Can an intellectual believe in God?

September 7, 2018

Psalm 19
(RA-1866, Program: 3618, Air date: 09.09.18)

1. INTRODUCTION
   1. Psalm 19:1-6
      1. God has spoken
         1. Anybody who wants to believe in God can believe in God.
         2. Unbelief is not due to intellectual difficulties but rather moral difficulties.
         3. Unbelief never comes out of the head but rather out of the heart.
            1. Psalm 14:1
2. THERE IS THE DECLARATION IN THE SKIES (Psalm 19:1)
   1. God’s written Word in the heavens
   2. God’s glory
      1. The heavens above us tell us that God exists.
   3. God’s greatness
      1. What great power is seen in the creation of the universe!
      2. If the atheist doesn’t believe in a self-existing God then he must believe in a self-existing universe or that nothing times nothing equals everything.
      3. Genesis 1:1
         1. Out of nothing, nothing comes.
         2. “God stepped from behind the curtain of nowhere and stood upon the platform of nothing and spoke a world into existence.”
      4. Psalm 139:14
         1. The complexity of the human cell alone tells us that God exists.
      5. Romans 1:19-20
   4. God’s goodness
      1. Psalm 19:2
      2. There is a fixed order in the universe.
         1. Day follows night
         2. Light and warmth speak of God’s grace
3. THe Revelation of the scriptures (Psalm 19:7-11)
   1. God’s written Word in the Bible
   2. The heavens tell us there is a God, the Bible tells us about God.
   3. The virtues of the Scriptures
      1. Psalm 19:7
      2. The Word of God converts the soul.
         1. Speaks to the inerrancy of the Scriptures.
         2. John 10:35
      3. The Word of God is a sure place to stand.
         1. Psalm 19:7
         2. Matthew 11:25
      4. The Word of God will not lead you astray.
         1. Psalm 19:8
         2. God’s Word makes our paths straight
            1. His Word is not difficult or hard or onerous.
      5. God’s Word is true with no mixture of evil or error.
         1. Psalm 19:8
         2. Over 6,000 promises in the Bible
      6. God’s Word bears no seed of corruption.
         1. Psalm 19:9
         2. God’s Word endures forever
            1. Several millennia have passed since David wrote this Psalm.
               1. The earth turns to dust, the flower withers and dies but the Word of God endures forever.
               2. It is incorruptible
               3. It is never out of date
               4. It applies to every age (time)
               5. It never needs updating or revision
               6. God’s Word is inerrant, infallible and incorruptible.
   4. The values of the Scriptures
      1. Psalm 19:10-11
      2. The Scriptures are precious
         1. Psalm 19:10
      3. The Scriptures are protective
         1. Psalm 19:11
         2. The Word of God will keep you from hurts and harms if you bathe your soul in its truth and walk in its light.
      4. The Scriptures are profitable
         1. Psalm 19:11
         2. In living by the Word of God there is reward.
4. The Illumination of the spirit (Psalm 19:12-14)
   1. The Holy Spirit takes what we see objectively in nature and in the Word of God and interprets that subjectively and spiritually so we can know God; applying it to our heart.
   2. The conviction of the Spirit
      1. Psalm 19:12
      2. Only through the Holy Spirit can we understand the nature of God
      3. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin.
         1. John 6:18
      4. The Holy Spirit cleanses us from our secret faults so we can know God.
      5. Sin: an undetected weakness, an unexpected temptation and an unprotected life.
   3. The cleansing of the Spirit
      1. Psalm 19:12
      2. 1 John 1:9
      3. There is no cleansing apart from the blood of Jesus Christ.
   4. The control of the Spirit
      1. Psalm 19:13
      2. The Holy Spirit will keep you from sin that is directly in front of you.
      3. Pray every morning for the Holy Spirit to not only protect you from hidden faults but presumptuous sin.
   5. The communion of the Spirit
      1. Psalm 19:14
      2. You don’t come to God simply through His Word in creation and His Word in the Bible but through His love for you. God has revealed Himself to you.
5. CONCLUSION
   1. God is revealing Himself to you and it doesn’t take intellect to know Him.
      1. Matthew 11:28
      2. Revelation 3:20
   2. Do you know Jesus personally? If not, you can pray to Him today by asking Him to come into your life.
   3. Call upon Jesus today. Repent (turn) from your sins, and turn to Jesus. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins, and acknowledge Him as Lord of your life.
      1. Romans 3:23
      2. Romans 10:9-10
      3. Romans 10:13
      4. Acts 16:31

Sermon outline as Word document