Sunday’s Sermons

Text: Revelation 4:11                                                        6/8/08 p.m.

Thesis: God’s glory is revealed through the Son and in creation.

 

Intro: Tonight we look at the phrase, “I believe in God the Father, maker of heaven and earth.”

Like all the phrases in the Creed, ours tonight is simple and yet inexhaustible particularly when we’re talking about one sermon on a Members’ Meeting night.

We’ll take the phrase in four related pieces: What does it mean to believe something, what are we saying when we confess God as Father, how does Almighty God effect our lives, and what are the ramifications of believing God is the creator of heaven and earth.

We’ll use Revelation 4:11 as our home base tonight. I want the worship filled truth of this verse to guide every thought.

 

Read Revelation 4:1-11

 

I) When we believe something we consider it to be true

a)      The reason we believe these statements are true is because God has revealed them to us.

i)        As men and women who believe the bible we affirm that there are two sources of God-knowledge.

ii)      We know things about God as a product of natural revelation and special revelation.

iii)    Natural revelation is the footprint of God in creation that is unmistakable to all of humanity.

iv)    Turn to Psalm 19 and let’s look at verses 1-4

v)      Every day, the sun by day and the stars by night, there is a declaration to all people on the earth that there is a God and that he is glorious.

vi)    Turn to Romans 1 and let’s look at verses 19&20

vii)  What the natural world reveals to everyone is that there is a God who is eternally powerful and divine by his very nature.

viii)            That God is divine means that he is not human. He is wholly different from us. He is God.

ix)    This revelation is obvious and has been obvious from the beginning. We get this information about God, namely his divinity and power, from creation; from the things that God has made.

x)      So we need to ask, is natural revelation enough to save a person? No. Salvation is by grace through faith. And the substance of this faith is not there is a glorious God who is powerful and divine.

xi)    The substance of faith is the atoning work of the sinless sin-bearer Jesus Christ for all those who trust Him to provide forgiveness, reconciliation, and eternal life.

xii)  Since natural revelation is not enough to save a person is natural revelation therefore enough to condemn a person?

xiii)            Yes, remember Romans 1:20 says, “So they are without excuse.” Every person suppresses what he/she knows is true and exchanges the glory of the immortal God for a lie.

xiv)             Because natural revelation cannot save there must be more. This is where special revelation comes in.

xv)  Special revelation is the specific communication of God to certain people at particular times.

xvi)            If natural revelation is the footprint God left behind proving he exists then special revelation is the tape recording telling us God exists and why.

xvii)          Natural revelation is the proclamation that God exists. Special revelation is the proclamation, explanation, and interpretation of why God exists.

xviii)        When we talk about special revelation we’re talking about the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments.

xix)            All throughout the bible you have the understanding that God is speaking.

xx)  In the bible there are some 928 verses which claim God is speaking.

xxi)            “Thus says the Lord” was a popular way to put it.”

xxii)          Hebrews 1:1 states, “long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.”

xxiii)        Jesus is the very ‘word of God.’ Meaning Jesus is both the revelation of who God is (Heb 1:3) and the revelation of what God requires of man.

xxiv)        As the perfect God-man Jesus’ life says two things: this is what God is truly like and this is what man is supposed to be.

xxv)          Special revelation then is that communication of God that prepares for Christ, reveals Christ, and interprets Christ so that God is glorified and mankind is redeemed.

xxvi)        When the Apostles’ Creed states, “I believe” this is not a prideful declaration of an explorer who accidentally stumbled onto some hidden treasure.

xxvii)      “I believe” is the humble statement of a sinner saved by grace who is completely at the mercy of God to reveal His great plan of redemption through Scripture.

xxviii)    “I believe” means God has revealed these necessary truths to us through Scripture and we agree with God.

xxix)        So what does the Creed state concerning God?

II) When we believe God is Father we are stating that there is a Son

a)      You cannot be a father without offspring and Scripture clearly reveals God’s only true uncreated child to be God the Son.

i)        God is Father first and foremost because Jesus is His Son. It is true that God is Father of all humanity by his free choice to create.

ii)      It is true that God is Father of all the redeemed by his free choice to adopt a particular people as His own.

iii)    But those are secondary matters while the Father’s relationship to the Son is the primary matter.

iv)    It is because of the Son that there is creation and redemption.

v)      2 Samuel 7 records God’s promise of an everlasting kingdom to David.

vi)    2 Samuel 7:14 is a messianic prophecy applied directly to Jesus.  There God promises, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son” (Heb 1:5).

vii)  Psalm 2:7 which started as an enthronement Psalm for the king is actually a testimony of God concerning Jesus, “You are my son; today I have begotten you” (Heb 1:5).

viii)            It is the word ‘begotten’ that has caused controversy throughout church history.

ix)    If special revelation says that God the Son was begotten should it then be implied that there was a time when the Son did not exist?

x)      Arius, in the 4^th century believed that to beget something is to begin something. This led Arius to claim there was a time when the Son was not. This led Athanasius to respond, the council of Nicea was called, and the Nicean Creed was written.

xi)    We are indebted today to the Nicean Creed for giving us the phrase “eternally begotten”.

xii)  The Son has always existed as the perfect second person of the Trinity; there never was a time when God the Son was not.

xiii)            Turn in your bibles to John chapter 1. Let’s read verses one and two.

xiv)            God the Son has always existed as an un-created being. This is because by his very nature the Son is God who is an un-created being.

xv)  God the Spirit is also an un-created being who has always existed as an uncreated being.

xvi)            Hebrews 2:3 says the Son “is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of his nature.”

xvii)          For as long as God has been glorious the Son has existed as that perfect display of God’s glory.

xviii)        What I want to do is spur you on to think deep and glorious thoughts about God.

xix)            I want this to begin conversations between you and me and you and your brothers and sisters here at Mambrino Baptist Church.

xx)  As long as God has been full of glory the Son has existed as the perfect mirror image of that glory.

xxi)            How do you know the Son has always existed? Because the Father has always been glorious.

xxii)          To see the Son is to see the Father (John 14:9).

xxiii)        We believe in one God who exists as three persons Father, Son, and Spirit.

III) When we believe God is Almighty we are stating that there is none stronger than Him.

a)      God’s power is unstoppable

i)        Let’s look at Isaiah 46:8-11

ii)      God has no competition. There are no other gods and there is no one who is like God.

iii)    There are those who try. Satan tried to be like God but he got whipped.

iv)    Every human tries to throw off God’s rule but in the end everyone who does not submit to God through Christ is cast by God’s decree into hell.

v)      God marks the end from the beginning. The demons don’t do that and humanity doesn’t do that.

vi)    God’s counsel, what he determines to do, will be done.

vii)  What God says will happen will happen.

viii)            Proverbs 16:9 says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

ix)    Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”

x)      In the context of the salvation of God’s people Jesus affirmed the fact that God is the Almighty God.

xi)    John 10:29&30, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

xii)  Our salvation is secure because Almighty God gives us to Jesus who redeems us and keeps us by the power of God.

xiii)            When we make plans we need to always consider Almighty God.

xiv)            James 4:15&16, “you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

xv)  Our arrogance is thinking we are almighty and in control. This boasting is evil.  God is Almighty God and in control.

xvi)            So also, it is God’s choice that makes our choice possible. God brings things to pass and allows things to pass in order to accomplish His perfect will.

xvii)          And since God is Almighty and in control He can be trusted with all that you are.

xviii)        If God is not almighty he cannot be trusted because if he’s not almighty that means someone or something else is. If something is greater than God then God’s will would be easily perverted or stopped.

xix)            Upon his death it was into the hands of the Father that Jesus committed his spirit (Luke 23:46).

xx)  Jesus was able to live the life he lived and die the death he died because he knew the power of Almighty God.

xxi)            As we daily confess our sinful fears while daily growing in our knowledge and fear of God He will become more and more glorious.

xxii)          When we believe God is Almighty we are stating that there is none stronger than Him.

IV) When we believe God is Maker we are stating that He is the owner of everything.

a)      God, the Almighty Father, reveals himself in creation

i)        Let’s get back to Revelation 4:11

ii)      Here is a clear affirmation that God created everything. Everything created is a product of God’s will and action.

iii)    And God was not bound by some outside force to create. God did not have to create.

iv)    God did not need to create. God is the Father, Son, and Spirit. What does creation offer that is better or more fulfilling than Father, Son, and Spirit?

v)      God didn’t create because he was lonely or wanted some people to worship him.

vi)    God didn’t create because he needed some trophy to put in his case.

vii)  Turn to Acts 17 verses 24 & 25.

viii)            We must stand against the arrogance of our times which claims God needs us.

ix)    We must believe the truth that God requires nothing from us in order to be happy.  The truth is we need everything from God.

x)      So God created everything by a free choice of his own will. He was un-coerced. There was no pressure on Him or no need in Him that led Him to create.

xi)    So why then did God create?  God created everything to show us how glorious He is.

xii)  God is worthy of glory, honor, and power because He created everything.

xiii)            We have museums and car shows so that everyone can see and enjoy these beautiful pieces.

xiv)            We exist in order to see and enjoy this truly glorious God.

xv)  The shorter Westminster Confession is exactly right, we were created to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

xvi)            Jesus Christ came to show us the glory of the Father. We have the bible as a living testimony to the glory of the Father revealed perfectly in the Son.

xvii)          And Jesus Christ came to restore us to God so that we can enjoy what is truly glorious.

xviii)        We exist to magnify God. That’s what it means to glorify Him; show the world how big our Almighty God truly is.

xix)            Live and give so that Christ is seen as your treasure. Don’t live and give so that things are seen as your treasure.

xx)  And we exist to enjoy God.  God must be the centripetal center of all that we are and do.

xxi)            He must be what holds everything together or everything will fall a part. He only is satisfying enough to be the eternal center of all our joy.

xxii)          So tonight what we need to do is confess any sinful thought that is pushing God out of the center of our lives.

xxiii)        Ask yourself what is most important to me? I must ask myself what is most important to me.

xxiv)        Is my wife, my family, this church, being successful, or being liked the most important thing?

xxv)          Or is the gloriously strong, almighty, redeeming, and creating God the most important thing?

xxvi)        May God bless us with revival. May God turn our hearts away from what is weak and sinful to what is strong and glorious.

xxvii)      May God turn our hearts to Him.