Sermon Tone Analysis

Welcome

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Our door to door evangelism this past Sunday and yesterday

Tyler

Brandon

Samuel

Kathy

Halie

Scripture Reading:

Hebrews 12:25–29 (NLT): Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking.

For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! 26 When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.”

27 This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain.

28 Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.

29 For our God is a devouring fire.

Pastoral Prayer

Pray for the lost

Pray for transformation of our hearts

Pray for God presence in this place

Pray for God’s will to be revealed to us in relocating

INTRODUCTION

What comes to mind when you hear someone say they know God, they speak to God, and God speaks to them, leads them, and teaches them?

Many people when they hear someone say they know God on a personal level and God speaks to them they immediately doubt.

What do you think?

Can we know God in such a personal way that He is as real as you and I are in here today?

Jesus said this, Matt 11:27 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

What does that mean?

That means that we as sinful finite humans can actually know the all powerful living God who created the heavens and the earth.

That word “know” means more than knowledge about someone.

Epiginōskō describes the most intimate and fullest acquaintance of God the Father.

God has made Himself accessible to human beings and we are going to look at today.

How we can know God on that personal, intimate level

God is the sovereign ruler of His Creation

Explanation

This is a prayer that Jesus is offering up to God the Father.

Jesus is publically confessing God as Ruler of heaven and earth

What does that tell us about God?

The word “Lord” means He is the only ruler, the king of Kings and Lord of lords.

Since God is the Creator of heaven and earth, He is the supreme ruler of His creation!

God has dominion over all the earth and God owns the earth

He is free to reveal and conceal anything that He wishes

As the owner of all things, God can do as he pleases according to His will

ILLUSTRATION: Storm

Did anyone experience the winds we had on Friday?

God has complete control of those winds

The wind must ask His permission to blow a certain direction

So when you fear the storm, remember who is in control of the storm

Bridge

Humanity is also part of God’s creation

God created Adam and formed him from the dust of the ground

And we know that God created Eve from a rib that He took out of Adam

The human race is part of God’s creation

And as part of his creation, God is over all of us as well

He allows things to come into our lives

And He withholds things from our lives

And He has the right to give or withhold according to His will because He owns it all and possess all wisdom and knowledge

Application

There is no higher authority or power in this life than God

The wise person understands this truth and lives their lives according to wisdom of God over the wisdom of this world

The man who somehow thinks he knows better than God who created life has become a fool.

If God says to the church, this is the way we are to do church, then that is the way we are to do church

If God says to the husband, this is the way you are to live with your wife, then the wise man will do as God says

If God says this is the way you raise your kids, then the wise man or woman will raise their kids just as God has said.

If God has said this is how you can know Me personally, the wise man or woman will listen up.

And that is exactly what I want to talk about today: How anyone can know God as their Heavenly Father

God reveals Himself to those who are child-like and “hides” Himself from those who are wise in their own eyes

Explanation

What are “these things”?

It refers to the all the things Jesus taught in His ministry!

The things pertaining to the Kingdom of God

The spiritual truths in this life that tell us how to live and have a relationship with God

The very character and nature of God

The second coming of Jesus Christ

Judgement

Heaven

Righteousness

Election

Who does God in His sovereignty choose reveal Himself to?

He reveals Himself to those who are child like

This does not mean immature or of young age.

It does not mean those who like candy and throw pouty fits when they do not get their way

The word “infant” is a metaphor

ILLUSTRATION

Think about a child.

What comes to mind when you think about a child?

Cute, cudley, needs to be fed every 15 minutes, needs a diaper every 5 minutes, needs to be held, needs their nose sucked every hour.

An infant is helpless.

They are totally dependent upon their parent

An infant cannot feed himself, cannot cloth himself, cannot even change his own diaper.

They are 100% totally dependent upon someone else

This is what it means to be child-like

It is knowing that apart from God, His wisdom and spiritual truth we are lost and helpless.

It is knowing that the thought process of this world is not sufficient to have a relationship with a supernatural God.

God reveals Himself to those who know they desperately need Him and His wisdom and His guidance.

In contrast to that, God withholds Himself to who think they are already wise and know it all

We will call these the spiritually arrogant

They think they have life all figured out and when they come to God’s truth and wisdom they reject it because they think they are too smart for God and they do not need His instruction

They reject the wisdom of God because they think they do not need it

This does not mean that smart people cannot be saved.

He does not say the wise are lost and the stupid are saved.

This is a contrast between pride and humility, not intelligence and ignorance.