WEBVTT 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:31.739 And now we pray that you are blessed by this 00:00:31.739 --> 00:00:37.600 week's sermon. Good morning. So we are beginning 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:40.859 a new series this month called Foundations. We 00:00:40.859 --> 00:00:43.420 will be studying for the rest of the month four 00:00:43.420 --> 00:00:46.320 different areas that are very important for us 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:50.219 as a ministry. If any of these four areas were 00:00:50.219 --> 00:00:55.759 not to be there, we would cease to be who we 00:00:55.759 --> 00:00:58.479 are. And that's why we call them foundations 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:02.320 because they are convictions that are foundational 00:01:02.320 --> 00:01:06.840 to God's calling for our lives. And today we 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:10.359 are going to be talking about the first of those 00:01:10.359 --> 00:01:14.900 four foundations. Before I start this study, 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:20.060 I would like to show you a picture. It's a sinkhole 00:01:20.060 --> 00:01:25.379 and a house right next to it, almost on top of 00:01:25.379 --> 00:01:30.340 it. Would you build a house next to a sinkhole? 00:01:32.180 --> 00:01:36.230 Would you? I would say, Pastor Pablo, what kind 00:01:36.230 --> 00:01:39.769 of question is that? I would be foolish to build 00:01:39.769 --> 00:01:42.890 a house next to a sinkhole. Well, and you know 00:01:42.890 --> 00:01:46.450 that Jesus precisely made that point. He says, 00:01:46.469 --> 00:01:49.030 anyone who hears my teaching and doesn't obey 00:01:49.030 --> 00:01:52.930 it is foolish. Like a person who builds a house 00:01:52.930 --> 00:01:57.670 on sand. You may not be building a house, but 00:01:57.670 --> 00:02:01.310 you are building your life. Decision after decision. 00:02:02.109 --> 00:02:05.629 you're building your life. And those decisions 00:02:05.629 --> 00:02:09.889 are being shaped by convictions. And if those 00:02:09.889 --> 00:02:13.710 convictions are not shaped by the words of Jesus, 00:02:13.810 --> 00:02:17.129 if those convictions are not aligned with what 00:02:17.129 --> 00:02:21.870 God says, then you are building your life next 00:02:21.870 --> 00:02:27.409 to a sinkhole. That's why we say that the first 00:02:27.409 --> 00:02:31.610 foundation for us is to be rooted in the word. 00:02:31.789 --> 00:02:35.150 We believe that the word of God, the scriptures, 00:02:35.449 --> 00:02:39.289 the Bible is foundational for all of the decisions 00:02:39.289 --> 00:02:42.509 that we make and how we think of life, how we 00:02:42.509 --> 00:02:45.370 see who we are, how we see the future, the past. 00:02:45.530 --> 00:02:53.009 It defines our worldview. And therefore, it is 00:02:53.009 --> 00:02:56.400 very important for us as a ministry And for us 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:58.860 as followers of Jesus, that we are rooted in 00:02:58.860 --> 00:03:04.139 the word because Jesus said so. But to understand 00:03:04.139 --> 00:03:07.340 what this means, we will have to go back to the 00:03:07.340 --> 00:03:09.939 time in which the Apostle Paul started preaching 00:03:09.939 --> 00:03:12.740 the gospel throughout the Roman Empire. He is 00:03:12.740 --> 00:03:16.300 the first... to start sharing the gospel in many 00:03:16.300 --> 00:03:19.000 of these places, telling people about Jesus. 00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:21.479 And then people started believing in Jesus and 00:03:21.479 --> 00:03:27.139 following Jesus just like you and I did. But 00:03:27.139 --> 00:03:29.199 in one of those trips, he got all the way to 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:33.840 Greece to a place called Thessalonica. And next 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:37.319 to it, also a place called Beria. And in fact, 00:03:37.319 --> 00:03:39.520 you can still go to these places today. You can 00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:42.819 still go to Thessaloniki and be in the city. 00:03:42.919 --> 00:03:47.300 Still real places. But Paul was the first one 00:03:47.300 --> 00:03:50.319 to get there and take the gospel with his team. 00:03:50.900 --> 00:03:53.280 And we are told that something happened. When 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:56.340 Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis 00:03:56.340 --> 00:04:00.460 and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where 00:04:00.460 --> 00:04:04.520 there was a Jewish synagogue. As was his custom, 00:04:05.099 --> 00:04:08.419 Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath 00:04:08.419 --> 00:04:11.500 days, he reasoned with them from the Scriptures. 00:04:12.740 --> 00:04:16.060 Three weekends in a row, Saturday after Saturday 00:04:16.060 --> 00:04:19.100 after Saturday, going to the same place to reason 00:04:19.100 --> 00:04:23.579 from where? From the Scriptures. With these people. 00:04:23.660 --> 00:04:27.000 Reasoning about what? Well, explaining and proving 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:29.959 that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from 00:04:29.959 --> 00:04:33.259 the dead. This Jesus I am proclaiming to you 00:04:33.259 --> 00:04:37.600 is the Messiah, he said. So he was engaging from 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:40.300 the scriptures with them to tell them Jesus is 00:04:40.300 --> 00:04:45.199 really the truth. It was prophesied that he was 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:47.519 going to come and suffer. And you can see all 00:04:47.519 --> 00:04:50.420 of these things are found right here. And as 00:04:50.420 --> 00:04:52.839 he was reasoning from the scriptures with them, 00:04:52.939 --> 00:04:55.699 it says that some of the Jews were persuaded 00:04:55.699 --> 00:04:59.720 and joined Paul and Silas. and did a large number 00:04:59.720 --> 00:05:02.560 of good fearing Greeks, and quite a few prominent 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:06.579 women. So some people did believe and started 00:05:06.579 --> 00:05:11.480 following Jesus because they trusted in the authority 00:05:11.480 --> 00:05:15.060 that the scriptures could determine what was 00:05:15.060 --> 00:05:18.779 true from what was false. And because the scriptures 00:05:18.779 --> 00:05:23.699 did show that Jesus was prophesied, To be born 00:05:23.699 --> 00:05:25.819 in a certain place, to suffer a certain way, 00:05:25.899 --> 00:05:28.160 to be crucified, to raise from the dead, that 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:30.480 he came to take away the sins of the world. And 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:33.439 all of these things, they were able to see it. 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:37.060 But some people didn't agree with it. And not 00:05:37.060 --> 00:05:39.019 only didn't agree with it, they didn't like it. 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:42.740 So they started causing a riot. And they started 00:05:42.740 --> 00:05:46.480 accusing Paul and his friends from bringing rebellion 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:48.800 against Caesar because they were saying that 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:51.850 there was another Lord. apart from Caesar. And 00:05:51.850 --> 00:05:55.389 there was a whole riot in the city. So Paul's 00:05:55.389 --> 00:05:59.250 friends were able to hide him. And then at night, 00:05:59.310 --> 00:06:02.290 they sent him away. And that's how he got from 00:06:02.290 --> 00:06:06.389 Thessalonica to Berea. And in Berea, we are told 00:06:06.389 --> 00:06:08.750 that as soon as it was night, the brothers sent 00:06:08.750 --> 00:06:11.889 Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, 00:06:12.149 --> 00:06:15.149 they went to the Jewish synagogue, just like 00:06:15.149 --> 00:06:17.850 they had done in Thessalonica. To do what? Same 00:06:17.850 --> 00:06:20.120 thing. Show them through the scriptures that 00:06:20.120 --> 00:06:23.459 Jesus was the Messiah. Now the Bereans were of 00:06:23.459 --> 00:06:26.120 more noble character than the Thessalonians. 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:31.180 Huh, that's a nice detail. For they received 00:06:31.180 --> 00:06:34.399 the message with great eagerness and examined 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:38.680 the scriptures every day to see if what Paul 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:42.620 was saying was true. What were they concerned 00:06:42.620 --> 00:06:46.240 about? What were they really wanting to confirm? 00:06:47.100 --> 00:06:51.350 Truth. Is this true or not? You see, these were 00:06:51.350 --> 00:06:54.550 not just religious people that wanted a religion 00:06:54.550 --> 00:06:57.850 to make them feel better. No, they believe in 00:06:57.850 --> 00:07:00.230 the scriptures and they wanted to know whether 00:07:00.230 --> 00:07:02.709 what Paul was saying was true or not according 00:07:02.709 --> 00:07:06.949 to the scriptures. And that's why the name of 00:07:06.949 --> 00:07:10.199 the Bereans has become... This verse has become 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:12.959 very famous because it describes the Berean as 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:16.079 people of noble character who care for truth. 00:07:16.379 --> 00:07:18.660 And that is the type of Christian that we want 00:07:18.660 --> 00:07:21.920 to be. This is the vision that we have for ACB. 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:25.660 We are people that are rooted in the word and 00:07:25.660 --> 00:07:27.699 we believe in the authority of the scriptures 00:07:27.699 --> 00:07:30.939 and we engage with the scriptures to reason together 00:07:30.939 --> 00:07:37.139 because we care about truth. And the result of 00:07:37.139 --> 00:07:39.319 this says there are many of the Jews believed. 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:44.579 And there are also a number of prominent Greek 00:07:44.579 --> 00:07:49.660 women and many Greek men. And the outcome was 00:07:49.660 --> 00:07:55.000 great. Because as the Apostle Paul went and preached 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:58.019 the gospel in that area, he was with his team 00:07:58.019 --> 00:07:59.720 engaging with all of these things. And there 00:07:59.720 --> 00:08:03.620 was one member in his team that was one of the 00:08:03.620 --> 00:08:09.620 younger ones. This was his mentee. And Paul got 00:08:09.620 --> 00:08:11.939 very close to him. Do you know what his name 00:08:11.939 --> 00:08:17.259 was? Timothy. Timothy was Paul's mentee. And 00:08:17.259 --> 00:08:21.000 as they started serving together and experienced 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:23.699 these different things, eventually the apostle 00:08:23.699 --> 00:08:27.100 Paul went to prison. And as he was in prison, 00:08:27.220 --> 00:08:30.939 one of the last letters that he wrote before 00:08:30.939 --> 00:08:35.200 he died at the hands of the Romans, was a letter 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:38.480 to this dear friend. Did you know what that letter 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:43.100 was? 2 Timothy. So whenever you read 2 Timothy, 00:08:43.179 --> 00:08:45.100 you have to picture the Apostle Paul writing 00:08:45.100 --> 00:08:49.100 from prison before he died, the last thing he 00:08:49.100 --> 00:08:53.879 wrote. Because what he's going to write here 00:08:53.879 --> 00:08:58.559 is words for Timothy that will help us understand 00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:03.980 why the scriptures were so essential and so central 00:09:03.980 --> 00:09:08.059 to the ministry of the Apostle Paul? And why 00:09:08.059 --> 00:09:13.919 did he want Timothy to really know these things 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:17.460 very well? Why would these things about the scriptures 00:09:17.460 --> 00:09:21.080 matter so much? So let's take a look at that 00:09:21.080 --> 00:09:27.820 letter that he wrote to Timothy. Timothy, my 00:09:27.820 --> 00:09:33.360 friend. Remember all those trips that we took 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:35.879 together when we went to Thessalonica and Berea? 00:09:36.460 --> 00:09:38.720 Remember how we had to escape at night because 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:42.340 of the riot in Thessalonica and how we reasoned 00:09:42.340 --> 00:09:45.500 with people through the scriptures? Do you remember 00:09:45.500 --> 00:09:48.019 those Bereans? I like them better than the Thessalonians. 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:54.220 They were more noble. Remember them? And we reasoned 00:09:54.220 --> 00:09:56.740 with them and they were so eager to learn from 00:09:56.740 --> 00:10:00.460 the scriptures. Oh, those times, sweet memories. 00:10:02.899 --> 00:10:07.299 Timothy, you must remain faithful to the things 00:10:07.299 --> 00:10:10.620 you have been taught. You know they are true. 00:10:11.340 --> 00:10:14.279 For you know you can trust those who taught you. 00:10:15.320 --> 00:10:20.700 Me. I'm the real thing. And you can trust the 00:10:20.700 --> 00:10:23.080 scriptures and we have what we have learned together 00:10:23.080 --> 00:10:26.980 because it's true. You have been taught the Holy 00:10:26.980 --> 00:10:30.639 Scriptures from childhood. And they have given 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:32.879 you the wisdom to receive the salvation that 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:36.639 comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. Oh, Timothy, 00:10:36.919 --> 00:10:41.720 you have a privilege that many don't. You were 00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:43.700 taught the Scriptures since you were little. 00:10:44.659 --> 00:10:47.519 And it was because you knew the Scriptures that 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:49.860 when you came to understand that they were pointing 00:10:49.860 --> 00:10:52.320 to Jesus, you believe in Jesus as your Savior. 00:10:52.460 --> 00:10:57.940 What a blessing. But I have to tell you, all 00:10:57.940 --> 00:11:01.179 scripture, the ones that you were taught since 00:11:01.179 --> 00:11:05.360 you were little, all the scripture is inspired 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:09.919 by God. And it's useful to teach us what is true 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:12.820 and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. 00:11:13.019 --> 00:11:16.500 It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches 00:11:16.500 --> 00:11:19.860 us to do what is right. The scriptures are very 00:11:19.860 --> 00:11:24.419 powerful. Because they are inspired directly 00:11:24.419 --> 00:11:27.620 by God and they have this effect in our lives. 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:31.360 God uses it to prepare and to equip his people 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:35.340 to do every good work. It's a tool that he designs 00:11:35.340 --> 00:11:38.100 so people will start growing and maturing and 00:11:38.100 --> 00:11:42.480 becoming more like him. It's a very powerful 00:11:42.480 --> 00:11:48.519 tool. So I solemnly urge you. In the presence 00:11:48.519 --> 00:11:51.460 of God and Christ Jesus will someday judge the 00:11:51.460 --> 00:11:54.580 living and the dead when he comes to set up his 00:11:54.580 --> 00:11:58.019 kingdom. In the name of Jesus himself, I'm going 00:11:58.019 --> 00:12:00.519 to charge you, Timothy, pay attention to this 00:12:00.519 --> 00:12:03.080 letter. Pay attention to these words I'm writing 00:12:03.080 --> 00:12:12.960 to you. Preach the word of God. Whatever you 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:17.769 do, these scriptures that you were taught, That 00:12:17.769 --> 00:12:20.789 you saw me using and engaging with people. You, 00:12:21.009 --> 00:12:26.129 Timothy, preach the word of God. Be prepared 00:12:26.129 --> 00:12:30.850 whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently 00:12:30.850 --> 00:12:34.649 correct, rebuke, encourage your people with good 00:12:34.649 --> 00:12:39.070 teaching. You must do this, Timothy. There are 00:12:39.070 --> 00:12:42.149 times in which you will be exhausted. It will 00:12:42.149 --> 00:12:44.110 feel like an inconvenience. It doesn't matter. 00:12:44.190 --> 00:12:48.159 Go and preach the word. There are moments in 00:12:48.159 --> 00:12:51.340 which you want to rest, but go and preach the 00:12:51.340 --> 00:12:54.460 word. If you have a headache and you think, oh, 00:12:54.500 --> 00:12:56.820 I wish I didn't have to do this, go and preach 00:12:56.820 --> 00:12:59.620 the word. Whether you feel like it or don't, 00:12:59.659 --> 00:13:02.220 whether things are great or they are not, preach 00:13:02.220 --> 00:13:05.519 the word. And you are going to teach it to the 00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:07.899 people and you're going to help them patiently 00:13:07.899 --> 00:13:10.519 understand it. And you're going to correct them 00:13:10.519 --> 00:13:13.159 and you're going to help them grow so that they 00:13:13.159 --> 00:13:16.620 will be equipped for every good work. This is 00:13:16.620 --> 00:13:18.960 so important, Timothy, that you do this because 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:25.019 you have to understand that down the road, a 00:13:25.019 --> 00:13:30.080 time is coming when people will no longer listen 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:34.440 to sound and wholesome teaching because they 00:13:34.440 --> 00:13:39.720 don't care anymore. They will follow their own 00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:43.279 desires. What they feel, that's what they will 00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:46.980 do. They will come up with their own versions 00:13:46.980 --> 00:13:51.440 of truth rather than the truth from God's word. 00:13:52.779 --> 00:13:56.440 And will also look for teachers who will tell 00:13:56.440 --> 00:13:59.480 them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 00:13:59.860 --> 00:14:01.899 They will come to you with a question and say, 00:14:01.940 --> 00:14:03.620 oh, I don't like that answer because it's not 00:14:03.620 --> 00:14:05.899 what I want to believe. So let me find someone 00:14:05.899 --> 00:14:10.039 that can teach me what I already believe. They 00:14:10.039 --> 00:14:12.820 will not care about truth anymore. They will 00:14:12.820 --> 00:14:17.919 reject the truth. And chase after myths. But 00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:22.440 you Timothy. You don't go after myths. You should 00:14:22.440 --> 00:14:26.580 keep a clear mind in every situation. Always 00:14:26.580 --> 00:14:30.779 aligning your life with God's word. The scriptures 00:14:30.779 --> 00:14:34.059 that were inspired by God. Were given to you 00:14:34.059 --> 00:14:36.799 since childhood. You know it. Align yourself 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:40.240 with it. Don't fall for the myths. Proclaimed 00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:43.289 by people. That are going after their own feelings 00:14:43.289 --> 00:14:46.230 and their own teachings and their own invented 00:14:46.230 --> 00:14:53.889 truths. Don't be afraid of suffering for the 00:14:53.889 --> 00:14:58.490 Lord. Work at telling others the good news. And 00:14:58.490 --> 00:15:01.250 fully carry out the ministry God has given you. 00:15:01.309 --> 00:15:04.809 Because you will feel at many moments like a 00:15:04.809 --> 00:15:08.529 fish swimming against the current. You believe 00:15:08.529 --> 00:15:11.629 in the scriptures and other people don't. And 00:15:11.629 --> 00:15:13.950 you will say truth that you believe is from the 00:15:13.950 --> 00:15:15.710 scripture. And they will look at you saying, 00:15:15.929 --> 00:15:18.909 you're weird. You believe in myths. And they 00:15:18.909 --> 00:15:20.509 will think that you are the one that believe 00:15:20.509 --> 00:15:23.049 in myths. Not the other way around. And some 00:15:23.049 --> 00:15:24.990 people won't like you. And they will oppress 00:15:24.990 --> 00:15:29.289 you. They will persecute you because of it. But 00:15:29.289 --> 00:15:34.230 even then, don't be afraid of suffering for the 00:15:34.230 --> 00:15:40.370 Lord. As for me, well, that's another story. 00:15:41.129 --> 00:15:44.049 You're young, you're in the prime time of your 00:15:44.049 --> 00:15:51.129 ministry. I'm older, more tired. And you know, 00:15:51.169 --> 00:15:54.190 in reality, my life has already been put out 00:15:54.190 --> 00:15:58.090 as an offering to God. The time of my death is 00:15:58.090 --> 00:16:02.690 near. I can smell it. It's just coming around 00:16:02.690 --> 00:16:06.990 the corner. I have fought the good fight. I have 00:16:06.990 --> 00:16:09.690 finished the race and have remained faithful 00:16:09.690 --> 00:16:14.019 to God. To the scriptures. I have remained faithful 00:16:14.019 --> 00:16:17.419 to his calling. And now the prize awaits me. 00:16:17.500 --> 00:16:19.940 The crown of righteousness. Which the Lord the 00:16:19.940 --> 00:16:23.580 righteous judge. Will give me. On the day of 00:16:23.580 --> 00:16:26.320 his return. But that prize is not just for me. 00:16:26.600 --> 00:16:29.899 But for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. 00:16:30.279 --> 00:16:34.639 Including you Timothy. This is for you too. So 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:40.860 remain. Faithful. To your calling. And stay rooted 00:16:40.860 --> 00:16:48.860 in the word. As you can see, the apostle Paul 00:16:48.860 --> 00:16:51.580 is telling Timothy to be rooted in the word because 00:16:51.580 --> 00:16:55.039 there's going to be a time in which people will 00:16:55.039 --> 00:16:59.059 no longer care about this as much anymore. And 00:16:59.059 --> 00:17:02.399 not only they won't care about it as much, but 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:05.000 the number of teachers that will not be teaching 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:07.619 the scriptures will increase. And the number 00:17:07.619 --> 00:17:10.200 of people that will be telling you myths. Things 00:17:10.200 --> 00:17:12.660 that they have invented. So that you can hear 00:17:12.660 --> 00:17:15.940 what you already want to hear. They will multiply. 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:20.720 And in those moments therefore. To have followers 00:17:20.720 --> 00:17:23.940 of Jesus that know the word. To have followers 00:17:23.940 --> 00:17:26.799 of Jesus that are rooted in the word. That are 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:30.240 willing to stand up for truth. Matters most. 00:17:31.579 --> 00:17:35.740 Because they become fewer and fewer. And the 00:17:35.740 --> 00:17:40.220 others become more and more. And what is interesting 00:17:40.220 --> 00:17:42.819 is that even though this was written in the first 00:17:42.819 --> 00:17:47.400 century for a young Christian called Timothy, 00:17:47.579 --> 00:17:52.799 these words can describe the very day we're living 00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:57.539 in today. Many people that have abandoned the 00:17:57.539 --> 00:18:01.380 scriptures to go after myths. Many people that 00:18:01.380 --> 00:18:04.079 now are looking for teachers to tell them what 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:08.500 they want to hear. And now we have programs and 00:18:08.500 --> 00:18:11.779 apps designed specifically to tell you what you 00:18:11.779 --> 00:18:14.240 want to hear. You watch a video on that topic, 00:18:14.299 --> 00:18:18.339 I'll give you a hundred more. You write a post, 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:20.460 oh, this is what you like, this is what you think. 00:18:20.500 --> 00:18:22.779 Let me give you more ads about this so that you 00:18:22.779 --> 00:18:24.619 can hear more about what you already believe. 00:18:25.930 --> 00:18:29.529 And now we are bombarded more and more by voices 00:18:29.529 --> 00:18:36.549 from all the spectrum. And Paul says, yep, I 00:18:36.549 --> 00:18:40.309 knew that was coming. Therefore, follower of 00:18:40.309 --> 00:18:46.730 Jesus, you be rooted in the word. Don't build 00:18:46.730 --> 00:18:53.569 your life next to the sinkhole. What does this 00:18:53.569 --> 00:18:57.599 look like? What the Apostle Paul just explained 00:18:57.599 --> 00:19:01.700 to Timothy is that the scriptures matter and 00:19:01.700 --> 00:19:04.599 you have to pay attention to them because they 00:19:04.599 --> 00:19:08.640 are inspired by God. This is the nature of the 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:13.460 scriptures. I have talked to some people that 00:19:13.460 --> 00:19:16.220 are learning and seeking more about God. They 00:19:16.220 --> 00:19:19.079 want to understand. And often they say things 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:22.220 like, well, but isn't the Bible, you know. Full 00:19:22.220 --> 00:19:24.920 of errors. And it wasn't just written by humans. 00:19:25.160 --> 00:19:27.980 What do you call it? God's word. That makes no 00:19:27.980 --> 00:19:32.359 sense to me. And isn't like old. Full of myths 00:19:32.359 --> 00:19:34.819 and stuff. Do you really believe in that book? 00:19:36.980 --> 00:19:41.140 Well this is what Paul tells Timothy. Says Timothy. 00:19:41.420 --> 00:19:49.000 These scriptures. They are. By God. What that 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:53.200 Greek word means. It means they are exhaled by 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:57.880 God. Now, I want you to put your hand in front 00:19:57.880 --> 00:20:02.000 of your mouth like this. And not too far, you 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:04.420 know, close enough. Because next thing I'm going 00:20:04.420 --> 00:20:08.059 to ask you to do is to exhale. Go. And make sure 00:20:08.059 --> 00:20:09.759 your hand is closed in case your breath is not 00:20:09.759 --> 00:20:12.700 that nice. Okay. Maybe coffee breath like my 00:20:12.700 --> 00:20:16.160 wife says to me. Okay. So, go like that again. 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:24.130 It's just the honestos. And Paul says the word 00:20:24.130 --> 00:20:26.029 of God, the scriptures, where did they come from? 00:20:26.390 --> 00:20:32.170 From God himself. That's why we call it the word 00:20:32.170 --> 00:20:38.410 of God. It's because God is behind the authorship 00:20:38.410 --> 00:20:43.230 of the scriptures. But isn't it true that humans 00:20:43.230 --> 00:20:47.009 actually wrote it? Yes. And that's why in biblical 00:20:47.009 --> 00:20:50.789 theology we talk about the dual nature of authorship. 00:20:50.950 --> 00:20:54.589 You have the person who wrote it, but you have 00:20:54.589 --> 00:20:58.170 God who inspired it. The apostle Peter uses the 00:20:58.170 --> 00:21:01.529 imagery saying that, yeah, the prophets wrote, 00:21:01.789 --> 00:21:04.910 but they wrote being led by the Holy Spirit. 00:21:06.509 --> 00:21:09.329 So when we talk about the scriptures being God's 00:21:09.329 --> 00:21:12.680 word, we're not denying that God is human. To 00:21:12.680 --> 00:21:15.440 write it. What the word of God is saying is that 00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:18.220 God did not just use humans to write it. He is 00:21:18.220 --> 00:21:20.099 the intellectual author of the scriptures himself. 00:21:20.559 --> 00:21:22.940 And that's why they are the source of truth. 00:21:23.680 --> 00:21:27.220 And that's why we listen to it. We pay attention 00:21:27.220 --> 00:21:30.240 to it. Because aligning ourselves with the scriptures 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:33.380 is aligning ourselves with the Holy Spirit. Do 00:21:33.380 --> 00:21:35.200 you want to have an encounter with the Holy Spirit? 00:21:35.380 --> 00:21:37.839 Then start by paying attention to the scriptures. 00:21:38.059 --> 00:21:44.589 Because he inspired them. And not only the nature 00:21:44.589 --> 00:21:48.009 of the scriptures is God's word inspired by him, 00:21:48.210 --> 00:21:51.650 but he tells us the purpose of the scripture 00:21:51.650 --> 00:21:57.710 is very specific. It says the scriptures are 00:21:57.710 --> 00:22:00.069 useful. They were designed, they were implemented 00:22:00.069 --> 00:22:08.609 for this reason, to teach us what is true. Are 00:22:08.609 --> 00:22:12.930 you interested in true? In that which is true, 00:22:13.069 --> 00:22:16.829 are you interested in seeking truth? Are you 00:22:16.829 --> 00:22:19.490 perhaps in the stage of your spiritual journey 00:22:19.490 --> 00:22:21.910 in which you are wondering, is this Christianity 00:22:21.910 --> 00:22:24.430 thing true or not? Is this Jesus true or not? 00:22:24.450 --> 00:22:27.069 Can I trust the Bible or not? If you are interested 00:22:27.069 --> 00:22:30.269 in truth, then you have to understand that the 00:22:30.269 --> 00:22:33.069 Bible was designed specifically by God for that 00:22:33.069 --> 00:22:37.529 purpose. To teach you that which is true. And 00:22:37.529 --> 00:22:40.410 to make us realize also what is wrong in our 00:22:40.410 --> 00:22:44.769 lives. It's going to be like an MRI of your soul. 00:22:45.509 --> 00:22:49.009 And that's a very uncomfortable space. Because 00:22:49.009 --> 00:22:53.930 you start realizing like, oh, I'm a sinner. I'm 00:22:53.930 --> 00:22:56.089 not a good person as I thought I was. And you 00:22:56.089 --> 00:22:59.450 start feeling convicted. It's like, oh, what 00:22:59.450 --> 00:23:03.220 is that sexual holiness thing? I don't think 00:23:03.220 --> 00:23:05.519 of sex as holiness. You know, it's like, does 00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:08.940 God want me to stop doing that? And suddenly 00:23:08.940 --> 00:23:11.960 you start feeling convicted because the word 00:23:11.960 --> 00:23:16.920 of God was designed specifically to lead you 00:23:16.920 --> 00:23:20.380 to truth. And it corrects you when you are wrong. 00:23:20.539 --> 00:23:23.799 It takes you now to this side and it teaches 00:23:23.799 --> 00:23:29.359 you to do what is right. For many years, I worked 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:33.990 in college as a I said not many years, but three 00:23:33.990 --> 00:23:38.490 years, as a guitar teacher. I learned to play 00:23:38.490 --> 00:23:41.170 guitar since I was nine years old. So that was 00:23:41.170 --> 00:23:44.130 part of my work in college to help pay for my 00:23:44.130 --> 00:23:47.710 education. And I remember that I had some students 00:23:47.710 --> 00:23:51.490 that were gifted. It was a joy to teach them. 00:23:51.589 --> 00:23:54.369 They would learn so quick. And others that didn't 00:23:54.369 --> 00:23:58.329 have the gift. But they were as committed and 00:23:58.329 --> 00:24:01.170 passionate about, I want to learn to play guitar. 00:24:01.819 --> 00:24:05.700 And I remember this particular student that it 00:24:05.700 --> 00:24:09.720 was hard, but she really wanted to learn it. 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:13.000 And I will say in the first sessions, okay, this 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:15.319 is the guitar. You start teaching them what they 00:24:15.319 --> 00:24:17.460 do not know. This is a guitar. These are the 00:24:17.460 --> 00:24:20.740 six strings. This is the note for each one. This 00:24:20.740 --> 00:24:24.339 is how it works. So I'm just teaching them. And 00:24:24.339 --> 00:24:26.920 then I have to tell them, okay, to make this 00:24:26.920 --> 00:24:28.819 chord, let's say C major, we're going to do like 00:24:28.819 --> 00:24:30.799 this. You need to put this finger here, that 00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:32.539 one there, that one there. Okay, no, no, no, 00:24:32.539 --> 00:24:34.720 here, a little bit lower. Okay, there. Okay, 00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:38.400 that's C major. Remove your fingers, do it again. 00:24:39.059 --> 00:24:42.000 No, no, no, no, no. This one goes, ah, relax 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:44.619 the finger. Okay, there, that string, and then 00:24:44.619 --> 00:24:48.720 there. Okay, I'm correcting them. You're doing 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:51.579 it wrong. I'm like, you are doing it wrong. You 00:24:51.579 --> 00:24:53.779 are going to hell because of, no. It's like, 00:24:53.880 --> 00:24:58.259 oh, you are doing it wrong. Look. And now I'm 00:24:58.259 --> 00:25:01.119 correcting them. This is the right way to do 00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:06.059 it. Okay, now there. C major. Do it again. Okay, 00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:08.640 again. This here, that there. Okay, do it again. 00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:12.420 There, that's good. Now you got it. C major. 00:25:13.039 --> 00:25:19.579 Now let's play. It's like terrible. Because to 00:25:19.579 --> 00:25:22.819 get the sound, you need to press strong, you 00:25:22.819 --> 00:25:26.599 know, the strings. So it's like, okay, that's 00:25:26.599 --> 00:25:31.119 nice. So at that moment, they get tired because 00:25:31.119 --> 00:25:33.539 you have to press so hard, and so this starts 00:25:33.539 --> 00:25:36.240 hurting. And that's when some students stop learning 00:25:36.240 --> 00:25:38.640 altogether. It hurts too much. Do I need to cut 00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:40.579 my nails? They're so pretty. You know, it's like, 00:25:40.619 --> 00:25:42.539 yeah, you need to cut, you know. But my nails, 00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:44.720 you know, it's like, pretty or guitar? Choose, 00:25:44.859 --> 00:25:51.630 you know. I have to, if they want to learn guitar, 00:25:51.730 --> 00:25:53.829 you're going to speak truth to them. You're not 00:25:53.829 --> 00:25:56.970 there to make them feel nice. You're there to 00:25:56.970 --> 00:26:01.910 teach them play well. And, ah, it was such a 00:26:01.910 --> 00:26:05.130 satisfaction at the end. When all these students, 00:26:05.349 --> 00:26:07.789 no matter whether gifted or not, finished the 00:26:07.789 --> 00:26:13.289 semester, and they could play songs. It was so 00:26:13.289 --> 00:26:16.349 nice. D major, G major, they had to learn 21 00:26:16.349 --> 00:26:21.759 chords. And that experience taught me something 00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:24.960 that Paul is telling us here. That's exactly 00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:30.099 what God designed the scriptures for, is to equip 00:26:30.099 --> 00:26:37.039 us. And that's why the scripture is truth. It's 00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:39.660 because if you're going to do C major, there's 00:26:39.660 --> 00:26:41.480 only one way that it's going to sound right. 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:45.170 If you change one note, It's not going to be 00:26:45.170 --> 00:26:47.250 C major anymore and it's going to sound terrible. 00:26:48.829 --> 00:26:53.049 This is true C major. If you come to me and say, 00:26:53.130 --> 00:26:57.109 well, this is my personal truth of C major. It's 00:26:57.109 --> 00:26:59.890 like, no, that's not going to work. Call it whatever 00:26:59.890 --> 00:27:02.589 you want. It's not going to sound like C major. 00:27:03.309 --> 00:27:13.609 You're out of my class. F. The word of God. It 00:27:13.609 --> 00:27:16.430 says God uses it to prepare and equip his people 00:27:16.430 --> 00:27:19.329 to do every good work. The more you know it, 00:27:19.390 --> 00:27:21.529 the more you are being equipped. The more you 00:27:21.529 --> 00:27:23.910 are being transformed. And suddenly you start 00:27:23.910 --> 00:27:28.130 discovering life as God sees it. Suddenly you 00:27:28.130 --> 00:27:31.009 start seeing yourself as God sees you. Suddenly 00:27:31.009 --> 00:27:33.730 you start thinking about life not from here till 00:27:33.730 --> 00:27:36.049 grave. But you start thinking eternal perspective. 00:27:36.470 --> 00:27:38.809 Now you start understanding the true history 00:27:38.809 --> 00:27:41.869 of the universe. The true history of beginnings. 00:27:42.829 --> 00:27:45.069 You start understanding what Jesus came to do. 00:27:45.210 --> 00:27:47.769 And suddenly you start learning the scriptures. 00:27:48.490 --> 00:27:52.670 And they shape the way you start playing your 00:27:52.670 --> 00:27:58.410 life. And now you sound like... Oh, you sound 00:27:58.410 --> 00:28:02.390 like Jesus. That's nice. Wow, play it again. 00:28:03.049 --> 00:28:07.289 Wow, I like that. Where did you learn to live 00:28:07.289 --> 00:28:12.119 that way? I'm a follower of Jesus and I'm rooted 00:28:12.119 --> 00:28:18.599 in the word. And the word has equipped me now 00:28:18.599 --> 00:28:21.480 to be more gentle, to be more wise, to be more 00:28:21.480 --> 00:28:28.119 patient. Now I understand my true identity. This 00:28:28.119 --> 00:28:33.539 is why the scriptures were so important. And 00:28:33.539 --> 00:28:35.940 that's why Paul says to Timothy, Timothy, remember 00:28:35.940 --> 00:28:39.119 that these other people, they will reject the 00:28:39.119 --> 00:28:41.900 truth and they will chase after myths. They are 00:28:41.900 --> 00:28:46.480 the ones following myths, not you. But you keep 00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:49.640 a clear mind in every situation because what 00:28:49.640 --> 00:28:54.579 we are after is truth. Because if you're going 00:28:54.579 --> 00:28:58.460 to build your life on a foundation, let that 00:28:58.460 --> 00:29:05.759 foundation be truth, not sand. That's why when 00:29:05.759 --> 00:29:09.500 Jesus said these things, what he's talking about 00:29:09.500 --> 00:29:12.519 is that you build your foundation not on sand, 00:29:12.720 --> 00:29:19.839 but on the rock. And his word is that rock. Because 00:29:19.839 --> 00:29:28.119 his word is truth. So when you go back to that 00:29:28.119 --> 00:29:32.869 idea. You might understand why at ECB we had 00:29:32.869 --> 00:29:35.829 written it down in a doctrinal statement this 00:29:35.829 --> 00:29:38.369 way. By the way, you can find our doctrinal statement 00:29:38.369 --> 00:29:42.230 in our website. But this is what we say. This 00:29:42.230 --> 00:29:45.329 is our conviction. This is what we believe. Would 00:29:45.329 --> 00:29:48.529 you read it with me? The Old and New Testaments. 00:29:49.019 --> 00:29:52.599 Inerrant as originally given. Were verbally inspired 00:29:52.599 --> 00:29:56.420 by God. And are a complete revelation of his 00:29:56.420 --> 00:29:59.700 will for the salvation of people. They constitute 00:29:59.700 --> 00:30:03.380 the divine and only rule of Christian faith and 00:30:03.380 --> 00:30:07.980 practice. Why do we say this? Because this is 00:30:07.980 --> 00:30:13.259 what Paul just told Timothy. And this is where 00:30:13.259 --> 00:30:16.559 Christian churches will start going in different 00:30:16.559 --> 00:30:20.859 ways. Some won't believe that the Bible is God's 00:30:20.859 --> 00:30:23.700 Word. Some will believe that it's kind of God's 00:30:23.700 --> 00:30:26.200 Word in some parts, others are not. Some will 00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:27.920 believe that, yeah, it's God's Word, but it's 00:30:27.920 --> 00:30:30.400 full of errors. You know, that really didn't 00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:32.740 happen. You cannot trust it historically. And 00:30:32.740 --> 00:30:35.299 you're going to have a whole spectrum. Well, 00:30:35.339 --> 00:30:37.299 let me tell you right now so that you know who 00:30:37.299 --> 00:30:42.109 we are. We believe that God's Word... It's inspired 00:30:42.109 --> 00:30:45.710 by him and therefore is the only authority, the 00:30:45.710 --> 00:30:49.430 ultimate authority for life. Not Pastor Pablo, 00:30:49.650 --> 00:30:52.309 not his interpretation of it, but God's word 00:30:52.309 --> 00:30:55.670 itself. Like the Bereans, we engage with the 00:30:55.670 --> 00:30:59.529 scriptures. We reason through it. We are not 00:30:59.529 --> 00:31:03.869 just a multi -international church, but we're 00:31:03.869 --> 00:31:06.069 also a multi -denominational church. We have 00:31:06.069 --> 00:31:08.829 so many denominations here represented from all 00:31:08.829 --> 00:31:11.950 over the world. So we understand that we don't 00:31:11.950 --> 00:31:14.650 agree on every single thing. But we agree to 00:31:14.650 --> 00:31:18.069 disagree. You have the Calvinist right here. 00:31:18.190 --> 00:31:20.210 And you have the free will person right next 00:31:20.210 --> 00:31:23.569 to them. And we all worship God together. And 00:31:23.569 --> 00:31:29.369 we follow Jesus the same. But we believe in the 00:31:29.369 --> 00:31:33.170 authority of the scriptures. And we understand 00:31:33.170 --> 00:31:35.650 that there are things that are complex. We have 00:31:35.650 --> 00:31:38.009 no problem engaging. But there is such a thing 00:31:38.009 --> 00:31:42.000 as truth. And with truth, we don't compromise. 00:31:42.920 --> 00:31:45.900 If it's not biblical, it's not biblical. Period. 00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:51.319 This is how we see it. And we are committed, 00:31:51.480 --> 00:31:54.700 therefore, to preach the word, proclaim it in 00:31:54.700 --> 00:31:58.539 season and out of season because that is what 00:31:58.539 --> 00:32:02.119 Jesus called us, his followers, to do. We are 00:32:02.119 --> 00:32:06.859 representatives of truth in every environment 00:32:06.859 --> 00:32:11.380 we are because we are followers of Jesus. That's 00:32:11.380 --> 00:32:14.559 why when Jesus says, look, if anyone who hears 00:32:14.559 --> 00:32:17.819 my teaching and doesn't obey it, is foolish like 00:32:17.819 --> 00:32:21.240 a person who builds a house on sand. We refuse 00:32:21.240 --> 00:32:25.619 to build our ministry and we refuse to teach 00:32:25.619 --> 00:32:28.279 you to build your life next to a sinkhole. We 00:32:28.279 --> 00:32:34.440 won't. But what does the sinkhole look like? 00:32:36.400 --> 00:32:38.859 What does it look like not to believe in the 00:32:38.859 --> 00:32:41.059 scriptures and not to build your life on it? 00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:45.220 There are three common traits that will happen. 00:32:45.480 --> 00:32:49.059 And I want to point them out to you in case you 00:32:49.059 --> 00:32:50.940 didn't realize that there's a single forming 00:32:50.940 --> 00:32:57.539 next to you. Ignorance, distrust, and disobedience. 00:32:59.180 --> 00:33:02.920 Ignorance is that you didn't even look at the 00:33:02.920 --> 00:33:05.910 terrain before you built the house. You just 00:33:05.910 --> 00:33:09.529 start building. And you are building your life 00:33:09.529 --> 00:33:12.730 without really knowing the scriptures. And you 00:33:12.730 --> 00:33:14.650 are making decisions without even consulting 00:33:14.650 --> 00:33:18.549 what God says about it. You need to know the 00:33:18.549 --> 00:33:22.230 scriptures because ignorance will keep you from 00:33:22.230 --> 00:33:25.230 the right path or will lead you and mislead you 00:33:25.230 --> 00:33:27.369 in the wrong path. Let me give you an example. 00:33:29.089 --> 00:33:32.849 I have two statements here. A, there is no God. 00:33:33.029 --> 00:33:37.539 B, God helps those who help themselves. Okay, 00:33:37.599 --> 00:33:39.700 I'm going to give you a few seconds to read it 00:33:39.700 --> 00:33:47.220 again. That means thumbs up. Okay. Now, I mean 00:33:47.220 --> 00:33:52.700 thumbs up, I should say. Now, which one of those 00:33:52.700 --> 00:33:55.779 two assertions are you going to find in the Bible? 00:33:56.940 --> 00:33:58.839 You have to tell me. Well, you don't tell me, 00:33:58.839 --> 00:34:03.920 okay, but you have to answer it. Yeah. Say, Pastor 00:34:03.920 --> 00:34:06.599 Pablo, this is so easy. Come on. Are you trying 00:34:06.599 --> 00:34:09.719 to trick me? Of course the Bible doesn't say 00:34:09.719 --> 00:34:13.719 there's no God. I mean, we know Jesus is God, 00:34:13.960 --> 00:34:18.920 right? Right? Right? And yeah, God helps those 00:34:18.920 --> 00:34:22.179 who help themselves. Of course. I remember hearing, 00:34:22.280 --> 00:34:24.679 what was it, like the pastor the other time? 00:34:24.800 --> 00:34:27.920 He mentioned that and when we prayed or something. 00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:34.980 Isn't that found in Philippians 1 .6? Okay, so 00:34:34.980 --> 00:34:37.980 if you said B is going to be found in the Bible, 00:34:38.059 --> 00:34:41.539 you're wrong. That's a common saying that many 00:34:41.539 --> 00:34:43.400 Christians will say here and there, but that 00:34:43.400 --> 00:34:46.960 doesn't appear in the Bible. It's actually poor 00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:50.519 theology as well. But this is a common saying 00:34:50.519 --> 00:34:54.539 the Bible doesn't say. A, the Bible does say 00:34:54.539 --> 00:35:00.099 there is no God. What? You say, no, I'm uncomfortable. 00:35:00.360 --> 00:35:03.840 Should we fire you now? Yeah. The Bible says 00:35:03.840 --> 00:35:08.179 there's no God. Did you know that? I'll show 00:35:08.179 --> 00:35:12.300 you. Psalm 53 .1. The fool says in his heart, 00:35:12.460 --> 00:35:20.139 there is no God. You see how anyone can quote 00:35:20.139 --> 00:35:22.480 the Bible and mislead you into a teaching that 00:35:22.480 --> 00:35:27.360 is not true. And just because the person published 00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:33.590 a book with a view doesn't make it true. You 00:35:33.590 --> 00:35:36.050 and I need to be like the Bereans. We need to 00:35:36.050 --> 00:35:39.949 know the scriptures. Read it. Study it. Learn 00:35:39.949 --> 00:35:42.889 it. Because if we don't, we will become susceptible 00:35:42.889 --> 00:35:46.090 to the myths and deceptions that many people 00:35:46.090 --> 00:35:50.130 will follow. And God doesn't want you to be one 00:35:50.130 --> 00:35:52.750 of them. He wants you to be rooted in the word. 00:35:54.150 --> 00:35:57.690 But then there's the second one. Distrust. Distrust 00:35:57.690 --> 00:36:00.369 is this idea that you slowly start thinking. 00:36:00.940 --> 00:36:04.199 Yeah, I see what it says, but no, I don't think 00:36:04.199 --> 00:36:08.219 that really happened. No, that's too good to 00:36:08.219 --> 00:36:15.079 be true. No, that, if I do that, will really 00:36:15.079 --> 00:36:18.260 lead me to a good future. No, maybe God didn't 00:36:18.260 --> 00:36:23.440 mean that. And you slowly start distrusting the 00:36:23.440 --> 00:36:27.050 word. And you don't engage with it as if it's 00:36:27.050 --> 00:36:30.289 God's inspired word. You engage with it as if 00:36:30.289 --> 00:36:33.690 it's full of misleading information that is going 00:36:33.690 --> 00:36:37.030 to lead you to the wrong place. It's like you 00:36:37.030 --> 00:36:39.289 trust Google Maps more than you trust the Bible, 00:36:39.449 --> 00:36:41.309 you know, when you're driving around Bangkok. 00:36:42.030 --> 00:36:44.230 Okay, Google says something must be true, you 00:36:44.230 --> 00:36:46.369 know, and then you go until you realize, what? 00:36:46.769 --> 00:36:50.389 Right? That is not right here. You know, it's 00:36:50.389 --> 00:36:52.050 like you have no idea what you're doing. You 00:36:52.050 --> 00:36:55.079 find yourself talking to the phone. You know, 00:36:55.119 --> 00:37:00.699 the Bible is not like Google Maps. It will never 00:37:00.699 --> 00:37:04.719 mislead you. And when God says, this is the truth, 00:37:04.920 --> 00:37:07.860 then God means it. This is the truth. You can 00:37:07.860 --> 00:37:13.039 trust it. There was a man that grew up in a Christian 00:37:13.039 --> 00:37:17.460 home, at least with a Christian mother. And so 00:37:17.460 --> 00:37:20.800 he went to church. He believed in the Bible. 00:37:20.880 --> 00:37:23.639 He would read the Bible. And he started growing 00:37:23.639 --> 00:37:25.780 a little bit older. He became a young adult. 00:37:27.199 --> 00:37:31.099 And he loved science. So he started studying 00:37:31.099 --> 00:37:33.440 biology and he started traveling around the world 00:37:33.440 --> 00:37:38.340 in these ships. And people would make fun of 00:37:38.340 --> 00:37:42.059 him because he believed in the Bible. So slowly 00:37:42.059 --> 00:37:46.559 he started thinking, maybe it is weird to believe 00:37:46.559 --> 00:37:50.219 in the Bible. Maybe I shouldn't believe in the 00:37:50.219 --> 00:37:52.780 Bible. Maybe the Bible is not true. So he started 00:37:52.780 --> 00:37:57.800 questioning. And then he started thinking, but 00:37:57.800 --> 00:38:00.539 in reality, how do I know this is true? There's 00:38:00.539 --> 00:38:03.260 no archaeological evidence that says any of these 00:38:03.260 --> 00:38:06.739 things are true. No evidence at all. So he would 00:38:06.739 --> 00:38:10.559 go to bed at night, imagining it would be cool 00:38:10.559 --> 00:38:13.880 if we discover something like a coin or something 00:38:13.880 --> 00:38:17.539 from the Roman period that would show that the 00:38:17.539 --> 00:38:21.230 Bible is true. Wouldn't that be great? So he 00:38:21.230 --> 00:38:25.010 will make up in his mind evidence that was never 00:38:25.010 --> 00:38:29.630 found. Until one day, he became convinced that 00:38:29.630 --> 00:38:34.550 the Bible wasn't true. It was just another myth. 00:38:35.110 --> 00:38:37.889 That he had been deceived. And that the idea 00:38:37.889 --> 00:38:40.070 that this Jesus had come and died for people, 00:38:40.250 --> 00:38:43.030 even though he kind of believed it a little bit 00:38:43.030 --> 00:38:46.389 here and there growing up, now he realized, nah. 00:38:46.840 --> 00:38:49.320 That cannot be true. How God would send people 00:38:49.320 --> 00:38:56.460 to hell just for not believing in him. That man 00:38:56.460 --> 00:39:03.659 died an agnostic. And his name is Charles Darwin. 00:39:04.539 --> 00:39:07.780 Charles Darwin was the proponent of the theory 00:39:07.780 --> 00:39:11.519 of evolution. And he lived in the 1800s where 00:39:11.519 --> 00:39:14.739 there was no archaeological discoveries yet because 00:39:14.739 --> 00:39:17.320 archaeology as a field was not even started yet 00:39:17.320 --> 00:39:23.960 as it is today. But I studied his life. I spent 00:39:23.960 --> 00:39:26.280 years also studying the theory of evolution. 00:39:26.820 --> 00:39:31.579 And last time I visited London, I went to his 00:39:31.579 --> 00:39:34.420 house, which is a museum, and I walked into his 00:39:34.420 --> 00:39:39.880 room. I got to see the bed where he died. And 00:39:39.880 --> 00:39:43.079 I reflected on so many things about his life 00:39:43.079 --> 00:39:47.139 because he had a daughter that died out of an 00:39:47.139 --> 00:39:50.500 illness and God didn't heal her. And that also 00:39:50.500 --> 00:39:53.400 impacted his faith. He felt deeply disappointed 00:39:53.400 --> 00:40:00.460 with God. But he wrote his autobiography. And 00:40:00.460 --> 00:40:02.579 he tells us this journey in his own words. And 00:40:02.579 --> 00:40:05.179 I want you to see it because in these words you 00:40:05.179 --> 00:40:09.139 capture. What this process that Paul is warning 00:40:09.139 --> 00:40:14.719 Timothy about happens. I have gradually come 00:40:14.719 --> 00:40:17.780 by this time to see that the Old Testament from 00:40:17.780 --> 00:40:20.599 its false history of the world was no more to 00:40:20.599 --> 00:40:23.199 be trusted than the sacred books of the Hindus 00:40:23.199 --> 00:40:26.260 or the beliefs of any barbarian. Just another 00:40:26.260 --> 00:40:32.380 myth. Beautiful is the morality of the New Testament. 00:40:32.739 --> 00:40:36.119 It can hardly be denied. That its perfection 00:40:36.119 --> 00:40:40.880 depends in part on the interpretation which we 00:40:40.880 --> 00:40:44.039 now put on metaphors and allegories. Because 00:40:44.039 --> 00:40:47.260 that's all it is, just a metaphor, an allegory. 00:40:48.440 --> 00:40:52.480 I can well remember often inventing daydreams 00:40:52.480 --> 00:40:55.239 of all letters between distinguished Romans and 00:40:55.239 --> 00:40:57.960 manuscripts being discovered which confirmed 00:40:57.960 --> 00:41:01.659 in the most striking manner all that was written 00:41:01.659 --> 00:41:05.469 in the Gospels. Of course. He didn't know about 00:41:05.469 --> 00:41:10.849 the Dead Sea Scrolls at that time. But I found 00:41:10.849 --> 00:41:14.610 it more and more difficult with free scope given 00:41:14.610 --> 00:41:18.550 to my imagination to invent evidence which would 00:41:18.550 --> 00:41:25.469 suffice to convince me. Thus, this belief crept 00:41:25.469 --> 00:41:30.329 over me at a very slow rate but was at last complete. 00:41:30.969 --> 00:41:33.690 The raid was so slow that I felt no distress 00:41:33.690 --> 00:41:38.010 and have never since doubted, even for a single 00:41:38.010 --> 00:41:42.710 second, that my conclusion was correct. I can 00:41:42.710 --> 00:41:45.650 indeed hardly see how anyone ought to wish Christianity 00:41:45.650 --> 00:41:48.730 to be true. For if so, the plain language of 00:41:48.730 --> 00:41:51.409 the text seems to show that the men who do not 00:41:51.409 --> 00:41:54.250 believe, and this would include my father, my 00:41:54.250 --> 00:41:57.070 brother, and almost all my best friends, they 00:41:57.070 --> 00:42:00.400 will be everlastingly punished. And this is a 00:42:00.400 --> 00:42:04.739 damnable doctrine. By such reflections as these, 00:42:04.820 --> 00:42:07.800 I gradually came to disbelieve in Christianity 00:42:07.800 --> 00:42:15.280 as a divine revelation. And that's it. Can you 00:42:15.280 --> 00:42:19.159 hear the process of disbelief creeping in him? 00:42:19.960 --> 00:42:22.360 The sad thing is that if he would have lived 00:42:22.360 --> 00:42:25.519 in the next century, it would be a whole different 00:42:25.519 --> 00:42:29.179 story. Because all the archaeological evidence 00:42:29.179 --> 00:42:32.039 that we have abundantly today that corroborates 00:42:32.039 --> 00:42:35.219 ancient history from the Old Testament, starting 00:42:35.219 --> 00:42:37.460 even in the book of Genesis, the life of Abraham 00:42:37.460 --> 00:42:40.559 and Joseph, all the way until the New Testament, 00:42:40.699 --> 00:42:43.920 is abundant. Let me show you a couple of them 00:42:43.920 --> 00:42:45.719 quickly in case you did not know any of these 00:42:45.719 --> 00:42:48.139 things. You can go to the ruins of the city of 00:42:48.139 --> 00:42:50.679 Jericho today that have been already studied 00:42:50.679 --> 00:42:53.619 for many decades. And more and more evidence 00:42:53.619 --> 00:42:56.019 is being discovered that corroborates the account 00:42:56.019 --> 00:42:58.559 of Joshua. How it was destroyed and all these 00:42:58.559 --> 00:43:03.059 things and the timeline of these events. Today 00:43:03.059 --> 00:43:06.179 you can actually see little things like a seal 00:43:06.179 --> 00:43:08.280 that has the name of King Hezekiah of the Old 00:43:08.280 --> 00:43:11.800 Testament. Or also prophet Isaiah from the Old 00:43:11.800 --> 00:43:13.840 Testament. These are things outside the Bible 00:43:13.840 --> 00:43:18.440 itself. And they are all 2 ,700 years before 00:43:18.440 --> 00:43:23.329 Christ. One of the latest discoveries from early 00:43:23.329 --> 00:43:27.010 Christianity corroborates that Christians from 00:43:27.010 --> 00:43:29.369 the first century already believed that Jesus 00:43:29.369 --> 00:43:31.989 was truly God. And there's this mosaic called 00:43:31.989 --> 00:43:34.090 the Megiddo mosaic that was discovered in Israel 00:43:34.090 --> 00:43:37.730 from all places in a prison. And when they discovered 00:43:37.730 --> 00:43:41.070 this mosaic, they had to now do restoration and 00:43:41.070 --> 00:43:44.170 then they were able to remove it. And it says 00:43:44.170 --> 00:43:47.110 very specifically there, God, Jesus Christ is 00:43:47.110 --> 00:43:51.860 the first. Assertion of Jesus being divine by 00:43:51.860 --> 00:43:55.219 people that worship him that way. Early attestation 00:43:55.219 --> 00:43:59.179 of these things. There are archaeological societies 00:43:59.179 --> 00:44:01.920 that you can find today. That you can go to their 00:44:01.920 --> 00:44:04.360 website or you can buy their magazines. You can 00:44:04.360 --> 00:44:06.760 go to YouTube. There are a couple of YouTubes 00:44:06.760 --> 00:44:08.360 that are very helpful that I want to share with 00:44:08.360 --> 00:44:11.019 you. I often watch some of these things because 00:44:11.019 --> 00:44:13.119 I love these things. This is my area of study 00:44:13.119 --> 00:44:15.760 as well. But Patterns of Evidence is a man that 00:44:15.760 --> 00:44:20.559 did all these excellent documentaries. to analyze 00:44:20.559 --> 00:44:23.239 what is the archaeological and historical evidence 00:44:23.239 --> 00:44:28.119 for the Pentateuch, for Moses, for the escaping 00:44:28.119 --> 00:44:30.380 of Egypt, going into the Promised Land. All of 00:44:30.380 --> 00:44:35.019 that, absolutely well done. And you get to hear 00:44:35.019 --> 00:44:38.099 from all the different people involved in those 00:44:38.099 --> 00:44:40.500 fields, from those that deny that there's any 00:44:40.500 --> 00:44:42.659 biblical evidence, to those that corroborate 00:44:42.659 --> 00:44:45.300 and say, yeah, here it is. If you want to learn 00:44:45.300 --> 00:44:47.820 more about that, go to Patterns of Evidence. 00:44:48.750 --> 00:44:51.769 Expedition Bible is an archaeologist, Joel Kramer, 00:44:51.969 --> 00:44:55.849 who takes you to lots of different places and 00:44:55.849 --> 00:44:58.269 he shows you what is the archaeological discovery 00:44:58.269 --> 00:45:01.190 and how it corroborates with the biblical evidence. 00:45:01.369 --> 00:45:04.150 Amazing. You will love all of these. You can 00:45:04.150 --> 00:45:06.969 even see the biblical evidence and the archaeological 00:45:06.969 --> 00:45:11.070 evidence for who is the pharaoh of Egypt. The 00:45:11.070 --> 00:45:15.179 one that... His son died because of the plagues. 00:45:15.219 --> 00:45:17.400 And when Moses is leaving, all of this stuff 00:45:17.400 --> 00:45:20.820 is out there. Unbelievable. Sergio and Rod in 00:45:20.820 --> 00:45:23.039 Israel is a couple of Christians that live in 00:45:23.039 --> 00:45:25.780 Nazareth. And they have created all these videos 00:45:25.780 --> 00:45:28.500 where they show you different places of biblical 00:45:28.500 --> 00:45:32.019 significance. And they're fun. It's like a reality 00:45:32.019 --> 00:45:35.000 TV show kind of thing. It's just fun to watch 00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:37.699 them. If you are interested in learning more 00:45:37.699 --> 00:45:39.880 about any of these things, go to these places. 00:45:40.500 --> 00:45:44.099 But even better, We have a gift for you that 00:45:44.099 --> 00:45:47.039 we want to give you because we want you to be 00:45:47.039 --> 00:45:49.179 like the Bereans. We want you to engage with 00:45:49.179 --> 00:45:51.800 the word. And we have something that is called 00:45:51.800 --> 00:45:56.300 Right Now Media. Imagine like Netflix, but Christian. 00:45:56.840 --> 00:46:00.139 It's a selection of videos that has documentaries 00:46:00.139 --> 00:46:02.380 and Bible studies and different things for children 00:46:02.380 --> 00:46:07.360 and adults alike. Just do this QR code and you 00:46:07.360 --> 00:46:10.579 will be able to create your account that is sponsored 00:46:10.579 --> 00:46:14.670 by ECB. And no strings attached. There's not 00:46:14.670 --> 00:46:17.889 a little footprint. There's no cost for you, 00:46:17.929 --> 00:46:21.469 really. We want you to have access to this information. 00:46:22.909 --> 00:46:29.469 Do not let ignorance or distrust push you into 00:46:29.469 --> 00:46:35.409 this thing hole. But the last one is disobedience. 00:46:37.010 --> 00:46:39.349 It's when you start learning what God says and 00:46:39.349 --> 00:46:43.480 you decide not to do it. And oh man, thou will 00:46:43.480 --> 00:46:47.820 always grab you in. Can I tell you one more story 00:46:47.820 --> 00:46:51.239 before I finish this study? It's a fascinating 00:46:51.239 --> 00:46:54.539 story that I love when I read the words of it. 00:46:54.619 --> 00:46:58.059 Because it's also an autobiography. But not like 00:46:58.059 --> 00:47:04.280 Charles Darwin's. It doesn't take you into the 00:47:04.280 --> 00:47:09.280 sinkhole. It gets you out of it. This is a man 00:47:09.280 --> 00:47:13.360 that was an atheist. or agnostic man, who was 00:47:13.360 --> 00:47:17.500 living a sexually promiscuous life. He was selling 00:47:17.500 --> 00:47:23.940 drugs. And then he ended up in prison. And he 00:47:23.940 --> 00:47:27.900 comes to know Jesus while he's in prison. And 00:47:27.900 --> 00:47:32.780 from being this agnostic man, drug dealer, he 00:47:32.780 --> 00:47:36.360 becomes a follower of Jesus, a professor of theology 00:47:36.360 --> 00:47:40.070 at Moody Bible Institute. It's like, how do you 00:47:40.070 --> 00:47:43.250 get from there to here? Remember the scriptures 00:47:43.250 --> 00:47:48.869 to equip you for every good work. So this is 00:47:48.869 --> 00:47:52.489 what Christopher says. That night as I lay in 00:47:52.489 --> 00:47:55.730 prison, in a prison cell bed, I noticed something 00:47:55.730 --> 00:47:59.929 scribbled on the metal bank above me. If you're 00:47:59.929 --> 00:48:06.030 bored, read Jeremiah 29, 11. So I did and was 00:48:06.030 --> 00:48:09.409 intrigued by the promise I read there. I know 00:48:09.409 --> 00:48:11.969 the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, 00:48:12.130 --> 00:48:16.630 plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you 00:48:16.630 --> 00:48:21.469 a future and a hope. Can you imagine him reading 00:48:21.469 --> 00:48:26.090 the word of God, inspired by God, designed to 00:48:26.090 --> 00:48:29.429 teach him truth and correct his wrong so that 00:48:29.429 --> 00:48:31.590 he can be fully equipped for every good work? 00:48:32.710 --> 00:48:36.329 And he is there reading these words. This is 00:48:36.329 --> 00:48:41.250 what he says. I read the Bible more and more. 00:48:41.789 --> 00:48:46.090 As I did, I realized I'd placed my identity in 00:48:46.090 --> 00:48:49.610 the wrong thing. The world tells those of us 00:48:49.610 --> 00:48:52.530 with same -sex attraction that our sexuality 00:48:52.530 --> 00:48:58.130 is the core of who we are. But God's word paints 00:48:58.130 --> 00:49:02.250 quite a different picture. Genesis 127 informs 00:49:02.250 --> 00:49:05.920 us that we are all created. In the image of God. 00:49:06.059 --> 00:49:08.760 And the apostle Paul says that in Christ we live 00:49:08.760 --> 00:49:13.440 and move and have our being. Thus my identity 00:49:13.440 --> 00:49:19.380 is not gay or ex -gay or even straight. My true 00:49:19.380 --> 00:49:24.639 identity is in Jesus Christ alone. Clarity comes 00:49:24.639 --> 00:49:28.039 not by trying to decide which approach is more 00:49:28.039 --> 00:49:31.300 compassionate. But by observing which approach 00:49:31.300 --> 00:49:34.730 is grounded. In the correct version of truth. 00:49:35.809 --> 00:49:41.070 God's truth. With good intentions. We may rush 00:49:41.070 --> 00:49:44.349 into doing. What's right. But if we don't begin. 00:49:44.650 --> 00:49:48.269 With right thinking. There's a good chance. We 00:49:48.269 --> 00:49:55.030 could be doing. What's wrong. Living in disobedience. 00:49:55.050 --> 00:49:57.690 Until the word of God started convicting him. 00:49:58.570 --> 00:50:02.070 Transforming his perspective. And he allowed 00:50:02.070 --> 00:50:07.260 it. And because he allowed the work of the word 00:50:07.260 --> 00:50:10.260 of God to start transforming his heart and he 00:50:10.260 --> 00:50:14.320 repented. He aligned himself with the word. Time 00:50:14.320 --> 00:50:18.679 after time after time. Suddenly his life changed 00:50:18.679 --> 00:50:24.909 completely. You can read. His story and more 00:50:24.909 --> 00:50:28.789 about now his full understanding of sexuality 00:50:28.789 --> 00:50:31.929 in his book, Holy Sexuality and the Gospel. And 00:50:31.929 --> 00:50:34.329 if you do not know anything about him, you can 00:50:34.329 --> 00:50:37.190 go to YouTube and find Christopher Yuan and you 00:50:37.190 --> 00:50:40.590 will find his testimony, powerful stuff. But 00:50:40.590 --> 00:50:43.650 ignorance, distrust or disobedience will drag 00:50:43.650 --> 00:50:47.010 you into the sinkhole. And I'm here to remind 00:50:47.010 --> 00:50:52.530 you, ECB is a place where we believe. In the 00:50:52.530 --> 00:50:56.409 conviction of being rooted in the word. We understand 00:50:56.409 --> 00:50:59.730 that there's a wrestling in the journey. And 00:50:59.730 --> 00:51:03.010 we are here to wrestle with you. We are here 00:51:03.010 --> 00:51:06.329 not to hit you with the Bible on the head. We 00:51:06.329 --> 00:51:08.690 are here to open it so we can reason together. 00:51:09.769 --> 00:51:14.849 Because God wants you to know and understand 00:51:14.849 --> 00:51:18.210 truth. Because the Holy Spirit is the spirit 00:51:18.210 --> 00:51:21.369 of truth. And he will guide you into all truth. 00:51:21.849 --> 00:51:26.170 And we will walk this journey together. But whatever 00:51:26.170 --> 00:51:31.730 you do. Don't be foolish. And build your life 00:51:31.730 --> 00:51:36.909 next to the single. So I conclude this study 00:51:36.909 --> 00:51:38.710 with this simple question. Are you rooted in 00:51:38.710 --> 00:51:44.449 the word? Lord. Thank you for your word. And 00:51:44.449 --> 00:51:47.730 for the reminder that. Yes, there are hundreds 00:51:47.730 --> 00:51:52.449 of voices out there telling us their own truth. 00:51:56.170 --> 00:51:59.250 But you did not say that you want to teach us 00:51:59.250 --> 00:52:05.769 your version of truth or your own truth. You 00:52:05.769 --> 00:52:10.630 told us you want to teach us the truth. Because 00:52:10.630 --> 00:52:13.449 Jesus, you said, I am the way, the truth, and 00:52:13.449 --> 00:52:15.929 the life. No one comes to the Father except through 00:52:15.929 --> 00:52:18.510 me. You said that the Holy Spirit that you will 00:52:18.510 --> 00:52:20.869 give us is the spirit of truth. You said that 00:52:20.869 --> 00:52:23.429 your word was inspired by God to teach us what 00:52:23.429 --> 00:52:28.750 is true. So Lord, we are here to align ourselves 00:52:28.750 --> 00:52:32.070 with you. And if there's anything that is holding 00:52:32.070 --> 00:52:37.110 back from being rooted in the word, please do 00:52:37.110 --> 00:52:39.980 whatever it takes. that we may be aligned with 00:52:39.980 --> 00:53:06.289 you in Jesus' name. Amen. If God is calling you 00:53:06.289 --> 00:53:09.030 to support our ministries, you will find giving 00:53:09.030 --> 00:53:12.829 options on our website. And remember to join 00:53:12.829 --> 00:53:14.889 us next week. God bless you.