One True And Living God by Ed Pruitt

Exodus 20:2-3

ONE TRUE AND LIVING GOD
Sunday December 30, 2001
Pastor Ed Pruitt
Amarillo Church Of God

I am the LORD your God. . . . You shall have no other gods before Me (Exodus 20:2, 3).

The doctrinal affirmations today and tomorrow will help you renew your mind and take your stand on the truth.

I recommend that you read these Scriptural affirmations aloud at least once a week in the coming year.

I recognize that there is only one true and living God.

Let’s turn to these scriptures in our bibles where when I read them they might make a better impression on your mind.

Exodus 20:2-3
2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Who exists as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and that He is worthy of all honor, praise and worship as the Creator, Sustainer, Beginning and End of all things.

Let’s now turn to, Revelation 4:11
11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and Honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

And again in Revelation 5:9-10
9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

And again in, Isaiah 43:1
But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

And in, Isaiah 43:7
7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

And in verse, Isaiah 43:21
21 This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.

I recognize Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us.

This comes from, John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And in verse, John 1:14
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

These scriptures are telling us that we recognize Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us.

I believe that He came to destroy the works of Satan.
1 John 3:8
8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

I believe, that He disarmed the rulers and authorities, having triumphed over them

This comes from, Colossians 2:15

15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

I believe that God has proven His love for me, because when I was still a sinner, Christ died for me.

Romans 5:8

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

I believe that He delivered me from the domain of darkness and transferred me to His kingdom, and in Him I have redemption, and the forgiveness of sins,
Colossians 1:13-14
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

I believe that I am now a child of God.
1 John 3:1-3
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

I believe that I was saved by the grace of God through faith, that it was a gift and not the result of any works on my part.

Ephesians 2:8
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

I choose to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His Might.

Ephesians 6:10

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

I put no confidence in the flesh.
Philippians 3:3
3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

For the weapons of my warfare are not of the flesh.
2 Corinthians 10:4
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

I put on the whole armor of God.
Ephesians 6:10-17
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

And I resolve to stand firm in my faith and resist the evil one.

Lord, inscribe on my heart the truth of who You are and what You have done to secure my eternal salvation.

YOU DO HAVE A FUTURE FILLED WITH HOPE IF YOU WILL TRULY LIVE FOR THE LORD

1 Peter 1:1-25

1 This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the lands of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, the province of Asia, and Bithynia.

2 God the Father chose you long ago, and the Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed Jesus Christ and are cleansed by his blood.
May you have more and more of God’s special favor and wonderful peace.

3 All honor to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is by his boundless mercy that God has given us the privilege of being born again. Now we live with a wonderful expectation because Jesus Christ rose again from the dead.

4 For God has reserved a priceless inheritance for his children. It is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

5 And God, in his mighty power, will protect you until you receive this salvation, because you are trusting him. It will be revealed on the last day for all to see.

6 So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while.

7 These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him, you trust him; and even now you are happy with a glorious, inexpressible joy.

9 Your reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

10 This salvation was something the prophets wanted to know more about. They prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you, even though they had many questions as to what it all could mean.

11 They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward. They wondered when and to whom all this would happen.

12 They were told that these things would not happen during their lifetime, but many years later, during yours. And now this Good News has been announced by those who preached to you in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.

13 So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ.

14 Obey God because you are his children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn’t know any better then.

15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God—who chose you to be his children—is holy.

16 For he himself has said, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

17 And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as foreigners here on earth.

18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver.

19 He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.

20 God chose him for this purpose long before the world began, but now in these final days, he was sent to the earth for all to see. And he did this for you.

21 Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And because God raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory, your faith and hope can be placed confidently in God.

22 Now you can have sincere love for each other as brothers and sisters because you were cleansed from your sins when you accepted the truth of the Good News. So see to it that you really do love each other intensely with all your hearts.

23 For you have been born again. Your new life did not come from your earthly parents because the life they gave you will end in death. But this new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.

24 As the prophet says,
“People are like grass that dies away;
their beauty fades as quickly as the beauty of wildflowers.
The grass withers,
and the flowers fall away.

25 But the word of the Lord will last forever.”
And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away.

But is reserved in heaven for you.

Who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

In November of 2000, baseball player Darryl Strawberry, plagued by drug addictions, jail time, and cancer, stood before a judge in Tampa and confessed, “I’m an addict, I go out and use drugs. I figure the drugs may kill me.”

He continued, “Life hasn’t been worth living for me, that’s the honest truth.... I basically wanted to die.
At the time, I would rather just go ahead and kill myself.

I couldn’t kill myself because of the fact of my five children.

I started to look at them and that wouldn’t be fair to them for me to kill myself that way.”

We all go through certain “dark nights of the soul” when life is potholed with pain.

Simon Peter had such a night.

The friend he denied three times had been crucified, and his own heart shattered.

He must have been thinking back at those days as he picked up his quill and began his letter with the words of our text.

We can observe four great truths from 1 Peter 1:3:
1. A Great Mercy. The passage begins by describing God’s abundant mercy.

“Mercy” is compassionate treatment for those who don’t deserve it or who can’t afford it.

The two blind men in Jericho cried, “Have mercy on us, O Lord.”

The Canaanite woman in Matthew 15 cried, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!”

The ten lepers in Luke 17 cried, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

The publican in Luke 18 said, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!”

Warren Wiersbe puts it this way: “Grace is what God gives me that I don’t deserve; mercy is what God doesn’t give me that I do deserve.”

Have you cried out to God for mercy?

2. A New Birth.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again.”

A painter on a Paris sidewalk set up his easel, opened his paints, and started to paint a picture called “Life.”

He noticed pigeons in the park, tulips blooming along the Champs-Elysees, and the bustle of people on the street.

But he messed up his painting.

His colors weren’t true and his perspective was poor.

Looking at his work with disfavor, he threw it away.
He took another canvas and started “Life” all over again.

Jesus allows us to do that through the new birth.

3. A Living Hope.
Some people go through life moping around.

Some by groping for answers.

Some by coping as well as they can.

The Christian responds by hoping, and not just empty positivism, but a durable optimism grounded in God’s promises.

Christians are optimistic about:
(1) The here and now; and about
(2) The “by and by.”
4. A Risen Lord.
“...has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
Our burdens are swallowed up by the empty tomb, and our tomorrows are as bright as the flash of His resurrection victory.

Conclusion:

During one difficult period when things appeared especially bleak, the reformer Martin Luther was seen tracing two words on the table with his fingertip: Vivit, vivit! —”He lives, He lives!”

And because Christ lives, we can live abundantly today and eternally tomorrow, a life that is both forgiven and forever.

So lift up your hearts, focus on your Lord, put on a smile, and say: Blessed be the God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten me again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
 

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