This past Sunday I decided to do something unique since it was my first time to preach since moving to Jacksonville, Texas. I began by sharing my specific prayer for the church.
My prayer is that each and everyone at Fellowship Bible Church would have...
A RIGHT VIEW OF GOD
You don’t have to look too closely to see that the world does not think too highly of the God of the Bible. I recently re-watched a clip of Oprah Winfrey questioning a Biblical attribute of God. She accepted the fact that God is a loving God, but did not believe God to be a jealous God. She said that it did not feel right in her spirit to think of God in that way. When discussing what God is like, many treat His attributes like food in a cafeteria. They receive the likable attributes and leave those they dislike.
If God began with us, in other words, if we conjured God up in our minds then it makes sense that we could believe whatever we wanted about Him. The Bible, however, teaches that we began with God (Gen. 1:1). Therefore, it does not make since that we determine what God is like. The Bible affirms that because He has always existed and is unchanging He is to be understood in a certain way.
The reason it is important to think rightly about God is because right thinking leads to right living. This leads me to the second part of this first point. I pray that thinking rightly about Him would also result in the church being God-centered in the way they live.
A RIGHT VIEW OF SCRIPTURE
I recently had a conversation with someone who was amazed when I said the Bible was my only reliable authority. She thought I was putting too much stock in one book. I told her, "The Bible says that all Scripture is given by God. If that's the case, what other authority would I place myself under?"
Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16, "All Scripture is inspired by God." That word "inspired" can also be translated "God Breathed" or" filled up with the breath of God" and means that the words in the Bible carry the same authority as if God spoke them audibly.
This verse of Scripture also tells us that all Scripture is profitable for the people of God. Therefore, we should live under its authority. All of life—events and choices great and small—should be governed by the Word of God.
A RIGHT VIEW OF SELF
According to a study done by the Barna Group, "Eighty-five percent of American adults believe that they will stand before God to be judged and believe in hell, but only 11% think they might go there." The reason being that people honestly think their best is good enough. Scripture, however, teaches that apart from Christ one will fail the divine inspection.
Romans 3 gives a great description of sin and its effects. From this chapter we are told that sin is universal and as a result all people without exception are without excuse (vv. 9-10), proven guilty (vv. 11-18), accountable to God (v. 19), and in need (v. 20).
A RIGHT VIEW OF CHRIST
Many do not see Christ as necessary. In another survey done by the Barna Group they found that over one-fourth of so-called Christians agree with the statement, "If a person is good, or does enough good things for others, they will earn a place in Heaven."
People like to think that works count for something when it comes to salvation. Scripture is clear, however, that they do not. Salvation is by grace alone through faith in Christ alone. It is undeserved—not by works.
A RIGHT VIEW OF FAITH
We often focus on the fact that we have been saved by God, but forget that we also have been saved for God. Some wrongly conclude that being saved means your off the hook and free to live as you want. That is not salvation. The purpose of salvation is to free people from sin, not to free them to partake in sin.
I said in my sermon a few weeks ago that Scripture says we are to be disciplining ourselves for the purpose of godliness (1 Tim. 4:7). God promises to complete the work He began in us, but does not want us to wait idly by for the work to be complete. He wants us to pursue godliness.
A RIGHT VIEW OF THE CHURCH
Unfortunately many do not see the church as necessary. In another study, Barna reported of a new generation of what he calls “revolutionaries” who are solely focused on their relationship with God and do not see the church as necessary.
What the New Testament teaches, however, is that congregational life is the very means by which we mature as Christians. Throughout the book of Acts, Paul's letters, and the General Epistles we see the importance of preaching, discipline, congregational fellowship, and the central practices of baptism and the Lord's Supper.
