Participants: Eric Garloff
Series Code: WWJ
Program Code: WWJ000012
|
00:15 Welcome, and thank you for joining me.
00:17 I'm Eric Garloff, your host for Walking With Jesus. 00:20 In this, our twelfth episode in this series, we're going to be 00:23 talking about Casting Your Doubts Away. 00:25 In today's day and age it seems that there are skeptics 00:28 everywhere you turn. 00:29 It seems you can't believe in anything or anyone without 00:33 having someone contradict what you think or believe. 00:35 As time goes on this type of skepticism will only increase 00:40 especially as it pertains to the religious community. 00:45 Voices will arise from every direction; voices attempting to 00:49 draw people away from God. 00:50 These voices will come from strangers, from friends, 00:53 and perhaps even from our own family or relatives. 00:55 There will be voices of doubt, voices of discouragement, 00:59 and voices of uncertainty, voices attempting to distract, 01:03 to discredit you, or to insinuate you're foolish 01:06 and uneducated, voices which if not dealt with properly 01:10 may even cause you to begin questioning your own beliefs 01:13 or abandon them altogether. 01:15 These voices are employed by the enemy to break down our faith 01:18 in God, and to ultimately destroy our walk with Jesus. 01:22 So now that we've exposed these tactics of the enemy, 01:25 we can formulate a defense to his attacks. 01:28 The number one defensive weapon that you can carry in your 01:32 arsenal is the Holy Bible. 01:34 But our defense is not gained by simply carrying 01:37 the Bible around, but rather our defense is found in reading 01:41 and studying the Bible with the belief that is God's inspired 01:45 word to our soul. 01:47 Our defense for the skeptics is to have the attitude that 01:51 if the Bible says it, I believe it. 01:54 We have pointed out before during this series that history 01:57 has validated, vindicated the Bible, that archeology 02:01 has vindicated the Bible as well, that science has validated 02:05 the Bible. 02:06 Therefore we have no reason to doubt the Bible, 02:09 and every reason to believe it's divinely inspired writings. 02:15 God has proven over and over again it's accuracy 02:18 and its relevancy. 02:20 Therefore, I say again, If the Bible says it, I believe it 02:25 should be the motto of every Christian today. 02:27 Steps to Christ, page 75, 76 says: 02:45 And many other subjects presented in the Bible are 02:48 mysterious and too deep for the human mind to explain 02:52 or even fully to comprehend, but we have no reason to doubt 02:57 God's word because we can't understand the mysteries 02:59 of His providence. 03:14 Should we then be surprised to find that in the spiritual 03:19 world also there are mysteries that we cannot fathom? 03:22 The difficulty lies solely in the weakness and narrowness 03:26 of the human mind. 03:27 God has given us, in the scriptures, sufficient evidence 03:31 of their divine character. 03:33 We are not to doubt His word because we cannot understand 03:37 all of the mysteries of His providence. 04:28 So to put it plainly, in a few words, the very complexity 04:32 of the Bible declares to us the superiority and intelligence 04:35 of it's divine inspiration. 04:39 In fact, the Holy Bible is the best selling book of all times; 04:42 selling an estimated six billion copies worldwide. 04:45 Many of it's truths can be easily be discerned by a child, 04:48 yet at the same time its complexity and profoundness 04:51 can cause the worlds greatest thinkers to ponder its passages 04:55 while searching for its deep hidden meanings. 04:57 These deep meanings can only be understood by the sincere 05:02 seeker of truth as the Holy Spirit enlightens the mind, 05:05 and reveals them to the honest in heart. 05:07 The Bible's literary style also varies as does it's authors. 05:12 Yet each one when studied and diligently compared 05:16 is in complete agreement with the other. 05:18 The very fact that the Bible is so simple, on one hand, 05:21 and yet so far reaching into the very core of humanity, 05:24 on the other, leads many a skeptic to reject it 05:28 simply because they cannot fully understand 05:30 its hidden treasures. 05:32 The Apostle Paul says in Hebrews 3:12: 05:43 In the book of Deuteronomy 29:29 we find a passage which says: 05:57 So you see, my friend, God wants us to understand we're not going 06:02 to answer every question, every doubt, or every concern that the 06:05 skeptics throw our way, but He does want us to stand firm 06:09 on those things which He has already revealed to us, 06:12 which we do know and understand, placing our faith and our full 06:16 trust in Him. 06:18 When the time is right God will enlighten His people more fully 06:23 to the wonderful truths still hidden in His Holy Word. 06:26 Until then, however, God intends for us to be constantly 06:30 searching His word of truth for deeper meaning, 06:33 and for guidance, but this will only come as we seek Him 06:36 in prayer and ask for the presence and the power 06:39 of the Holy Spirit to enlighten us. 06:41 Friends, the Savior's promise to His followers in John 16:13 06:47 is: When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide 06:51 you into all truth... 06:52 Yes, the same Holy Spirit, which led the men of old 06:56 to write the Holy Scriptures is the same Holy Spirit we need 07:00 so that we might understand what the Holy Scriptures say. 07:05 Once again, turning in the book, Steps to Christ, pages 78, 79 07:09 we read this: When we come to the Bible reason must 07:14 acknowledge an authority superior to itself, 07:16 and heart and intellect must bow to the great I Am. 08:09 however learned they may be they are liable to error in their 08:13 understanding of scripture, and it is not safe to trust 08:17 their explanations. 08:55 and a willingness of heart to obey it. 08:58 And all who come to this spirit, to the study of the Bible 09:02 will find abundant evidence that it is God's word, 09:05 and they may gain an understanding of its truths 09:09 that will make them wise unto salvation. 09:13 It would stand to reason then that a person's salvation, 09:17 his or her destiny eternal, should be the most important 09:20 thing in their life. 09:21 Why is it then that many who profess Christianity 09:25 will very rarely, or sometimes even never, pick up the Bible 09:28 and search it for the words of knowledge, truth, and life? 09:34 We should, indeed, be in the word of God every day, 09:36 and thus we will guard our soul against the attacks 09:39 of our enemy. 09:40 In this way the Christian puts on his or her armor to withstand 09:44 the poison darts of the skeptics. 09:46 Jesus said in John 7:17: 09:52 In other words, knowledge is imparted as we act 09:55 upon His will. 09:56 In addition to placing yourself in God's word 09:58 on a regular basis, we can also guard ourselves from the attacks 10:02 of the skeptics by gathering together on a regular basis 10:05 with fellow believers. 10:06 This is very important, and it's a very important part of keeping 10:09 our faith strong and healthy. 10:11 So much so that the Bible says in Hebrews 10:25: 10:25 What day is the Bible writer speaking about? 10:27 He's speaking about the day when the Lord Jesus will return. 10:31 In other words, he is saying, as more and more time goes by 10:35 the need to draw nearer to each other in spiritual fellowship 10:39 grows greater and greater. 10:43 Friends, doubts are nothing more than a seed planted in 10:47 your mind by the enemy. 10:49 That's why it's so important to deal with your doubts 10:51 right away, before they have a chance to take root 10:55 and spring up into something larger. 10:58 Romans 10:17 says: Faith comes by hearing, 11:02 and hearing by the word of God. 11:04 So God brings us full circle in our faith. 11:07 But for our faith to grow, we need to keep ourselves 11:11 in the word of God. 11:12 If you have any doubts take them to the Lord right away. 11:16 This is where you'll find the strength to choke the seeds of 11:19 doubt before it chokes your faith. 11:21 So what if you say your faith is weak, or you don't know if 11:27 you have enough faith to believe in Jesus? 11:29 Well, in that case, I'd like to remind you of Paul's words 11:33 found in Romans 12:3 where we read that: 11:40 Think about that. 11:42 God would not call you to believe in Him if He had not 11:45 already given you the gift of faith in the first place 11:48 because it is only through faith that you will believe. 11:53 According to John 3:16 Jesus died, that whosoever believes 11:56 in Him might not perish, but have everlasting life. 11:59 Friend, I'm so glad that God used the word whosoever 12:05 in that verse because that word is very, very important. 12:08 That word whosoever means any; anyone who believes in Him. 12:12 It means every; everyone who believes in Him. 12:15 It means all; all who believe in Him. 12:18 It means as many as; as many as believe in Him shall not 12:24 perish but have everlasting life. 12:26 Aren't you glad God used the word which includes 12:28 all of mankind? 12:29 You should be because that means He's included you as well. 12:32 It means all mankind has been given a measure of faith, 12:36 and that measure of faith nurtured and strengthened 12:39 will carry you through every trial until you see the return 12:42 of Jesus in the clouds of heaven. 12:45 My words of encouragement to you are to keep reading 12:48 the Holy Bible. 12:49 Keep praying to God and ask Him to increase your faith, 12:51 thereby protecting you from the seeds of doubt. 12:54 Then step out in faith and exercise your faith, 12:58 and you will soon see God's power working in your life. 13:01 As you keep on walking with Jesus, please pray and ask God 13:06 for guidance. 13:07 Now, until we meet again next time for our final episode 13:10 in this series, the staff of Sapphire Throne Media would like 13:13 to wish upon you, and your loved ones, the many blessings 13:17 of Almighty God. 13:18 May His love and mercy shower down upon you. 13:24 Walking with Jesus is exciting. 13:27 No one but Jesus can give you eternal life. 13:30 We pray you draw close to Him every day as you 13:34 study the Bible. 13:35 Our next episode is Happiness in Jesus. 13:38 Please be sure to join us. |
Revised 2014-12-17