I Am A Perpetual Optimist! - Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. And then he says, and in your book written all the days that were game for me, when as yet there was no is that because God knows all things. I know is going to be managed anymore. I know he's coming.

I have always days, Almighty God spoke everything in creation chose me before there was a creation and then was involved with me since the mothers think about.

I hope you come away something special? Got joining us today on this additional fellowship of the word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana Pastor Bill Gebhardt now again he shows us how God's word meets our work that my son gave me Father's Day is a book written by Stephen Meyer, the title of the book is the return of the God hypothesis. The subtitle weighs three scientific discoveries that reveal the mind behind the universe. Meyer has his PhD in the philosophy of science from Cambridge.

The quote on the jacket of the book says this Meyer argues that theism with its affirmation of transcendent, intelligent, active creator, best explains the evidence. He said we have concerning biological and cosmological origins. He provides an evidence-based dancer revealing a stunning conclusion. The data support it, not just the existence of an intelligent designer of some kind, but the existence of right personal God not let me just say this before you try to run it by the book, it is unbelievably heavy reading. I don't think I've ever read a book that has more heavy reading than this. It has 987 footnotes. Many of them extended." Countless astrophysicist evolutionary biologists, existential philosophy, all of which by the way, affirm the statement, there is no God. And then he goes to the scientific discoveries of these last several years to refute them, and he uses all their quotes. He lets them speak for themselves, and that what's interesting about it is that when I finished reading the books. Something happened to me in a sense, emotionally I was bothered by what I read, not by his book is brilliant but what affected me was how absolutely pessimistic. Each of those men were didn't matter if they were astrophysicist microbiologist floss all had an extreme pessimism about life Stephen Hawking who is a popular now dead astrophysicist said no one created the universe and no one directions our fate. This leads me to profound realization.

There is no heaven, no afterlife either. I think the belief in an afterlife is just wishful thinking when we die. All we are is dust Steven Weinberg, University of Texas wrote this, the more the universe seems to become comprehensible, the more it seems completely pointless. Lawrence Krauss were an accident in a remote part of the universe and the universe doesn't care at all about us. Bertrand Russell famous English mathematician extension floss verse said the whole temple of man's achievements must inevitably be buried beneath the debris of the universe when it falls into ruin Jean-Paul Sartre a great French philosopher, one of the fathers of existential thought. He sort of gave a good perspective. But he said there is no God simply man but then he said yes without a transcendent God as an infinite reference points. All you will be people with his anguish and despair. He said no, no finite point has any meaning at all unless it has an infinite reference point.

So this pessimism covers the book something always brilliant man and that's their conclusion about everything.

There's no point in life none at all. Then I learned something about myself as I read the book. I'm an optimist. I learned that I disliked. I am an optimist. I am a perpetual optimist and you should be to fear a child of God.

You should be a perpetual optimist and so what I like to do this morning as I'd like to give you 10 reasons why am so optimistic and that you should be as well. If you want to follow along in the Scriptures you can if you say he's moving too fast, don't follow along most of the Scriptures are pretty familiar to you and I want to begin in the book of Ephesians chapter 1 the book of Ephesians chapter 1. The first reason for my optimism that Paul writes the letter and we get on the verse three he writes this Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ that would be enough to be optimistic about that is not what I'm going to be talking about from verse three on. He writes the longest Greek sentence in the New Testament.

It just goes on and on its one sentence just gone on and on. In the Greek, but I want to talk about the first thing that he says just as he chose us before the foundation of the world know if you ever thought about this before there was anything before there was any material creation he chose me to think about and chose before there was anything physical exam choosing like what wait what and if you read on with it. What's interesting about it.

In verse five he said he predestined us to the adoption as sons through Jesus Christ himself according to the kind intention of his will dissuaded. He didn't choose me because I'm adorable.

You see, lovable, none of that. The only reason that God chose you before there was ever a physical creation at all was on the basis of the kind intention of his will. And just think of that Almighty God chose you before he created the universe overwhelming thought we sometimes just read words like that and then we just simply don't pay any attention to what reading which facility existed at its profound makes you pretty optimistic, but it goes on number to go with me to this Psalm 139 Psalm 139 Psalm of David, so he chose me before the foundation of the world before there was a physical creation and then I will let you know how quickly he gets involved in my life and yours's amazing thought.

Psalm 139 verse 13 for you formed my inward parts, you wove me in my mother's womb line 1 yet you for me. He said in my inward parts, you wove me in my mother's womb. When I was conceived. God was engaged.

That's an amazing thought. She really is a random-access is just biology things is that somebody says is that when you were conceiving your mother's womb.

I will know that will notice what he says then I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made word fearfully means respectfully. I am respectfully made by God, I am wonderfully made.

What's that mean I am unique, so you got saw that we are unique we are all in that sense spiritual snowflakes.

You see we are unique as people he goes on, he says. Wonderful are your works in my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth your eyes have seen my unformed substance that seems to be pretty much engaged in this he saw my unformed substance. I'm an embryo. He said that Bill C that's an amazing thought and then he says, and in your book were written all the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of yours. That's Bill. And because God knows all things. I know is going to be when it's been reborn. I know when he's coming home. I have always days ordained already have the picture. Well, Almighty God spoke everything into creation chose me before there was a creation and then was involved with me since the my mother's womb me think about that. I hope you come away. It sounds like I'm kind of special because you are from God's point of view, the school familiar passage now New Testament John chapter 3 in verse 16.

You know the passage you see it all the time but I don't know if we understand our personal level like we should, he says this is Jesus begin the Nicodemus. He says for God so loved the world, change adjustment, try a more personal level for God so loved you for God so loved the mean God love God so love me and understand it's not because I'm on the board. Neither you, we know is a holy God. We know all sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

There's unrighteous, no not one. The wages of sin is death. We know all that cottage.

I know that to I love you see once Adam fell once original sin entered mankind man is separated from God. The day you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that they will surely die.

He died spiritually that day and many years later died physically, so we don't deserve anything God but his judgment but God says not have a plan.

I know that there sinners.

I know mankind is sinful, but I have a plan. Here's the plan for God so loved Bill that he gave his only begotten son that Bill believes in him will not perish and have eternal life gave the son, and he gave his son to be the second Adam, this one lives perfectly and he gave his son to be my substitute on the cross.

John the Baptist, behold the Lamb of God, it takes away the sins of the world for me, for you. He chose me before there was a physical creation, he was involved with my uniqueness in my mother's womb. I am fearfully, respectfully and wonderfully made by God. Now there's a sin problem between me and God and God's as I got us in. My son and he'll become your cinder wow why because he loves first was because the kind intention of his will. Now we find out it's because he loves us how you not become optimistic about who you are. The uniqueness of this house ago pull this off. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter 2 Ephesians chapter 2 and here Paul gives us the how how do you do this. Paul told the Romans that while we were at enmity with God.

He loved us, with God's enemies… In fact, John says we love God, but only for one reason why because he first loved us in love God and go seeking them as numbness. He got no not one he loved you and he sought you is amazing true fear.

Cinelli tells us the how. First he describes her condition in verse one, you were getting your transparent hasp trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world.

Everybody's a center according to the prince of the power of the year of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them, he said we too all formerly lived. He said in a in the lost of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest only dessert was God's judgment condemnation all mankind. Then, to the best word you ever read in the Bible, but God, not us. We we can do that on our own. But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, there it is again even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive with Christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that any ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith is not of yourselves. It's a gift of God.

It's not a result of works, no one so that no one could boast. He saves us by his grace.

Cars the unmerited favor of God. What did you bring to the table. Nothing how much everything you 10. He said no I'm going I'm going to give you my unmerited favor in the word car is which we have grace means gift somebody give you the gift of save you by the gift of my son's death. All you have to do is receive the gift I can't make you take it if you don't want to take adult that I'm offering you the gift that's what faith does faith allows me to receive the gift of God provided for me.

So he saves us all here by grace and grace alone. Now you might be thinking, but could there be something where we would destroy the gift. Is there something we could do to make the gift not applicable to his or something we could do to unseal ourselves to not be a recipient of God's love and he answers categorically absolutely no you see you didn't do anything to get yourself saved. You're not doing to get yourself unsaved as John MacArthur says often in the past. If you could lose your salvation you would and I just love that you know if you could, you would. But you can't turn with me now to Romans chapter 8 Romans chapter 8 verse 35.

Here's what he says who will separate us from the love of Christ not remember the logic would tell you nothing because when were you chosen before there was a physical creation.

While that's a long long time ago. He was right with you when you will be informed in the womb, then you see then he sent his son to die for you and one of the reasons he could choose me as he knew I receive the gift and he knew you receive the gift so can anything separate. What will separate us from the love of Christ. He said were tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, or nakedness peril with the sword which is death. Could that separate us was grimacing emphatically no effect. Verse 37 he says in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer how through him was loved us why we victorious through him that I was the apostle Paul said I can do all things.

How through him who strengthens me.

It's all God's work, even in my life.

Now he says maybe to get my point them explain it further with the word for verse 38 for I am convinced that neither death nor life.

Okay, what else is her tell me what's not death or life is everything right. He said I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, not death, not life, not the angelic world, not the past, not the future. Nothing can separate us years ago someone told me why he's someone said that that but we could do it only if you're not a creature any created thing. I think role created so I don't think we could do it nothing to do this, you see it's all his work. Nothing will ever separate me from the love of God. That's what it means. That means my feet and yours is written in stone and it has to be you chose me before the foundation of the world.

In fact, he will use everything in my life and yours to work for the good. What yet is it everything that happens in your life. I'll turn it for the good that's hard for us to see, but look what he says in Romans 828 and we know that God causes all things to work together for good for who to those who love God, to those called according to his purpose is and will take every single bad experience. Turn it for good. Now I will say this, the timing of that is something we often never know sometimes we see the good in something that we thought was bad. Soon, sometimes much later.

Sometimes I don't think we see that with the Lord.

It is a win reset. I will turn everything that you have.

It's bad for good. That's what I'll do for you.

He said there'll be nothing there fall outside of that is an amazing thing.

Now he does give us a hippo how he does that now and show some goodness in our difficult experiences.

Go with me to James chapter 1 James chapter 1 and verse two James one verse two says this, consider it all joy, my brother. When your life stinks 27th. So when you encounter various trials, and by the way, you will encounter various trials, you will find pain-and-suffering part of living and you know why your center. Everyone you know was a sinner and the planet is cursed. Okay you know what that means. Horrible things happen they happen since the gardener going to happen until he comes back there going to happen. Horrible, terrible things are going to happen because in trials. You see, that's what's going to happen, so expect that he said us is the way it's going to be.

But notice, consider it all joy when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith.

What gotchas yet.

You see what God does. He said I can even tempt someone the evil or the bad.

I can even do that but I can tell you every terrible trial comes in your life from God's point of view is what test with you testing my faith is testing my faith with everything until it happens see in the test is simply this trust bathroom never on the radio ministry of fellowship in the world. If you ever miss one of our broadcast or maybe you just like to listen to the message one more time. Remember the little great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen the fellowship and the word online at that website you will find on with today's broadcast but also many of her previous audio program, had Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make his broadcast possible with all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help with radio ministry continuous broadcast on this radio station by supporting monthly with just the one time gift support for ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word. 4600 Clearview Pkwy., Metairie, LA 7006 if you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format that is is a sermon, the pastor will deliver during a Sunday morning service of fellowship monitored visit our website FVC Nola.org that FVC Penn of LA.O RG at our website you will find hundreds pastor Bill sermon you can browse through our sermon archives defined sermon series you're looking for or you can search by title. Once you find the method you're looking for. You can listen online or if you prefer, you can download the sermon on listening and anchoring and remembering all this absolutely free of charge.

Once again our website is FVC Nola.org forecaster Bill Gebhardt and Jason Gebhardt. Thanking you for listening to fellowship in order