Things Most Surely Believed Among Us
Part 1: We Believe In God!
1) Existence of God, 2) Evidence of God, 3) Eternal Nature of God
TEXT: 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,"
Do you know what you believe?
Brethren these are the things most surely believed among us
And like us – Luke declares that many have come before us...
Taking up these truths in hand – to openly declare them before others.
These are the things most surely believed – and these are the truths we seek to share.
Brethren, it is my hope – that in these weekly Bible studies
You will be both encouraged in the faith and made certain of what you believe.
Now there is much to our faith – and many, many truths are covered by the Word of God,
So we will keep things simple, and every week – we will open God’s Word...
And we will let Him teach us what we believe – through chapter and verse.
And as we establish one truth this week...we will seek to build upon it with another truth next week,
Every week adding to our knowledge of God...
So that we can all be certain of what we believe.
Remember God has called us to reach out to others by sharing the truth with them.
This is His will and His plan and purpose for our lives.
Jesus said in the Great Commission of Matthew 28: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
And Paul adds to this I Timothy saying:
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
(1 Tim 2:3-4)
God wants us to go and teach...
God wants us to go and share the truth of the Gospel – so that others might be saved
But in order to effectively teach others...
And in order for us to effectively share our faith across the nations...
We must first know what we believe.
We must be certain of ...those things which are most surely believed among us
Do you know what you believe?
Because this is what our weekly Bible studies are going to be all about.
They are going to be about equipping and grounding you in the faith,
So that you can do what God has called you do.
It’s going to be about teaching you – those things that we believe.
And so understanding this – we now need to begin to lay a foundation of truth.
Something that we can add too and build upon every week,
And so here is the first absolute truth we believe: We believe in God!
This may seem a little obvious and perhaps somewhat simple to state,
But if we are going to be reaching out to others...and teaching them the truth,
This will always be where we start – we believe in God.
But for me - this isn’t just a general statement.
God is not an abstract concept or vague idea that I hold too.
You see I believe in God – but I also believe very specific things
About His Nature, His Character, and His Power – as it is revealed to us in through the Word.
And God is so great...and He is so vast...
We could ever possibly hope to cover everything we believe about Him in one lesson.
So today I want to touch on three things:
I want us to look at the Existence of God
I want us to look at the Evidence of God...and...
I want us to look at the Eternal Nature of God.
1) Existence of God
So lets talk about the first point...
I believe that God is Real and that He Exists.
God exists - And His existence has no beginning or end.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. (Revelation 1:8)
You see - God has always been present - and will always be present.
Irrespective of the past or the future – God exists!
So what do the Scriptures say about God’s existence?
Well the first thing I think we need to come to terms with is the fact
That God has always existed – without the need for anyone or anything.
Turn with me to Psalm 90:2
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
Amen God exists outside of our comprehension of time and space.
In fact, what we are told here is that even before the world began – God existed.
God has always been - and always will be...
And he needs nothing to sustain His existence.
Turn to Isaiah 44:6
Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Again what does God say?
“I am here - and I have always been here”
“Long before you were – I was...
And long after you are gone I will remain...”
“I exist outside of everyone and everything.”
“All must come through me...
And nothing will end without me - I am the first and the last”
…and beside me there is no God
Brethren this is what we believe – God Exists.
2) Evidence of God
So we believe in the Existence of God as shown through the Word...and...
But we also believe in the Evidence of God – as seen in His creation.
Now I don’t know about you – but I believe that the Evidence of God in this world is clear.
You won’t find this evidence in Science - and you won’t find this evidence in Evolution.
But God provides Evidence of His existence to us all the same.
Now for those people who don’t yet know or believe in God,
The need for tangible evidence of His existence - can become a big problem for them.
They say things like - “Well If God is real - I want to see the Proof”
“I want Him to show me a sign – then I’ll believe”
Brethren - please understand you are not here to prove the existence of God
And neither do you have to provide the people with a sign.
Jesus said: A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. (Matthew 16:4)
You know Jonah was swallowed whole by a great fish and presumed dead.
He remained hidden in the heart of that fish...
Until He was miraculously delivered before all to continue God’s work.
And this was of course, a reference of what was yet to transpire in Jesus life.
Jesus said: “You want a sign – look at what happened to Jonah...
Because the only sign your going to get from me...
Is my death, burial and resurrection on the third day.”
Creation Proves God Is Real
Guys we live in “a wicked and adulterous generation”...
And they want to see the signs and the evidence of God’s existence.
The truth is all the signs and the evidence have already be given...
And even now they can be readily seen - by all who have the heart to believe.
Let me show you the evidence now. Turn with me to Psalm 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
The term firmament used here in the Hebrew refers to “the sky” and surrounding “atmosphere”. While the term heavens really refers more to “the stars” and to the wider “universe”.
So the Psalmist says – if you want to know whether God exists...Just take a look into the skies above,
Because every sunrise and every sunset...
And every single one of the stars above – is evidence of His existence.
Hebrews 1:10 adds to this idea saying:
And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
From the skies above to earth beneath our feet....
All of it reveals to us the wonderful works of God.
No one else could do this – its evidence of God’s very existence.
Turn to Romans 1:20
For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
The Lord Himself may stand invisible to most...
But His very own creation stands as evidence to His existence.
His creation proves His very power and Godhead the Scriptures declare...
So that they [those needing a sign] are without excuse.
No one is going to be able to stand before God on the day of judgement
And say: “Well I just didn’t know you were real”...
Because on that day God is going to say – “All of creation itself proved that I am real!”
You see the truth is – all of Mankind is given the opportunity to Believe In God or to Reject God
And the Bible says any man who denies God’s reality is a fool!
Psalm 14:1 - The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.
You see – God’s evidence is everywhere for those who have a heart to see it.
This is what we believe! Amen.
3) Eternal Nature Of God
So far today, we have touched on the Evidence of God and the Existence of God
Let us now turn our attentions towards the Eternal Nature of God
God is Eternal – Turn to 1 Timothy 1:17
Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
I like how the Apostle Paul makes reference to our Lord here...Because this is what we believe.
We believe in an Eternal King...
We believe in His immortal body...
And we believe in His Invisible presence...all of which is manifest in the only wise God,
To whom we will be giving praise and glory to forever and ever – Because God is eternal.
Turn to Psalms 41:13
Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.
Before all of creation as we know it – God existed.
From everlasting to everlasting – He is God! Amen.
The phrase from everlasting and to everlasting in the Hebrew really refers to
“An expression of time - that exists outside of time itself”
In other words, time is not even a factor in God’s existence – because He is eternal.
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. – 2 Peter 3:8
Psalms 93:2 says:
Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.
Deuteronomy 33:27 says
The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms:
Brethren – we believe in an Eternal God with everlasting arms
Aren’t you glad that in a world that is falling apart around us...
We know serve and believe in an Everlasting God.
And do you know what...
It’s because we believe in an Eternal God,
That we know we will can receive eternal life of Him.
And this is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life. - 1 John 2:25
Only an eternal God can give eternal life!
Conclusion
So what then can we say and how can we best conclude this message?
Well I think we can safely say – We Believe in God!
But this isn’t just a broad and general statement for us - is it?
No – we believe very specific things about God as He reveals them to us through His Word.
Firstly, We believe in the Existence of God
People God is Real!
He has always been - and always will be.
And His existence has never been dependent on anyone or anything.
Secondly, We believe in the Evidence of God
We are not here to prove God’s existence...
And God certainly does not need us to argue on His behalf,
Because the truth is – there is evidence of His reality all around in creation.
Thirdly, We believe in the Eternal Nature of God
From everlasting to everlasting – He is God!
We believe in an eternal God – Who gives eternal life to all who would but believe.
These are just a few of the things...that are most surely believed among us!
Join us next week – and we will discover some more.
