What Do You Believe? Series

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE?

On this first watch night and on each night for the remainder of this week, we would like to focus on and establish a series of sermons centered around the Theme Verse for this revival. The theme verse, as found on our program is Philippians 1:19 which reads, “For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” Please note that Paul begins this verse by saying, “For I Know”. And how many of you know tonight that when you know something without a doubt, then you are actually believing in that thing that you know. For example if you were the coroner who performed the autopsy on Elvis or rapper turned actor, Tupac Shakur. Then you would know, without a doubt in your mind, that despite all of the rumors of Elvis sighting, despite all of the rumors that Tupac is still laid up somewhere writing and recording music, you would believe that those folk are crazy and that Tupac and Elvis were just mere mortals who have exited life as we know it. Have I got a witness?

So tonight, on this first watch night, I would like for you to turn to Romans Chapter 10 and Verse 9 where we would like to pose a important question tonight.

Text: Romans 10:9. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and

shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt

be saved.

Subject: WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE?

In these United States of America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, we have the privilege of being able to express our opinions and our views on most matters, because the United States Constitution guarantees freedom of speech as well as freedom of religion. And I think that it is because of these freedoms that we now live in a society dominated by opinions and beliefs.

There are people who believe in the political system of this country, and have united together as Republicans, Democrats, or some other sociopolitical group to share their common beliefs and their commons goals. There are people who believe that all other races, religions, and cultures are inferior to those of the white Anglo-Saxon Protestants. And having this belief, they become eligible for membership in hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan or the Neo Nazi parties. There are people who believe in god, but who do not believe that Jesus was and is the Son of God. They practice religions such as Islam giving all of their praise to Allah. They practice Buddhism, worshipping the little oriental looking fat guy in the form of a statue. Have I got a witness?

And then when you get right down to it, there are even people like us. Who have confessed with our mouths the Lord Jesus, and are supposed to believe in our hearts that GOD has raised him from the dead. We call ourselves Christians and are supposed to believe that Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of the living God…..that he died and rose again with all power in His hands. We are supposed to believe that because of our so-called belief in Him, that we have been washed free of our sins and that death no longer has a hold on us.

We should believe and expect Jesus to return for us on the day of judgement where we should expect to go home to live with Him forever. We are supposed to believe in the word of GOD. This is what we are supposed to believe as Christians. This is what we are supposed to live by as the law that governs our daily existence. But my brothers and sisters, I’ve seen far to many things happen right in the church that are contrary to the teachings of the Bible. So again I ask, what do we truly believe?

You see with as much sin as that which goes on right here in the church, I can’t believe that we can truly look ourselves in the mirror and say that we believe in Jesus. If we believed in Jesus then we wouldn’t be scandalizing the names of other folk behind their backs. We wouldn’t be shooting deadly darts filled with venomous poison in their backs. We wouldn’t be spreading lies and rumors all of the time. But instead if we believed in Jesus we would be spreading HIS love. We would be doing HIS will. For Jesus told us in John 14:15, that if you love me, keep my commandments. Have I got a witness?

But instead of keeping his commandments, we come to church Sunday after Sunday and talk about how good the LORD has been to us and then we head right back out the door, by-pass our own house, and keep right on to somebody else’s house where we practice our so-called good religion by committing adultery…..by fornicating…..by practicing homosexuality and lesbianism….by going to the bootlegger’s house…..by tipping in the whore house. By doing everything that we KNOW a child of God is not supposed to do. And then we have the nerve to talk about somebody else. But baby don’t you know that the word of God says that whatever is done in the darkness will be brought to the light. Now ya’ll should know that I’m not talking about anybody, I’m just doing what? Saying what I’m saying.