Our creed isn't what we say with our lips but what we live
with our lives.
1.
Words are powerful.
1.
They have the potential to bring us
together and the potential to tear us apart.
2.
Since the beginning of time, words
have carried an incredible amount
of weight.
of weight.
3.
God spoke and creation took place.
1.
In an address to the Canadian
Parliament, President John F. Kennedy declared, “What
unites us is far greater than what divides us."
2.
He sought to bring together two
countries in agreement focusing not on their differences, but on that which
might bring them together.
4.
How much more is this declaration
true for those who believe in the name of Jesus?
Romans 10:9 "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus
is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will
be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with
God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved."
5.
There is a power when what we believe
in our hearts is brought together with the confession of our lips.
1.
Faith means agreement.
1.
Faith believes that certain things
are true.
2.
Faith means trust.
1.
Faith is saying, “yes” to
God.
2.
It’s a decision, an act of our will to
trust God.
3.
To say “I
believe”
is to trust that God is actually who He says He is.
4.
It is to trust that He will actually
do what He says He will do.
3.
Faith means commitment.
1.
"I believe" is a public
declaration of one’s
commitment God.
2.
To believe in God is to belong to
God.
4.
Faith means obedience.
1.
Faith leads us to obedience.
2.
It is a willingness to trust and obey
the God who has called us to faith in Him.
3.
When Christian’s say, “I
believe in God” they are not
merely making a cerebral assertion.
4.
They are proclaiming a commitment to
lean into God, to encounter the real person that is God.
5.
They are committing to being shaped
and changed by the person they meet.
1.
There is a crisis of faith raging
today in the world and in the church.
1.
Many people claim to believe in God
but do not know the God in whom they believe.
2.
Sadly, we in the church have often
perpetuated this problem by reducing the gospel to its lowest common
denominator and failing to discover, and display the full panoramic of the
gospel.
1.
It is my great hope that as we work
through the Creed, our knowledge of God would increase; our will would be fully
persuaded; and our heart would fully trust in the glorious love of God the
Father, the redeeming grace of God the Son, and the sanctifying work of God the
Spirit.
2.
What we believe determines how we
behave.
1.
I believe in God the Father.
1.
God is a good Father who wants good
things for His children.
2.
Matthew 6 Jesus tells us that we can
call God “Father.”
3.
In fact, if you want to do an
interesting study, read Matthew 6 and circle the word “Father” every
time it appears.
1.
Jesus was obviously making a point.
Matthew 7:9-11 9 "You parents if your children ask for
a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a
fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know
how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly
Father give good gifts to those who ask Him."
2.
Many of us may have had damaged or
distant relationships with our biological fathers, but Jesus teaches in this
text that God is good and He wants good things for His children.
Romans 8:15 tells us we can
call God, “Father!” "So you
have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received
God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him,
"Abba, Father."
4.
And the book of Ephesians references
God as Father again and again.
1.
Here's a list of some of them:
1.
Ephesians 1:2-3
2.
Ephesians 1:17
Ephesians 2:18 18 "Now all of us can come to the
Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for
us."
3.
Ephesians 3:14-21
Ephesians 4:6 4 "For there is one body and one Spirit,
just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father, who is over all and
in all and living through all."
4.
Ephesians 5:20
5.
Ephesians 6:23
1.
God is the Father of all fathers.
2.
I believe in Jesus Christ the Son.
1.
Jesus never wrote a book, never ran
for office, never led an army or even invented anything, yet He is the most
talked about, studied and revered person, by Christians and non-Christians
alike, who has ever lived.
2.
If you want to get to know Jesus I
could recommend nothing better than reading the Gospels.
3.
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all tell
parts of the story of His life, in John 21:25 "Jesus also did many
other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could
not contain the books that would be written."
John 1:14 "So the Word became human and made His home
among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His
glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son."
4.
There are SO many verses about the
greatness of Jesus.
5.
John 8:1-11 When Jesus stood up for
someone condemned to die.
1.
Brings Romans 8:1 to mind!
1.
What the law was unable to do Jesus
was able to fulfill and more for all people, for all eternity.
Mark 10:46-52 46 "Then they reached Jericho, and as
Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named
Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road. 47 When Bartimaeus
heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of
David, have mercy on me!" 48 "Be quiet!" many of the people
yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, "Son of David, have mercy on
me!" 49 When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, "Tell him to come
here." So they called the blind man. "Cheer up," they said.
"Come on, he's calling you!" 50 Bartimaeus threw aside his coat,
jumped up, and came to Jesus. 51 "What do you want me to do for you?"
Jesus asked. "My rabbi," the blind man said, "I want to
see!" 52 And Jesus said to him, "Go, for your faith has healed
you." Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the
road."
6.
How He hears people who cry out for
help, and always does way more than we could imagine.
Matthew 8:1-4 1"Large crowds followed Jesus as He came
down the mountainside. 2 Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached Him and knelt
before Him. "Lord," the man said, "if You are willing, You can
heal me and make me clean." 3 Jesus reached out and touched him. "I
am willing," He said. "Be healed!" And instantly the leprosy
disappeared. 4 Then Jesus said to him, "Don't tell anyone about this.
Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering
required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This
will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed."
7.
How He was willing to reach out and
touch the “untouchable!”
II Corinthians 5:21 21 "For God made Christ, who never
sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God
through Christ."
8.
How He became sin for us!
1.
Jesus became the payment for all
mankind.
1.
Jesus Christ is God’s unique revelation of Himself to all
humanity.
2.
Jesus is unique in His beginning; He
doesn’t have one.
3.
Jesus is unique in His end; He doesn’t have one of those either.
4.
Jesus is unique in His sovereignty; He
is King of kings and Lord of lords.
5.
Jesus is unique in His sacrifice; He
died so that you and I might live.
6.
Jesus is unique in His resurrection
from the dead; God raised Him first, so that we might follow.
7.
Jesus is unique in His place in
history; we mark time from before and after His birth. You can’t write or look at the date without declaring He is real
with BC and AD, those markers revolve around His place in history.
3.
I believe in the Holy Spirit.
1.
The Holy Spirit was present in
creation, He is present in salvation, He is present in the church, present in
baptism, He is the Fire Baptizer, He was present to author the scriptures, He
unifies, directs and grows the church, their mission, He is present to lead us,
guide us, convict us, and teach us truth.
2.
The Holy Spirit gives faith, gives
fruit, gives gifts, gives life, drawing us, sanctifying us, He helps us pray, He
helps us live, and He anoints us.
1.
The Holy Spirit provides.
1.
Direction.
1.
Notice an awesome story in Luke
2:22-35, Jesus' dedication to God.
2.
Luke tells us that Joseph and Mary
were acting in accordance to the Word of God.
1.
That was their life standard.
2.
Their entire belief system.
Luke
2:25-27 25 “At
that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and
devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The
Holy Spirit was upon him 26 and had revealed to him that he would not die until
he had seen the Lord's Messiah. 27 That day the Spirit led him to the Temple.
So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law
required, 28 Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God,
saying,”
3.
Luke tells us that the Spirit of God
moved Simeon.
4.
Pay attention to this, the Holy
Spirit and the Word of God work together, never in opposition to one another!
1.
The Spirit was upon him, but the
Spirit is in us.
2.
The Spirit of God
still reveals-exposes, makes known, discloses, makes public, uncovers, and
shows God’s will, plan, purpose, and love.
2.
The Spirit provides attention.
1.
He will always point us to Jesus.
John 14:15-21 "If you love me, obey my
commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another
Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into
all truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it isn't looking for Him and
doesn't recognize Him. But you know Him, because He lives with you now and
later will be in you. 18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come
to you. 19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since
I live, you also will live. 20 When I am raised to life again, you will know
that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Those who accept
my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love
me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of
them."
3.
The Spirit provides peace.
John
14:25-27 25 “I
am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the
Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that
is, the Holy Spirit—He will teach you everything
and will remind you of everything I have told you. 27 "I am leaving you
with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And
the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or
afraid.”
And
John
16:12-14 12 "There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can't bear
it now.13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He
will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you
about the future.14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives
from me.”
And
John 14:27
"I am leaving you with a gift—peace
of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So
don't be troubled or afraid."
And
Philippians
4:6-7 6 “Don't
worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and
thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God's peace, which
exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds
as you live in Christ Jesus.”
You don’t
have to be good at being good for God to love you.
That is the God we believe in, the God who loves us, the
God who in Jesus saves us, the God who reaches out to us when we are not
capable of reaching back through the Holy Spirit.
I believe, do you?
No comments:
Post a Comment