WEBVTT 00:00:09.860 --> 00:00:12.679 Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church 00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:15.279 Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:19.000 podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast, 00:00:19.019 --> 00:00:20.879 you can have an encounter with Jesus that'll 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:24.359 change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:31.039 message from our preaching team. Thank you, Nathan. 00:00:32.060 --> 00:00:35.799 Welcome to church today. We are we're beginning 00:00:35.799 --> 00:00:39.740 our sermon series on the Apostles Creed called 00:00:39.740 --> 00:00:42.600 essentials So what I want you to do is I want 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:45.859 you to put your hand on your right shoulder And 00:00:45.859 --> 00:00:48.320 I want you to move it down to your hip your opposite 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:52.240 hip great you've buckled up You're ready to go 00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:56.600 Because yeah, we're gonna get into believing 00:00:56.600 --> 00:01:00.380 in God today, so we need to we need to buckle 00:01:00.380 --> 00:01:04.090 up all right, let's pray And I invite you just 00:01:04.090 --> 00:01:11.989 to hold out your hands. God we just invite you 00:01:11.989 --> 00:01:16.810 here, we say come Holy Spirit. We just pray Lord 00:01:16.810 --> 00:01:21.310 that your word would speak to us today. That 00:01:21.310 --> 00:01:25.230 you would come and gently correct us Lord Jesus 00:01:25.230 --> 00:01:28.510 through your word. That you would gently comfort 00:01:28.510 --> 00:01:33.060 us. That we would see and grasp and understand 00:01:33.060 --> 00:01:39.120 your goodness, your grace and who you are today. 00:01:40.579 --> 00:01:45.519 Come Holy Spirit. Amen. If you've got notes or 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:47.840 note taking, this is the sermon where you should 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:51.319 break it out so you can follow where we're going. 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:54.840 Last year, I was talking to the kids at bedtime 00:01:54.840 --> 00:01:59.549 and I asked Judah, Judah, do you love God? And 00:01:59.549 --> 00:02:01.750 he said, yes, dad, because he's a good firstborn 00:02:01.750 --> 00:02:04.650 son. And then I asked Olive if she loved God. 00:02:05.409 --> 00:02:09.669 And she said, no. Which, if you know, Ollie, 00:02:09.710 --> 00:02:13.069 well, it would not surprise you at all. And I 00:02:13.069 --> 00:02:15.750 said, that's OK, sweet pea, why not? And she 00:02:15.750 --> 00:02:18.550 said, well, I can't see God. Like, where is God? 00:02:20.110 --> 00:02:22.590 And I thought that was a great question, because 00:02:22.590 --> 00:02:28.409 kids can be so honest and wise at times. Because 00:02:28.409 --> 00:02:30.849 I think for for many people this is the core 00:02:30.849 --> 00:02:33.229 tension that we have with the whole idea of believing 00:02:33.229 --> 00:02:35.689 in God You know I was a teenager in the heart 00:02:35.689 --> 00:02:38.669 of the new atheist movement Richard Dawkins all 00:02:38.669 --> 00:02:41.789 those People who and they were preaching a worldview 00:02:41.789 --> 00:02:45.990 that that all there is is what you can touch 00:02:45.990 --> 00:02:49.949 See smell measure predictably and the belief 00:02:49.949 --> 00:02:53.189 in something greater Something transcendent was 00:02:53.189 --> 00:02:55.090 kind of a bit far -fetched and probably should 00:02:55.090 --> 00:02:57.650 be ridiculed And so I got called Jesus Boy in 00:02:57.650 --> 00:03:01.150 high school. High school was a great time. But 00:03:01.150 --> 00:03:04.669 I think things are different now. Like if you 00:03:04.669 --> 00:03:07.990 pick a friend in your mind, pick a friend. Any 00:03:07.990 --> 00:03:11.009 friend. You got a friend in your mind? If you 00:03:11.009 --> 00:03:13.409 sat this friend down over coffee and you said, 00:03:14.370 --> 00:03:16.669 asked a lot of curious questions about their 00:03:16.669 --> 00:03:19.289 views on the universe, you know, is there a God 00:03:19.289 --> 00:03:21.930 or some kind of other force out there? Is there 00:03:21.930 --> 00:03:24.750 a source of meaning? Does the universe have a 00:03:24.750 --> 00:03:27.770 plan for them? I think most people today would 00:03:27.770 --> 00:03:31.490 actually say yes. There are things that have 00:03:31.490 --> 00:03:33.909 happened in my life, there's some sense of this 00:03:33.909 --> 00:03:35.990 otherness, transcendence in this world, there 00:03:35.990 --> 00:03:40.550 have been these really weird coincidences that 00:03:40.550 --> 00:03:42.330 leads me to believe that there is something more, 00:03:42.710 --> 00:03:44.110 there's something else, there's something out 00:03:44.110 --> 00:03:47.629 there in just pure naturalist world, more than 00:03:47.629 --> 00:03:50.069 you can just, than only what you can just touch, 00:03:50.289 --> 00:03:55.289 feel, smell, see or measure. They know something 00:03:55.289 --> 00:04:00.349 is there but the question is where? And most 00:04:00.349 --> 00:04:03.990 people don't hold to that pure atheism or they 00:04:03.990 --> 00:04:06.150 did at one time and realize that you just can't 00:04:06.150 --> 00:04:09.550 actually reduce a world of wonder and life and 00:04:09.550 --> 00:04:13.409 of to only that which you can measure Most people 00:04:13.409 --> 00:04:16.410 do not hold that there is no reason There is 00:04:16.410 --> 00:04:19.790 no meaning there is no purpose Most people don't 00:04:19.790 --> 00:04:23.189 think we are just an unhappy cosmic accident 00:04:24.839 --> 00:04:27.939 And maybe that tension is something that you 00:04:27.939 --> 00:04:30.220 feel here today. I believe in something, something 00:04:30.220 --> 00:04:32.000 bigger, something other, something I would even 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:33.740 call God, something I might even call the Christian 00:04:33.740 --> 00:04:37.600 God, but I don't know where that God is. Meaning 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:39.180 I believe in something, but I don't know what 00:04:39.180 --> 00:04:42.240 that something is like. You know, Ollie is, as 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:44.899 a kid, can name what, because kids can name what 00:04:44.899 --> 00:04:48.819 adults sometimes struggle to name. Ollie only 00:04:48.819 --> 00:04:53.360 knows people that she can see, that she can talk 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:56.500 to. Though she only knows those people where 00:04:56.500 --> 00:04:58.160 she knows where they belong and where they are 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:01.579 and who they belong to Church school grandma's 00:05:01.579 --> 00:05:04.399 house kids only seem to understand people in 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:08.920 the context of relationship What is God like? 00:05:08.980 --> 00:05:11.920 Where is he? And the question we all want to 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:16.660 know if he's there how can I know him? Now I 00:05:16.660 --> 00:05:21.420 think this is the core of the human problem And 00:05:21.420 --> 00:05:23.220 we can understand this. Most people can understand 00:05:23.220 --> 00:05:26.139 it. Most people can diagnose this. This is what 00:05:26.139 --> 00:05:28.079 Francis Schaeffer, who was a Christian philosopher 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:32.680 said, man or woman beginning with himself can 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:37.100 define the philosophical problem of existence, 00:05:37.720 --> 00:05:40.860 but he cannot generate from himself the answer 00:05:40.860 --> 00:05:47.120 to the problem. That we exist as we do in the 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:50.579 universe we exist in is a philosophical problem. 00:05:51.939 --> 00:05:54.259 right Think about this way if you're on a walk 00:05:54.259 --> 00:05:57.100 and you found an object lying on the path And 00:05:57.100 --> 00:05:58.399 you picked it up and you looked at it and you 00:05:58.399 --> 00:06:01.399 could see that it was all well put together And 00:06:01.399 --> 00:06:03.699 you can see that it's been designed in its makeup. 00:06:03.699 --> 00:06:06.519 It's been expertly and meticulously designed 00:06:06.519 --> 00:06:09.720 and put together But you had no idea what on 00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:13.100 earth it was for its existence would be a problem 00:06:13.100 --> 00:06:16.160 for you Now in the past maybe you would have 00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:18.339 gone to ask someone in face -to -face in real 00:06:18.339 --> 00:06:21.720 life. I found this thing. What is it? But now 00:06:21.720 --> 00:06:23.720 probably today you save yourself the embarrassment 00:06:23.720 --> 00:06:25.879 of not knowing everything in the world and you 00:06:25.879 --> 00:06:29.500 ask Chad GBT What is this thing that I found 00:06:29.500 --> 00:06:31.920 on the side of the road? you know sometimes I 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:34.980 go into my dad's shed and I pick up a tool and 00:06:34.980 --> 00:06:38.199 I'll get it and I'm like I have no idea what 00:06:38.199 --> 00:06:41.899 highly specific situation Would require this 00:06:41.899 --> 00:06:46.199 exact thing, right? It exists. It's carefully 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:49.560 designed. It's expertly crafted sometimes and 00:06:49.560 --> 00:06:55.060 yet What it exists for is a problem that I don't 00:06:55.060 --> 00:06:57.339 have the answer to I have to go and ask someone 00:06:57.339 --> 00:07:00.360 else and What Francis Schafer here is saying 00:07:00.360 --> 00:07:03.279 is saying that women and men can understand that 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:07.980 there is a problem with existence There's a problem 00:07:07.980 --> 00:07:12.079 why we think about our own death We love we cannot 00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:15.879 survive without meaning Do you know in the concentration 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:19.120 camps the people who had a source of meaning? 00:07:19.899 --> 00:07:23.959 lived and those who didn't gave up. They couldn't 00:07:23.959 --> 00:07:27.439 survive. Read Man's Search for Meaning, Victor 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:32.060 Frankel. That the universe can be understood 00:07:32.060 --> 00:07:35.220 by us, that we have language, and that we seek 00:07:35.220 --> 00:07:39.079 after a purpose for our days. We can define this 00:07:39.079 --> 00:07:41.160 problem of existence. We know that existence 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:43.759 is a miracle and must be for something, but we 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:47.160 cannot find within ourselves an answer for it. 00:07:48.459 --> 00:07:51.439 You can go on a journey, you can leave home, 00:07:51.560 --> 00:07:54.060 you can move abroad to find yourself, and many 00:07:54.060 --> 00:07:56.639 people have, to discover who you are and what 00:07:56.639 --> 00:07:58.680 your life is about, but you won't find it out 00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:02.259 there. You can have the optimal career, the best 00:08:02.259 --> 00:08:03.819 stuff, the smallest mortgage, and the biggest 00:08:03.819 --> 00:08:07.639 house, and people still don't find it. You can 00:08:07.639 --> 00:08:09.579 discipline your body and mind so that you are 00:08:09.579 --> 00:08:12.899 like a perfectly optimized specimen. Live forever 00:08:12.899 --> 00:08:15.319 like the millionaire biohacker Brian Johnson 00:08:15.319 --> 00:08:16.899 who spends like two million dollars a year on 00:08:16.899 --> 00:08:19.879 his body. Have you heard of this guy? Brian Johnson 00:08:19.879 --> 00:08:22.420 who recently revealed he has an autoimmune disease 00:08:22.420 --> 00:08:26.579 His perfect body is eating itself Whatever you 00:08:26.579 --> 00:08:29.860 look for for the problem to the answer for the 00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:32.919 answer to the problem of existence Why am I here? 00:08:32.980 --> 00:08:36.080 Why do I exist? You never find it within yourself 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:39.179 You never find it within yourself. The answer 00:08:39.179 --> 00:08:42.370 can only come from something outside the human 00:08:42.370 --> 00:08:45.190 exists and the answer of why something exists 00:08:45.190 --> 00:08:49.889 can only come from the one who created it. Now 00:08:49.889 --> 00:08:52.269 today as we begin a five -week series on the 00:08:52.269 --> 00:08:54.590 Apostles Creed we're calling it Essentials because 00:08:54.590 --> 00:08:57.289 the Apostles Creed is the ancient belief statement 00:08:57.289 --> 00:09:00.230 of the church. To be baptized in the early church 00:09:00.230 --> 00:09:03.789 you had to stand, memorize and declare this statement 00:09:03.789 --> 00:09:06.750 of faith to your church community. There's a 00:09:06.750 --> 00:09:10.299 14th century guy called Tyrannius Rufinus. which 00:09:10.299 --> 00:09:13.360 is the coolest name I think I have ever heard 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:16.259 and he writes and this is in the fourth century 00:09:16.259 --> 00:09:18.899 about he pledged himself to this creed when he 00:09:18.899 --> 00:09:21.500 was baptized into the church of Aqualia he writes 00:09:21.500 --> 00:09:22.960 that the creed was not written it wasn't written 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:26.340 down on parchment but it was never written down 00:09:26.340 --> 00:09:29.320 before this and but it was retained in the believer's 00:09:29.320 --> 00:09:32.549 heart See, the Creed was the essential beliefs 00:09:32.549 --> 00:09:34.970 of the Christian faith. It was essential for 00:09:34.970 --> 00:09:36.929 safeguarding and protecting the integrity of 00:09:36.929 --> 00:09:40.250 the faith against ideas that are outside of the 00:09:40.250 --> 00:09:43.389 Apostles teaching. Raphinius, whatever you say 00:09:43.389 --> 00:09:46.830 his name, said this, the Apostles prescribed 00:09:46.830 --> 00:09:50.070 the Creed as a badge for distinguishing the man 00:09:50.070 --> 00:09:51.909 who preached the truth about Christ in harmony 00:09:51.909 --> 00:09:54.909 with their teaching. So it in a sense was the 00:09:54.909 --> 00:09:58.330 first Christian password. How do you tell if 00:09:58.330 --> 00:10:00.590 a traveling preacher who might invoke the name 00:10:00.590 --> 00:10:04.009 of Christ holds to the teachings of Christ? You 00:10:04.009 --> 00:10:07.269 ask him to quote the Creed. Is he in harmony 00:10:07.269 --> 00:10:10.750 with the Apostles teaching about Jesus? And as 00:10:10.750 --> 00:10:12.710 a community, we've decided to pick five lines 00:10:12.710 --> 00:10:14.590 from the Creed so we can dwell on, we can listen 00:10:14.590 --> 00:10:17.190 to and be challenged by the historic essentials 00:10:17.190 --> 00:10:19.610 of our faith. And today we're starting at the 00:10:19.610 --> 00:10:23.070 beginning. The Creed starts with, I believe in 00:10:23.070 --> 00:10:26.409 God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and 00:10:26.409 --> 00:10:31.100 earth. Humanity wants to know what this transcendent 00:10:31.100 --> 00:10:33.659 other in the universe is. Who is God? What is 00:10:33.659 --> 00:10:36.240 he like? Well the church has declared for 2 ,000 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:40.259 years that God is a parent. God is a parent. 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:43.100 God is the creator both of the natural world 00:10:43.100 --> 00:10:46.679 and the spiritual world and God is a parent. 00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:49.980 Isn't that incredible? God is this almighty transcendent 00:10:49.980 --> 00:10:53.539 being above all and beyond all and God is a father. 00:10:54.509 --> 00:10:57.909 God is transcendent and relational. God is infinite 00:10:57.909 --> 00:11:01.669 and personal. And this is a challenge to those 00:11:01.669 --> 00:11:04.409 of us in the Western society who believe there 00:11:04.409 --> 00:11:06.830 is a transcendent force in the universe, because 00:11:06.830 --> 00:11:09.809 we can understand an idea of an infinite transcendent 00:11:09.809 --> 00:11:13.710 God, but an infinite God is unknowable by finite 00:11:13.710 --> 00:11:17.470 creatures. But Christianity has always declared 00:11:17.470 --> 00:11:22.509 that God is both infinite and knowable. Christianity 00:11:22.509 --> 00:11:25.090 is always declared that not only is God knowable, 00:11:25.409 --> 00:11:28.190 but we can know him personally and intimately 00:11:28.190 --> 00:11:33.789 like we can know a father. Francis Schaeffer 00:11:33.789 --> 00:11:37.169 says, man beginning with himself can define the 00:11:37.169 --> 00:11:39.250 philosophical problem of existence, but he cannot 00:11:39.250 --> 00:11:41.850 generate from within himself the answer to the 00:11:41.850 --> 00:11:44.129 problem. But then, because he's kind, he goes 00:11:44.129 --> 00:11:47.029 on to give us what he thinks the answer is. The 00:11:47.029 --> 00:11:51.120 answer to the problem of existence. is that the 00:11:51.120 --> 00:11:55.419 infinite personal trying God is there and that 00:11:55.419 --> 00:11:58.299 the infinite personal trying God is not silent. 00:11:59.779 --> 00:12:01.519 The answer to the human experience that we have 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:03.500 personality, meaning, morality, that we seek 00:12:03.500 --> 00:12:05.620 after love and we feel guilt and have a conscience 00:12:05.620 --> 00:12:09.899 that we are personal beings is there because 00:12:09.899 --> 00:12:12.179 there is a transcendent creator God who is a 00:12:12.179 --> 00:12:17.139 personal being. You're tracking with me. He's 00:12:17.139 --> 00:12:21.110 there. Now let's have a let's have a big theological 00:12:21.110 --> 00:12:23.389 sidebar. All right, you buckled up. So you're 00:12:23.389 --> 00:12:26.929 in for this Because you probably understand infinite 00:12:26.929 --> 00:12:29.789 you understand what that means. You probably 00:12:29.789 --> 00:12:31.730 understand Well, I hope you understand what personal 00:12:31.730 --> 00:12:37.610 means, right? But what does triune mean? What 00:12:37.610 --> 00:12:44.129 that mean God is in Christian theology. God is 00:12:44.129 --> 00:12:48.460 a Trinity. God is triune tri means three God 00:12:48.460 --> 00:12:51.779 is three in one and this if you can see on the 00:12:51.779 --> 00:12:55.139 screen is how it's Classically represented and 00:12:55.139 --> 00:12:56.700 I'm also kind of triggered by it because it's 00:12:56.700 --> 00:13:02.179 my high school logo Almost exactly So this is 00:13:02.179 --> 00:13:05.899 what it says the father is God The son Jesus 00:13:05.899 --> 00:13:10.419 is God the Holy Spirit is God But the father 00:13:10.419 --> 00:13:13.899 is not the son The son is not the spirit and 00:13:13.899 --> 00:13:16.460 the spirit is not the father And this is what 00:13:16.460 --> 00:13:21.000 we mean when we say God is a trinity, which granted 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:23.240 we don't really talk that much about in church 00:13:23.240 --> 00:13:27.759 today, because it melts your brain when you think 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:30.539 about it. The Father, Son and Spirit are all 00:13:30.539 --> 00:13:36.159 distinct persons, but each are God. This is what 00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:38.700 Peter Criff says. He says, this might melt our 00:13:38.700 --> 00:13:41.960 brain, but it is actually the only way God could 00:13:41.960 --> 00:13:45.279 be. The scriptures say that God is love, right? 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:49.039 When you love someone love is experienced in 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:54.019 two ways the love you give and the love you receive 00:13:54.019 --> 00:13:57.820 For you to know love is to know a love that is 00:13:57.820 --> 00:14:01.519 reciprocated, right? Because to only give love 00:14:01.519 --> 00:14:04.059 or to only receive love in a relationship is 00:14:04.059 --> 00:14:08.120 not a loving relationship nor is it love No, 00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:11.740 the complete love is both given and received 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:14.960 For God to be the completeness of love, for God 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:19.179 to be love, then God must both give and receive 00:14:19.179 --> 00:14:25.279 love. And that is really hard to do if God is 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:29.200 one person. Because you would need, God would 00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:31.639 need something external, someone external to 00:14:31.639 --> 00:14:36.100 God's self to give and receive love to. And if 00:14:36.100 --> 00:14:38.600 God needs someone outside of God's self, to give 00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:40.580 and receive love to, then at that point, God 00:14:40.580 --> 00:14:44.080 is neither the completeness of love, nor is God 00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:47.580 God. You're taking notes, so you're tracking 00:14:47.580 --> 00:14:52.220 with me. But if God is three distinct persons, 00:14:53.240 --> 00:14:56.679 and yet one God, then God is the completeness 00:14:56.679 --> 00:14:59.700 of love within Himself, giving and receiving 00:14:59.700 --> 00:15:03.440 love in the community of the Father, Son, and 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:07.220 Spirit. God is in perfect relationship with God 00:15:07.220 --> 00:15:09.279 get this God is in perfect relationship with 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:11.399 God And this is actually the only way that God 00:15:11.399 --> 00:15:13.700 can be an infinite God can also be a personal 00:15:13.700 --> 00:15:17.039 God Because at the heart of the trying God at 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:20.320 the heart of God the very heart of God is relationship 00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:24.139 Which means that what that the answer to the 00:15:24.139 --> 00:15:28.220 problem of existence is what? To be in a relationship 00:15:28.220 --> 00:15:33.600 forever with this God Who is there and who is 00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:38.240 not song? Friends, you were made to love and 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:41.759 be loved by God. That's what happens to your 00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:45.059 life. That is the meaning of existence. That 00:15:45.059 --> 00:15:49.799 is the end to which you were created. Now I want 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:52.620 you to take a big theological deep breath, right? 00:15:53.559 --> 00:15:55.740 Just breathe in and out, because that's a lot. 00:15:56.080 --> 00:16:01.019 That's a trinity, right? Schaefer says the answer 00:16:01.019 --> 00:16:03.000 to the problem of existence is that God is infinite 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:05.960 and personal and triane. He's there and He's 00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:09.659 not silent. You were made to be in a relationship 00:16:09.659 --> 00:16:12.720 with God. But that doesn't quite answer the heart 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:17.159 of Olive's question. What is this God like? Here's 00:16:17.159 --> 00:16:20.039 how we can know what this infinite personal trying 00:16:20.039 --> 00:16:24.320 of God is like. He's told us. He has not been 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:27.799 silent. God has spoken. Hebrews 1, our teaching 00:16:27.799 --> 00:16:32.210 text says, long ago God spoke many times and 00:16:32.210 --> 00:16:35.350 in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. 00:16:36.230 --> 00:16:38.230 Across the history of humanity God has not been 00:16:38.230 --> 00:16:40.529 silent. God has revealed himself in many times 00:16:40.529 --> 00:16:43.330 and in many ways. He has spoken through the prophets 00:16:43.330 --> 00:16:46.789 from Moses to Micah and the apostle Paul would 00:16:46.789 --> 00:16:48.830 also then argue because he jumped in from time 00:16:48.830 --> 00:16:51.889 to time and says it's also through, God's also 00:16:51.889 --> 00:16:54.830 spoken through the glory of creation. In Romans 00:16:54.830 --> 00:16:58.889 1 he says God's made it obvious to humanity Forever 00:16:58.889 --> 00:17:00.809 since the world was created people have seen 00:17:00.809 --> 00:17:04.190 the earth and the sky Everything God made they 00:17:04.190 --> 00:17:07.109 can see his clearly his invisible qualities these 00:17:07.109 --> 00:17:10.269 his eternal power and divine nature Paul's really 00:17:10.269 --> 00:17:15.009 he has no he has no no space for Gray he's like 00:17:15.009 --> 00:17:18.170 they have no excuse For not knowing God God has 00:17:18.170 --> 00:17:20.150 not been silent just walk out into the bush on 00:17:20.150 --> 00:17:23.150 a dark night and look up And you'll see the evidence 00:17:23.150 --> 00:17:28.319 for God God has spoken But then the author of 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:32.839 Hebrews goes on and now in these final days God 00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:36.640 has spoken to us through his son God promised 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:40.200 everything to the Sun as an inheritance and through 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:43.539 the Sun he created the universe the Sun radiates 00:17:43.539 --> 00:17:47.799 God's own glory and get this Expresses the very 00:17:47.799 --> 00:17:51.079 character of God and he sustains everything by 00:17:51.079 --> 00:17:54.079 the mighty power of his command What is God like? 00:17:56.519 --> 00:18:03.220 God is like Jesus. The sun radiates the glory 00:18:03.220 --> 00:18:07.259 of God. The sun expresses the very character 00:18:07.259 --> 00:18:10.220 of God. What is this infinite personal trying 00:18:10.220 --> 00:18:14.380 God look like? He's like Jesus. Full of compassion, 00:18:14.599 --> 00:18:17.779 mercy and justice. Embodying love, grace and 00:18:17.779 --> 00:18:19.980 forgiveness. Crossing the other side of the road 00:18:19.980 --> 00:18:22.480 to care for those who are the last, the lost 00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:25.910 and the least. Emptying himself of the infinite 00:18:25.910 --> 00:18:30.230 to become finite, stepping into the world as 00:18:30.230 --> 00:18:33.450 human flesh, walking a lifetime in the human 00:18:33.450 --> 00:18:36.849 experience, pouring about healing power and setting 00:18:36.849 --> 00:18:39.750 the oppressory and ultimately handing over his 00:18:39.750 --> 00:18:43.269 life to die for us. This is what God is like. 00:18:44.470 --> 00:18:49.470 This is the very character of God. Infinite personal 00:18:49.470 --> 00:18:53.720 love in its completeness. Now a couple of years 00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:55.740 ago, I was reading everything of Dallas Willard 00:18:55.740 --> 00:18:59.039 that I could find, because it's so good. And 00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:01.579 one of his lines has just burned into my brain. 00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:05.380 I cannot get it out. We live at the mercy of 00:19:05.380 --> 00:19:09.819 our ideas. And that is never more true than the 00:19:09.819 --> 00:19:13.599 ideas we have about God. I think that's just 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:18.420 unbelievably true. Like, unbelievably true. What 00:19:18.420 --> 00:19:20.920 do you think about God? What do you think about? 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:26.099 transcendent other being. Is God infinite, finite, 00:19:26.539 --> 00:19:29.660 personal or impersonal? It's a foundation block 00:19:29.660 --> 00:19:33.980 for everything else you believe. Everything else 00:19:33.980 --> 00:19:36.140 you believe is at the mercy of your ideas about 00:19:36.140 --> 00:19:39.819 God. Just like when you're building a house. 00:19:39.900 --> 00:19:41.799 I imagine you have to ask Eric because he actually 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:50.009 knows. You are at the mercy of your slab. If 00:19:50.009 --> 00:19:52.170 it's wonky, if it's not level, if it's not big 00:19:52.170 --> 00:19:54.269 enough for what you are wanting to build on it, 00:19:54.269 --> 00:19:57.509 it shapes and misshapes everything you attempt 00:19:57.509 --> 00:20:00.789 to build on top of it. What you believe about 00:20:00.789 --> 00:20:04.410 God shapes what you believe about yourself. For 00:20:04.410 --> 00:20:06.430 example, if you believe that there is no God 00:20:06.430 --> 00:20:10.450 and your life is a cosmic accident, then your 00:20:10.450 --> 00:20:14.430 life has no inherent dignity, no built -in worth, 00:20:14.450 --> 00:20:16.470 and you have to wrap around yourself meaningless 00:20:16.470 --> 00:20:19.220 things in order to feel whole. If you believe 00:20:19.220 --> 00:20:21.119 that there is a cosmic being or power who created 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:23.359 everything but is ultimately undefinable and 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:25.619 unknowable, you know, there might be a plan for 00:20:25.619 --> 00:20:27.779 your life, but it's uncommunicated. Ultimately 00:20:27.779 --> 00:20:33.519 what we're saying, maybe you're insignificant, 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:36.099 not worth the effort, might feel a bit unsafe, 00:20:36.180 --> 00:20:40.519 unsure. But if you believe that the infinite 00:20:40.519 --> 00:20:44.200 personal trying God has made you to reflect Him 00:20:44.200 --> 00:20:48.369 and to be in relationship with Him forever, Then 00:20:48.369 --> 00:20:50.269 no matter where who you are where you've come 00:20:50.269 --> 00:20:52.750 from what you've experienced you are infinitely 00:20:52.750 --> 00:20:57.130 Priceless and worth being treated as such You 00:20:57.130 --> 00:20:59.970 may not be comfortable, but you are ultimately 00:20:59.970 --> 00:21:02.250 and eternally safe because the creator of the 00:21:02.250 --> 00:21:06.390 universe is there and for your good What you 00:21:06.390 --> 00:21:08.529 believe about God is probably the most significant 00:21:08.529 --> 00:21:11.490 thing you believe Because it shapes how you see 00:21:11.490 --> 00:21:13.910 yourself how you see other people because other 00:21:13.910 --> 00:21:15.430 people are made in the image of God or they're 00:21:15.430 --> 00:21:18.170 not and how you see the world and your place 00:21:18.170 --> 00:21:21.809 in it. It's a foundation for your life in so 00:21:21.809 --> 00:21:28.589 many ways. You are at the mercy of it. You know, 00:21:28.690 --> 00:21:30.410 this Apostle's Creed, this ancient declaration 00:21:30.410 --> 00:21:33.230 of the Church begins with, I believe in God, 00:21:34.410 --> 00:21:36.670 the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. 00:21:37.450 --> 00:21:41.130 Why start there? Because you're at the mercy 00:21:41.130 --> 00:21:44.519 of your ideas about God. and to then move on 00:21:44.519 --> 00:21:47.380 and declare the rest of the Creed before you 00:21:47.380 --> 00:21:50.819 can build the rest of the building that is your 00:21:50.819 --> 00:21:53.980 faith. You have to shore up this foundation. 00:21:55.140 --> 00:22:02.039 Who is God? I wonder today, who or what do you 00:22:02.039 --> 00:22:08.079 think about when you think about God? Who do 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:13.809 you think God is? What do you think God is like? 00:22:16.690 --> 00:22:22.309 We probably all have different answers But here's 00:22:22.309 --> 00:22:23.829 some things that I think are common thoughts 00:22:23.829 --> 00:22:28.910 about God deep in our hearts Maybe we think God 00:22:28.910 --> 00:22:40.390 is mad at us Or worse disappointed Maybe we think 00:22:40.460 --> 00:22:43.220 God's got more important people to worry about. 00:22:46.660 --> 00:22:48.240 Maybe you think God's just really not that into 00:22:48.240 --> 00:22:54.220 you. Maybe we're mad at God for what God did 00:22:54.220 --> 00:23:02.240 or did not do. Maybe we're disappointed at what 00:23:02.240 --> 00:23:04.740 we did not receive from the hand of God. We're 00:23:04.740 --> 00:23:06.220 disappointed at what we did receive from the 00:23:06.220 --> 00:23:09.750 hand of God. Maybe we think God is punishing 00:23:09.750 --> 00:23:19.470 us. Maybe you think God's ashamed of you. Maybe 00:23:19.470 --> 00:23:26.069 you feel estranged from God. We have lots of 00:23:26.069 --> 00:23:29.250 ideas about God, and we are at the mercy of those 00:23:29.250 --> 00:23:33.029 ideas. I want to invite you to consider today 00:23:33.029 --> 00:23:37.509 that God has spoken his final word, his final 00:23:37.509 --> 00:23:40.670 idea. about himself and therefore us in the person 00:23:40.670 --> 00:23:43.869 of Jesus Christ. And what is that final word? 00:23:44.750 --> 00:23:47.210 What did God, what did Jesus come to say? It's 00:23:47.210 --> 00:23:51.630 the end of Hebrews 1 verse 3. When he had cleansed 00:23:51.630 --> 00:23:55.990 us from our sins, he sat down at a place of honor 00:23:55.990 --> 00:23:58.849 at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. 00:24:00.009 --> 00:24:03.650 Today most of us sit down to do our work, but 00:24:03.650 --> 00:24:06.529 this is in a primarily physical labor society. 00:24:06.759 --> 00:24:15.299 When do you sit down? The job's done. What was 00:24:15.299 --> 00:24:18.140 the job that Jesus came to do? Cleanse us of 00:24:18.140 --> 00:24:22.259 our sin. The things we do and have done to estrange 00:24:22.259 --> 00:24:25.720 ourselves from God. Jesus came to forgive us, 00:24:25.839 --> 00:24:28.400 to reconcile us, to reconnect us to an infinite 00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:31.980 person of God. Jesus came to make a way for us 00:24:31.980 --> 00:24:34.079 to step into that perfect loving relationship 00:24:34.079 --> 00:24:36.799 with God, the very thing that we were created 00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:40.299 for. The cross and the resurrection of Jesus 00:24:40.299 --> 00:24:46.019 is the final word about this God. How does God 00:24:46.019 --> 00:24:49.940 feel about you? What does God think about you? 00:24:50.059 --> 00:24:54.240 Will we have a definitive answer? This God in 00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:58.759 Jesus loves you so much that he stepped into 00:24:58.759 --> 00:25:07.670 creation. and suffered and died for you. So that 00:25:07.670 --> 00:25:12.869 by your faith, just your faith in Him, you could 00:25:12.869 --> 00:25:16.250 be restored to a personal relationship with the 00:25:16.250 --> 00:25:20.750 trying God forever. Build your ideas about God, 00:25:20.849 --> 00:25:24.289 build your life, not on what you have done or 00:25:24.289 --> 00:25:27.230 have not done, but on what God has done on your 00:25:27.230 --> 00:25:32.000 behalf through Jesus Christ. The job's finished. 00:25:33.359 --> 00:25:35.039 Jesus can sit down, He can crack a cold one, 00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:41.720 He's done. And He did it out of love for you, 00:25:42.680 --> 00:25:49.420 not the person sitting next to you, you. And 00:25:49.420 --> 00:25:52.640 He did it so you could be caught up in the perfect 00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:55.059 relationship and completeness of love with the 00:25:55.059 --> 00:25:58.940 Father, Son and Spirit forever. Do you get, for 00:25:58.940 --> 00:26:02.890 instance, If the work's done, you can't change 00:26:02.890 --> 00:26:08.069 it. You can't earn it. You can't lose it. Jesus 00:26:08.069 --> 00:26:12.089 has made space for you in the very heart of God, 00:26:12.990 --> 00:26:16.690 paid for with His life. All that's required, 00:26:16.809 --> 00:26:21.849 all that's really essential is to declare it 00:26:21.849 --> 00:26:28.859 and mean it. I believe. I believe in God. All 00:26:28.859 --> 00:26:31.480 that's truly essential is faith in God through 00:26:31.480 --> 00:26:34.400 Jesus Christ. That's all that's really essential. 00:26:37.559 --> 00:26:41.960 Today as we ponder who God is and can I get the 00:26:41.960 --> 00:26:46.400 keys up please? You sir. You sir, please tinkle 00:26:46.400 --> 00:26:54.640 on the piano. Today as we ponder who is this 00:26:54.640 --> 00:26:58.339 God and what is he like? We also have to think 00:26:58.339 --> 00:27:02.079 about this question. And you need to think about 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:04.460 this question. Or I would invite you to think 00:27:04.460 --> 00:27:08.200 about this question. What do you believe about 00:27:08.200 --> 00:27:17.160 God? What are your ideas about him? Because I 00:27:17.160 --> 00:27:20.079 think God wants to do some correcting today. 00:27:22.299 --> 00:27:31.180 It's not correct in the sense of You know, being 00:27:31.180 --> 00:28:00.809 shown that the thing. So completely. And so I 00:28:00.809 --> 00:28:04.269 want to invite you today to consider, to consider 00:28:04.269 --> 00:28:06.990 building your life and continuing to build your 00:28:06.990 --> 00:28:10.349 life around the fundamental truth that has been 00:28:10.349 --> 00:28:12.849 espoused by followers of Jesus for 2 ,000 years. 00:28:14.109 --> 00:28:16.630 God is the almighty creator of heaven and earth. 00:28:16.750 --> 00:28:21.369 He's infinite. And God is a father. He is personal. 00:28:23.009 --> 00:28:27.400 God is the completeness of love. And he has expressed 00:28:27.400 --> 00:28:30.000 his love towards you through suffering and dying 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:33.900 on your behalf. So you could be with him forever 00:28:33.900 --> 00:28:39.519 to be loved by him and to love him and enjoy 00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:43.779 him forever. Isn't that the greatest news ever? 00:28:44.299 --> 00:28:52.720 Might be bias. God's not a punitive parent. God 00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:56.559 is passionately and absurdly interested in you. 00:28:57.680 --> 00:29:01.920 Do you believe that? God loves you so much that 00:29:01.920 --> 00:29:04.980 He would be willing to die so that you could 00:29:04.980 --> 00:29:07.960 live. And that is the foundation in which we 00:29:07.960 --> 00:29:10.839 are to build our lives. It is Christ Jesus crucified. 00:29:11.960 --> 00:29:15.259 God is there and He has spoken. He is there. 00:29:15.259 --> 00:29:20.460 He's hanging on a tree that He created. And He 00:29:20.460 --> 00:29:27.259 has spoken a word. It is finished. Friends, I 00:29:27.259 --> 00:29:29.099 wonder if you can see that God has loved you 00:29:29.099 --> 00:29:35.000 first. So today, as we respond, we can unbuckle 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:42.039 ourselves. Maybe today we just have to let go 00:29:42.039 --> 00:29:44.920 of the ways in which we try to earn God's love 00:29:44.920 --> 00:29:50.460 for us. Willard also said, grace is not opposed. 00:29:51.400 --> 00:29:55.200 effort but it is opposed to earning grace is 00:29:55.200 --> 00:29:57.779 opposed to the ways in which we try and earn 00:29:57.779 --> 00:30:03.180 the grace right to live up to the grace that 00:30:03.180 --> 00:30:07.440 we've been given effort is fine earning is not 00:30:07.440 --> 00:30:15.380 maybe stop proving that trying to prove that 00:30:15.380 --> 00:30:21.180 got to God that we are worthy and maybe Maybe 00:30:21.180 --> 00:30:22.980 for you, you're on the fence and you want to 00:30:22.980 --> 00:30:29.400 choose to build your life on faith in God. Maybe 00:30:29.400 --> 00:30:31.400 for you, you've realized that your ideas about 00:30:31.400 --> 00:30:35.619 God are misshapen and you want to invite the 00:30:35.619 --> 00:30:38.059 Spirit today to just come and correct you, whatever 00:30:38.059 --> 00:30:41.940 that is. I want to invite us, if you're willing 00:30:41.940 --> 00:30:45.400 to stand. This might be a bit clumsy, but that's 00:30:45.400 --> 00:30:54.799 fine. Stand. Just close your eyes and hold out 00:30:54.799 --> 00:30:58.279 your hands in front of you. And if we could get 00:30:58.279 --> 00:31:04.660 the keys up a little bit, that'd be great. I 00:31:04.660 --> 00:31:08.579 just want to invite everyone to speak this first 00:31:08.579 --> 00:31:14.720 line of the Creed as a prayer, a declaration. 00:31:15.389 --> 00:31:17.750 And maybe you need to get on your knees to say 00:31:17.750 --> 00:31:19.829 this. Maybe you need to walk around the back 00:31:19.829 --> 00:31:23.670 of the room and pace. Maybe you need to throw 00:31:23.670 --> 00:31:26.450 your hands in the air. But I just want you to 00:31:26.450 --> 00:31:28.309 speak it. If you're willing, you don't have to 00:31:28.309 --> 00:31:31.150 do this. Over and over and over again, I believe 00:31:31.150 --> 00:31:34.049 in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven 00:31:34.049 --> 00:31:38.509 and earth. And just say it and pray it over and 00:31:38.509 --> 00:31:41.329 over like a bit of a chant until your prayers 00:31:41.329 --> 00:31:45.509 flow. until you begin to confess your earning 00:31:45.509 --> 00:31:49.809 or confess your unbelief or confess that you 00:31:49.809 --> 00:32:12.799 need to be corrected. Thanks again for listening. 00:32:13.339 --> 00:32:13.839 God bless you.