He Alone.."Is The One True God"
John 10:10-11 NKJ
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
We live in a day and age where the accuser..is pulling out all the stops
He has never wavered from his obsession
To take as many souls to hell with him as possible!
Through the years it started as chipping away...and now
It seems like society is using a jack hammer against morality..
And day by day..sometimes moment by moment
we have all witnessed the decay of our basic rights
Right before our very eyes!
There have been many false religions..and many false prophets
over the course of thousands of years..
that Have proclaimed that they were of God...
Some have claimed that they even were God
The accuser has raised up many pretenders
All with what seemed great hopes..and heavy on promises
But each and everyone of them lacking on deliverance! Amen?
When it comes to the things of God..
he has been often imitated
But he has never been duplicated and never will be!
when it comes to the Great God almighty..
there is nothing like the real thing
he is the first and the last
the Alpha and Omega hallelujah praise His Holy Name! Amen?
There have been so many come and go..all the way from Buddha
to the Moonies...
these men "ALL" died and never rose from the grave...let's not forget
and never even came close to fulfilling the promise of deliverance
they promised their followers...
but yet their empty religions live on....
1 Cor. 8:1-6 NKJ
Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. 2 And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.
4 Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
Illus. ALL THE EVIDENCE
Professor Thomas Arnold, for 14 years a headmaster of Rugby, author of the famous, History of Rome, and appointed to the chair of modern history at Oxford, was well acquainted with the value of evidence in determining historical facts. This great scholar said:
"I have been used for many years to study the histories of other times, and to examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written about them, and I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort, to the understanding of a fair inquirer, than the great sign which God hath given us that Christ died and rose again from the dead."
Brooke Foss Westcott, an English scholar, said: "raking all the evidence together, it is not too much to say that there is no historic incident better or more variously supported than the resurrection of Christ.
Nothing but the antecedent assumption that it must be false could have suggested the idea of deficiency in the proof of it."
And when you look around today and you see all the so-called religions in the world…and there are to many to mention
You can ask but one question concerning them
"where is the love? where..is..the..love?"
And I want you to keep this in mind...it was the Religious leaders
of the times who persecuted Jesus...
Religion My friends..Is what nailed Jesus to the Cross
So many think that they have a hold of the real thing and the right thing..
So I ask again..if it's the right thing "where's the LOVE"??
It's true..the biggest thing lacking in the world today is love..
"GODS LOVE"
1 John 4:8 NKJ
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
So much violence… So much unrest..so much chaos
So much of the accuser running too and fro..
masked as and in the name of religion
Way to much of self and self gratification in the world..
All those things running rampant....
What about the Love?
"He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."
Mark 12:29-31 NKJ
29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Religion can't, won't and does not Love...God Does!
Love God and love your neighbor is what
Jesus said were the greatest commandments..
Not the love of self
Eph. 4:6 NKJ
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all
God is the one who makes all things possible for in him all things were created
And the love of God makes all things possible in our lives...
Jesus was very clear...He didn't mix any words about it
Mark 10:27 MSG
27 Jesus was blunt: “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you let God do it.”
Love for God and the Amazing Love of God is what makes all
Things possible! Amen?
We find that same recurring theme all through the Bible...
one of my favorites and we find the amazing story of both in the book of Daniel..
Daniel 6:1-3 MSG
1-3 Darius reorganized his kingdom. He appointed one hundred twenty governors to administer all the parts of his realm. Over them were three vice-regents, one of whom was Daniel. The governors reported to the vice-regents, who made sure that everything was in order for the king. But Daniel, brimming with spirit and intelligence, so completely outclassed the other vice-regents and governors that the king decided to put him in charge of the whole kingdom.
Daniel clearly had the Favor of God on his life....
The favor of God and his love for you can move you light years ahead..
of the others around you and elevate you to positions..
that only He could've got you to in the first place
It's true...I've seen it happen time and time again
In my own life.
And what is the first thing that the world does
and that the accuser tries to do..when you get there?
Plan your demise and RUIN YOU....
That's right..take you down...Tear you down
Daniel 6:6-9 MSG
6-7 The vice-regents and governors conspired together and then went to the king and said, “King Darius, live forever! We’ve convened your vice-regents, governors, and all your leading officials, and have agreed that the king should issue the following decree:
For the next thirty days no one is to pray to any god or mortal except you, O king. Anyone who disobeys will be thrown into the lions’ den.
8 “Issue this decree, O king, and make it unconditional, as if written in stone like all the laws of the Medes and the Persians.”
9 King Darius signed the decree.
Who doesn't love to hear how great they are?
We all do....
Who doesn't want to go along with the crowd
when they think everyone is with them and for them?
Sometimes it takes restraint not to....
No one… Should ever under estimate the craftiness of the accuser
especially when we see what's happening around the world today
But when you have a love for God
and the love of God there is nothing to fear…
TBS (the bible says) that nothing can come between you and the love of God
Romans 8:38-39 NKJ
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Daniel 6:10-12 MSG
10 When Daniel learned that the decree had been signed and posted, he continued to pray just as he had always done. His house had windows in the upstairs that opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he knelt there in prayer, thanking and praising his God.
(You see...even back then they had the p.c. police
But he didn't care what they thought...
He was only concerned about what God thought...
All Christians could learn a lot from Daniel..)
11-12 The conspirators came and found him praying, asking God for help. They went straight to the king and reminded him of the royal decree that he had signed. “Did you not,” they said, “sign a decree forbidding anyone to pray to any god or man except you for the next thirty days? And anyone caught doing it would be thrown into the lions’ den?”
“Absolutely,” said the king. “Written in stone, like all the laws of the Medes and Persians.”
How many of you know it's not always a good idea to go along with the crowd?
How many of you know that going along with the crowd sometimes can get you in trouble or the ones around you in trouble?
That's where the phrase "guilt by association" comes from
Daniel 6:14-15 MSG
14 At this, the king was very upset and tried his best to get Daniel out of the fix he’d put him in. He worked at it the whole day long.
15 But then the conspirators were back: “Remember, O king, it’s the law of the Medes and Persians that the king’s decree can never be changed.”
Illus.
There is an old quote that is relevant here… Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. -- author unknown.
Daniel 6:16 MSG
16 The king caved in and ordered Daniel brought and thrown into the lions’ den. But he said to Daniel, “Your God, to whom you are so loyal, is going to get you out of this.”
See the king here, he knew about Daniel's God...
However it's not enough to know about Daniels God
when you need a miracle...
When you need an answer to a problem...
When you need peace while your going through a situation...
you need to know the one true God in a personal way for yourself..
You need to have your own relationship with him
Something that Daniel Had and wasn't afraid to let
the whole world know either..something the king was lacking in his life
Daniel 6:17-20 MSG
17 A stone slab was placed over the opening of the den. The king sealed the cover with his signet ring and the signet rings of all his nobles, fixing Daniel’s fate.
18 The king then went back to his palace. He refused supper. He couldn’t sleep. He spent the night fasting.
19-20 At daybreak the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. As he approached the den, he called out anxiously, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve so loyally, saved you from the lions?”
God always offers Hope...Even when you don't know him personally
he still offers hope.. And through Daniels faith in God the king was hopeful for his deliverance by his God..
That's why when the world needs deliverance from a catastrophe..
They don't call out to false gods....They call out on the one true God
They always put their faith in the one true God!
Illus. as the old saying goes...there are no atheist in fox holes! Amen?
Daniel 6:21-24 MSG
21-22 “O king, live forever!” said Daniel. “My God sent his angel, who closed the mouths of the lions so that they would not hurt me. I’ve been found innocent before God and also before you, O king. I’ve done nothing to harm you.”
23 When the king heard these words, he was happy. He ordered Daniel taken up out of the den. When he was hauled up, there wasn’t a scratch on him. He had trusted his God.
24 Then the king commanded that the conspirators who had informed on Daniel be thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. Before they hit the floor, the lions had them in their jaws, tearing them to pieces.
There is an old quote that is relevant here… Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. -- author unknown.
1st Peter 5:8-11 MSG
8-11 Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.
God always has the first word and last word...
And every word on everything in between! PRAISE GOD!!
and it's a word that you can trust..even trust with your life
Daniel 6:25-28 MSG
25-27 King Darius published this proclamation to every race, color, and creed on earth:
Peace to you! Abundant peace!
I decree that Daniel’s God shall be worshiped and feared in all parts of my kingdom.
He is the living God, world without end. His kingdom never falls.
His rule continues eternally.
He is a savior and rescuer.
He performs astonishing miracles in heaven and on earth.
He saved Daniel from the power of the lions.
28 From then on, Daniel was treated well during the reign of Darius, and also in the following reign of Cyrus the Persian.
The favor of God continued to follow Daniel the rest of his life..
just like in the Bible it says in Psalms 23
mercy and goodness followed David all the days of his life
And TBS (the bible says) God is not a respecter of persons..
whoever has faith to believe..He will do the same as
He did for Daniel for each one who does....
How much faith you maybe wondering?
Luke 17:5-6 MSG
5 The apostles came up and said to the Master, “Give us more faith.”
6 But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it.
How much faith? Just a tiny amount..just a little bit!
That should give everyone reason to shout "Hallelujah" this morning..Amen
While all the other religions claim to be the real thing…
Only God's love is the real thing.. It's the ONLY thing...
That will deliver you from everything! Amen?
Illus.
In a speech made in 1863, Abraham Lincoln said, "We have been the receipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prospertiy; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us."
Not a whole lot has changed in the last 151 years…
To say that things..have gotten worse is the understatement of a lifetime..
But it's not to late.."ITS NOT TO LATE!"
there is still time to offer up praise
And God can and will turn things around
we can put our faith and trust in the one true God like Daniel did..
and let everyone know that God is still God..
And That all things are possible to him that loves Him!
Illus. Lyrics from the song.."the one true God"
I don't have a God I can put on a stand
Or a God I hold in the palm of my hand
I have a God that's holding me
And I don't have a God that I can create
In the place I live with the money I make
I have a God, He made everything
So I don't need a temporary man-made deity
When I got the real thing, I got the real thing
He's the Lord of all the earth, the maker of all things
He alone is the one true God
Kingdoms rise and fall but even through it all
He remains the one true God
He said if I be lifted up...I will draw all men unto me.
From now until He returns..that is our mission
To do the same as Daniel did...
Lift Him up and be found faithful..
Amen?
Let's pray and trust God for everything
And know that He stands ready to deliver
when we do!
