What Am I To Believe Series

What am I to “Believe?”

Hebrews 3:1-19

* Blessed or Busted by God, which is it? If you were standing before Jehovah today, would He give you a word of blessing or would He view your life as unsatisfactory? Today we conclude this series of messages & hopefully, make the decision to live our lives so that God is free to bless.

* (Text Call) Two weeks ago we began this series by asking “What Am I to Be?” Our call was to ‘be sure of our salvation’, ‘be passionate in our worship’, ‘be godly in our priorities’, and ‘be spiritual in our prayers.’ Then last week we asked, “What Am I to Become” and the answers we found were; become a purveyor of grace, an encourager, a walking invitation, and a promoter of unity. All 8 of these calls are practical tools to help us place ourselves in the spiritual position to be blessed by God.

* Today we end this series with this question; “What am I to Believe?” And to glean these truths we begin in Hebrews 3. Let’s read together.

* Belief is a ‘life-changing’ commodity. It was belief that gave Daniel the strength to face the lion’s den, it was belief that gave the 3 Hebrew boys the courage to be thrown into the Lion’s den, it was belief that caused Lottie Moon to leave her home & give her life in China, and it is belief that controls your & my actions. We “DO” what we believe, the rest is just TALK.” If we expect to be blessed by God, then we must believe right. Consider 4 truths;

1. God is able – This is a decisive statement which has no hint of question, God IS ABLE. Written across the pages of the Bible are the truths that God can do anything, He is able! He is able to part the water, bring water from a rock, and He is even able to flood the earth with water. He is able to send down fire from Heaven to destroy those wicked cities known as Sodom & Gomorrah, to hang a fiery cloud in the sky to lead His people, and even to send a fiery chariot to retrieve Elijah. But God is also able;

a. To Create – Our Hebrews passage says it so clearly in verse 4 (Read). The one who built, constructed or created EVERYTHING IS GOD. Genesis says, “In the Beginning God created the Heavens & Earth.” The question of “how He did it” is answered there in the text when it says, “HE SAID”. God creates by the power of His word. While God created the heavens, the earth, the animals, and even humankind, God created, designed, and planned a way for you and me to have a relationship with Him. He doesn’t desire a ‘long-distance’, ‘arms-length’ relationship, but an up close personal relationship. Here’s our problem; we are dishonest, deceitful, and doomed. Candidly, on our own we have no hope of being right with God. We are shamefully sinful beyond our ability to change.

* We are hopeless and helpless – and sadly, we don’t & won’t know it.

* Like the scriptures says, “But God.” Think about those two words in this way, “We are hopeless BUT GOD who is rich in love toward us” created a way for us to know Him. For you & me, it begins with His Holy Spirit.

b. To Convict – It was in the upper room where Jesus made it clear that the Holy Spirit would come to us to convict. Let’s read John 16”7ff. When He comes, His job is to convict us of our sin. In Acts 2 at the conclusion of Peter’s message, the scripture records, “They were pricked (pierced, or cut) in the heart.” They were convicted by the Holy Spirit about their need for Jesus. They were drawn by the 3rd person in the trinity to a relationship with God through the person of His Son, Jesus. They were convicted and convinced of their need and those who accepted the message & believed were baptized and added to the church. This was only the beginning.

c. To Change – God never comes in and leaves things as they are. Our God is a God who is able, willing, and will change things, these things include YOU. IF God has a place in my life, then my life will be changed. Scripture says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW CREATION.” A new creation is different than the old one. God has the ability to change your life, your heart, your desires, your likes & dislikes. He can take the worst situation you face and turn it into something God.

* The million dollar question is; do you believe He is able? Does your life reflect what you say you believe?