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“Hear O Israel.  The Lord our God.  The Lord is one!  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”  Deuteronomy 6:4-5

1. God is ONE!
   
   
2. Love God with your whole being—heart (passion), soul (depth), and strength (effort).

To love requires to know.  To know requires to learn.  To learn requires that you inquire. To inquire requires you to listen.  To listen will require desire.

It is my prayer that you will desire to listen and learn so that you can love the one true God with all your being. 

Prayer of Dedication

The Evangelical Free Church of America

• Major on the majors. Minor on the minors.
  
  
• On the essentials unity. ON the non-essentials charity.
  
  
• We will divide over the essentials, but we will address with robust discussion over the non-essentials. We will walk away invigorated by the challenge of the differences of biblical interpretations. 

We now begin our series of what we believe.  The essentials.  The majors.  We begin with GOD.

Read Exodus 3:1-15 (Letting God introduce himself)

God’s name is YHWH Yahweh…the Lord. He is self-existent.  (15)

• He has always existed. Exists now and will always exist forevermore.
  
  
• His name is covenantal.
  • It is personal as opposed to traditional and pagan ideas of god.
  • His name is relational. He engages.

God is the “One True” God.  Singular and absolute.  (14)

• “I AM WHO I AM” Hebrew-  hayah
  
  
• Who is God? Are there other gods?  Who is sovereign and has final say?  “I AM”
  
  
• He is the very essence of truth.
  • His words are flawless. Psalm 12:6
  • He is the source of truth that we take refuge in. Proverbs 30:5-6
  • He leads in truth. John 14:6

God is holy.  THE HOLY. (5)

• Our approach to Him is different from anyone or anything.
  
  
• Holy—God is “set apart.”
  • Without sin.
  • Without imperfection.
  • He lacks nothing.

God is unchanging in His nature.  (15)

• He does not change.

Malachi 3:6a “I the Lord do not change…”

• He is not like humans who change their mind as if new information was possible for him.

Numbers 23:19 “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”

• He is perfect.
  
  Psalm 18:30 “As for God, his way is perfect; The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.”

Encountering and responding to the Holy God.

• Worship- Taking shoes off was a posture of worship. (5)
  
  
• Confession- Immediate confession of being unworthy to approach. Isaiah 6:5
  
  
• Fear- in awe of the reality of God. Respect with full submission.

God wants a holy people.

• He will make you holy.
  Hebrews 10:10 “And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

• We are to pursue being holy.
  1 Peter 1:16 “…Be holy as I am holy.”

• His work invites us into His holy presence.
  Hebrews 10:19-22 “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” 

Benediction:

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. ²⁴ God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.” NLT