WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.240 Hello. Good morning, everyone, and Happy New Year to you all. 00:00:04.299 --> 00:00:09.040 If you've not met me before, I'm named Steve, the lead pastor here at St. Paul's. 00:00:09.599 --> 00:00:15.599 I hope that this year, 2026, is a year of you know God's richest blessings. 00:00:16.600 --> 00:00:21.320 One of the things, I'm not sure what you have planned so far in your New Year's resolutions 00:00:21.320 --> 00:00:26.679 and what you're hoping for 2026, but one of the things that we can all look forward to 00:00:26.679 --> 00:00:35.920 in 2026 is that it is a census year, and so expect that at some point this year to have 00:00:35.920 --> 00:00:41.140 people knocking on your door and having copious amounts of questions about your life to fill out. 00:00:42.280 --> 00:00:51.060 The last national census we had, happens every five years, 2021, revealed that 45% of our 00:00:51.060 --> 00:01:02.880 neighbourhood here in Chatswood have no religious belief at all. In fact, it is more than 10% higher 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:12.340 than the average in New South Wales and across Australia, so we are a highly non-religious area 00:01:12.340 --> 00:01:19.280 where we are. We also rate rated much lower than the state and the national average. 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:24.519 For those who are claiming, those who do have religious belief, those who are claiming to have 00:01:24.519 --> 00:01:30.780 a Christian faith. So not only are we not religious, we are very low when it comes to 00:01:30.780 --> 00:01:39.780 the idea of those who would identify as Christian. And so as we kick off a brand new year in 2026, 00:01:39.780 --> 00:01:48.040 the question I'm asking is, is it reasonable to be a Christian? Not just in this area, but is it reasonable 00:01:48.040 --> 00:01:56.880 to be Christian at all? And so over the next four weeks, we're going to be unpacking that question. 00:01:58.020 --> 00:02:04.640 And really, the answer to it, we're going to keep landing on is very much a resounding yes. 00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:14.120 As time goes on, more and more are resounding yes. We'll be exploring why faith in Jesus Christ 00:02:14.120 --> 00:02:26.180 is reasonable, why it's plausible, why it is good, why it is desirable, in fact. And so if you are, 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:37.360 for instance, maybe an agnostic, tuning in over the next few weeks, I want to ask whether you are 100% 00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:49.180 certain that you want to stay uncertain about God. If you are a sceptic tuning in, I maybe want you to 00:02:49.180 --> 00:03:02.840 consider what kind of God it is whose existence that you would deem implausible. What kind of God 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:09.379 would that be? And if you are a Christian tuning in, my hope is in the next few weeks, 00:03:09.980 --> 00:03:19.520 you become more confident in terms of hope in Jesus, but also that you would be more confident 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:26.140 that it is good and plausible and right and desirable to continue to grow deeper in Jesus 00:03:26.139 --> 00:03:33.939 in 2026 and you'd have a plan to do so. And so this morning, what I'm really wanting to do is just 00:03:33.939 --> 00:03:41.899 to briefly consider whether it's reasonable to be a person of faith in an increasingly secular era and 00:03:41.899 --> 00:03:48.739 neighbourhood, and whether it is reasonable to have faith in God and particularly to have faith in Jesus. 00:03:48.740 --> 00:04:01.340 That's our journey this morning. So is faith reasonable? Now, history is full of famous and brilliant people 00:04:01.340 --> 00:04:11.640 looking at evidence for God's existence and moving in two totally different directions. At the one end, 00:04:11.780 --> 00:04:17.400 for instance, you might have the British mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell. 00:04:17.399 --> 00:04:30.759 He was asked very late in life, you know, if he, what he would say if he discovered there was in fact a God 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:39.359 after he died. What would you say in that moment? And his reply was, God, you didn't give us enough evidence. 00:04:40.299 --> 00:04:46.679 That would be his reply. On the other hand, you've got other people on the other end of the spectrum, 00:04:46.680 --> 00:04:53.800 again, likewise, brilliant people, famous people, Elizabeth Anscombe, who may not be famous to you all, 00:04:53.879 --> 00:04:59.480 but in actual fact, one of the most famous philosophers in the English language, Elizabeth 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:10.379 Anselm, she actually looked at the evidence for God and moved from atheism towards and to Christianity. 00:05:10.379 --> 00:05:17.079 So looking at the same evidence and at the same time as Bertrand Russell and moved in two different directions. 00:05:18.339 --> 00:05:25.319 And the list on both sides is long and distinguished. So how do we account for that? How do you account 00:05:25.319 --> 00:05:29.300 that you've got same people looking at the same or different people look at the same evidence and going 00:05:29.300 --> 00:05:37.019 in two different directions? Now, the more common argument used today in our culture to solve that 00:05:37.019 --> 00:05:48.779 problem is that religious people, they ground their life in a thing called faith, but secular people 00:05:48.779 --> 00:05:59.839 ground their life in logic and reason and science. Hence, the title of this series is Let's Be Reasonable. 00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:09.599 Religious people have faith and something deep inside of them that they need fulfilling and they 00:06:09.599 --> 00:06:17.259 therefore have a bias towards religion and an emotional need to believe in something beyond 00:06:17.259 --> 00:06:25.199 themselves. Secular people are just, well, they're just not, they're just unbiased. They don't have that 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:35.120 bias, they're objective and they look at life entirely rationally. That's how it's generally argued in our 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:44.360 society nowadays. And frankly, it's just simply not true. In his book, A Secular Age, Charles Taylor, 00:06:45.480 --> 00:06:53.719 what he calls this view, the subtraction story. This is where a person might say, well, you know, 00:06:53.720 --> 00:06:59.320 I used to believe in God and the supernatural, but because of science, because of reason, 00:07:00.020 --> 00:07:09.900 I just subtracted God. And now I just see things the way they actually are. You know, I'm just unbiased. 00:07:10.300 --> 00:07:15.660 It's a common view that, you know, you'll see an atheist will debate with a Christian. 00:07:16.420 --> 00:07:21.760 You believe in one God, what about everyone else who believes in multiple gods? You've deleted all 00:07:21.759 --> 00:07:26.319 those other gods and I've just gone one extra step and deleted your God as well. That's all I've done. 00:07:26.740 --> 00:07:30.719 The same principle. That's how an atheist will argue with the subtraction of story. 00:07:31.620 --> 00:07:44.240 The reality is though, to move from belief in God to non-belief is a shift from one set of beliefs 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:51.660 beliefs to an entirely new set of beliefs. It is not a move from belief to non-belief. 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:56.939 It is a move from one set of beliefs to an entirely new set of beliefs. 00:07:58.019 --> 00:08:05.199 One of the very first sets of beliefs a secular person adopts, an atheist will adopt, 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:16.240 is called exclusive rationalism. And it's the belief that science is the only arbiter of what is real 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:25.500 and factual and that nothing should be believed that unless it can be decisively proven with evidence 00:08:25.500 --> 00:08:36.460 and observation. Now, that sounds reasonable. It's, of course, it's actually irrational, but it sounds reasonable. 00:08:38.940 --> 00:08:49.539 For instance, just take that statement on the board. What is, for instance, the observable proof? 00:08:49.539 --> 00:08:57.039 What is the factual evidence that that statement is true? 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:06.860 That is, the very claim of exclusive rationality can't even meet its own criteria. 00:09:09.219 --> 00:09:13.919 That statement can't be proven factually at all. 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:20.959 Even reason and proof must start with faith in reason and proof. 00:09:22.319 --> 00:09:31.219 In some kind of concept, exclusive rationality depends on the belief that human senses, 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:37.279 our eyes, our ears, our minds, our memories, are not tricking us in any way. 00:09:38.279 --> 00:09:40.539 It has to start with that assumption. 00:09:40.539 --> 00:10:03.079 Observation and scientific evidence can neither prove that there is a God nor disprove that there is a God. 00:10:03.559 --> 00:10:05.339 They can't do either of those things. 00:10:05.340 --> 00:10:12.980 And so all varieties of secularism are set to beliefs, 00:10:13.980 --> 00:10:19.780 not just simply the absence of a belief or the absence of faith. 00:10:20.860 --> 00:10:22.379 And therefore, it needs to be proven. 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:32.639 I saw an interview between the comedian Ricky Gervais and US comedian, talk show host Stephen Colbert. 00:10:32.639 --> 00:10:39.159 Gervais is an agnostic atheist. 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:41.419 Colbert is a confused Catholic. 00:10:42.199 --> 00:10:43.519 So they go well together. 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:51.019 And Gervais was explaining how his entire worldview relied completely on science. 00:10:52.139 --> 00:10:53.080 That was it. 00:10:53.159 --> 00:10:58.340 Completely on science, evidence, fact, logic to explain all things. 00:10:58.340 --> 00:11:02.480 He made it clear that he was not a person of faith. 00:11:02.540 --> 00:11:04.460 He had no faith at all whatsoever. 00:11:04.740 --> 00:11:08.340 He was just purely a person of logic and fact. 00:11:09.399 --> 00:11:19.180 He then made a comment in the course of the interview about how the universe started from this freakish, 00:11:19.660 --> 00:11:24.740 minuscule burst of light that happened billions of years ago. 00:11:24.740 --> 00:11:28.539 And Colbert, in this moment, was very sharp, very quick. 00:11:28.899 --> 00:11:32.500 He jumped in and said, can you actually prove that statement? 00:11:36.500 --> 00:11:38.279 Can you actually prove that statement? 00:11:40.100 --> 00:11:45.139 He said, aren't you just relying upon what Stephen Hawkins himself was, 00:11:45.860 --> 00:11:48.320 declared an opinion? 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:56.000 And at that moment, you can see Gervais was really thrown back a little bit. 00:11:56.160 --> 00:11:58.140 And then Colbert jumps in and rescues the thing. 00:11:58.220 --> 00:12:00.120 And they had a bit of a laugh and they moved on kind of stuff. 00:12:00.580 --> 00:12:04.940 But in other words, what he did was, it was actually a step of faith. 00:12:06.420 --> 00:12:07.980 It was actually a step of faith. 00:12:08.060 --> 00:12:14.880 His entire worldview was began with a step of faith, with a belief in something. 00:12:14.879 --> 00:12:24.059 You see, theism nor atheism can be 100% proven by data. 00:12:25.639 --> 00:12:32.779 They are systems of thinking and believing that need to be compared to one another 00:12:32.779 --> 00:12:35.980 to determine which one makes the most sense, 00:12:36.179 --> 00:12:42.480 which makes the most sense of our experience of things we know and need to explain, 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:46.659 which one makes the most sense of our social experience 00:12:46.659 --> 00:12:52.500 and addresses the problems we face in living together as human society. 00:12:53.740 --> 00:13:01.980 And which of these is most logically consistent internally as a belief system, 00:13:02.180 --> 00:13:06.620 without importing ideas from other worldviews and systems? 00:13:06.620 --> 00:13:09.700 Which brings me to the second point. 00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:12.220 Is faith in God reasonable? 00:13:15.139 --> 00:13:21.200 If, therefore, we can establish that all people exercise faith to some degree, 00:13:21.399 --> 00:13:24.600 is it reasonable to have faith in a God? 00:13:25.899 --> 00:13:32.620 Believers in God have argued that God's existence cannot be proven empirically 00:13:32.620 --> 00:13:39.720 empirically as if God were like a physical object that you can put in a science lab and test. 00:13:40.679 --> 00:13:47.799 But the existence of God can be logically inferred. 00:13:48.460 --> 00:13:49.560 Logically inferred. 00:13:50.500 --> 00:13:58.019 And, in fact, many scientific theories work on exactly the same principle, 00:13:58.019 --> 00:14:02.079 the logical inference that something is true. 00:14:03.199 --> 00:14:08.059 Physics is mainly based on logical inference. 00:14:09.980 --> 00:14:18.220 And Christianity suggests there are very significant clues that point to the existence of God. 00:14:18.840 --> 00:14:26.220 Psalm 19 in the Old Testament tells us that God has put his fingerprints everywhere in the universe. 00:14:26.220 --> 00:14:28.540 The heavens declare the glory of God. 00:14:28.680 --> 00:14:30.800 The skies proclaim the work of his hands. 00:14:30.899 --> 00:14:32.899 Day after day, they pour forth speech. 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:35.139 Night after night, they reveal knowledge. 00:14:35.740 --> 00:14:36.899 They have no speech. 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:37.800 They use no words. 00:14:37.860 --> 00:14:39.100 No sound is heard from them. 00:14:39.420 --> 00:14:45.980 And yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. 00:14:47.300 --> 00:14:52.639 So what I'm going to do is I'm going to mention just two clues. 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:58.059 There is at least more than 30 big systems of clues. 00:14:58.199 --> 00:14:59.460 They're big systems of clues. 00:14:59.699 --> 00:15:01.879 I'm going to just mention two very briefly. 00:15:03.139 --> 00:15:04.919 There is the cosmic wonder clue. 00:15:06.299 --> 00:15:12.340 Modern science is completely insufficient to explain the existence of the world. 00:15:13.220 --> 00:15:16.000 Because there are two unavoidable questions. 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:20.240 Two unavoidable questions that need to be asked. 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:29.799 First of all, how did the indescribably variety of life in this universe come to be? 00:15:30.759 --> 00:15:36.580 You know, there's more than 900,000 species of just insects. 00:15:37.379 --> 00:15:40.419 How did all of that variety come to be? 00:15:40.419 --> 00:15:53.839 How did we go from a single-celled life in prehistoric soup to mosquitoes and giraffes 00:15:53.839 --> 00:15:57.839 and the billions of other things in between? 00:15:57.840 --> 00:16:07.160 Now, there's an infinity of articles or books or conferences or TV programs or PhD theses. 00:16:07.620 --> 00:16:10.600 Studies have been devoted to that topic. 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:13.800 And it's a widely discussed topic. 00:16:14.680 --> 00:16:17.860 And the general view is a thing called evolution. 00:16:18.759 --> 00:16:24.759 And that is it all happened by accident and it's just kind of evolved from there. 00:16:24.759 --> 00:16:30.299 It's become, it's no longer a theory, it's become regarded as fact. 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:39.019 But the second unavoidable question, and biologists want to talk about evolution all the time, 00:16:39.080 --> 00:16:42.120 but the second unavoidable question is this one. 00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:49.039 What happened to bring life into existence in the very first place? 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:50.679 What happened there? 00:16:51.860 --> 00:16:57.399 And that question is very rarely ever asked. 00:16:59.559 --> 00:17:04.460 Much less is it answered with any scientific credibility. 00:17:07.139 --> 00:17:10.039 How does, and this is the massive question, 00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:13.519 the massive question, 00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:19.700 how does life come from no life? 00:17:20.700 --> 00:17:21.759 How does that happen? 00:17:26.039 --> 00:17:28.299 In 1952, 00:17:29.579 --> 00:17:31.619 at the University of Chicago, 00:17:31.859 --> 00:17:34.839 two scientists tried to replicate 00:17:34.839 --> 00:17:37.379 what you might call the Big Bang, 00:17:38.179 --> 00:17:41.839 to get life from no life. 00:17:43.579 --> 00:17:47.179 It became known as the Miller-Urey experiment. 00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:48.679 It's quite a famous experiment. 00:17:48.679 --> 00:17:49.939 In 1952. 00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:54.879 And they were able to produce 00:17:54.879 --> 00:18:00.159 a change 00:18:00.159 --> 00:18:02.579 in four elements. 00:18:02.579 --> 00:18:07.019 But they weren't able to produce life. 00:18:08.619 --> 00:18:10.639 And certainly not able to produce life 00:18:10.639 --> 00:18:11.699 that would produce life itself. 00:18:13.699 --> 00:18:14.720 In the end, 00:18:14.859 --> 00:18:16.119 in 1952, 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:18.519 it was a 00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:19.779 failed experiment 00:18:19.779 --> 00:18:22.399 to produce life from non-life. 00:18:24.099 --> 00:18:24.599 That's 00:18:24.599 --> 00:18:25.480 1952. 00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:28.240 Think of the 00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:30.240 scientific advancements that we've had 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:31.379 since 1952, 00:18:31.380 --> 00:18:33.000 in the last seven decades. 00:18:33.520 --> 00:18:33.920 I could 00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:35.520 rattle off a long list. 00:18:35.620 --> 00:18:35.880 Initially, 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:37.760 I did have a long list of everything that's happened 00:18:37.760 --> 00:18:39.400 since 1952 00:18:39.400 --> 00:18:40.540 in scientific advancement. 00:18:45.140 --> 00:18:47.120 And the Miller-Urey experiment 00:18:47.120 --> 00:18:48.800 has never been advanced upon 00:18:48.800 --> 00:18:49.920 since 1952. 00:18:54.020 --> 00:18:54.920 No one, 00:18:55.940 --> 00:18:56.740 no scientist, 00:18:56.740 --> 00:18:58.579 has been able to go 00:18:58.579 --> 00:18:59.779 take life 00:18:59.779 --> 00:19:01.380 out of no life. 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:04.200 And this is the question 00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:05.599 that science, 00:19:05.920 --> 00:19:06.319 frankly, 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:07.960 cannot answer 00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:09.380 and their entire 00:19:09.380 --> 00:19:10.920 worldview hinges on it. 00:19:12.380 --> 00:19:13.700 That an atheist worldview 00:19:13.700 --> 00:19:14.700 hinges on this one. 00:19:16.059 --> 00:19:16.440 You see, 00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:19.259 what Christians have been saying 00:19:19.259 --> 00:19:20.460 for centuries 00:19:20.460 --> 00:19:22.279 is that the existence 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:23.100 of God 00:19:23.100 --> 00:19:24.120 is inferred 00:19:24.120 --> 00:19:24.840 from the existence 00:19:24.840 --> 00:19:25.860 of life itself. 00:19:29.860 --> 00:19:31.299 Life must come 00:19:31.299 --> 00:19:32.200 from something 00:19:32.200 --> 00:19:34.000 that is already 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:34.920 alive. 00:19:36.600 --> 00:19:37.840 It cannot come 00:19:37.840 --> 00:19:38.420 from something 00:19:38.420 --> 00:19:39.220 that is dead, 00:19:39.380 --> 00:19:40.660 that doesn't exist. 00:19:42.500 --> 00:19:43.440 In his book, 00:19:43.539 --> 00:19:44.340 The Language of God, 00:19:44.460 --> 00:19:44.920 scientist 00:19:44.920 --> 00:19:46.519 Francis Collins 00:19:46.519 --> 00:19:47.340 puts it like this. 00:19:47.339 --> 00:19:48.279 we have this 00:19:48.279 --> 00:19:49.559 very solid conclusion 00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:50.480 that the universe 00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:51.299 had an origin, 00:19:51.480 --> 00:19:52.000 the Big Bang, 00:19:52.259 --> 00:19:53.559 15 billion years ago. 00:19:53.639 --> 00:19:54.519 The universe began 00:19:54.519 --> 00:19:55.959 with an unimaginable 00:19:55.959 --> 00:19:57.059 bright flash of energy 00:19:57.059 --> 00:19:57.919 from an infinitely 00:19:57.919 --> 00:19:59.019 small point. 00:19:59.500 --> 00:20:00.559 That implies 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:02.000 that before that, 00:20:02.159 --> 00:20:02.919 there was nothing. 00:20:04.199 --> 00:20:05.459 I cannot imagine 00:20:05.459 --> 00:20:06.240 how nature, 00:20:06.500 --> 00:20:07.480 in this case, 00:20:07.619 --> 00:20:08.240 the universe, 00:20:08.859 --> 00:20:10.339 could have created itself. 00:20:11.199 --> 00:20:12.119 And the very fact 00:20:12.119 --> 00:20:12.879 that the universe 00:20:12.879 --> 00:20:13.879 had a beginning 00:20:13.879 --> 00:20:15.139 implies that someone 00:20:15.139 --> 00:20:16.959 was able to begin it. 00:20:17.339 --> 00:20:19.500 And it seems to me 00:20:19.500 --> 00:20:21.019 that had to be 00:20:21.019 --> 00:20:22.559 outside of nature. 00:20:24.959 --> 00:20:25.299 And so, 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:27.000 ironically, 00:20:28.159 --> 00:20:29.459 for the rickage of aces 00:20:29.459 --> 00:20:30.480 and so on of this world, 00:20:31.019 --> 00:20:32.199 science itself 00:20:32.199 --> 00:20:33.500 has given us 00:20:33.500 --> 00:20:34.399 a strong case 00:20:34.399 --> 00:20:35.459 that there is something 00:20:35.459 --> 00:20:37.079 beyond the natural world 00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:37.599 that brought it 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:38.339 into existence. 00:20:40.339 --> 00:20:42.119 And which even now 00:20:42.119 --> 00:20:43.500 upholds the existence 00:20:43.500 --> 00:20:44.519 of this universe. 00:20:44.519 --> 00:20:44.720 universe. 00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:47.940 That's the first clue, 00:20:48.019 --> 00:20:49.119 the cosmic wonder clue. 00:20:49.400 --> 00:20:50.220 The second one, 00:20:50.279 --> 00:20:51.599 which builds on that one, 00:20:53.259 --> 00:20:54.039 the second clue 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:54.639 for God's existence, 00:20:54.839 --> 00:20:56.720 is the fine-tuning 00:20:56.720 --> 00:20:58.460 design of the world. 00:21:01.099 --> 00:21:02.200 At one point, 00:21:02.460 --> 00:21:04.359 the most famous atheist 00:21:04.359 --> 00:21:05.799 in the world, 00:21:05.900 --> 00:21:07.119 a guy named Christopher Hitchens, 00:21:07.859 --> 00:21:09.940 admitted that the fine-tuning 00:21:09.940 --> 00:21:12.019 of the universe argument 00:21:12.019 --> 00:21:15.320 was an argument 00:21:15.320 --> 00:21:16.380 that was not trivial. 00:21:17.299 --> 00:21:18.840 The most difficult one, 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:20.360 you had to think about it hard, 00:21:20.580 --> 00:21:22.019 the most difficult one 00:21:22.019 --> 00:21:23.860 to actually get over. 00:21:26.019 --> 00:21:26.740 And so, 00:21:26.860 --> 00:21:27.720 the fine-tuning argument 00:21:27.720 --> 00:21:28.840 is kind of like this. 00:21:29.240 --> 00:21:30.340 Think of existence 00:21:30.340 --> 00:21:31.860 as a set of dials. 00:21:33.220 --> 00:21:35.100 Every one of those dials 00:21:35.099 --> 00:21:37.519 must be at exactly 00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:39.779 the right point, 00:21:39.939 --> 00:21:42.079 precisely at the right point 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:43.119 for life to exist. 00:21:45.799 --> 00:21:48.419 Even a slight variation 00:21:48.419 --> 00:21:51.539 on any one of those dials, 00:21:51.559 --> 00:21:52.699 on any one of them, 00:21:53.379 --> 00:21:55.359 would be enough 00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:56.539 for life to no longer 00:21:56.539 --> 00:21:57.599 be able to exist. 00:21:58.139 --> 00:22:00.179 On any one of the dials. 00:22:00.180 --> 00:22:04.140 And the irony is, 00:22:04.279 --> 00:22:05.660 it's with the advance 00:22:05.660 --> 00:22:06.799 of science 00:22:06.799 --> 00:22:08.360 that we're discovering 00:22:08.360 --> 00:22:09.440 that this clue 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:10.460 is getting stronger 00:22:10.460 --> 00:22:11.259 and stronger 00:22:11.259 --> 00:22:12.039 and stronger. 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:19.080 The scientist Carl Sagan 00:22:19.080 --> 00:22:19.820 once said 00:22:19.820 --> 00:22:20.440 that there are only 00:22:20.440 --> 00:22:21.100 two parameters 00:22:21.100 --> 00:22:22.000 for life to exist. 00:22:22.080 --> 00:22:22.519 In other words, 00:22:22.560 --> 00:22:23.640 there's only two dials 00:22:23.640 --> 00:22:24.940 on the deck. 00:22:26.019 --> 00:22:26.920 With the advance 00:22:26.920 --> 00:22:27.799 of the decades, 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:28.900 science has discovered 00:22:28.900 --> 00:22:29.600 literally 00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:31.699 hundreds of parameters, 00:22:32.219 --> 00:22:33.480 hundreds of dials 00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:34.719 that need to be 00:22:34.719 --> 00:22:36.259 fine-tuned perfectly, 00:22:36.719 --> 00:22:38.000 not just in this world, 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:39.679 not just in human life, 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:42.259 but also in the universe 00:22:42.259 --> 00:22:43.699 for life to exist. 00:22:44.659 --> 00:22:45.699 And the possibility 00:22:45.699 --> 00:22:47.639 that those dials 00:22:47.639 --> 00:22:48.699 came to accidentally 00:22:48.699 --> 00:22:49.259 be set 00:22:49.259 --> 00:22:51.019 at exactly the right spot, 00:22:51.579 --> 00:22:53.519 at exactly the right time 00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:55.099 for life to begin, 00:22:55.959 --> 00:22:56.519 and 00:22:56.519 --> 00:22:59.639 to have stayed 00:22:59.639 --> 00:23:00.500 statically 00:23:00.500 --> 00:23:02.720 in those spots 00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:03.700 for life to continue 00:23:03.700 --> 00:23:04.680 to go on existing 00:23:04.680 --> 00:23:07.359 is a massive leap 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:07.940 of faith. 00:23:11.420 --> 00:23:12.779 And it's also 00:23:12.779 --> 00:23:13.639 a rejection 00:23:13.639 --> 00:23:14.639 of scientific evidence 00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:16.119 that shows 00:23:16.119 --> 00:23:16.579 the universe 00:23:16.579 --> 00:23:17.759 is not static at all. 00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:22.640 You see, 00:23:22.740 --> 00:23:23.519 believers in God 00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:24.240 suggest 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:25.240 the fine-tuning 00:23:25.240 --> 00:23:26.079 of physics 00:23:26.079 --> 00:23:28.059 makes much more sense 00:23:28.059 --> 00:23:28.940 in a universe 00:23:28.940 --> 00:23:30.240 in which there is 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:30.759 a creator 00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:31.740 and a designer 00:23:31.740 --> 00:23:33.500 who constantly 00:23:33.500 --> 00:23:34.920 has his hands 00:23:34.920 --> 00:23:36.240 on those dials. 00:23:38.879 --> 00:23:39.700 To quote 00:23:39.700 --> 00:23:40.779 Collins again, 00:23:40.779 --> 00:23:42.399 if any one 00:23:42.399 --> 00:23:43.519 of those constants, 00:23:43.700 --> 00:23:45.139 one of those dials, 00:23:45.139 --> 00:23:45.799 was off 00:23:45.799 --> 00:23:46.500 by even 00:23:46.500 --> 00:23:47.399 one part 00:23:47.399 --> 00:23:48.180 in a million, 00:23:48.500 --> 00:23:49.480 or in some cases 00:23:49.480 --> 00:23:50.039 one part 00:23:50.039 --> 00:23:50.859 in a million million, 00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:51.960 the universe 00:23:51.960 --> 00:23:53.059 could not have come 00:23:53.059 --> 00:23:53.619 to the point 00:23:53.619 --> 00:23:54.519 where we see it. 00:23:55.639 --> 00:23:56.139 Matter 00:23:56.139 --> 00:23:57.799 would not have been 00:23:57.799 --> 00:23:59.420 able to coalesce. 00:23:59.799 --> 00:24:00.660 There would have been 00:24:00.660 --> 00:24:03.000 no galaxy, 00:24:03.180 --> 00:24:03.759 no stars, 00:24:03.879 --> 00:24:04.539 no planets, 00:24:04.899 --> 00:24:05.599 all people. 00:24:05.599 --> 00:24:08.959 And so it would be 00:24:08.959 --> 00:24:10.339 more reasonable 00:24:10.339 --> 00:24:11.419 to conclude 00:24:11.419 --> 00:24:12.579 it was something 00:24:12.579 --> 00:24:13.319 intended 00:24:13.319 --> 00:24:15.059 and designed. 00:24:15.219 --> 00:24:16.379 Even the 00:24:16.379 --> 00:24:17.799 famous atheist 00:24:17.799 --> 00:24:18.859 Richard Dawkins 00:24:18.859 --> 00:24:19.500 says that 00:24:19.500 --> 00:24:20.779 the characteristics 00:24:20.779 --> 00:24:22.279 of our world 00:24:22.279 --> 00:24:23.959 is the characteristics 00:24:23.959 --> 00:24:24.879 of design, 00:24:25.079 --> 00:24:26.159 even though he himself 00:24:26.159 --> 00:24:27.459 rejects a designer. 00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:31.359 Is that 00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:33.419 conclusive proof? 00:24:33.420 --> 00:24:36.640 Not at all. 00:24:37.820 --> 00:24:39.220 Because it suggests 00:24:39.220 --> 00:24:40.400 only that it's 00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:41.340 more likely 00:24:41.340 --> 00:24:42.740 that there is 00:24:42.740 --> 00:24:43.340 a God 00:24:43.340 --> 00:24:44.019 than there is 00:24:44.019 --> 00:24:44.720 not a God. 00:24:45.779 --> 00:24:46.640 But even 00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:47.519 those two 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:48.600 cannot just 00:24:48.600 --> 00:24:50.200 be dismissed. 00:24:52.080 --> 00:24:52.900 The distinguished 00:24:52.900 --> 00:24:53.720 physician 00:24:53.720 --> 00:24:55.180 Lewis Thomas 00:24:55.180 --> 00:24:55.720 wrote, 00:24:56.560 --> 00:24:57.420 I cannot 00:24:57.420 --> 00:24:58.460 make peace 00:24:58.460 --> 00:24:59.480 with a randomness 00:24:59.480 --> 00:25:00.019 doctrine. 00:25:00.620 --> 00:25:01.180 I cannot 00:25:01.180 --> 00:25:02.100 abide the 00:25:02.100 --> 00:25:02.600 notion 00:25:02.600 --> 00:25:03.380 of purposeless 00:25:03.380 --> 00:25:04.920 and blind 00:25:04.920 --> 00:25:05.500 chance 00:25:05.500 --> 00:25:06.240 in nature. 00:25:06.840 --> 00:25:07.160 And yet 00:25:07.160 --> 00:25:07.740 I do not 00:25:07.740 --> 00:25:08.280 know what 00:25:08.280 --> 00:25:08.720 to put 00:25:08.720 --> 00:25:09.180 in its 00:25:09.180 --> 00:25:09.680 place 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:10.120 for the 00:25:10.120 --> 00:25:11.140 quieting 00:25:11.140 --> 00:25:11.420 of my 00:25:11.420 --> 00:25:11.860 mind. 00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:15.120 So there's 00:25:15.120 --> 00:25:15.780 just two 00:25:15.780 --> 00:25:16.440 of the 00:25:16.440 --> 00:25:17.300 at least 00:25:17.300 --> 00:25:18.120 30 00:25:18.120 --> 00:25:19.460 extensive 00:25:19.460 --> 00:25:20.120 clues 00:25:20.120 --> 00:25:21.320 for the 00:25:21.320 --> 00:25:21.720 existence 00:25:21.720 --> 00:25:22.340 of God. 00:25:22.780 --> 00:25:23.300 Now none 00:25:23.300 --> 00:25:23.660 of these 00:25:23.660 --> 00:25:24.180 clues 00:25:24.180 --> 00:25:25.100 are so 00:25:25.100 --> 00:25:25.660 strong 00:25:25.660 --> 00:25:26.480 by themselves 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:27.580 as to 00:25:27.580 --> 00:25:28.040 false 00:25:28.040 --> 00:25:28.640 belief. 00:25:29.720 --> 00:25:30.240 But 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:31.200 they do 00:25:31.200 --> 00:25:31.980 make it 00:25:31.980 --> 00:25:33.100 entirely 00:25:33.099 --> 00:25:34.559 rational, 00:25:35.559 --> 00:25:36.980 entirely 00:25:36.980 --> 00:25:38.019 rational to 00:25:38.019 --> 00:25:38.879 believe in 00:25:38.879 --> 00:25:39.500 the existence 00:25:39.500 --> 00:25:40.500 of God. 00:25:42.459 --> 00:25:42.859 And in 00:25:42.859 --> 00:25:43.579 actual fact, 00:25:43.659 --> 00:25:43.959 with the 00:25:43.959 --> 00:25:44.599 advance of 00:25:44.599 --> 00:25:45.379 science, 00:25:45.959 --> 00:25:46.559 and it is 00:25:46.559 --> 00:25:47.219 rapidly 00:25:47.219 --> 00:25:47.919 advancing, 00:25:48.719 --> 00:25:49.480 it becomes 00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:50.379 more and 00:25:50.379 --> 00:25:50.699 more 00:25:50.699 --> 00:25:51.679 irrational 00:25:51.679 --> 00:25:53.399 to be an 00:25:53.399 --> 00:25:53.859 atheist 00:25:53.859 --> 00:25:56.740 based on 00:25:56.740 --> 00:25:57.219 scientific 00:25:57.219 --> 00:25:57.819 evidence. 00:25:57.819 --> 00:25:57.939 evidence. 00:25:59.139 --> 00:25:59.839 I can 00:25:59.839 --> 00:26:00.200 cope with 00:26:00.200 --> 00:26:00.319 an 00:26:00.319 --> 00:26:00.799 agnostic, 00:26:01.799 --> 00:26:02.399 but an 00:26:02.399 --> 00:26:03.159 atheist to 00:26:03.159 --> 00:26:03.539 say that 00:26:03.539 --> 00:26:03.879 they are 00:26:03.879 --> 00:26:05.779 rational is 00:26:05.779 --> 00:26:06.319 to deny 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:06.579 the 00:26:06.579 --> 00:26:06.980 scientific 00:26:06.980 --> 00:26:07.539 evidence. 00:26:10.539 --> 00:26:11.259 Now the 00:26:11.259 --> 00:26:11.779 clues for 00:26:11.779 --> 00:26:13.139 God not 00:26:13.139 --> 00:26:13.539 only do 00:26:13.539 --> 00:26:14.179 not prove 00:26:14.179 --> 00:26:14.539 God's 00:26:14.539 --> 00:26:14.899 existence, 00:26:15.119 --> 00:26:15.379 but all 00:26:15.379 --> 00:26:15.919 they really 00:26:15.919 --> 00:26:16.779 do is 00:26:16.779 --> 00:26:17.079 they get 00:26:17.079 --> 00:26:17.579 us to a 00:26:17.579 --> 00:26:18.299 point where 00:26:18.299 --> 00:26:19.059 there's a 00:26:19.059 --> 00:26:19.799 potential for 00:26:19.799 --> 00:26:21.139 some abstract 00:26:21.139 --> 00:26:22.159 God out 00:26:22.159 --> 00:26:22.519 there. 00:26:22.519 --> 00:26:25.660 what Christians 00:26:25.660 --> 00:26:27.000 believe is 00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:27.359 that the 00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:28.220 main way 00:26:28.220 --> 00:26:29.079 we know 00:26:29.079 --> 00:26:30.980 specifics about 00:26:30.980 --> 00:26:31.740 this God 00:26:31.740 --> 00:26:32.539 is that this 00:26:32.539 --> 00:26:33.799 God has 00:26:33.799 --> 00:26:34.299 revealed 00:26:34.299 --> 00:26:36.559 himself in 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:37.059 the person 00:26:37.059 --> 00:26:37.539 of Jesus 00:26:37.539 --> 00:26:38.139 Christ. 00:26:39.500 --> 00:26:39.759 And so 00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:40.980 is faith in 00:26:40.980 --> 00:26:42.099 Jesus reasonable 00:26:42.099 --> 00:26:43.819 in 2026? 00:26:43.819 --> 00:26:47.439 Now God 00:26:47.439 --> 00:26:48.079 has not 00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:48.859 revealed 00:26:48.859 --> 00:26:49.619 himself, 00:26:49.960 --> 00:26:50.819 not first 00:26:50.819 --> 00:26:51.319 through our 00:26:51.319 --> 00:26:51.819 thinking, 00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:53.059 but through 00:26:53.059 --> 00:26:53.740 God or 00:26:53.740 --> 00:26:54.139 through our 00:26:54.139 --> 00:26:54.659 assumptions 00:26:54.659 --> 00:26:55.419 about God, 00:26:55.659 --> 00:26:56.460 but that God 00:26:56.460 --> 00:26:57.819 has specifically 00:26:57.819 --> 00:26:58.919 spoken to 00:26:58.919 --> 00:26:59.339 us. 00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:00.779 He speaks 00:27:00.779 --> 00:27:01.099 to us 00:27:01.099 --> 00:27:01.579 according to 00:27:01.579 --> 00:27:02.359 Psalm 19 00:27:02.359 --> 00:27:03.019 in the 00:27:03.019 --> 00:27:03.319 Creator, 00:27:03.439 --> 00:27:03.679 all his 00:27:03.679 --> 00:27:04.019 fingerprints 00:27:04.019 --> 00:27:04.500 everywhere, 00:27:04.859 --> 00:27:05.119 but he 00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:05.559 speaks to 00:27:05.559 --> 00:27:05.939 us very 00:27:05.939 --> 00:27:06.700 specifically, 00:27:07.439 --> 00:27:07.759 very 00:27:07.759 --> 00:27:08.460 specifically 00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:09.939 in his 00:27:09.939 --> 00:27:10.319 Son, 00:27:10.460 --> 00:27:10.740 the Lord 00:27:10.740 --> 00:27:11.119 Jesus. 00:27:12.740 --> 00:27:13.119 Hebrews 00:27:13.119 --> 00:27:13.639 1, 00:27:13.819 --> 00:27:14.279 read out 00:27:14.279 --> 00:27:14.500 to us 00:27:14.500 --> 00:27:15.039 by Janet, 00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:16.399 is referring 00:27:16.399 --> 00:27:17.519 to Jesus 00:27:17.519 --> 00:27:18.319 when it 00:27:18.319 --> 00:27:18.939 makes the 00:27:18.939 --> 00:27:20.519 claim that 00:27:20.519 --> 00:27:21.740 Jesus Christ 00:27:21.740 --> 00:27:22.259 is the 00:27:22.259 --> 00:27:23.480 final and 00:27:23.480 --> 00:27:24.259 decisive 00:27:24.259 --> 00:27:25.319 communication 00:27:25.319 --> 00:27:26.099 of God 00:27:26.099 --> 00:27:26.879 to humanity. 00:27:27.679 --> 00:27:28.079 In the 00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:28.460 past, 00:27:28.539 --> 00:27:29.000 God spoke 00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:29.279 to our 00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:29.700 ancestors 00:27:29.700 --> 00:27:30.179 through the 00:27:30.179 --> 00:27:30.460 prophets 00:27:30.460 --> 00:27:30.799 at many 00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:31.859 times and 00:27:31.859 --> 00:27:32.339 in various 00:27:32.339 --> 00:27:32.679 ways, 00:27:32.759 --> 00:27:33.000 but in 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:33.579 these last 00:27:33.579 --> 00:27:34.059 days, 00:27:34.480 --> 00:27:34.779 he has 00:27:34.779 --> 00:27:35.339 spoken to 00:27:35.339 --> 00:27:35.899 us by 00:27:35.899 --> 00:27:36.259 his 00:27:36.259 --> 00:27:36.639 Son, 00:27:37.359 --> 00:27:37.639 whom he 00:27:37.639 --> 00:27:38.139 appointed 00:27:38.139 --> 00:27:38.859 heir of 00:27:38.859 --> 00:27:39.759 all things, 00:27:40.079 --> 00:27:40.579 and through 00:27:40.579 --> 00:27:41.599 whom also 00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:42.960 he made 00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:43.559 the 00:27:43.559 --> 00:27:44.240 universe. 00:27:45.059 --> 00:27:45.319 The 00:27:45.319 --> 00:27:45.980 Son is 00:27:45.980 --> 00:27:46.259 the 00:27:46.259 --> 00:27:46.779 radiance 00:27:46.779 --> 00:27:47.240 of God's 00:27:47.240 --> 00:27:48.340 glory and 00:27:48.340 --> 00:27:48.980 the exact 00:27:48.980 --> 00:27:49.600 representation 00:27:49.600 --> 00:27:50.539 of his 00:27:50.539 --> 00:27:51.000 being. 00:27:53.880 --> 00:27:54.600 And so 00:27:54.600 --> 00:27:54.960 it's not 00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:55.620 surprising if 00:27:55.620 --> 00:27:56.340 that's true, 00:27:57.180 --> 00:27:57.840 that there 00:27:57.840 --> 00:27:58.160 is a 00:27:58.160 --> 00:27:59.380 God and 00:27:59.380 --> 00:27:59.980 this God 00:27:59.980 --> 00:28:00.559 has revealed 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:01.480 himself by 00:28:01.480 --> 00:28:02.880 sending 00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:03.480 his Son, 00:28:03.559 --> 00:28:03.960 the person 00:28:03.960 --> 00:28:04.259 of his 00:28:04.259 --> 00:28:04.539 Son, 00:28:04.620 --> 00:28:05.100 the second 00:28:05.100 --> 00:28:05.940 member of 00:28:05.940 --> 00:28:06.420 the Trinity 00:28:06.420 --> 00:28:08.700 into his 00:28:08.700 --> 00:28:09.799 world so 00:28:09.799 --> 00:28:10.100 that we 00:28:10.100 --> 00:28:10.880 might know 00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:11.260 God. 00:28:11.320 --> 00:28:11.760 If that 00:28:11.760 --> 00:28:12.360 is true, 00:28:12.700 --> 00:28:13.440 it's not 00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:14.320 surprising why 00:28:14.320 --> 00:28:15.020 Christians would 00:28:15.020 --> 00:28:15.680 call Jesus 00:28:15.680 --> 00:28:16.560 Christ the 00:28:16.560 --> 00:28:17.320 single most 00:28:17.320 --> 00:28:17.900 influential 00:28:17.900 --> 00:28:18.660 person who 00:28:18.660 --> 00:28:19.120 has ever 00:28:19.120 --> 00:28:19.500 lived. 00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:22.160 A greater 00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:23.260 percentage of 00:28:23.260 --> 00:28:23.880 the world's 00:28:23.880 --> 00:28:25.040 population than 00:28:25.040 --> 00:28:26.040 ever before 00:28:26.040 --> 00:28:27.200 is Christian. 00:28:28.780 --> 00:28:28.940 And 00:28:28.940 --> 00:28:29.420 Christianity 00:28:29.420 --> 00:28:31.100 adds to 00:28:31.100 --> 00:28:31.820 its ranks 00:28:31.820 --> 00:28:33.060 just under 00:28:33.060 --> 00:28:34.120 19 million 00:28:34.120 --> 00:28:35.100 new Christians 00:28:35.100 --> 00:28:36.040 every year. 00:28:37.960 --> 00:28:38.220 And 00:28:38.220 --> 00:28:38.740 Christianity 00:28:38.740 --> 00:28:40.380 is the 00:28:40.380 --> 00:28:41.660 one major 00:28:41.660 --> 00:28:42.240 religion in 00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:42.740 the world 00:28:42.740 --> 00:28:43.779 that is 00:28:43.779 --> 00:28:45.120 most equally 00:28:45.120 --> 00:28:45.819 distributed 00:28:45.819 --> 00:28:46.920 throughout all 00:28:46.920 --> 00:28:47.500 the continents 00:28:47.500 --> 00:28:48.000 of the 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:48.360 world. 00:28:49.180 --> 00:28:50.039 No other 00:28:50.039 --> 00:28:51.519 faith has 00:28:51.519 --> 00:28:53.160 so extensively 00:28:53.160 --> 00:28:53.880 crossed 00:28:53.880 --> 00:28:54.980 cultural 00:28:54.980 --> 00:28:56.500 divisions of 00:28:56.500 --> 00:28:57.640 humanity and 00:28:57.640 --> 00:28:58.460 found a place 00:28:58.460 --> 00:29:00.120 in so many 00:29:00.120 --> 00:29:01.380 diverse cultural 00:29:01.380 --> 00:29:02.079 contexts, 00:29:02.460 --> 00:29:03.839 from the 00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:04.480 intellectual 00:29:04.480 --> 00:29:06.400 elites to 00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:07.319 the uneducated, 00:29:07.319 --> 00:29:07.579 for the 00:29:07.579 --> 00:29:08.019 poor to 00:29:08.019 --> 00:29:08.480 the rich, 00:29:08.539 --> 00:29:08.779 from the 00:29:08.779 --> 00:29:09.159 west to 00:29:09.159 --> 00:29:09.480 the east, 00:29:09.759 --> 00:29:10.240 everywhere. 00:29:11.799 --> 00:29:12.639 Why has 00:29:12.639 --> 00:29:13.200 Jesus 00:29:13.200 --> 00:29:15.980 affected so 00:29:15.980 --> 00:29:16.519 much of 00:29:16.519 --> 00:29:17.019 humanity? 00:29:20.179 --> 00:29:21.079 The answer 00:29:21.079 --> 00:29:21.879 to that 00:29:21.879 --> 00:29:22.460 question can 00:29:22.460 --> 00:29:23.439 only come by 00:29:23.439 --> 00:29:23.899 looking at 00:29:23.899 --> 00:29:24.359 his life, 00:29:24.439 --> 00:29:24.859 his words, 00:29:24.939 --> 00:29:25.299 and his 00:29:25.299 --> 00:29:25.759 actions. 00:29:27.319 --> 00:29:27.579 You see, 00:29:27.659 --> 00:29:28.319 in Jesus, 00:29:28.859 --> 00:29:30.399 we see the 00:29:30.399 --> 00:29:31.379 qualities and 00:29:31.379 --> 00:29:32.019 the virtues 00:29:32.019 --> 00:29:32.679 that we 00:29:32.679 --> 00:29:33.419 would 00:29:33.419 --> 00:29:35.899 ordinarily 00:29:35.899 --> 00:29:36.859 consider, 00:29:37.319 --> 00:29:38.759 incompatible 00:29:38.759 --> 00:29:39.240 in the 00:29:39.240 --> 00:29:40.119 same person. 00:29:41.359 --> 00:29:41.779 That is, 00:29:41.879 --> 00:29:43.039 Jesus combines 00:29:43.039 --> 00:29:43.899 both high 00:29:43.899 --> 00:29:45.279 majesty with 00:29:45.279 --> 00:29:45.919 the greatest 00:29:45.919 --> 00:29:46.919 humility. 00:29:47.720 --> 00:29:48.980 He joins 00:29:48.980 --> 00:29:49.599 the strongest 00:29:49.599 --> 00:29:50.319 commitment to 00:29:50.319 --> 00:29:51.099 justice with 00:29:51.099 --> 00:29:51.899 astonishing 00:29:51.899 --> 00:29:53.399 grace and 00:29:53.399 --> 00:29:53.879 mercy, 00:29:54.439 --> 00:29:54.879 and he 00:29:54.879 --> 00:29:55.659 reveals a 00:29:55.659 --> 00:29:56.619 transcendent 00:29:56.619 --> 00:29:57.980 self-sufficiency 00:29:57.980 --> 00:29:59.359 and yet an 00:29:59.359 --> 00:30:00.759 entire trust in 00:30:00.759 --> 00:30:01.379 and reliance 00:30:01.379 --> 00:30:01.779 upon his 00:30:01.779 --> 00:30:02.439 heavenly father 00:30:02.439 --> 00:30:02.859 at the same 00:30:02.859 --> 00:30:03.279 time. 00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:05.859 We are 00:30:05.859 --> 00:30:06.779 surprised with 00:30:06.779 --> 00:30:07.220 the person 00:30:07.220 --> 00:30:07.720 of Jesus 00:30:07.720 --> 00:30:08.940 to see 00:30:08.940 --> 00:30:09.660 such 00:30:09.660 --> 00:30:10.559 tenderness 00:30:10.559 --> 00:30:12.220 but without 00:30:12.220 --> 00:30:12.839 weakness, 00:30:13.920 --> 00:30:14.799 boldness 00:30:14.799 --> 00:30:16.259 without 00:30:16.259 --> 00:30:17.000 harshness, 00:30:17.259 --> 00:30:17.759 humility 00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:18.700 without 00:30:18.700 --> 00:30:19.579 an 00:30:19.579 --> 00:30:20.240 uncertainty, 00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:21.799 indeed 00:30:21.799 --> 00:30:22.519 accompanied 00:30:22.519 --> 00:30:23.339 by a 00:30:23.339 --> 00:30:24.220 towering 00:30:24.220 --> 00:30:25.019 self-confidence. 00:30:26.660 --> 00:30:26.899 He's 00:30:26.899 --> 00:30:27.619 unbending 00:30:27.619 --> 00:30:28.440 convictions 00:30:28.440 --> 00:30:30.000 but 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:30.580 complete 00:30:30.580 --> 00:30:31.500 approachability, 00:30:32.660 --> 00:30:32.880 his 00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:33.580 insistence 00:30:33.580 --> 00:30:34.220 on truth 00:30:34.220 --> 00:30:35.200 but always 00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:35.860 bathed in 00:30:35.860 --> 00:30:36.340 love, 00:30:37.660 --> 00:30:38.480 his power 00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:38.920 without 00:30:38.920 --> 00:30:40.100 insensitivity, 00:30:41.460 --> 00:30:41.980 integrity 00:30:41.980 --> 00:30:42.440 without 00:30:42.440 --> 00:30:43.019 rigidity, 00:30:44.160 --> 00:30:44.600 passion 00:30:44.600 --> 00:30:45.000 without 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:45.480 prejudice. 00:30:45.480 --> 00:30:49.120 That's 00:30:49.120 --> 00:30:49.880 his life 00:30:49.880 --> 00:30:51.559 and it's 00:30:51.559 --> 00:30:52.279 perplexing, 00:30:52.900 --> 00:30:53.299 it's a 00:30:53.299 --> 00:30:53.900 paradox. 00:30:54.799 --> 00:30:55.099 People 00:30:55.099 --> 00:30:55.740 who have 00:30:55.740 --> 00:30:56.400 read and 00:30:56.400 --> 00:30:56.720 pondered 00:30:56.720 --> 00:30:57.039 Jesus' 00:30:57.279 --> 00:30:57.579 words, 00:30:57.660 --> 00:30:58.019 his deeds, 00:30:58.099 --> 00:30:58.579 his life 00:30:58.579 --> 00:30:59.160 have 00:30:59.160 --> 00:30:59.880 groped 00:30:59.880 --> 00:31:00.759 for good 00:31:00.759 --> 00:31:01.380 ways to 00:31:01.380 --> 00:31:02.519 explain it 00:31:02.519 --> 00:31:02.940 and to 00:31:02.940 --> 00:31:03.440 try and 00:31:03.440 --> 00:31:04.339 describe what 00:31:04.339 --> 00:31:04.880 they see 00:31:04.880 --> 00:31:05.200 in the 00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:05.620 person of 00:31:05.620 --> 00:31:06.019 Jesus. 00:31:07.099 --> 00:31:07.839 And many 00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:08.640 throughout the 00:31:08.640 --> 00:31:09.019 history of 00:31:09.019 --> 00:31:09.460 this world 00:31:09.460 --> 00:31:10.220 and 19 00:31:10.220 --> 00:31:10.940 million people 00:31:10.940 --> 00:31:11.420 a year 00:31:11.420 --> 00:31:12.099 continue 00:31:12.099 --> 00:31:13.519 to realise 00:31:13.519 --> 00:31:14.500 that the 00:31:14.500 --> 00:31:15.200 remarkable 00:31:15.200 --> 00:31:16.100 claims that 00:31:16.100 --> 00:31:16.799 Jesus had 00:31:16.799 --> 00:31:17.080 about 00:31:17.080 --> 00:31:18.460 himself is 00:31:18.460 --> 00:31:19.180 the only 00:31:19.180 --> 00:31:19.720 way that 00:31:19.720 --> 00:31:20.019 you could 00:31:20.019 --> 00:31:20.660 land with 00:31:20.660 --> 00:31:21.100 the person 00:31:21.100 --> 00:31:21.700 of Jesus. 00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:24.819 You see, 00:31:24.900 --> 00:31:25.519 what is so 00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:26.200 surprising 00:31:26.200 --> 00:31:27.519 about Jesus 00:31:27.519 --> 00:31:28.819 is that 00:31:28.819 --> 00:31:29.559 his claims 00:31:29.559 --> 00:31:30.220 were so 00:31:30.220 --> 00:31:31.720 entirely 00:31:31.720 --> 00:31:33.380 self-focused, 00:31:33.519 --> 00:31:34.440 self-centred, 00:31:35.180 --> 00:31:36.279 but his 00:31:36.279 --> 00:31:37.200 character and 00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:38.180 his actions 00:31:38.180 --> 00:31:39.019 were so 00:31:39.019 --> 00:31:39.779 completely 00:31:39.779 --> 00:31:41.100 unself-centred, 00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:42.720 other-person 00:31:42.720 --> 00:31:43.259 centred, 00:31:44.140 --> 00:31:44.660 we never 00:31:44.660 --> 00:31:45.220 see him 00:31:45.220 --> 00:31:45.620 pompous 00:31:45.620 --> 00:31:46.160 or offended 00:31:46.160 --> 00:31:46.740 or standing 00:31:46.740 --> 00:31:47.040 on his 00:31:47.040 --> 00:31:47.380 dignity, 00:31:47.759 --> 00:31:48.040 he's 00:31:48.040 --> 00:31:48.800 approachable 00:31:48.800 --> 00:31:49.140 to the 00:31:49.140 --> 00:31:49.400 weakest 00:31:49.400 --> 00:31:49.980 person 00:31:49.980 --> 00:31:50.440 and the 00:31:50.440 --> 00:31:50.660 most 00:31:50.660 --> 00:31:51.620 broken 00:31:51.620 --> 00:31:52.160 person, 00:31:52.560 --> 00:31:53.019 we don't 00:31:53.019 --> 00:31:53.620 ever see 00:31:53.620 --> 00:31:54.360 him moody 00:31:54.360 --> 00:31:55.519 or irritable, 00:31:56.040 --> 00:31:56.380 there is 00:31:56.380 --> 00:31:58.759 an unsurpassed 00:31:58.759 --> 00:31:59.620 moral and 00:31:59.620 --> 00:32:00.779 spiritual beauty 00:32:00.779 --> 00:32:01.820 about his 00:32:01.820 --> 00:32:02.700 character and 00:32:02.700 --> 00:32:03.320 the teachings 00:32:03.320 --> 00:32:04.000 of Jesus 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:04.600 Christ. 00:32:08.040 --> 00:32:08.480 Houston 00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:09.180 Smith in his 00:32:09.180 --> 00:32:09.480 book, 00:32:09.700 --> 00:32:10.279 The World's 00:32:10.279 --> 00:32:10.960 Religions, 00:32:11.759 --> 00:32:14.519 he wrote 00:32:14.519 --> 00:32:14.920 there that 00:32:14.920 --> 00:32:15.980 only Buddha 00:32:15.980 --> 00:32:17.240 and Jesus 00:32:17.240 --> 00:32:19.899 so impressed 00:32:19.899 --> 00:32:20.399 their 00:32:20.399 --> 00:32:21.319 contemporaries, 00:32:21.579 --> 00:32:22.839 so impressed 00:32:22.839 --> 00:32:23.799 their contemporaries, 00:32:24.460 --> 00:32:25.500 that their 00:32:25.500 --> 00:32:26.240 contemporaries 00:32:26.240 --> 00:32:26.960 were asking 00:32:26.960 --> 00:32:27.700 the question, 00:32:28.019 --> 00:32:28.599 not just 00:32:28.599 --> 00:32:29.000 simply, 00:32:29.139 --> 00:32:29.539 who are 00:32:29.539 --> 00:32:30.000 you, 00:32:30.740 --> 00:32:31.639 but what 00:32:31.639 --> 00:32:32.379 are you? 00:32:33.720 --> 00:32:34.740 Your life 00:32:34.740 --> 00:32:35.119 is not 00:32:35.119 --> 00:32:35.839 normal human 00:32:35.839 --> 00:32:36.279 life, 00:32:36.339 --> 00:32:36.779 what are 00:32:36.779 --> 00:32:37.059 you? 00:32:37.059 --> 00:32:38.779 Only 00:32:38.779 --> 00:32:39.519 those two 00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:40.779 figures had 00:32:40.779 --> 00:32:41.779 characters that 00:32:41.779 --> 00:32:42.700 transcended 00:32:42.700 --> 00:32:43.899 ordinary human 00:32:43.899 --> 00:32:44.559 life to the 00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:45.460 degree that 00:32:45.460 --> 00:32:46.059 that question 00:32:46.059 --> 00:32:46.940 was necessary. 00:32:50.159 --> 00:32:50.940 Buddha 00:32:50.940 --> 00:32:51.720 asserted 00:32:51.720 --> 00:32:53.200 with absolute 00:32:53.200 --> 00:32:53.960 clarity 00:32:53.960 --> 00:32:55.619 and with 00:32:55.619 --> 00:32:56.220 a deep, 00:32:56.339 --> 00:32:57.079 deep emphasis 00:32:57.079 --> 00:32:58.539 that he was 00:32:58.539 --> 00:32:59.539 not divine 00:32:59.539 --> 00:33:00.619 in any way, 00:33:01.119 --> 00:33:01.599 that he was 00:33:01.599 --> 00:33:02.119 not an 00:33:02.119 --> 00:33:03.139 angelic being 00:33:03.139 --> 00:33:04.980 in any way 00:33:04.980 --> 00:33:05.460 whatsoever, 00:33:05.679 --> 00:33:06.440 he was fully 00:33:06.440 --> 00:33:06.919 human. 00:33:07.919 --> 00:33:08.519 On the 00:33:08.519 --> 00:33:09.299 other hand, 00:33:10.019 --> 00:33:10.359 Jesus 00:33:10.359 --> 00:33:11.559 repeatedly 00:33:11.559 --> 00:33:12.059 and 00:33:12.059 --> 00:33:12.940 continually 00:33:12.940 --> 00:33:14.079 claimed to 00:33:14.079 --> 00:33:15.460 be the 00:33:15.460 --> 00:33:16.000 God 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:18.099 who created 00:33:18.099 --> 00:33:18.799 all things. 00:33:19.799 --> 00:33:20.119 Jesus 00:33:20.119 --> 00:33:20.919 made that 00:33:20.919 --> 00:33:21.480 claim of 00:33:21.480 --> 00:33:21.919 himself 00:33:21.919 --> 00:33:23.980 clearly 00:33:23.980 --> 00:33:26.700 and that 00:33:26.700 --> 00:33:27.539 creates an 00:33:27.539 --> 00:33:28.240 enormous 00:33:28.240 --> 00:33:29.179 challenge for 00:33:29.179 --> 00:33:29.619 us 00:33:29.619 --> 00:33:33.299 because 00:33:33.299 --> 00:33:34.139 Jesus is 00:33:34.139 --> 00:33:34.980 one of the 00:33:34.980 --> 00:33:35.539 very few 00:33:35.539 --> 00:33:36.359 persons in 00:33:36.359 --> 00:33:36.979 history of 00:33:36.979 --> 00:33:37.500 humanity 00:33:37.500 --> 00:33:39.039 who founded 00:33:39.039 --> 00:33:40.079 a great 00:33:40.079 --> 00:33:40.500 world 00:33:40.500 --> 00:33:41.000 religion. 00:33:42.740 --> 00:33:43.819 He belongs 00:33:43.819 --> 00:33:44.819 to a very, 00:33:44.959 --> 00:33:45.559 very small 00:33:45.559 --> 00:33:46.039 group of 00:33:46.039 --> 00:33:47.179 people who 00:33:47.179 --> 00:33:47.839 have founded 00:33:47.839 --> 00:33:48.559 a great 00:33:48.559 --> 00:33:49.359 world religion, 00:33:49.819 --> 00:33:50.599 who have 00:33:50.599 --> 00:33:51.299 had a 00:33:51.299 --> 00:33:52.819 massive impact 00:33:52.819 --> 00:33:53.699 on millions 00:33:53.699 --> 00:33:54.500 of people 00:33:54.500 --> 00:33:56.399 largely because 00:33:56.399 --> 00:33:57.240 of their 00:33:57.240 --> 00:33:57.719 brilliant 00:33:57.719 --> 00:33:58.379 teaching, 00:33:59.039 --> 00:34:00.159 but also 00:34:00.159 --> 00:34:01.399 because of 00:34:01.399 --> 00:34:01.759 their 00:34:01.759 --> 00:34:02.679 admirable 00:34:02.680 --> 00:34:03.480 lives and 00:34:03.480 --> 00:34:04.080 characters. 00:34:05.080 --> 00:34:05.759 But the 00:34:05.759 --> 00:34:06.160 difference 00:34:06.160 --> 00:34:06.560 between 00:34:06.560 --> 00:34:07.140 Jesus 00:34:07.140 --> 00:34:09.519 and the 00:34:09.519 --> 00:34:10.440 others in 00:34:10.440 --> 00:34:11.079 that small 00:34:11.079 --> 00:34:11.579 group 00:34:11.579 --> 00:34:14.139 is that 00:34:14.139 --> 00:34:14.960 he was the 00:34:14.960 --> 00:34:15.700 only one 00:34:15.700 --> 00:34:16.360 who claimed 00:34:16.360 --> 00:34:17.059 to be 00:34:17.059 --> 00:34:18.960 God. 00:34:18.960 --> 00:34:21.300 God, the 00:34:21.300 --> 00:34:22.139 only one 00:34:22.139 --> 00:34:22.800 who claimed 00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:24.260 to be the 00:34:24.260 --> 00:34:24.740 God who 00:34:24.740 --> 00:34:25.440 created all 00:34:25.440 --> 00:34:26.159 things. 00:34:28.559 --> 00:34:29.220 Buddha 00:34:29.220 --> 00:34:30.340 emphatically 00:34:30.340 --> 00:34:30.940 said that 00:34:30.940 --> 00:34:31.579 he wasn't. 00:34:32.840 --> 00:34:33.360 Muhammad, 00:34:33.579 --> 00:34:33.920 of course, 00:34:33.980 --> 00:34:34.760 would never 00:34:34.760 --> 00:34:35.440 ever have 00:34:35.440 --> 00:34:35.840 claimed to 00:34:35.840 --> 00:34:36.420 be Allah 00:34:36.420 --> 00:34:38.539 and nor 00:34:38.539 --> 00:34:38.679 did 00:34:38.679 --> 00:34:39.480 Confucius. 00:34:41.420 --> 00:34:42.000 Jesus 00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:44.220 is the 00:34:44.220 --> 00:34:44.860 only one, 00:34:44.860 --> 00:34:47.000 God, 00:34:47.000 --> 00:34:47.140 but he's 00:34:47.140 --> 00:34:47.840 also part 00:34:47.840 --> 00:34:48.079 of a 00:34:48.079 --> 00:34:48.320 second 00:34:48.320 --> 00:34:48.760 group of 00:34:48.760 --> 00:34:50.059 people who 00:34:50.059 --> 00:34:50.500 claimed to 00:34:50.500 --> 00:34:51.039 be God. 00:34:51.400 --> 00:34:51.660 Of course, 00:34:51.740 --> 00:34:52.059 there are 00:34:52.059 --> 00:34:52.519 plenty of 00:34:52.519 --> 00:34:52.920 nut jobs 00:34:52.920 --> 00:34:53.360 out there, 00:34:53.400 --> 00:34:53.840 isn't there? 00:34:55.260 --> 00:34:55.720 And what 00:34:55.720 --> 00:34:56.200 makes him 00:34:56.200 --> 00:34:57.000 unique in 00:34:57.000 --> 00:34:57.960 this group 00:34:57.960 --> 00:34:59.519 of people, 00:35:00.740 --> 00:35:02.660 what makes 00:35:02.660 --> 00:35:03.539 in fact this 00:35:03.539 --> 00:35:03.980 whole group 00:35:03.980 --> 00:35:04.240 of people 00:35:04.240 --> 00:35:04.579 unique, 00:35:04.620 --> 00:35:05.099 apart from 00:35:05.099 --> 00:35:05.420 Jesus, 00:35:05.820 --> 00:35:06.340 is that the 00:35:06.340 --> 00:35:07.620 members of 00:35:07.620 --> 00:35:08.260 this group, 00:35:08.380 --> 00:35:08.880 this small 00:35:08.880 --> 00:35:09.140 group of 00:35:09.140 --> 00:35:09.500 people who 00:35:09.500 --> 00:35:09.860 claimed to 00:35:09.860 --> 00:35:10.280 be God, 00:35:10.660 --> 00:35:11.360 were only 00:35:11.360 --> 00:35:12.120 able to 00:35:12.120 --> 00:35:12.940 convince a 00:35:12.940 --> 00:35:14.059 very small 00:35:14.059 --> 00:35:14.539 group of 00:35:14.539 --> 00:35:14.880 people, 00:35:15.699 --> 00:35:16.159 that they 00:35:16.159 --> 00:35:16.599 were in 00:35:16.599 --> 00:35:17.300 fact divine, 00:35:18.460 --> 00:35:19.219 that they 00:35:19.219 --> 00:35:19.840 were in 00:35:19.840 --> 00:35:20.900 fact God. 00:35:23.619 --> 00:35:24.739 So why 00:35:24.739 --> 00:35:25.519 did Jesus 00:35:25.519 --> 00:35:26.480 succeed? 00:35:27.400 --> 00:35:28.360 Succeed as 00:35:28.360 --> 00:35:29.019 the only 00:35:29.019 --> 00:35:29.800 person who 00:35:29.800 --> 00:35:30.400 ever claimed 00:35:30.400 --> 00:35:32.779 deity and 00:35:32.779 --> 00:35:33.440 founded a 00:35:33.440 --> 00:35:34.259 major religion, 00:35:34.920 --> 00:35:35.480 in fact the 00:35:35.480 --> 00:35:36.300 largest one. 00:35:40.779 --> 00:35:41.559 How was 00:35:41.559 --> 00:35:42.059 he able to 00:35:42.059 --> 00:35:42.519 do that? 00:35:44.539 --> 00:35:45.179 Firstly, 00:35:45.340 --> 00:35:45.779 because his 00:35:45.779 --> 00:35:46.259 life was 00:35:46.259 --> 00:35:47.000 exquisitely 00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:47.519 beautiful. 00:35:49.139 --> 00:35:49.940 It is 00:35:49.940 --> 00:35:50.860 extraordinarily 00:35:50.860 --> 00:35:51.940 difficult to 00:35:51.940 --> 00:35:53.059 claim to 00:35:53.059 --> 00:35:53.860 be God, 00:35:54.279 --> 00:35:54.960 to claim to 00:35:54.960 --> 00:35:55.579 be perfect, 00:35:56.400 --> 00:35:57.759 to claim to 00:35:57.759 --> 00:35:58.539 be divine, 00:35:59.380 --> 00:36:00.480 and then at 00:36:00.480 --> 00:36:01.599 the same time 00:36:01.599 --> 00:36:02.300 get everyone 00:36:02.300 --> 00:36:03.539 you live with 00:36:03.539 --> 00:36:04.519 to be convinced 00:36:04.519 --> 00:36:05.119 of that truth 00:36:05.119 --> 00:36:05.619 as well. 00:36:05.619 --> 00:36:05.719 God. 00:36:11.519 --> 00:36:11.880 I mean, 00:36:12.579 --> 00:36:14.500 his disciples 00:36:14.500 --> 00:36:15.199 were with 00:36:15.199 --> 00:36:15.579 him for 00:36:15.579 --> 00:36:16.739 three years. 00:36:17.119 --> 00:36:17.679 On the 00:36:17.679 --> 00:36:18.639 most part, 00:36:19.179 --> 00:36:19.920 if we had 00:36:19.920 --> 00:36:20.900 12 people who 00:36:20.900 --> 00:36:21.440 lived with 00:36:21.440 --> 00:36:22.199 us for 00:36:22.199 --> 00:36:23.000 three years, 00:36:23.380 --> 00:36:24.019 you wouldn't 00:36:24.019 --> 00:36:24.639 get past 00:36:24.639 --> 00:36:25.259 lunch on the 00:36:25.259 --> 00:36:26.279 first day and 00:36:26.279 --> 00:36:27.000 your claims to 00:36:27.000 --> 00:36:28.460 divinity would 00:36:28.460 --> 00:36:29.039 be crushed. 00:36:31.039 --> 00:36:32.119 The evidence is 00:36:32.119 --> 00:36:32.579 there for all 00:36:32.579 --> 00:36:32.980 to see. 00:36:32.980 --> 00:36:38.320 The other 00:36:38.320 --> 00:36:38.980 reason that 00:36:38.980 --> 00:36:39.559 Jesus was 00:36:39.559 --> 00:36:40.320 worshipped by 00:36:40.320 --> 00:36:41.460 Jews as 00:36:41.460 --> 00:36:42.300 God very 00:36:42.300 --> 00:36:43.820 significantly is 00:36:43.820 --> 00:36:44.240 that he in 00:36:44.240 --> 00:36:44.880 fact came back 00:36:44.880 --> 00:36:45.860 to life after 00:36:45.860 --> 00:36:46.179 he was 00:36:46.179 --> 00:36:47.480 crucified on 00:36:47.480 --> 00:36:47.860 a Roman 00:36:47.860 --> 00:36:48.440 cross. 00:36:50.599 --> 00:36:51.119 And so in 00:36:51.119 --> 00:36:52.099 Jesus Christ is 00:36:52.099 --> 00:36:52.800 a man who 00:36:52.800 --> 00:36:53.360 claimed to be 00:36:53.360 --> 00:36:55.039 God, yet who 00:36:55.039 --> 00:36:56.360 lived a life so 00:36:56.360 --> 00:36:57.840 great that he 00:36:57.840 --> 00:36:59.000 became the only 00:36:59.000 --> 00:37:00.400 person to 00:37:00.400 --> 00:37:01.500 convince a 00:37:01.500 --> 00:37:02.900 sizable part of 00:37:02.900 --> 00:37:04.380 humanity and 00:37:04.380 --> 00:37:05.639 continues to do 00:37:05.639 --> 00:37:06.880 so, that he 00:37:06.880 --> 00:37:07.980 was in fact who 00:37:07.980 --> 00:37:08.480 he said he 00:37:08.480 --> 00:37:08.840 was. 00:37:10.680 --> 00:37:11.639 And what that 00:37:11.639 --> 00:37:12.840 means is that 00:37:12.840 --> 00:37:14.079 none of us can 00:37:14.079 --> 00:37:15.220 be indifferent to 00:37:15.220 --> 00:37:15.880 that claim. 00:37:17.039 --> 00:37:18.079 No one can be 00:37:18.079 --> 00:37:18.579 indifferent to 00:37:18.579 --> 00:37:19.099 that claim. 00:37:19.599 --> 00:37:20.059 It's not just 00:37:20.059 --> 00:37:20.639 for people of 00:37:20.639 --> 00:37:21.019 faith. 00:37:22.920 --> 00:37:23.880 We cannot 00:37:23.880 --> 00:37:25.280 resolve the 00:37:25.280 --> 00:37:27.559 issue by 00:37:27.559 --> 00:37:29.059 saying he 00:37:29.059 --> 00:37:29.900 was only a 00:37:29.900 --> 00:37:30.619 great teacher, 00:37:30.780 --> 00:37:31.440 good bloke. 00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:33.320 work because 00:37:33.320 --> 00:37:34.420 all of his 00:37:34.420 --> 00:37:35.440 declarations of 00:37:35.440 --> 00:37:36.139 what he said 00:37:36.139 --> 00:37:36.980 about himself 00:37:36.980 --> 00:37:38.059 do not allow 00:37:38.059 --> 00:37:38.900 us just to 00:37:38.900 --> 00:37:39.519 land at that 00:37:39.519 --> 00:37:39.920 point. 00:37:42.980 --> 00:37:43.940 We can't 00:37:43.940 --> 00:37:44.460 say, well, he 00:37:44.460 --> 00:37:45.400 never really made 00:37:45.400 --> 00:37:46.280 those claims about 00:37:46.280 --> 00:37:47.300 himself because 00:37:47.300 --> 00:37:48.420 all the historical 00:37:48.420 --> 00:37:49.559 evidence is there. 00:37:50.559 --> 00:37:51.360 We cannot be 00:37:51.360 --> 00:37:52.679 content with the 00:37:52.679 --> 00:37:54.139 explanation that 00:37:54.139 --> 00:37:55.420 he was deranged 00:37:55.420 --> 00:37:56.400 or that he 00:37:56.400 --> 00:37:57.500 was a fraud 00:37:57.500 --> 00:37:59.820 because of the 00:37:59.820 --> 00:38:01.180 clear evidence 00:38:01.180 --> 00:38:02.659 of his wisdom 00:38:02.659 --> 00:38:03.099 and his 00:38:03.099 --> 00:38:04.420 greatness and 00:38:04.420 --> 00:38:05.260 the impact of 00:38:05.260 --> 00:38:06.159 his life on 00:38:06.159 --> 00:38:06.880 his followers 00:38:06.880 --> 00:38:08.940 and because of 00:38:08.940 --> 00:38:09.519 the historical 00:38:09.519 --> 00:38:10.460 case for his 00:38:10.460 --> 00:38:11.079 resurrection. 00:38:14.420 --> 00:38:15.360 And that 00:38:15.360 --> 00:38:16.079 leaves us with 00:38:16.079 --> 00:38:17.519 the final 00:38:17.519 --> 00:38:18.200 possible 00:38:18.200 --> 00:38:18.920 explanation, 00:38:19.760 --> 00:38:20.480 namely, that 00:38:20.480 --> 00:38:21.539 Jesus Christ 00:38:21.539 --> 00:38:23.719 is who he 00:38:23.719 --> 00:38:24.500 claimed to 00:38:24.500 --> 00:38:24.920 be. 00:38:26.179 --> 00:38:26.440 And that 00:38:26.440 --> 00:38:26.920 is the 00:38:26.920 --> 00:38:27.960 creator God 00:38:27.960 --> 00:38:30.759 coming into 00:38:30.759 --> 00:38:31.420 earth, 00:38:32.519 --> 00:38:33.400 siding with 00:38:33.400 --> 00:38:34.500 us to 00:38:34.500 --> 00:38:35.559 reveal the 00:38:35.559 --> 00:38:36.179 God who 00:38:36.179 --> 00:38:37.039 made it all 00:38:37.039 --> 00:38:38.079 and who 00:38:38.079 --> 00:38:38.779 sustains it 00:38:38.779 --> 00:38:39.119 all. 00:38:40.679 --> 00:38:41.259 You see, as 00:38:41.259 --> 00:38:41.960 the creator of 00:38:41.960 --> 00:38:42.519 the universe, 00:38:42.639 --> 00:38:43.079 he makes 00:38:43.079 --> 00:38:43.900 claims on 00:38:43.900 --> 00:38:44.960 every single 00:38:44.960 --> 00:38:45.619 one of our 00:38:45.619 --> 00:38:46.139 lives. 00:38:46.139 --> 00:38:48.059 And what 00:38:48.059 --> 00:38:48.759 he said to 00:38:48.759 --> 00:38:51.500 Thomas in 00:38:51.500 --> 00:38:52.440 John 14, 00:38:53.079 --> 00:38:53.500 and it's a 00:38:53.500 --> 00:38:54.059 little verse 00:38:54.059 --> 00:38:54.440 that came 00:38:54.440 --> 00:38:55.099 straight after 00:38:55.099 --> 00:38:55.539 what was 00:38:55.539 --> 00:38:55.960 read, 00:38:57.179 --> 00:38:58.139 still stands 00:38:58.139 --> 00:38:58.639 for your 00:38:58.639 --> 00:38:59.159 life and 00:38:59.159 --> 00:38:59.559 for my 00:38:59.559 --> 00:39:00.000 life. 00:39:01.000 --> 00:39:01.379 This is 00:39:01.379 --> 00:39:01.779 still the 00:39:01.779 --> 00:39:02.420 claim over 00:39:02.420 --> 00:39:03.139 your life 00:39:03.139 --> 00:39:04.099 now. 00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:05.839 Jesus said, 00:39:06.259 --> 00:39:06.900 I am 00:39:06.900 --> 00:39:08.239 the way, 00:39:09.239 --> 00:39:10.099 the truth, 00:39:10.379 --> 00:39:10.759 and the 00:39:10.759 --> 00:39:11.299 life. 00:39:12.319 --> 00:39:13.079 And no 00:39:13.079 --> 00:39:14.059 one comes 00:39:14.059 --> 00:39:14.500 to the 00:39:14.500 --> 00:39:14.940 Father 00:39:14.940 --> 00:39:16.360 except 00:39:16.360 --> 00:39:17.139 through me. 00:39:18.980 --> 00:39:19.260 And so 00:39:19.260 --> 00:39:19.460 in the 00:39:19.460 --> 00:39:19.980 next three 00:39:19.980 --> 00:39:20.539 weeks, 00:39:21.860 --> 00:39:22.480 Nick and 00:39:22.480 --> 00:39:23.039 I and 00:39:23.039 --> 00:39:23.380 John, 00:39:24.099 --> 00:39:24.960 we're going 00:39:24.960 --> 00:39:25.220 to be 00:39:25.220 --> 00:39:26.000 unpacking 00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:26.599 each one 00:39:26.599 --> 00:39:27.000 of those 00:39:27.000 --> 00:39:27.760 claims. 00:39:29.360 --> 00:39:29.860 Jesus is 00:39:29.860 --> 00:39:30.340 the way, 00:39:31.420 --> 00:39:32.059 he's the 00:39:32.059 --> 00:39:32.519 truth, 00:39:33.400 --> 00:39:34.079 and he's 00:39:34.079 --> 00:39:34.619 the life. 00:39:35.840 --> 00:39:36.420 And as 00:39:36.420 --> 00:39:37.240 hard as 00:39:37.240 --> 00:39:38.059 it is to 00:39:38.059 --> 00:39:39.000 believe that 00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:39.960 he is 00:39:39.960 --> 00:39:40.420 God, 00:39:40.539 --> 00:39:40.980 come to 00:39:40.980 --> 00:39:41.460 earth, 00:39:42.460 --> 00:39:43.860 the more 00:39:43.860 --> 00:39:44.139 you 00:39:44.139 --> 00:39:44.880 investigate, 00:39:44.940 --> 00:39:48.019 it becomes 00:39:48.019 --> 00:39:48.659 harder, 00:39:49.200 --> 00:39:49.619 much more 00:39:49.619 --> 00:39:50.340 difficult not 00:39:50.340 --> 00:39:50.860 to believe 00:39:50.860 --> 00:39:51.039 it. 00:39:53.039 --> 00:39:53.880 It is, 00:39:54.059 --> 00:39:54.260 in fact, 00:39:54.360 --> 00:39:55.179 reasonable to 00:39:55.179 --> 00:39:55.480 be a 00:39:55.480 --> 00:39:55.900 follower of 00:39:55.900 --> 00:39:57.039 Jesus in 00:39:57.039 --> 00:39:58.079 2026. 00:39:58.920 --> 00:39:59.300 And I 00:39:59.300 --> 00:40:00.179 invite you, 00:40:00.400 --> 00:40:00.659 if you're 00:40:00.659 --> 00:40:01.139 someone who 00:40:01.139 --> 00:40:01.599 does not 00:40:01.599 --> 00:40:02.340 know him, 00:40:02.820 --> 00:40:03.360 I'd invite 00:40:03.360 --> 00:40:03.700 you to 00:40:03.700 --> 00:40:05.960 explore him, 00:40:06.119 --> 00:40:06.619 make that as 00:40:06.619 --> 00:40:07.139 a massive 00:40:07.139 --> 00:40:07.940 priority for 00:40:07.940 --> 00:40:08.440 your life 00:40:08.440 --> 00:40:09.440 in 2026. 00:40:09.440 --> 00:40:09.559 2026. 00:40:10.559 --> 00:40:11.300 And if 00:40:11.300 --> 00:40:11.679 you do 00:40:11.679 --> 00:40:12.380 know him, 00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:13.420 to make 00:40:13.420 --> 00:40:14.059 a plan to 00:40:14.059 --> 00:40:14.740 go deeper 00:40:14.740 --> 00:40:15.220 to know 00:40:15.220 --> 00:40:15.940 him more 00:40:15.940 --> 00:40:18.519 in 2026. 00:40:18.519 --> 00:40:20.920 as 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:20.920 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:50.900 Thank you.