INTRODUCTION
• SERMON VIDEO
• SLIDE #1
• Imagine someone approached you and said they did not believe in Ford Motor Company.
• I do not believe in Henry Ford; I never met him and do not think he ever existed.
• What would you say?
• Maye you would ask where Ford cars and trucks came from?
• They would say, “Well I believe there was a big bang and all the components to that car evolved over billions of years and over time, they came together to form the Ford trucks along with all their sophisticated components.
• There is a really good chance you would look at your friend and conclude they are on the crazy train, or that they were a fool.
• SLIDE #2
• Psalm 14:1 (HCSB) — 1 The fool says in his heart, “God does not exist.” They are corrupt; they do vile deeds. There is no one who does good.
• Today we begin a new series entitled, WHAT DO I BELIEVE ABOUT…
• Today we being with the subject about God.
• From the man of the street interview, as well as our own life experience, we can see there are a multitude of beliefs concerning God.
• The range of thought runs from some people not believing God in any form exists, to thinking that one day they will be a god, to those who hold to the biblical view of God.
• The subject of God is a very personal and an important subject to examine because our view of God will have eternal ramifications.
• I was once asked what would happen if I was wrong about God, that when you die, you die and that is it.
• My answer was simple, IF that were to happen, I have lived a good life, I have served others, helped and loved others. But What IF I AM RIGHT? What have you lost? Something to think about!
• Today we will debunk a myth concerning God, as well as examining three other truths about the nature of God.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. God reveals Himself to mankind.
• Some think that God is not real, that God cannot be seen, that God has kept Himself hidden from mankind; however, nothing can be further from the truth!
• Let’s look at Genesis 1:1
• SLIDE #4
• Genesis 1:1 (HCSB) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
• When you examine this passage, two things should jump off the page at us. First, God created the heavens and earth. Creation itself reveals God to us, more on that in a moment.
• Second, notice that there is no explanation of God given in Genesis or anywhere else in the Bible.
• There is no attempt to prove His existence, it is simply assumed.
• God did not waste time trying to prove His existence, He wants us to focus on a relationship with Him.
• This is similar to the resurrection and ascension of Jesus we talked about last week. No one to our knowledge saw Jesus exit the tomb, yet the proof if it was His appearance. When we think about God, the proof of His existence is our existence.
• SLIDE #5
• Romans 1:20 (HCSB) For His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse.
• Going back to my opening illustration, NO ONE would say a CAR evolved, or a computer evolved, that over billions of years ago one day the computer evolved all by itself.
• Computers have evolved, but not on their own, people evolved them.
• British philosopher, Dr. Antony Flew, was a leading spokesperson for atheism, actively involved in debate after debate. However, scientific discoveries within the last 30 years brought him to a conclusion he could not avoid. HE WAS A DEIST.
• In a video interview in December 2004 he stated, "Super-intelligence is the only good explanation for the origin of life and the complexity of nature." Prominent in his conclusion were the discoveries of DNA. Here's why.
• SLIDE #6
• DNA in our cells is very similar to an intricate computer program. A computer program is made up of a series of ones and zeros (called binary code). The sequencing and ordering of these ones and zeros is what makes the computer program work properly.
• In the same way, DNA is made up of four chemicals, abbreviated as letters A, T, G, and C. Much like the ones and zero’s, these letters are arranged in the human cell like this: CGTGTGACTCGCTCCTGAT and so on. The order in which they are arranged instructs the cell's actions.
• What is amazing is that within the tiny space in every cell in your body, this code is three billion letters long!
• It has been determined that 99.9% of your DNA is similar to everyone's genetic makeup. What is uniquely you comes in the fractional difference in how those three billion letters are sequenced in your cells. Johnny Deep and I are twins!
• The U.S. government is able to identify everyone in our country by the arrangement of a nine-digit social security number. Yet, inside every cell in you is a three-billion-lettered DNA structure that belongs only to you. This code identifies you and continually instructs your cells' behavior. http://www.everystudent.com/wires/Godreal.html
• Today's announcement represents more than just an effort making triumph of science and reason.
• After all, when Galileo discovered he could use the tools of mathematics and mechanics to understand the motion of celestial bodies, he felt, in the words of one imminent researcher, that he had learned the language in which God recreated the universe.
• Today we are learning the language in which God created life. We are gaining ever more awe for the complexity, the beauty, the wonder of God's most define and sacred gift. Bill Clinton, June 26, 2000
• Francis Collins, director of the Human Genome Project, followed Clinton to the podium stating, "It is humbling for me and awe inspiring to realize that we have caught the first glimpse of our own instruction book, previously known only to God." https://partners.nytimes.com/library/national/science/062600sci-human-genome.html
• I could go on and on on this one; just look at the universe, the earth. Realize the eye cannot evolve, that in all species, a male and a female happened to evolve at the same time with the right parts to procreate? Come on, really, an accident?
• Polling in our culture suggest in a Harris poll taken in 2013, 74% of U.S. adults say they believe in God, but that is down from 82% who felt the same way in earlier years. http://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/poll-americans-belief-god-strong-declining
• What remains a question is which God is the true God and what does it mean to believe in that God?
• SLIDE #7
II. There is one true God.
• In the bible God does not dispute the fact that there are other small g gods.
• Look at what we find in Exodus 20:3, in the 10 Commandments.
• SLIDE #8
• Exodus 20:3 (HCSB) Do not have other gods besides Me.
• The challenge for mankind has been making the decision to follow the true God.
• Scripture claims that God is the one true God, and Jesus affirms that thought.
• SLIDE #9
• John 17:3 (HCSB) This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent —Jesus Christ.
• Now, there may be some people who say, “Does it really matter what religion you are as long as you believe with sincerity? Aren’t are religions basically the same?
• Don’t all roads lead to heaven or God? No.
• Back to John 14, Jesus tells us…
• SLIDE #10
• John 14:6 (HCSB) Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
• The video we showed offered a pretty good representation of how people feel about God, and how many really do not what to have to deal with the concept of God.
• SLIDE #11
• Joshua 24:14–15 (HCSB) “Therefore, fear the Lord and worship Him in sincerity and truth. Get rid of the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship Yahweh. But if it doesn’t please you to worship Yahweh, choose for yourselves today the one you will worship: the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my family, we will worship Yahweh.”
• The people were challenged by Joshua to choose who they were going to serve, the true God or the false gods of their fathers. Who will you choose to serve?
• Next we see…
• SLIDE #12
III. The nature of God is three in one.
• We need to understand the nature of God is one that includes God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Spirit.
• In Deuteronomy we see…
• SLIDE #13
• Deuteronomy 6:4 (HCSB) “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.
• The word ONE denotes that God us unique, that He is one in essence. Like The Anselmi family is one unique unit, so it is with God.
• The word usually used to explain this the the word Trinity, which is not used in the Bible.
• I want to give you two examples from the Bible, one in the old and one in the new to show that all three were in operation.
• SLIDE #14
• Genesis 1:26 (HCSB) Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”
• SLIDE #15
• Luke 3:21–22 (HCSB) When all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. As He was praying, heaven opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: You are My beloved Son. I take delight in You!
• John 1 tells us that Jesus was in the beginning, that He was the agent of creation!
• In Genesis 1:2 we see the Spirit’s involvement in the creation process!
• SLIDE #16
• Genesis 1:2 (HCSB) Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
• Let’s close with this thought.
• SLIDE #17
IV. God’s not dead!
• God is alive and well today!
• God is involved in the world today!
• SLIDE #18
• 2 Corinthians 13:13 (HCSB) The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
• God loves us!
• Jesus provides you a way back to God by offering Himself as a sacrifice for your sins.
• The Holy Spirit brings us back into fellowship with God as we journey through this life as well as bringing us comfort.
CONCLUSION
• The Bible does not try to prove the existence of God; His existence is an assumed fact. God is the uncaused first cause that existed before all.
• God has clearly revealed Himself through creation, through history, as well as the events of the life of Jesus.
• His revelation of Himself to us leaves us without excuse in the end.
• The God who protected Israel and demonstrated power over the false gods declares, I AM!
• The journey of faith begins with our belief in God, then we have to decide if we are going to follow the true God!
• Ok, maybe you believe there is a God, next week we are going to answer the key question, “DOES GOD CARE ABOUT ME?” as we examine WHAT DO I BELIEVE ABOUT A PERSONAL GOD?
