WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.560
 Okay.

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 Everybody meet at least one person?

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 How are you guys doing?

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 Wow.

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 How are you guys doing?

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 Okay.

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 Hey, my name is Tobin.

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 I'm the teaching pastor here.

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 If this is your first time at Watermark, or it was your second time, or it's interesting,

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 we believe that God has you here for a reason, that you're not here by a mistake.

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 Some of you might feel like you're here by a mistake after this is over with, but you

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 are not here by a mistake.

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 God has you here for a reason, and we believe the biggest reason that he has you here for

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 is that he wants to meet you, and he wants you to meet him.

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 When we started this church a while back, one of the first things we did was we said, we

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 pulled out a book like this, and on the very first page of this book, we wrote down this.

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 It says, attempt something so great for God that it's destined to fail unless God is in

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 it.

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 And that's why we've started this church to trust that God's name would be made great

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 and he'd be glorified.

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 What we need from you, because people have asked me, this is a very strange church.

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 The last four weeks I've had people come and go, this is very strange.

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 You're family-oriented, your community, the kids are involved, you do communion together,

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 you're on a mission, you're serving, you're reaching out.

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 It's very unusual, and I usually say that's great because that's what we want to be like.

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 But what we need from you if you come in here and sit here is we need you to do a couple

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 things, because we don't want you just to come in and sit down, listen and sing, and then

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 get up and walk away.

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 Because if you do that, we feel like you've missed God.

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 If you do that, we feel like we've failed as a church, we feel like we've failed as a

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 staff, we feel like we've failed as a pastor.

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 What we need for you to do as you go on this journey with God is we need you to do four things.

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 We need you to pray.

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 We need you to pray that God's name would be made great.

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 We need you to pray that people would come to know him.

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 You know, some of the things we pray as a staff, we pray for this venue, because we

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 don't know where we're going to meet next week.

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 We're hoping that we're meeting in Cyreport, and I think we are going to meet on the third

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 floor for the next couple months, but we're not sure.

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 We lost our storage facility last week, so we don't have a place to store our stuff here.

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 So today, a whole bunch of us are going to get together, and we're going to take it down

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 to the garage, and we're going to store it in the garage.

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 And so we pray for things like that, because we don't know what's going to happen next week.

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 We're kind of on the edge, kind of raw, or you'd probably say kind of raw.

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 We pray for you.

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 Before the service starts, we go through these chairs, and we pray for everybody who's going

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 to sit in these chairs.

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 We pray that you would meet God.

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 We pray for the burdens that you have on your heart today.

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 We pray for the heaviness that you feel.

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 We pray for the things that might block out the message and the music and the worship

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 and the community, and we pray that those things wouldn't happen.

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 We pray for those people in those buildings right there.

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 You know, if statistics are right, 95% of those people have never heard about Christ, and

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 that when they die, they will go to a place where God is not, if Christ is not in their life.

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 And so we pray for the people in those buildings, that they would have a chance to hear the gospel

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 message that we as a church could reach out to them and spend time with them.

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 The next thing we need you to do is we need you to serve.

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 We believe that if you don't use your gifts, your talents, if you're not coming in here

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 and being a part of this church, if you just come in and you sit down, you watch, you listen,

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 and you walk away and you sneak out really quick, you grab some coffee, that you've missed

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 out what it means to be on a journey with Christ.

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 That everybody in here has gifts and talents, and we need you to serve and to use those

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 to make the body of Christ better.

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 The third thing we need you to do is we just need you to give.

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 We need to give of your time.

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 We need to give of your money.

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 All these things that allow these things to happen.

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 We don't, a couple weeks ago someone came up to me and said, you know, if you pass the

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 bucket in front of everybody and you put the money bucket in front of them, your offering

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 would increase by 20%.

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 Because statistically, that's just what happens.

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 And I said, you know, that's probably true.

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 But that's not what we want to be about as a church.

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 Because we believe that your offering financially and everything else back to God is the greatest

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 indicator of where your heart is.

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 And so we have these little blue envelopes that are everywhere, and we talk about it all

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 the time.

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 But we don't want to guilt you into giving, because that's how you worship the Lord.

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 It's the greatest indicator of how you worship the Lord.

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 And so the tithe that you give today or throughout this time, we want you to do that because you

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 love God.

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 Not because someone passes a bucket in front of you and guilts you into giving.

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 And we promise as a church that we'll use all of those things to create opportunities for

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 people to hear of Christ.

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 People who've never had the chance, we promise that we'll use these things to give them that

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 chance, because that's why we're here as a church.

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 So we need you to pray, we need you to serve, we need you to give, and finally we need you

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 to invest.

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 We need you, if you're here and you're on a journey with Christ, you're a Christ follower,

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 we need you to act like that in your workplace.

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 I was talking to somebody two weeks ago, and they came, I said, why did you come here?

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 And he says, well, I was watching someone in my office, and I realized that they interacted

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 and they reacted differently when everybody was getting fired.

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 They actually prayed for those people who were getting fired with all these layoffs.

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 And so I went up to them, I said, why do you do that?

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 And he goes, well, I'm a follower of Christ.

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 And I pray that God would use this opportunity to open up other opportunities in those people's

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 lives.

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 And the person said, well, what church do you go to?

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 Because I want to go there too.

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 We need you to invest.

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 We need you to walk like you're supposed to walk as a follower of Christ.

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 This month, 40 years ago, a family saw this little 10-year-old boy wandering the streets

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 of his neighborhood.

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 They saw his family that was having issues and difficulties, and they invited him to church.

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 They invested in my life.

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 And I saw the husband and wife love God and love each other.

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 Because they invested in my life, I believe I'm here right now.

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 And so we need you as a family of God on this journey together in community to pray,

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 to serve, to give, and to invest, so that God's name would be made great, his kingdom would

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 be glorified, and eternity would be different.

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 Amen?

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 Let me pray for us.

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 Father, we thank you for this day.

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 I thank you for my brothers and sisters here.

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 We thank you for all the gifts that you give us, all the talents, all the resources.

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 We know that all these things, even these kids that are sitting around and making our

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 lives uncomfortable sometimes because they're crazy, all these things are gifts from you.

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 And so, Lord, we worship you, we praise you, and we thank you for these amazing, amazing

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 gifts.

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 We realize one day that we'll come before you, and you're going to ask us how we use these

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 gifts.

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 Did we use these gifts to make your name great?

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 Did we use these gifts to give people an opportunity to hear about your son?

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 And, Lord, as a church, we want to be able to say, yes, we did.

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 We probably failed more than we succeeded, but we failed a lot because we wanted to attempt

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 something so great for you that unless you were in it, it would fail.

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 So, Lord, I thank you for my brothers and sisters in here today as we go on this journey together.

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 I pray that you would touch our hearts.

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 I pray that we would be different, that we would be different, that we'd be different as

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 we look at your son and see how different and beautiful he is.

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 We pray for the youth as they're about to go to their Sunday school classes, that you'd

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 watch over them, that you'd open their eyes, that they would see your son, Jesus, at 10

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 years old, like a little boy did 40 years ago, and he fell in love with you.

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 Lord, we pray the same.

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 We pray for mercy on their teachers, mercy for their parents.

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 We pray, most of all, that your son would be made great in their lives.

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 So, Lord, we come before you and we deeply need you.

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 Lord, we deeply need you.

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 Be with us.

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 We pray these things in your son, Jesus' holy name.

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 Amen.

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 Watermark kids, you are dismissed, parents.

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 The kids will be brought back up for you at the end of the service.

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 So, kids out the back and youth are in the service today because Eric is preaching.

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 This morning, Eric Scott will be teaching us as we continue our guerrilla letter series.

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 This week, we take a closer look at some of the letters you sent in regarding questions

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 you had about the Bible.

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 Here are just a few.

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 Dear Pastor, I find it difficult to read the Bible.

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 Well, some of the stories just seem too impossible to believe in or understand.

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 Are we to believe that they are all true?

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 Or are they just symbols of what the truth should look like?

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 I was always told we should read the Old Testament as fiction and the New Testament as non-fiction.

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 How am I supposed to handle the Bible?

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 I mean, what kind of role should I allow it to play in my life?

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 It seems to me that either I can abide by it all,

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 or I can go half and half and leave out the things that do not seem relevant to my life.

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 Or I can just use it as a good word to encourage me when I am down.

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 How do you determine which way to use it?

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 What would you recommend as a good amount of time to read the Bible every week?

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 I am pretty busy these days and find it hard to read it at all.

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 Help!

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 Help!

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 There are so many different translations of the Bible out there.

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 What am I to make of all these?

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 And how am I to navigate my way through the differences?

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 Pastor, my friends mock me because I tell them that I believe the Bible is literally true.

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 Am I being foolish?

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 How should I respond to them on this?

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 They tell me that the Bible was written for primitive people during primitive times,

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 not for us modern men.

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 2 Timothy 3 says,

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 All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for a teaching,

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 for reproof,

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 for correction,

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 and for training in righteousness,

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 that the man of God may be complete,

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 equipped for every good work.

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 And in 2 Peter 1 we find this,

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 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths

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 when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,

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 but we were eyeing witnesses of His majesty.

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 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father,

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 and the voice was born to Him by the majestic glory,

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 This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.

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 We ourselves heard this very voice born from heaven,

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 for we were with Him on the holy mountain.

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 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed,

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 to which you will do well to pay attention

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 as a lamp shining in a dark place,

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 until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

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 Knowing this, first of all,

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 that no prophecy of scripture comes from someone's own interpretation.

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 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man,

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 but men spoke from God,

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 as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

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 This is today's reading.

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 Good morning.

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 My name is Eric Scott.

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 I'm the youth guy here at Watermark, if you don't recognize me.

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 And like they just said, we'll be talking about the Bible today.

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 Surprise, surprise, it's church.

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 We're talking about the Bible.

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 And as you can tell also from the questions,

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 these questions about the Bible cover a large range of topics about the Bible,

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 and there's no way that we can in-depth answer every single one of these questions

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 without this just becoming really dry and academic,

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 which is not what anyone wants to sit through this morning.

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 So I'm going to try to touch on all of these,

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 but some we will cover more in-depth than others.

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 And as I listened to the questions and read through the questions this week,

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 it really seemed to me like there were two major questions

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 that were running throughout all of these other questions.

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 So I want to start by looking at question number one,

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 is the Bible true?

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 And then we'll transition to how much or how relevant should the Bible be to my life?

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 And if there's a question that was asked and you feel like at the end of the day,

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 like, ah, Eric didn't answer my question adequately.

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 I really want more depth and insight into this.

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 Remember that this morning, this talk is not the be-all end-all on Watermark's teaching on the Bible,

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 but it's part of an ongoing conversation that will be carried on throughout the life of the church.

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 So, you know, keep coming back, keep listening,

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 keep talking with people within the church in your community groups,

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 and I guarantee you every single one of these questions has an answer.

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 So question number one, is the Bible true?

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 Well, yes.

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 Yes.

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 And, again, my tendency is to just go into academic reasoning of,

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 here's argument A, B, C, D, E, F, G of why the Bible is true.

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 But we don't have time for that today.

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 So I'm going to say three quick things about the truth of the Bible,

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 and then we're going to move on.

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 Thing number one, there's a lot of evidence out there to point to the truth of the Bible.

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 Archaeology is constantly making finds that back up stories from the Bible.

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 There are a lot of stories out there.

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 People think, oh, this story seems too unbelievable.

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 The city of Jericho couldn't have had their walls just fall in on them

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 or fall down just from people walking around it.

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 And then even if that did happen, the Israelites, when they came in to take over the city,

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 they wouldn't have just burned everything.

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 They would have taken all this stuff for themselves.

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 And then archaeology goes out and finds the city where all of these supplies

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 that would have been so useful to someone conquering it have just been burned inside it.

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 And again, this doesn't conclusively prove that absolutely, yes, the Bible is true.

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 But archaeology consistently points towards the truth of the Bible.

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 Also, throughout history, there are historical records of things happening

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 that were prophesied in the Bible hundreds of years before

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 that couldn't have come in the Bible beforehand

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 without the Bible being true and coming from God.

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 So, for example, there was a rich port city called Tyre.

00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:56.360
 And in the Bible, it was predicted that this city would be destroyed

00:15:56.360 --> 00:15:58.539
 and it was predicted how it would be destroyed.

00:15:59.059 --> 00:16:02.080
 And hundreds of years later, it was destroyed in the exact way

00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:04.299
 that the Bible predicted that it would be destroyed.

00:16:05.500 --> 00:16:07.919
 Also, the Bible is very internally consistent.

00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:13.159
 It consists of 66 smaller books written by dozens of authors over thousands of years.

00:16:13.159 --> 00:16:18.039
 And this internal consistency is hard to explain apart from it being consistent

00:16:18.039 --> 00:16:20.819
 because it's true and it coming from a divine source.

00:16:21.819 --> 00:16:26.899
 And like I said, these can't conclusively prove that, yes, the Bible is absolutely 100% true.

00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:29.360
 But there's strong evidence to point towards it.

00:16:29.419 --> 00:16:32.179
 And if this is a topic that you're more interested in,

00:16:32.219 --> 00:16:37.259
 there are a lot of great resources out there that you can look at for further personal study.

00:16:37.259 --> 00:16:42.500
 Some that I would recommend are a book called The Reason for God by a guy named Tim Keller,

00:16:43.399 --> 00:16:48.559
 a book called But Is It Real by a girl named Amy Orr Ewing,

00:16:49.100 --> 00:16:53.399
 and Evidence That Demands a Verdict by a guy named Josh McDowell.

00:16:53.960 --> 00:16:56.340
 So that's the first thing about the truth of the Bible.

00:16:56.740 --> 00:17:01.740
 The second thing, that Jesus believed that the Old Testament was true.

00:17:01.740 --> 00:17:07.059
 If you look at the teachings of Jesus, he consistently says, it is written.

00:17:07.940 --> 00:17:11.400
 And when he uses this phrase, he's pointing back towards the Old Testament.

00:17:11.620 --> 00:17:15.200
 He's using teachings from the Old Testament and saying that these are true

00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:17.480
 and carrying them forward to the people of his day.

00:17:18.460 --> 00:17:21.940
 Not only this, but also he believed that not only the teachings,

00:17:22.059 --> 00:17:24.460
 but also the stories of the Old Testament are true.

00:17:25.299 --> 00:17:29.859
 So if you look at Matthew chapter 12, Jesus talks about the story of Jonah.

00:17:29.859 --> 00:17:34.059
 If you don't know the story of Jonah, there's this guy, he disobeyed God,

00:17:34.199 --> 00:17:38.179
 tried to run away, got thrown overboard from a boat, swallowed by a big fish,

00:17:38.619 --> 00:17:41.519
 stayed in there for three days and three nights, and then got spat out onto the land

00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:43.579
 and decided this time maybe I should obey God.

00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:50.019
 And Jesus is talking about his coming death and his coming resurrection.

00:17:50.399 --> 00:17:52.599
 And he points back to the story of Jonah and he says,

00:17:52.899 --> 00:17:57.419
 just like Jonah was swallowed by this fish and stayed three nights and three days

00:17:57.420 --> 00:18:00.019
 in the belly of this fish and then came back.

00:18:00.920 --> 00:18:01.759
 I'm going to die.

00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:06.519
 I'm going to spend three days and three nights in the ground and then I'll be back.

00:18:07.320 --> 00:18:09.800
 And he doesn't look back on this story and say like,

00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:15.480
 you know, there's this old myth, this old legend that these gullible people in olden times believed

00:18:15.480 --> 00:18:18.200
 that this guy was actually swallowed by a fish.

00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:20.320
 He says, hey, this happened.

00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:26.159
 And if we are Christians and we believe that Jesus was actually God in the flesh,

00:18:26.619 --> 00:18:29.240
 the God who made the world, who became a person,

00:18:29.240 --> 00:18:33.500
 and he believes that the Old Testament stories are actually true,

00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:38.659
 then I believe that that should be sufficient evidence for us as Christians to believe

00:18:38.659 --> 00:18:41.339
 that the Old Testament teachings and stories are true.

00:18:41.460 --> 00:18:43.159
 And I know not everyone in here is Christians,

00:18:43.700 --> 00:18:49.799
 but if we are, then I think that Jesus believing these stories should be sufficient for us to believe them.

00:18:50.779 --> 00:18:54.339
 The third thing I want to say about the truth of the Bible is that

00:18:54.339 --> 00:18:57.779
 the internal claims of the Bible about itself

00:18:57.779 --> 00:19:04.539
 mean that it either has to be entirely true or it loses all of its validity.

00:19:05.899 --> 00:19:09.980
 It either has to be entirely true or it loses all of its validity.

00:19:10.759 --> 00:19:11.839
 And here's why I say this.

00:19:11.879 --> 00:19:14.759
 Because in 2 Timothy 3.16, like the readers just read,

00:19:15.019 --> 00:19:19.319
 it says that all scripture, all of the Bible is breathed out by God.

00:19:19.319 --> 00:19:20.980
 It comes directly from him.

00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:22.439
 It has a divine source.

00:19:23.539 --> 00:19:26.619
 And then if we look at the book of Hebrews,

00:19:27.179 --> 00:19:33.019
 it says that Hebrews 6.18 says that it is impossible for God to lie.

00:19:33.019 --> 00:19:37.279
 So we have a claim that the Bible comes from God

00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:40.839
 and a claim that it is impossible for God to lie.

00:19:42.759 --> 00:19:45.639
 Which means that if there is something in the Bible that is not true,

00:19:45.740 --> 00:19:50.299
 say, you know, the Bible says that Jesus died and then rose again from the dead.

00:19:50.299 --> 00:19:55.039
 If that is not true, if Jesus did not rise from the dead after he died,

00:19:55.240 --> 00:19:58.139
 then that means that the Bible has a lie in it.

00:19:59.559 --> 00:20:04.159
 Which means either God can't lie, but the Bible came from somewhere else

00:20:04.159 --> 00:20:06.000
 and the Bible loses its divine source.

00:20:07.359 --> 00:20:10.839
 Or the Bible actually came from God, but God can tell lies.

00:20:10.980 --> 00:20:14.919
 And so we can't really trust that this source that it comes from is reliable.

00:20:14.920 --> 00:20:21.800
 And so the Bible claims that either it has to be entirely true

00:20:21.800 --> 00:20:24.779
 or it loses all of its validity

00:20:24.779 --> 00:20:29.320
 because either the source or the character of the source is thrown into question.

00:20:29.319 --> 00:20:35.200
 And so in terms of the question of, you know, what should I do?

00:20:35.339 --> 00:20:38.759
 Should I choose parts of it that I think are true and leave the rest off as stories?

00:20:39.220 --> 00:20:42.619
 If we decide to do that, that puts us in a very dangerous position.

00:20:43.179 --> 00:20:45.099
 Because all of a sudden when we do this, when we say,

00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:49.579
 I'm not so sure that this story is true, maybe I'll just ignore that.

00:20:50.619 --> 00:20:53.039
 That puts us at a point where we are either saying,

00:20:53.179 --> 00:20:57.379
 the Bible didn't come from God or God is not trustworthy.

00:20:57.380 --> 00:21:01.540
 And either way, we're saying, I am wiser than God.

00:21:01.620 --> 00:21:02.580
 I know better than God.

00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:07.440
 I'm going to make a decision for myself about whether what God actually says is true.

00:21:10.040 --> 00:21:13.680
 So there's lots of evidence out there to point to the truth of the Bible.

00:21:14.360 --> 00:21:17.920
 Jesus believed that the entire Bible, including the Old Testament, was true.

00:21:18.540 --> 00:21:23.600
 And the Bible either has to be entirely true or it loses all of its validity.

00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:26.819
 But okay, the Bible is true.

00:21:26.899 --> 00:21:28.179
 What difference does it make in my life?

00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:32.480
 There's a lot of stuff out there that's true that makes absolutely no difference in my life.

00:21:33.799 --> 00:21:36.839
 Take the user guide for a NASA space shuttle.

00:21:38.719 --> 00:21:41.539
 I'm sure that the contents of that are absolutely true.

00:21:41.939 --> 00:21:44.099
 But it makes absolutely no difference in my life.

00:21:44.099 --> 00:21:47.719
 I've never read the user guide for a NASA space shuttle.

00:21:48.500 --> 00:21:50.740
 And even if I did, I've never been on one.

00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:51.799
 I never planned to be on one.

00:21:51.879 --> 00:21:56.159
 So the stuff that I could learn from that wouldn't make an impact on my day-to-day life.

00:21:57.119 --> 00:21:58.839
 If I was an astronaut, great.

00:21:59.899 --> 00:22:00.639
 But I'm not.

00:22:01.399 --> 00:22:05.179
 And so the fact that this true information is out here doesn't mean a thing to me.

00:22:05.699 --> 00:22:07.719
 It's cool that other people can go into space,

00:22:07.720 --> 00:22:11.700
 but that's not going to save my life if stuff starts breaking down on the space shuttle.

00:22:13.380 --> 00:22:17.259
 And so, you know, I think the fact that it's true in and of itself

00:22:17.259 --> 00:22:19.700
 doesn't make it impactful on our lives.

00:22:20.839 --> 00:22:24.220
 And there are a number of things that could keep it from being impactful.

00:22:25.559 --> 00:22:28.319
 So I think of the security guards at my building.

00:22:29.900 --> 00:22:32.059
 The security guards at my building don't speak English.

00:22:32.059 --> 00:22:35.720
 One of them speaks enough English that when I walk in, he goes,

00:22:36.019 --> 00:22:37.139
 Hi, Eric, how are you?

00:22:37.679 --> 00:22:39.539
 And I say, I'm good, Mr. Wong, how are you?

00:22:39.720 --> 00:22:40.659
 He says, I am fine.

00:22:41.399 --> 00:22:42.819
 And that is the extent of his English.

00:22:43.399 --> 00:22:46.879
 Try and talk about anything else, and he just gives up.

00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:49.539
 I even, like, try and type it out on my phone in English

00:22:49.539 --> 00:22:51.819
 and hit the translate button so he can read it in Chinese.

00:22:51.960 --> 00:22:52.720
 Still doesn't work.

00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:54.379
 He's just lost.

00:22:55.339 --> 00:22:57.679
 But he actually speaks significantly more English

00:22:57.679 --> 00:23:00.299
 than the other security guard that's regularly at my building.

00:23:00.299 --> 00:23:03.579
 This woman speaks not a word of English, except for,

00:23:03.899 --> 00:23:04.079
 Hello!

00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:06.299
 In that tone of voice.

00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:11.659
 But this doesn't stop her from trying to communicate with me on a regular basis.

00:23:12.460 --> 00:23:13.740
 Sometimes it's pretty easy.

00:23:13.879 --> 00:23:16.359
 I walk inside on a cold day in shorts and a t-shirt,

00:23:16.519 --> 00:23:17.960
 and she's like, Oh, brrr.

00:23:18.419 --> 00:23:20.399
 I'm like, Yes, I am cold.

00:23:20.639 --> 00:23:23.200
 Or I walk inside at mealtime, and she's like,

00:23:23.259 --> 00:23:24.259
 Oh, six for me, ah.

00:23:24.539 --> 00:23:25.759
 I'm like, Hi, hi.

00:23:27.419 --> 00:23:28.919
 That means, Have you eaten yet?

00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:29.639
 And I say, Yes.

00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:33.039
 But other times, she tries to talk to me,

00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:35.859
 and I just have no clue at all what she's saying.

00:23:36.019 --> 00:23:37.720
 And so it turns into this game of charades

00:23:37.720 --> 00:23:40.839
 where she tries to act out something and communicate to me,

00:23:40.940 --> 00:23:41.579
 and I'm just like,

00:23:41.700 --> 00:23:44.039
 I have no idea what's going on.

00:23:46.079 --> 00:23:48.319
 And usually, it's not that big of a deal.

00:23:48.500 --> 00:23:50.399
 I just hop in the elevator, say bye-bye,

00:23:50.599 --> 00:23:51.579
 and go up to my apartment.

00:23:51.980 --> 00:23:53.700
 But sometimes I can tell from her tone of voice

00:23:53.700 --> 00:23:55.399
 that what she's trying to communicate with me

00:23:55.399 --> 00:23:56.980
 is very urgent and important.

00:23:56.980 --> 00:24:00.019
 And in these moments, I have to pull out my phone,

00:24:00.860 --> 00:24:03.000
 call up Jeremy, my roommate who speaks Canto,

00:24:03.860 --> 00:24:05.839
 say, Hey, listen to what this lady is saying,

00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:06.960
 and then tell me what it means.

00:24:07.460 --> 00:24:08.319
 Hand her the phone.

00:24:08.700 --> 00:24:09.519
 Let her explain it.

00:24:09.860 --> 00:24:10.680
 Take back the phone.

00:24:11.420 --> 00:24:12.759
 Have him relay the message.

00:24:13.180 --> 00:24:14.279
 And then depending on the message,

00:24:14.380 --> 00:24:15.759
 I either turn to the lady and say,

00:24:15.839 --> 00:24:16.779
 Okay, okay, I'm good.

00:24:16.779 --> 00:24:19.599
 Or I say something to him,

00:24:19.859 --> 00:24:20.579
 hand the phone back,

00:24:20.759 --> 00:24:22.480
 have him pass the message on for me again,

00:24:22.779 --> 00:24:25.059
 and we just do this phone relay game.

00:24:27.079 --> 00:24:28.599
 And a lot of the times,

00:24:28.680 --> 00:24:29.859
 the messages aren't that important,

00:24:29.980 --> 00:24:30.859
 but sometimes they are.

00:24:30.920 --> 00:24:32.559
 One time, I walk downstairs,

00:24:33.079 --> 00:24:34.259
 and the lady's like,

00:24:34.339 --> 00:24:35.920
 you can tell from the way that she's talking

00:24:35.920 --> 00:24:37.059
 that it's very important.

00:24:37.639 --> 00:24:39.259
 And all I hear is like,

00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:40.259
 blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

00:24:40.339 --> 00:24:42.339
 Dixai, Dixai, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

00:24:42.460 --> 00:24:44.639
 I'm like, there's water dripping.

00:24:45.080 --> 00:24:46.240
 It's not raining outside.

00:24:46.440 --> 00:24:47.840
 Do I need an umbrella when I go out?

00:24:47.900 --> 00:24:48.800
 What's going on?

00:24:49.820 --> 00:24:51.500
 And she's just like,

00:24:51.800 --> 00:24:53.420
 blah, blah, blah, Dixai, Dixai.

00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:56.360
 I'm like, what's going on?

00:24:56.940 --> 00:24:58.040
 So I bust out my phone.

00:24:58.120 --> 00:24:58.700
 I call Jeremy,

00:24:59.360 --> 00:25:00.820
 and I'm like,

00:25:01.060 --> 00:25:02.700
 I can't understand what's going on here.

00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:04.680
 So I hand the phone to the lady.

00:25:05.060 --> 00:25:06.460
 She explains it, hands it back,

00:25:06.500 --> 00:25:06.840
 and he's like,

00:25:06.900 --> 00:25:09.780
 Oh, someone in our side of the building

00:25:09.780 --> 00:25:11.080
 has a dripping air conditioner,

00:25:11.280 --> 00:25:12.420
 so she wants us to just check

00:25:12.420 --> 00:25:13.460
 and make sure it's not us.

00:25:13.460 --> 00:25:14.779
 You know, it's really simple,

00:25:15.340 --> 00:25:17.079
 really easy message to pass on,

00:25:17.360 --> 00:25:18.100
 but because of the fact

00:25:18.100 --> 00:25:19.640
 that we don't speak the same language,

00:25:19.880 --> 00:25:21.259
 I couldn't get that message.

00:25:21.980 --> 00:25:23.680
 I think a lot of people have this idea

00:25:23.680 --> 00:25:25.319
 that the Bible is like this,

00:25:25.880 --> 00:25:30.039
 that it is difficult to understand,

00:25:30.140 --> 00:25:31.400
 that it's reliant upon

00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:33.980
 somewhat sketchy at best interpretation

00:25:33.980 --> 00:25:34.900
 on our part,

00:25:35.079 --> 00:25:36.319
 like the game of charades

00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:38.700
 that I play with my security guard

00:25:38.700 --> 00:25:40.140
 where I think she's talking about,

00:25:40.299 --> 00:25:41.140
 you know, it's raining,

00:25:41.140 --> 00:25:41.920
 you need an umbrella,

00:25:42.060 --> 00:25:42.940
 and she's actually saying

00:25:42.940 --> 00:25:44.100
 your air conditioner is dripping,

00:25:44.759 --> 00:25:48.140
 or they think that it absolutely requires

00:25:48.740 --> 00:25:50.560
 highly skilled interpreters

00:25:50.560 --> 00:25:53.140
 for us to be able to actually understand

00:25:53.140 --> 00:25:54.200
 what it is saying.

00:25:55.420 --> 00:25:56.380
 But I have good news.

00:25:56.520 --> 00:25:57.700
 The Bible is not like that.

00:25:58.840 --> 00:26:02.380
 The Bible is clearly communicated to us by God

00:26:02.380 --> 00:26:03.420
 in human language

00:26:03.420 --> 00:26:05.280
 that we can easily understand,

00:26:05.279 --> 00:26:07.200
 and it has been translated, thankfully,

00:26:07.879 --> 00:26:09.819
 into many, many languages

00:26:09.819 --> 00:26:12.259
 so that even if we don't speak English,

00:26:12.379 --> 00:26:14.579
 we can still get a translation in our language.

00:26:15.940 --> 00:26:17.259
 And even better,

00:26:17.859 --> 00:26:20.180
 the Bible says that God sent Jesus

00:26:20.180 --> 00:26:21.399
 to the earth,

00:26:21.779 --> 00:26:25.039
 that Jesus is the word of God made flesh,

00:26:25.220 --> 00:26:27.160
 so that God did not simply tell us

00:26:27.160 --> 00:26:28.299
 what he wants from us,

00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:30.700
 but he sent Jesus to show us

00:26:30.700 --> 00:26:32.200
 what he wants from us as well.

00:26:32.200 --> 00:26:34.799
 And so I want to look today

00:26:34.799 --> 00:26:36.519
 at two major ways

00:26:36.519 --> 00:26:39.259
 the Bible is relevant to our lives,

00:26:39.460 --> 00:26:41.259
 and I get these from the passage

00:26:41.259 --> 00:26:43.200
 that we read in 2 Timothy this morning.

00:26:43.440 --> 00:26:45.519
 Two big things that the Bible does,

00:26:45.880 --> 00:26:48.200
 two incredibly relevant ways

00:26:48.200 --> 00:26:49.660
 that it impacts our lives.

00:26:49.700 --> 00:26:50.440
 The first one,

00:26:50.779 --> 00:26:54.680
 in 2 Timothy 3, verse 15,

00:26:55.240 --> 00:26:57.460
 it says that you have been acquainted

00:26:57.460 --> 00:26:58.620
 with the sacred writings

00:26:58.619 --> 00:27:00.539
 which are able to make you wise

00:27:00.539 --> 00:27:01.459
 for salvation

00:27:01.459 --> 00:27:03.399
 through faith in Jesus Christ.

00:27:03.539 --> 00:27:06.759
 The Bible makes us wise for salvation.

00:27:06.899 --> 00:27:08.699
 The Bible tells us about Jesus,

00:27:09.179 --> 00:27:09.559
 the Savior.

00:27:13.219 --> 00:27:14.539
 There are a lot of different ways

00:27:14.539 --> 00:27:16.139
 that people approach reading the Bible.

00:27:16.879 --> 00:27:18.179
 Some people look through the Bible

00:27:18.179 --> 00:27:18.699
 and they think,

00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:20.319
 oh, there's lots of rules in here.

00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:23.000
 I need to get a notebook and pen

00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:25.039
 and make a list of all the rules

00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:27.639
 so that I can keep all the rules perfectly.

00:27:27.640 --> 00:27:30.220
 And they get their list

00:27:30.220 --> 00:27:32.080
 and they keep their rules

00:27:32.080 --> 00:27:33.920
 and they look around at everyone else

00:27:33.920 --> 00:27:35.320
 who hasn't kept the rules

00:27:35.320 --> 00:27:35.660
 and says,

00:27:35.740 --> 00:27:37.300
 look at them.

00:27:37.820 --> 00:27:39.759
 Can't believe how messed up they are.

00:27:40.680 --> 00:27:42.340
 Or they get their list,

00:27:42.620 --> 00:27:43.600
 they write out the rules,

00:27:44.020 --> 00:27:45.720
 they realize they can't keep the rules,

00:27:45.900 --> 00:27:47.020
 and then they just feel

00:27:47.020 --> 00:27:48.360
 so disappointed with themselves

00:27:48.360 --> 00:27:50.560
 because I should be better than this.

00:27:52.460 --> 00:27:54.759
 And while the Bible does have lots of rules,

00:27:54.759 --> 00:27:58.019
 the Bible is not primarily a book about rules.

00:27:58.519 --> 00:28:00.019
 The primary goal of the Bible

00:28:00.019 --> 00:28:02.819
 is not just to get us to follow a list of rules.

00:28:03.700 --> 00:28:04.879
 Some people read the Bible

00:28:04.879 --> 00:28:07.519
 as an inspiration guide for life.

00:28:08.299 --> 00:28:10.339
 They have the little Bible app on their iPhone

00:28:10.339 --> 00:28:12.119
 so that throughout the day when things go bad,

00:28:12.160 --> 00:28:13.059
 they can just bust it out

00:28:13.059 --> 00:28:14.519
 and play Bible roulette,

00:28:14.700 --> 00:28:16.500
 spin through the books and tap,

00:28:16.619 --> 00:28:18.740
 and here's my verse for this moment.

00:28:19.619 --> 00:28:19.980
 And you know,

00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:21.460
 sometimes I'm sure they get a great one,

00:28:21.460 --> 00:28:23.319
 like, I can do all things through Christ

00:28:23.319 --> 00:28:24.200
 who strengthens me.

00:28:24.740 --> 00:28:25.519
 And then, you know,

00:28:25.579 --> 00:28:27.019
 some days it turns up and it's like,

00:28:27.700 --> 00:28:30.039
 depart from me, men of bloodshed.

00:28:30.100 --> 00:28:31.400
 Oh, how I hate the wicked.

00:28:31.620 --> 00:28:33.440
 Like, what's that supposed to say

00:28:33.440 --> 00:28:34.860
 about my situation right now?

00:28:35.440 --> 00:28:36.319
 And they,

00:28:36.559 --> 00:28:36.940
 or maybe,

00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:39.180
 maybe just randomly in the morning,

00:28:39.480 --> 00:28:40.100
 flip open,

00:28:40.299 --> 00:28:42.000
 read the first chapter that comes up.

00:28:42.200 --> 00:28:43.660
 Oh, how lonely sits the city

00:28:43.660 --> 00:28:44.920
 that was full of people.

00:28:45.500 --> 00:28:46.940
 Like a widow she has become,

00:28:47.480 --> 00:28:49.620
 she who was great among the nations.

00:28:49.619 --> 00:28:51.359
 That's a depressing way to start your morning.

00:28:52.739 --> 00:28:53.399
 And they,

00:28:53.419 --> 00:28:55.039
 they look to the Bible for inspiration.

00:28:55.179 --> 00:28:56.419
 Just read until they find something

00:28:56.419 --> 00:28:58.219
 that maybe speaks to their lives.

00:28:58.339 --> 00:28:59.979
 And while I believe that the Bible

00:28:59.979 --> 00:29:01.039
 is very inspirational,

00:29:01.500 --> 00:29:02.879
 it is not first and foremost

00:29:02.879 --> 00:29:04.500
 a self-help motivational book.

00:29:05.599 --> 00:29:06.979
 Another way people read the Bible

00:29:06.979 --> 00:29:08.219
 is as a book of heroes.

00:29:08.399 --> 00:29:09.219
 They look through

00:29:09.219 --> 00:29:11.219
 and they see these great heroes

00:29:11.219 --> 00:29:11.479
 and say,

00:29:11.539 --> 00:29:12.679
 I need to be just like them.

00:29:13.959 --> 00:29:15.839
 David went and fought Goliath.

00:29:16.019 --> 00:29:18.159
 He faced the giants in his life.

00:29:18.160 --> 00:29:21.940
 And now I need to face my giants.

00:29:23.980 --> 00:29:26.420
 So they identify the giants in their lives

00:29:26.420 --> 00:29:27.000
 and they go out

00:29:27.000 --> 00:29:28.740
 and they face those giants.

00:29:29.320 --> 00:29:30.759
 Here's the problem with this.

00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:33.740
 All of the heroes in the Bible,

00:29:33.940 --> 00:29:34.620
 except for Jesus,

00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:35.279
 failed.

00:29:36.160 --> 00:29:38.480
 Many of them in huge giant ways,

00:29:39.440 --> 00:29:40.279
 often on purpose.

00:29:41.240 --> 00:29:42.860
 So if we're following David,

00:29:43.100 --> 00:29:44.519
 trying to be just like him,

00:29:44.759 --> 00:29:45.660
 facing our giants,

00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:46.720
 what do we do about the fact

00:29:46.720 --> 00:29:48.279
 that David slept with his neighbor's wife

00:29:48.279 --> 00:29:49.500
 and had the neighbor murdered

00:29:49.500 --> 00:29:50.180
 to cover it up?

00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:52.019
 Are we supposed to go

00:29:52.019 --> 00:29:53.319
 follow him in that one too?

00:29:54.720 --> 00:29:55.079
 No.

00:29:55.279 --> 00:29:56.319
 If you don't get the sarcasm,

00:29:56.420 --> 00:29:56.660
 no.

00:29:56.779 --> 00:29:57.519
 The answer is no.

00:30:00.880 --> 00:30:02.819
 And while the Bible does have,

00:30:02.980 --> 00:30:03.740
 you know,

00:30:03.819 --> 00:30:05.000
 examples of faith

00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:06.480
 that we are supposed to look at

00:30:06.480 --> 00:30:07.360
 and follow,

00:30:07.579 --> 00:30:08.339
 it even says,

00:30:08.900 --> 00:30:10.460
 the Bible is not primarily

00:30:10.460 --> 00:30:11.500
 a book of heroes

00:30:11.500 --> 00:30:12.779
 that we are supposed to be,

00:30:13.079 --> 00:30:13.860
 try to be like.

00:30:13.859 --> 00:30:16.039
 So what is the Bible,

00:30:16.299 --> 00:30:17.079
 first and foremost?

00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:18.759
 It's a story.

00:30:19.779 --> 00:30:21.199
 There's a children's Bible

00:30:21.199 --> 00:30:22.579
 called the Jesus Storybook Bible,

00:30:22.679 --> 00:30:23.279
 and I feel like

00:30:23.279 --> 00:30:24.559
 the Jesus Storybook Bible

00:30:24.559 --> 00:30:25.979
 explains this best.

00:30:26.039 --> 00:30:26.939
 So I'm just going to read

00:30:26.939 --> 00:30:27.599
 a little passage

00:30:27.599 --> 00:30:29.059
 from the Jesus Storybook Bible

00:30:29.059 --> 00:30:29.539
 to us.

00:30:29.699 --> 00:30:30.519
 If you have kids

00:30:30.519 --> 00:30:31.139
 and you're looking for

00:30:31.139 --> 00:30:32.219
 a children's Bible for them,

00:30:32.539 --> 00:30:33.779
 this is an excellent one.

00:30:33.979 --> 00:30:35.119
 If you don't have kids,

00:30:35.179 --> 00:30:35.919
 but you still want

00:30:35.919 --> 00:30:36.919
 an excellent book to read,

00:30:37.139 --> 00:30:37.799
 just pick it up

00:30:37.799 --> 00:30:38.379
 and read through

00:30:38.379 --> 00:30:39.299
 the Storybook Bible

00:30:39.299 --> 00:30:39.879
 by yourself.

00:30:39.979 --> 00:30:40.919
 It also has cool pictures,

00:30:40.919 --> 00:30:42.279
 so it's even more fun to read.

00:30:42.279 --> 00:30:44.180
 But it says,

00:30:44.480 --> 00:30:44.700
 no,

00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:46.460
 the Bible isn't

00:30:46.460 --> 00:30:47.259
 a book of rules

00:30:47.259 --> 00:30:48.799
 or a book of heroes.

00:30:49.500 --> 00:30:51.240
 The Bible is most of all

00:30:51.240 --> 00:30:51.960
 a story.

00:30:52.859 --> 00:30:54.339
 It's an adventure story

00:30:54.339 --> 00:30:55.399
 about a young hero

00:30:55.399 --> 00:30:56.240
 who comes from

00:30:56.240 --> 00:30:57.000
 a far country

00:30:57.000 --> 00:30:58.000
 to win back

00:30:58.000 --> 00:30:58.859
 his lost treasure.

00:30:59.639 --> 00:31:00.899
 It's a love story

00:31:00.899 --> 00:31:02.099
 about a brave prince

00:31:02.099 --> 00:31:03.279
 who leaves his palace,

00:31:03.420 --> 00:31:03.859
 his throne,

00:31:04.059 --> 00:31:04.460
 everything,

00:31:04.920 --> 00:31:05.579
 to rescue

00:31:05.579 --> 00:31:06.639
 the ones he loves.

00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:08.339
 It's like the most

00:31:08.339 --> 00:31:09.539
 wonderful of fairy tales

00:31:09.539 --> 00:31:10.539
 that has come true

00:31:10.539 --> 00:31:11.519
 in real life.

00:31:12.279 --> 00:31:12.859
 You see,

00:31:12.920 --> 00:31:13.379
 the best thing

00:31:13.379 --> 00:31:14.079
 about this story

00:31:14.079 --> 00:31:14.940
 is it's true.

00:31:15.740 --> 00:31:16.839
 There are lots of stories

00:31:16.839 --> 00:31:17.500
 in the Bible,

00:31:17.740 --> 00:31:18.680
 but all the stories

00:31:18.680 --> 00:31:20.559
 are telling one big story,

00:31:21.059 --> 00:31:22.180
 the story of how God

00:31:22.180 --> 00:31:22.960
 loves his children

00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:24.399
 and comes to rescue them.

00:31:24.920 --> 00:31:26.220
 It takes the whole Bible

00:31:26.220 --> 00:31:27.200
 to tell this story,

00:31:27.619 --> 00:31:28.279
 and at the center

00:31:28.279 --> 00:31:28.879
 of the story,

00:31:29.059 --> 00:31:29.920
 there is a baby.

00:31:30.639 --> 00:31:31.879
 Every story in the Bible

00:31:31.879 --> 00:31:33.180
 whispers his name.

00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:35.019
 He's like the missing piece

00:31:35.019 --> 00:31:35.519
 in the puzzle,

00:31:35.619 --> 00:31:36.359
 the piece that makes

00:31:36.359 --> 00:31:37.539
 all the other pieces

00:31:37.539 --> 00:31:38.500
 fit together,

00:31:38.639 --> 00:31:39.399
 and suddenly,

00:31:39.740 --> 00:31:40.460
 you can see

00:31:40.460 --> 00:31:41.660
 a beautiful picture.

00:31:42.279 --> 00:31:45.539
 The Bible is,

00:31:45.740 --> 00:31:46.539
 first and foremost,

00:31:46.680 --> 00:31:48.160
 a story about a God

00:31:48.160 --> 00:31:48.799
 who loves

00:31:48.799 --> 00:31:50.139
 and rescues his people.

00:31:52.799 --> 00:31:53.619
 And that is how

00:31:53.619 --> 00:31:54.240
 it makes us wise

00:31:54.240 --> 00:31:54.819
 for salvation.

00:31:54.960 --> 00:31:55.720
 It points us

00:31:55.720 --> 00:31:57.359
 to this hero,

00:31:57.779 --> 00:31:58.899
 the one Jesus.

00:32:01.399 --> 00:32:02.779
 Every part of the Bible

00:32:02.779 --> 00:32:04.000
 whispers his name.

00:32:04.839 --> 00:32:06.240
 The Old Testament rules,

00:32:06.639 --> 00:32:07.119
 they're there

00:32:07.119 --> 00:32:07.980
 not just so that

00:32:07.980 --> 00:32:08.599
 we can have a list

00:32:08.599 --> 00:32:09.119
 and feel good

00:32:09.119 --> 00:32:09.700
 about our ability

00:32:09.700 --> 00:32:10.240
 to keep them

00:32:10.240 --> 00:32:10.920
 or bad about

00:32:10.920 --> 00:32:11.600
 our inability

00:32:11.600 --> 00:32:12.380
 to keep them.

00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:13.299
 They're there

00:32:13.299 --> 00:32:14.920
 because when we

00:32:14.920 --> 00:32:15.720
 look at them

00:32:15.720 --> 00:32:16.259
 and realize

00:32:16.259 --> 00:32:16.940
 how impossible

00:32:16.940 --> 00:32:17.600
 it is for us

00:32:17.600 --> 00:32:18.400
 to keep all of them,

00:32:19.100 --> 00:32:20.279
 it shows us

00:32:20.279 --> 00:32:21.039
 how far short

00:32:21.039 --> 00:32:21.559
 we fall

00:32:21.559 --> 00:32:22.420
 of being good enough

00:32:22.420 --> 00:32:22.819
 for God

00:32:22.819 --> 00:32:23.420
 and how much

00:32:23.420 --> 00:32:23.980
 we need

00:32:23.980 --> 00:32:24.580
 a Savior

00:32:24.580 --> 00:32:25.299
 in Jesus.

00:32:26.960 --> 00:32:27.779
 The heroes

00:32:27.779 --> 00:32:28.319
 are there

00:32:28.319 --> 00:32:29.960
 as pictures

00:32:29.960 --> 00:32:30.559
 of Christ.

00:32:30.700 --> 00:32:31.299
 We're not supposed

00:32:31.299 --> 00:32:31.720
 to go out

00:32:31.720 --> 00:32:32.299
 and be David

00:32:32.299 --> 00:32:33.440
 and face our giants.

00:32:33.640 --> 00:32:34.620
 We have a David

00:32:34.620 --> 00:32:35.539
 who's already come

00:32:35.539 --> 00:32:36.559
 and conquered the giant.

00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:37.379
 We have Jesus

00:32:37.379 --> 00:32:38.179
 who came

00:32:38.179 --> 00:32:39.379
 and conquered

00:32:39.379 --> 00:32:40.599
 sin and death

00:32:40.599 --> 00:32:41.339
 for us.

00:32:42.139 --> 00:32:42.639
 And where are we

00:32:42.639 --> 00:32:43.039
 in the story?

00:32:43.099 --> 00:32:43.659
 We're the Israelites

00:32:43.659 --> 00:32:44.279
 sitting back

00:32:44.279 --> 00:32:44.879
 too scared,

00:32:45.399 --> 00:32:45.700
 hiding,

00:32:46.299 --> 00:32:47.079
 trying to avoid

00:32:47.079 --> 00:32:48.079
 having to see

00:32:48.079 --> 00:32:48.659
 this giant.

00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:50.500
 But then we have

00:32:50.500 --> 00:32:51.519
 a hero who comes in

00:32:51.519 --> 00:32:52.359
 and conquers the giant

00:32:52.359 --> 00:32:52.839
 for us.

00:32:52.940 --> 00:32:53.700
 And we who were

00:32:53.700 --> 00:32:54.500
 living in fear

00:32:54.500 --> 00:32:55.679
 and in defeat

00:32:55.679 --> 00:32:57.079
 now are all of a sudden

00:32:57.079 --> 00:32:57.940
 enabled to go out

00:32:57.940 --> 00:32:58.639
 and live in victory

00:32:58.639 --> 00:32:59.599
 because someone else

00:32:59.599 --> 00:33:00.659
 has won the battle

00:33:00.659 --> 00:33:01.440
 for us.

00:33:03.159 --> 00:33:04.559
 And when David fails,

00:33:04.819 --> 00:33:05.720
 when David goes out

00:33:05.720 --> 00:33:06.400
 and sleeps with his

00:33:06.400 --> 00:33:06.900
 neighbor's wife

00:33:06.900 --> 00:33:07.539
 and has the neighbor

00:33:07.539 --> 00:33:08.759
 murdered so that

00:33:08.759 --> 00:33:09.620
 he can cover it up,

00:33:10.160 --> 00:33:12.100
 it gives us a longing

00:33:12.100 --> 00:33:13.519
 for the hero

00:33:13.519 --> 00:33:14.319
 who won't fail,

00:33:15.140 --> 00:33:15.640
 for the one who

00:33:15.640 --> 00:33:16.579
 will perfectly obey

00:33:16.579 --> 00:33:17.660
 at all times.

00:33:17.779 --> 00:33:18.740
 In every way,

00:33:19.000 --> 00:33:20.319
 this story points us

00:33:20.319 --> 00:33:21.539
 back to Jesus.

00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:25.940
 And, you know,

00:33:26.019 --> 00:33:27.200
 the whole Bible

00:33:27.200 --> 00:33:29.120
 is a part of this story,

00:33:29.160 --> 00:33:30.319
 even parts that at times

00:33:30.319 --> 00:33:31.019
 we may be like,

00:33:31.559 --> 00:33:32.380
 genealogies,

00:33:32.460 --> 00:33:33.319
 why are they in the Bible?

00:33:33.319 --> 00:33:35.740
 Why is it significant

00:33:35.740 --> 00:33:36.579
 in our lives

00:33:36.579 --> 00:33:38.359
 that the tabernacle

00:33:38.359 --> 00:33:39.439
 has to be this long

00:33:39.439 --> 00:33:40.139
 by this wide

00:33:40.139 --> 00:33:41.259
 and made out of this material?

00:33:42.099 --> 00:33:43.159
 It doesn't make sense.

00:33:43.240 --> 00:33:43.859
 Why do I care

00:33:43.859 --> 00:33:44.539
 how many people

00:33:44.539 --> 00:33:45.819
 were counted in the census

00:33:45.819 --> 00:33:46.559
 of Israel

00:33:46.559 --> 00:33:47.879
 thousands of years ago?

00:33:49.519 --> 00:33:50.439
 But the thing is

00:33:50.439 --> 00:33:51.439
 that every single one

00:33:51.439 --> 00:33:52.119
 of these aspects

00:33:52.119 --> 00:33:53.259
 is a part of the story.

00:33:53.359 --> 00:33:54.000
 Every single one

00:33:54.000 --> 00:33:54.679
 of these aspects

00:33:54.679 --> 00:33:56.679
 points us to the way

00:33:56.679 --> 00:33:57.639
 that God is working

00:33:57.639 --> 00:33:58.779
 in and among his people

00:33:58.779 --> 00:34:00.439
 to rescue and save them.

00:34:00.440 --> 00:34:04.960
 so that every single

00:34:04.960 --> 00:34:05.680
 part of the Bible,

00:34:06.360 --> 00:34:07.140
 the stories,

00:34:07.320 --> 00:34:07.720
 the teachings,

00:34:07.840 --> 00:34:08.820
 the historical records,

00:34:08.960 --> 00:34:10.760
 is relevant directly

00:34:10.760 --> 00:34:11.740
 to our lives

00:34:11.740 --> 00:34:13.400
 because it is a part

00:34:13.400 --> 00:34:14.119
 of this story.

00:34:15.079 --> 00:34:15.860
 The Bible,

00:34:16.460 --> 00:34:17.320
 in its entirety,

00:34:17.780 --> 00:34:18.700
 makes us wise

00:34:18.700 --> 00:34:19.639
 for salvation

00:34:19.639 --> 00:34:21.320
 by introducing us

00:34:21.320 --> 00:34:22.360
 to this story

00:34:22.360 --> 00:34:23.480
 and to Jesus,

00:34:23.720 --> 00:34:24.159
 the Savior,

00:34:24.300 --> 00:34:24.840
 at the center

00:34:24.840 --> 00:34:25.559
 of the story.

00:34:25.559 --> 00:34:29.759
 So the second thing

00:34:29.759 --> 00:34:30.519
 that the Bible does,

00:34:31.059 --> 00:34:32.759
 it says in verse 17

00:34:32.759 --> 00:34:34.019
 of 2 Timothy 3,

00:34:34.519 --> 00:34:35.880
 it says that it may,

00:34:36.239 --> 00:34:37.139
 that the man of God

00:34:37.139 --> 00:34:37.880
 may be competent,

00:34:38.360 --> 00:34:39.980
 equipped for every good work.

00:34:40.119 --> 00:34:41.980
 The Bible equips us

00:34:41.980 --> 00:34:44.079
 for every good work.

00:34:45.199 --> 00:34:46.340
 And here's how the Bible

00:34:46.340 --> 00:34:47.259
 doesn't equip us

00:34:47.259 --> 00:34:48.039
 for every good work.

00:34:48.400 --> 00:34:49.239
 There's not a book

00:34:49.239 --> 00:34:49.759
 in the Bible

00:34:49.759 --> 00:34:50.579
 that is called

00:34:50.579 --> 00:34:51.719
 The Letter to Eric

00:34:51.719 --> 00:34:52.500
 that says,

00:34:52.759 --> 00:34:53.299
 chapter 1,

00:34:53.400 --> 00:34:53.920
 verse 1,

00:34:53.920 --> 00:34:55.059
 You shall move

00:34:55.059 --> 00:34:55.780
 to Hong Kong

00:34:55.780 --> 00:34:56.900
 in the year 2010

00:34:56.900 --> 00:34:58.440
 and work at a church there

00:34:58.440 --> 00:34:59.539
 after graduating

00:34:59.539 --> 00:35:01.039
 from your undergraduate degree

00:35:01.039 --> 00:35:01.840
 in Dallas.

00:35:02.579 --> 00:35:03.559
 No verse like that

00:35:03.559 --> 00:35:03.960
 in the Bible.

00:35:05.139 --> 00:35:06.599
 There's no list of

00:35:06.599 --> 00:35:07.619
 here's where you should live,

00:35:07.720 --> 00:35:08.400
 here's what you should do,

00:35:08.480 --> 00:35:09.320
 here's what you should study

00:35:09.320 --> 00:35:09.639
 in school

00:35:09.639 --> 00:35:10.720
 and where you should study it.

00:35:10.920 --> 00:35:11.740
 Here's who you should marry,

00:35:12.039 --> 00:35:12.860
 here's how you should

00:35:12.860 --> 00:35:14.200
 name your kids

00:35:14.200 --> 00:35:15.099
 as they are born.

00:35:16.260 --> 00:35:17.039
 None of that's in there.

00:35:18.320 --> 00:35:19.780
 But the Bible equips us

00:35:19.780 --> 00:35:20.880
 for every good work

00:35:20.880 --> 00:35:22.340
 by introducing us

00:35:22.340 --> 00:35:23.059
 to God

00:35:23.059 --> 00:35:23.920
 and calling us

00:35:23.920 --> 00:35:24.679
 to love Him.

00:35:27.019 --> 00:35:28.599
 See, if there were verses

00:35:28.599 --> 00:35:29.079
 in the Bible

00:35:29.079 --> 00:35:29.440
 that said,

00:35:29.659 --> 00:35:30.380
 here's where you need to live,

00:35:30.659 --> 00:35:31.539
 here's what you need to do,

00:35:31.779 --> 00:35:32.759
 here's what you need to study,

00:35:33.279 --> 00:35:34.759
 that just becomes

00:35:34.759 --> 00:35:35.400
 the law.

00:35:36.119 --> 00:35:36.960
 And as the Bible

00:35:36.960 --> 00:35:38.139
 repeatedly tells us,

00:35:38.480 --> 00:35:39.519
 the law kills.

00:35:41.059 --> 00:35:42.279
 In Romans chapter 7,

00:35:42.340 --> 00:35:43.179
 Paul talks about this.

00:35:43.239 --> 00:35:43.639
 He says,

00:35:44.059 --> 00:35:44.299
 you know,

00:35:44.380 --> 00:35:44.779
 before,

00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:46.400
 I thought that I was alive,

00:35:46.480 --> 00:35:47.159
 I thought that I had

00:35:47.159 --> 00:35:47.860
 things going on,

00:35:47.920 --> 00:35:48.579
 had it all together,

00:35:48.579 --> 00:35:49.679
 and then I read

00:35:49.679 --> 00:35:50.139
 the commandments

00:35:50.139 --> 00:35:50.940
 in God's law.

00:35:52.599 --> 00:35:53.679
 And I realized

00:35:53.679 --> 00:35:55.400
 that I was messed up.

00:35:56.519 --> 00:35:57.500
 I realized

00:35:57.500 --> 00:35:58.559
 that coveting,

00:35:58.819 --> 00:35:59.279
 that wanting

00:35:59.279 --> 00:36:00.299
 what someone else has

00:36:00.299 --> 00:36:00.879
 so desperately

00:36:00.879 --> 00:36:01.699
 is wrong.

00:36:02.039 --> 00:36:03.039
 And when I realized this,

00:36:03.079 --> 00:36:03.879
 it didn't make me want

00:36:03.879 --> 00:36:04.400
 to obey it,

00:36:04.500 --> 00:36:05.299
 it made me want

00:36:05.299 --> 00:36:06.739
 to covet even more.

00:36:07.739 --> 00:36:08.679
 I was alive,

00:36:08.879 --> 00:36:09.579
 the law came,

00:36:09.819 --> 00:36:10.619
 it killed me.

00:36:10.619 --> 00:36:12.799
 And it couldn't

00:36:12.799 --> 00:36:14.239
 bring me back to life.

00:36:15.319 --> 00:36:16.239
 And what the Bible

00:36:16.239 --> 00:36:17.099
 consistently,

00:36:17.519 --> 00:36:18.480
 repeatedly tells us

00:36:18.480 --> 00:36:19.940
 is that it is grace

00:36:19.940 --> 00:36:20.940
 that brings us life.

00:36:21.440 --> 00:36:22.380
 It is not a list

00:36:22.380 --> 00:36:22.859
 of commands

00:36:22.859 --> 00:36:23.500
 that tells us

00:36:23.500 --> 00:36:24.079
 what to do

00:36:24.079 --> 00:36:24.920
 that transforms

00:36:24.920 --> 00:36:25.359
 our hearts

00:36:25.359 --> 00:36:25.940
 and equips us

00:36:25.940 --> 00:36:26.719
 for every good work,

00:36:26.880 --> 00:36:28.119
 but it is God's work

00:36:28.119 --> 00:36:28.599
 in us

00:36:28.599 --> 00:36:29.500
 that transforms

00:36:29.500 --> 00:36:30.079
 our hearts

00:36:30.079 --> 00:36:30.960
 and equips us

00:36:30.960 --> 00:36:31.900
 for every good work.

00:36:33.059 --> 00:36:33.199
 You know,

00:36:33.219 --> 00:36:34.179
 the movie just came out,

00:36:34.239 --> 00:36:34.920
 so I think that

00:36:34.920 --> 00:36:35.900
 probably a bunch of us

00:36:35.900 --> 00:36:36.380
 have seen it,

00:36:36.420 --> 00:36:36.819
 and if not,

00:36:36.900 --> 00:36:37.659
 probably some of us

00:36:37.659 --> 00:36:38.199
 have read the book

00:36:38.199 --> 00:36:38.960
 or seen the musical.

00:36:38.960 --> 00:36:40.360
 But Les Mis,

00:36:40.740 --> 00:36:41.619
 there is a character

00:36:41.619 --> 00:36:43.059
 named John Valjean.

00:36:44.400 --> 00:36:45.460
 And John Valjean,

00:36:46.119 --> 00:36:47.579
 before the story

00:36:47.579 --> 00:36:48.159
 even starts,

00:36:48.579 --> 00:36:50.320
 he breaks into a bakery

00:36:50.320 --> 00:36:51.599
 and steals a loaf of bread.

00:36:52.760 --> 00:36:54.460
 And he is sent to prison

00:36:54.460 --> 00:36:55.740
 to be reformed

00:36:55.740 --> 00:36:56.559
 by the law.

00:36:58.720 --> 00:37:00.280
 But rather than reforming him,

00:37:00.340 --> 00:37:01.280
 the law hardens him.

00:37:02.519 --> 00:37:03.579
 So that rather than

00:37:03.579 --> 00:37:04.460
 changing his ways,

00:37:04.740 --> 00:37:06.039
 he tries to escape

00:37:06.039 --> 00:37:07.699
 and gets sentenced

00:37:07.699 --> 00:37:08.659
 to longer and longer

00:37:08.659 --> 00:37:10.539
 stays in the prison.

00:37:11.759 --> 00:37:12.579
 So that what

00:37:12.579 --> 00:37:13.579
 originally started out

00:37:13.579 --> 00:37:14.319
 as a short sentence

00:37:14.319 --> 00:37:15.319
 for stealing a loaf of bread

00:37:15.319 --> 00:37:16.639
 turns into 19 years

00:37:16.639 --> 00:37:17.679
 of his life in prison.

00:37:17.940 --> 00:37:18.819
 He suffers

00:37:18.819 --> 00:37:19.659
 the wrath

00:37:19.659 --> 00:37:20.579
 of the law.

00:37:22.179 --> 00:37:23.139
 And when he gets out

00:37:23.139 --> 00:37:23.639
 of the prison,

00:37:23.779 --> 00:37:25.119
 instead of being reformed,

00:37:26.299 --> 00:37:27.539
 he is even more

00:37:27.539 --> 00:37:28.259
 hardened than ever.

00:37:28.559 --> 00:37:29.279
 And so the first thing

00:37:29.279 --> 00:37:30.179
 he does after being

00:37:30.179 --> 00:37:31.219
 set free from prison

00:37:31.219 --> 00:37:33.279
 is go and steal

00:37:33.279 --> 00:37:34.059
 a bunch of silver

00:37:34.059 --> 00:37:34.859
 from the bishop

00:37:34.860 --> 00:37:37.440
 and try to escape

00:37:37.440 --> 00:37:37.840
 with it

00:37:37.840 --> 00:37:39.059
 so he can start

00:37:39.059 --> 00:37:39.559
 a new life.

00:37:40.820 --> 00:37:41.780
 And the thing

00:37:41.780 --> 00:37:43.140
 in John Valjean's life

00:37:43.140 --> 00:37:43.980
 that ultimately

00:37:43.980 --> 00:37:45.039
 changes him,

00:37:45.240 --> 00:37:46.099
 that transforms him,

00:37:46.260 --> 00:37:47.400
 is not him

00:37:47.400 --> 00:37:48.380
 getting arrested again

00:37:48.380 --> 00:37:48.920
 and getting sent

00:37:48.920 --> 00:37:49.519
 back to prison,

00:37:49.960 --> 00:37:51.760
 but it's the fact

00:37:51.760 --> 00:37:52.680
 that when he gets caught,

00:37:52.740 --> 00:37:53.360
 when he gets brought

00:37:53.360 --> 00:37:54.039
 back to the bishop

00:37:54.039 --> 00:37:54.880
 and the people say,

00:37:55.240 --> 00:37:56.160
 look, bishop,

00:37:56.340 --> 00:37:57.660
 we caught this guy

00:37:57.660 --> 00:37:59.019
 with your silver.

00:38:00.240 --> 00:38:01.180
 Rather than saying,

00:38:01.260 --> 00:38:01.700
 lock him up

00:38:01.699 --> 00:38:02.239
 and take him away,

00:38:02.319 --> 00:38:03.039
 the bishop says,

00:38:03.519 --> 00:38:04.699
 of course he would

00:38:04.699 --> 00:38:05.179
 have my silver.

00:38:05.259 --> 00:38:05.699
 It was a gift.

00:38:05.779 --> 00:38:06.439
 I gave it to him.

00:38:08.699 --> 00:38:09.719
 And he sets him free.

00:38:11.079 --> 00:38:12.019
 And at this moment,

00:38:12.119 --> 00:38:13.219
 to paraphrase the book,

00:38:13.699 --> 00:38:14.739
 John Valjean realizes

00:38:14.739 --> 00:38:16.419
 that either he had

00:38:16.419 --> 00:38:17.619
 to become as righteous

00:38:17.619 --> 00:38:18.399
 as an angel

00:38:18.399 --> 00:38:19.500
 or he would be

00:38:19.500 --> 00:38:19.960
 as terrible

00:38:19.960 --> 00:38:20.859
 as the devil of hell

00:38:20.859 --> 00:38:23.119
 because the grace

00:38:23.119 --> 00:38:23.859
 that had been shown

00:38:23.859 --> 00:38:25.819
 to him had to have

00:38:25.819 --> 00:38:27.279
 an impact on his life.

00:38:27.539 --> 00:38:28.980
 The law had hardened him

00:38:28.980 --> 00:38:30.419
 and it was only grace

00:38:30.419 --> 00:38:31.139
 that allowed him

00:38:31.139 --> 00:38:31.579
 to go out,

00:38:31.639 --> 00:38:32.400
 to start a new life,

00:38:32.759 --> 00:38:33.659
 to be charitable

00:38:33.659 --> 00:38:34.219
 to others,

00:38:34.319 --> 00:38:35.440
 to show love to others

00:38:35.440 --> 00:38:36.879
 and to be a completely

00:38:36.879 --> 00:38:37.379
 new man.

00:38:38.539 --> 00:38:39.239
 And it's the same way

00:38:39.239 --> 00:38:39.639
 with the Bible.

00:38:39.719 --> 00:38:40.400
 The Bible doesn't just

00:38:40.400 --> 00:38:41.980
 give us these list of rules

00:38:41.980 --> 00:38:43.420
 so that we can keep them

00:38:43.420 --> 00:38:43.980
 and be different,

00:38:44.980 --> 00:38:46.639
 but it shows us grace.

00:38:46.739 --> 00:38:47.759
 It shows us the Savior

00:38:47.759 --> 00:38:49.659
 so that we can love him.

00:38:52.000 --> 00:38:52.839
 And naturally,

00:38:53.039 --> 00:38:53.799
 the Bible says

00:38:53.799 --> 00:38:55.779
 that we don't love God

00:38:55.779 --> 00:38:56.259
 on our own.

00:38:57.559 --> 00:38:58.739
 And so another way

00:38:58.739 --> 00:38:59.239
 that the Bible

00:38:59.239 --> 00:39:00.379
 transforms us

00:39:00.380 --> 00:39:00.980
 and equips us

00:39:00.980 --> 00:39:01.720
 for every good work

00:39:01.720 --> 00:39:02.680
 is by changing

00:39:02.680 --> 00:39:03.760
 what we love.

00:39:05.820 --> 00:39:06.500
 Changing it

00:39:06.500 --> 00:39:07.360
 from us wanting

00:39:07.360 --> 00:39:07.960
 to be the God

00:39:07.960 --> 00:39:08.440
 of our lives,

00:39:08.500 --> 00:39:09.360
 to do what we want

00:39:09.360 --> 00:39:10.380
 and serve ourselves

00:39:10.380 --> 00:39:12.340
 to loving the God

00:39:12.340 --> 00:39:12.820
 of the universe

00:39:12.820 --> 00:39:13.380
 and wanting

00:39:13.380 --> 00:39:14.460
 what he wants.

00:39:16.079 --> 00:39:16.300
 You know,

00:39:16.320 --> 00:39:16.760
 in my life,

00:39:16.780 --> 00:39:17.260
 when I was younger,

00:39:17.320 --> 00:39:17.980
 I used to run

00:39:17.980 --> 00:39:18.519
 cross-country

00:39:18.519 --> 00:39:19.220
 at my school.

00:39:20.360 --> 00:39:21.180
 But it sort of

00:39:21.180 --> 00:39:22.000
 destroyed my knees,

00:39:22.320 --> 00:39:22.940
 so I stopped

00:39:22.940 --> 00:39:24.800
 after a few years.

00:39:25.320 --> 00:39:26.300
 And for years,

00:39:26.380 --> 00:39:27.079
 I didn't run.

00:39:27.079 --> 00:39:28.980
 Now,

00:39:29.199 --> 00:39:31.000
 I used my knees

00:39:31.000 --> 00:39:32.019
 as an excuse

00:39:32.019 --> 00:39:32.639
 for not running,

00:39:33.199 --> 00:39:33.819
 but seriously,

00:39:34.079 --> 00:39:34.739
 even if my knees

00:39:34.739 --> 00:39:35.139
 were okay,

00:39:35.299 --> 00:39:36.400
 who enjoys running?

00:39:36.500 --> 00:39:37.259
 Who wants to go

00:39:37.259 --> 00:39:37.880
 for runs?

00:39:38.279 --> 00:39:38.639
 Right?

00:39:39.139 --> 00:39:39.500
 Yes?

00:39:39.619 --> 00:39:40.259
 Are you with me there?

00:39:40.260 --> 00:39:43.940
 And when I went

00:39:43.940 --> 00:39:44.820
 home this past summer,

00:39:45.380 --> 00:39:46.360
 my dad started

00:39:46.360 --> 00:39:46.820
 talking to me

00:39:46.820 --> 00:39:47.340
 about these new

00:39:47.340 --> 00:39:47.840
 running shoes

00:39:47.840 --> 00:39:48.480
 that he had gotten

00:39:48.480 --> 00:39:49.480
 that cut down

00:39:49.480 --> 00:39:50.000
 on the impact

00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:50.560
 on his knees

00:39:50.560 --> 00:39:51.620
 so he could run

00:39:51.620 --> 00:39:52.680
 without hurting

00:39:52.680 --> 00:39:53.180
 his knees.

00:39:53.480 --> 00:39:53.860
 I thought,

00:39:53.960 --> 00:39:54.160
 oh,

00:39:54.380 --> 00:39:55.380
 this sounds so wonderful.

00:39:55.500 --> 00:39:56.000
 I got a pair

00:39:56.000 --> 00:39:56.560
 of these shoes

00:39:56.560 --> 00:39:57.160
 and I was like,

00:39:57.320 --> 00:39:57.840
 when I come back

00:39:57.840 --> 00:39:58.340
 to Hong Kong,

00:39:58.400 --> 00:39:59.240
 I will start running.

00:39:59.540 --> 00:40:00.700
 I will be fit.

00:40:02.000 --> 00:40:02.920
 I got these shoes,

00:40:03.000 --> 00:40:03.320
 I brought them

00:40:03.320 --> 00:40:04.060
 back to Hong Kong

00:40:04.060 --> 00:40:04.880
 and these shoes

00:40:04.880 --> 00:40:06.100
 sat on my shelf

00:40:06.100 --> 00:40:07.440
 for five straight months

00:40:07.440 --> 00:40:08.160
 untouched.

00:40:08.159 --> 00:40:10.179
 because I realized

00:40:10.179 --> 00:40:10.599
 that as much

00:40:10.599 --> 00:40:11.000
 as I loved

00:40:11.000 --> 00:40:11.980
 the idea of running,

00:40:12.099 --> 00:40:13.460
 I did not love running.

00:40:14.199 --> 00:40:15.159
 I loved the comfort

00:40:15.159 --> 00:40:15.639
 of my bed

00:40:15.639 --> 00:40:16.359
 early in the morning

00:40:16.359 --> 00:40:17.759
 and did not want

00:40:17.759 --> 00:40:18.739
 to leave that comfort

00:40:18.739 --> 00:40:20.319
 to go do

00:40:20.319 --> 00:40:21.299
 something like

00:40:21.299 --> 00:40:22.379
 sweat

00:40:22.379 --> 00:40:24.119
 and have to breathe

00:40:24.119 --> 00:40:24.679
 deeply

00:40:24.679 --> 00:40:26.079
 early in the morning

00:40:26.079 --> 00:40:27.960
 and then be all gross

00:40:27.960 --> 00:40:28.199
 and,

00:40:28.960 --> 00:40:29.259
 ugh,

00:40:29.859 --> 00:40:30.940
 why would I do that?

00:40:32.379 --> 00:40:33.539
 I did not love

00:40:33.539 --> 00:40:34.039
 running.

00:40:34.960 --> 00:40:35.739
 But then something

00:40:35.739 --> 00:40:36.239
 happened.

00:40:37.019 --> 00:40:37.879
 Around November,

00:40:38.159 --> 00:40:39.759
 I started dating

00:40:39.759 --> 00:40:40.179
 this girl

00:40:40.179 --> 00:40:41.119
 who loves running.

00:40:45.219 --> 00:40:46.420
 And in our discussions,

00:40:47.879 --> 00:40:49.399
 someone recommended,

00:40:49.699 --> 00:40:49.940
 hey,

00:40:50.139 --> 00:40:50.759
 how about sometime

00:40:50.759 --> 00:40:51.500
 we go for a run

00:40:51.500 --> 00:40:51.859
 together?

00:40:52.699 --> 00:40:53.139
 And I,

00:40:53.319 --> 00:40:55.379
 being the caring guy

00:40:55.379 --> 00:40:56.000
 that I am,

00:40:56.059 --> 00:40:56.239
 said,

00:40:56.339 --> 00:40:56.500
 oh,

00:40:56.579 --> 00:40:57.659
 that would definitely

00:40:57.659 --> 00:40:58.379
 be a great way

00:40:58.379 --> 00:40:59.179
 for us to have

00:40:59.179 --> 00:41:00.359
 common activities

00:41:00.359 --> 00:41:01.039
 to do together.

00:41:01.659 --> 00:41:02.460
 And then thought

00:41:02.460 --> 00:41:02.899
 to myself,

00:41:03.079 --> 00:41:03.319
 crap.

00:41:03.320 --> 00:41:07.680
 So I busted out

00:41:07.680 --> 00:41:08.000
 the shoes.

00:41:08.100 --> 00:41:08.640
 I went for a couple

00:41:08.640 --> 00:41:10.539
 runs to get in shape

00:41:10.539 --> 00:41:11.039
 so that once we

00:41:11.039 --> 00:41:11.760
 started running together,

00:41:11.860 --> 00:41:12.600
 I wouldn't be just

00:41:12.600 --> 00:41:13.660
 like miles and miles

00:41:13.660 --> 00:41:14.240
 behind her.

00:41:14.960 --> 00:41:16.019
 I broke in these

00:41:16.019 --> 00:41:16.660
 new shoes.

00:41:16.880 --> 00:41:17.880
 We started going for

00:41:17.880 --> 00:41:18.340
 runs together

00:41:18.340 --> 00:41:18.820
 occasionally.

00:41:19.260 --> 00:41:20.720
 And I realized

00:41:20.720 --> 00:41:21.380
 that I developed

00:41:21.380 --> 00:41:22.480
 an enjoyment for running,

00:41:22.660 --> 00:41:24.260
 not because I enjoy

00:41:24.260 --> 00:41:25.300
 running in and of itself,

00:41:25.380 --> 00:41:26.539
 but because I enjoyed

00:41:26.539 --> 00:41:27.300
 the person that I was

00:41:27.300 --> 00:41:27.820
 running with.

00:41:27.820 --> 00:41:29.019
 And having that

00:41:29.019 --> 00:41:29.720
 person around

00:41:29.720 --> 00:41:31.480
 transformed my desire

00:41:31.480 --> 00:41:33.120
 to run to the extent

00:41:33.120 --> 00:41:34.600
 that now I even go

00:41:34.600 --> 00:41:35.740
 for runs on my own

00:41:35.740 --> 00:41:37.500
 midweek when I'm not

00:41:37.500 --> 00:41:39.059
 with her so that,

00:41:39.220 --> 00:41:39.920
 because I've just

00:41:39.920 --> 00:41:40.580
 learned to enjoy

00:41:40.580 --> 00:41:40.900
 running.

00:41:41.940 --> 00:41:43.019
 And so it's the same

00:41:43.019 --> 00:41:43.600
 way with the Bible.

00:41:43.680 --> 00:41:44.860
 The Bible doesn't,

00:41:44.860 --> 00:41:46.059
 doesn't just take us

00:41:46.059 --> 00:41:46.800
 and give us these rules

00:41:46.800 --> 00:41:47.080
 and say,

00:41:47.200 --> 00:41:49.000
 do this so that

00:41:49.000 --> 00:41:49.539
 you'll be different.

00:41:50.519 --> 00:41:51.100
 It says,

00:41:51.340 --> 00:41:51.780
 enter into this

00:41:51.780 --> 00:41:52.300
 relationship,

00:41:53.300 --> 00:41:54.100
 fall in love with

00:41:54.100 --> 00:41:54.400
 God,

00:41:55.180 --> 00:41:55.980
 get to know him.

00:41:56.380 --> 00:41:57.720
 And in that process,

00:41:57.820 --> 00:41:58.580
 you will be

00:41:58.580 --> 00:41:59.100
 transformed.

00:42:01.180 --> 00:42:01.380
 You know,

00:42:01.420 --> 00:42:02.120
 my love,

00:42:02.280 --> 00:42:03.180
 I don't know if I would

00:42:03.180 --> 00:42:03.780
 call it a love for

00:42:03.780 --> 00:42:04.120
 running yet,

00:42:04.180 --> 00:42:05.480
 my enjoyment of running

00:42:05.480 --> 00:42:08.460
 did not come because

00:42:08.460 --> 00:42:09.460
 some expert came

00:42:09.460 --> 00:42:09.900
 and said,

00:42:09.980 --> 00:42:10.240
 Eric,

00:42:10.360 --> 00:42:11.220
 if you don't start

00:42:11.220 --> 00:42:12.039
 exercising more,

00:42:12.180 --> 00:42:12.860
 you will die of a

00:42:12.860 --> 00:42:13.660
 heart attack at a

00:42:13.660 --> 00:42:14.480
 very early age.

00:42:15.500 --> 00:42:16.460
 It also didn't come

00:42:16.460 --> 00:42:17.700
 because my girlfriend

00:42:17.700 --> 00:42:18.660
 came up to me and

00:42:18.660 --> 00:42:19.039
 said,

00:42:19.380 --> 00:42:19.660
 hey,

00:42:19.800 --> 00:42:20.680
 the only way that I

00:42:20.680 --> 00:42:21.280
 would ever consider

00:42:21.280 --> 00:42:22.260
 dating you is if you

00:42:22.260 --> 00:42:22.940
 actually were willing

00:42:22.940 --> 00:42:23.780
 to go on a run with me.

00:42:24.900 --> 00:42:26.160
 It simply came out

00:42:26.160 --> 00:42:26.740
 of a relationship.

00:42:26.739 --> 00:42:28.000
 And the way that

00:42:28.000 --> 00:42:28.839
 the Bible equips us

00:42:28.839 --> 00:42:29.619
 for every good work

00:42:29.619 --> 00:42:31.179
 is by introducing us

00:42:31.179 --> 00:42:32.359
 to a relationship

00:42:32.359 --> 00:42:33.559
 with the God

00:42:33.559 --> 00:42:34.359
 of the universe.

00:42:35.279 --> 00:42:36.159
 So as we look at

00:42:36.159 --> 00:42:36.719
 these two things

00:42:36.719 --> 00:42:37.379
 that the Bible does,

00:42:37.500 --> 00:42:38.119
 equipping us for

00:42:38.119 --> 00:42:39.599
 salvation and

00:42:39.599 --> 00:42:40.500
 equipping us for

00:42:40.500 --> 00:42:41.500
 every good work,

00:42:42.019 --> 00:42:43.339
 we realize that

00:42:43.339 --> 00:42:44.079
 how we handle the

00:42:44.079 --> 00:42:45.599
 Bible is ultimately

00:42:45.599 --> 00:42:47.000
 a matter of

00:42:47.000 --> 00:42:48.239
 life and death

00:42:48.239 --> 00:42:49.019
 for us.

00:42:49.019 --> 00:42:53.039
 how we handle the

00:42:53.039 --> 00:42:54.619
 Bible is a matter

00:42:54.619 --> 00:42:56.179
 of life and

00:42:56.179 --> 00:42:57.619
 death for us.

00:42:58.119 --> 00:42:59.039
 Because the Bible

00:42:59.039 --> 00:43:00.199
 is where we learn

00:43:00.199 --> 00:43:01.400
 of God's salvation

00:43:01.400 --> 00:43:02.579
 and the Bible is

00:43:02.579 --> 00:43:03.900
 how God equips us

00:43:03.900 --> 00:43:06.000
 for every good work

00:43:06.000 --> 00:43:06.820
 in our lives.

00:43:07.800 --> 00:43:08.639
 And absolutely,

00:43:08.780 --> 00:43:09.440
 there are ways that

00:43:09.440 --> 00:43:09.940
 we can learn the

00:43:09.940 --> 00:43:10.699
 contents of the Bible

00:43:10.699 --> 00:43:11.460
 without actually

00:43:11.460 --> 00:43:12.400
 reading it.

00:43:12.759 --> 00:43:13.579
 In the book of

00:43:13.579 --> 00:43:14.059
 Colossians,

00:43:14.179 --> 00:43:14.800
 Paul commands the

00:43:14.800 --> 00:43:15.679
 Christians to teach

00:43:15.679 --> 00:43:16.699
 one another using

00:43:16.699 --> 00:43:17.840
 songs and hymns

00:43:17.840 --> 00:43:19.180
 that you can learn

00:43:19.180 --> 00:43:19.740
 the contents of

00:43:19.740 --> 00:43:20.480
 the Bible through

00:43:20.480 --> 00:43:21.140
 songs.

00:43:22.220 --> 00:43:22.980
 Or nowadays,

00:43:23.120 --> 00:43:23.620
 we have cool

00:43:23.620 --> 00:43:24.400
 technology like

00:43:24.400 --> 00:43:25.260
 audiobooks so you

00:43:25.260 --> 00:43:25.880
 can listen to the

00:43:25.880 --> 00:43:26.460
 contents of the

00:43:26.460 --> 00:43:26.660
 Bible.

00:43:27.240 --> 00:43:28.100
 Or if you're like

00:43:28.100 --> 00:43:29.059
 me and you enjoy

00:43:29.059 --> 00:43:29.940
 actual books,

00:43:30.200 --> 00:43:31.280
 there are dozens

00:43:31.280 --> 00:43:32.300
 of translations of

00:43:32.300 --> 00:43:33.200
 the Bible that are

00:43:33.200 --> 00:43:35.360
 relative or different

00:43:35.360 --> 00:43:36.680
 levels of readability

00:43:36.680 --> 00:43:38.320
 so that you can have

00:43:38.320 --> 00:43:38.940
 the level of

00:43:38.940 --> 00:43:39.980
 readability that is

00:43:39.980 --> 00:43:40.519
 best for you.

00:43:40.600 --> 00:43:41.100
 And here's the

00:43:41.100 --> 00:43:41.260
 thing.

00:43:41.880 --> 00:43:42.960
 The primary thing is

00:43:42.960 --> 00:43:44.059
 not how these truths

00:43:44.059 --> 00:43:44.960
 get into your life.

00:43:45.500 --> 00:43:46.519
 It's that they get

00:43:46.519 --> 00:43:47.180
 into your life.

00:43:47.840 --> 00:43:48.700
 Because it is

00:43:48.700 --> 00:43:50.000
 through these truths

00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:51.180
 that God makes us

00:43:51.180 --> 00:43:52.059
 wise for salvation

00:43:52.059 --> 00:43:52.920
 and equips us

00:43:52.920 --> 00:43:54.039
 for every good

00:43:54.039 --> 00:43:54.440
 work.

00:43:57.380 --> 00:43:58.120
 Think of it this

00:43:58.120 --> 00:43:58.240
 way.

00:43:58.280 --> 00:43:58.880
 The Bible is a

00:43:58.880 --> 00:43:59.700
 matter of life and

00:43:59.700 --> 00:44:00.260
 death for us.

00:44:00.579 --> 00:44:01.500
 Another thing that

00:44:01.500 --> 00:44:02.380
 is a matter of life

00:44:02.380 --> 00:44:03.039
 and death for us

00:44:03.039 --> 00:44:03.519
 is food.

00:44:05.220 --> 00:44:06.140
 When you get home

00:44:06.140 --> 00:44:07.360
 after a long day

00:44:07.360 --> 00:44:08.160
 of work, it's been

00:44:08.160 --> 00:44:09.160
 hard and grueling

00:44:09.160 --> 00:44:09.800
 at the office,

00:44:10.519 --> 00:44:11.180
 you don't think,

00:44:11.300 --> 00:44:12.960
 oh, do I really

00:44:12.960 --> 00:44:13.920
 have to eat dinner

00:44:13.920 --> 00:44:14.320
 tonight?

00:44:14.320 --> 00:44:17.220
 At least most

00:44:17.220 --> 00:44:17.700
 people I know

00:44:17.700 --> 00:44:18.280
 don't do that.

00:44:19.019 --> 00:44:19.900
 With me, I get

00:44:19.900 --> 00:44:20.519
 home, I'm like,

00:44:20.640 --> 00:44:21.340
 all right, what's

00:44:21.340 --> 00:44:21.680
 to eat?

00:44:21.740 --> 00:44:22.660
 I am starving.

00:44:25.240 --> 00:44:26.780
 And I know that

00:44:26.780 --> 00:44:28.480
 I want this food

00:44:28.480 --> 00:44:29.780
 because this food

00:44:29.780 --> 00:44:30.760
 gives me life and

00:44:30.760 --> 00:44:32.120
 I crave life.

00:44:34.260 --> 00:44:35.080
 It's the same way

00:44:35.080 --> 00:44:35.519
 with the Bible.

00:44:36.559 --> 00:44:37.559
 The Bible gives

00:44:37.559 --> 00:44:38.039
 us life.

00:44:38.120 --> 00:44:39.400
 Do we crave this

00:44:39.400 --> 00:44:39.740
 life?

00:44:39.739 --> 00:44:43.019
 Or would we

00:44:43.019 --> 00:44:44.059
 rather just set

00:44:44.059 --> 00:44:45.199
 it aside, forget

00:44:45.199 --> 00:44:47.459
 about it, go on

00:44:47.459 --> 00:44:48.599
 living life the

00:44:48.599 --> 00:44:49.019
 way that we have

00:44:49.019 --> 00:44:49.199
 been?

00:44:52.539 --> 00:44:53.319
 We have the

00:44:53.319 --> 00:44:53.919
 words that can

00:44:53.919 --> 00:44:54.839
 equip us for

00:44:54.839 --> 00:44:55.699
 salvation and for

00:44:55.699 --> 00:44:56.639
 every good work.

00:44:58.379 --> 00:44:59.039
 What are we going

00:44:59.039 --> 00:44:59.500
 to do with them?

00:45:00.739 --> 00:45:01.359
 Let's pray.

00:45:02.979 --> 00:45:03.839
 Father, we thank

00:45:03.839 --> 00:45:04.419
 you for your

00:45:04.419 --> 00:45:04.699
 word.

00:45:06.219 --> 00:45:07.419
 We thank you for

00:45:07.419 --> 00:45:08.959
 speaking your

00:45:08.959 --> 00:45:09.279
 word.

00:45:09.280 --> 00:45:10.200
 We thank you

00:45:10.200 --> 00:45:11.080
 that it comes

00:45:11.080 --> 00:45:11.940
 directly from you

00:45:11.940 --> 00:45:13.740
 and that you are

00:45:13.740 --> 00:45:15.340
 a reliable source,

00:45:15.640 --> 00:45:17.280
 that you are good,

00:45:17.360 --> 00:45:17.900
 that you do not

00:45:17.900 --> 00:45:19.080
 tell lies, and that

00:45:19.080 --> 00:45:20.100
 you have made your

00:45:20.100 --> 00:45:20.800
 whole Bible

00:45:20.800 --> 00:45:24.500
 sufficient to make

00:45:24.500 --> 00:45:25.140
 us wise for

00:45:25.140 --> 00:45:26.019
 salvation and to

00:45:26.019 --> 00:45:26.840
 equip us for every

00:45:26.840 --> 00:45:27.360
 good work.

00:45:29.480 --> 00:45:30.440
 Please create in us

00:45:30.440 --> 00:45:31.340
 a desire for the

00:45:31.340 --> 00:45:31.960
 life that your

00:45:31.960 --> 00:45:32.640
 word gives.

00:45:33.700 --> 00:45:34.540
 Please create in

00:45:34.540 --> 00:45:35.519
 us a love for your

00:45:35.519 --> 00:45:36.540
 son Jesus and for

00:45:36.540 --> 00:45:37.060
 the work that he

00:45:37.060 --> 00:45:37.840
 has done for us.

00:45:39.280 --> 00:45:40.700
 please transform us

00:45:40.700 --> 00:45:41.260
 and help us to

00:45:41.260 --> 00:45:42.260
 grow as a community

00:45:42.260 --> 00:45:43.519
 through your word.

00:45:44.160 --> 00:45:44.980
 And in Jesus' name,

00:45:45.180 --> 00:45:45.380
 amen.

00:45:45.940 --> 00:45:46.220
 Amen.

00:45:47.019 --> 00:45:47.860
 Hey, if you're like

00:45:47.860 --> 00:45:49.580
 me, like I was 40

00:45:49.580 --> 00:45:51.560
 years ago, someone

00:45:51.560 --> 00:45:52.420
 just gave me a Bible

00:45:52.420 --> 00:45:53.980
 and just said, hey,

00:45:54.200 --> 00:45:55.380
 Matthew, Mark, Luke,

00:45:55.440 --> 00:45:55.940
 and John, they're

00:45:55.940 --> 00:45:56.440
 right in the center of

00:45:56.440 --> 00:45:56.800
 your Bible.

00:45:57.519 --> 00:45:58.260
 Open up to one of

00:45:58.260 --> 00:46:00.100
 those books, start at

00:46:00.100 --> 00:46:01.560
 the beginning, and

00:46:01.560 --> 00:46:02.240
 read for about 10

00:46:02.240 --> 00:46:02.580
 minutes.

00:46:03.620 --> 00:46:04.560
 And just talk to the

00:46:04.560 --> 00:46:05.300
 Lord as you're reading.

00:46:06.280 --> 00:46:06.780
 If you don't have a

00:46:06.780 --> 00:46:07.580
 Bible, come by the

00:46:07.580 --> 00:46:08.060
 Church Community

00:46:08.060 --> 00:46:08.720
 Center this week.

00:46:08.780 --> 00:46:09.260
 We'll give you one

00:46:09.260 --> 00:46:09.640
 for free.

00:46:09.720 --> 00:46:10.240
 We'll have them next

00:46:10.240 --> 00:46:10.700
 week when we're

00:46:10.700 --> 00:46:11.160
 downstairs.

00:46:11.260 --> 00:46:11.720
 We'll be downstairs

00:46:11.720 --> 00:46:12.560
 next week on the

00:46:12.560 --> 00:46:12.980
 third floor.

00:46:13.060 --> 00:46:13.680
 We'll have a lot of

00:46:13.680 --> 00:46:14.240
 Bibles there.

00:46:14.720 --> 00:46:15.380
 Now, you can't take

00:46:15.380 --> 00:46:16.180
 them and resell them,

00:46:16.220 --> 00:46:16.519
 okay?

00:46:17.280 --> 00:46:18.060
 But if they're for

00:46:18.060 --> 00:46:18.860
 your use, you can

00:46:18.860 --> 00:46:19.980
 take them and we'll

00:46:19.980 --> 00:46:20.580
 have them there.

00:46:20.680 --> 00:46:22.220
 So take one, Matthew,

00:46:22.340 --> 00:46:23.220
 Mark, Luke, or John,

00:46:24.220 --> 00:46:25.200
 read 10 minutes a day

00:46:25.200 --> 00:46:26.680
 and it will change you.

00:46:27.360 --> 00:46:28.200
 Thanks so much, Eric,

00:46:28.280 --> 00:46:29.120
 for bringing us to

00:46:29.120 --> 00:46:29.680
 God's Word.

00:46:30.300 --> 00:46:31.560
 And we want to

00:46:31.560 --> 00:46:32.600
 encourage you to hang

00:46:32.600 --> 00:46:33.600
 out afterwards, get

00:46:33.599 --> 00:46:34.880
 some food, coffee.

00:46:35.639 --> 00:46:36.219
 Check out your

00:46:36.219 --> 00:46:36.559
 bulletin.

00:46:36.579 --> 00:46:37.000
 There's a lot of

00:46:37.000 --> 00:46:37.799
 great things happening.

00:46:37.940 --> 00:46:38.599
 There's a very

00:46:38.599 --> 00:46:39.480
 interesting women's

00:46:39.480 --> 00:46:40.639
 study coming up in

00:46:40.639 --> 00:46:41.400
 November.

00:46:42.039 --> 00:46:42.779
 The Israel trip is

00:46:42.779 --> 00:46:43.659
 still on for May,

00:46:43.759 --> 00:46:44.199
 so there's still a

00:46:44.199 --> 00:46:44.679
 couple of slots

00:46:44.679 --> 00:46:45.659
 available for that.

00:46:46.079 --> 00:46:46.980
 So check that out.

00:46:47.059 --> 00:46:47.639
 We'd love for you to

00:46:47.639 --> 00:46:47.920
 come.

00:46:48.079 --> 00:46:48.940
 That will change

00:46:48.940 --> 00:46:49.400
 your life.

00:46:49.900 --> 00:46:50.199
 February.

00:46:51.099 --> 00:46:51.259
 Yeah.

00:46:51.719 --> 00:46:52.779
 Oh, the women's

00:46:52.779 --> 00:46:53.019
 thing.

00:46:53.940 --> 00:46:54.739
 February, right,

00:46:54.819 --> 00:46:55.000
 okay.

00:46:57.480 --> 00:46:58.179
 Yeah, that's why

00:46:58.179 --> 00:46:58.559
 the women are

00:46:58.559 --> 00:46:59.519
 leading, not the men.

00:46:59.860 --> 00:47:01.579
 So let me pray for

00:47:01.579 --> 00:47:01.799
 us.

00:47:02.279 --> 00:47:02.779
 Father, we just

00:47:02.779 --> 00:47:03.319
 thank you for this

00:47:03.320 --> 00:47:03.500
 day.

00:47:03.580 --> 00:47:04.000
 We thank you that

00:47:04.000 --> 00:47:04.380
 we can come

00:47:04.380 --> 00:47:05.440
 together and know

00:47:05.440 --> 00:47:06.140
 that your Word is

00:47:06.140 --> 00:47:07.160
 true and that you

00:47:07.160 --> 00:47:08.940
 are good and that

00:47:08.940 --> 00:47:09.760
 we can trust you.

00:47:10.620 --> 00:47:11.460
 And so we come and

00:47:11.460 --> 00:47:12.400
 we lay all of our

00:47:12.400 --> 00:47:13.660
 life before you as

00:47:13.660 --> 00:47:15.000
 we look at your

00:47:15.000 --> 00:47:16.160
 Son, the perfect

00:47:16.160 --> 00:47:18.180
 hero, who came to

00:47:18.180 --> 00:47:20.500
 save us from all

00:47:20.500 --> 00:47:23.440
 especially sin, that

00:47:23.440 --> 00:47:25.220
 he gathers us and

00:47:25.220 --> 00:47:26.039
 prevents us from

00:47:26.039 --> 00:47:26.820
 coming to you.

00:47:27.420 --> 00:47:28.320
 So, Lord, we come

00:47:28.320 --> 00:47:29.039
 this morning and we

00:47:29.039 --> 00:47:30.120
 just give our lives to

00:47:30.120 --> 00:47:30.740
 you and we worship

00:47:30.740 --> 00:47:31.059
 you.

00:47:31.900 --> 00:47:32.420
 We thank you for

00:47:32.420 --> 00:47:33.100
 what you're doing in

00:47:33.099 --> 00:47:33.960
 the church and in

00:47:33.960 --> 00:47:34.719
 the community groups

00:47:34.719 --> 00:47:35.179
 and with the

00:47:35.179 --> 00:47:35.759
 outreaches.

00:47:36.460 --> 00:47:37.039
 Lord, we know that

00:47:37.039 --> 00:47:37.880
 if all those things,

00:47:37.960 --> 00:47:38.739
 if you're not there,

00:47:38.819 --> 00:47:39.500
 if you're not at the

00:47:39.500 --> 00:47:40.880
 center of it, if you're

00:47:40.880 --> 00:47:41.799
 not the center of our

00:47:41.799 --> 00:47:43.380
 story, then it's useless

00:47:43.380 --> 00:47:44.019
 and meaningless.

00:47:45.119 --> 00:47:45.799
 And so, Lord, we pray

00:47:45.799 --> 00:47:46.759
 that we would always

00:47:46.759 --> 00:47:48.980
 focus on you and that

00:47:48.980 --> 00:47:49.799
 you would be the hero

00:47:49.799 --> 00:47:50.599
 of our lives.

00:47:51.539 --> 00:47:52.400
 So we lift up this

00:47:52.400 --> 00:47:54.000
 time and this

00:47:54.000 --> 00:47:55.759
 fellowship in your

00:47:55.759 --> 00:47:56.219
 Word.

00:47:57.039 --> 00:47:57.920
 We pray that they

00:47:57.920 --> 00:47:59.880
 would change us to

00:47:59.880 --> 00:48:00.699
 make us more like our

00:48:00.699 --> 00:48:01.339
 hero, Jesus.

00:48:01.340 --> 00:48:03.460
 Lord, we love you.

00:48:03.740 --> 00:48:04.440
 We pray these things in

00:48:04.440 --> 00:48:05.340
 your Son Jesus' name.

00:48:06.059 --> 00:48:06.360
 Amen.

00:48:06.740 --> 00:48:07.360
 God bless you.

00:48:07.440 --> 00:48:08.300
 Remember, next week we're

00:48:08.300 --> 00:48:09.780
 on the third floor, so

00:48:09.780 --> 00:48:10.460
 we'll see you there.