Well today we are embarking on a new series of messages from God's Word that are designed to help strengthen and deepen our faith. So far this year we have been reviewing some of the foundations of the Christian faith and we've challenged ourselves with a kind of holy living that God calls us to as He gives us and outlines for us the precepts that we need to hold on to in his Ten Commandments. We've also spent time with Jesus in the school of prayer by reviewing and reminding ourselves of the rich pattern for prayer that Jesus gives us in the words of what we call the Lord's Prayer. And this fall, we will be looking at the summary of Christian truth that is provided for us in the words of the Apostles' Creed. Although the Apostles' Creed, as we know it, is not found in Scripture, and it was not actually designed or written by any of Jesus' twelve apostles, this creed summarizes the core of apostolic teaching in a very clear, concise, easy-to-remember format. In Ephesians 2, verse 20, Paul instructs us that the teaching of the apostles and the prophets is the foundation of the church of which Jesus Christ is the cornerstone. And so in this ancient confession of faith, which did not actually arrive in its present format until the late 6th or early 7th century, we find a consolidation of what all Christians believe in a very concise, basic statement. While it is true that all Christians embrace more truth than what we find reflected and affirmed by the words of the Apostles' Creed, no one who claims to be a true follower of Jesus Christ will believe in less truth about our triune God than the truths that are summarized in the words of the Apostles' Creed. There is something that is so majestic and mysterious about reciting the Apostles' Creed either in private or together in the context of corporate worship. Because when we do so, we declare and affirm our belief in the very truths of the Christian faith which gave early Christians hope, in which even sustained martyrs, as they confidently stood and faced death, for the stance they took on the Christian faith. One very remarkable thing to us to observe about the Apostles' Creed as we begin to unpack its message and its meaning and its timely relevance to life in 21st century America is the fact that every word in the creed matters. And as I have begun to consider how to best serve you as we pause to ponder some of these immense implications of these truths that we recite together from time to time, it has become increasingly apparent to me that almost every single word could be developed into an individual sermon or a collection of sermons. Don't worry, we're not going to do that. Just want to make that observation and show you briefly what I mean, because just by saying the words, I believe, immediately focuses our attention on the fact that our faith is personal. Though we may recite the creed in unison alongside each other, every worshiper speaks for him or herself when they say, I believe. This is what I believe. In fact, we really can't say we believe until each of us individually says and means, I believe. Hebrews 11.6 reminds us that without faith, it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. The Christian faith is neither fuzzy nor vague. The Christian faith is rooted in propositional truths that are concretely revealed to us by God in His Word. True faith has content. True faith does not spring from our own thinking, does not spring from our own imagination. True faith is not based on any human concoction. True faith confesses Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of sinners. Without firm facts and beliefs, there is no Christianity. There is no Christianity without teaching that leads people to obey Christ. J.I. Packer notes, We show true faith in God by bowing to his claim to rule and manage our lives, by receiving Jesus Christ, his Son, as our own Lord and Savior, and by relying on his promise to bless us here and hereafter. So one of the overarching goals I have for us in this series is that each of us will develop a deeper desire to live the Christian life to the fullest so that our minds will be renewed and we will be increasingly conformed to the image of Christ. As you well know, we live in the midst of a time and a place that is increasingly hostile to the idea that there are facts and fixed principles that govern the spiritual world. And although this is nothing new, and it has always been the case to varying degrees since Satan introduced his first lie in the Garden of Eden, in our time and place, it's easy to see that Resistance to the Christian faith is accelerating and it is escalating at a more rapid pace than it may have been the case in previous eras. So it is vital for us to learn to exercise and live out our faith in the midst of a world of unbelief. On a positive note, it is only when our faith is tested that we learn to trust in its genuineness. Now that's just a little something to get out of the first two words, I believe. But it goes on, I believe in God. And again, we could pause here for a good long while and contemplate the nature and the character of God through all of the different ways that he reveals himself to us through his world and through his word. Interestingly enough, the Greek expression that is translated for us with these words, I believe in God, actually is more robust and could perhaps be better rendered for us with the words, I am believing in to God. I live in a continuing state of relationship with and commitment to God. I don't just know some facts about God. I know God. I am believing into God. I have a relationship with God. I have accepted God's invitation to become rightly related with God the Father through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. And that draws us even deeper into the opening line of the creed as we announce, I believe in God the Father. Now we have had many opportunities in recent years to consider together the fact that being adopted into God's family is the highest privilege that the gospel has to offer. And although it's true that in a general sense all people are inseparably connected to God as Father by virtue of His having created them. Only those who have Christ as their brother, through having faith in Him and trusting His saving work, have the special, intimate father-child relationship with God that allows us to call Him Abba, Father, and to be able to approach Him and to rest in Him as their loving Heavenly Father. So we won't recap all of that glorious truth for right now. Instead, I want to pause with you for the time that remains this morning to consider what it is that we confess when we say, I believe in God the Father Almighty. Those who formulated the creed add the word almighty to their statement of belief in God the Father, because in contrast to any of the earthly pagan deities that were worshiped during the time that they wrote, the Bible tells us that there is one God who possesses all power. So God is not simply mighty, God is almighty. All the power in the universe belongs to God. God was known to the ancient Israelites as the Almighty One. And this designation distinguished the one true God from all of the spurious deities of the pagans. Unlike pagan deities, God's power extends over all of creation. God is not just a storm God, though storms are certainly one evidence of His awesome power. God is not just a fertility God, yet God is in control of the seasonal changes. God is not just a war God, but no army can stand against the Lord. God is almighty. Our omnipotent God has unlimited, infinite power. The Bible brings God's omnipotent power into focus in a variety of different ways. Psalm 6211 says, Once God has spoken, twice have I heard that power belongs to God. In 2 Corinthians 9-8, Paul tells us that God is able to make all grace abound to you so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. Furthermore, Jesus' half-brother Jude tells us that God's power is such that God is able to keep us from falling. And a personal favorite of Linda's and mine, Ephesians 3.20, God is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power at work within us. Now all of these short statements underscore that God the Father Almighty, the one in whom we believe is omnipotent, all-powerful. We should quickly be quick to point out that although God is all-powerful, there are some things God can't do. There are some things God can't do. No, God cannot die. God cannot go out of existence. God cannot be imperfect. God cannot lie. God cannot go back on His word or change His plans. If God did any of those things, He would not be God. And God cannot not be God. So God cannot act in any way that is contrary to His nature. And He won't. He wouldn't. To confess that God is almighty means that we believe that God exercises complete dominion and control over the entire creation that He has made. And to believe this about God makes perfect sense. After all, who would settle for worshipping a God who is less? than all-powerful? Who would want to have a Heavenly Father who is less than Almighty? God the Father Almighty has the power to do all that is necessary for the display of His glory and the accomplishment of all that is necessary for our well-being. And note how in the Apostles' Creed, those who formulated it link the truth of God's fatherhood with the truth of His omnipotence. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Father and Almighty, next-door neighbors to each other in the Creed. And listen to the beautiful way that the Apostle Paul expounds on this truth in Romans 8, 28 and following, as he weds together the fact that the one who has all power is the one who is also all-caring. Paul writes, and we know, That for those who love God, all things work together for good. For those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that they might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called. And those whom he called, he also justified. And those whom he justified, he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who could be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. So never forget that the loving heart of our all-powerful Father is what moves His almighty hand. See, Donald Cole, in his book, All You Need to Believe, puts it like this. He says, divine power is not controlled by a cold, calculating mind, but by the heart of a warm, loving, divine Father. a caring creator. The psalmist says, for example, my help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. We will consider, Lord willing, next time a little bit more the way that our Father Almighty is the maker of heaven and earth. But for today, just cling to these beautiful words, my help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. Where do you need help today? Where do you need strength? Where do you need support? Where do you need to have your wavering faith reinforced? My help comes from the One in whom I believe, God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. God has unlimited power. God has unlimited authority. And God has unlimited influence. God does all that He wants. God does all that He intends to do. Whatever God deems good, whatever pleases God, God does. God is the source of all power, whether it's atoms, or energy, or life, or dynamite, or storms, or magnetic attraction, or human strength and ability, including the powers of the intellect, spirit, and soul. There isn't any power anywhere that doesn't have God as its source. Without God's power, everything in the universe would fall apart. God's power holds the stars in the sky. God's power sustains human life. We can do very little. God can do whatever He wills. Whatever power humans have, and we must wake up and realize we have so very little power. This power comes from God, and this power belongs to God. All human power and ability ultimately belong to God. writing a generation or two ago, A.W. Pink says, not a creature in the entire universe has an atom of power save what God delegates. I want you to notice that God gives power, but God doesn't give power away. God delegates power to his creation, but he never relinquishes his power. God gives power, but God still retains it. All power is God's power. All power is part of God's nature. And God can never give any part of himself away. If God could do that, if God did that, God would be less powerful than he was before. And if God were less powerful than he was before, he would no longer be perfect. But God never becomes less. than he was before. God has all power, and God does not give his power away. And it is so important for us, it's so helpful for us to remember that when we think of the evil attempts of Satan to oppose God's plans and God's purposes. Even the little power that Satan has comes from God. I've said it before numerous times, I'll probably say it numerous times again if the Lord continues to keep me breathing and living. Martin Luther said, Martin Luther, the devil is God's devil. The devil is God's devil. Yes, indeed, the Bible tells us that Satan prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour, but nevertheless, Satan is a lion who is on a chain who cannot go beyond the boundaries that are established for him by God. All power belongs to God. There's an extended discussion on God's power in the book of Job chapters 25 and 26, and we can't really unpack that in great detail this morning. It would be great for you to go home and read those two chapters for your homework, but after a very long exchange between Job and his wannabe counselor, Bildad, in which the two men discuss God's power over nature, God's power over earthly armies, God's power over spirits. Job sums it all up in Job 26.14 by saying that all the observations they have made about God and His power are the outskirts of His way. They are nothing but a small whisper of God's omnipotence. Now, I know outskirts is a funny-sounding word. It probably doesn't mean much to any of us today. And some translations use the word fringes. Instead, maybe that's a lot easier for us to grasp. But the sense of this verse is that whatever we see, whatever we perceive, whatever we understand, whatever we know about God's power, It's just the fringe. It's just the fringe of his ways. Job tells us though, no matter how much we know about God's power, we only know the barest outline of it. And it doesn't amount to more than just a whisper, a whisper of God's power. So God's power is infinite. God's power has no limit. It has no boundaries. Nothing is impossible for God. In fact, nothing is even ever hard for God. God does not struggle to exert Himself when He works to enact His will. We think of things as being either hard or easy. So, bench press 300 pounds, hard. Lift a feather, easy. Cook an elaborate seven-course meal for 50 guests, hard. Boil an egg, easy. But nothing is hard for God. Whatever God does, God does effortlessly. God carries out every desire of His will without exertion. There are no obstacles to God accomplishing His will. Nothing and no one stands in God's way. We will talk more about the staggering power of God in creation next time, but for now, just consider the fact that when God speaks, when God says, let there be, there is. God wills something. and it's done. Jeremiah, thinking about that, said, ah, Lord God, it is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. And later in Jeremiah, God himself speaks, behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me? The fact that God has infinite power, unlimited power, and that there are no obstacles for God to enact His power should be a tremendous incentive for us when we pray. We should pray to God boldly. We should pray to God persistently. We should pray for our lost Loved ones, pray for our country. Pray for our government. Pray for those who exercise political power to use it in a way that glorifies God. Nothing is too hard for God. No one is too hard for God to save. God has the power to break the hardest heart. God has the power to open the blindest eyes so that they can see the truth of God. God has the power to unstop the deafest ears so they can hear the voice of our Good Shepherd. When you pray, do you consciously call on the Lord of unlimited power and ask him to unleash his power on behalf of your needs and the needs of your loved ones? I encourage you to do that. Pray, God, unleash that power to accomplish this in the life of someone I love. God's power is not only infinite, it is irresistible. No one can thwart, no one can resist or undermine God's purposes. Job 42 verse 2 says, I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. In Isaiah 14, 27, for the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? And again in Isaiah 43, 13, also henceforth I am he. There is none who can deliver from my hand. I work, and who can turn it back? God does not depend on human action to achieve his will. God effortlessly prevails over human rebellion and satanic resistance. The battle between God and Satan is not a stalemate. It's not a tug of war. The battle between God and Satan is not a battle in which God fights for me, and Satan fights against me, and I have to cast the deciding vote. No, that's a cartoon. That's Sylvester and Tweety Bird. Even if the whole world, even if Satan and all satanic powers were aligned against God, it would still take God no effort to make His will prevail. Nothing, no one can resist God. Evil will not win. Death will not win. God has promised a day when He will raise all His children to life, a life that does not end. And God has the power to keep His promise. God's power is infinite, it is irresistible, and it is also inexhaustible. God's power does not diminish over time. God uses His power, He exercises His power, but God never has more or less power than He has always had. Unlike us, God does not grow old. I've heard some of you say it, and I know it's true about myself, even though I'm not prepared to openly admit it yet. I can't do what I used to do. I used to work 16-hour days with no problem, but now I'm beat after 8 or 10 hours. Or it takes me a lot longer to get things done than it used to. Does that sound familiar? Some? Maybe some? Not to you young people. You don't know anything about this yet. Our lives are like batteries that just run out of power. But that's not how it is with God. Some people look at the biblical history and they say, wow, look at what God used to do in the Old Testament. All those amazing miracles. And look at the state of the church today. What happened to God? Why doesn't the Lord show up more often with the kind of power that He used to display? But of course, such assessments are way off the mark, because listen to what God says about himself in Isaiah chapter 40. Isaiah 40, 28, he says, have you not known? Have you not heard? That's actually a very polite way of saying, hey, wake up, you forgot about this. The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might, he increases strength. Through God's inexhaustible energy, the Lord gives strength to his people. And many of you know what's coming next in Isaiah 40. You know these verses so well. Isaiah writes on, even youth shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted, but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. You may know these verses, but how well do you take them to heart? We get ourselves all worried, all bent out of shape with so many different things. I'm afraid I can't make it. I'm afraid I can't take it. I'm afraid God can't keep me. I'm afraid he won't help me. I'm afraid God won't come through for me. We get tired. We get weak. We get weary. We just say, I just can't do this anymore. I just can't take this anymore. I just can't deal with this person anymore. What's the promise that God makes to us here? The God who keeps the stars and the planets in their orbits, he can and he will hold on to you. And so if God can guide and handle and sustain the universe, then God can guide and handle and sustain you. God upholds the universe by the word of his power, Hebrews 1.3. Now what's the New Testament parallel to these wonderful promises we have in Isaiah chapter 40? Philippians 4.13, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Now, that is not a name-it-and-claim-it verse or an endorsement of any sort of prosperity gospel. Philippians 4.13 is a strong and a powerful reminder that if God has called you to something, marriage, parenthood, vocational responsibility, ministry task, then God will work in you. He will strengthen you. He will give you the power to complete your assignment. As we trust in Christ, God exchanges our weakness for his strength and the power of the Holy Spirit and his word. God enables and energizes and employs us to do God's work in God's way. God's inexhaustible strength empowers us to carry out what he calls us to do. When God makes a promise, God keeps a promise. So God's power is infinite, it's irresistible, it's inexhaustible, and it's also incomprehensible. God's power extends far beyond our ability to understand it. We mentioned Ephesians 3.20 earlier. Listen to that again. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we can ask or think according to the power at work within us. Isn't that great? I mean, the word think that is translated in the NIV by the word imagine, it has such a range of meaning. It encompasses our understanding and our comprehension and our ability to gain insight into something. Our finite minds and hearts simply cannot grasp the unlimited power of God and what God does in us and what God does for us. But even though we can't fully grasp the magnitude and the magnificence of God's power, God's power still works for us. God's power still works through us. God's power works in us in ways that far outstrip anything that we can ask or even think. It is only the unlimited power of God that is capable of raising people who are dead. to life. People who are dead in sin, to life. Only through God's power can we be given the gift of repentance and faith. Only by God's power can the Lord call us to himself. Only because of his power can God open our blind eyes, take out our heart of stones, give us a heart of flesh, sanctify us, and set us free from sin. That's the power of God at work within us, doing far more abundantly than anything we could ever dream up. or ask God for. So you're facing any trouble, any problems, anything going wrong in your life. Think of that commercial, what's in your wallet? Well, what's your problem? What's your problem? A relationship? Relationship problem? An uncooperative, unresponsive, unloving, cruel, vindictive, bitter spouse? wayward, indifferent, rebellious children, unsaved loved ones, a boss at work who expects the impossible out of you, financial trouble, unemployment difficulties, emotional problems, anxiety, unrelenting fears, temper out of control, eaten up by pride, substance abuse, or other addictive thinking such as lustful thoughts or sinful cravings. Have you got health challenges? Maybe undiagnosed health problems? We have plenty of that in our midst. What's your problem? God can take care of it. Will you trust Him to do so? There is nothing too hard for God. There is nothing that God cannot handle. There is not a situation that God cannot take care of. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. God works with effortless power to accomplish His perfect purposes for His glory and for our good. So remember, we're talking about a God who has the power to cause a virgin to conceive, We're talking about a God who has the power to sustain the living of a sinlessly perfect life. We're talking about a God who offers himself as a sacrificial substitute for our sin. A Savior who died in our place and who was then raised to life by God's power. A God who has the power to offer us new life and the forgiveness of sins and the cleansing from all unrighteousness. All those sinful habits, all those misplaced affections, all those broken relationships can be changed. They can be replaced. They can be restored by the unlimited power of our omnipotent God. Nothing is impossible with God. No prayer is too hard for God to answer. No need is too great for God to supply. No passion is too strong for God to subdue. No temptation is too powerful for God to deliver you from. No misery is too deep for God to relieve. We are held onto by the omnipotent, nail-scarred hands of our loving Savior and Lord. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? Let's pray together. Lord God, Heavenly Father, You've made it so clear through the voice of your servant Job that even touching on this subject, we have the barest glimpse, the smallest outline. But we do have faith and hope that your power is real. It is at work. It is sustaining us. It is undertaking for us. And we trust in that. We rest upon it. We pray that you would continue to help us to become more and more aware of it. We pray, God, that you would help us to encourage one another with these words of comfort and truth and exhortation. We pray, Lord, that we would know your power, that we would know the power that gives us all that we need for life and for godliness. And so thank you, God, for that. Thank you for working on our behalf through Christ, and thank you for the work you are continuing to do as you sustain us, as you sustain your creation, and as you continue to accomplish your perfect will and your perfect work in the world. And we ask that in Jesus' name, amen. I want to invite you to stand as we sing one of the great hymns of the faith that recites