Godzfriends

Sermon Title: “Five Reasons I Believe in God”

Sermon Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-16; preached UBC 8.28.11 AM service

Intro: Ask congregation, “Why do you believe in God?”

1. Cosmos/creation
   1. why something and not nothing?
   2. why order and not chaos?
   3. why conditions just right for the existence of life, and not the opposite?
   4. why intelligent life, and not simple, live by instinct life?
   5. why human life with the ability to understand the concepts of God and eternity?
2. Canon/Scriptures
   1. 66 books written over at least 3,000 years, and all have a common theme and purpose--the glory of God and the explanation of the universe and us.
   2. the large number of fulfillment of prophecies to nth degree--e.g. Ezekiel’s prophecies about Tyre
3. Conscience/right and wrong
   1. every person has a conscience and a very strong sense of right and wrong
   2. every people group has a system of laws that are almost identical
4. Context/personal experiences with God
   1. my personal experiences with God Himself
   2. the experiences of millions of Christians that are so identical to each other
   3. other religions claim mystical experiences, too, but Christian ones can be related directly to the teachings and accounts of the Bible and its 66 books
5. Conflux/the place where everything comes together.  Conflux: a flowing together, or into each other, as rivers or their tributaries; a confluence.  Only in the Christian faith does every aspect of the universe and human existence and experience come together, with logical, reasonable, and completely adequate explanations of everything!

Conclusion: Realize that you are a part of something very, very, very BIG!  God did not create us for this world.  God created us for the next AGE!  This world is simply a proving ground for the creatures who will inhabit the next AGE, not just a world, but a AGE!  For that He has to have people who have the same character, the same holiness that He has, to be the rulers, mini-creators, and administrators of it.  Character, holiness, is the most important ingredient for the people who will inhabit the age to come.  That is why we are  not instantly changed into complete holiness when we are saved.  God takes us through a process of sanctification, making us more and more holy, making us more and more like Him, so we can inhabit, rule, create, and administer the Age to come.  That is why He puts us in churches of not so nice people, so we will rub against each other, and learn to love each other when we are not like Jesus.  That develops our character, our holiness!

Quote:

What you can become is far greater than what you have already been. What you may accomplish has more to do with the ability of God to bless something than it does with their experience or their personal abilities.  --paraphrase of Ralph Moore in “How to Multiply Your Church,” p. 241.