1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,860 Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. How do we know where to find answers to the toughest 2 00:00:15,860 --> 00:00:21,060 questions in life? While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search 3 00:00:21,060 --> 00:00:27,300 and how do we discover this truth? Today, in this teaching podcast, John Meador, lead 4 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:32,440 pastor of Cross City Church, takes a specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth 5 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:41,600 for the life we're searching for. Well, it's been a great morning. I'm so glad that you're 6 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:46,280 with us today. And if you will, take your Bibles and turn to 2 Peter chapter 1 today. 7 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:51,960 2 Peter chapter 1, we're in the Dear God series and we are down to the last two weeks today. 8 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:56,320 The question is, how can we know the Bible is true? Now, I hope that you have your Bible 9 00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:00,880 with you today. And if you don't, there are Bibles on the bottom of some of the seats 10 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:05,440 that are around you and I hope that you take a copy of God's Word. And I also hope that 11 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:09,680 you're taking notes today because it will be an important thing to write down four statements 12 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:15,040 that I'm going to make during the course of this message that are really life-changing 13 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:19,580 statements when it comes to the subject of the Bible, the Word of God. And when it comes 14 00:01:19,580 --> 00:01:25,840 to helping others know about the hope that you have in the Scriptures that have changed 15 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:31,320 your life. And so we want to be able to answer that question in 2 Peter chapter 1, verses 16 00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:36,200 16 through 21. How can we know the Bible is true? Let's read the text right off of that 17 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:41,360 and start right there. Let's stand together if you would. 2 Peter chapter 1, beginning 18 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:50,100 in verse 16. This is the Apostle Peter who's writing in the midst of persecution, tribulation. 19 00:01:50,100 --> 00:01:56,040 The Roman Empire was about to try to tear Christianity apart. All kinds of rumors, all 20 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:01,000 kinds of scheming is going on because after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the church 21 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:06,160 came alive through the power of the Holy Spirit. And so people were being one to Christ right 22 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:09,960 and laughed. It was just amazing what was happening in the church. But on the outside 23 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:15,280 of the church, pressure from kosher was taking place, not unlike today by the way. And Peter 24 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:21,640 is writing about the validity of the message of Jesus Christ. Here's how valid, here's 25 00:02:21,640 --> 00:02:26,680 how convinced we are that Jesus is a life changer. And here's why you can be convinced 26 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:32,100 as well is what he's saying. Beginning in verse 16 it says this, for we did not follow 27 00:02:32,100 --> 00:02:38,280 cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus 28 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:44,400 Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Kind of walk through that very slowly with 29 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:51,400 me. We were eyewitnesses. We saw Jesus Christ. Verse 17, for when he received honor and glory 30 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:57,360 from God the father, such an utterance as this was made to him by the majestic glory. 31 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:02,940 This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. And we ourselves heard this utterance 32 00:03:02,940 --> 00:03:07,000 made from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. He's talking about the 33 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:12,360 transfiguration of Jesus and seeing it and hearing the voice of heaven and all of the 34 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:18,160 above. It says in verse 19, so we now have the prophetic word made more sure to which 35 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:23,360 you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns 36 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:28,020 and the morning star arises in your heart. But know this first of all that all that no 37 00:03:28,020 --> 00:03:33,400 prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation for no prophecy was ever 38 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:38,600 made by an act of human will. You understand what he's saying is men did not write the 39 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:45,600 Bible. God used men to pen holy inspired writings. He said no scripture, no prophecy was ever 40 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:53,720 made by an act of human will but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. There's 41 00:03:53,720 --> 00:04:00,360 a lot here to unpack. Let's pray. Father in Jesus name help us see what Peter is writing 42 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:05,120 and what it means to us today and how to give an answer for the hope inside of us to those 43 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:10,320 who wonder why do you believe the Bible? Why do you read the Bible? Father help us to walk 44 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:16,040 out of here today with an absolute confidence that the scriptures, the Bible that we hold 45 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:20,920 in our hands is your word for us forever. We ask this in Jesus name and everybody said 46 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:25,980 amen. Amen. Alright please be seated if you would. Now I know a couple of weeks ago I 47 00:04:25,980 --> 00:04:29,680 asked you not to amen when I was preaching and I'm just wanting you to know that rule 48 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:34,320 is off the table now because we were dealing with a sensitive subject of transgenderism 49 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:39,520 two weeks ago and I wanted to make sure that we handle that politely and gently but today 50 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:43,680 I'm going to ask you to say amen when it's appropriate and because we're going to make 51 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:49,300 some really important points today. About 17 years ago a man named Vodi Bakim preached 52 00:04:49,300 --> 00:04:55,320 a message that was on the subject of the Bible and how we could know the Bible was true. 53 00:04:55,320 --> 00:05:00,680 It was a powerful message and I think even today some of what he said then reverberates 54 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:06,240 through my heart when I am on the subject of the scripture. And the world has changed 55 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:11,200 in the last 15 and 16 years since I heard that message and today we're dealing with 56 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:17,120 a very very skeptical world. Now I want you to pay attention in a different way today. 57 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:21,240 I want you to pay attention not only for your own spiritual good and for your own spiritual 58 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:25,760 confidence in the Bible but I want you to pay attention for how you will give an answer 59 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:30,960 to people that are those skeptics that wonder why do you believe the Bible? How can you 60 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:36,300 believe a book that's at least 2,000 years old and how can you say it's relevant to the 61 00:05:36,300 --> 00:05:41,520 complexities of our world today? How can you do that? And I'm going to give you four answers 62 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:48,520 that you can give them today as we walk through this text. One year ago Gallup Poll did a 63 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:55,560 wide poll of Americans and compared it to one they did in 2015. And the question they 64 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:59,940 asked was about the subject of the Bible. How do people in America believe the Bible 65 00:05:59,940 --> 00:06:06,860 and what level do they believe the Bible is the word of God? Now 15, 20 years ago the 66 00:06:06,860 --> 00:06:11,900 answer was that 30% of our population believed that the Bible was truly inspired by God and 67 00:06:11,900 --> 00:06:17,220 perfect and applicable to everything in life. It was about 50% of the population that said 68 00:06:17,220 --> 00:06:21,340 well we believe it's an inspired book, it's a religious book, we believe God was involved 69 00:06:21,340 --> 00:06:26,700 in writing it but we reserved the interpretation to how we want to interpret it and then only 70 00:06:26,700 --> 00:06:31,940 20% said oh it's a book of fables. It's just a bunch of lies that someone assembled 71 00:06:31,940 --> 00:06:38,940 with moral lessons involved in that. Well the poll that was done last year almost reversed 72 00:06:40,580 --> 00:06:47,340 those numbers to no one's surprise. Today in America 30% of those polled said that they 73 00:06:47,340 --> 00:06:52,580 believe that the book is a book of fables. The Bible is nothing but myths and nothing 74 00:06:52,580 --> 00:06:59,580 but moral reasoning that people back in that day gave. 50% still that same 50% says well 75 00:07:01,020 --> 00:07:06,420 we believe it's inspired by God in some ways, inspirational in some degree but we reserve 76 00:07:06,420 --> 00:07:12,860 interpretation for ourselves and only 20% say that the Bible is the word of God. It's 77 00:07:12,860 --> 00:07:18,260 innovative, it's perfect in every way, it speaks in timeless truths to everybody in 78 00:07:18,260 --> 00:07:23,380 every culture. You say well that's only a 10% difference in what it was 15 years ago 79 00:07:23,380 --> 00:07:29,020 but that is a dramatic shift in our nation over how people view the Bible. Today it's 80 00:07:29,020 --> 00:07:34,140 estimated that one in eight people have a biblical worldview, that is they look at the 81 00:07:34,140 --> 00:07:41,140 world, at culture through the lens of scripture and the rest look at the world through the 82 00:07:41,140 --> 00:07:46,420 lens of culture. What they read on social media, what their friends say, what they read 83 00:07:46,420 --> 00:07:53,420 in media or watch on a silver screen or a computer. That's quite a dramatic shift. If 84 00:07:53,540 --> 00:07:57,820 you wonder why our world is so different than it was five years, ten years, twenty years 85 00:07:57,820 --> 00:08:03,460 ago then you have your answer right now. Because what's changed is the way people view the 86 00:08:03,460 --> 00:08:09,020 world whether through the lens of scripture or through the lens of culture. So why do 87 00:08:09,020 --> 00:08:15,020 we hold out for the scripture being the word of God? Why do we say we ought to look at 88 00:08:15,020 --> 00:08:19,780 the world through the lens of scripture instead of any other way? How can we be confident 89 00:08:19,780 --> 00:08:25,020 and how can we explain to other people that we have confidence that is reasonable in the 90 00:08:25,020 --> 00:08:29,260 Bible today? I want to give you four reasons how we defend our belief in the Bible and 91 00:08:29,260 --> 00:08:34,580 what anchors us there and it's four reasons that you can give to others that they can 92 00:08:34,580 --> 00:08:39,500 also consider and embrace the scriptures for themselves if they will. So are you ready? 93 00:08:39,500 --> 00:08:44,220 Statement number one I'm going to give you out of the four statements based on the scripture 94 00:08:44,220 --> 00:08:51,220 that we just read. The first one is the Bible is a collection of verified eyewitness accounts. 95 00:08:52,380 --> 00:08:58,380 Verified eyewitness accounts. When someone says why do you believe the gospel of John? 96 00:08:58,380 --> 00:09:04,260 You can very quickly say well it's based on eyewitness accounts of when Jesus Christ walked 97 00:09:04,260 --> 00:09:08,660 on the earth. And someone might say well I don't really agree with that and the next 98 00:09:08,660 --> 00:09:15,660 question is well were you there? Somebody was, somebody saw, and somebody recorded what 99 00:09:16,660 --> 00:09:21,660 Jesus said and did two thousand years ago on the planet. Now Peter says this in verse 100 00:09:21,660 --> 00:09:28,420 16 would you look at the verse again. For we did not follow cleverly devised tales. Nobody 101 00:09:28,420 --> 00:09:32,740 was working behind the curtain trying to write things to make you believe something today 102 00:09:32,740 --> 00:09:36,940 that was not true. We didn't believe those cleverly devised tales and that's not what 103 00:09:36,940 --> 00:09:41,180 we're holding as our belief system but we made known to you the power and coming of 104 00:09:41,180 --> 00:09:48,180 our Lord Jesus Christ but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Here's what I want you to 105 00:09:48,460 --> 00:09:55,140 know today about this eyewitness thing. Scripture is a collection of historical eyewitness accounts. 106 00:09:55,140 --> 00:09:59,460 Everything you hold in this Bible is verified by people who were alive and who saw what 107 00:09:59,460 --> 00:10:05,460 was said and what was done and who can verify that and we have that verification in Scripture. 108 00:10:05,460 --> 00:10:12,460 Let me ask you a question. Do you value eyewitness accounts today? Do we as a culture value 109 00:10:12,420 --> 00:10:17,980 eyewitness accounts? And I would say that we unequivocally value those. Few things are 110 00:10:17,980 --> 00:10:22,380 considered more reliable. In a court case for example when a crime has been committed 111 00:10:22,380 --> 00:10:27,020 and you have some circumstantial evidence and then you have one testimony or another 112 00:10:27,020 --> 00:10:31,300 and then all of a sudden they call an eyewitness up and the eyewitness says this is what I 113 00:10:31,300 --> 00:10:37,220 saw, this is where I was, this is my perspective of what went on and someone said alright that 114 00:10:37,220 --> 00:10:42,420 changes the whole game. Because all of a sudden someone who saw what happened is now talking 115 00:10:42,420 --> 00:10:47,380 to us and we can get to the bottom of the case and that's especially powerful when 116 00:10:47,380 --> 00:10:52,860 multiple eyewitnesses say the same thing. Now that's what the Bible is. It's all about 117 00:10:52,860 --> 00:10:58,300 eyewitness accounts. Now let me take you back and give you an example of that. Luke, the 118 00:10:58,300 --> 00:11:03,820 author of the Gospel of Luke and also the book of Acts is one of those that goes to 119 00:11:03,820 --> 00:11:09,860 painstaking detail to help us know this is based on what we saw. Look at Luke chapter 120 00:11:09,860 --> 00:11:15,760 1 verses 1 through 4 and here's what it's saying. Inasmuch as many have undertaken to 121 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:20,900 complete in a cat of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to 122 00:11:20,900 --> 00:11:25,260 us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses. Do you notice these words here? We're going 123 00:11:25,260 --> 00:11:30,300 to give you an account. It's a historical document. It's handed down from those who 124 00:11:30,300 --> 00:11:35,100 from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. It seems fitting for me as well 125 00:11:35,100 --> 00:11:40,740 having investigated everything carefully. Before I wrote this down I made sure all these 126 00:11:40,740 --> 00:11:46,100 eyewitnesses aligned in what they said to write it out for you in consecutive order 127 00:11:46,100 --> 00:11:51,220 most excellent theopolis so that you may know the exact truth about the things that you've 128 00:11:51,220 --> 00:11:57,300 been taught. I love this opening to the Gospel of Luke because it says I'm not just writing 129 00:11:57,300 --> 00:12:01,820 down some stuff and I'm kind of remembering back when Jesus was here. While Jesus was 130 00:12:01,820 --> 00:12:07,960 here I wrote down everything he said and did in consecutive order confirmed by other eyewitnesses 131 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:14,100 so that you might have an exact account of the life of Jesus Christ. Folks this is not 132 00:12:14,100 --> 00:12:21,260 a novel. This is not a fairy tale. It is a historical document and a collection of historical 133 00:12:21,260 --> 00:12:26,700 documents verified by eyewitnesses. Now Luke's not through because he writes the book of 134 00:12:26,700 --> 00:12:32,980 Acts as well. And in Acts chapter 1 he does almost the same exact thing. Acts 1 verses 135 00:12:32,980 --> 00:12:38,620 1 through 3. He says the first account I composed theopolis about all that Jesus began to do 136 00:12:38,620 --> 00:12:44,220 and teach until the day when he was taken up to heaven after he had by the Holy Spirit 137 00:12:44,220 --> 00:12:49,780 given orders to the apostles whom he had chosen. To these he also presented himself alive after 138 00:12:49,780 --> 00:12:54,940 his suffering and see this next slide by many convincing proofs. Everything he said we could 139 00:12:54,940 --> 00:13:01,620 verify everything he did others saw appearing to them plural over a period of 40 days and 140 00:13:01,620 --> 00:13:08,620 speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. So the scripture is a collection of 141 00:13:08,620 --> 00:13:14,340 historical eyewitness accounts. Luke tells us in the gospel of Luke he tells us in the 142 00:13:14,340 --> 00:13:21,540 book of Acts. But I want to go further because one eyewitness is good but multiple eyewitnesses 143 00:13:21,540 --> 00:13:28,260 who see the same thing and say the same thing is even better. Right? If five people tell 144 00:13:28,260 --> 00:13:32,740 me that I did something yesterday that I don't recall doing I might need to believe the five 145 00:13:32,740 --> 00:13:40,540 people who all saw what they tell me that I did. It's a verifiable kind of thing. Notice 146 00:13:40,540 --> 00:13:46,860 that as we read these verses you see the words we. We saw. We were eyewitnesses. These are 147 00:13:46,860 --> 00:13:51,780 evidences of corroborating testimony. They all align in the same way. Years ago there 148 00:13:51,780 --> 00:13:58,100 was a show called CSI. Crime Scene Investigation. Anybody remember that show? I mean it's still 149 00:13:58,100 --> 00:14:02,260 going on today I'm sure. But it was all about getting to the scene of the crime. It was 150 00:14:02,260 --> 00:14:08,860 all about finding the evidence this way or that way. Getting DNA. Interviewing eyewitnesses. 151 00:14:08,860 --> 00:14:12,940 And of course the real game changer is when you saw somebody who was an eyewitness and 152 00:14:12,940 --> 00:14:17,860 they gave you an account everything else lined up. All the circumstantial evidence lined 153 00:14:17,860 --> 00:14:23,620 up. The DNA lined up. Everything lined up. The prize was an eyewitness account and that's 154 00:14:23,620 --> 00:14:29,180 what you have here. You have the word eyewitness. Now in the scripture eyewitness is more than 155 00:14:29,180 --> 00:14:34,780 just someone that saw an event. It means not just an observer but someone who was deeply 156 00:14:34,780 --> 00:14:39,860 involved behind the scenes in what all was unfolding. In this case these were disciples 157 00:14:39,860 --> 00:14:45,820 who followed Jesus for those three years that he was on the earth. One of those guys was 158 00:14:45,820 --> 00:14:54,180 John. Not John the Baptist but John the disciple. John the apostle. And he writes in 1 John 159 00:14:54,180 --> 00:14:59,100 chapter 1 verses 1 and 2 something similar to what we've read. I want you to notice what 160 00:14:59,100 --> 00:15:05,180 he said and how detailed he is as an eyewitness. That verse says, What was from the beginning? 161 00:15:05,180 --> 00:15:10,540 What we have heard. So first of all with the ears. What we have seen with our eyes. What 162 00:15:10,540 --> 00:15:16,580 we have looked at and touched with our hands concerning the word of life. And the life 163 00:15:16,580 --> 00:15:22,460 was manifested and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life which 164 00:15:22,460 --> 00:15:26,340 was with the father and was manifested to us. How many times does this guy need to say 165 00:15:26,340 --> 00:15:31,300 it? We saw it. We heard it. We touched it. It was manifested to us. Then he said again 166 00:15:31,300 --> 00:15:36,180 it was manifested to us. The word of life is manifested. I mean this guy was a convinced 167 00:15:36,180 --> 00:15:42,980 witness of all that Jesus said and did. So you have not only eyewitness accounts in this 168 00:15:42,980 --> 00:15:49,540 collection of verified documents but you also have eyewitness accounts verified by other 169 00:15:49,540 --> 00:15:55,420 eyewitnesses. You say well those guys were fathers of Jesus so of course they all said 170 00:15:55,420 --> 00:16:01,540 the same thing. But then we are introduced to a man named Saul. We know him now as Paul 171 00:16:01,540 --> 00:16:07,540 because he encountered Jesus on the Damascus road. If you turn to 1 Corinthians 15 Paul 172 00:16:07,540 --> 00:16:13,140 who was a skeptic until that moment said this. He said for I delivered to you as of first 173 00:16:13,140 --> 00:16:18,020 importance what I also received that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures 174 00:16:18,020 --> 00:16:25,420 that he was buried and that he was rose again the third day according to the scriptures 175 00:16:25,420 --> 00:16:31,620 and then he appeared to Cephas, this is Peter, and then he appeared to the twelve, so multiple 176 00:16:31,620 --> 00:16:38,700 eyewitnesses. After that he appeared to more than 500 brethren at one time, most of them 177 00:16:38,700 --> 00:16:43,860 who remained until now but some had fallen asleep. Now you catch what he is saying. He 178 00:16:43,860 --> 00:16:49,540 is saying I want you to know that as I write this account of Jesus' resurrection that not 179 00:16:49,540 --> 00:16:55,820 only am I an eyewitness, not only was the disciples, the group of disciples an eyewitness, 180 00:16:55,820 --> 00:17:00,980 but I want you to know 500 people saw Jesus rise from the dead. Most of them are still 181 00:17:00,980 --> 00:17:06,980 now here even as I write. So Paul is saying basically I am going to write this document 182 00:17:06,980 --> 00:17:11,380 and most of the people who saw Jesus rise from the dead can validate this and verify 183 00:17:11,380 --> 00:17:16,740 this so it is multiple eyewitness accounts that I am speaking about. Now most of 500, 184 00:17:16,740 --> 00:17:22,540 if I say most of 500 are still remaining today, at least 300 people is what we conclude. So 185 00:17:22,540 --> 00:17:27,020 300 people who saw Jesus rise from the dead are still there when Paul writes the letter 186 00:17:27,020 --> 00:17:33,540 of 1 Corinthians. How do you write an account of a supernatural resurrection of Jesus Christ 187 00:17:33,540 --> 00:17:39,620 unless it is true when 300 people are still alive who know all about it? What we have 188 00:17:39,620 --> 00:17:45,020 in our Bible is not just some theory, some philosophy when someone says did Jesus really 189 00:17:45,020 --> 00:17:51,220 rise from the dead? And you say well hundreds and hundreds of people saw Jesus rise from 190 00:17:51,220 --> 00:17:58,500 the dead. Who are you to deny that He rose from the dead? Most of the people that I talk 191 00:17:58,500 --> 00:18:02,460 to who deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ are so far removed from that event, from that 192 00:18:02,460 --> 00:18:06,940 time, from the knowledge of those eyewitnesses. They have no real idea what they are talking 193 00:18:06,940 --> 00:18:13,940 about. All they are saying is I just kind of refuse to believe it. If Paul said hundreds 194 00:18:13,940 --> 00:18:21,180 and hundreds saw Him, I can validate my account of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. See what 195 00:18:21,180 --> 00:18:29,060 makes it into your Bible today, into the canon of scripture, is this kind of truth. No fables, 196 00:18:29,060 --> 00:18:34,620 no fairy tales, no moral lessons that are just kind of out floating out there. Everything 197 00:18:34,620 --> 00:18:39,100 that you have in your Bible is based on all that we have been saying over the last few 198 00:18:39,100 --> 00:18:42,940 moments. Now I know there are people out there that say well you know I believe that there 199 00:18:42,940 --> 00:18:49,740 are conspiracy theorists out there and people who had a conspiracy to corrupt the Bible 200 00:18:49,740 --> 00:18:55,500 so that what we have today is really a product of that kind of corruption. Those who wanted 201 00:18:55,500 --> 00:18:59,220 to change whatever happened in the beginning and insert their own truths, their own ideas 202 00:18:59,220 --> 00:19:05,100 in there. And so I believe that is what happened some will say. For example, some conspiracy 203 00:19:05,100 --> 00:19:09,540 theorists say that Jesus actually got married and had a number of children. And certain 204 00:19:09,540 --> 00:19:13,700 cults say that those children are still alive today and they are the head of the cults that 205 00:19:13,700 --> 00:19:20,700 they lead. That's convenient right? I mean one of Jesus' grand grandchildren. Others 206 00:19:20,700 --> 00:19:26,260 today in this highly immoral culture say that Jesus was an active homosexual. They have 207 00:19:26,260 --> 00:19:32,260 evidence for that they say and how convenient for them that is if it were true so that they 208 00:19:32,260 --> 00:19:38,420 could support their own lifestyle and on and on and on. Conspiracy theorists try to have 209 00:19:38,420 --> 00:19:44,180 an agenda and write that agenda into what we know to be the scripture that is unchangeable 210 00:19:44,180 --> 00:19:50,940 and unchanged from the beginning. The truth is nobody in Jesus' day disputed the scriptures 211 00:19:50,940 --> 00:19:55,960 that we have right now. Nobody in Jesus' day disputed the resurrection of Jesus. Nobody 212 00:19:55,960 --> 00:20:00,480 in Jesus' day disputed the miracles. Nobody said Lazarus did not get raised from the dead 213 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:05,000 by Jesus because Lazarus stood right in front of them and said hey here I am alive after 214 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:11,540 being dead four days. Nobody disputed in that day because it was real and multiple eyewitnesses 215 00:20:11,540 --> 00:20:18,540 saw what Jesus Christ did on the planet. Now others allege this. Others say well overzealous 216 00:20:18,540 --> 00:20:24,140 monks over the years got together and they decided to change the words of scripture to 217 00:20:24,140 --> 00:20:29,360 fit what we have today. According to Vodi Bakken there are three reasons that can't 218 00:20:29,360 --> 00:20:34,860 be true. Let me give you those three reasons very quickly. First of all consider the manuscripts, 219 00:20:34,860 --> 00:20:39,980 the manuscripts we have of the original document, don't have the originals we have immediate 220 00:20:39,980 --> 00:20:46,380 copies of those. Those manuscripts number more than 6,000 in the New Testament alone. 221 00:20:46,380 --> 00:20:52,660 6,000 manuscripts that were written just a few years after all these accounts that we're 222 00:20:52,660 --> 00:20:57,420 reading about, Jesus' resurrection, Jesus walking on the planet, all the miracles he 223 00:20:57,420 --> 00:21:03,460 did and so forth. We have 6,000 of them. You say well how does that compare to other historical 224 00:21:03,460 --> 00:21:07,620 documents? I've got a sheet of paper with me here and it's called ancient manuscript 225 00:21:07,620 --> 00:21:12,980 comparison charts. There are 6,000 that validate the New Testament that were written less than 226 00:21:12,980 --> 00:21:18,380 a hundred years after the actual event. If you want to talk about Aristotle for a moment 227 00:21:18,380 --> 00:21:22,580 there are only 49 documents validating his existence on the planet. They were written 228 00:21:22,580 --> 00:21:27,260 1,400 years after he walked on the earth. If you want to talk about Julius Caesar only 229 00:21:27,260 --> 00:21:33,700 10 documents survived and they were written 900 years after Julius Caesar walked on the 230 00:21:33,700 --> 00:21:40,300 earth and in Plato only seven documents, 900 years they were written after he was on the 231 00:21:40,300 --> 00:21:49,300 planet. The New Testament has 6,000 documents, 6,000 manuscripts of all that went on and 232 00:21:49,300 --> 00:21:55,020 they are all in alignment. That is they all agree with each other. It's really amazing 233 00:21:55,020 --> 00:21:59,620 how many manuscripts we have and the age of the manuscripts that we have. Then there are 234 00:21:59,620 --> 00:22:04,460 the language issues, the language issues. By the way if it's overzealous monks wanted 235 00:22:04,460 --> 00:22:11,140 to change any of the words of Luke or John or Matthew they would have to find all 6,000 236 00:22:11,140 --> 00:22:15,740 of those manuscripts and somehow change them all without letting anybody else know about 237 00:22:15,740 --> 00:22:20,980 it and put them back where the manuscripts go. I think that'd be kind of difficult just 238 00:22:20,980 --> 00:22:26,820 a few hundred years after Christ. There's the language issues as well. Jesus said take 239 00:22:26,820 --> 00:22:30,820 it to the nations and that's exactly what the New Testament church did. The different 240 00:22:30,820 --> 00:22:35,940 languages that were the first languages that recorded the scripture after the Greek which 241 00:22:35,940 --> 00:22:42,340 are 6,000 manuscripts of those are Syrian, Coptic, and Latin and there are 19,000 copies 242 00:22:42,340 --> 00:22:47,940 of these. These monks if they wanted to change them would not only have to change the 6,000 243 00:22:47,940 --> 00:22:52,060 original manuscripts and immediate copies they would have to find every one of the Syrian, 244 00:22:52,060 --> 00:22:58,740 Coptic, and Latin manuscripts and change all 19,000 of them. In other words 25,000 manuscripts 245 00:22:58,740 --> 00:23:05,980 would have to be changed for them to have their way in changing the scripture. Then 246 00:23:05,980 --> 00:23:10,060 the early church fathers is another factor. Early church fathers are those early leaders 247 00:23:10,060 --> 00:23:16,580 of the New Testament church and they wrote huge commentaries and attestations of what 248 00:23:16,580 --> 00:23:23,780 the church taught and what the Bible taught. We can actually assemble 95% of the New Testament 249 00:23:23,780 --> 00:23:28,260 words by looking at the early church fathers. So these overzealous monks would have to not 250 00:23:28,260 --> 00:23:32,900 only change the 6,000 not only the 19,000 but they'd also have to go find all the writings 251 00:23:32,900 --> 00:23:38,140 of the early fathers and change all those and make them all align in the same way to 252 00:23:38,140 --> 00:23:43,620 bring some sort of corruption to the New Testament text. I do not believe that that happened. 253 00:23:43,620 --> 00:23:48,860 I do not believe they could do that and no one knows about it. They never told anyone. 254 00:23:48,860 --> 00:23:53,780 They never got caught during the time when every word was written by hand with no way 255 00:23:53,780 --> 00:23:59,980 of communicating over distances or coordinating this massive effort. And my question is what 256 00:23:59,980 --> 00:24:04,580 would a reasonable person say about overzealous monks trying to change the Bible? And I think 257 00:24:04,580 --> 00:24:09,060 they're going to have to conclude that would be impossible. And on top of that this was 258 00:24:09,060 --> 00:24:14,020 done during the Middle Ages which we would call the Dark Ages. That's when it was alleged 259 00:24:14,020 --> 00:24:18,860 that these overzealous monks made these changes. The Dark Ages took place after the collapse 260 00:24:18,860 --> 00:24:24,380 of the Roman Empire, an age of barbarianism and war and just barely able to survive. That's 261 00:24:24,380 --> 00:24:28,700 what it was for those several hundred years. The worst possible environment for corrupting 262 00:24:28,700 --> 00:24:35,420 a biblical text. In brief it is impossible that all these manuscripts would be changed. 263 00:24:35,420 --> 00:24:42,420 We have based on our documents, on our manuscripts, on our eyewitness accounts a pure word of 264 00:24:42,780 --> 00:24:49,780 God. So important for us to know that. Now that was the first point. We have a collection 265 00:24:50,540 --> 00:24:56,060 of documents that involve eyewitness accounts. Number two, writing down number two, the Bible 266 00:24:56,060 --> 00:25:03,060 records the miraculous indisputable transformation of people. No other book in the world details 267 00:25:03,060 --> 00:25:09,420 life changed like the Bible does. No other book says this person was dead now they're 268 00:25:09,420 --> 00:25:14,500 alive. This person was blind and now they see. This person was deaf and now they hear. 269 00:25:14,500 --> 00:25:19,500 But the Bible details this incredible life change. And Peter writes about this amazing 270 00:25:19,500 --> 00:25:24,940 change with Jesus himself on the Mount of Transfiguration, verse 17 and 18. For when 271 00:25:24,940 --> 00:25:30,340 he received honor and glory, Peter said, from God the Father, such an utterance as this 272 00:25:30,340 --> 00:25:35,100 was made to him by the majestic glory. This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased 273 00:25:35,100 --> 00:25:40,340 and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with him on the holy 274 00:25:40,340 --> 00:25:45,340 mountain. He's talking about the fact that Jesus was transfigured. In other words these 275 00:25:45,340 --> 00:25:52,340 disciples saw Jesus in glorified form during this time on the mountaintop. They saw the 276 00:25:52,580 --> 00:25:58,700 visible splendor of the divine majesty they said. In Matthew chapter 17 verse 2 Matthew 277 00:25:58,700 --> 00:26:03,300 he writes it this way, he was transfigured before them and his face shone like the sun 278 00:26:03,300 --> 00:26:09,180 and his garments became as white as light. Notice multiple witnesses, we saw him, we 279 00:26:09,180 --> 00:26:13,300 were there on the holy mountain. They all saw and they all heard the same thing of this 280 00:26:13,300 --> 00:26:19,300 amazing transformation. Jesus was transfigured but people were transformed. All through the 281 00:26:19,300 --> 00:26:26,300 ministry of Jesus you see people being transformed. In fact the gospel is a catalog of impossible 282 00:26:26,300 --> 00:26:32,080 things that took place because of Jesus. He healed instantaneously and with a word. People 283 00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:37,240 who were blind from death, blind from birth or deaf from birth, he cast out demons, in 284 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:42,720 some cases hundreds of demons and healed those with deathly illnesses. He took command over 285 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:48,080 nature. He calmed the storms. He walked on water. He raised lathers from the dead. He 286 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:55,080 raised himself from the dead. These are undeniable accounts that are historical and multiple 287 00:26:55,080 --> 00:27:01,160 eyewitness verified. These are facts of what Jesus did on the planet. There is no dispute 288 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:07,040 in anybody of that era that Jesus did any of these things. And then what about Saul 289 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:12,760 of Tarsus? The most vehemient objector we have recorded in the scripture, a religious 290 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:18,360 terrorist at the very least. And he put his faith and trust in Jesus Christ and said I'm 291 00:27:18,360 --> 00:27:23,080 convinced Jesus Christ rose from the dead. I will follow him until the day I die and 292 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:30,080 he did. The bible records miraculous, indisputable transformation of people. When someone says 293 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:36,840 why do you believe the bible? I would say first of all it contains multiple eyewitness 294 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:43,840 accounts that are historically factual. Number two, that it records life transformation in 295 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:49,280 different individuals' lives. They can only happen by the hand of God. And then number 296 00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:54,400 three I would say the bible records prophecies given and fulfilled supernaturally over hundreds 297 00:27:54,400 --> 00:28:00,000 of years. So it's not just the eyewitness accounts. It's not just the life transformation 298 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:05,340 that was recorded. It's also a prophecy given over a space of several hundred years about 299 00:28:05,340 --> 00:28:12,200 Jesus and fulfilled by Jesus. This is amazing. Notice what Peter says here in verse 19. So 300 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:17,520 we have the prophetic word made more sure which you do well to pay attention as to a 301 00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:23,240 lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your heart. 302 00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:27,120 Now you know how this works. The Old Testament prophet would give a prophecy about something 303 00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:32,840 that was virtually impossible to be fulfilled years and years down the road. Now the law 304 00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:39,840 was, the real was, if a prophet falsely prophesied for a short term kind of event he would be 305 00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:45,400 stoned. He would be put to death. So reality was only effective prophets lived very long. 306 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:50,800 Only those prophets that really spoke from God lived and were speaking much. These guys 307 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:55,960 spoke about events not only immediate but hundreds of years down the road and when they 308 00:28:55,960 --> 00:29:02,040 were fulfilled in most cases by Jesus Christ then they were called the prophetic word made 309 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:08,480 more sure. A prophetic word came from a prophet. It was recorded. It was watched for or looked 310 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:13,620 for and when it came to pass it was the prophetic word made more sure. And that's exactly what 311 00:29:13,620 --> 00:29:19,640 Peter is talking about here. You look at the Old Testament you see the fulfillment of Jesus 312 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:25,040 in the New Testament and you have that perfect fulfillment. Sometimes people look at the 313 00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:29,120 Old Testament and say can we really trust the Old Testament? And I just wanted to let 314 00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:32,880 you know that a professor named Robert Dick Wilson at Princeton University back in the 315 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:39,400 1920s and 1930s made this statement. He said I have come to the conclusion, conviction, 316 00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:44,520 that no man knows enough to attack the veracity of the Old Testament. Every time when anyone 317 00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:49,880 has been able to get together enough documentary proofs to undertake an investigation the biblical 318 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:56,320 facts and the original text have victoriously met the test. It's a theologian, this is an 319 00:29:56,320 --> 00:30:01,480 expert who said there is no disputing the Old Testament. Now you know when Christmas 320 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:05,400 time comes along we talk about the Christmas prophecies right? We talk about how Jesus 321 00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:11,280 came and he was the Messiah and we always tie those together to help you know. This 322 00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:17,080 is not just a group of people saying hey let's lift this one man up. It's all about him being 323 00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:22,280 God in human flesh right? We also talk about the crucifixion prophecies. Did you know 324 00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:28,800 in Psalm 22 the details about the crucifixion of Jesus were foretold before crucifixion 325 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:34,960 had ever been invented by the Roman Empire. And so when Jesus was crucified he referred 326 00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:40,720 back to that in Psalm 22. That's the prophetic word made more sure and the Bible records 327 00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:46,800 all of these. Do you know that Jesus fulfilled more than 300 prophecies about his coming 328 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:53,480 and some say as many as 450 prophecies regarding his coming and his messianic fulfillment. 329 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:58,480 If I'm looking at this Bible objectively and see prophecy given and then fulfilled I have 330 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:03,360 only one conclusion to make about the matter. I'm going to believe what I read in the pages 331 00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:11,880 of the scripture because they're validated and verified. So number four, number four, 332 00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:20,040 the Bible leads us to logically conclude that it is divine in origin. Now Peter ultimately 333 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:26,080 wasn't a theologian. Peter wasn't a much learned man. Peter was, what was Peter? Peter 334 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:32,160 was a fisherman. I mean that can be anything more practical than that right? He's a fisherman. 335 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:36,000 He needed things explained to him. Sometimes several times by Jesus, sometimes several 336 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:41,760 times by other people. But here's what Peter said at the conclusion of his text here. He 337 00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:47,640 said, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of the human will but men moved by the 338 00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:56,160 Holy Spirit spoke from God. That's his conclusion. By the way, Peter along with the rest of the 339 00:31:56,160 --> 00:32:03,880 disciples, nearly every one of them, they died for the testimony of their faith. Now 340 00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:08,920 I've not sat in Peter's shoes or John's shoes or James shoes but I would say this, that 341 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:13,240 if I was just pushing a lie, if I was pushing a false testimony and it came down to either 342 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:20,680 dying or being released upon recanting my testimony of Jesus, if it weren't true I 343 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:27,720 would recant real quick. These guys went to their grave saying it's true, I can't change 344 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:34,560 it, it's what truth is, I'm convinced, if you need to put me to death, put me to death. 345 00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:42,160 So here's Peter saying this is the logical conclusion of what truth really is. And Peter 346 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:47,960 said it this way. He said I've got the prophetic word made more sure. Paul said it a different 347 00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:52,400 way. He said all scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, 348 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:58,000 for correction, for training in righteousness. Now I've had conversations in recent weeks 349 00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:02,240 with people who want to talk about the Bible with me and one of the things that I've heard 350 00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:07,480 them say is this, but the Bible was written by man and what is written by man can't be 351 00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:15,400 trusted. And my response is then what do you trust? Because everything that you read is 352 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:19,720 written by man. The same people that say this to me believe everything they read on the 353 00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:24,920 internet or social media. Oh I read about it on social media but I don't believe the 354 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:30,320 Bible because it was written by men. I'm saying can you believe anything then on the planet? 355 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:34,120 The textbooks you had when you were in school were written by men. All the media that we 356 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:38,960 have today were written by men and women. Everything we have in our hands is written 357 00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:45,280 by somebody that was human in form. But that's what's different about the Bible. Peter said 358 00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:50,720 that men moved by the Holy Spirit, not just men with an agenda, not just men with some 359 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:55,800 idea of where they wanted to steer people, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from 360 00:33:55,800 --> 00:34:00,760 God. Then there are others that say I'm a scientific thinker unless you can prove it 361 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:05,680 scientifically I don't believe the Bible. And whenever you think about what science 362 00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:12,600 is, science must be observable, repeatable, and measurable. And using science you can't 363 00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:19,600 even prove who won the Super Bowl last year. But you will take eyewitness accounts into 364 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:25,440 consideration once you send one of yours there and they saw it. So in short, I'll 365 00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:31,080 sum it up. I believe the Bible because it's comprised, excuse me not compromised, it's 366 00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:36,040 comprised of verified eyewitness accounts, that's number one. Number two, miraculous 367 00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:41,240 events of supernatural transformation. Number three, prophecies given about and fulfilled 368 00:34:41,240 --> 00:34:48,240 by Jesus Christ. And then number four, additional evidence allowing a logical mind to conclude 369 00:34:48,240 --> 00:34:53,640 divine origin rather than human origin. And Peter is one of those logical minds that concluded 370 00:34:53,640 --> 00:34:59,720 that and was willing to die for his faith. One of the greatest stories of a moment of 371 00:34:59,720 --> 00:35:06,720 decision was the story of a guy named Billy Graham. Billy Graham researched the Bible 372 00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:12,440 in every way he could. There were a few doubts remaining in his mind about the Bible and 373 00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:18,640 he got out into a field out in the country by himself. And he said, God if you're going 374 00:35:18,640 --> 00:35:23,240 to use me to preach the gospel to the nations because God was already using him in a big 375 00:35:23,240 --> 00:35:29,120 way, I need to know that what I'm preaching when I say the Bible says is true. I need 376 00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:34,360 to know. And almost everything I've read gives me a logical conclusion that is not written 377 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:39,840 by men but it was written by inspiration of God. Men moved by the Holy Spirit wrote as 378 00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:43,800 they were being led by God. I've got a few little questions that I can't seem to get 379 00:35:43,800 --> 00:35:48,400 the answer to. What do you want me to do, God? And he said in that moment of prayer, 380 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:53,120 God came to him in a very convicting way and said, there are some parts of your belief 381 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:57,200 that you're just going to have to believe. You're just going to have to trust me. If 382 00:35:57,200 --> 00:36:02,120 you can trust me with the other 99%, can you not trust me with the one? And Billy Graham 383 00:36:02,120 --> 00:36:07,600 said, I came to the conclusion right then and there. I can trust him with the 1% that 384 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:13,320 my logical mind just can't wrap around. Billy Graham's ministry started at that moment at 385 00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:17,320 that time. If you're familiar with Billy Graham, you know that he preached the gospel to hundreds 386 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:21,120 and thousands of people in stadiums all over the world and his most frequent praise was 387 00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:28,760 the Bible says, the Bible says. And he preached it with power and with authority and hundreds 388 00:36:28,760 --> 00:36:34,440 and thousands of people came to faith in Jesus Christ. When I'm conversing with a person, 389 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:40,760 I try to gently say this to them. If you reject the Bible, it's not because of a lack of evidence. 390 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:46,560 It's not because there's no record or corroborated eyewitness accounts. It's not because you're 391 00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:53,360 too intelligent or too wise or too educated. It's because you're either unaware of all 392 00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:59,120 the evidence of divine authorship of scripture or you're unwilling to consider it. It's one 393 00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:04,640 of those two things. You're either unaware or you're unwilling. This is not an argument 394 00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:09,080 we have with people that are not believers. It's confidence. It's not arrogance. It's 395 00:37:09,080 --> 00:37:13,440 patience, not impatience. It's prayerful, not prideful. We want them to see that the 396 00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:18,480 Bible has changed our lives and the truth of scripture can change their lives if they 397 00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:24,560 will just put their faith and trust in the God who wrote them. If all these things are 398 00:37:24,560 --> 00:37:30,520 true that I've said today, if this is so, we must embrace the Bible's superiority and 399 00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:37,160 the Bible's author, which is what I ask you to do every week at the end of our service. 400 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:46,160 Embrace the truth of scripture. Embrace the author of scripture. Trust him with your life. 401 00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:49,480 Today at the end of our service I want you to know we're ready to talk about these kinds 402 00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:53,920 of things, these big decisions about trusting scripture and trusting Christ. Maybe you've 403 00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:58,320 never trusted Christ to be your Lord and Savior. Hundreds, even thousands saw him rise from 404 00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:03,000 the dead. It's undeniable that he did that. It's undeniable that he gave the offer of 405 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:09,960 eternal life. The question is, will you receive the offer of eternal life? Today at the end 406 00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:14,280 of our service I invite you to three things. Number one, to the decision stations where 407 00:38:14,280 --> 00:38:19,400 we have people that would love to have a conversation with you, answering any question you have, 408 00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:22,960 helping you in the days ahead in any way you need. Secondly, I invite you to come to the 409 00:38:22,960 --> 00:38:28,000 guest reception room right outside the center exit doors. There's a glass room across the 410 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:32,200 hallway and I would love to meet you and just welcome you to our church and thank you for 411 00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:36,080 coming today. Thirdly, I'm going to ask you to invite somebody else to bring with you 412 00:38:36,080 --> 00:38:42,940 next week as I talk about culture versus Christianity. It's a big deal. How do we live in a culture 413 00:38:42,940 --> 00:38:48,400 that is pushing the opposite way to what we know the scripture says? How do we live that 414 00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:52,840 well? I ask you to invite someone to come back with you next week. Let's stand together 415 00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:58,400 and we'll close right now. Father, I am so thankful for every person in this room today 416 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:03,960 for their time, their attention. And my prayer is that as they walk out of here they will 417 00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:10,080 have a higher degree of confidence in your word, the scriptures. Father, I also pray 418 00:39:10,080 --> 00:39:15,920 that you will give them the ability to share with others why they believe the truth of 419 00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:20,880 scripture. And Father, if it's true, help us to reach the logical conclusion that we 420 00:39:20,880 --> 00:39:26,560 need to pattern our lives after you and after these words. So Father, today I pray you'll 421 00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:32,800 bring a new sense of conviction that the Bible says what it says for us. Thank you Father. 422 00:39:32,800 --> 00:39:39,800 I ask this in Jesus' name, amen. God bless you. Have a wonderful day.