WEBVTT 00:00:10.709 --> 00:00:13.390 It's good to be here. I like coming here. I look 00:00:13.390 --> 00:00:16.530 forward to being here. I look forward to seeing 00:00:16.530 --> 00:00:19.850 Joe and all of you. I know some of you from being 00:00:19.850 --> 00:00:22.469 here before. I know some of you from marriage 00:00:22.469 --> 00:00:25.250 retreat that we have, which will be in four weeks. 00:00:25.289 --> 00:00:28.129 So if any of you are still interested, let me 00:00:28.129 --> 00:00:30.660 know. Even if you can't commit yet, just let 00:00:30.660 --> 00:00:33.240 me know so we can plan. There's some papers in 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:36.619 the back for it. But we feel like family when 00:00:36.619 --> 00:00:41.079 we're here with all of you. Joe actually is family. 00:00:41.560 --> 00:00:45.659 My daughter married his son, and so we share 00:00:45.659 --> 00:00:49.140 grandchildren. It's a joy watching them grow 00:00:49.140 --> 00:00:52.189 up. But, you know, as you watch them grow up, 00:00:52.189 --> 00:00:54.149 you can't help but realize they're growing up 00:00:54.149 --> 00:00:57.509 into a much different world than I grew up in, 00:00:57.530 --> 00:01:01.109 and probably you also. They're growing into a 00:01:01.109 --> 00:01:05.670 world that is very, very full of change. When 00:01:05.670 --> 00:01:08.790 I was in public school, I remember every morning 00:01:08.790 --> 00:01:12.989 we'd read the Bible, somebody'd pray, and teachers 00:01:12.989 --> 00:01:16.109 who could sing would lead us into hymn. Don't 00:01:16.109 --> 00:01:18.689 do that anymore. Things had totally changed. 00:01:19.659 --> 00:01:25.540 The content of music, movies, TV, all, everything 00:01:25.540 --> 00:01:28.859 with gay rights and a whole gender confusion 00:01:28.859 --> 00:01:33.680 and drugs. Everything has been changed. The whole 00:01:33.680 --> 00:01:37.540 atmosphere of the country has changed. And that's 00:01:37.540 --> 00:01:41.019 because the morality has changed. Used to be 00:01:41.019 --> 00:01:44.060 standards of morality were based on the Bible. 00:01:44.340 --> 00:01:47.180 Not that everybody believed in God. Not that 00:01:47.180 --> 00:01:49.989 everybody was a Christian. But the Bible was 00:01:49.989 --> 00:01:52.489 still the standard that people went by. The Ten 00:01:52.489 --> 00:01:55.650 Commandments were the moral absolutes that were 00:01:55.650 --> 00:01:59.930 in our law and that others followed. But things 00:01:59.930 --> 00:02:04.290 have changed. Standards of morality now is based 00:02:04.290 --> 00:02:08.150 on man. Instead of finding the Bible as a standard, 00:02:08.389 --> 00:02:12.050 it's up to each person. What do you want to believe? 00:02:12.189 --> 00:02:16.230 What's true to you? What's your truth? Everything 00:02:16.230 --> 00:02:22.229 has become relative. Follow your heart. If it 00:02:22.229 --> 00:02:26.009 feels right, do it. Be true to yourself. Choose 00:02:26.009 --> 00:02:29.849 love. That's how people decide their morals, 00:02:30.189 --> 00:02:33.469 their sexual involvement, their gender, if they're 00:02:33.469 --> 00:02:37.069 going to be honest or not. It all depends on 00:02:37.069 --> 00:02:39.710 what they want. And so they pick what they want, 00:02:39.830 --> 00:02:43.110 and that becomes their absolute, and everything 00:02:43.110 --> 00:02:47.039 has to revolve around it. Only that doesn't work 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:50.180 too well. It brings chaos, it brings despair. 00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:53.520 It's kind of like playing Monopoly, when everybody 00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:56.219 can make up their own rules. And you play by 00:02:56.219 --> 00:02:58.639 your rules, and you play by yours, and I'll play 00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:01.520 by mine. I know we can change our rules anytime 00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:06.259 we want. What kind of a game would that be? That'd 00:03:06.259 --> 00:03:08.400 be chaos, kind of like what we're living in now. 00:03:09.060 --> 00:03:11.919 But we can't make our own rules, because there 00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:15.870 are absolutes. God gives them to us in His Word. 00:03:16.150 --> 00:03:17.909 And that's what we want to look at this morning. 00:03:18.270 --> 00:03:23.389 So turn to 2 Timothy 3 .16 in your Bibles, please. 00:03:28.349 --> 00:03:41.620 2 Timothy 3 .16 All scripture is God -breathed 00:03:41.620 --> 00:03:45.120 and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, 00:03:45.340 --> 00:03:49.240 and training in righteousness, so that the man 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:52.520 of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good 00:03:52.520 --> 00:03:58.099 work. All scripture. Every verse, not just the 00:03:58.099 --> 00:04:00.860 parts you like, not picking and choosing what 00:04:00.860 --> 00:04:03.879 means something to you and rejecting the rest. 00:04:04.139 --> 00:04:08.780 All. Old and New Testament. It's all. God breathed. 00:04:09.560 --> 00:04:14.240 God breathed. That in Greek means that it's God's 00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:17.959 breath that was put into the word. God's thoughts 00:04:17.959 --> 00:04:20.279 coming out through his breath into the word. 00:04:20.459 --> 00:04:23.699 I have my thoughts. I think them. I speak them 00:04:23.699 --> 00:04:26.899 through my breath to you. God has his thoughts. 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:30.180 He spoke them. He breathed them into the minds 00:04:30.180 --> 00:04:32.939 and hearts of the writers and into the Bible 00:04:32.939 --> 00:04:37.410 so that his truth is there. In Latin, the word 00:04:37.410 --> 00:04:40.889 that it's translated into is inspired, which 00:04:40.889 --> 00:04:43.990 you might be a little more familiar with. But 00:04:43.990 --> 00:04:48.529 it's God's very words, God's authority, which 00:04:48.529 --> 00:04:52.209 means it's important. It's true. It's what we 00:04:52.209 --> 00:04:55.290 need to do. Timothy has some things he wants 00:04:55.290 --> 00:04:58.870 to tell. Paul has some things he wants to tell 00:04:58.870 --> 00:05:02.329 Timothy to pass on others. But anybody can tell 00:05:02.329 --> 00:05:04.490 anybody to do things. And you wonder, well, what 00:05:04.490 --> 00:05:06.529 right do you have? Who are you to tell me this, 00:05:06.670 --> 00:05:10.410 to do this? And Paul realizes that. So Paul gives 00:05:10.410 --> 00:05:13.829 his authority. He says, what I'm telling you, 00:05:13.850 --> 00:05:16.769 Timothy, it's not just my ideas. It's not just 00:05:16.769 --> 00:05:20.149 what I want. This comes from God. So it has authority. 00:05:20.449 --> 00:05:25.029 So you need to do it. So he tells him that all. 00:05:25.740 --> 00:05:28.019 Of what he's saying. What he's going to be saying. 00:05:28.180 --> 00:05:30.699 Are the very words of God. They come from God 00:05:30.699 --> 00:05:35.720 himself. But just because the Bible says that. 00:05:35.740 --> 00:05:38.779 Does that mean it's true? Sure it's written in 00:05:38.779 --> 00:05:41.699 the Bible. The Bible says this is God's book. 00:05:42.779 --> 00:05:45.019 But couldn't anybody write a book and say that? 00:05:45.339 --> 00:05:47.420 I mean if you wanted to fool people. If you wanted 00:05:47.420 --> 00:05:49.660 to make up something. Of course you'd say this 00:05:49.660 --> 00:05:53.759 is from God. That's what the Mormons did. That's 00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:58.709 what the. Muslims have with their Koran, how 00:05:58.709 --> 00:06:02.610 do we know that this book truly is from God? 00:06:02.949 --> 00:06:04.629 I mean, if you're going to base your whole life 00:06:04.629 --> 00:06:06.550 on it, everything you believe, everything you 00:06:06.550 --> 00:06:09.790 do and don't do, your whole hope of heaven and 00:06:09.790 --> 00:06:12.269 eternity, you ought to make sure you're basing 00:06:12.269 --> 00:06:15.189 it on something true, right? Not just something 00:06:15.189 --> 00:06:20.430 that somebody came up with. The Bible is God's 00:06:20.430 --> 00:06:24.550 Word, and we can show that it's God's Word. First 00:06:24.550 --> 00:06:28.480 of all, Do you think it's possible that if God 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:31.639 wanted, he could write a book that would come 00:06:31.639 --> 00:06:34.779 down to us, that would contain his word and be 00:06:34.779 --> 00:06:37.600 accurate through the ages? Is that too hard for 00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:40.300 God? Is that out of the realm of possibility? 00:06:42.319 --> 00:06:46.180 No. No. Look at it. God created everything with 00:06:46.180 --> 00:06:49.819 just a word. He could certainly do that. So it 00:06:49.819 --> 00:06:53.560 is very possible that the Bible could be God's 00:06:53.560 --> 00:06:57.269 word. Not only is it possible, but it is necessary. 00:06:58.089 --> 00:07:00.550 Because if he didn't do that, how would we know? 00:07:01.310 --> 00:07:03.629 He can know a little bit about God through nature, 00:07:03.790 --> 00:07:07.730 but not much, not enough. We need this written 00:07:07.730 --> 00:07:10.829 revelation from him. Like a child, how are they 00:07:10.829 --> 00:07:13.410 supposed to know what's going on in life? Well, 00:07:13.410 --> 00:07:16.910 their parent teaches them. They communicate truth 00:07:16.910 --> 00:07:19.990 to them. And God does that to us through his 00:07:19.990 --> 00:07:22.790 word. And when you look at his word, you see 00:07:22.790 --> 00:07:26.449 there's, Proof, plenty of proof that this is 00:07:26.449 --> 00:07:29.290 God's Word. For one thing, it was written by 00:07:29.290 --> 00:07:33.569 44 authors over a period of 1 ,500 years. They 00:07:33.569 --> 00:07:35.209 didn't know each other. They came from different 00:07:35.209 --> 00:07:38.709 backgrounds, different languages, different cultures, 00:07:38.889 --> 00:07:41.470 certainly different times, and yet they wrote 00:07:41.470 --> 00:07:45.050 what was put together and all says the same thing. 00:07:45.750 --> 00:07:49.149 It would be like you take 44 men walking past 00:07:49.149 --> 00:07:52.959 a big pit in the ground. And each one of them 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:56.699 goes by, throws in a bunch of stones. And then 00:07:56.699 --> 00:07:59.060 a few years later, another stone. Coming from 00:07:59.060 --> 00:08:02.060 another direction, more stones. At the end of 00:08:02.060 --> 00:08:04.899 that time, you look down in that hole, and what 00:08:04.899 --> 00:08:09.899 you have is a modern functioning hospital. Is 00:08:09.899 --> 00:08:11.519 that possible? Does that come about that way? 00:08:11.620 --> 00:08:14.959 No. There has to be something behind it to make 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:17.759 it, to make it so that it happens. All these 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:22.040 men saying the same thing. Also, when you look 00:08:22.040 --> 00:08:25.060 at the Bible, you see it's a book that man couldn't 00:08:25.060 --> 00:08:27.819 write if he would and wouldn't write if he could. 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:31.500 For example, man wouldn't write that everything 00:08:31.500 --> 00:08:33.980 came from nothing. Nothing is a state we don't 00:08:33.980 --> 00:08:38.419 know. Man, evolution, well, it came from something. 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:40.519 It came from this, from that, from the Big Bang. 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:43.840 Man wouldn't make that up because nobody would 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:46.549 buy that. Man certainly wouldn't make up the 00:08:46.549 --> 00:08:49.110 Trinity if he was writing. Well, we got three 00:08:49.110 --> 00:08:51.710 gods, but we really have one. And yet they're 00:08:51.710 --> 00:08:54.590 not the same, but they're different. And who 00:08:54.590 --> 00:08:57.029 would buy that? Why would somebody even think 00:08:57.029 --> 00:08:59.789 of that? Much less trying to sell that if he 00:08:59.789 --> 00:09:03.309 was coming up with a religion. And then the fact 00:09:03.309 --> 00:09:07.649 that man is sinful. People don't like that. Other 00:09:07.649 --> 00:09:10.870 religions don't believe that. Man would not put 00:09:10.870 --> 00:09:12.590 that in. You're not going to sell a religion 00:09:12.590 --> 00:09:15.940 to people by saying, You're sinful. You need 00:09:15.940 --> 00:09:19.759 somebody to redeem you. That's not the way people 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:22.500 think. And look at the extent of revelation. 00:09:22.620 --> 00:09:25.779 All the Bible has to say about heaven and hell. 00:09:26.179 --> 00:09:28.419 How could man know those things? How could they 00:09:28.419 --> 00:09:31.159 come up with it? And then all of them be the 00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:35.620 same and say the same thing. My favorite proof 00:09:35.620 --> 00:09:40.360 is fulfilled prophecy. Bible has so many prophecies 00:09:40.360 --> 00:09:43.570 that have been made that have come true. For 00:09:43.570 --> 00:09:48.190 example, years ago, Prophet Isaiah, 700 B .C., 00:09:48.190 --> 00:09:50.830 said there was a man named Cyrus who was going 00:09:50.830 --> 00:09:54.490 to be king, and he's going to rebuild Jerusalem 00:09:54.490 --> 00:09:58.509 and the temple. The thing was, Jerusalem and 00:09:58.509 --> 00:10:00.870 the temple were already there. It would be like 00:10:00.870 --> 00:10:04.649 somebody saying, well, this guy, Joe Brown, is 00:10:04.649 --> 00:10:07.149 going to rebuild Philadelphia and City Hall. 00:10:08.450 --> 00:10:13.190 Well, you know, it's already there. Suppose 100 00:10:13.190 --> 00:10:16.529 years later, the whole thing was destroyed, was 00:10:16.529 --> 00:10:20.070 wiped out. And somebody did come and rebuild 00:10:20.070 --> 00:10:23.870 Philadelphia. And the person's name happened 00:10:23.870 --> 00:10:27.629 to be Joe Brown. You would think whoever came 00:10:27.629 --> 00:10:29.830 up, whoever knew that ahead of time, something 00:10:29.830 --> 00:10:33.129 really special. That's what the Bible says. And 00:10:33.129 --> 00:10:35.909 there's hundreds of prophecies in the Bible. 00:10:35.990 --> 00:10:40.049 Somebody counted 1 ,817 that have been fulfilled. 00:10:40.700 --> 00:10:44.720 None that haven't. The fourth proof is archaeology. 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:48.019 There's never been an archaeological discovery 00:10:48.019 --> 00:10:52.580 that contradicts a Bible reference. Dr. William 00:10:52.580 --> 00:10:56.100 Albright, who is a well -known, one of the best 00:10:56.100 --> 00:11:00.120 archaeologists, said there can be no doubt that 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:04.039 archaeology has confirmed the historicity of 00:11:04.039 --> 00:11:07.220 the Old Testament. The number of archaeological 00:11:07.220 --> 00:11:11.360 discoveries that relate to the Bible number in 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:15.419 the hundreds of thousands. For example, the Hittites. 00:11:16.220 --> 00:11:18.840 The Bible says that there was this nation called 00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:21.299 the Hittites, but nobody ever found any trace 00:11:21.299 --> 00:11:24.100 of them or had anything else in history. So people 00:11:24.100 --> 00:11:26.299 say, well, the Bible's wrong. They got that one 00:11:26.299 --> 00:11:30.460 wrong. Then less than 100 years ago, some archaeologists 00:11:30.460 --> 00:11:33.879 found this huge empire in Asia Minor that were 00:11:33.879 --> 00:11:36.899 the Hittites. Same with the walls of Jericho. 00:11:36.899 --> 00:11:39.019 That never happened. That couldn't happen. Walls 00:11:39.019 --> 00:11:42.879 don't fall out like that. Well, they found that 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:46.279 they do, and they did. There's no other ancient 00:11:46.279 --> 00:11:49.679 book that has all the archaeological proof that 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:54.299 the Bible has, nor is scientific accuracy. Can 00:11:54.299 --> 00:11:57.220 you imagine a book written 50 years ago being 00:11:57.220 --> 00:12:01.840 used as a science book today? Or 100 or 200 or 00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:05.340 2 ,000 or 4 ,000 years ago and still being accurate 00:12:05.340 --> 00:12:09.620 scientifically? And yet the Bible is. The life 00:12:09.620 --> 00:12:11.620 of the flesh is in the blood, the Bible said. 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:14.519 Man didn't believe that. They would bleed people 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:17.279 thinking that brought health. The earth is round. 00:12:17.820 --> 00:12:21.080 The earth rotates around the sun, not the sun 00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:24.899 around the earth. All these things. The moon 00:12:24.899 --> 00:12:27.539 is greater, they used to say. We know from the 00:12:27.539 --> 00:12:30.909 Bible it's lesser. The Bible has been true in 00:12:30.909 --> 00:12:35.110 everything that it says scientifically. Okay, 00:12:35.149 --> 00:12:37.730 some say, well, maybe the Bible is pretty good 00:12:37.730 --> 00:12:40.409 back then when it was written. But how do we 00:12:40.409 --> 00:12:43.269 know today we got the same thing that they wrote? 00:12:43.370 --> 00:12:45.549 It's been changed. People have changed a lot 00:12:45.549 --> 00:12:48.409 over the years. Well, that is not true. When 00:12:48.409 --> 00:12:50.929 you look at the ancient manuscripts of the Bible, 00:12:51.070 --> 00:12:54.549 you'll see that it's not true. For example, there 00:12:54.549 --> 00:12:59.110 are seven copies of what Plato wrote. And the 00:12:59.110 --> 00:13:02.490 oldest one is 1 ,200 years after it was written. 00:13:03.269 --> 00:13:06.429 Caesar's writings, there's 10 copies. And the 00:13:06.429 --> 00:13:09.450 oldest of those is 1 ,000 years after it was 00:13:09.450 --> 00:13:13.629 written. Aristotle, Homer, all them. But when 00:13:13.629 --> 00:13:17.149 you look at the New Testament, there's 5 ,600 00:13:17.149 --> 00:13:21.789 copies that are less than 100 years after it 00:13:21.789 --> 00:13:24.730 was written. In the Old Testament, there's 1 00:13:24.730 --> 00:13:28.919 ,700 copies. The oldest... Less than 100 years 00:13:28.919 --> 00:13:33.039 also. Without differences. You can look at those 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:35.679 old original ones, or you can look at the Bible 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:38.159 today, and you see virtually the same thing. 00:13:38.559 --> 00:13:41.679 When they discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls, they 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:44.919 saw that there was the same thing in them as 00:13:44.919 --> 00:13:49.240 is in God's Word today. It's in our Bible. Out 00:13:49.240 --> 00:13:53.460 of every 2 ,000 words, there's one... Maybe a 00:13:53.460 --> 00:13:56.460 punctuation or a tense change or something. But 00:13:56.460 --> 00:13:58.559 nothing that affects any doctrine or anything 00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:02.360 of importance. So we can see by the ancient manuscripts. 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:05.039 And you can look at proof around you. You can 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:08.360 look at proof in your own life that God's word 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:12.580 is true. The transformation of lives. Anybody 00:14:12.580 --> 00:14:16.679 whose life has been changed by the Bible? Anybody 00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:20.529 sitting in your seat maybe? Yes, God's Word does 00:14:20.529 --> 00:14:24.509 change lives. Look at the testimonies of murderers 00:14:24.509 --> 00:14:27.389 and drug addicts and atheists and regular people 00:14:27.389 --> 00:14:32.190 like us. The Bible transforms individual lives 00:14:32.190 --> 00:14:35.690 and it transforms cultures. If you study history 00:14:35.690 --> 00:14:38.809 or civilizations, you'll see that civilizations 00:14:38.809 --> 00:14:43.679 that did not have God's Word were very centered 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:47.600 on one person ruling by power, killing others, 00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:52.220 slavery, women, children didn't have any place, 00:14:52.460 --> 00:14:58.379 no freedom, no prosperity, no safety. But civilizations 00:14:58.379 --> 00:15:02.139 that have had God's word influencing their laws 00:15:02.139 --> 00:15:05.679 and them is entirely different. There's freedom 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:07.820 and there's government and there's peace and 00:15:07.820 --> 00:15:11.940 there's safety. God's word. transforms cultures. 00:15:13.059 --> 00:15:17.580 Also, we see the Bible is indestructible. It's 00:15:17.580 --> 00:15:20.320 been attacked since the beginning of time, but 00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:22.679 it's still here. Know any other books that have 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:25.600 been around for thousands of years and are still 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:29.279 true? Yet man says the Bible isn't true, and 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:31.500 man attacks it and says, you can't believe that. 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:34.799 That's just myths. Don't go by what that says. 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:38.080 Here, we're going to believe in science. That's 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:41.090 not what happened. And so they attack churches. 00:15:41.389 --> 00:15:44.429 And they burn Bibles. And they kill pastors. 00:15:44.889 --> 00:15:46.529 And they say, we're going to get rid of that 00:15:46.529 --> 00:15:50.230 book. We're going to destroy it and not have 00:15:50.230 --> 00:15:53.990 anything more to do with it. And so every generation 00:15:53.990 --> 00:16:00.769 seems to throw its beliefs, its writings against 00:16:00.769 --> 00:16:04.830 the Bible. But are they able to destroy the Bible? 00:16:05.870 --> 00:16:09.379 Have they been able to do away with it? No, because 00:16:09.379 --> 00:16:13.139 it's God's Word. And God's Word is indestructible. 00:16:13.220 --> 00:16:18.039 And God's Word lasts forever. And it can't be 00:16:18.039 --> 00:16:27.539 destroyed. Seven billion copies of the Bible 00:16:27.539 --> 00:16:30.620 have been printed since Gutenberg. And hundreds 00:16:30.620 --> 00:16:34.279 of thousands written by hand before that. It's 00:16:34.279 --> 00:16:39.009 in thousands of languages worldwide. So we see 00:16:39.009 --> 00:16:42.350 there's plenty of proofs that the Bible is God's 00:16:42.350 --> 00:16:46.350 Word. The number of authors, what it contains, 00:16:46.690 --> 00:16:50.070 fulfilled prophecy, archaeology, science, the 00:16:50.070 --> 00:16:54.029 manuscripts, transformed lives, the indestructibility 00:16:54.029 --> 00:16:59.009 of the Bible. True, we know we can trust this 00:16:59.009 --> 00:17:02.509 book. But okay, somebody says, that's good, you 00:17:02.509 --> 00:17:05.849 can trust your Bible, you take your Bible. But 00:17:05.849 --> 00:17:08.980 I've got this other book over here. And it claims 00:17:08.980 --> 00:17:11.579 to be God's word too. And I'm going to go by 00:17:11.579 --> 00:17:16.759 that. How do we know this is the only book that 00:17:16.759 --> 00:17:20.480 God inspired, that God has for us? Well, there's 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:23.140 some proofs for that that we can see. The Bible 00:17:23.140 --> 00:17:28.339 itself, for example, in Revelation 22, says if 00:17:28.339 --> 00:17:31.880 anyone adds to these truths, God will add to 00:17:31.880 --> 00:17:34.380 him the plagues that are written in this book. 00:17:34.940 --> 00:17:37.660 And if anyone takes away from the words of this 00:17:37.660 --> 00:17:41.099 book of prophecy, God shall take away his part 00:17:41.099 --> 00:17:43.980 from the book of life, from the holy city, and 00:17:43.980 --> 00:17:46.019 from the things that are written in this book. 00:17:46.740 --> 00:17:50.799 Pretty strong words. The Bible claims to be the 00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:54.440 only one. When you compare it with other books, 00:17:54.579 --> 00:17:58.880 you see the Bible is completely different. Because 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:02.569 these books contradict each other. They say separate 00:18:02.569 --> 00:18:05.190 things. They say opposite things. So how could 00:18:05.190 --> 00:18:09.650 all of them be right? They can't. Only one of 00:18:09.650 --> 00:18:13.450 them can be right. There has to be the one that 00:18:13.450 --> 00:18:16.769 is 100 % true in history and archaeology and 00:18:16.769 --> 00:18:19.690 science and fulfilled prophecies. And that's 00:18:19.690 --> 00:18:22.809 only the Bible. When you compare it to other 00:18:22.809 --> 00:18:26.910 books, you see how far short it fails. Judaism. 00:18:27.609 --> 00:18:30.009 Only goes by the Old Testament. Rejects Jesus 00:18:30.009 --> 00:18:36.269 and the New Testament. Islam, the Koran, is full 00:18:36.269 --> 00:18:40.549 of errors. It encourages men to beat their wives 00:18:40.549 --> 00:18:44.970 so they will be better women. To kill non -believers 00:18:44.970 --> 00:18:49.029 are rewarded. They say Jesus is not God. He wasn't 00:18:49.029 --> 00:18:51.569 crucified. He didn't die. He didn't come back 00:18:51.569 --> 00:18:55.029 to life. He's not a savior. Totally contradictory 00:18:55.029 --> 00:18:58.009 to what the Bible says. Both cannot be true. 00:18:58.569 --> 00:19:02.869 Look at Hinduism, the Vedas. They say God is 00:19:02.869 --> 00:19:04.849 impersonal. You can't know anything about God. 00:19:05.630 --> 00:19:10.089 He's just a force, a mother nature. That man 00:19:10.089 --> 00:19:13.630 is worthless. There is no salvation. You just 00:19:13.630 --> 00:19:17.009 reincarnate until you finally absorb. Nothing 00:19:17.009 --> 00:19:22.069 like what the Bible says. Buddhism. No God, no 00:19:22.069 --> 00:19:26.349 sin. We're worthless. Everything is empty. No 00:19:26.349 --> 00:19:29.150 hope. So don't feel anything. That's the only 00:19:29.150 --> 00:19:33.569 way you can escape it. Confucianism. Also, no 00:19:33.569 --> 00:19:36.809 God, no forgiveness. Dead ancestors are what 00:19:36.809 --> 00:19:39.029 control things now. That's all there is to it. 00:19:39.910 --> 00:19:43.049 Mormonism, their Book of Mormon. Many changes 00:19:43.049 --> 00:19:46.529 in that. Hundreds of historical and grammatical 00:19:46.529 --> 00:19:51.000 errors in that. They say that our God... was 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:53.279 a Mormon on another planet who came here with 00:19:53.279 --> 00:19:56.119 a bunch of his wives, called one of them Eve, 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:59.059 and he was Adam. And so they populated this world, 00:19:59.140 --> 00:20:02.160 and he went up into heaven. He had two kids, 00:20:02.299 --> 00:20:05.220 one named Jesus and one named Satan, who were 00:20:05.220 --> 00:20:08.720 brothers, but no salvation through Jesus. Salvation 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:11.099 is by being a good Mormon, because if you're 00:20:11.099 --> 00:20:13.619 a good Mormon, then when you die, you can take 00:20:13.619 --> 00:20:16.309 your wives. and you can go to another planet, 00:20:16.430 --> 00:20:18.930 and you will be Adam, and one of them will be 00:20:18.930 --> 00:20:22.029 Eve, and you populate that planet, and then you 00:20:22.029 --> 00:20:27.470 go up in heaven and be God. That make sense? 00:20:28.170 --> 00:20:30.990 That sound like what the Bible says? No, nothing, 00:20:31.230 --> 00:20:34.990 nothing like it. The Bible is the only true book. 00:20:36.230 --> 00:20:40.730 The only one. The Bible really is God's word. 00:20:41.430 --> 00:20:44.089 So if there's so much proof for the Bible, How 00:20:44.089 --> 00:20:45.910 come people don't believe it? How come they reject 00:20:45.910 --> 00:20:48.849 it? How come all these scholars and so many people 00:20:48.849 --> 00:20:51.650 reject the Bible if all these truths are out 00:20:51.650 --> 00:20:55.529 there? Let me tell you a story about this microscope. 00:20:56.490 --> 00:20:58.809 Years ago, there was a man from this country 00:20:58.809 --> 00:21:02.589 who went to Europe and saw a microscope. It just 00:21:02.589 --> 00:21:05.970 had been invented, and he loved it. He put leaves 00:21:05.970 --> 00:21:09.880 of butterflies under it. He put grass, he put 00:21:09.880 --> 00:21:12.240 seeds, he put anything you could find under it, 00:21:12.259 --> 00:21:15.519 and he loved looking through it and seeing what 00:21:15.519 --> 00:21:19.200 he could find. He bought one, brought it back 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:22.140 to this country, and kept it in his own house, 00:21:22.220 --> 00:21:25.299 fascinated. One day, he was so busy looking at 00:21:25.299 --> 00:21:27.559 things, when it was time to eat, he didn't want 00:21:27.559 --> 00:21:30.039 to leave. He just kept looking, so he asked him 00:21:30.039 --> 00:21:32.160 to bring the food to him, so he did, and he started 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:34.579 eating his favorite food, and he thought, hey. 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:37.240 Let's see what that looks like. And so he puts 00:21:37.240 --> 00:21:39.940 him on a slide and he put it under the microscope. 00:21:40.359 --> 00:21:46.400 You know what he saw? He saw a bunch of little 00:21:46.400 --> 00:21:50.440 green wiggly things moving around and stuff crawling 00:21:50.440 --> 00:21:55.359 and all kinds of terrible stuff. So you know 00:21:55.359 --> 00:22:00.940 what he did? He broke the microscope. Got rid 00:22:00.940 --> 00:22:02.660 of it because the microscope was showing evidence 00:22:02.660 --> 00:22:06.279 he didn't want to see. And that's what people 00:22:06.279 --> 00:22:09.740 do with the Bible. The reason people speak against 00:22:09.740 --> 00:22:12.579 the Bible is because the Bible speaks against 00:22:12.579 --> 00:22:15.380 their lifestyle. They don't want to hear what 00:22:15.380 --> 00:22:19.200 the Bible says. And so they find any kind of 00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:21.720 reason, any kind of excuse to reject it. Because 00:22:21.720 --> 00:22:24.079 if you believe this is God's word, you're accountable 00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:26.740 to God, you're accountable to follow it and what 00:22:26.740 --> 00:22:30.920 it says. And people do not want that. Atheism 00:22:30.920 --> 00:22:34.259 is not the knowledge that God does not exist. 00:22:34.730 --> 00:22:37.970 but only the wish that he did not, in order that 00:22:37.970 --> 00:22:41.490 one could sin without reproach or exalt one's 00:22:41.490 --> 00:22:44.910 ego without challenge. The pillars upon which 00:22:44.910 --> 00:22:51.730 atheism mounts are sensuality and pride. I like 00:22:51.730 --> 00:22:55.329 this whole study on apologetics, but that's all 00:22:55.329 --> 00:22:57.619 we'll go over this morning. If you're interested 00:22:57.619 --> 00:22:59.579 and want more, I've written a book on it you 00:22:59.579 --> 00:23:03.279 can find on my website. Or you can email me and 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:06.319 I'll send you a PDF of it. It's all kinds of 00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:08.799 things online. And if you have any questions 00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:11.779 or anything you're not sure about, anything doubts 00:23:11.779 --> 00:23:14.000 that you have, because Satan does use this to 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:17.539 put doubts into our minds and try to draw us 00:23:17.539 --> 00:23:19.660 from it. Well, what if this isn't true? And what 00:23:19.660 --> 00:23:22.160 about all this other? If you want a dialogue 00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:24.720 about that, please write to me. I'll gladly do 00:23:24.720 --> 00:23:28.799 that with you. But that's what Paul starts off 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:34.099 with this verse. He tells Timothy, this is God's 00:23:34.099 --> 00:23:36.420 word. This isn't my words, this is God's words. 00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:40.720 You don't do it because I said so, but because 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:45.599 God said so. That's the authority behind it. 00:23:45.940 --> 00:23:49.779 What do we do with it now? What's his command 00:23:49.779 --> 00:23:54.000 about it? Well, first of all, he says, That we 00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:57.200 teach it. It's useful for teaching. For learning 00:23:57.200 --> 00:24:01.259 the content. For data input. Because it does 00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:04.900 change lives. Because God's word is what changed 00:24:04.900 --> 00:24:09.440 lives. Individually. Cultures. Everywhere. And 00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:12.079 so we need to see what he would say. You get 00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:14.519 a new piece of electronic equipment. Or a new 00:24:14.519 --> 00:24:18.779 something. You get a manual. You get directions 00:24:18.779 --> 00:24:22.130 on how it works. You don't just. try to guess 00:24:22.130 --> 00:24:24.589 or figure it out or do anything you want with 00:24:24.589 --> 00:24:27.569 it. The manufacturer who made it knows how to 00:24:27.569 --> 00:24:29.789 get the best out of this and how it works best. 00:24:30.069 --> 00:24:33.710 So you do, it's good for you to figure out, to 00:24:33.710 --> 00:24:36.150 find what he's saying, right? That's what the 00:24:36.150 --> 00:24:39.769 Bible is. It's a manufacturer's directions to 00:24:39.769 --> 00:24:43.730 us how to live by one who should know. So it's 00:24:43.730 --> 00:24:46.990 important to know the Bible, to know it in your 00:24:46.990 --> 00:24:51.940 head. to know it. Colossians 3 .16 says, let 00:24:51.940 --> 00:24:55.859 the message of Christ dwell among you richly 00:24:55.859 --> 00:24:58.980 as you teach and admonish one another. Let it 00:24:58.980 --> 00:25:01.859 dwell among you richly. You need to know it. 00:25:01.940 --> 00:25:04.359 You need to put it into practice in your life. 00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:08.720 A lot of times Christians say, well, you know, 00:25:08.740 --> 00:25:11.299 I don't seem to have any peace. I don't have 00:25:11.299 --> 00:25:14.769 this joy that people are talking about. There's 00:25:14.769 --> 00:25:18.430 no victory. There's no guidance. There's no direction. 00:25:19.190 --> 00:25:22.329 Something's wrong with Christianity. I'll go 00:25:22.329 --> 00:25:24.390 to another church. Maybe I'll get it there. And 00:25:24.390 --> 00:25:27.509 then another. And I'll try this. You only find 00:25:27.509 --> 00:25:31.170 it in God's Word when you read His Word, put 00:25:31.170 --> 00:25:35.130 it in your heart, meditate on it, when you follow 00:25:35.130 --> 00:25:38.269 it. That's what gives joy and peace and guidance. 00:25:38.970 --> 00:25:43.170 That's what moves us. and works inside of us. 00:25:43.329 --> 00:25:48.569 So you have to know it. You have to know it and 00:25:48.569 --> 00:25:54.029 memorize it, put it into practice. If not, you're 00:25:54.029 --> 00:25:55.890 missing something spiritual. You're not healthy 00:25:55.890 --> 00:25:59.609 spiritually. A couple days ago, I read about 00:25:59.609 --> 00:26:04.130 a young man in the UK that has gone blind at 00:26:04.130 --> 00:26:07.900 17. He went to the doctors when he was 14, and 00:26:07.900 --> 00:26:10.559 he said he was starting to lose his sight, but 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:13.960 it continued to keep getting worse and worse 00:26:13.960 --> 00:26:16.700 throughout the years, and now he can't see. He 00:26:16.700 --> 00:26:20.980 has optic neuropathy. When they tried to figure 00:26:20.980 --> 00:26:23.579 out where it came from, they couldn't figure 00:26:23.579 --> 00:26:26.579 it out. Eventually, they discovered that he was 00:26:26.579 --> 00:26:30.180 a very picky eater. All he ate was French fries 00:26:30.180 --> 00:26:34.339 and Pringles potato chips for his whole life. 00:26:35.210 --> 00:26:39.430 As a result, he is now blind. You see, it's important 00:26:39.430 --> 00:26:43.589 to have a healthy diet, to have what our body 00:26:43.589 --> 00:26:47.309 needs for health and to function. And that's 00:26:47.309 --> 00:26:50.309 true of your soul too, right? You got to feed 00:26:50.309 --> 00:26:52.529 your soul. You can't feed your soul commercials 00:26:52.529 --> 00:26:57.269 and movies and secular music that dishonors God, 00:26:57.369 --> 00:27:00.430 those things, and expect to be growing and healthy 00:27:00.430 --> 00:27:03.710 spiritually. You need to feed on God's word. 00:27:03.890 --> 00:27:07.369 So you need to know it. And when you know it, 00:27:07.369 --> 00:27:10.470 you need to stow it. Put it in your heart. Not 00:27:10.470 --> 00:27:13.950 just facts in your head, but put it into your 00:27:13.950 --> 00:27:17.490 life. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, 00:27:17.569 --> 00:27:21.390 and on his law he meditates day and night. Think 00:27:21.390 --> 00:27:24.970 about it. Meditate on it. Don't be so busy listening 00:27:24.970 --> 00:27:27.509 to stuff all the time, having something playing 00:27:27.509 --> 00:27:29.690 all the time, that you don't have time to think 00:27:29.690 --> 00:27:32.680 about God. that you don't have time to mull over 00:27:32.680 --> 00:27:36.299 what you read. When you read your Bible verses 00:27:36.299 --> 00:27:38.720 in the morning, try to think of them during the 00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:41.640 day. I don't know about you, but a lot of times 00:27:41.640 --> 00:27:44.819 I'll read something and 15 minutes later you 00:27:44.819 --> 00:27:47.359 ask me, what was that about? And I think, uh 00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:50.160 -oh, I better go back and look. And that's not 00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:53.779 good. That's not nourishing. We need to stow 00:27:53.779 --> 00:27:56.880 it. We need to know what he's saying and put 00:27:56.880 --> 00:27:59.539 it in our heart so that it becomes part of us. 00:28:00.759 --> 00:28:04.039 Psalm 119. How can a young man keep his way pure? 00:28:04.400 --> 00:28:07.200 By living according to your word. I have hidden 00:28:07.200 --> 00:28:10.079 your word in my heart that I might not sin against 00:28:10.079 --> 00:28:13.759 you. God will bring it. God will help. When you 00:28:13.759 --> 00:28:17.220 need it, he'll put it there. When Jesus was tempted 00:28:17.220 --> 00:28:20.220 by Satan in the wilderness three times, how did 00:28:20.220 --> 00:28:22.400 he overcome those temptations? What did he do? 00:28:25.819 --> 00:28:29.039 He quoted scripture. Yeah. What book did he quote? 00:28:30.870 --> 00:28:34.490 Deuteronomy, yes. When's the last time you quoted 00:28:34.490 --> 00:28:40.690 Deuteronomy? Can you say Deuteronomy? That was 00:28:40.690 --> 00:28:44.349 the key to his victory, knowing Scripture, knowing 00:28:44.349 --> 00:28:49.670 it by heart. So you know it, but you also stow 00:28:49.670 --> 00:28:52.210 it. Because you can't stow what you don't know. 00:28:52.349 --> 00:28:55.630 So you learn it, but not just facts in your head. 00:28:55.829 --> 00:28:58.890 So it becomes part of you, part of your heart. 00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:03.559 A go -to forms your worldview. It's there when 00:29:03.559 --> 00:29:07.740 you need it. Sometimes, however, we get wrong 00:29:07.740 --> 00:29:10.220 interpretations. We forget. We twist things. 00:29:10.380 --> 00:29:13.380 Are those others who come and want to make the 00:29:13.380 --> 00:29:17.180 Bible say something else? That's the second thing 00:29:17.180 --> 00:29:21.599 Paul says God's Word is good for. Teaching, but 00:29:21.599 --> 00:29:25.400 also rebuking. I mean, just to point out the 00:29:25.400 --> 00:29:28.099 faults. To show this is wrong, this isn't it. 00:29:28.569 --> 00:29:31.269 Point that spotlight on this sin, on this error. 00:29:32.109 --> 00:29:34.750 It's like going and looking in the mirror and 00:29:34.750 --> 00:29:37.809 you see, uh -oh, dirt here. I need to do something 00:29:37.809 --> 00:29:39.829 about it. James says that's what the Bible is 00:29:39.829 --> 00:29:42.789 like. You ever read something or hear something 00:29:42.789 --> 00:29:45.789 and all of a sudden you're convicted. I shouldn't 00:29:45.789 --> 00:29:48.470 be doing that. Or I should start doing this. 00:29:49.630 --> 00:29:52.490 That's God's Spirit rebuking you through God's 00:29:52.490 --> 00:29:57.160 words, showing you where change is needed. Hebrews 00:29:57.160 --> 00:30:00.599 4 .12, for the word of God is living and active, 00:30:00.779 --> 00:30:04.019 sharper than any double -edged sword. It penetrates 00:30:04.019 --> 00:30:07.339 even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and 00:30:07.339 --> 00:30:11.559 marrow. It judges the thoughts and intents, thoughts 00:30:11.559 --> 00:30:15.500 and attitudes of the heart. It's that sword like 00:30:15.500 --> 00:30:18.549 Jesus used in the wilderness. Like Paul talks 00:30:18.549 --> 00:30:21.309 about in Ephesians 6 when he talks about the 00:30:21.309 --> 00:30:23.410 sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. 00:30:23.549 --> 00:30:25.910 The only offensive weapon, the only way to have 00:30:25.910 --> 00:30:28.710 victory was through using that sword against 00:30:28.710 --> 00:30:32.690 Satan's lies and deceptions. So we have his truth. 00:30:33.829 --> 00:30:37.400 So God's Word is good for teaching. It's good 00:30:37.400 --> 00:30:39.720 for rebuking, showing error, but then when you 00:30:39.720 --> 00:30:42.380 see that error, it's also good for correcting 00:30:42.380 --> 00:30:45.940 it, showing us the right thing, replacing it 00:30:45.940 --> 00:30:48.740 with something that is right. He corrects it 00:30:48.740 --> 00:30:51.799 in us. When we see that, oh, I shouldn't be doing 00:30:51.799 --> 00:30:54.859 that, and then God's Word shows you what to do 00:30:54.859 --> 00:30:59.039 instead. I've read the Bible and found many errors, 00:30:59.279 --> 00:31:05.720 all of which were in me. First Peter says, always 00:31:05.720 --> 00:31:08.299 be prepared to give an answer to everyone who 00:31:08.299 --> 00:31:11.200 asks you. To give the reason for the hope that 00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:14.859 you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. 00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:18.539 It's not only to correct error in us. It's so 00:31:18.539 --> 00:31:20.880 that we know it and can correct error in others. 00:31:20.940 --> 00:31:25.019 Because there's plenty going around today. Plenty 00:31:25.019 --> 00:31:27.500 misuse of God's word. Plenty who don't know or 00:31:27.500 --> 00:31:30.559 ignorant of God's word. And it's up to us to 00:31:30.559 --> 00:31:35.029 correct it. To show them. So we have to know 00:31:35.029 --> 00:31:38.009 God's word is for teaching. You know it and stow 00:31:38.009 --> 00:31:41.890 it. It's for rebuking. To show error. It's for 00:31:41.890 --> 00:31:45.769 correcting. To correct the error. But it's also 00:31:45.769 --> 00:31:52.509 for training in righteousness. To train in righteousness. 00:31:52.930 --> 00:31:56.410 Because God's word transforms. It changes us. 00:31:56.549 --> 00:31:58.930 When you learn it and you know it and you have 00:31:58.930 --> 00:32:01.470 it correct and it becomes part of you, it's going 00:32:01.470 --> 00:32:03.950 to change your life. It's going to transform 00:32:03.950 --> 00:32:08.190 your life. That's what Paul is doing with Timothy. 00:32:08.430 --> 00:32:10.809 That's what Paul wants to tell Timothy here. 00:32:12.089 --> 00:32:18.549 Watch your life and your doctrine closely. Persevere 00:32:18.549 --> 00:32:22.109 in them because if you do, you will save both 00:32:22.109 --> 00:32:26.839 yourself and your hearers. And Jesus' own words. 00:32:27.640 --> 00:32:31.039 It is written, man shall not live on bread alone, 00:32:31.220 --> 00:32:33.559 but by every word that comes from the mouth of 00:32:33.559 --> 00:32:38.819 God. You want to become more like Jesus? You 00:32:38.819 --> 00:32:41.400 start thinking like Jesus. And then you'll act 00:32:41.400 --> 00:32:44.059 like Jesus. And how do you start thinking like 00:32:44.059 --> 00:32:47.960 Jesus? By knowing his word and making it part 00:32:47.960 --> 00:32:51.579 of, by knowing it and stowing it. And then by 00:32:51.579 --> 00:32:54.589 showing it. In everything you do to others. In 00:32:54.589 --> 00:32:57.390 the way you live. You'll be Christ -like. People 00:32:57.390 --> 00:32:59.490 will see that. People will see Jesus in you. 00:33:00.170 --> 00:33:03.750 But it has to be built on his word. Jesus tells 00:33:03.750 --> 00:33:06.049 a story about a man who built a house in the 00:33:06.049 --> 00:33:09.609 sand. And what happened to that sand? Or that 00:33:09.609 --> 00:33:15.529 house? It went down. Instead, he said we should 00:33:15.529 --> 00:33:19.230 build a house on a rock. And that won't happen. 00:33:19.849 --> 00:33:24.180 So what's the rock we build on? On Jesus, yes. 00:33:24.500 --> 00:33:27.579 As revealed in God's word. That's where we learn 00:33:27.579 --> 00:33:31.059 about Jesus. That's where we find out about him. 00:33:31.799 --> 00:33:36.900 So it's important to know it, to stow it, to 00:33:36.900 --> 00:33:41.380 show it, and then to sow it. Not keep it to ourselves, 00:33:41.720 --> 00:33:44.259 but to share it with others. Give it to others 00:33:44.259 --> 00:33:47.119 because everybody needs God's truth. Everybody 00:33:47.119 --> 00:33:51.049 needs his direction. Jesus says in Matthew 28, 00:33:51.410 --> 00:33:54.730 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, 00:33:55.049 --> 00:33:58.009 baptizing them in the name of the Father and 00:33:58.009 --> 00:34:01.089 of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching 00:34:01.089 --> 00:34:03.670 them to obey everything I have commanded you. 00:34:03.950 --> 00:34:07.369 And surely I am with you always to the very end 00:34:07.369 --> 00:34:11.019 of the ages. So it's for us to know, but it's 00:34:11.019 --> 00:34:14.159 for us to share, to tell other people, to initiate 00:34:14.159 --> 00:34:18.099 conversations, not to think, well, I won't know 00:34:18.099 --> 00:34:20.719 what to say, or they'll ask me a question, and 00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:22.400 I won't know what to answer. There's always a 00:34:22.400 --> 00:34:25.840 good answer when somebody says, asks you something 00:34:25.840 --> 00:34:30.800 you don't know. You know what it is? Call Joe, 00:34:30.980 --> 00:34:34.409 right? No, you tell them, I don't know. But I'll 00:34:34.409 --> 00:34:36.469 find out and get back to you. Nothing wrong with 00:34:36.469 --> 00:34:37.989 that. People don't mind that. You don't have 00:34:37.989 --> 00:34:40.730 to know everything. But you do know more than 00:34:40.730 --> 00:34:42.789 they do. And you do know what Jesus has done 00:34:42.789 --> 00:34:45.530 in your life. And that you can share. And that 00:34:45.530 --> 00:34:48.750 you should share. Share it with others. Just 00:34:48.750 --> 00:34:52.030 like somebody shared it with you. So you know 00:34:52.030 --> 00:34:55.630 it. You stow it. You show it. And you sow it. 00:34:56.309 --> 00:34:59.670 That's what Paul is telling Timothy here. That 00:34:59.670 --> 00:35:04.420 it's good for teaching. It's good for rebuking, 00:35:04.420 --> 00:35:07.039 to show error, and then for correcting those 00:35:07.039 --> 00:35:10.699 errors and for training in righteousness, to 00:35:10.699 --> 00:35:16.119 apply it to life so that it's lived out. And 00:35:16.119 --> 00:35:20.739 then he concludes the verse with the phrase that 00:35:20.739 --> 00:35:24.199 the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for 00:35:24.199 --> 00:35:27.739 every good work. Thoroughly equipped. Actually, 00:35:27.780 --> 00:35:29.880 what he does in the Greek, he uses the word equipped 00:35:29.880 --> 00:35:33.559 twice. In equipping, he'll be equipped, which 00:35:33.559 --> 00:35:36.380 is kind of an intensification of it. Like saying 00:35:36.380 --> 00:35:39.199 you'll be super equipped. God's word doesn't 00:35:39.199 --> 00:35:41.340 just give you the basics. It gives you enough 00:35:41.340 --> 00:35:45.059 of what you need so that you can live for him. 00:35:45.420 --> 00:35:49.119 That the man of God or woman of God will be thoroughly 00:35:49.119 --> 00:35:53.199 equipped, thoroughly prepared, completely equipped 00:35:53.199 --> 00:35:57.690 for whatever God would have for you. Now you 00:35:57.690 --> 00:36:00.329 keep on learning. You keep on growing. And when 00:36:00.329 --> 00:36:03.030 you make mistakes, you repent and you confess 00:36:03.030 --> 00:36:06.010 them and you go ahead again. And it's a process. 00:36:06.050 --> 00:36:09.389 It's not a one -time instant thing. But knowing 00:36:09.389 --> 00:36:13.269 God's Word is the key to it. He is no shortcut. 00:36:13.849 --> 00:36:17.510 There's no way of instant going to some church 00:36:17.510 --> 00:36:20.989 and getting it all or doing this or praying that 00:36:20.989 --> 00:36:25.030 or reading this. It's every day getting into 00:36:25.030 --> 00:36:28.409 God's Word, reading it, remembering it, memorizing 00:36:28.409 --> 00:36:31.590 it, making it part of your life. Day by day, 00:36:31.650 --> 00:36:36.070 on your own, to learn it and to do it. That's 00:36:36.070 --> 00:36:40.409 why God has given it to us. In some ways, it's 00:36:40.409 --> 00:36:43.489 like my cell phone. I like this thing. It got 00:36:43.489 --> 00:36:48.289 me here. The maps got me here. If I need a flashlight, 00:36:48.489 --> 00:36:50.530 it's got a flashlight. It's got a calculator 00:36:50.530 --> 00:36:55.389 that I use. What else does it do? I can email 00:36:55.389 --> 00:36:57.949 people. I can talk on the phone. It's a little 00:36:57.949 --> 00:37:00.869 computer. I didn't know how to use it all at 00:37:00.869 --> 00:37:04.170 first. I'm still learning, I guess, as you progress. 00:37:04.849 --> 00:37:07.550 But it's become an important part of my life. 00:37:08.670 --> 00:37:12.190 You ever lose your phone for a day? What does 00:37:12.190 --> 00:37:16.070 it do to your life and everything? Yes. You depend 00:37:16.070 --> 00:37:18.849 on it. It's an important part of life and living. 00:37:19.949 --> 00:37:23.309 You know, the Bible's that same way. The Bible's 00:37:23.309 --> 00:37:25.530 something that it might take time for you to 00:37:25.530 --> 00:37:28.469 get into and to learn how to use it all, but 00:37:28.469 --> 00:37:31.489 the Bible also is something we need and we need 00:37:31.489 --> 00:37:34.510 every day for guidance and for direction, for 00:37:34.510 --> 00:37:37.369 something to teach us and rebuke and correct 00:37:37.369 --> 00:37:40.070 us, for something to train us, for something 00:37:40.070 --> 00:37:44.170 to help us share with others. So while the phone's 00:37:44.170 --> 00:37:47.250 important, God's Word is even more important 00:37:47.250 --> 00:37:51.010 because that's... What he gives it to us for. 00:37:52.110 --> 00:37:55.170 Suppose you treated your Bible like a cell phone. 00:37:55.349 --> 00:37:57.730 And you read it that often. And you went to it 00:37:57.730 --> 00:37:59.929 that much. And it was that important. And you 00:37:59.929 --> 00:38:01.849 had to have it with you. And you always knew 00:38:01.849 --> 00:38:04.550 where it was. And if you went a day without it. 00:38:04.610 --> 00:38:07.769 Uh oh. That's the way it should be with God's 00:38:07.769 --> 00:38:11.650 word as well. Do you use your scriptures? Do 00:38:11.650 --> 00:38:15.269 you read your Bibles regularly? You miss a day 00:38:15.269 --> 00:38:17.710 or so sometimes, but do you have an appetite? 00:38:18.010 --> 00:38:20.789 Do you do it because you want to do it? Or just 00:38:20.789 --> 00:38:22.369 because you feel guilty if you don't, so you 00:38:22.369 --> 00:38:26.150 knock it off your list? Ask God to make it alive 00:38:26.150 --> 00:38:29.489 for you that you want to do it. And it does take 00:38:29.489 --> 00:38:31.869 work, because we've got an enemy that makes us 00:38:31.869 --> 00:38:34.449 not want to do it. To be lazy, to be busy, to 00:38:34.449 --> 00:38:38.309 have distractions, because he knows how important 00:38:38.309 --> 00:38:43.519 it is. Use your Bible. Depend on it. Because 00:38:43.519 --> 00:38:46.219 that's your connection with God. It is God's 00:38:46.219 --> 00:38:50.500 breath to us. God breathed his truth into this 00:38:50.500 --> 00:38:53.059 book. And thank God we've got all the copies 00:38:53.059 --> 00:38:55.699 in this country and we're free to have them and 00:38:55.699 --> 00:39:00.300 share them and read it anytime we want. But many 00:39:00.300 --> 00:39:02.599 parts of the country don't, the world don't have. 00:39:03.880 --> 00:39:09.920 So, learn your God breathed book. Let's pray. 00:39:13.019 --> 00:39:16.219 Father, we thank you for your word. We thank 00:39:16.219 --> 00:39:20.019 you for your truth in it. I pray that you would 00:39:20.019 --> 00:39:23.840 help us to remember to read it, not because we 00:39:23.840 --> 00:39:26.260 have to, but because we want to. Give us a desire, 00:39:26.539 --> 00:39:29.659 a hunger and thirst to know you better in your 00:39:29.659 --> 00:39:33.659 word and you personally in the beginning of our 00:39:33.659 --> 00:39:36.639 relationship that grows and wants to be more 00:39:36.639 --> 00:39:39.420 intimate with you and worship and share to others. 00:39:40.179 --> 00:39:43.639 Help us to appreciate this book. Sometimes we 00:39:43.639 --> 00:39:46.119 have so many, we just take it for granted. But 00:39:46.119 --> 00:39:49.179 that the God of the universe who created all 00:39:49.179 --> 00:39:53.480 this with the word would communicate truth to 00:39:53.480 --> 00:39:58.320 us for our sake, for our benefit. How can we 00:39:58.320 --> 00:40:01.219 not want to learn it? How can we not want to 00:40:01.219 --> 00:40:05.340 follow it? Father, we thank you for it. In Jesus' 00:40:05.460 --> 00:40:07.400 name we pray. Amen.