Sermon Tone Analysis

Belief, we all have it!

This series is to challenge us to know, understand and be able to explain what we believe and why we believe it.

We introduced the series and why do I believe in God last week.

Belief we all have it.

(Expand on each of them below, briefly)

We believe when growing up that we can do anything

We believe that when we get married it is for life

We believe when we turn key on car it will start up

We believe in Jesus, but today we want to look at why, why do we believe, why should be believe.

(Insert Greatest Story ever told picture here)

The greatest story ever told is that of Jesus Christ (Jn1:14, 17, 20:30-31; 1Jn2:2; Jn3:16-18)

He is the Son of God who became flesh and dwelt among us (Jn1:14, 17)

Jn1:14 “14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

jump down to

Jn1:17 “17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”

His life, teaching, miracles; His death, burial, resurrection and then His ascension.

(Jn20:30-31)

jn20:30-31 “30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”

His blood the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1Jn2:2)

1Jn2:2 “2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

The greatest story ever told calls for faith, belief (Jn3:16-18; Rom10:9-10)

Jn3:16 “16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Not just in Him but in his resurrection too

Rom10:9-10 “9 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; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

For the one who does not believe is already condemned, oh wait, can I say that in church?

Talk about God’s wrath, God’s judgment, God’s justice?

Jn3:17-18 “17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

So, why do you believe in Jesus Christ?

Let me give you a couple of reasons why you should.

I believe because of Prophesy Fulfilled

Prophesy is foretelling something that will happen.

Prophesy is also forthtelling something, the word of God.

The prophets did both, and Jesus Christ fulfilled both, so let’s look at somethings together on why to believe in Jesus.

Messianic prophesies used to produce faith in Jesus (Act3:18, 17:1-3)

and add to one you maybe familiar with

Paul’s custom was to start with the Jews, to go to the Synagogue in the cities he visited.

That the scriptures (O.T.) said, what they prophesied was about the Jesus that was being proclaimed to them now.

A Jewish messiah to a Jewish audience for hope for all nations.

Exampled Prophesies

(Insert some exampled prophecies PowerPoint here)

Enmity between serpent and seed of woman (Gen3:15)

Gen3:15 “15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.””

All nations blessings through seed of Abram (Gen12:3; 22:18)

Gen12:3 “3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse.

And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.””

Gen22:18 “18 “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.””

The coming prophet like Moses (Deu18:15, 17-19; Jn12:49)

Deu18:15 “15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.”

Then a few verses later it says

Deu18:17-19 “17 “The Lord said to me, ‘They have spoken well.

18 ‘I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

19 ‘It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.”

Jesus was prophet, but was also king.

He clearly tells us

Jn12:49 “49 “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.”

The coming of One born of a virgin (Isa7:14)

Isa7:14 “14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”

The coming of the forerunner to prepare the way (Isa40:3)

Isa40:3 “3 A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.”

Isaiah speaking of John the Baptist who would proclaim Jesus before he comes, who would make the way.

Of the Suffering Servant (Isa53:4-12)

We know the suffering Servant passage, Man of sorrows, bore our griefs and sorrows, stricken, smitten, afflicted, wounded, bruised.

And by His stripes we are healed.

But pause here just for a moment, let me ready you one verse

Isa53:6 “6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

God the Father, Lord of all placed the sin on the Son, on the Suffering Servant, Jesus

OF the resurrection (Ps16:8-11)

Of the ascension (Dan7:13-14)

Notable significance of fulfilled prophesies

(insert Significance of fulfilled prophecies PowerPoint)

Mathematical probabilities.

Picture this out of the 330, if only 8 were fulfilled by one man it would be 1 in 10 to 17th power - Peter Stoner (Science Speaks: Evaluation of certain Christian Evidences; 1952)

In his book he uses this illustration “To illustrate how large the number is, picture this, suppose hat we take that many silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas.

they will cover all the state two feet deep Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state.

Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one.

What chance would he have of getting the right one?

Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, from their day to the present time.

providing they wrote them in their own wisdom.

Take another step back, from one, to eight, to 48 fulfilled prophesies by one man would be 10 to 157th power.

Jesus did not just fulfilled one, eight or forty-eight but over 330 prophecies.

No wonder why the prophesies were used to prove that Jesus was the Messiah.

(Transition) Then there is their own appeal, own testimony.

The Apostolic testimony

A testimony is of something you have seen or heard, something you are a witness of.

Let’s look together at some of the apostolic testimony on why we should believe in Jesus Christ.

Explanation

(Insert Apostles Testimony Picture Here)

They claim to have been eyewitnesses (Act10:39-42, 2Pt1:16-18; 1Jn1:1-3)

Peter and John in their writings claim on their own behalf and others to have been eyewitnesses

Act10:39-42 “39 “We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem.

They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross.

40 “God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, 41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.

42 “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.”

- - - that was the profession of Peter about the “we” and gives the definition of the we.

Now listen to what John said

1Jn1:1-3 “1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” - - - John’s powerful testimony about what “we” the apostles had heard, seen, touched and are proclaiming.

They call for a verdict, a decision (1Cor15:14-15; 2Pt1:16-18)

1cor15:14-15 “14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.

15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.”