What Kind Of God Do You Believe In?

Well, if you have a Bible, and I hope you or somebody around you does that you can look on with, let me invite you to open with me to 1 Samuel chapter 2. Feel free to use table of contents if you need to. It’s kind of close to the beginning of the Bible, 1 Samuel. I want to start our time in God’s Word today with a question. Do you believe in God?

Now, this is a question I’ll often ask someone that I just meet or start to have a conversation with about faith. And sometimes people will say no, at which point I usually try to ask a follow-up question. I’ll ask, what kind of God do you not believe in?

And they’ll often say, you know, some big guy in the sky who’s distant from this world and is always watching out for all the things we do wrong, or some deity who doesn’t care about all the evil and suffering in the world or who can’t do anything about it. At which point I’ll respond, I don’t believe in that God either. Then I’ll ask if they would be okay if I shared about the God I do believe in.

And that’s more of how I mean this question this morning. Especially since I’m speaking to you in the church where most of you would say, yes, I believe in God. Let me rephrase the question just a bit. What kind of God do you believe in? I want to encourage you to really think about your answer to this question.

So below a surface level, deep down at the core of your heart and mind and life, what kind of God do you really believe in? As you sing songs to God today, what kind of God are you singing to? As you wake up tomorrow morning, what kind of God are you waking up to?

A man named A.W. Tozer once said, what comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us. Because what you think about God will have a direct effect on what you think about the world and everything in it. What you think about God will determine and is right now affecting how you think about the circumstances you walk through in your life.

What you think about God affects the way you view and act toward people around you in the world, from your family, to your friends, to coworkers, to classmates, to strangers, to enemies. What you think about God will affect the way you think about yourself. Your view of God determined how you viewed yourself in the mirror this morning.

And today I want to show you a prayer from a humble woman named Hannah that reveals a powerful picture of who God actually is and beckons you and me to believe with her in this God in a way that changes everything about you.

So Hannah’s prayer, which in many ways is more like a song or a poem, is a response to God’s provision of a child in her life.

Mike walked us through this last week in 1 Samuel 1. So as a reminder or a summary, if you weren’t here last week, there was this guy named Elkanah who had two wives, which according to God’s word, he shouldn’t have, but he did. And one’s name was Hannah and the other was Peninnah. And Peninnah had multiple children, but Hannah had none, which was like a curse in that day.

And not only was Hannah barren, she was beat down verbally by Peninnah. 1 Samuel 1 calls Peninnah a rival who provoked Hannah grievously. And particularly at the time each year when their family would go up to the tabernacle to worship God, Peninnah would taunt Hannah to the point of tears.

And one particular time at the tabernacle, Hannah was weeping and praying for a child and promising that she would surrender any child she might have to the Lord. And not long after that, Hannah became pregnant. She had a baby boy named Samuel. And sure enough, when he’d grown, Hannah brought Samuel to the tabernacle to serve there. And that’s when we read this prayer.

And I count at least 20 truths about God that Hannah knows in just these 10 verses that lead to five takeaways at least for anyone who believes in this God. So if you’re counting, that’s 25 points. But it’s Secret Church weekend, so in true Secret Church fashion, we’re gonna go pretty quickly through all of this. I hope in a way that in a sense overwhelms you with the wonder of who God is and what this means for our lives. So let’s start with verse one. Hannah prayed and said, my heart exalts in the Lord. My horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies because I rejoice in your salvation.

So let’s just pause there and let me point out that if we were reading the Hebrew, so the original language that most of the Old Testament was written in, including Hannah’s prayer here, in just this first verse, we would be saying that was an epic intro. So here’s why, if you’re taking notes, first truth Hannah knows here about God, God is the fountain of exuberant joy.

She says, my heart, and heart doesn’t just represent her emotions. The heart represents the whole person. My heart, she says, exalts. And this is such a great word. It’s translated in other places in the Old Testament as triumph. As an example, Proverbs 28, 12 says, when the righteous triumph, there is great glory. That’s the same Hebrew word for exalt. That which triumph in a way that brings glory.

So back here, in 1 Samuel, in her whole being, Hannah is basically busting with joy, like she just won a battle, and this joy is found in the Lord, in Yahweh. This is the name God revealed to his people as a picture of his powerful love for them.

And then, so see how her next description of God then takes things to another level. She says, God is the source of absolute strength.

My heart exalts in the Lord and my horn is exalted in the Lord. So what does that mean? Horn? Some translations might have strength instead of horn there because in the Hebrew, the word here is a reference to a horn on a fierce animal that it would raise up in a display of strength or glory, particularly after conquering its opponent. So when you read this picture, picture this guy.

A black rhino, considered one of the most powerful, aggressive, dangerous animals in the world. And Hannah is saying, I have strength like this in the Lord. God is the source of absolute strength. And then she says, God is the guarantee of ultimate victory. Watch this, my mouth derives my enemies.

So this is even more fierce animal language that Hannah pulls in to depict like a predator with its mouth wide open, ready to devour its prey. So when you read this phrase, picture this guy. A hippopotamus. Also one of the deadliest, largest land animals in the world.

And by the way, how is it that we grow up as kids thinking, hippopotamus, this is a cute animal. This would be good to nestle up next to. Like, no. This is a deadly animal. And really, the imagery Hannah uses is an animal who has devoured its enemy, but I want to keep these graphics tame.

And then Hannah takes it up another notch. She says, God is the savior of my soul. She prays all this because I rejoice in your salvation. And she uses this word that describes God’s deliverance from enemies and war or deliverance from sin or deliverance from death. This is the same word Jonah uses when God saves his life from the depths of the sea. Salvation belongs to the Lord. So when you put all this together, you’re thinking, wait a minute, this sounds like more than just a woman who had a child. Now as soon as I say that, I know there are women in this gathering who have given birth to a child and you’re thinking,

No, no, that’s how I felt when that process was over. To which I would say, touche, I can only imagine. At the same time, Hannah’s language here definitely sounds more like an army that’s just defeated an arch nemesis than a mom who just delivered a baby boy.

In fact, watch this, she’s using the same language that the people of Israel used when God delivered them out of slavery and brought them through the Red Sea to free them from the Egyptians who were trying to overtake them.

So right after God split that sea in half and led them through it, brought the sea crashing down on the people who had enslaved them, the Bible says, watch this, Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and the rider, he’s thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation. This is my God.

You see all that similar language?

Don’t miss this. This is so beautiful. So yes, 1 Samuel 2 is a new mom celebrating God’s gift of a baby boy. And at the same time, on a whole nother level, this is Hannah saying, this same Lord, the God who delivered his people from slavery and split a sea in half and led his people through in triumph and glory as their strength and their song and their salvation. This same God, Hannah says, he’s my God.

My heart is bursting with joy in this God. He’s my strength. He’s my victory. And He’s my salvation. He saves me.

Hannah knows God as the fountain of exuberant joy, the source of absolute strength, the guarantee of ultimate victory, and the savior of her soul. And she’s just getting started. Because she also knows, so number five, God is incomparably perfect.

Verse two, there is none holy like the Lord. Then she says it again, there is none besides you. This word, holy, means set apart, like high, above all, in every way. He’s perfect, pure, completely other, different. And God’s holiness defines all of his other attributes. His love is perfect. His justice is perfect. His love

Mercy is perfect, His power is perfect, which then leads to the next picture of God here. God is unshakably powerful. There is no rock like our God. So the imagery of a rock here points to the power of God that makes his people unshakable in him. Over 30 times in the Old Testament, we see God used to refer to as a rock. I’ll show you just a couple of them. Look at Psalm 62, verse two and seven. God alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress. I shall not be greatly shaken. In verse seven, on God rests my salvation and my glory, my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

Hannah is saying, in my God, I am always safe. Because my God has all power.

You jump down for a minute to 1 Samuel 2, 4, Hannah prays, the bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. And the verses that follow, which we’ll look at in a minute, show God’s power that is infinitely greater than the mighty of this world. And as I was reading this this week, just think about it, my mind immediately went to wars happening in the world right now, and different countries flexing military might,

And I just wanna remind us of something we’ve seen before in Isaiah chapter 40, verse 15, when Isaiah is talking about God’s holiness, his incomparable perfection and unshakable power. And Isaiah says, he puts it this way, behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket. All the nations are as nothing before him. They are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

Now remember, we’ve talked about this before. I brought out this bucket again. I’ve used it in an illustration one other time. So there’s a bucket with water in it. I got a dropper. So I’m gonna get a drop of water. And I just want you, when you think about all the headlines and all the nations of the world and all their military might, I wanna make sure you have a right perspective of what you’re reading. Because I wanna show you a picture of the nations before our God. Wait for it. The nations in the hand of our God. All their military might combine. Our nation and every other nation in the world. Our God holds them in the palm of his hand.

You and I have nothing ever to fear from all the nations in this world when this is what they look like in the hand of our God. Wipe it off my pants. Like not only nothing, less than nothing. How do you even, what does that even mean? If I have a cup of nothing in my hands, nations, less than that.

This is where keep things in perspective. View everything in this world through the lens of the greatness of this God. He is unshakably powerful. There is no rock like him. And he is infinitely wise.

Look at what Hannah says next. She says, talk no more so very proudly. Let not arrogance come from your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The Lord is a God of knowledge. In other words, the Lord God knows everything. Just let this soak in for a minute. Let’s just meditate on what it means for God to be infinitely wise. God never learns anything, because he knows everything. He never ponders, wonders, he’s never curious. His wisdom never grows. God never says, if I’d known that, I would’ve done this. Or I didn’t see that coming, I wouldn’t have done this. God always knows what is best.

God is never surprised by anything that has happened, that is happening, or that will happen. God knows all things at all times perfectly. And Hannah points out here, that is not true for us. Talk no more, proud people. Let not arrogance come from your mouth, as if you know anything God doesn’t know.

How many people, including us, question the character of God, or the actions of God, the ways of God, based on what we know? When what we know is literally an infinitely small percentage of what God knows.

And this is really good news, by the way. Just put these last traits together for a minute. What if God was all powerful, but he didn’t have wisdom to know what was best to do with that power? It’d be horrible for the one with all power to not know what is best to do with that power. Or what if God was infinitely wise, but he had no power to do anything with that wisdom? That’d be pathetic, it’d be useless.

But you put infinite wisdom with unshakable power, and by the way, incomparable perfection, you start realizing, indeed, there is no rock like our God. Which then leads Hannah to just start listing all kinds of ways. God, watch this, shows his perfection and power and wisdom on behalf of people in need.

So if you’re taking notes, get ready to write fast. Number eight, God makes the weak strong. We’ve already read this before in verse four. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. God makes the weak strong. Number nine, God makes the hungry full. Those who are full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. He makes the hungry full. Then number 10.

God makes the barren abundant. The barren has born seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. The number seven here is a picture of completion. He makes the barren abundant, which was certainly Hannah’s story. Then check out number 11. God makes the dead alive. Verse six, the Lord kills and brings to life. He brings down to Sheol and raises up.

God has power over death. God has authority to bring, raise to life that which is dead. We’ll do the next two together because they’re both in the next verse. God makes the poor rich and God makes the humble exalted. The Lord makes poor and makes rich. He brings low and he exalts. Now we’re gonna talk in a minute about how all this applies to us, but just feel the wonder of Hannah as she’s just listing out all these ways God works on behalf of those in need.

She keeps going. Number 14, God makes the outcast royalty and God makes the shamed honored. Both of these in verse eight. Check out this imagery. He raises up the poor from the dust. He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. The poor and the needy in the dust and in ash heaps

He lifts up, he raises up to sit with princes from outcast to royalty, to inherit a seat of honor, from a place of shame to a seat of honor. And then look at Hannah’s description of the God who does all of these things. This is the God who, number 16, reigns over all the world.

In verse eight, Hannah says, for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them he has set the world. Man, this imagery, the pillars of the earth, that’s a reference to the foundations of the earth. Hannah says they are, they belong to the Lord. The Lord is the one who set the world on them.

This world is not rotating right now. This earth, this planet is not rotating just naturally. It’s happening supernaturally on foundations this God has set. Now, Hannah, in light of all this, is saying, this is my God. The God who gave me this child is the God who reigns over all the world. And that leads her to make a critical distinction.

Please follow this, number 17. God blesses all who trust in his love. Verse nine says, he will guard the feet of his faithful ones. And this word, faithful, full of faith, trust. Faithful is such a good word. The Hebrew word here is hasid.

And I only mention that because we’ve talked about another Hebrew word before that’s really important that we see all over the Old Testament, hesed. And if you remember, that word is

It’s like one Hebrew word that no English word can come close to capturing. It’s a picture of God’s love and kindness and loyalty and faithfulness and goodness and mercy toward his people, all summed up in one word. So that’s hesed, and so the picture here of faithful is these are the people who are full of faith in that love that God has for them. God blesses all who trust in his love.

And this is where, just to be clear, the Bible does not teach that as soon as you trust in God’s love in your life, that you will immediately become rich with a big family and royal honor in this world. That’s not the point of this passage. The point here is that for all who trust in God’s love, He will not, He will never leave you ultimately in a place of need.

He will raise you up to a place of abundance. Not just in this world, ultimately beyond this world. Which then leads right into the other group mentioned here in verse nine, but.

So he will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness. For not by might shall a man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces. Against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. So yes, God blesses all who trust in his love. And at the same time, God judges all who turn from his lordship.

For all who are adversaries of the Lord, who say I’m gonna live my life my way, not trusting in God’s love and lordship over my life, they shall be cut off from God’s love in darkness as they experience his judgment forever. Which leads to a significant problem because, well, every one of us has turned from His Lordship. It looks different in each of our lives, but every one of us has sinned, has all, we’ve all said to God, I’m gonna live my life my way. Every one of us in absolute arrogance has told God with the way we’ve lived our lives, I know better than you what’s best for my life.

And as a result, every one of us is cut off from God by our sin. And if we die in this state of sinfulness, darkness, before God, we will experience His holy, infinite judgment forever. And it’s that problem that leads to the best part of this prayer. So you keep reading verse 10 here. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed. What does that mean? Like who is the Lord’s king?

The Lord’s anointed who will receive strength and whose horn will be exalted. Keep in mind, at this point, Israel didn’t even have a king. Samuel, Hannah’s son, would one day eventually anoint the first king of Israel, King Saul. But that hadn’t happened yet. All Hannah had at this point were a couple promises in the Old Testament about a king who would come from the line of Jacob and Judah to rule the nations.

But Hannah’s using the same language here that she used earlier about her horn, like her strength, her glory, but now she’s talking about the Lord exalting, raising up the horn, the strength of his anointing, which brings us to this word where we really start to realize, wait a minute.

Hannah, in ways she doesn’t even realize, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is talking about something much bigger than the birth of her baby boy. Do you know what this word anointed is? It’s Messiah. It’s the very first time in the Bible we see this word used in connection with a king who will come to bring salvation to God’s people.

In the New Testament, this word will be translated the Christ. So watch this. Centuries after Hannah prays this prayer, an angel of the Lord comes to another humble woman in a low estate. Anybody wanna guess her name? Mary.

Let’s fast forward to that scene in Luke chapter one and listen to what the angel said to her. Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God, and behold, you will conceive in your womb another barren woman, by the way, but she was barren because she’d never known a man in that way, yet she would bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

You know what Jesus’ name in Hebrew is? Yeshua, which translates salvation. It’s the same word Hannah used in her prayer in 1 Samuel 2.

And the angel continues, he will be great, will be called the son of the most high, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. The throne, oops, oh no.

The throne of his father, David. That’s a reference to a king who will reign over the house of Jacob and Judah and his kingdom will have no end. And in response, Mary sings a song, a prayer to God, and listen to what she says in Luke 1, 51.

He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud and the thoughts of their hearts. And if this language starts to sound familiar, the strength of God, the rock, talk no more proudly in your mind and heart. Then verse 52, he has brought down the mighty from their thrones, exalted those of humble estate. He has filled the hungry with good things and the rich he has sent away empty.

Mary is using the exact same language Hannah used in response to the birth of her baby, and you keep reading further down this same chapter, you hear Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, talking about Jesus, and he prays this prayer. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David. Are you seeing this?

The Lord himself has come to visit the world to redeem his people, all who trust in his redeeming love, and he has raised up a what? A horn of what? Salvation in the house of who? King David.

This is the greatest news in the world. Number 19, God is the king who has come for you and me. God, the rock who rules the world, has come to save you from your sin and me from my sin. And his name is Jesus. He is the Messiah. He is the Christ. And you wanna talk about a horn raised up of one whose mouth derides its enemies?

Jesus has lived the life you and I could not live, a life of no sin, a life of victory over all of Satan’s temptations. And then, even though he had no sin for which to die, he chose to die on a cross to pay the price for sinners like you and me. He took the judgment we deserve in our sin for us, paid the price of sin, death, and three days later, he rose from the grave, horn exalted in glory. Victory over sin, Satan, and death itself.

So that anyone, anywhere, no matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done, anyone who turns from their sin and themselves and trusts in Jesus as Savior and Lord, God will forgive you of all your sin and restore you to relationship with him. You can have relationship with this God for all of eternity through Jesus the victor.

All that leads then to the final attribute of God here, number 20, God is the sovereign who is worthy of all your surrender. Back in 1 Samuel, Hannah takes her most precious possession, her son, and she surrenders him to the Lord there in the tabernacle. You can only imagine how hard that is as a mom. But the Bible tells us that Hannah did so gladly, why?

Because she knows God is the sovereign who’s worthy of all her surrender. And that’s what Tozer means. When he says that what comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.

Because when you truly know and believe in this God, think about it, the fountain of exuberant joy, the source of absolute strength, the guarantee of ultimate victory, the savior of your soul who’s incomparably perfect, who’s unshakably powerful, who’s infinitely wise, who makes the poor rich, the hungry full, the barren abundant, the dead alive, the humble exalted, the outcast royalty and the shamed honored, the king who rules the world, who’s come to live and die and conquer death for you, then everything changes. Think about it. So many takeaways. Here’s a quick five. When you believe in this God, you can view this world with humble confidence.

For all who believe in this world and in this God, you are free from all fear and worry in this world. Because you know the God who rules this world. This applies on the macro level, as you see whatever’s happening in the broader world. This applies on the micro level, as you see whatever’s happening in your world. You can view whatever circumstances you’re walking through, or have walked through, or will walk through, through the lens of the God who is your rock.

The God who holds you in his hands and the God who holds the world in his hands. You can view this world with humble confidence and you can view your life with joyful contentment. You’re not just free from fear and worry, you’re free to exalt and free to rejoice because this God is your God.

In the words of Philippians 4.4, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I’ll say it. Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord’s at hand with you. So don’t be anxious about anything and everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known to this God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard, same language, your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4, 11, I’ve learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, how to abound. In every circumstance, I’ve learned the secret of facing plenty in hunger, abundance in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Oh, to all who know and believe in this God, look in the mirror with contentment.

And the God in whom you can do, you can face, you can endure all things with strength and joy and peace that surpasses all understanding. You can live your life with joyful contentment. And then, when you know, you believe in this God, casual religion will no longer be conceivable to you.

For all who truly believe in this God, it is impossible to be bored with this God, to be apathetic toward this God. Monotonous religious motion makes no sense before this God. When you realize this is who you’re praying to, this is who we’re singing to, this is the one whose word we’re hearing from right now,

Then your affections will be awakened. Your mind will be awed. Your heart will be amazed by this God. I was talking with one older brother in Christ as he was leaving, just visiting today. Another church out of town. He just walked up. His jaw was wide open. He just said, I don’t know what else to say before this God. He was just so overwhelmed. Tears coming out of his eyes like,

This is what it means to know this God. To walk with this God is to enjoy this God.

Like prayer, Bible study, worship, those are not duties for us. That is delight for us. This is not, okay, I guess I should get up and pray in the morning. Are you serious? This God has invited you to commune with him? Why are you not running there, David? I’m saying this to myself. The mornings I wake up and say, oh, I’ve got so much to do. What am I thinking? I’ve been invited to be with this God? To hear from this God?

To come together with people to worship this God? This is not, okay, how can I get out as quick as I can so I can get to other stuff in this world? What are we thinking? Look at this God. Casual religion cannot be conceivable to us if we really believe in this God. And total surrender will no longer be negotiable for you. When you actually believe in this God, you will realize the utter foolishness of saying, I don’t know if I can trust you with that.

Who else are you going to trust? Yourself? Look at your knowledge and His knowledge. Look at your wisdom and His wisdom. Look at your power and His power. You realize, the most foolish thing I could do is trust in myself. Or this person or that person or this thing or that thing in this world. None of them compare to this God. So you gladly say, everything.

Now it makes sense, die daily to yourself. Of course I wanna die daily to myself because I know he’s the author of life and life is only found in total surrender to him. So yes, fear living with trust in yourself and be free to live with trust in this God and his love for you.

Total surrender will no longer be negotiable for you. And number five, global mission will no longer be optional for you because when you know this God, you realize he is too good, he is too great, he is too glorious to keep to ourselves. It makes zero sense to try to cajole each other into sharing the gospel. Are we serious?

This God, we know personally, he saved us from eternal suffering, brought us into everlasting life with him, and I need to be cajoled to tell somebody else about that? Our lack of evangelism is a symptom of a deeper root. It’s lack of knowledge of God.

Surely it shouldn’t be, let’s pray for the nations, let’s give to the nations, let’s go to the nations, come on, come on, come on. No, that’s automatically how you live when you know this God. You want the world to know this God. It all comes back, or you see it, it all comes back. Do you believe in this God? That’s the critical question. Go below the surface.

What do you really believe, because the danger is, if we’re not careful, instead of seeing this God, we can create God to be a lot like us, a God we’re comfortable with, a God who’s okay with our casual, apathetic religion, lives, who’s okay with us spending our resources on ourselves, who’s okay with a nice, comfortable Christian spin on the American dream.

And the danger is we basically take God and we put him in our image. A nice middle class American God, middle class American Jesus who looks like us and thinks like us and now follow this when we gather together in settings like this and we sing our songs and we lift our hands, the reality is we’re not actually singing to and lifting our hands to God, we’re singing and lifting our hands to ourselves.

And we’re doing it under the guise of worshiping God. May it not be so in our lives. May it not be so in this church. Let’s see the glory of our God. Let’s surrender our lives and let’s live like we know this God. Do you believe in him? And if not,

If not, like truly like, and maybe again, this is your first time in church, or maybe you’ve grown up in church, but the truth is, I was just thinking about one brother in Christ this week who, I can’t remember how old Jim was, 50-something, grown up in the church all his life, and realized, I don’t actually know this God. So, if the answer to that question, honestly, before God is no, then let this be the day.

God’s brought you here. You’re not here by accident. He wants you to know him. This is Jeremiah 9. Do not boast in the strength and wisdom and might and money of this world. Let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me. Let this be the day where you realize, this is my boast, my only boast. I want to know God. He’s made it possible through Jesus. Trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord of your life.

For all who would say, yes, I believe in this God, then here’s the second question. What in your life right now is inconsistent with belief in this God? And just take inventory. What fears and worries are present in your life that don’t make sense if you believe in this God?

What sin in your life is not consistent with belief in this holy God? Have you in any way grown casual or apathetic in your relationship to this God? Is there anything in your life you’ve not surrendered or not surrendering right now to this God? And how is he calling you to make his glory known in this world?