Sermon Tone Analysis

What has the church traditionally taught about God?

Our church forefathers crafted a concise statement about God in what we’ve come to call The Apostles’ Creed.

Two words express the core of His being and character: He is Father Almighty.

How did God express that almightiness?

By creating the heavens and the earth.

It is through His creation that God is clearly revealed to those who have eyes to see.

/"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.

So they are without excuse."/

(Ro 1:18-20, ESV)

No sinner will be able to stand before a Holy God on Judgement Day and declare, “I just never saw any evidence of your reality.

If I had, I would have responded to you.”

And God will answer, “You had the stars, and the oceans, and the mountains, and the plains, and the glory of a sunset.

Those things alone should have pointed you to me.”

What do the biblical accounts of creation tell us?

They tell us:

* There is but one God.

* God is the ultimate origin of each human being.

* God is not in competition with an equally powerful evil counter force.

(there is no "dark side" comparable to God)

* All that is in the creation: night, day, waters, lowliest creatures, the human body and sexuality, are fundamentally good.

* Human beings are the goal of creation.

* God's is sovereign over His creation.

!

I. THE AFFIRMATION THAT GOD IS MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH HELPS CHECK OUR MISUNDERSTANDINGS OF GOD

* /"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."/

(Genesis 1:1, ESV)

#. the Bible begins with a simple, concise statement that is pregnant with implications

#. if it is true, then it is the most astounding declarative statement in all of literature and puts everything in perspective

#. it’s all about God and His glory

#. if it is simply a myth, just one of many ancient creation narratives invented by ancient men in a pre-scientific age, then redemption is unnecessary and the Bible is a hoax

#. it’s all about us and our pleasure

#. there are no other possibilities

#. when Genesis 1:1 declares that /“God created the heavens and the earth”/ it is making a statement of fact – God made everything

#. if it is not true, then what part of the Bible can you believe?

#. was there really a world-wide flood survived only by Noah and his family?

#. did Abraham really live and begat the Jewish people?

#. did Moses really lead a million Hebrews out of Egypt to the Promised Land?

#. did David really slay a giant, become a king and establish an Israelite Kingdom?

#. did Jesus really raise from the dead three days after his crucifixion?

#. if you do not believe Genesis 1:1, then where do you being believing the Scriptures?

#. declaring /“I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth”/ immediately nullifies any misunderstandings or misconceptions we might have about God

!! A. GOD IS ALL-POWERFUL – WE DARE NOT MISUNDERSTAND THIS

* /“I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted."/

(Job 42:2, NIV)

* /"For nothing is impossible with God.”/ (Lk 1:37, NIV)

#.

God is not limited

#.

He is almighty and not dependent upon us

* ILLUS.

/“This is my Father’s world, I rest me in the thought Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas; His hand the wonders wrought.”/

#.

God is the author of creation

#. the universe is not all there ever was, all there is, and all there ever will be

#.

life on Earth is not the result of random forces accidently coming together in a primordial soup and evolving over the course of billions of years

#. according to Biblical account, God took a formless and empty Earth and began to transform it through the power of His word

* /"And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

And God saw that the light was good.

And God separated the light from the darkness.

God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.

And there was evening and there was morning, the first day."/

(Ge 1:3-5, ESV)

#.

God merely spoke and things came to be

#.

no less then ten times in Genesis 1 do we read /“ ... and God said ... “/

#.

He willed on six successive days that certain events take place

#.

He decreed them to exist, and in every instance there was an immediate result

* /"For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast."/

(Ps 33:9, KJV)

#.

only God has true creative power

!! B. GOD IS SOVEREIGN – WE DARE NOT MISUNDERSTAND THIS

* /"The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,"/ (Ps 24:1, ESV)

* /"How awesome is the Lord Most High, the great King over all the earth!"/ (Ps 47:2, NIV)

#.

God is the great Originator and Initiator

#. it is the ignoring of this which is the basic error in all human schemes

#. false systems of theology and philosophy begin with man, and seek to work up to God

#. but this is a turning of things upside

#. we must, in all our thinking, always begin with God, and work down to man

#. men have the propensity to always want to scale God down to our size

#.

this was Israel’s great sin

* /"These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you.

But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face."/

(Ps 50:21, NIV)

#.

God is not like us!

#.

He is sovereign – we are not

* ILLUS.

During the Constitution Convention the delegates were at an impasse in attempting to form a working government.

It was during a heated debate that Benjamin Franklin counseled the convention to stop and pray with this statement: /“God governs in the affairs of men; and if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, neither can a kingdom rise without his aid.”/

* ILLUS.

An old Jewish proverb is more succinct about God’s sovereignty, /“If God doesn't approve, a fly doesn't move.”/

#. to assume that we can somehow operate outside the scope of God’s sovereign plans, decrees, statutes or knowledge is the height of human folly

!! C. GOD IS ALL-KNOWING – WE DARE NOT MISUNDERSTAND THIS

* /“To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his."/

(Job 12:13, NIV)

* /"From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth— he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do."/

(Ps 33:13-15, NIV)

#.

God is a God who knows where every molecule in His creation is today and where it will be tomorrow

#.

God does not sit and wonder, /“Now what did I do with that hydrogen atom in the Crab Nubula?

I knew where it was yesterday!”/

#.

He is not befuddled be what takes place in this world or in you life

#.

one of the newer theologies on the block is called “Open Theism”

#.

Open Theism strikes at the heart of God’s omniscience

#. it is a philosophical view of the nature of God that maintains that God is Incapable of knowing the future actions of human free will simply because they haven’t happened yet