THERE IS A GOD

 THERE IS A GOD

I love the way the Bible begins. 

 

Genesis 1:1 (NKJV) In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

 

There is not an argument here; there is not a defense here. There is only a bold declaration: In the beginning, God! This is the beginning point of our faith. God exists and He has revealed Himself to us in creation, the Bible, and the Lord Jesus Christ!

 

As we continue the series, Does It Really Matter, the second tenet of our church’s statement of faith is also a bold declaration of this truth. 

 

We believe that there is only one God, eternally existent in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 

Today, I want to look at this statement and talk about the hope it gives us. I am not here today to win an argument or give you an apologetic proof of God’s existence. I only want us to know the blessings that have come to us because the infinite God became imminent to His creation; the eternal God broke into time and space because He loves us and wants to intervene in our lives! In the beginning, God!

 

1.    There is a God. 

 

I have used this phrase many times in my life. When I would hear a miraculous testimony, I would utter, “There is a God!” When praying with someone who faced an incredible burden, I would utter, “There is a God!”

 

This phrase gives hope to anyone who is hurting, whose heart is heavy, who needs help beyond what man can provide. 

 

There is a God who creates something out of nothing. There is a God who gives us what we need. There is a God who covers our sin. There is a God who delivers us, directs us, and destines us. There is a God! 

 

2.    There is only one God. 

 

We don’t believe in many gods; that is polytheism. We don’t believe that everything is god; that is pantheism. 

 

We believe what the Bible clearly says…

 

Deuteronomy 6:4 (NKJV) Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!

 

Literally: the only one! And His name is YHWH, the Lord God Almighty. His name is not Allah; it is not Buddha; it is not Krishna.

 

His name is also not money, possessions, positions, prestige, fame, or family. His name is not focused on face, race, or place. 

 

The very first commandment teaches us that Jehovah God alone is to be worshipped. 

 

Exodus 20:3 (NKJV) You shall have no other gods before Me.

 

Other gods are always bidding for our worship. But we reserve it for God alone, because He is the only one who can save us. 

 

Psalm 115:3–11 (NKJV) But our God is in heaven;

He does whatever He pleases.

4 Their idols are silver and gold,

The work of men’s hands.

5 They have mouths, but they do not speak;

Eyes they have, but they do not see;

6 They have ears, but they do not hear;

Noses they have, but they do not smell;

7 They have hands, but they do not handle;

Feet they have, but they do not walk;

Nor do they mutter through their throat.

8 Those who make them are like them;

So is everyone who trusts in them.

9 O Israel, trust in the Lord;

He is their help and their shield.

10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;

He is their help and their shield.

11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;

He is their help and their shield.

 

Allah cannot help us; Buddha cannot help us; Krishna cannot help us. Money and power and fame cannot help us. Only God can help us!

 

Psalm 121:1–8 (NKJV) I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help?

2 My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, He who keeps Israel

Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your keeper;

The Lord is your shade at your right hand.

6 The sun shall not strike you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul.

8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in

From this time forth, and even forevermore.

 

3.    God has always existed in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 

 

This is referred to as the Trinity. The word “trinity” does not appear in the Bible, but it is taught throughout the Word of God.

 

Creation

 

Genesis 1:1-2 (NKJV) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

 

John 1:1-3 (NKJV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

Genesis 1:26-27 (NKJV) Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Jesus’ baptism

 

Matthew 3:16-17 (NKJV) When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased

 

The Great Commission

 

Matthew 28:19 (NKJV) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

 

Paul’s Benediction 

 

2 Corinthians 13:14 (NKJV) The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

 

Work in Salvation

 

1 Peter 1:2 (NKJV) elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

 

Why is this important? 

 

The doctrine of the Trinity teaches us that Jesus is God! If Jesus is not God, then our faith is worthless. Christianity is the only religion in the world that proclaims Jesus is God! In fact, one of the signs of a false religion or a cult is that they do away with the Deity of Christ. Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism all teach that Jesus is not God. Christian cults like Mormonism and Jehovah Witnesses teach that Jesus is not God. Only Christianity proclaims Jesus is God!

 

Why does this matter?

 

1.    Jesus said He is God. 

 

If he lied about this, we cannot trust anything else he said. He is either Lord of all, or He is a liar and a lunatic.

 

John 8:58 (NKJV) Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

 

John 10:30 (NKJV) I and My Father are one.

 

After each of these statements, the Jews tried to stone Jesus because they understood He was claiming to be God!

 

2.    We cannot be saved if we do not confess that Jesus is Lord. 

 

Romans 10:9 (NASB) that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

 

3.    No one with the Holy Spirit will say Jesus is not God.

 

1 Corinthians 12:3 (NKJV)

Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

 

4.    The anti-Christ will say Jesus is not God in the flesh. 

 

1 John 4:2-3 (NKJV) By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

 

Now some practical stuff. 

 

If Jesus is not God, He cannot help us. 

 

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NKJV) Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

If Jesus is not God, He cannot intercede for us. 

 

Hebrews 7:25 (NKJV) Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

 

If Jesus is not God, then he is not in heaven preparing a place for us. He is not coming again to get us. 

 

John 14:1-3 (NKJV) Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

 

But brothers and sisters, I have good news today for you. Jesus is God! And because He is God, we can trust everything He ever said. We can be saved. We can be filled with the Holy Spirit. We will not be deceived by the anti-Christ. 

 

More than that, we can come boldly to Him and He will help us. We know that He is praying and interceding for us right now. We don’t have to have troubled hearts, we can believe in Him and trust Him. We know He is preparing a place for us and is coming again to take us with Him so that we can live with Him forever!

 

Is that Good News to anyone this morning? We have the ministry of the Father. We have the ministry of the Son. We have the ministry of the Holy Spirit. If God be for us, who can be against us!

 

MINISTRY TIME