Once, Now, and Forever
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Introduction
Introduction
He is Risen!! (He is risen indeed). Today we celebrate the second Sunday in Easter. Why a second Sunday? Easter is such an enormous celebration that it can not be contained by just one Sunday. In fact, in the church calendar the Easter Celebration lasts for seven Sundays. That’s right, we in the church get to focus our celebration of the Risen Lord for a month and a half.
In all honesty it does seem like a long time for a celebration. So why do we get to celebrate for so long. There are many reasons why we celebrate our Risen Lord for fifty days but one key reason is because his resurrection is eternal. There is no end to the life enjoyed by Jesus.
Today we read in the book of Revelation that Jesus is and was and always shall be. He was the beginning and will be the end. An we know this because of the resurrection. Think about it if Jesus were not raised from the dead, if he made his sacrifice for our sins and remained in the grave we could only say that “Jesus was.” We could not make the claims that He “is” or that He “always will be.” We can only make the full claim because of the resurrection. And because of this claim we learn several key attributes of God.
First we claim that....
God Always Was
God Always Was
God and Jesus were in the world from the beginning
There never was a time where God was not in the world.
God was here before the world
God created the world Ex-nihilo
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
This is important because if God did not create the world out of nothing he simply would exist alongside the world.
Because he created the world out of nothing he is over all creation
Theophilus of Antioch
But he is Lord, because He rules over the universe; Father, because he is before all things; Fashioner and Maker, because He is creator and maker of the universe; the Highest, because of His being above all; and Almighty, because He Himself rules and embraces all.
Theophilus of Antioch
“For the heavens are His work, the earth is His creation, the sea is His handiwork; man is His formation and His image; sun, moon, and stars are His elements, made for signs, and seasons, and days, and years, that they may serve and be slaves to man; and all things God has made out of things that were not3 into things that are, in order that through His works His greatness may be known and understood.”
Because He always was we know that He controls all creation
There is nothing in creation that God is not in control of, because there is nothing that God did not Create
By acknowledging that God/Jesus always was we are acknowledging his sovereignty over us.
God has complete power over us.
Next , because of the resurrection we can make the claim that.....
God Always Is
God Always Is
Deism
Began late 17th century
Herbert Cherbury
Evolved in the enlightenment
Challenges by John Locke and David Hume
Beliefs of Deism
God created the world
God set everything in motion
God took his hands off and let us run with it
Deism denies the revelation of Scripture
Scripture says God is intimate
God is always at work in the world
First creation narrative (Genesis 1:1-2:3) shows an impersonal all powerful God
Second creation narrative (Genesis 2:4-2:25) show a intimate God
God is always at work in the world
Through the prophets and judges/kings of the Old Testament
Through Jesus Christ in the Gospels
Through the Holy Spirit in the history of the Church
There is never a time when God is not at work in the world
There may be times when it does not feel like God is with you, but he always is
God has worked throughout human history and is continuing to work in the world
By Acknowledging God/Jesus always will be we are Acknowledging He is always working for us, on us, and through us.
And finally, because of the resurrection we can claim that......
God Always Will Be
God Always Will Be
The 19th Century German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche famously stated that “God is Dead”
He didn’t literally mean that God had died
But rather that the belief in a deity was now unnecessary
That God was never real and we no longer needed to hold on to that ancient myth
The Bible tells us that there will never be a time without God.
God always is: Revelation 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
The Resurrection illustrates the immortality of God
Though Jesus went to the grave he was raised again
There is no reason to fear the future because God is eternal
Conclusion
Conclusion
God is and was and will always be. There are probably no more comforting words in all of Scripture. When we understand the power of God, God as creator, God as sustainer, and God as our future then hope abounds. We know that God has complete power over our lives, we know that God loves us and will never leave us, and we know that through Jesus Christ, our lord who has freed us from our sins by his blood, we are offered a new life.
So I ask you, will you accept this new life in Christ? Will you accept the God who is and was and always will be? Will you let the Spirit transform your life? Let us pray.