Forgiven and Set Free Episode 2 - The Character of God

Welcome back. We are so glad you are here with us. If this is your first time joining us, you are going to want to go back and watch episode one. Each one of these episodes builds on the one before. So take a minute and go back to watch that one. Okay, make sure you go back and watch it. In the last episode, we talked about pain and grief. Today we're going to talk about something just as important. You know what? Scratch that. It's probably the most important, who God really is. Many of us carry ideas about who we think God is. We've been shaped by our experiences, things that have happened to us, things that were told to us, and probably even by our pain. But that doesn't mean that's exactly who God is. We're going to spend some time really diving into who He is. Today is an invitation, okay? So it's not to force belief, but to encounter God as who He says He is in scripture. Now look, before we begin, I want to tell you a few important things. Guess what? You do not have to agree with everything you hear today. You don't need to fix anything. Amen and hallelujah to that. You don't need to feel a certain way. This is a place for honesty. And Psalm 62 verse 8 tells us, pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge. Guess what? God is not offended by your questions, and He's not threatened by your doubts. Look, and if at any point this seemed too much, feel free to push the pause button and

return later. Just promise us you'll return. We're going to introduce our friend Donna as she opens us up in prayer. Hi, I'm Donna. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us back together. Your word says, for the Lord is good and His love endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generations. Would you show us who you truly are, not who we assume you to be? Would you open our hearts and our minds to your character? We ask all of this in the name of Jesus, amen and amen. Healing depends on trust and trust depends on character. We trust someone based on who they are, not just what they say. And the Bible does not leave us guessing about God's character. In fact, in Exodus 34, 6, God describes Himself this way, The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and in faithfulness. Y'all, God chose those words. Compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. This is who God says He is. The Bible Project has a great video called The Character of God. We're going to take a couple of minutes and spend time watching that. I think you'll find it really enlightening. The Bible is a collection of many ancient Israelite scrolls. And together, they're telling one unified story. Now, if you look at the second scroll, Exodus, you'll find two important sentences. They're actually so important that they're referenced and re-quoted over 20 more times within the Bible itself. It must be important. What does it say?

Yahweh, Yahweh, that's God's name, a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, overflowing with loyal love and faithfulness. I can see why it's repeated so often. These attributes of God are really lovely. And the statement goes on. He maintains loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Yet He won't declare innocent the guilty. He will bring the iniquities of the fathers upon the children and grandchildren to the third and the fourth. Okay, hold on. This last part takes a bit of a turn. We're first talking about God's love and suddenly it's about His judgment on grandkids. So, is God merciful or vengeful? Yeah, great question. Let's see these words in a larger context. by looking at something important in Genesis, the first scroll of the Bible. There, God chooses one family, the Israelites, from among the nations. He promises that he is going to rescue the whole world through this family somehow. Genesis ends with the family of Abraham in Egypt. Then the book of Exodus begins. This book has two large movements. Right, okay, so this first movement of Exodus, God rescues Israel from slavery in Egypt. In the second movement, God leads them to Mount Sinai where they camp out for a year. God invites this whole nation into a partnership called a covenant so that they can be shaped by his values and character. And represent God to all the other nations. Exactly. Now this whole Mount Sinai movement in Exodus can be broken up into four literary units. First, there is the actual ceremony where the Israelites agree to be God's partners. And God sets up the terms of the relationship starting with the Ten Commandments. The first two are? Don't give your allegiance to other gods and don't make any idle images of God. Seems simple enough.

After that, God shows Moses detailed blueprints for building this sacred home so that God can come and live among them. Alright, and then comes a really long narrative about the building of that sacred home. But you missed something. Right in between these sections is the story that has our description about God's character. The story begins with Moses going up on the mountain writing down the partner agreement as the Israelites are at the base of the mountain violating the first two commands. That is ridiculous. They are breaking the covenant vows while the ceremony is still going on. Yes, and so God is hurt and angry. And he warns Moses that this betrayal will keep on happening. God is ready to call it quits. But what about his promise to rescue the world through them? Yeah, exactly. This is what Moses brings up. And so, what is God going to do? Should he end the partnership, which would be fair? Or will he be faithful to his promise to Abraham and show them mercy? Yeah, exactly. Now, look back at the words that we began with and you will see. They are about this very tension between God's mercy and his justice. Okay, so the statement opens like this. A God compassionate and gracious. In Hebrew, this line has three words that rhyme. El rachum v'chanun. And the line overflowing with loyal love and faithfulness matches the first as it also has three Hebrew words. Rav chesed v'emet. Each of those lines have two attributes of God. And they surround a fifth attribute that God is slow to anger.

Right. Now, that is the first half of this description of God. Then comes the second half. God maintains loyal love for thousands. And how is he going to remain loyal to people who keep rebelling against him? By forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. But God's forgiveness doesn't mean people can just do whatever they want. Right. God's mercy is balanced in what follows. Yet, he won't declare innocent the guilty. He will bring the iniquities of the fathers upon the children and grandchildren to the third and the fourth. The third and the fourth, what? Well, it's referring to generations of people who repeat their ancestors' rebellion against God. They will get what they deserve. But notice, this small number of generations contrasts that massive number up above. God's loyal love to thousands. Right. And then check this out. God's forgiveness of iniquity in this line is contrasted with his justice on iniquity in this line. Okay, and all those lines are surrounding a central line here about God's justice. He will not declare innocent the guilty. So while God is slow to anger, he is also just. Right. This is the tension that these two sentences are exploring. How does a faithful and loyal God deal with such a rebellious people? This is the challenge God faces in this story. And it's the same challenge he faces in the whole biblical story as he works to rescue the world through this family. With that in mind, we can take a closer look at these five attributes that God declares about himself to Moses.

A God compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, overflowing with loyal love and faithfulness. And we will see how each one leads us deeper into the character of God and into the story of the Bible. You know, Jill, many women struggle because the people that were supposed to protect them, they didn't. And I can still relate. At 17 years old, my mom should have protected me, but she was the one forcing me. to have the abortion. You know, scripture reminds us in Numbers 23, verse 19. Listen to this, y'all. It says, God is not human, that he should lie. Not a human being, that he should change his mind. Guess what, God is not limited by human brokenness. Thank God. Amen to that, right? He does not abandon, betray, or manipulate. Now, this is one of my favorite verses. In Malachi 3, verse 6, it's just simple. I, the Lord, do not change. Listen, God has always been who he is, even when life feels unsafe. You know, some women believe that God expects strength all the time. But scripture tells us a completely different story. In Psalm 103, verses 13 and 14, it says, as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. For he knows how we are formed. He remembers that we are dust. Man, God knows our limits. He knows what pressure does to the human heart. He knows what pressure did to my heart and to your heart.

Compassion is not something God has to work up. Y'all, compassion flows from him. Amen, I just keep saying amen every time you talk, Jill. See, some women believe God moved away from them after their abortion. I was a victim to that belief. I felt that. Yeah, see? And so here's the cool thing. Scripture tells us the complete opposite. OK, so in Psalms 34, verse 18, it says, the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and save those who are crushed in spirit. Man, my spirit was so crushed. And I'll say this again. God does not move away from pain. He draws near to it. And in Romans 8, verse 38 through 39, assures us. And I want y'all to hear this carefully. Neither death nor life nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing we have done has placed us outside of his love, nothing. I hold tightly to that. And we hope that at some point, you will, too. We want to take you back to our friend, Peanut, as she shares a little bit from her story. She shares what began to change as she realized that God was not who she feared him to be,

but who scripture says he is. So take a look at this. I was at a Catholic retreat. And I heard other women speaking about abortion. And I just thought to myself how brave, you know, that they were speaking in front of people that they had an abortion. And I just thought, wow, that's so brave. That they had an abortion. And they were just seemed so free. And I started having these thoughts that maybe I need to seek healing and speak about it, confess it, tell someone. We're going to put a handout on the screen called The Names of God. Every word on this page comes directly from scripture. You might want to take a few minutes and push pause and look at that handout. Make note of the ones that really stand out to you. As you look at it, notice what feels comforting and what feels difficult to believe. I know there were some names that it took me a while to really get a hold of. Lamentations 3, verses 22 and 23, remind us, because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed. For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. God is patient with the process. And He is not rushing you. So take your time.

Yes, please take your time. ♪♪ Before the next episode, we invite you to do a few things. three of this study, and second, complete the responsibility pie. I'm going to explain this to you. Here you go. You have a cute little pie chart. Now, this pie chart is about people that was involved in your abortion, either directly or indirectly. Think about the people you spoke with, the people you avoided. Now, we're not blaming or shamed, shifting the blame on anyone, but I'm going to give you a sneak peek of my pie chart. You see, I have my family, the child's father, myself, and my mom. Now, whoever influenced you the most, get a larger piece of the pie. Once again, this is not about blame shifting, and it's not about excusing sin. It's about the truth. So, Psalm 39 verses 1 and 2 say, you have searched me, Lord, and you know me. God already sees the full picture. He sees the fear and the pressure and the lack of support. He sees all of the circumstances that made up our decision. Proverbs 20 verse 5 says, the purposes of a person's heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out. So, like Lovett said, we're not here to blame shift. We're here to be honest with the Lord. And this is really important, looking at the people that were involved in our abortion decision. Take your time. Fill out the chart. It might surprise you what you see. Let's pray. Father God, thank you for being a loving and unchanging God. Your character gives us comfort, knowing that you love us and you desire to be with us. It gives us confidence because we know that you are able to forgive us and restore what the enemy has stolen. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for covering all of our sin. We ask this in your holy name. Amen and amen. Man, thank you for staying with us. You are running the race. In the next episode, we'll talk about relief and denial. The ways we survive pain when it feels overwhelming. Psalms 139, verse 23 through 24 says, God searches us gently, not harshly. Listen, you are not alone in this.