THEME: BECOMING BY BEHOLDING - Cultivating A Community of Christ-Centered Worshipers (2)
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SERMON: AWESTRUCK: THE LORD WHO SPEAKS TO US
SERMON: AWESTRUCK: THE LORD WHO SPEAKS TO US
THE CHRISTOLOGICAL CENTER OF THE WORD OF GOD
God Spoke in the Beginning
John 1:1-
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
HERE WE SEE A CENTRAL TRUTH THAT MUST GUIDE AND GUARD OUR MINDS AND HEARTS:
The Word SPOKEN Is the Word REVEALED
The Word SPOKEN Is the Word REVEALED
Here we see the centrality of Christ
Solus Christus: Christ Alone
Solus Christus: Christ Alone
§ It must be
§ It has to be
§ It exclusively is – Christ alone since Christ is – singular form
CHRIST IS:
· The God of the Word
· The Word of God
WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT GOD SPEAKS?
IT MEANS THAT HE SPEAKS THROUGH CHRIST
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, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
GOD HAS SPOKEN FOR TWO REASONS:
GOD HAS SPOKEN FOR TWO REASONS:
1. TO REVEAL HIMSELF AND HE HAS REVEALED HIMSELF
1. TO REVEAL HIMSELF AND HE HAS REVEALED HIMSELF
2. TO RESTORE YOUR HAPPINESS BY BEING IN RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM
2. TO RESTORE YOUR HAPPINESS BY BEING IN RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM
- You cannot know the Lord apart from His word no more than anyone can know you until or unless they get into a relationship with you
He wants you to be in relationship with Him because this will make you happy
- Sadness, sorry etc are fruits of not hearing from or listening to the Lord
I. He Speaks and Nothing Becomes Something
I. He Speaks and Nothing Becomes Something
- There was no heaven and earth
- There was no light
- There were no bodies of waters
- There were not
God made nothing something:
What if the qualification for being made something meant that it had to first be recognized as nothing?
By nothing I mean the Humility to know that WE NEED GOD because our existence depends on HIM!
What if all of the self-help and self-actualization and what if all of the talk of “manifesting” actually worked against your greater good?
What if the key to greatness in God and therefore in life was the recognition of our nothingness –
That is So unAmerican and yet, so Biblical
BUT WHEN THE DISCIPLES WERE ARGUING ABOUT GREATNESS OUR LORD SAID:
Matthew 20:26 (ESV)
"… whoever would be great among you must be your servant,
WHAT IS OUR NOTHINGNESS?
SIN - THIS IS WHAT WE DO OUR SIN SHOWS OUT NOTHINGNESS
BUT IT IS MORE THAN THAT
INIQUITY: OFFENDING THE LORD BY AND BECAUSE OF WHO WERE ARE
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
THIS IS WHY DAVID CONFESSES BOTH
I confess my iniquity;
I am sorry for my sin.
CONFESS: SPECIFIC
SORRY: ANXIETY AND FEAR OF JUDGMENT
THIS IS WHAT OUR NOTHINGNESS LOOKS LIKE - THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT OUR SIN CONDEMNS US AND WE ARE IN DESPERATE NEED FOR THE LORD
PAUL CONTRASTING THE GOSPEL WITH WISDOM OF THE AGE SAID THIS IN 1 COR
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
EXPLAIN
(THEN GO TO THIS VERSE)
And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
GOD SPOKE TO OUR NOTHINGNESS AND OUR NOTHINGNESS BECAME RECREATED BEAUTY
We have to be careful with this Creative possibility
jam
II. He Speaks and Something Becomes Nothing
II. He Speaks and Something Becomes Nothing
THE POWER OF GOD’S WORD IS NOT SIMPLY THAT IT CREATES BUT THAT IT REVERSES
A. Sickness and disease
A. Sickness and disease
o Leper (v3 – I will…b cleansed)
When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”
And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”
o Centurion’s servant
When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.”
And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.
THEN VERSE 13
And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.
o Demons
That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.
B. Challenges and Problems
B. Challenges and Problems
And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.
And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”
And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
C. Physical Death
C. Physical Death
When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”
The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Here is the Reversing Power of the Word: RESURRECTION
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
He Speaks Through You By Way of His Word
He Speaks Through You By Way of His Word
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.