4) God Is Lord, Light And Love! Series

THINGS MOST SURELY BELIEVED AMONG US

Text: Luke 1:1

Introduction

Read with me once again Luke 1:1

"Forasmuch as many have taken in hand - to set forth in order a declaration…

of those things which are most surely believed among us."

Brethren, we have a firm declaration right here [The Bible] – concerning the things we believe.

Our weekly Bible study allows us the opportunity of opening the Word of God

To see through Chapter and Verse – both what we believe and why we believe it.

Recap

Now it’s no secrete that in the world – people believe in many different things.

So far in our study, as Christians - we have been exploring the fact that we Believe in God.

Only this isn’t just a broad generalised statement...

Because we believe specific things about God – and about His very Nature and Character

As revealed to us through the Scriptures.

For example, in our previous lessons together, we have seen:

The Existence of God, The Evidence of God and The Eternal Nature of God.

We further added to this our understanding to the fact that

God is All Present, All Knowing...and All Powerful.

Now today, I want to talk about three more things that we know and believe about God.

And that is that – 1) God is Lord, 2) God is Light and 3) God is Love.

This is what we believe. But don’t take my word for it – let’s see it in the Bible together.

1) God Is Lord

First of all let me declare - God is LORD.

Now the primary title LORD that is used in the Scriptures is the Hebrew word Jehovah

And it just has a wonderful wealth of meaning when you study it out.

Essentially it can be translated to mean: “The Existing One;”

And it comes from a root word simply meaning “to be”.

And I love this title of our God

Because it reminds me that no matter how bad things seemingly get,

God is a reality.

He does exist…

He is real…

And He has always been - and always will be. Amen!

Turn with me to Isaiah 45:5-6

5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.

So who is God – He is the LORD!

Couple of things to note here.

Firstly, we believe that God is LORD – because this is what He calls Himself

I am the LORD…God says, that’s fairly definitive.

Now interestingly, there are two main Words Translated as “Lord” in the Old Testament

There Jehovah which is used in all uppercase letters in your Bible,

And there is Adonay which is used with capital L and then lower case letters.

And in both instances the title “Lord” emphasises a position with both power and authority...

And the right to rule and reign.

Now “Jehovah” - the word for LORD used here in Isaiah

Has a great deal of meaning.

Firstly, it is used in what language scholars refer to as the to be verb

That is to say, this is the outward expression of one’s self existence.

The English equivalent to the to be verb is - “I am”.

And please note here how God says “I Am - the LORD…”

And since Jehovah itself is used in the to be verb – meaning I Am

In affect, what God is saying is: “I Am, that I Am”.

That’s interesting - isn’t it.

Because in using His own name, God is making a definitive statement about His existence

And remember Jehovah means the “existing one”

I am the LORD, and there is none else, …“I am that I am”...

there is no God beside me:

Please Turn with me to Exodus 3:14-15

In the context here – we find God calling out to Moses from the Burning Bush.

And as God begins to reveal His plan and purpose for Moses life,

Moses gets apprehensive and asks “Who shall I tell the people has sent me?”

Now notice God’s response in verse 14:

14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD [Jehovah] God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.