Jesus Is Lord

So the past few weeks we've been walking through the apostles creed together. What I want to do today is just jump right in. So at all of our locations, if you're able, I want to invite you to stand. It's going to come here on the screen and let's read it out loud together. As we read it, pay attention to the commas. Otherwise it'll get confusing. Read it with me. Would you let's read it together. I believe in God, the father, almighty creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified, died and was buried. He descended to hell the third day. He rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, the father almighty. From there, he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy spirit, the Holy universal church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. And all God's people said, amen. Please be seated. Thank you. If you want to know what God is like, you look at Jesus last week, as we began to break down this creed that has been sung in prisons throughout the ages for people who were imprisoned because of their faith. It's been whispered by martyrs on the way to their execution as they stood strong in their faith in God. As we began to break this down last weekend, we talked about father almighty, Abba almighty. Let me give you a real simple way to remember that. And perhaps you learn this prayer when you were young.

Here's what we learned last weekend. OK, I talked a long time and kind of waxed eloquent. But here's what we learned last weekend. Are you ready? Here it is. God is great. And God is good. How many of you learn that when you were a kid? All right, say it with me. God is great and God is good. Let us thank him for our food. How many of you learn that one? How many of you did? God is good. God is great. Let us thank him for what's on our plate. How many of you did that one? OK, I'm going to give you this reality for the rest of eternity. Here's what we're going to be learning. We're going to be learning that God is great and that God is good. I'm going to help you right now. You are never going to get any deeper than that. God is great. And God is good. And his greatness. And his goodness. Is revealed in the person. Of Jesus. You know, I grew up in church and as I got older, I thought maybe God changed over time. Because it seemed to me he was really mean in the Old Testament. And really nice in the New Testament. If you're new to church and you don't know what I'm talking about,

the Old Testament, there's different things that would happen and plagues and the wrath of God is on display. And in the New Testament, it's all about Jesus. And so it seems that God is angry in the old and nice in the new. And I couldn't make sense of that. If you've ever felt that way, would you just lift your hand on location so we all know we're not alone in this? Yeah. And I used to even think, right, God is great and God is good. And then and then I would hear like scientists on television. I heard this not too long ago, a famous scientist was being interviewed. And he's an atheist. And he said, well, I'm going to disprove God right now. So, of course, I leaned in. And he said, terrible things happen in the world. So if God is all good. Then he couldn't be all great because bad things happen. Terrible things happen in the world. So if he was all great, then he's obviously not all good. And so obviously there is no God. Who is all great and all good. And I'm watching this interview and I'm waiting on the host to like challenge that, and he doesn't. They just went on. If it were me, I would have said, you're a brilliant scientist. And he probably would have said, well, yes, I am. And I would say, no, really, I thought you were smart. You think you just took it down with that? Everybody think with me.

Do you know why bad things happen? Because God is great and good. Think, think. Do you know why bad things happen? Because God is good. Love does not force its way. Love does not control. Love opens itself up to be received or rejected. It's the great risk of love. It's why we're all so nervous when we love somebody. Might not work out. All kinds of love, all kinds of relationships, all kinds of situations, but love is risky. And the greatest expression of goodness is love. Do you wanna know why bad things happen? Because we've rejected God. Bad things happen because God is good and he ran the risk of love. It's free will, it's our choices, and we've gone our own way. And yet God is great. He is all powerful. He is all knowing and his greatness actually submits to his goodness. The greatest aspect of God is his character. And everybody wants to know, is he great or is he good? Because he can't be both. Because if he were both, then bad things would, no, no, no, no. He is both.

This is why bad things happen. I'm gonna give you an example. If you love something, you will hate some things. Your character is really revealed by what it is you hate. Some people hate to be bothered. Some people hate injustice. Two very different things. There's a time to be nice, kind, gentle. That's what goodness would require. There's a time to be angry. There's a time to be angry. There's a time to be angry, possibly even violent, because that's what goodness would require. I'll give you an example. Let's say this week I'm walking out to my truck somewhere and it's late at night and the parking lot is mostly empty, but I look over and I see a man violating a woman. Is that time to be nice and gentle and kind? Or would goodness require me to be angry and violent and to take action? See the difference? The world is broken because God is good and it's not destroyed in God's greatness because His graciousness submits to the good. He doesn't want people to perish. He's not slow in keeping His promises. He wants all to come to repentance and He lives in the tension of goodness and greatness. And that's a little complicated. And so Mr. Brilliant Scientist,

if you happen to listen to this message, I need you to think about it a little more because relationships are complex. Old Testament, you get a very limited view of the character of God. I mean, you see it on display here and there, but there's a bunch of things even now when I read it, it doesn't make sense. And it doesn't seem to line up with the New Testament, but I'm telling you that it does. We have limited revelation. It would be like this, and I've given this example before, but it's been quite a long time since I've given it. Quite a long time since I've given it. Let's say that I loved ants. Weird, stay with me. But I like loved ants. And there is a little ant mound in my backyard. And for whatever reason, I have great compassion and love for the ants. I'm very interested in them. I pay attention to them. When I can, I take care of them. I love the ants. Are you with me? But then some landscaping's gonna happen. The ant mound is gonna need. to be moved, and the ant-dom itself, ant-kind, as far as that mound is concerned, is at risk.

So, as the lawnmower cometh, I dig up the ant mound, and the ants are going, whoever this is, hates us. Whoever this is doesn't like us. As I'm moving the mound, some ants perish. They die, and the other ants love those ants that died, and so they're going, we don't understand, and we don't like you, and we don't think you're good, but all the while, salvation is happening for the good of the whole. And so I move the ants, and they're safe, and ant-dom continues, and I risk a misunderstanding of my goodness because of the nature of what needed to happen that they don't understand. The only way that an ant can understand me, because I'm really, really big, and ants are really, really small. Man talked about having a truck. There's no way that an ant can understand that. The only way for an ant to understand the largeness of me would be for me to become one and explain to ant-dom what's really going on. That's the New Testament. In the Old Testament, God's moving things. He's shaking things up. There's a few times he's actually saving mankind, and he's unfolding this great redemptive plan that you and I cannot possibly fathom. We don't understand the complications of it,

and you and I get to decide when we don't see his plan and we don't understand, will we trust his heart? And his heart is revealed in the person of Jesus. God made flesh, and so in the complications of it all, and in the mystery of it all, you see the greatness and the goodness of God in the person of Jesus. We're in this series called I Believe. Today, we're talking about Jesus. The first two words of the Apostles' Creed are the words I believe. In Latin, it's credo. Here's what it means. It's more than mental assent. It's more than general agreement. It's a rock-solid foundation that your whole life is committed to. When you say I believe at the beginning of the Apostles' Creed, here's what you're saying. I believe so fully. I believe so fully that I give my heart, my trust, and my life to this truth, no matter the cost. Last week, as we talked about Father Almighty, I said the most important thing about you is what you believe about God. I'm gonna push it a little more this week, because we're talking about Jesus. Full Christian perspective, full teaching of the Scriptures. What you believe about Jesus is the most important thing about you. Here's where we are in the Creed.

I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. I'm gonna break it down quickly, and then I wanna show you and teach you one of my favorite passages of Scripture in all the Bible. Several things just to notice when we're at this part in the Apostles' Creed. I believe in Jesus Christ. Christ is a title. It means anointed one. It's not a last name. In Hebrew, it's Messiah. In Greek, it's Christ. It means the anointed one, the one that was prophesied about in the Old Testament. Many of you have heard me say this before, but quick review, your Bible is different than any other book written in the history of mankind. It's not one book, it's 66 books, ancient manuscripts, gathered over a span of 1,500 to 1,600 years, written by over 40 authors who lived on three different continents. What brings all of those ancient manuscripts together is the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one. In the Old Testament, at least 300 distinct prophecies about his coming. In the New Testament, Jesus fulfills them all, things that, humanly speaking, he would have no control over.

troll over, where he would be born, the way he would die, things like that. The last book in the Old Testament is Malachi. There's a 400 year gap between when that was written and when the first book in the New Testament was written, the book of Matthew. All those prophecies fulfilled in the person of Jesus. The Bible is different because of the Christ. Jesus is the promised Messiah, the anointed one, the Christ. I believe in Jesus Christ. The father almighty, his only son. That is a title, that is a metaphor of Jesus's standing. I know, especially here in Arizona, especially in the East Valley, all of us have friends that believe something different about this, that there are spirit babies and Jesus is the first among those and then we show up here on the planet later. The Bible doesn't teach any of that. That's something different and just to say it clearly, that's not biblical Christianity. It is set apart from the Christian faith for the last 2,000 years. It is something very different. When the Bible talks about Jesus being God's son, it doesn't mean that God was physical with Mary and then she gave birth. Son is a title. It means he's the heir to the throne. The firstborn son in this day and time got everything. In essence, represented the family.

The firstborn son would get the full inheritance. It too is a title. Jesus represents the family and the kingdom of God. Why? Because he's the only son. So he's Jesus Christ, his only son and just in case you miss it, it says our Lord. It means God. Jesus is God. Jesus is not an angel. Jesus is not less than. Jesus is part of the Trinity, Father, Son and Spirit all represented in the Apostles' Creed. You won't find the word Trinity in the Bible. It's a theological word, but it means one divine essence, one God, monotheistic, one God expressed in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and Jesus is the Son. We're gonna read this in Colossians here in just a moment and we'll break it down. Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord quickly who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. So when Mary gave birth, she gave birth to Jesus as a virgin. Later, her and Joseph went on to have other children. It says this in the New Testament. One of those children is James who wrote one of the books in the New Testament. He's the half brother of Jesus. Why did Jesus need to be conceived by the Holy Spirit?

Here's why, because when he's on the cross, he has to be the sinless sacrifice and sin is a genetic trait. Real quick, you don't have to teach a kid how to sin. Amen. Ha. Amen. Amen. Woman just said amen right here. Amen. Amen. Apparently some challenges at home. I don't know. Amen. Amen. Not even gonna look over there. Amen. Amen. Amen. Somebody's in trouble when they get home. Amen. Amen. You don't have to teach a kid how to sin, right? They already know how. You don't have to teach them how to lie. You don't have to teach them how to be selfish and self-centered. You don't have to teach them how to be any of those things. They just naturally are. We are all natural born sinners.

In fact, that's most of what parenting is. It's teaching your kid not to be what they naturally are. Some of us might want to kick it up a notch, right? You're not raising a kid. You're raising a future adult. Make sure they behave. Let's get that locked and loaded, right? Like let's help them. Become good citizens. We are all natural born sinners. Make sense? Why did he have to be born of a Virgin Mary? Why did he have to be conceived by the Holy Spirit? Because men were the ones who passed down that genetic trait. You're welcome. You thought it was your wife. Nope, it's you. It's you. And so Jesus in the New Testament is called the new Adam. That's what the Apostle Paul calls him. He's born sinless. He's born with the Holy Spirit. He lives a sinless life. And when he dies on the cross, he's sinless. He's perfect. He's the spotless lamb. He's worthy in and of his own behavior as the God-man as he walked this planet. Is everybody with me?

That's why he has to be born of the Virgin Mary. Otherwise, he's born with a sin nature. This is who Jesus is. He's the God-man. Not another like him in history, nor will there ever be. I'm gonna show you this passage of scripture in Colossians. Anytime, because today we're talking about the identity of Jesus, that he's Jesus Christ, God's son, our Lord, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. In Colossians chapter one, most scholars believe this is a hymn. And the Apostle Paul is writing to this church in Colossae to tell us who Jesus is, but this was most likely a hymn that they would sing. I'm gonna walk through it. Follow along with me on the Sun Valley app, or you can take notes. If you've got your Bible, turn to Colossians 1, and as I walk through it, you can follow along with me here in the scriptures. Colossians chapter one, beginning in verse 15. Here's what the Bible says, talking about Jesus. The sun is the image of the invisible God. The sun is the image of the invisible God. God is not an old man with a long white beard. God transcends space, matter, and time. God, I'm gonna give you a definition of God. You ready? All right, hang on.

God is an infinite, eternal spirit without any boundaries or limitations that has an intellect, personality, feelings, and will. And you're like, Paschette, can you fully explain that? No, remember the aunt and me thing? That's us trying to talk about God. I'm gonna say it again. An infinite, eternal spirit without any boundaries or limitations that has an intellect, personality, feelings, and a will. Jesus is the image of that infinite, eternal spirit wrapped up in flesh. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. In Colossians here, that word image in the Greek is where we get our word icon. Do you know what an icon is? Think like the Nike swoosh. When you see it, you know that's Nike. So the idea here, the Apostle Paul, this hymn that they would sing is when you see Jesus, you're seeing God. He's the icon. If you wanna know what God is like, you look at Jesus. People will ask me if they've been around church for a while and they wanna grow deeper in their faith, they'll be like, because I tend to read a lot, and they'll be like, is there a book I should read like if I really wanna go deep with God? And usually I say yes. Four books, actually.

They're in your Bible. Here's what I think you should read, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. So if you've been a Christian for a really long time and you're like, Chad, I wanna go deep, how do I do it? I'd like you to read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And whatever Jesus says, do that. And whatever Jesus does, ask him by the power of his spirit to help you do that. If you wanna go deep, here's what you do. You follow Jesus. Christianity is about Christ. It's about Jesus. And when you read Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, anytime you're reading about Jesus, you're reading about God. Just sit down with a piece of paper. What are you learning about God as you look at Jesus? How does God feel about this? How does God feel about that? What would God do in this situation? Anytime you look at Jesus, that's what you're seeing. This infinite, eternal spirit without any boundaries or limitations wrapped up in flesh walking among us. If you wanna know what God is like, you look at Jesus. If you wanna go deep with God, you look at Jesus. If you want to get better at Christianity, you follow Jesus. It's never separate than Jesus.

The whole thing's about Jesus. His name is above every name. Jesus at Sun Valley is who we worship. It's who we obey. It's who we're all about. The whole thing is about, say the name with me, Jesus. If it's not about Jesus, it's not Christianity. It's something else. If nobody's talking about Jesus, it's not about the Christian faith. The whole thing is about, say the name with me again. Okay, is this clear? It's about Jesus. If your life is not about Jesus, you're probably not a Christian. If you want the streets of gold and the pearly gates and all the bling bling of heaven, but you don't care much that Jesus is there, you're probably not going. It's about Jesus. I love you, we good? He's the image of the invisible God. To miss this is to miss the Christian faith. Go deep with him, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The sun is the image of the invisible God. The firstborn, verse 15 says. over all creation, verse 16. For in him, all things were created, things in heaven and on earth. Okay, here's what we just read.

Jesus created all things, heavenly things, earthly things. What are we reading? Jesus is God. For in him, all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, pay attention, visible and invisible, all categories, whether thrones visible or invisible, powers visible or invisible, rulers visible or invisible, or authorities visible or invisible, covers it all. Whether thrones, powers, or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him and for him. Here's the point there, Jesus is the author of all. You were created for Jesus, that's what we just read. What's the purpose of life? To know Jesus, love Jesus, serve Jesus, worship Jesus, walk with Jesus, this is what your soul's longing for. It's why you're breathing in and out. God is great, God is good. The Bible teaches that God is love, which means when he created you and me, he wasn't lonely. He wasn't trying to get love, he already had it. He's three, father, son, and spirit, and yet one, one God. But there was always this loving relationship between the father, son, and the spirit. So when God creates mankind, he doesn't create us to get love, he already has it. He's creating us to give his love. And again, love is risky. And there's brokenness because he took that risk. And all of us, even in our lives,

are learning to receive his love and then in that, love him in return. But you were created to be loved by God, and this happens in and through your faith in Jesus. It's why you're breathing in and out. It's why you were born. It's why you were knit together in your mother's womb. It's the purpose of life. Jesus is the author of all. Everything's created through him, and everything is for him. Verse 17, he is before all things, and in him, all things hold together. What does that mean? Jesus is the creator and sustainer. How does the solar system work? Jesus. How do molecules stay intact? Jesus. How do protons, neutrons, and electrons keep from blowing up? Jesus. He's the creator and sustainer of it all. First miracle, H2O to Merlot. Master of molecules. He can walk on water and make it solid beneath his feet. He knows physiology and anatomy. He can cause the blind to see, and the deaf to hear, and the lame to walk. He's really smart.

He's the creator and sustainer of it all. I taught this a while back. Something that I do when I'm anxious, worried, fearful, is I kind of center myself, and I'll breathe deeply, and I think about the fruit of the Spirit. I think about Galatians 5, 22, and 23. And so what I'll do is I'll breathe in the reality of the character of Jesus through the power of his Spirit in my life. I breathe in the fruit of the Spirit, mentioned in those two verses, Galatians 5, 22, and 23. I breathe in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I just say that in my mind. I'm taking that in. And I breathe out fear, anxiety, worry, my own sin, and selfishness. And I breathe in the things of the Spirit, and I breathe out those things. And then sometimes I just breathe in the name of Jesus. If you're nervous, worried, and anxious, stop, take in a deep breath, and just say the name of Jesus. And just center yourself on his name. Why? Because he's the creator and sustainer of all things, which means in that moment, he will sustain your soul. And I'm just telling you, when I do that, there's something stellar that begins to show up in me.

I saw the Spider-Man movie recently. Anybody seen that? Yeah, every superhero kind of has this. Superman has it too. Like, we'll go with Superman. Like kryptonite, they're like weak and broken. Like life's got them down, right? And then all of a sudden, the kryptonite goes away, and it's like, bum, bum, bum, bum. And he's back, and he's strong again. Okay, here's what I'm telling you. Your soul will do that if you'll center it in Jesus. And stop fixating on the problem, and start fixating on the person of Jesus Christ. There's something kind of, bum, bum, bum, bum, that happens in your soul. You can practice it. You can practice it. Some of you think I'm weird. Don't knock it till you try it. Some kids think it's great. It works. Verse 18, and he is the head of the body, the church. Jesus is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. What does that mean? Jesus is in charge of the church. The Bible says he will come back. We'll talk about that here in a few weeks.

And he'll claim his bride, the church. And he's preparing a place for us. But he's in charge. Who's in charge at Sun Valley? Jesus. I have a board that I have to answer to and they hold me accountable personally and professionally, but it's my goal that Jesus makes all the decisions around here and we just say, as you wish. He's the head of the church. I know that church people mess up church because people are people everywhere you go. But God is great and God is good. And it's his plan to work in and through us with Jesus in charge. And by the way, you're the church too. So don't get too judgy about it. Just look in the mirror. My guess is you could do better too. But he's in charge of the church and he's working through the church and he's changing the world through the church and right now he's doing things all over the planet in miraculous ways and I think we're gonna see it more and more here in America. Verse 19. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him. So all the fullness of God is in Jesus. And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,

by making peace through his blood shed on the cross. Jesus is the sovereign savior. The Bible teaches that what God did in Jesus is the judge of the universe got up off the judge's seat, came down to where you and I were found guilty and paid our fine for us. The greatness of God wrapped itself up in the person of Jesus and was born in a barn to the Virgin Mary. Joseph was there and the shepherds came and it was not a power move. It was a move of love and invitation because the great God is not about flexing. He's about forgiving and wanting fellowship and friendship with you. And he offers you his love. It's not because you're awesome. It's because he's awesome. He offers you his love. It's not because you're awesome. It's because he's awesome. He's just that good and he's just that great in every sense of the word. And no matter where you've been, what you've done or what's been done to you, his love has made available to you. He's the King of kings and the Lord of lords and he's the savior who gave us life for you and me. Last part of the passage and then we'll pray. Verse 21, once you were alienated from God

and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior, but now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight without blemish and free from accusation. If you continue in your faith, established and firm and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. Jesus is God and he gave his life for you to pay for all of your sin for all time. And then he rose again. Love made a way. And I just wanna tell you this. It could be that you're here this weekend. Like for this moment right here. And you thought it was other things, but no, it was God working behind the scenes because he wants you to receive that love. And we do that by trusting in Jesus. Would you guys pray with me? Let's pray together. To receive his love and to trust in Jesus, you do two things. You trust him as savior. Savior, to cover all of your sin for all time, and you trust him as the Lord and leader of your life. If you wanna do that right now, I can help you. Just in your own heart and mind, he'll hear you. Just say, Jesus, I need you. And I ask you to be my Savior. And would you cover all of my sin for all time?

And I receive your love and forgiveness, and also your leadership. I choose to trust you from this day forward. Will you be my Savior and my Lord? Thank you, Jesus. Amen. If that was you, I wanna invite you right after service. We do something called First Step at all of our locations. You can just come up to the front, and we wanna give you a free gift. It's a Bible, looks just like this. There's some notes in the front that'll help you get started and help you better understand the decision you've made, and then also help you better understand of what it means to follow Jesus. Next week, we're gonna continue walking through the creed. Next week, we'll talk about the gospel. The gospel is a very specific thing. Come back, it will help you. I wanna mention one other thing, and then I wanna pray for us once again. We launch groups this week. Groups will start at all of our locations. My desire is that you have some friends around here. For more information, you can go to groups.sv.cc. You're not gonna have to pray. You're not gonna have to read anything. It's just an opportunity to meet some people and then talk about what we talk about on the weekends.

Take that step. It will help you in your faith. And we're gonna continue to learn the Apostles' Creed together. Let me pray for us once again. Father, give us wisdom of these things. Holy Spirit, teach us, we pray. We get so distracted with so many different things, even in church. Remind us once again, Jesus, that it's about you. And may we love you, serve you, worship you, and follow you with everything we've got. It is the purpose of life. So teach us, we pray. May it be for your glory and our good. In Jesus' name, amen.