have here. It was the visual and sound effects of a volcano. How

long did it take till the children of Israel forgot anyone remember? Thirty or

forty days till they made a golden calf? Chapter twenty. I'd like to

read a few verses, verse eighteen. And all the people saw the thunderings

and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountains smoking.

And when the people saw it, they removed instead of far off.

And they said, unto Moses, speak thou with us, and we will

hear about. Let not God speak to it with us lest we die.

And Moses said, unto the people, fear not, for God has come

to prove you that his fear may be before your faces that ye sin not.

And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near into the thick

darkness where God was, and the Lord said, unto Moses, thus show

you sand to the children of Israel, ye have seen that I have talked

with you from heaven. Ye shall not make with me gods of silver.

Neither shall you make unto you gods of gold. We can look at other

portraits of God in his might his power. Think if Elijah in the cave

and the still small voice was where the power was. God said, I'm

showing you this so you don't make idols. So you remember that I am

God. I'm above an idol. You can't make anything that is like me.

Does that picture mean anything to us today? A God who came down

to show his power, to show a picture of what he was and what

he could do, so the people would understand that he's greater than any other

God. Like to go now to the next one, a God who is

with his people. This is in Daniel chapter three. You can turn there

if you want. I'm going to I'm not going to read read the actual

verses. We have three young men who believe God. These were three young

men who had watched their homes, their city be destroyed, maybe their families

killed in front of them, and then they were taken to a far country,

completely different culture by themselves. They weren't with their families. We'll round

up a bunch of young guys and we'll put you on a plane over to

India and dump you off and you figure it out, but you can't come

home. They probably weren't going to church with people who believe like they did.

They were on their own. These were men who had seen a lot

of tragedy. They'd seen a lot of pain, and where was God?

What's the point in serving a god who allows these kind of things to happen.

We could just be Babylonians. I mean, at least they're the conquers

of the world. You know, these three young men knew the story of

Mount Sinai, and what was more than just nowing it, they believed it,

and they knew that the God who had come down on Mount Sinei had

said thou shalt not bow down to idols. And when the music played and

everyone else bowed, I don't think they hunched their shoulders over and kind of

tried to I think they stood up, maybe even on tiptoe. There was

no question in their minds, and I don't think they wanted any question in

anyone else's mind who was looking on. And they were brought in before King

Nebukinezer, and he threatened to burn them, and that their reply, you

want to know what true power is, said, sure, go ahead and

burn us. We don't care. We will not bow down. That's not

even an option. King had no power at that point. He could kill

him, but what did he gain. He could prove his point, So

he threw him into the fire, a fire so hot that the guards who

grabbed him and swung him in were killed, died from the heat. At

the entrance of the furnace there, all of a sudden they stood up,

and when they stood up, there was someone standing with them. There was

a fourth man in there. And King Nebukanazar was not particularly god fearing at

that point in his life, and he said, that looks like the sun.

That looks like the Son of God. One of the most beautiful Old

Testament pictures we have is that visible form of Jesus standing with the people who

were true to him, who said I'm gonna do what's right regardless, because

there is a God. It's turned out of the New Testament. Luke,

chapter thirteen, we have the mercy of God getting in verse six, he

spake also this parable. A certain man had a fig tree he planted in

his vineyard, and he came in, said fruit there on, and found

none. Then set he into the dresser of the vineyard. Behold these three

years, I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none.

Cut it down? Why numberth at the ground. And he, the man

who worked in the vineyard, answering, said unto him, Lord, let

it alone this year also till I shall dig about it and dung it,

and if it bear fruit well, and if not, then after that thou

shall cut it down. We're a little bit about chasing in the Sunday School

lesson. How often does God look at my life and he says, wor's

the fruit? I'm not finding what's supposed to be there? And how often

is it the carnality in my heart that's keeping that fruit from growing, The

unforgiveness, the bitterness, the selfishness, the pride. And Jesus says,

just hold off, let me work on him for a while. Let me

prune, Let me furlize, let me make a few cuts here and there

in his life, make him feel a little bit of pain, the mercy

of God. I'll let it go another year. I'll see if a little

chasting will bring him back to me. Mark Chapter ten, the restore of

We have the Story of Blind Bartimass, verse forty six. Can you imagine

what that was like for bart of Ass. He's a blind man, he

can't see. He's sitting there begging. It's kind of a leech on society.

And he was sitting there on the street corner. He'd heard of Jesus.

It was his one in a million chants of ever seeing here on earth,

and I don't think he expected to get it. And he's sitting there

in the street corner begging, and he hears some whole bunch of people out

of place, odd, and so he asked, what's going on? Said,

Jesus is coming. So the noise gets louder. Bartamas starts yelling Jesus

over here, help me, and the people around him are like, shut

up, be quiet, you're making a scene, And he just yelled louder.

All of a sudden, things kind of quiet down, and the people

around him say go to Jesus. He's calling you. And as he stumbles

toward that voice, and he hears a voice say, well, what do

you need, he says, I want to I want to be able to

see. Jesus says, you can see. Now, go thy way their

faith. As Hath made thee whole, and all of a sudden he could

see, and he could see see the face of Jesus, and he could

see the trees in that creation around him. Sunlight. Jesus came to restore

sight. H You think about in the time of Jesus, more blind people

received their sight than at any time in human history, probably up until the

last several hundred years. Blind people who are able to see. But Jesus

came to give us sight that was so far beyond just the physical sight.

He came to give spiritual sight. When you don't know what to do,

and you don't know where to go, and you just feel blind, Jesus

is the answer. He came to give sight. He came to give us

what it takes to be able to see. But we have to have faith,

and we have to lay down self. Vardamas was not worrying about what

other people were thinking about him. He was worried about seeing, and that's

where we have to be in order to gain that sight. I have one

more portrait. It's found in Mark chapter ten also, and that's the Gentleness

of God verse thirteen. And they brought young children to him, to Jesus

that he should touch them, and his disciples rebuke those that brought them.

But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased and said, unto them.

Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not,

for of such is the Kingdom of God. Verily I sent to you.

Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, he shall

not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms and put his

hands upon them and bless them. Jesus had a lot of important things to

do. There was people to teach, sick, people to heal. He

had to get the disciples lined out for after he was gone, try to

keep them in line. And the disciples said, he's busy enough, he

doesn't eat anymore. Jesus said, the children are important to me. And

that picture of Jesus taking that child on his knee so beautiful. The gentleness

of God. We were at graveside service once for a stillborn infant. One

of our children was two at the time, but he understood enough, probably

said enough. He understood what was going on, and that night, when

it was time to go to bed, he had a problem with a baby

being put in the ground. How do you explain to a two year old?

So I got out the Bible story book the picture of Jesus holding the

children, said, this is the baby's with Jesus. Jesus is holding it.

He went to sleep. It's still one of his favorite stories to this

day. The gentleness of God. I trust this morning, as you look

at these portraits of God, these pictures of who God is and what He

has done, you can allow those to affect how you how you viewed,

how you view your life, your choices. M It's not about me,

It's about God. All right, Thank you Travis for these thoughts. Let's

have a closing saw h