- If God were to
actually speak to you,
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how would you know for
sure you're hearing from God?
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I mean, how would you know that
what you're sensing is real?
00:00:05.00\00:00:09.07
That's what
we're gonna talk about
00:00:09.07\00:00:10.47
on today's
edition of "Authentic."
00:00:10.47\00:00:13.21
[country-style music]
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[country-style music continues]
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You've probably heard people say
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that Christianity is different
from other world religions.
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And after more than 30
years as a practicing Christian,
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I'd have to agree with that.
00:00:42.07\00:00:44.54
Maybe you've heard some
people say that most religions
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have the human race
trying to reach out to God.
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But in Christianity,
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the reaching actually
goes in the opposite direction,
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God's the one
reaching out to us.
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But there are some
other key differences.
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You've probably
heard some people complain
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that Christianity makes
some rather exclusive claims,
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because it rejects the popular
idea that all spiritual paths
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lead to the top of
the very same mountain.
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Now of course, on the one hand,
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I'm actually sympathetic
to that kind of thinking,
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because a lot of damage has
been done by religious tyrants
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who want to impose cookie-cutter
uniformity on everybody.
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And I mean absolutely everybody.
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And the Bible does not suggest
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that you and I are
required to stop being
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our individual selves.
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I mean, yeah, we are required
to submit ourselves to God,
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but there is nothing to
suggest that we all get absorbed
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into some kind of
cosmic collective mind.
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That's actually
an Eastern concept.
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Maybe you've noticed
that in the Holy City
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over in the Book of
Revelation, there are 12 gates,
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three on each side of the city,
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and each of those gates
is labeled with the name
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of an
individual tribe of Israel,
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implying that there are
as many as 12 different paths
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in that particular scenario,
that lead to the throne of God.
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If you go back to the
49th chapter of Genesis
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and compare it,
you'll find Jacob or Israel
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describing each of his 12
sons as very unique individuals.
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And what you'll notice
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is that they clearly
have their own personalities,
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their own strengths
and their own flaws.
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But none of them
were required to be
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exactly the same
as their siblings.
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Instead, they were
provided with blessings
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and warnings by their father
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according to their
own unique situation.
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So when you find
12 different gates
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that lead to
the presence of God,
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there is at
least the implication
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that each of us can approach God
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from the perspective of
who we are as ourselves,
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and you don't have to give up
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your sense of personal identity.
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Your personality has
to be sanctified by God
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because you're a sinner,
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but your personality
doesn't have to disappear.
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At the end of the day,
you're allowed to be you.
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So in that very narrow sense,
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there really are different paths
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that lead to the top
of the sacred mountain,
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but every single one of those
paths has to go through Christ
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because as Jesus Himself said,
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"I am the way, and
the truth, and the life.
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No one comes to the
Father except through me."
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Now, that's the concept
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that gets some people
wound a little bit tightly,
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because to a 21st century
mindset, that sounds elitist.
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"What do you mean only
Jesus can get me to heaven?
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What about the Buddhists,
and the Taoists, and the Hindus,
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and all those
other world religions?
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How are they
supposed to reach God?"
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And the biblical answer
is, still through Christ.
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They might not
actually know His name
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and they might not have
access to the scriptures,
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but they are
still reliant on Christ
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to enter the presence of God,
whether they know it or not.
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The opening chapter
of the Book of Romans
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makes it abundantly clear
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that God only
holds people accountable
00:04:02.94\00:04:06.51
for the information
they actually have access to.
00:04:06.51\00:04:09.94
And then it says the Gentiles,
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some of them are living up
to the light that they have.
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But why?
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Why does it all come
down to the person of Christ?
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Well, that's where
the Bible comes in.
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The Bible is the story of God
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interacting with us
all through history,
00:04:23.93\00:04:27.23
and the absolute
peak of that interaction
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happens with the incarnation,
00:04:29.76\00:04:31.77
the life, the death, and
the resurrection of Christ.
00:04:31.77\00:04:35.84
The Bible reveals
Jesus as God in human flesh,
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not part-human part-God,
00:04:39.77\00:04:41.81
but fully God and fully
human at the very same time.
00:04:41.81\00:04:46.88
Virtually all of the
world's religious beliefs
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recognize that
there's a problematic gap
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between the human race and God.
00:04:52.12\00:04:54.39
We all seem to realize
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that something has
gone terribly wrong.
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And most of the world's
religions have us as humans,
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trying to solve the problem
ourselves, reaching out to God
00:05:02.56\00:05:06.13
and looking for yet
another path up the mountain
00:05:06.13\00:05:08.87
every time the one we're
presently on starts to fail.
00:05:08.87\00:05:12.67
But in the Bible, we
discover God telling us
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that you and I are ultimately
powerless to fix the problem,
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and so God takes charge
of the situation Himself.
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And how does He do that?
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By becoming one of us and
taking His place as the new head
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of the human race.
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Now we have a
perfect human representative,
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which means that Jesus'
claim to be the only way back
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makes really good sense.
00:05:39.90\00:05:41.84
I mean, where else
among the world's beliefs
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do you find God
actually becoming one of us?
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And by that,
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I don't mean a God
who looks like one of us,
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because there are apparitions
in other religious beliefs
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that kind of look human,
but they're not the real thing.
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What we have in Christ
is this all important bridge
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between humanity and God.
00:06:03.32\00:06:06.43
We have one individual
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who represents both
sides of that equation.
00:06:08.23\00:06:11.37
And somehow that, along
with His death on the cross
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and His resurrection,
becomes the key to redemption.
00:06:15.24\00:06:19.77
But, you know,
there is a third way
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that Christianity
kind of stands alone,
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and it's with regard to
the nature of our scriptures.
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As you know, other religious
groups also have holy books.
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But just like the
case of Jesus Himself,
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there's something very
unique about this book.
00:06:35.19\00:06:38.63
Let me show you what the
earliest Christians believed,
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and you're gonna
find this written
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in the Bible's Book of Hebrews.
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It's a powerful
explanation of how Jesus
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is the fulfillment of the
Old Testament right and rituals
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that took place in Israel.
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One of the biggest
themes in the Book of Hebrews
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is the idea of better.
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The priests in the
temple were symbolic of Christ,
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but Christ is
better than the priests.
00:07:01.22\00:07:03.82
The sacrificial animals
00:07:03.82\00:07:05.12
pointed forward to
the cross symbolically,
00:07:05.12\00:07:08.16
but the cross is
better than those sacrifices.
00:07:08.16\00:07:11.66
And when the book of Hebrews
opens, the author tells us
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that God has been very busy
trying to communicate His plans
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to the human race
for a very long time,
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using a number of
different methods.
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Listen to what it
says in Hebrews 1.
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"Long ago, at many
times and in many ways,
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God spoke to our
fathers by the prophets,
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but in these last days, He
has spoken to us by His Son,
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whom He appointed
the heir of all things,
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through whom also
He created the world."
00:07:37.69\00:07:40.39
So what are these
many ways of communication?
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Well, for starters, we
have a mention of prophets.
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And when you study the
historical record of the Bible,
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you'll find a
couple of different ways
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that God used the prophets.
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Some of them actually
wrote entire books of the Bible.
00:07:54.57\00:07:57.24
And even though they
were often addressing
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a specific situation
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that was actually
unfolding at their time,
00:08:00.68\00:08:03.45
like say the
impending invasion of Jerusalem,
00:08:03.45\00:08:06.82
the content of their message
had an evergreen quality.
00:08:06.82\00:08:09.75
It still has something to say
00:08:09.75\00:08:11.42
to everybody who reads it today.
00:08:11.42\00:08:13.96
You and I might not be facing
the armies of Nebuchadnezzar,
00:08:13.96\00:08:17.03
or we might not be
desecrating a literal temple,
00:08:17.03\00:08:20.76
but that doesn't mean
that a book like Jeremiah
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doesn't apply to us.
00:08:23.06\00:08:24.57
2,600 years later,
00:08:24.57\00:08:26.23
we can still look at the
moral failures of God's people
00:08:26.23\00:08:29.60
that led to the
Babylonian conquest,
00:08:29.60\00:08:31.84
and we can learn something
00:08:31.84\00:08:33.51
about what it means to
live an authentic human life,
00:08:33.51\00:08:36.38
a life in harmony
with the will of God.
00:08:36.38\00:08:39.58
But then we have
another kind of prophet
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that appears in the Bible,
00:08:42.22\00:08:43.85
an individual who
doesn't actually write
00:08:43.85\00:08:45.79
a book of the Bible,
00:08:45.79\00:08:47.32
but God still uses them to
address a specific situation.
00:08:47.32\00:08:50.96
So for example,
we've got Nathan,
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the prophet who
had to confront David.
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The reason we know that story
00:08:56.26\00:08:58.07
is because it's
recorded in the Bible.
00:08:58.07\00:08:59.77
So in that sense, some
of Nathan's words are also
00:08:59.77\00:09:03.81
evergreen and apply to us today.
00:09:03.81\00:09:05.94
But Nathan
didn't actually sit down
00:09:05.94\00:09:07.94
and write a part of the Bible.
00:09:07.94\00:09:10.71
I guess you could summarize it
00:09:10.71\00:09:11.95
by saying we have
canonical prophets,
00:09:11.95\00:09:13.98
the ones who
wrote some of the Bible,
00:09:13.98\00:09:16.15
and non-canonical
prophets who did not.
00:09:16.15\00:09:18.85
And we have no record
00:09:18.85\00:09:20.46
of what some of those
non-canonical prophets actually
00:09:20.46\00:09:24.16
said. But there's more,
00:09:24.16\00:09:25.39
and after I take a
really quick break,
00:09:25.39\00:09:26.93
I'll come back and show
you what I'm talking about.
00:09:26.93\00:09:29.46
[melodious music]
00:09:29.46\00:09:32.63
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00:09:32.63\00:09:34.04
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- At the very top
of the Book of Romans,
00:10:02.23\00:10:04.27
there's this passage
00:10:04.27\00:10:05.80
that might just be one of
Paul's most clever arguments.
00:10:05.80\00:10:08.97
It begins by pointing out
the errors of the Gentiles,
00:10:08.97\00:10:12.21
and it's
structured in such a way
00:10:12.21\00:10:13.58
that it's easy to
imagine an eager Jewish audience
00:10:13.58\00:10:16.71
nodding its head in
agreement and saying,
00:10:16.71\00:10:18.41
"That's right,
that's what's wrong
00:10:18.41\00:10:20.08
with those filthy heathens."
00:10:20.08\00:10:22.25
And then when the trap is set,
00:10:22.25\00:10:24.85
Paul suddenly turns the tables,
00:10:24.85\00:10:26.89
and here's what he tells them.
00:10:26.89\00:10:28.62
"Therefore you
have no excuse, O man,
00:10:28.62\00:10:31.33
every one of you who judges.
00:10:31.33\00:10:33.16
For in passing judgment on
another, you condemn yourself
00:10:33.16\00:10:36.10
because you, the judge,
practice the very same things."
00:10:36.10\00:10:41.04
What Paul's doing
is baiting his audience
00:10:41.04\00:10:43.20
into agreeing with him.
00:10:43.20\00:10:44.61
He suddenly pulls out
this full length mirror then,
00:10:44.61\00:10:47.28
so that the readers
can see that they are doing
00:10:47.28\00:10:49.51
exactly what the Gentiles do.
00:10:49.51\00:10:52.08
It's a little like somebody
complaining about your snoring,
00:10:52.08\00:10:55.15
so you secretly film them
00:10:55.15\00:10:56.58
to prove that their
snoring is worse than yours.
00:10:56.58\00:10:59.62
But now let's back
up just a little bit
00:11:00.79\00:11:02.16
and look at Paul's
description of the Gentiles,
00:11:02.16\00:11:04.43
because it has an important idea
00:11:04.43\00:11:06.76
about the way that God
actually communicates with us.
00:11:06.76\00:11:09.53
Here's what it says
in chapter 1, verse 19.
00:11:09.53\00:11:12.70
"For what can be known
about God is plain to them,
00:11:12.70\00:11:15.34
because God has
shown it to them."
00:11:15.34\00:11:17.74
Well, how exactly did God do
that, when the Gentile nations
00:11:17.74\00:11:21.41
didn't exactly have a
copy of the scriptures?
00:11:21.41\00:11:23.88
I mean, I'm
assuming some of them did,
00:11:23.88\00:11:25.51
because the wise men
who came to visit Mary
00:11:25.51\00:11:28.12
had obviously
been reading the Torah.
00:11:28.12\00:11:30.05
And of course,
you'd have to think
00:11:30.05\00:11:31.89
that
influential Jews like Daniel
00:11:31.89\00:11:34.32
would've left some kind
of informational footprint
00:11:34.32\00:11:36.83
on the Babylonian
and Persian empires.
00:11:36.83\00:11:39.73
And of course, by this point
in history, the Septuagint,
00:11:39.73\00:11:43.43
that famous translation of the
Hebrew scriptures into Greek,
00:11:43.43\00:11:46.80
well, that was
already in circulation.
00:11:46.80\00:11:48.80
But still, the vast
majority of Gentile kingdoms
00:11:48.80\00:11:52.37
didn't have access to
the written word of God,
00:11:52.37\00:11:55.18
so how could they be
held morally responsible?
00:11:55.18\00:11:58.85
Well, here's what it says.
00:11:58.85\00:12:00.52
"For His..." that's God.
00:12:00.52\00:12:02.05
"For His invisible attributes,
00:12:02.05\00:12:03.89
namely His eternal
power and divine nature,
00:12:03.89\00:12:06.22
have been clearly perceived,
00:12:06.22\00:12:08.02
ever since the
creation of the world,
00:12:08.02\00:12:10.06
in the things
that have been made.
00:12:10.06\00:12:11.86
So they are without excuse."
00:12:11.86\00:12:14.93
Now, according to this,
you can learn a lot about God
00:12:14.93\00:12:18.07
just by studying the creation.
00:12:18.07\00:12:20.77
So now we have God
communicating verbally
00:12:20.77\00:12:24.04
through the prophets,
00:12:24.04\00:12:25.71
we have Him communicating
through writing in the
00:12:25.71\00:12:28.31
scriptures, and we also
have a revelation of God
00:12:28.31\00:12:30.68
right outdoors in
the natural world.
00:12:30.68\00:12:33.08
But then, if you
remember that statement
00:12:34.08\00:12:35.92
from the book of
Hebrews, we have a fourth way,
00:12:35.92\00:12:38.59
a method of
communication that is found
00:12:38.59\00:12:40.52
in the incarnation of Christ.
00:12:40.52\00:12:42.66
Again, here's what that said:
00:12:42.66\00:12:44.69
"Long ago, at many
times and in many ways,
00:12:44.69\00:12:47.76
God spoke to our
fathers by the prophets,
00:12:47.76\00:12:50.47
but in these last days, He
has spoken to us by His Son."
00:12:50.47\00:12:53.64
What we have in
Christ is God in human flesh,
00:12:54.94\00:12:57.84
fully God and fully man.
00:12:57.84\00:13:00.31
And of course, the
pagans told stories of people
00:13:00.31\00:13:02.58
who were
part-God and part-human,
00:13:02.58\00:13:05.71
but the Jesus of the
New Testament is fully both
00:13:05.71\00:13:08.52
at the same time,
which means that we can study
00:13:08.52\00:13:11.32
the life and teachings of Christ
00:13:11.32\00:13:13.39
in order to better
understand the character of God.
00:13:13.39\00:13:16.93
According to Ephesians 1:9,
00:13:16.93\00:13:19.36
God has revealed
what the Bible calls
00:13:19.36\00:13:21.73
the mystery of his will
in the person of Christ.
00:13:21.73\00:13:26.00
So now we can see the
written principles of scripture
00:13:26.00\00:13:29.44
lived out perfectly in
an authentic human lifetime.
00:13:29.44\00:13:34.18
Now, of course,
00:13:34.18\00:13:35.44
you and I are living
two millennia after Christ,
00:13:35.44\00:13:37.91
and so we have to study the
life and teachings of Christ
00:13:37.91\00:13:40.55
through the pages of the Bible,
00:13:40.55\00:13:42.05
which, again, is the written
work of inspired prophets.
00:13:42.05\00:13:46.02
And so, really, the
scriptures are the very core
00:13:46.02\00:13:49.52
of how God talks to us.
00:13:49.52\00:13:52.33
Now, I wanna talk
about one more way
00:13:53.40\00:13:54.93
that God sometimes communicates,
00:13:54.93\00:13:56.73
and that's through direct
contact with an individual,
00:13:56.73\00:14:00.34
either through
circumstances, or a dream,
00:14:00.34\00:14:03.00
or maybe just an impression.
00:14:03.00\00:14:05.07
You might remember
from the Book of Daniel,
00:14:06.21\00:14:07.71
that God sent word
to the Babylonian King
00:14:07.71\00:14:10.58
through a highly symbolic dream.
00:14:10.58\00:14:13.72
But there's a problem with
that kind of communication.
00:14:13.72\00:14:16.28
I mean, how do you know you're
actually hearing from God?
00:14:16.28\00:14:21.36
I've had all kinds of people
reach out to me over the years,
00:14:22.76\00:14:24.49
hoping I can help them
understand some vivid dream they
00:14:24.49\00:14:27.96
had, and I can't help them.
00:14:27.96\00:14:30.20
I mean, you may have noticed
00:14:30.20\00:14:31.50
that the bulk of
dream interpretation books
00:14:31.50\00:14:33.30
are not sold in the Christian
section of the bookstore.
00:14:33.30\00:14:37.61
Now, that doesn't mean
00:14:37.61\00:14:39.14
that God won't try to tell
you something through a dream,
00:14:39.14\00:14:41.34
but it does mean
00:14:41.34\00:14:43.08
that you're gonna
have to step very carefully
00:14:43.08\00:14:46.21
when you're trying
to figure that out.
00:14:46.21\00:14:48.55
I mean, let's just
think about this logically.
00:14:48.55\00:14:51.49
I've never actually met someone
00:14:51.49\00:14:53.02
who thinks that
every single dream they had
00:14:53.02\00:14:55.56
is always a message from God.
00:14:55.56\00:14:57.73
There's just no
basis to believe that.
00:14:57.73\00:14:59.93
And you and I both know
that the vast majority of dreams
00:14:59.93\00:15:03.63
can hardly be described
as the inspired word of God.
00:15:03.63\00:15:08.27
So now what you're
going to have to do,
00:15:08.27\00:15:10.61
if you think that God
00:15:10.61\00:15:11.94
really might be
trying to tell you something,
00:15:11.94\00:15:14.11
you're going to have to
find a reliable external source
00:15:14.11\00:15:17.28
to confirm it, which
means that it still comes down
00:15:17.28\00:15:21.12
to the written word of God.
00:15:21.12\00:15:22.82
Impressions come and go,
00:15:22.82\00:15:24.52
but the teachings
of the Bible do not.
00:15:24.52\00:15:27.02
I really like the way the
prophet Isaiah describes this,
00:15:27.02\00:15:30.36
"The grass withers," he
writes, "the flower fades,
00:15:30.36\00:15:33.63
but the word of our
God will stand forever."
00:15:33.63\00:15:36.46
Maybe we should take a
look at something Jesus said
00:15:37.73\00:15:39.97
about the role of the
Holy Spirit in our lives,
00:15:39.97\00:15:43.10
which is a massive part
00:15:43.10\00:15:44.61
of how God continues
to communicate with us.
00:15:44.61\00:15:48.34
This passage is
found in John 16,
00:15:48.34\00:15:51.51
and we're gonna read
quite a bit of this because,
00:15:51.51\00:15:53.72
well, it's that important.
00:15:53.72\00:15:55.02
It says, "And when
he comes," the spirit,
00:15:55.02\00:15:58.35
"he will convict the
world concerning sin,
00:15:58.35\00:16:00.72
and righteousness, and judgment:
00:16:00.72\00:16:02.62
concerning sin, because
they do not believe in me;
00:16:02.62\00:16:06.16
concerning righteousness,
because I go to the Father
00:16:06.16\00:16:08.70
and you will see me no longer;
00:16:08.70\00:16:10.87
concerning judgment,
00:16:10.87\00:16:12.37
because the ruler of
this world is judged.
00:16:12.37\00:16:15.17
I still have many
things to say to you,
00:16:15.17\00:16:16.97
but you cannot bear them now.
00:16:16.97\00:16:19.04
When the Spirit of truth comes,
00:16:19.04\00:16:20.88
he will guide you
into all the truth,
00:16:20.88\00:16:23.65
for he will not
speak on his own authority.
00:16:23.65\00:16:26.25
But whatever he
hears, he will speak,
00:16:26.25\00:16:28.02
and he will declare to you
the things that are to come.
00:16:28.02\00:16:31.15
He will glorify me, for
he will take what is mine
00:16:31.15\00:16:34.89
and declare it to you.
00:16:34.89\00:16:36.42
All that the Father has is mine;
00:16:36.42\00:16:38.39
therefore, I said that
he will take what is mine
00:16:38.39\00:16:41.20
and declare it to you."
00:16:41.20\00:16:43.90
So here's what it
says in a nutshell:
00:16:43.90\00:16:46.84
After Jesus' earthly
ministry came to an end,
00:16:46.84\00:16:49.50
He continued to guide the church
00:16:49.50\00:16:51.81
through the work
of the Holy Spirit,
00:16:51.81\00:16:53.34
who is the third
person of the Godhead.
00:16:53.34\00:16:56.85
The spirit's primary role
is to lead people to Christ,
00:16:56.85\00:17:00.55
and he does that by
revealing the truth to us.
00:17:00.55\00:17:04.49
So it's entirely possible
00:17:04.49\00:17:06.19
when you get a
very strong impression
00:17:06.19\00:17:08.19
or you have a
very powerful dream,
00:17:08.19\00:17:10.66
that God really is
trying to tell you something.
00:17:10.66\00:17:13.73
But again, how in the world
00:17:13.73\00:17:15.83
are you gonna
know that for sure?
00:17:15.83\00:17:17.60
What you have to do is
compare your impressions
00:17:18.77\00:17:20.90
to something you
know is reliable,
00:17:20.90\00:17:23.30
something else authored
by that same Holy Spirit,
00:17:23.30\00:17:27.08
which, again, is the scriptures.
00:17:27.08\00:17:29.94
Never forget what it tells
us in Peter's second letter.
00:17:29.94\00:17:32.98
"For no prophecy was ever
produced by the will of man,
00:17:32.98\00:17:36.28
but men spoke from God
as they were carried along
00:17:36.28\00:17:38.99
by the Holy Spirit."
00:17:38.99\00:17:41.02
All right, on that note, it's
time for another quick break,
00:17:41.02\00:17:43.76
but don't go away
because I'm about to show you
00:17:43.76\00:17:46.29
a rock solid guide for
discovering God's will for your
00:17:46.29\00:17:50.97
life. I'll be
right back after this.
00:17:50.97\00:17:53.87
[melodious music]
00:17:53.87\00:17:57.51
- [Announcer] Life
can throw a lot at us,
00:17:57.51\00:17:59.91
sometimes we don't
have all the answers,
00:17:59.91\00:18:03.24
but that's where
the Bible comes in.
00:18:03.24\00:18:05.68
It's our guide to a
more fulfilling life.
00:18:05.68\00:18:08.05
Here at The Voice of Prophecy,
00:18:08.88\00:18:10.35
we've created the
"Discover" Bible guides
00:18:10.35\00:18:12.52
to be your guide to the Bible.
00:18:12.52\00:18:14.09
They're designed to
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00:18:14.09\00:18:16.59
and provide answers to many
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00:18:16.59\00:18:19.59
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00:18:19.59\00:18:21.63
So jump online
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00:18:21.63\00:18:23.93
and start your
journey of discovery.
00:18:23.93\00:18:26.77
- All right,
just before the break,
00:18:26.77\00:18:28.54
we read that
statement from Peter
00:18:28.54\00:18:30.67
that describes the
process of inspiration
00:18:30.67\00:18:33.04
that created the
various books of the Bible.
00:18:33.04\00:18:36.88
He told us that
"...men spoke from God
00:18:36.88\00:18:39.38
as they were carried
along by the Holy Spirit."
00:18:39.38\00:18:41.58
So in other words,
00:18:41.58\00:18:43.28
the scriptures really
are the work of the Spirit.
00:18:43.28\00:18:47.06
If you wanna be sure that
your impressions are from God,
00:18:47.06\00:18:50.36
you have an infallible standard
you can check them against,
00:18:50.36\00:18:53.53
because if they are from God,
00:18:53.53\00:18:55.60
they cannot disagree with
what God has already said.
00:18:55.60\00:18:59.87
You know, I remember years ago
00:18:59.87\00:19:01.50
when a really strange movement
suddenly began to take root,
00:19:01.50\00:19:04.87
the Holy Laughter Movement
back in the early nineties.
00:19:04.87\00:19:08.28
It was led by the
likes of Rodney Howard Brown.
00:19:08.28\00:19:11.31
The city of Toronto
was one of the key centers
00:19:11.31\00:19:13.85
where this phenomenon showed up.
00:19:13.85\00:19:15.88
In fact, some people
actually started to call it
00:19:15.88\00:19:18.22
the Toronto Blessing.
00:19:18.22\00:19:20.29
And I remember a
woman who approached me
00:19:20.29\00:19:22.16
to talk about her
experience with that movement,
00:19:22.16\00:19:24.69
and she was pretty excited.
00:19:24.69\00:19:27.00
"Listen," she said, "God
has been speaking directly to me
00:19:27.00\00:19:31.27
and through me."
00:19:31.27\00:19:32.97
And then she started to tell me
00:19:32.97\00:19:34.17
what God was supposedly saying.
00:19:34.17\00:19:36.44
Now, I'm really not the
sharpest knife in the drawer,
00:19:36.44\00:19:39.17
but some of what she said
00:19:39.17\00:19:42.04
was obviously a
direct contradiction
00:19:42.04\00:19:44.71
to the clear
teachings of the Bible.
00:19:44.71\00:19:46.65
And so when she was
finished describing it,
00:19:46.65\00:19:49.78
I said, "Well, that
sounds pretty exciting,
00:19:49.78\00:19:52.45
but do you mind if
I ask some questions
00:19:52.45\00:19:54.39
so I can understand this
just a little bit better?"
00:19:54.39\00:19:58.03
She said, "Yeah, go ahead."
00:19:58.03\00:20:00.30
So as gently as I know how,
00:20:00.30\00:20:02.33
and I'm not
always all that gentle,
00:20:02.33\00:20:04.70
but gently, I started to read
some clear biblical passages
00:20:04.70\00:20:08.20
that said the
opposite of what she told me,
00:20:08.20\00:20:11.61
and I did it
without any commentary.
00:20:11.61\00:20:13.11
I just let the
Bible speak for itself,
00:20:13.11\00:20:15.71
and it made her angry.
00:20:15.71\00:20:17.05
"You can't tell me
this isn't real," she said,
00:20:17.05\00:20:19.08
"because it
means the world to me."
00:20:19.08\00:20:21.78
She wanted it to be true.
00:20:21.78\00:20:24.42
And obviously, she had
some kind of a real experience.
00:20:24.42\00:20:27.12
There really was
something going on.
00:20:27.12\00:20:29.69
But the big
question will always be
00:20:29.69\00:20:31.83
whether or not an experience
00:20:31.83\00:20:34.40
is actually a
communication from God.
00:20:34.40\00:20:37.30
In this case, it failed
the biblical sniff test,
00:20:37.30\00:20:41.07
and I knew it wasn't from God.
00:20:41.07\00:20:42.87
You know, that can be one of
the hardest challenges we face,
00:20:44.37\00:20:47.64
learning to
examine our experiences,
00:20:47.64\00:20:50.21
our passions, and our emotions,
00:20:50.21\00:20:52.58
to figure out whether or
not they're objectively true.
00:20:52.58\00:20:56.12
You could think of it
as an optical illusion,
00:20:56.12\00:20:59.09
like one of those
gravity or magnetic hills
00:20:59.09\00:21:01.72
where your car appears to
roll uphill against all odds.
00:21:01.72\00:21:06.23
When I was back in college,
00:21:06.23\00:21:07.73
we actually had one of
those near the construction site
00:21:07.73\00:21:10.30
where I was
working for the summer,
00:21:10.30\00:21:11.97
and it really did look
like things would roll uphill
00:21:11.97\00:21:15.54
when you put them on the road.
00:21:15.54\00:21:17.24
It was such a
convincing illusion,
00:21:17.24\00:21:19.61
that the locals
started telling ghost stories.
00:21:19.61\00:21:22.18
They said, "There's a terrible
bus accident on this road,
00:21:22.18\00:21:24.65
and it's the
spirits of dead children
00:21:24.65\00:21:26.95
pushing your car up the hill.
00:21:26.95\00:21:28.45
Make sure you go to the
back and look for hand prints."
00:21:28.45\00:21:31.75
But then my boss
decided to test that road
00:21:31.75\00:21:34.36
by using his transit level.
00:21:34.36\00:21:36.76
He actually did a land survey.
00:21:36.76\00:21:38.53
And wouldn't you know it,
00:21:38.53\00:21:40.03
it was nothing but
an optical illusion.
00:21:40.03\00:21:42.20
The math was undeniable.
00:21:42.20\00:21:44.60
The stuff that looked
like it was rolling uphill,
00:21:44.60\00:21:47.54
was actually rolling downhill.
00:21:47.54\00:21:49.84
So maybe think of the
Bible as a transit level,
00:21:51.21\00:21:54.38
a way to objectively check the
validity of your impressions.
00:21:54.38\00:21:58.51
I mean, never forget, there
really are people in this world
00:21:58.51\00:22:01.48
who do awful
things and then insist,
00:22:01.48\00:22:04.09
in a court of law, under oath,
00:22:04.09\00:22:06.45
that they've done nothing wrong.
00:22:06.45\00:22:08.49
They can't see it.
Their moral compass is broken.
00:22:08.49\00:22:11.86
I mean, we've
even had serial killers
00:22:11.86\00:22:14.46
who insist that
God told them to do it.
00:22:14.46\00:22:17.97
So now let's look at
something that Paul said,
00:22:17.97\00:22:21.44
found in 2 Timothy, Chapter 3.
00:22:21.44\00:22:24.47
"All scripture," he tells
us, "is breathed out by God
00:22:24.47\00:22:28.21
and profitable for teaching,
00:22:28.21\00:22:30.18
for reproof, for correction,
00:22:30.18\00:22:32.01
and for training
in righteousness,
00:22:32.01\00:22:33.65
that the man of
God may be complete,
00:22:33.65\00:22:35.88
equipped for every good work."
00:22:35.88\00:22:38.79
For the Christian,
the written word of God
00:22:39.95\00:22:42.49
becomes a
critical reference point
00:22:42.49\00:22:44.33
for just about everything.
00:22:44.33\00:22:45.93
Your philosophical assumptions,
your moral assumptions,
00:22:45.93\00:22:49.53
your spiritual assumptions,
even your emotional assumptions.
00:22:49.53\00:22:54.07
I mean, emotions are
often valid, but not always.
00:22:54.07\00:22:58.17
If you want to know for sure
00:22:58.17\00:22:59.74
if God has been trying
to communicate with you,
00:22:59.74\00:23:01.71
you've got to
check your impressions
00:23:01.71\00:23:04.51
against what He's already said.
00:23:04.51\00:23:06.55
Now, I know that some of
you don't actually believe
00:23:07.78\00:23:10.09
that the Bible
was inspired by God,
00:23:10.09\00:23:12.52
but here's the
challenge I want to give you.
00:23:12.52\00:23:15.26
Maybe try reading it again,
00:23:15.26\00:23:17.29
and ask yourself why some
of the content in this book
00:23:17.29\00:23:20.06
makes you squirm.
00:23:20.06\00:23:21.90
Why is it that
we feel so offended
00:23:21.90\00:23:24.20
when we find
something in the Bible
00:23:24.20\00:23:25.83
that cuts across our
personal belief system,
00:23:25.83\00:23:28.34
or contradicts the validity
00:23:28.34\00:23:30.27
of the choices
we've made in life?
00:23:30.27\00:23:33.04
Why does that bother us?
00:23:33.04\00:23:34.81
I mean, I can get any other book
00:23:34.81\00:23:37.25
from somebody I disagree with,
00:23:37.25\00:23:38.75
and I'll shake my head
in disbelief as I read it,
00:23:38.75\00:23:42.22
but I don't feel threatened
00:23:42.22\00:23:44.32
because it's just
another human opinion.
00:23:44.32\00:23:47.39
But when the Bible seems to
interfere with my life choices,
00:23:47.39\00:23:50.46
that produces an entirely
different set of emotions.
00:23:50.46\00:23:53.80
It makes me angry, or
defensive, or heartbroken,
00:23:53.80\00:23:57.53
but it seldom leaves
me feeling apathetic,
00:23:57.53\00:24:00.84
because somehow, I
know that it matters.
00:24:00.84\00:24:04.41
Now, I wanna be
careful because again,
00:24:04.41\00:24:06.64
you can't let your
emotions always become
00:24:06.64\00:24:08.38
the judge of
what's true or false,
00:24:08.38\00:24:10.25
because as you know, sometimes
emotions can be irrational.
00:24:10.25\00:24:14.25
I'm reminded of the day
when two young missionaries
00:24:14.25\00:24:16.35
from a well-known
sect came to my house
00:24:16.35\00:24:18.62
and gave me a
little presentation
00:24:18.62\00:24:20.02
using a tabletop flip chart.
00:24:20.02\00:24:22.42
A lot of what they said was
biblically false, and I knew it.
00:24:22.42\00:24:26.26
But you know what I
found really interesting?
00:24:26.26\00:24:29.00
You're gonna have to wait until
after the break to find out.
00:24:29.00\00:24:32.53
[melodious music]
00:24:32.53\00:24:36.24
- [Announcer] Dragons,
beasts, cryptic statues,
00:24:36.24\00:24:40.51
Bible prophecy can be
incredibly vivid and confusing.
00:24:40.51\00:24:45.11
If you've ever read
"Daniel: A Revelation"
00:24:45.11\00:24:47.32
and come away scratching
your head, you are not alone.
00:24:47.32\00:24:50.35
Our free "Focus
on Prophecy" guides
00:24:50.35\00:24:52.72
are designed to help you unlock
the mysteries of the Bible
00:24:52.72\00:24:55.52
and deepen your
understanding of God's plan
00:24:55.52\00:24:57.96
for you and our world.
00:24:57.96\00:24:59.63
Study online or
request them by mail
00:24:59.63\00:25:02.00
and start bringing
prophecy into focus today.
00:25:02.00\00:25:05.47
- So these missionaries
were sitting in my home
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turning the pages
on their flip chart,
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and a lot of
what they were saying
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just wasn't biblically true.
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But then, what they did at
the end of the presentation
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was kind of fascinating.
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They turned to a
picture of Jesus and they said,
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"How does Jesus make you feel?"
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Well, by that point, I
was already a Christian,
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so I had nothing but
positive feelings about Christ
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and I told them so, "He
makes me feel pretty good."
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And that's when they said,
"Look, that positive feeling?
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That's God telling you,
we're telling you the truth."
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And they described it
as a burning in your bosom.
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But that's not how it works.
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I mean, yeah,
the Bible talks about
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a figurative
burning in your heart
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when it comes to
the work of the Spirit,
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like you find in the
story of the disciples
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on the road to Emmaus.
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You'll remember after
Jesus talked to them, they said,
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"Did not our
hearts burn within us?"
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But is that
undeniable proof? It's not.
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Which becomes really obvious
when you read the whole story.
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Here's what it actually
says, starting in verse 31.
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"And their eyes were
open and they recognized Him.
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And He vanished
from their sight.
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They said to each other, 'Did
not our hearts burn within us
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while He talked
to us on the road,
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while He opened to
us the scriptures?'"
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You see, they
didn't recognize Jesus,
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and He had just finished
giving them a Bible study,
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showing them the messianic
promises of the Old Testament.
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And while He was doing that,
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the cognitive lights were
turning on for these guys,
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and they
eventually recognized Him.
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It was the scriptures that
caused their hearts to burn.
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I mean, think about it,
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Jesus could have just
wowed them with a miracle,
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but He didn't.
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Instead, He
dispensed with the spectacular
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and anchored
those guys in the Bible.
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Their emotions were valid,
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but only because they
could be biblically confirmed.
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And that's really the pattern
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you find all the way
through the New Testament.
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Over and over and over,
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you find the apostles confirming
their inspired thoughts
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by appealing to
the Old Testament.
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Today, God intends for
you and I to do the same.
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Our God-given capacity
for logic is impressive.
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Our emotional intelligence
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allows us to
function in beautiful ways.
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But if you want to figure out
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the authenticity of your
reason and your feelings,
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you still have to go back
to the revealed word of God,
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and not just a few
cherry-picked verses
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that seem to prove
what you want to believe.
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I'm talking
about the whole book.
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Jesus himself used the
scriptures to prove His
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identity, and I'm convinced
He did that to set an example.
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And again, I get it,
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some of you don't believe
that the Bible is inspired
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or even trustworthy,
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but then do yourself a favor,
actually read it for yourself
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and make sure you know
what you're talking about.
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I think you might be
surprised at what's in here.
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And if you want a
little help getting started,
00:27:48.10\00:27:49.80
go on over to BibleStudies.com,
00:27:49.80\00:27:52.30
where you'll find
some amazing free resources
00:27:52.30\00:27:54.47
brought to you by the good
people at the Voice of Prophecy.
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Thanks for joining me.
00:27:58.14\00:27:59.47
I'm Shawn Boonstra,
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and this has been
another episode of "Authentic."
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