SPEAKER_00: Again, very thankful to be with you all this morning.
SPEAKER_00: The I want to give you the title of my message today, and then I want to give you a little bit of quick explanation, and then we're going to dive right into it.
SPEAKER_00: The title of my message today is What Do the Scriptures Principally Teach?
SPEAKER_00: What do the Scriptures Principally Teach?
SPEAKER_00: Now, I said I was going to give a little bit of explanation.
SPEAKER_00: The Processors the last multiple years, it has been my habit and thought, and it's been a burden upon my mind to preach through books of the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: You know, we've preached through several books of the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: And after we finished our last book, and you know, I had been praying about where we needed to go next.
SPEAKER_00: And um and I this morning I just I want to get out of the way.
SPEAKER_00: As Brother Blake said, I want to attempt to me get out of the way and allow the Holy Spirit to speak.
SPEAKER_00: And uh but I want to just I want to be as clear and I want to in the things that I say, so I want to just tell you what our goal is.
SPEAKER_00: So so what has been set on my mind as of late to preach through is to preach through, and I made a mention of this a week or two ago, is the catechism.
SPEAKER_00: Well, what is that?
SPEAKER_00: You know, that's well Josh, that sounds like a Roman Catholic word.
SPEAKER_00: It's the word catechism simply means a form of instruction by means of questions and answers, particularly in the principles of religion.
SPEAKER_00: That's all that is.
SPEAKER_00: And throughout the years, there have been faiths and orders, even the Baptists have attempted to put together a catechism.
SPEAKER_00: Or, in other words, all that is is a logical structure of questions and answers that pertain to the great truths of religion in the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: That's what that is.
SPEAKER_00: And so, what it is, it's a kind of a logical attempt to deal with the most important questions of the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: That's what that is.
SPEAKER_00: And so the last few Sundays, the titles of our message have been, What is the chief end of man?
SPEAKER_00: And the answer to that question is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
SPEAKER_00: And the second question was, what rule hath God given us to direct how we are to glorify and enjoy him?
SPEAKER_00: And the short answer to that is the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: Now, well, Brother Josh, you say these things, and you know, uh, brothers and sisters, I just want to tell you that as a pastor, I'm excited about these things because these are some of the most important things in the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: That um, and this morning I hope to bring a message to you that has been exciting for me to study, and uh but but I want to encourage you that uh I know y'all don't come here to hear me, y'all come here to hear the word of God, but I would encourage you, don't miss a single sermon.
SPEAKER_00: Don't miss a single message because every single one of them is important.
SPEAKER_00: And the thing that I have figured out as I have started preaching through these or studying through these great truths of the Bible is that all of them are important.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, brothers and sisters, we all know that you can literally pick any verse out of the Bible and study on it and preach on it.
SPEAKER_00: It is important.
SPEAKER_00: Amen?
SPEAKER_00: I mean, because it's the word of God.
SPEAKER_00: And we established that last Sunday that the that the uh our guide, our rule for for walking in this world is the Bible, is the word of God, and it's very important.
SPEAKER_00: And so this is just continuing teaching in that same vein.
SPEAKER_00: And so this idea of the catechist, so I want to tell you that that's that's my purpose, that's my goal to to teach through the great tenets uh of our faith.
SPEAKER_00: And I want to do that in a question and answer type of way.
SPEAKER_00: And so this morning, the question that we're looking at, and I want to give you a little quick outline this morning, and I also want to tell you, I want to uh we're gonna be covering a little bit of ground.
SPEAKER_00: So if any of y'all are note takers, all the scriptures that I quote, I'm going to be quoting word for word.
SPEAKER_00: Uh I'm going to read them.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, and so, but we're going to be going to several, so you may want to just write down that scripture reference and then go back and check me.
SPEAKER_00: That's strictly up to you.
SPEAKER_00: I just want to let you know I'm not trying to run off and leave you, but I want to, and I don't want to get in y'all's way and not slow down enough to teach.
SPEAKER_00: And so, y'all please pray for me as we attempt to do that.
SPEAKER_00: So, the question is, what do the scriptures principally teach?
SPEAKER_00: Like, what it what is the Bible all about?
SPEAKER_00: What is its purpose?
SPEAKER_00: What is it trying to tell us?
SPEAKER_00: Well, there are two main things that the Bible is trying to teach man.
SPEAKER_00: One, the Bible teaches what man is to believe concerning God.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible teaches man what to believe concerning God.
SPEAKER_00: Secondly, the Bible teaches what duty God requires of man.
SPEAKER_00: This morning we're not going to deal with what duty is required of man.
SPEAKER_00: This morning, our message is about one thing.
SPEAKER_00: What the Bible teaches men to believe concerning God.
SPEAKER_00: Well, I want to give you seven points, and we're going to move through these quickly.
SPEAKER_00: But let me go ahead and give those to you.
SPEAKER_00: The seven things that I want to give you about what the Bible teaches man to believe about God is this.
SPEAKER_00: Number one, God exists.
SPEAKER_00: Number two, God is one God.
SPEAKER_00: There are no others.
SPEAKER_00: Number three, God is a trinity of persons.
SPEAKER_00: Number four, God is creator.
SPEAKER_00: Number five, God is sovereign or all powerful.
SPEAKER_00: Number six, God is unchangeable.
SPEAKER_00: And number seven, God is holy, holy, holy.
SPEAKER_00: That's the seven.
SPEAKER_00: Well, let's dive right into it.
SPEAKER_00: So, what does the Bible teach that men are to believe about God?
SPEAKER_00: About his person, about his character, about who he is, about his attributes, all the things.
SPEAKER_00: What does the Bible teach man that we are supposed to believe about God?
SPEAKER_00: And one thing I want y'all to notice that as we go through these, I want you to see how that all of these things are interwoven.
SPEAKER_00: When we talk about God's sovereignty, or we talk about God's creation or who he is and uh what his purpose is.
SPEAKER_00: All of these things.
SPEAKER_00: I want y'all to see how all of these things intertwine and connect with one another.
SPEAKER_00: Some of these scriptures that we'll read and then we'll read a different scripture.
SPEAKER_00: Well, Brother Josh, that sounds a whole lot like the other scripture.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, and it should, because the Bible is in agreement on all of these things.
SPEAKER_00: So let's just dive into the very first one.
SPEAKER_00: God exists.
SPEAKER_00: Well, Brother Josh, we're at church this morning, and your first point is that God exists.
SPEAKER_00: You know, why do you need to teach us about that?
SPEAKER_00: I want you all to think about that for a minute.
SPEAKER_00: Do y'all know there are many men and women in this world right now, today, that are breathing, and many men and women in this world that have lived through all throughout the ages that do not believe that God exists.
SPEAKER_00: That's a fact.
SPEAKER_00: There are men and women that are teaching in schools and they're also just walking around the world.
SPEAKER_00: They do not believe that God actually exists.
SPEAKER_00: That's a thing.
SPEAKER_00: So one of the reasons we're talking today about the great tenets of the faith is that what does the Bible teach that man is to believe about God?
SPEAKER_00: Well, the first thing that man is to believe about God is that God actually exists.
SPEAKER_00: So let's go all the way back to the front of the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: Genesis chapter 1, verse 1, and we read, in the beginning, God.
SPEAKER_00: Now we know the rest of that verse, created the heaven and the earth.
SPEAKER_00: But just the first part of the first verse of the entire Bible, in the beginning, God.
SPEAKER_00: What is that assuming?
SPEAKER_00: It is assuming that God actually exists, right?
SPEAKER_00: That there is a God, there is a creator of the universe, there is a creator of the heavens and earth, that there is a creator of man and of the animals and of the planets and the universe.
SPEAKER_00: And that's what we read in the beginning chapters of the book of Genesis.
SPEAKER_00: It's the creation of all things.
SPEAKER_00: It's Genesis, meaning the beginning, the origin, where it all came from.
SPEAKER_00: And so I want to show you this morning that one of the things that the Bible teaches us, one of the primary things, is that it's showing man that, look, God exists.
SPEAKER_00: You know, there are people that believe, well, you know, we just, you know, we evolved from uh you know evolution, and you know, we, you know, we came from apes, and it took millions and billions of years, and you know, we have evolved to this point where we're literally now flying around in airplanes and putting men on the moon, and and man has done all of that on his own, and we evolved from some single-cell organism.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, there are people that actually believe that.
SPEAKER_00: And then there is you and I.
SPEAKER_00: That we actually believe that an almighty creator God formed man of the dust of the ground and made him in his image.
SPEAKER_00: So the first thing that the Bible teaches that man is to believe about God is that God exists, that he's real.
SPEAKER_00: So let me take you to another place in Hebrews chapter 11.
SPEAKER_00: And again, I'm gonna quote these for you as we go through, because we're gonna be uh going to several.
SPEAKER_00: But in Hebrews chapter 11, in verse 6 we read, Paul writes to the Jews, and he says, Hebrews 11 6, but without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
SPEAKER_00: So I want you to see that Paul's statement to the Jews is that for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, that he is God, that he is creator, he is who he says he is.
SPEAKER_00: Well, God has told us in the Bible what we are to believe about him.
SPEAKER_00: And as Paul writes to the Jews, they are the chosen people of God, he says, For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
SPEAKER_00: Now go back to the beginning of that same chapter, Hebrews chapter 11, beginning in verse 1.
SPEAKER_00: It says, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
SPEAKER_00: Now stop right there.
SPEAKER_00: There are people who don't believe in God or that God exists, and then they, as an outward party, look in on the church and say, Well, I think all those Christians are foolish.
SPEAKER_00: How in the world can they believe in a supernatural being that created the world in six days, and you know, there are stories in their Bible like the Noah's flood and these type of things, and David and Goliath and the parting of the Red Sea, and they think all these things are literal fairy tales.
SPEAKER_00: And they think that Christians are weak-minded folks, well, you know, religion is a crutch, and you know, and they don't they don't have a scientific enough mind to believe in evolution.
SPEAKER_00: And that's the way that lost people who have this mentality, they look at Christians and they think that we're foolish for believing in this.
SPEAKER_00: Well, now I want to stop right there and think for just a minute.
SPEAKER_00: You and I are here today in South Mississippi of all places, and you and I believe in a man who walked on this earth 2,000 years ago, who was a Jewish man, who didn't even speak English, by the way, who didn't look like you and I actually look, and we believe that that man was supernaturally born into this world of a virgin, and he is literally the Son of God come to redeem sinful men from his sinfulness.
SPEAKER_00: And you and I are gathered together on a Sunday morning when you and I, excuse me, could be doing something else.
SPEAKER_00: Why are we here today?
SPEAKER_00: Because you and I believe that God exists, right?
SPEAKER_00: We believe that this is a truth story, an actual correct, accurate narrative of the history of the world.
SPEAKER_00: And you and I believe that.
SPEAKER_00: Well, the Bible says in Hebrews 11:1, now faith, that's the faith that you and I have, is the substance of things hoped for.
SPEAKER_00: It is the evidence of things not seen.
SPEAKER_00: What is it, brothers and sisters, that people have been believing in the Lord for thousands of years?
SPEAKER_00: Because God wrote his heart laws in their hearts and their minds, and the fact that you and I fervently believe this.
SPEAKER_00: If I were to pin one of you Christians down today after church, if I were to go and pick out Sister Peggy or Sister Ann or Brother Ross and after church and say, I want you to tell me, do you really believe in this Jesus Christ that we're talking about?
SPEAKER_00: And I would assume and believe that, yes, Brother Josh, I believe that Jesus Christ really existed.
SPEAKER_00: He really went to the cross, he was really the Son of God, He really did all the things that the Bible said about him, and I believe that he is my Lord and Savior.
SPEAKER_00: And brothers and sisters, y'all believe that just as soon as I'm standing here speaking too loud.
SPEAKER_00: My wife says that I talk really loud.
SPEAKER_00: And I by the way, I don't just do that at church, I do it all the time.
SPEAKER_00: I have to turn the volume level down.
SPEAKER_00: My point is, brother, why is it that you believe that?
SPEAKER_00: Because God has done a work in your life and given you that knowledge and wrote that in your heart.
SPEAKER_00: The faith that you have is the substance of things hoped for.
SPEAKER_00: It is evidence of things not seen, it is evidence of God supernaturally working in this world and doing his work amongst his people.
SPEAKER_00: And the fact that you and I are today is just a simple evidence of that.
SPEAKER_00: Not the only evidence of that, it's just one among many.
SPEAKER_00: For by it the elders obtained a good report.
SPEAKER_00: Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of the things which do appear.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, God literally spoke into the darkness and created the light.
SPEAKER_00: You know, men can go and mine stone and they can cut trees and they can grind it into mortar and they can go uh mine ore out of the earth and turn it into rebar, and men can go out there and build a bridge, right?
SPEAKER_00: They can do that.
SPEAKER_00: And they have engineers and architects and very smart people and laborers that can go and do all of that, can move the earth, and they can do that.
SPEAKER_00: They can build a bridge that spans a huge swamp or sea or whatever the case is.
SPEAKER_00: But do y'all know that men didn't make any of those materials, right?
SPEAKER_00: They literally just went and dug them up out of the earth and they refined them and they changed them, and then they took the raw materials and they built something out of it.
SPEAKER_00: But see, we understand that God literally spoke into the world and created matter from nothing.
SPEAKER_00: Man can't do that.
SPEAKER_00: Man can only take what God has given him and then go and rework the thing.
SPEAKER_00: We can take the barley and make a loaf of bread, but we can't make the barley from thin air, right?
SPEAKER_00: We can't do that.
SPEAKER_00: But God can.
SPEAKER_00: So, Hebrews 11 6, I'm sorry, Hebrews 11 3, through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
SPEAKER_00: God made something out of nothing, in other words.
SPEAKER_00: Well, there's a lot of people in the world that don't believe that at all.
SPEAKER_00: And they believe that you and I are foolish for believing that very thing, that a God exists and he made this world from nothing.
SPEAKER_00: But that's what we believe.
SPEAKER_00: So that's my first point.
SPEAKER_00: That the Bible teaches about God, that God exists.
SPEAKER_00: Second point: that uh God is one God.
SPEAKER_00: God is one God.
SPEAKER_00: There is no other.
SPEAKER_00: So in Deuteronomy chapter 6, and y'all will also notice that we'll be bouncing back and forth from the Old Testament to the New Testament, because again, all of these things are interwoven, and all of these things do overlap.
SPEAKER_00: So in Deuteronomy chapter 6, we read in verse 4.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible tells us, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Well, that seems to be a very simple verse.
SPEAKER_00: Well, Jesus commented on that verse in the New Testament in Mark chapter 12.
SPEAKER_00: Mark chapter 12 and verse 28, we read.
SPEAKER_00: Mark chapter 12, verse 28.
SPEAKER_00: And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, so this is a man who is a scribe.
SPEAKER_00: He records the scrolls of the Old Testament.
SPEAKER_00: He's an educated man, a lawyer, a doctor of the law, as it were.
SPEAKER_00: And one of the scribes came, and having he was listening to Jesus, who was teaching, he says, and one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, that Jesus had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus said in Mark 12 and 29, and Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Well, what are the implications of that?
SPEAKER_00: The implications are, brothers and sisters, is that God is one singular God.
SPEAKER_00: There are no other gods in this world.
SPEAKER_00: Well, if you go back in history, Brother Josh, aren't there all of these different cultures and all of these different nations that worship all of these other different uh gods, you know, the gods of Egypt and Babylon and the Assyrians and all of these, you know, there are the again, you know the story.
SPEAKER_00: In history, there are all of these other gods.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, there are.
SPEAKER_00: And you know what?
SPEAKER_00: Those are all lowercase G lies, fabrications of Satan.
SPEAKER_00: But we've mentioned that there are only two religions in the world.
SPEAKER_00: There are Christianity, which is the truth, and every other religion that is opposed to the truth, by whatever name it goes throughout all the generations.
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't matter if it's the Viking religions or the Babylonians religion, it doesn't matter.
SPEAKER_00: It is a fabricated lie of Satan that he wants you to worship him or worship things other than God.
SPEAKER_00: Well, see, if God exists and he is the creator of the world, then y'all tell me who are you and I supposed to serve?
SPEAKER_00: We're supposed to serve him.
SPEAKER_00: Why does man exist?
SPEAKER_00: What?
SPEAKER_00: To glorify God?
SPEAKER_00: To glorify the one and only creator of the universe.
SPEAKER_00: If God is really real, then you and I owe our lives to Him.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Again, all these things build on the other.
SPEAKER_00: So God exists, and there is only one God.
SPEAKER_00: There are no other gods besides the God of the Bible, the God of Scriptures, the one true and living God.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus said that was the first commandment.
SPEAKER_00: He goes on, so Mark chapter 20 12, Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.
SPEAKER_00: This is the first commandment.
SPEAKER_00: And the second is like, namely this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
SPEAKER_00: There is none other commandment greater than these.
SPEAKER_00: And the scribe said unto him, Well, master, thou hast said the truth, for there is one God, and there is none other but he.
SPEAKER_00: One God.
SPEAKER_00: Satan's not God.
SPEAKER_00: Well, Brother Josh, I believe that Christianity is just one road that leads to heaven.
SPEAKER_00: Well, Christianity is the one singular road that leads to heaven.
SPEAKER_00: There are no other roads that lead to heaven.
SPEAKER_00: Period.
SPEAKER_00: End of story.
SPEAKER_00: If you believe God's account about himself according to the Bible, there is only one God.
SPEAKER_00: There are no other gods.
SPEAKER_00: Well, Josh, that means that all other religions outside the truth of the Bible and Christianity are false.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, you are correct.
SPEAKER_00: I just made that statement.
SPEAKER_00: And that is the statement that the Bible makes about itself.
SPEAKER_00: Well, that seems kind of offensive.
SPEAKER_00: Well, I don't think God was concerned about offending us, us people who we like sheep have all gone astray, and we want to go worship idols and chase the things of this earth.
SPEAKER_00: We want to go bow down to the sun, or we want to go and literally make an idol out of a carved piece of wood and go cover it with gold and set it up on a mantelpiece in our house, and we want to pray to that little gold figurine.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, please bless my crops, and oh, please bless my family.
SPEAKER_00: And the Lord is saying, how foolish are we to think that a man literally took a pocket knife and carved out a piece of wood and set it on his mantle and covered it with gold and a hammer, and then now I'm bowing down to the thing that I actually made myself.
SPEAKER_00: How foolish is that?
SPEAKER_00: But men have done that throughout all the ages.
SPEAKER_00: And God, in his word, when he tells us about himself, is trying to establish to us that look, there's only one God, none other.
SPEAKER_00: The things that you and I are talking about are very basic tenets of the Christian faith, but it's things that the world has gotten wrong throughout the millennia.
SPEAKER_00: Third point.
SPEAKER_00: Y'all see we are moving through these.
SPEAKER_00: The third point is that God is a trinity of persons.
SPEAKER_00: God is a trinity of persons.
SPEAKER_00: There is only one God, but that one God exists in three persons.
SPEAKER_00: Let's go all the way back to Genesis.
SPEAKER_00: All the way back to Genesis chapter 1, verse 1.
SPEAKER_00: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 2, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the capital S, Spirit of God, moved upon the face of the waters.
SPEAKER_00: And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.
SPEAKER_00: Now we're not going to read through the rest of that, but I want you to see that in Genesis chapter 1, verse 1 and 2, in the beginning, God created the heaven and earth.
SPEAKER_00: In verse 2 it says there, and the capital S, Spirit of God, moved upon the face of the waters.
SPEAKER_00: Well, Brother Josh, I see right there in the Genesis creation account that obviously the first verse is talking about Father God.
SPEAKER_00: Well, I also see the capital S, Spirit of God, mentioned.
SPEAKER_00: That is talking about the Holy Spirit of God, because the S is capitalized, and that represents the Holy Spirit of God.
SPEAKER_00: So that's two of the three persons that are contained in the Trinity.
SPEAKER_00: Well, so now look down to verse 26, Genesis chapter 1, verse 26.
SPEAKER_00: And God says, Let us make man in our image.
SPEAKER_00: The word our is plural.
SPEAKER_00: And God is talking about Himself.
SPEAKER_00: Let us make man in our image.
SPEAKER_00: So, but Joshua, you saying that God is plural?
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
SPEAKER_00: Let us make man in our image after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
SPEAKER_00: Now, so God says, Let us make man in our image.
SPEAKER_00: And we see in the Genesis 1 creation account that Father God is mentioned, and we see that the Holy Spirit is mentioned, okay?
SPEAKER_00: Those two are mentioned.
SPEAKER_00: Y'all turn with me to John chapter 1 in the Gospels.
SPEAKER_00: John chapter 1.
SPEAKER_00: I want to show you where Jesus Christ is distinctly mentioned in regard to creation.
SPEAKER_00: In John chapter 1, beginning in verse 1.
SPEAKER_00: So John tells us, John 1, 1, in the beginning was the capital W word.
SPEAKER_00: That is a proper name.
SPEAKER_00: The capital W word in John 1 is referring to the Lord Jesus Christ, and I'll prove that to you.
SPEAKER_00: In the beginning was the capital W word, that's Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: In the beginning was Jesus Christ, and the word was with God, and the Word was God.
SPEAKER_00: The same was in the beginning with God.
SPEAKER_00: All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
SPEAKER_00: In him was life, and that life was the light of men, and the light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.
SPEAKER_00: So John goes into a sermon here saying that Jesus was in the beginning with God, and then he tells the Jews about it, and then the Jews didn't believe it.
SPEAKER_00: And then you read down to verse 14, John 1.14.
SPEAKER_00: And again, and the capital W word was made flesh.
SPEAKER_00: Stop right there.
SPEAKER_00: This capital W word, which is a proper name, it says was made flesh.
SPEAKER_00: The word was made flesh.
SPEAKER_00: Well, who was that?
SPEAKER_00: That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: He is the Son of God, He is God made man, and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father.
SPEAKER_00: Again, it identified him again, full of grace and truth.
SPEAKER_00: John bare witness of him, who is the him, the word made flesh, the only begotten of the Father, and cried saying, This was he of whom I spake.
SPEAKER_00: He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me, and of his fullness have all we received and full of grace, for the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
SPEAKER_00: So John just told us that the Word was in the beginning with God, and that God didn't make anything without the Word.
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus Christ is part of that plural our.
SPEAKER_00: Let us make man in our image.
SPEAKER_00: God said, Let us make man in the image of the Father, in the image of the Son, and the image of the Holy Ghost.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: Now, real quick, y'all stay with me.
SPEAKER_00: We're trying to move through this.
SPEAKER_00: I want to give you another proof.
SPEAKER_00: Look at Hebrews.
SPEAKER_00: In Hebrews chapter 1.
SPEAKER_00: In Hebrews chapter 1, we read in verse 1, God, that's Father God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in times past in the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.
SPEAKER_00: He's referring to Jesus Christ, who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, in upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high.
SPEAKER_00: He's talking about Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: I want to give you one more verse about this Trinity.
SPEAKER_00: It's found in 1 John chapter 5, verse 7.
SPEAKER_00: 1 John chapter 5, verse 7 reads, For there are three that bear record in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: The capital F Father, the Capital W Word, that's the name of Jesus, and the Capital H Holy Ghost, and these three are one.
SPEAKER_00: The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one.
SPEAKER_00: The third thing that the Bible wants us to understand about God is that God is one God, but he is a trinity of persons.
SPEAKER_00: Well, Brother Josh, why in the Bible, isn't the Trinity ranked like Father God is greater than Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is greater than the Holy Ghost?
SPEAKER_00: Actually, no, they're not.
SPEAKER_00: Well, why you know why is it always, you know, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, or we understand that, you know, how does that work?
SPEAKER_00: It's in order of their appearance.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, Father God is the creator.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Father God created this world and he made the world by the hand of Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost.
SPEAKER_00: Father God appeared in this world first, and then several thousand years later, God became flesh and entered into this world personally, right?
SPEAKER_00: In the person of Jesus Christ, he came second.
SPEAKER_00: And then when Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead and went up to heaven, who did he leave with us in this world to be our counselor who is still with us now in this world?
SPEAKER_00: It's the Holy Ghost.
SPEAKER_00: Father God came first into this world.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus Christ came second into this world.
SPEAKER_00: The Holy Ghost came third into this world in his interaction with people.
SPEAKER_00: It's not a ranking because they are all equal in their glory, because they are all they are literally the three in one God.
SPEAKER_00: They're not three separate gods.
SPEAKER_00: They are one God, period, and they exist in three persons Father God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.
SPEAKER_00: They're not ranked, they're equal, but that has to do with their appearance in this world.
SPEAKER_00: God came first, Christ entered second, Holy Spirit entered last, and he's still here with us now.
SPEAKER_00: Well, Brother Giants, I can't really seem to get my head wrapped around the Trinity.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: I can't either, and I've been a preacher for 30 years of my life.
SPEAKER_00: And do y'all know that most people can't?
SPEAKER_00: You know why?
SPEAKER_00: Because there's nothing else like it.
SPEAKER_00: Well, I've heard preachers try to explain the Trinity with like ice and water and steam.
SPEAKER_00: Give that up.
SPEAKER_00: It's not.
SPEAKER_00: There is no comparison to that.
SPEAKER_00: No offense, brothers and sisters.
SPEAKER_00: This is a little bit above our pay grade.
SPEAKER_00: We are talking about the Almighty creator of the universe and how he exists, that he is one God, he is a sovereign God, he is a holy God, he is one God, but he exists in a trinity of persons, and he chose to reveal himself and enter into this world at three different times in history.
SPEAKER_00: It literally is above our pay grade.
SPEAKER_00: And if you don't believe me, let's read in Romans chapter 11.
SPEAKER_00: Romans chapter 11.
SPEAKER_00: This uh I love what the Bible says here.
SPEAKER_00: It makes crystal clear what we're talking about.
SPEAKER_00: Romans chapter 11.
SPEAKER_00: We're going to begin in verse 33.
SPEAKER_00: Romans 11 and 33.
SPEAKER_00: Oh the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out exclamation point.
SPEAKER_00: For who hath known the mind of the Lord, question mark, or who hath been his counselor, question mark, or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again, question mark, for of him and through him, and to him are all things to whom be glory forever.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Crystal clear.
SPEAKER_00: What do you mean, Brother Gize?
SPEAKER_00: Crystal clear.
SPEAKER_00: You know what this word actually means when it says how unsearchable are his judgments?
SPEAKER_00: The word unsearchable means cannot be fully understood or investigated.
SPEAKER_00: It also says his ways are past finding out.
SPEAKER_00: That literally means his path or his road cannot be traced out or followed.
SPEAKER_00: And why is that?
SPEAKER_00: In other words, Brother Josh, I just don't seem, or I can't seem, to wrap my head around the Trinity.
SPEAKER_00: You know how you and I wrap our head around the Trinity?
SPEAKER_00: By the eye of faith.
SPEAKER_00: That you and I literally believe that God exists, and we literally believe what God says about himself through his word.
SPEAKER_00: You're telling me, Brother Josh, that I can't fully understand the Trinity and therefore I just have to believe in it because God has told me to believe in it?
SPEAKER_00: Yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you.
SPEAKER_00: That his ways are past finding out.
SPEAKER_00: There are certain things about God that, no offense, but my little pea brain is not able to understand because I'm not God.
SPEAKER_00: How is it?
SPEAKER_00: Well, Brother Josh, everything in this world, like these bitches that you and I are sitting on today, those were made out of trees.
SPEAKER_00: And you know what?
SPEAKER_00: A long time ago, you know, a seed got planted in the forest and that tree grew up, you know, that tree grew to full size, and some man went and cut it down, and you know what?
SPEAKER_00: They put it in a mill and they dried that, and you know, some man, you know, made these pews and they built them and they stained them, and you know what, and then we bought them, you know, whatever, 30, 40, 50 years ago, and we put them in this church house, and that's why that bench is sitting right there today.
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
SPEAKER_00: And it had an origin, right?
SPEAKER_00: Well, how is it that God didn't have an origin?
SPEAKER_00: That he's always, no, nobody created God, right?
SPEAKER_00: God exists.
SPEAKER_00: Well, my mind doesn't, you know, that bridge out there like we talked about earlier, that it came from concrete and metal and men who made it and architects and engineers, you know, it had an origin.
SPEAKER_00: You know, it was built in 1985 or whenever.
SPEAKER_00: Well, where did God come from?
SPEAKER_00: You you and I, that doesn't compute.
SPEAKER_00: That God is a trinity of persons.
SPEAKER_00: He's one God, but he exists in three persons.
SPEAKER_00: There are some things of God, brothers and sisters, that you and I have to accept about him because he's told us in his word because you and I cannot understand them.
SPEAKER_00: Now, God has given us a tremendous amount in his Bible that you and I can understand, and that you and I can logically wrap our head around.
SPEAKER_00: But there are some things about him and his person and his character that are literally past finding out.
SPEAKER_00: I can't trace his steps, I can't, I can't take the greatest minds in the world and then track down how this is because they don't compare to him, you understand.
SPEAKER_00: Because he's God.
SPEAKER_00: Some things, like Hebrews chapter 11 that you and I mentioned earlier, that you and I just have to accept that God is, that he exists, and that he is who he says he is.
SPEAKER_00: Colossians chapter 1.
SPEAKER_00: You know what, y'all bear with me.
SPEAKER_00: We're about to bring this to a close.
SPEAKER_00: We're not gonna get to all seven this morning.
SPEAKER_00: But we're not gonna skip any of this because it's super important.
SPEAKER_00: And I have lost Colossians in my life.
SPEAKER_00: In Colossians chapter 1, we're gonna begin reading in verse 10.
SPEAKER_00: This is uh, I want y'all to pay attention to this, the the language here.
SPEAKER_00: This is beautiful.
SPEAKER_00: This is Paul's prayer for the Colossian church.
SPEAKER_00: So this is Paul's prayer for Christians.
SPEAKER_00: He says, so Paul writes, verse 10, Colossians chapter 1, verse 10, that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.
SPEAKER_00: We'll stop right there.
SPEAKER_00: Brother Josh, why would you, you know, sometimes y'all preachers are boring, and y'all want to give us lists, and y'all want to give us things like church words, like catechism, and y'all want to give us seven different things or ten different things or 45 different things.
SPEAKER_00: I just don't, you know what, you know what this is?
SPEAKER_00: It is man's attempt.
SPEAKER_00: It is my attempt and your attempt to understand God, to follow God, to walk with him.
SPEAKER_00: And you and I need to get nailed down the things that God tells us about himself.
SPEAKER_00: And he tells us, and we are supposed to increase in the knowledge of God.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 11.
SPEAKER_00: Paul prays for him, strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness.
SPEAKER_00: He wants his patient people to be a patient people, a long-suffering people.
SPEAKER_00: I am so thankful that Bethlehem Church hadn't kicked me out yet.
SPEAKER_00: Y'all might get to that point.
SPEAKER_00: Brother Josh, if you keep droning on these long sermons and give us these long lists, we probably are going to kick you out one day.
SPEAKER_00: I get it.
SPEAKER_00: I understand.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 12 giving thanks unto the Father, which has made us meet or fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints and light.
SPEAKER_00: God who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature, that's Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Now look at this, verse 16.
SPEAKER_00: For by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, the visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by him and for him, and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
SPEAKER_00: And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence, that's Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: So this morning we talked about the fact that what does God tell us that man is to believe about him?
SPEAKER_00: First thing, God exists.
SPEAKER_00: Second thing, there's one God.
SPEAKER_00: Third thing that God exists in three persons, the persons of the Trinity.
SPEAKER_00: We'll have to get to the other four next time.
SPEAKER_00: God is creator, God is sovereign, God is unchangeable, and God is holy.
SPEAKER_00: I hope, brothers and sisters, that you can the things that you and I have been talking about this morning.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna leave y'all with this thought.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says in John chapter 14, verse 6, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
SPEAKER_00: And no man cometh from the Father but by me.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus Christ is the truth.
SPEAKER_00: There is no other God, there is no other religion, there is no other Savior, except for the God of the Bible, except for the Lord Jesus Christ, except for the truth of Scripture.
SPEAKER_00: Now, Brother Josh, you didn't tell us anything this morning that we don't already know.
SPEAKER_00: By the way, I hope that's the case.
SPEAKER_00: I hope that everybody here knows those things that we talked about this morning.
SPEAKER_00: But do you know there is a world full of people out there that does not believe a single thing that you and I talked about this morning?
SPEAKER_00: This is you and I attempting to preach the word of God to share with you the things that God hath revealed to us that He wants us to know about Himself.
SPEAKER_00: I hope this has been an encouragement to you.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna ask Brother Don if he would come up and help us close in a word of song.
SPEAKER_00: The church doors are always open if you desire to unite with a membership of our church.