1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:05,280 What up crossing family, I am so glad to welcome you to all at 2 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:08,640 all of our different locations, those of you watching online and 3 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:11,640 inside. And a very special welcome to 4 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:14,040 those of you who are joining us for the first time or the first 5 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:17,760 time in a long time. I mean this when I say this. 6 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:23,160 I believe that today could be a significant moment in your faith 7 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:25,320 journey. But before we jump all the way 8 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:27,360 into that, I want to make you aware of some key things that 9 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:29,600 will more than likely matter to you in a big way. 10 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:34,440 We are opening up camp registration today. 11 00:00:34,480 --> 00:00:38,080 We are excited about it. If you go into the app and 12 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:40,560 you'll find in the For You section a way for you to sign 13 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:42,120 your kids up. And I just want to encourage 14 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:43,800 you. Our church is growing, which is 15 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:46,120 a really, really good thing. So if you're wanting your kid to 16 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:47,960 go to camp, I would tell you to sign up early. 17 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,800 And the good news is if you do that, you will save money. 18 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:53,840 For those of you who want to help send kids to camp, there's 19 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:55,480 two opportunities for you to do that. 20 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,440 One, you can sign up for the In Your Corner golf outing. 21 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:01,840 And that registration is but also in the app and through 22 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:05,120 those four different events, we use those funds to help make it 23 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:08,160 possible for kids to attend camp who may not be able to afford 24 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:09,960 it. If you are a person who loves 25 00:01:09,960 --> 00:01:12,400 Jesus, loves kids and hates golf, and you're just saying, 26 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:15,720 hey, I want to provide a scholarship, or you might be a 27 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:18,840 person who just doesn't want as many kids in your neighborhood 28 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:22,360 over the summer, you can help scholarship kids to go to camp. 29 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:25,640 And every bit that you give helps. 30 00:01:26,320 --> 00:01:29,160 Our goal is simple. We want every kid that wants to 31 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:30,920 go to camp to be able to go to camp. 32 00:01:30,960 --> 00:01:34,800 And for anyone who is looking for a stretch goal, Jennifer and 33 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:38,200 I stretch goal is we found out that we are going to be having 9 34 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:41,560 summer camps this year to fulfill the needs of our church 35 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:44,360 across this region. If we were going to send one kid 36 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:48,600 to every single camp, that total would be $18190.00. 37 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:51,000 And so Jennifer and I are going to make a commitment and if you 38 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:53,240 guys want to join us in that, we would love to see you do that. 39 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:56,000 For more information, like I said, all of that is available 40 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:00,960 to you do directly in the app. Now, in years of my ministry 41 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:03,960 here in this region, I've sat across the table from hundreds 42 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:09,039 of you and almost always there is a question of faith that 43 00:02:09,039 --> 00:02:14,520 needs to be answered before a step of faith or obedience is 44 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:17,520 taken. And that is why I am so glad 45 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:20,440 that you are here today, because you need to hear me say this. 46 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:24,440 God is not afraid of your questions, and as a church we 47 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:26,200 are not afraid of your questions either. 48 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:30,400 In fact, we believe that God and His Word not only welcome every 49 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:35,400 question, but have answers to every question about life and 50 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,400 about faith. Now, to give you some context, 51 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:42,920 every single one of our services this weekend is unique because 52 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:45,480 it would be impossible for us to answer all the questions you 53 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:47,040 have. So what we're trying to do is 54 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:50,280 four or five questions over our services this weekend. 55 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:53,480 So if you want to hear some of the other questions answered, 56 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:56,880 you'll just catch it on playback online at a later time. 57 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,200 But to help you take your next step, we have invited Doctor 58 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,360 Sean McDowell to partner with us this weekend. 59 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:07,000 Doctor Sean McDowell devoted his career to helping bring truth to 60 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,760 the next generation, which we love, and as a college 61 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:12,920 professor, high school teacher, prolific author, he has 62 00:03:12,920 --> 00:03:16,160 exceptional insights into prevailing culture and he 63 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:20,960 imparts his observations to educators, pastors, parents and 64 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:23,520 to students. He is currently an Associate 65 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:26,560 Professor of Christian Apologetics at Biola University, 66 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:30,160 which is the largest and top ranked graduate program of its 67 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:33,560 kind in the world. As a part time high school 68 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:37,080 teacher, Sean was awarded the Teacher or Educator of the Year 69 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:40,720 award in his hometown. He is a highly sought after 70 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:42,760 speaker which is why we are so grateful that he was willing to 71 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:44,720 come and spend Super Bowl weekend with us. 72 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:47,560 He's spoken at various camps, churches, universities worldwide 73 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:51,280 and is a frequent guest on radio and television shows. 74 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:56,080 He is the best selling author and Co and has Co written or Co 75 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:58,720 written over 20 books. This guy doesn't sleep. 76 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,760 He has a Master's degree in both Theology and Philosophy, APHD in 77 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:06,080 Apologetics and Worldview, and he is the Co host of the Think 78 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:07,880 Biblically podcast. What are you doing with your 79 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,200 life? You guys need to step. 80 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:13,320 OK. But more importantly, he is a 81 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:15,800 dedicated husband and father. He's been married to his high 82 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:17,680 school sweetheart, Stephanie since 2000. 83 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:21,160 He lives in Southern beautiful California, which is where we're 84 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:24,520 need to launch a campus. We have got to get out of here 85 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:28,080 blank. If you want help, right, we've 86 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:31,600 got to get out of here. So crossing family, would you 87 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:35,200 please give a warm crossing welcome to Sean McDowell. 88 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:42,640 So. This is a big deal for me and 89 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:46,040 let me tell you why. I felt like God called me into 90 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:48,360 ministry. And so I signed up to go to 91 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:50,440 Bible college because I was like, God, I feel like you've 92 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:52,400 told me that this is what I'm supposed to do for the rest of 93 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:54,880 my life. But I showed up to Bible college 94 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:58,120 feeling like I was called into ministry and I have these big 95 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:00,760 questions that were like a siren going off in my head. 96 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:04,520 And I was going, if I'm going to bank my eternity and the rest of 97 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:07,360 my life on this, I've got to get some of these questions really 98 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:10,320 figured out. And so I signed up for an 99 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:13,920 apologetics class and that helps you defend your faith and 100 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:17,240 understand your faith and examine your faith amidst all 101 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:20,360 other faiths. And one of the very first books 102 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:24,120 that I got and I read was a book called More than a Carpenter 103 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:28,960 that was written by his father. And so his family blessed my 104 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:31,440 family and helped me come and have a stronger faith. 105 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:35,760 And now your story is going to look like a lot like my story 106 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:39,880 because he is here to help you strengthen and grow in your 107 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:41,080 faith. And I want you to know something 108 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:43,440 really cool about him. He has a very similar story to 109 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:44,440 that. In fact, How about you share a 110 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:45,640 little bit? Of it I do, yes. 111 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:49,240 So so my dad's story was he grew up in a painful broken 112 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:53,000 background, saw some Christians lives who are different and he 113 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:56,600 wanted that peace and content. They challenged him to consider 114 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:59,840 the claims of Christ. He set out to disprove it, 115 00:05:59,840 --> 00:06:03,520 became convinced it was true, literally transformed his life. 116 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:06,160 So I grew up hearing about this thought, oh, Christianity is 117 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:09,480 true. Until in the mid 90s when I was 118 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:11,560 in college. I'm fishing around on the 119 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:16,120 Internet and I come across this huge atheist site dedicated to 120 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:19,440 claiming that Christianity is false and debunking my dad's 121 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:21,160 content. Which, by the way, your dad's 122 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:24,600 book sold 10 million copies more I. 123 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:28,000 Live about 30 million for more than the Carpenter alone. 124 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:30,560 OK, so his dad's in the game, right? 125 00:06:31,280 --> 00:06:33,440 Yeah, your your dad's got got throwing some heat. 126 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:37,480 He's spoken to more young people, live than anybody in 127 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:40,880 world history, written over 150 books, lived a modern day 128 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:44,040 Apostle Paul type life. He's 86 years old right now, 129 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:48,880 still chugging along and I come across this website just trying 130 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:51,440 to debunk his stuff. And I sat there and my heart 131 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:54,560 sank. And I remember going, Oh, my 132 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:57,200 goodness, I don't know how to answer this. 133 00:06:57,840 --> 00:07:01,080 And I felt that in my mind and I felt it in my heart. 134 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:04,880 So I went to my dad. We're in Breckenridge, Co, over 135 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:07,120 vacation. And I remember sitting across 136 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:09,680 the little table like this. And then I just said, dad, I 137 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:12,440 want to know it's true, but I'm not sure I'm convinced that 138 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:15,640 Christianity is true. If you're a parent or grandkid 139 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:18,280 or grandparent, how would you respond if one of your kids or 140 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:21,120 grandkids said this to you? My dad didn't miss the beat. 141 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:23,640 He looks at me, goes, son, I think that's great. 142 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:26,480 And I remember looking at him going, did you hear what I just 143 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:29,640 said? He goes, you know, she can't 144 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:31,560 live on my faith. You've got to figure out what 145 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:32,960 you think is truth and follow it. 146 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:36,480 He said, if you follow, if you think after truth, you're going 147 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:38,640 to follow Jesus because Jesus is the truth. 148 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:41,800 He said, and you know what? Your mom and I love you no 149 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:44,720 matter what. And that's what I've tried to 150 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:46,440 do. And of course, I think 151 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:49,040 Christianity is true. And like my dad had dedicated my 152 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:52,680 life to trying to help Christians make sense of it and 153 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:55,880 provide answers for skeptics who want to know. 154 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:57,880 Great. So this is what we're going to 155 00:07:58,040 --> 00:07:59,280 do. We're going to help answer some 156 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:02,080 of the big questions that you have had, that other people have 157 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:04,160 had, and help you start to build your faith. 158 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:06,680 Because when we talk about a reasoned faith, it means that 159 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:09,520 the faith in God is a reasonable conclusion. 160 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:13,760 So let's do the first one. There's a lot of religions, 161 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:17,240 there are a lot of religious texts. 162 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:20,880 Why should we trust the Bible over all the others? 163 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:24,760 So the quick answer is because the Bible is true and the Bible 164 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:28,080 is inspired by God. And of course you say, all 165 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:31,160 right, how do we know it's true? How do we know it's inspired by 166 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:34,520 God? Well, the Bible is 66 books 167 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:38,360 written by roughly 40 authors over 1500 years. 168 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,440 So it would take a while to lay out all of the evidence. 169 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:44,560 But here's a few hooks that will help. 170 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:48,720 One is archaeology. The Bible's not a book about 171 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:52,560 like some distant unknown land. It's about real people, real 172 00:08:52,560 --> 00:08:57,080 places, and real times. And as we consistently go to 173 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:01,680 investigate those according to the Bible, we consistently find 174 00:09:01,680 --> 00:09:06,280 archaeology that backs it up from the Old Testament to the 175 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:09,120 New Testament. SO1 quick example from the Old 176 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:10,760 Testament. This is fresh out of my mind. 177 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:14,240 I just interviewed this guy two weeks ago about Jericho. 178 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:17,560 We know exactly where Jericho is. 179 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:21,080 There's no debate about this. Because they would build city on 180 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:24,240 top of a city on top of a city because of a water source and 181 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:27,160 because of a foundation. We know exactly where Jericho 182 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:29,920 is. Well, recent archaeology 183 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:35,560 suggests that what's called City 5 actually may match the 184 00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:40,160 biblical description of being burned with certain grain that 185 00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:44,480 was leftover. Walls falling in the pottery 186 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:47,320 matches. The time I interviewed this 187 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:49,800 scholar and he laid it out. I thought that's pretty 188 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:55,040 compelling that this story may be 1400 years roughly before the 189 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:58,160 time of Christ. We know where it took place and 190 00:09:58,160 --> 00:09:59,720 the archaeology matches up with it. 191 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:03,160 And of course you can get full archaeological study, Bibles 192 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:07,440 almost page after page, discovering amulets and tombs 193 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:10,600 and inscriptions, etcetera. So that's one piece. 194 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:14,480 A second piece is if we want to know if we can trust a writer, 195 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:19,840 we ask, does this writer include material that's embarrassing? 196 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:20,960 Now? Why? 197 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:25,920 When we invent material, we do so to make ourselves look good, 198 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:29,600 not to make ourselves look bad. What's fascinating is the Old 199 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,680 Testament. New Testament are filled with 200 00:10:32,680 --> 00:10:35,120 what we would call embarrassing material. 201 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:39,320 So why would God choose the people out of those who were in 202 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:42,840 slavery rather than those who were noble? 203 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:47,920 Why would a man after God's own heart commit murder and be 204 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:50,280 polygamous and be a terrible father? 205 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:55,480 I could go on and on, but the Bible really realistically 206 00:10:55,480 --> 00:10:58,040 portrays people, includes embarrassing content. 207 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:02,240 You get to the disciples, and the Bible's full of mistakes. 208 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:05,840 The disciples do. Peter denies Jesus, Jesus calls 209 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:08,320 them Satan, they fall asleep in Gethsemane. 210 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:10,120 They don't understand his teachings. 211 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:13,360 Why? Because the writers care about 212 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:15,400 truth. The last thing when you get to 213 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:19,840 the Gospels is that the writers are eyewitnesses. 214 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:24,560 They proclaim what they saw and what they heard. 215 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:28,320 So first, John says, what we've seen, what we've heard, what 216 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:30,680 we've touched, we proclaim to you. 217 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:34,760 Second, Peter says we're not following myths or stories, but 218 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:39,560 we were eyewitnesses of what we have seen. 219 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:43,000 Just read the New Testament. It's like a drum beat. 220 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:46,160 We are witnesses. We saw, we heard, and then the 221 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:50,520 writers are willing to suffer and die for that proclamation. 222 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:54,120 Start piercing these things together, and it tells us the 223 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:55,800 Bible is actually true. Now, how do we know? 224 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:59,120 It's inspired really quickly. One of my favorite examples is 225 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:03,840 there's a prophecy in Isaiah 13 and Jeremiah 50 that Babylon 226 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:08,440 would be destroyed, never rebuilt, and jackals, owls and 227 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:12,040 hyenas would live there. A friend of mine who's an 228 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:16,360 archaeologist in that area, it's actually modern day Iraq has 229 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:20,960 gone to that area and ancient Babylon is outside of the walls 230 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:24,680 of Saddam Hussein. And ancient Babylon is like a 231 00:12:24,680 --> 00:12:27,920 graveyard. It's still has not been 232 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:31,480 reburied. And he saw owls Jackal been 233 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:35,120 rebuilt, and he saw owls, jackals and hyenas live in 234 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:39,680 there, prophesied hundreds and hundreds of years ago. 235 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:44,280 That's one example of a divine stamp, so to speak, on the 236 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:46,200 Scriptures. Let's push just the tabit 237 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:47,920 deeper. But let's do a quick quick 238 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:51,160 answer to this one. But lots of religious texts have 239 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:54,200 similar content. Like a lot of religious texts 240 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:58,200 talk about a a flood. So how come the Bible and these 241 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:00,680 other texts have some of the same instances in them? 242 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:04,760 Well, I I think that actually suggests that there really was 243 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:08,040 an ancient flood. If we have so many stories from 244 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:11,920 around the world and especially in the Middle East, that tells 245 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:14,560 me there probably was some kind of worldwide flood. 246 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:17,320 Now, when you compare the biblical account with some of 247 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:20,520 these other accounts, the biblical account is far more 248 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:23,040 realistic. I know there's animals and an 249 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:26,080 ark, and it's a miracle that's taking place, but it has far 250 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:29,680 more realism to it. And then you add the other 251 00:13:29,680 --> 00:13:33,320 evidences that the Bible's true, and I think it really suggests 252 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:35,120 that there was a kind of global flood. 253 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,120 OK, now this. I was not planning on this, so 254 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:43,600 be gentle here, OK? We haven't even discussed this 255 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:47,720 at all. So OK, nationwide flood, or I 256 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:51,920 mean worldwide flood, people go hocus pocus, you know, stuff 257 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:54,720 like that. But recently, is it on the top, 258 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:57,080 top of Mount Everest that they've discovered? 259 00:13:58,680 --> 00:14:01,800 Is it fish DNA on the top of Mount Everest? 260 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:04,200 Have you heard this? I've heard this kind of thing. 261 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:05,240 Yeah, is. This is there. 262 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:06,920 Is there truth and validity to this? 263 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:11,120 OK, so I don't know for sure if that's true or not. 264 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:14,880 To me, that suggests that doesn't prove that the earth is 265 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:16,480 young and we haven't talked. I wasn't going there. 266 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:18,720 I was just talking about the. Fact that but let me let me so 267 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:21,440 let me make a point behind that. There are certain things 268 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:25,360 Christians have to agree on. God is the creator, the Bible is 269 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:27,560 true. There's some issues we can agree 270 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:31,440 to disagree on. So like maybe the age of the 271 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:34,040 earth. Now, if they found fish on the 272 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:37,960 top Mount Everest, either that means there was a global flood, 273 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:43,080 or if the Earth is older, which many Christians hold, then they 274 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:47,160 were at some point below the sea and pushed up as natural 275 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:51,400 processes we see and we'd expect to find it at that point. 276 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:53,520 So there's two ways to make sense of that. 277 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:56,080 I haven't done a deeper dive to really land that. 278 00:14:56,080 --> 00:14:58,320 One OK, perfect. Next one. 279 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,120 We've tried to cover one of these at each of our services, 280 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:05,480 talking about ways to prove the existence of God. 281 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:08,400 Let's I want you to put on the morality lens. 282 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:12,280 How does our sense of morality prove the existence of God? 283 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:17,280 OK, everybody knows there's right and wrong. 284 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:23,040 No one is actually a relativist. You might hear people say things 285 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:27,160 like, well, that's true for you, but not true for me, or who are 286 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:29,680 you to judge? But again, I live in Southern 287 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:31,880 California, and I tell my students, I say, if somebody 288 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:35,840 tells you there's no such thing as right and wrong, cut in front 289 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:39,640 of them in line. Or if you're really foolish, cut 290 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:44,440 them off on the freeway and they will give you a gesture letting 291 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:49,360 you know for sure that you violated A moral norm and you 292 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:53,920 should have behaved differently. You see, you know what people 293 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:58,480 believe, not by what they say or by what they do, but by how they 294 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:02,240 want to be treated. People break a promise to you, 295 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:06,240 but they will cry foul when you break a promise to them. 296 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:12,240 People might lie to you, but they will call foul when you lie 297 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:13,360 to them. Why? 298 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:17,560 Because right and wrong is written on our hearts. 299 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:20,720 It's written on our hearts. I had AI. 300 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:24,800 I'm wearing a superhero shirt from a a comic artist named Todd 301 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:26,320 McFarlane. He's one of my favorite Spider 302 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:28,040 Man artists. I had a chance. 303 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:29,920 He he created the character Venom. 304 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:32,640 I had a chance to interview him and in the beginning of 305 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:35,760 interview he talked about how morality is subjective and 306 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:38,640 there's no objective standard for morality. 307 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:41,800 But then towards the end he said he couldn't believe in God 308 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:43,840 because the problem of evil. And I said, wait a minute, you 309 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:47,240 can't have it both ways. You can't say morality is 310 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:50,840 subjective and then say I condemn God because God is evil, 311 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:54,360 because that's a moral condemnation that requires 312 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:58,360 morality is objective. We all know there's right and 313 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,160 wrong because it's written on our hearts. 314 00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:03,840 It's inescapable. Even atheists know right and 315 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:04,520 wrong. Why? 316 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:10,200 Because they're made in God's image and they live in God's 317 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:13,560 world. So if there really is an 318 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:19,079 objective moral law, the best explanation is there's a moral 319 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:23,640 law. Giver friends Fyodor Dostoevsky, 320 00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:29,280 the Russian novelist, said If there is no God, all is 321 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:32,280 permissible. I think he's right. 322 00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:36,600 If there's no God and there's no objective moral norm, I don't 323 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:41,640 see how you consistently condemn racism and genocide and theft 324 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:44,200 and murder and fill in the blank. 325 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:48,680 But we all condemn those things, even though some people don't 326 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:52,480 follow it and live that way. We know it's wrong because we 327 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:57,000 know there's a moral law, and if there's a moral law that's above 328 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:00,400 and beyond human beings we're accountable to, the best 329 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,480 explanation is there's a moral law giver. 330 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:06,400 Isn't that great? So when you're talking to people 331 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:09,760 and they're talking about my truth or this is just my, the 332 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:15,360 problem is, is what happens when my truth bumps into your truth, 333 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:19,880 You can't have That's chaos. You can't get frustrated at the 334 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:21,640 evil in the world. You can't even get frightened 335 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:24,360 because everything is now whatever you decide. 336 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:26,640 And that's how wickedness thrives. 337 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:30,480 There has to be something beyond us and outside us governing us 338 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:33,080 in order for our world to even begin to make sense. 339 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:40,520 So while we're doing that, I wonder if I should frame this as 340 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:42,320 a I'm not going to frame it as a moral thing. 341 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:50,600 What happens to people when they die if they lived in a place 342 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,440 where they never heard about Jesus? 343 00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:56,120 OK, this is a good question. What about those who've never 344 00:18:56,120 --> 00:18:57,720 heard? And this strikes us and is 345 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:02,800 incredibly unfair, right? Which, by the way, if we're 346 00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:07,000 saying this is unfair, we're appealing to an objective moral 347 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:10,680 standard, which if you think, yeah, that's a good question, it 348 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:14,400 tells me, you know, there's an objective right and a wrong. 349 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:17,240 It's inescapable. But it seems unfair that 350 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:21,040 somebody would go to hell for just not hearing the name of 351 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:26,040 Jesus. So the question is, has God made 352 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:32,760 himself known to everyone? And my answer is, yes, he has. 353 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:37,960 We say, how so? Romans chapter 1 says God has 354 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:43,960 made himself known in creation from the size and the complexity 355 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:47,480 and the beauty and the organization and the origin of 356 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:49,880 the universe points towards a creator. 357 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:53,800 We also know God exists Romans 2 by our conscience, the moral 358 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:57,040 law. Everybody has sufficient 359 00:19:57,040 --> 00:19:59,880 knowledge to know that God is real. 360 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:06,360 Now God knows our hearts. And I think God knows that if 361 00:20:06,360 --> 00:20:11,240 somebody would respond to the way God has revealed himself in 362 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:16,320 natural revelation, God would give that person the saving 363 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:20,640 knowledge of the person of Jesus to make sure that they can pray 364 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:25,320 in him and be saved. So look, I maybe it's actually 365 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:27,720 two weeks ago. A friend of mine is a former 366 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:32,200 Muslim and he's been called the Billy Graham of Iran. 367 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,560 And I interviewed him about what's going on with some of the 368 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:37,520 protests and what's happening there. 369 00:20:38,120 --> 00:20:42,440 And he said, Sean, we are seeing hundreds of thousands. 370 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:45,960 This is over the past few years, but climaxing now of Muslims 371 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:48,760 coming to Jesus. And I said, are there 372 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:51,200 supernatural phenomena like dreams and visions? 373 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:55,040 He goes, Sean, that happens so often that sometimes people 374 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:57,760 don't even mention it. Why am I bringing this up? 375 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:02,120 God is not limited by our technology and communication 376 00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:04,440 means to get His word to somebody. 377 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:11,280 If that person would respond. Last thing on this, I don't know 378 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:14,360 for sure. The answer that I just gave that 379 00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:18,000 makes the most sense to me. OK, but here's what I know. 380 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:23,120 God is God and you are not, and I am not. 381 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,400 Let God judge those who haven't heard. 382 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:31,240 But friends, if you're hearing this, you have heard. 383 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:35,960 You've heard. So we are accountable to the 384 00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:41,160 knowledge that we have and can't get off the hook for not hearing 385 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:44,840 because maybe there's some people who haven't let God judge 386 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:46,920 them. We are responsible. 387 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:50,160 We've heard the word of Jesus, specifically this morning. 388 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:52,200 That's perfect. And let me, let me give you 3 389 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:53,720 things to hold intention here, OK? 390 00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:57,160 One, the character of God tells me, and this is something to 391 00:21:57,160 --> 00:21:59,280 like is to comfort you. OK, we'll do comfort. 392 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:00,960 We'll end with convict. So it's coming. 393 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:05,040 So, you know, hold your breath. There's not a person on planet 394 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:08,280 earth that you love more than God does. 395 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:15,200 God loves people, every person, more than you could possibly 396 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:18,200 imagine. So God has a desire, we're told 397 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:20,200 this in Scripture, that he doesn't want anyone to perish, 398 00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:23,360 but all do come to turn alive. So God is going to give people 399 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:26,320 everything that they need to make a decision of faith. 400 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:30,920 That's Part 1, Part 2. God commanded those who have a 401 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:32,680 relationship. I got to be careful with that 402 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:37,240 finger, God. Oh boy, I had a lot of caffeine. 403 00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:43,120 God commanded, God commanded people like you and me to go and 404 00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:46,320 make disciples of all nations. When I talk to our staff, I talk 405 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:50,200 about do you have receipts? Receipts don't save us, but 406 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:52,960 receipts are evidence of the fact that we're taking God 407 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:56,160 seriously at His word. So we don't get to just lob the 408 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:59,280 complaint at God and go, how come you're not doing anything 409 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:02,000 to save people who are far from you when He's commanded His 410 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:04,400 followers, which means people who are doing the things that 411 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:06,560 God taught him to do, to actually go and do something 412 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:08,400 about the people who don't yet believe in Him. 413 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:10,200 So you and I have a part to play. 414 00:23:10,360 --> 00:23:13,080 And how cool is that, that He allows us to participate in His 415 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,480 mission? Third, I just did this with our 416 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:19,400 college kids on Tuesday. The stories about Jesus are 417 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:21,240 contained in you all. You know, I'm going to use you 418 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:24,280 for a second are contained in the first four books of the New 419 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:26,960 Testament, and those first four books are called the Gospels, 420 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:31,680 and the Gospel's Greek word is. Like the good news is? 421 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:36,400 What it says it means good news. Here is the weird part. 422 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:40,840 We are nervous about sharing good news. 423 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:46,520 We get a lump in our throat about telling people good news. 424 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:51,600 And that is how shifty Satan is, that we get all the emotions and 425 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:55,120 all the feelings about sharing bad news, about the actual good 426 00:23:55,120 --> 00:23:57,280 news that will save and transform a person's life. 427 00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:00,600 When we say God's way is the best way, we actually believe 428 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:02,520 it. So when we are telling people 429 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:04,640 something, we should be telling them good news. 430 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:06,800 And here's the deal. Would you rather have life with 431 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:09,760 Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, with purpose, with divine 432 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:12,640 direction in your life? We want that for absolutely 433 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:14,160 every single person on planet earth. 434 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:17,680 And God has promised to reward and to go with people who are 435 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:21,480 participating in his mission. So one, it intention that God 436 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:24,440 loves them more than you, but two, you and I have a massive 437 00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:27,080 part to play. All right, next one. 438 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:30,200 I can be fast. No, I want to. 439 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:31,440 I actually want to. OK. 440 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:37,880 Why does the God of the Old Testament seem so different from 441 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:42,000 the God of the New Testament? The keyword is seem, and I'm 442 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,600 glad you phrased it that way because the God of the Old 443 00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:47,480 Testament is the God of the New Testament. 444 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:51,680 One of the big reasons it seems different is because God is 445 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,760 progressively revealing himself over time. 446 00:24:55,120 --> 00:24:58,000 Reveals himself to Abraham, reveals himself to Moses, 447 00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:02,480 reveals himself to David, and Solomon fully reveals himself in 448 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:06,720 the person of Jesus. Now still you say, why does the 449 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,280 Old Testament seem full of violence and judgement and the 450 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:10,840 New Testament seem full of grace? 451 00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:14,040 Well, if that's your take, I'm not sure you've actually read it 452 00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:18,320 closely enough. You referenced Ezekiel 1823 453 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:21,280 earlier where we see God's grace, where he says, I don't 454 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:25,240 wish that the wicked would be destroyed, I wish that they 455 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:28,480 would turn from their evil ways and live. 456 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:32,720 We see God's patience and grace and long-suffering with the 457 00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:36,560 people of Israel, who by the way, God's chosen people to be a 458 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:40,280 light to the nations, are committing the same sins that 459 00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:43,720 all the other nations are. He's patient with them. 460 00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:47,920 But friends, we also see God's judgement in the New Testament. 461 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:53,400 Jesus talked about hell more than anyone else in the Bible. 462 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:58,000 Mark 9, Matthew 25. We see it in Revelation 14 and 463 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:04,040 Revelation 20 with references of like the fire and the burning 464 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:06,880 sulfur, weeping and gnashing of teeth. 465 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:10,840 It is a brutal kind of judgement. 466 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:15,400 So I think we see grace in the Old Testament and I think we see 467 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:18,440 judgement in the New Testament. Why does that matter? 468 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:23,320 Because on the cross is when we see God fully revealed. 469 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:29,560 Jesus satisfies the wrath and judgement of God, but he does it 470 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:34,800 through the act of love by laying down his life, paying the 471 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:40,120 price that you and I deserve. That's why in the cross, God's 472 00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:45,120 justice and mercy kiss, so to speak, and come together, and 473 00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:48,640 that's when we see God's character fully revealed. 474 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:51,480 That is a perfect answer. In fact, we are going to unpack. 475 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:53,520 You guys are the only service who's getting this. 476 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:56,680 We're actually doing another, I think it's a six week series 477 00:26:56,680 --> 00:26:58,800 starting next weekend where we're going to actually be 478 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:01,560 looking at the God of the Old Testament and allowing us to 479 00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:04,720 come to the same conclusion that the Hebrew writers came to about 480 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:06,400 God. And they didn't come away with 481 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:09,960 God is a hateful, vengeful, horrible, nasty, despicable 482 00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:11,920 being. They actually called him his 483 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:14,800 love endures forever. Those songs, they came out of 484 00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:18,920 the OT, not the New Testament. Would you give Sean a big round 485 00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:20,200 of applause? Thank you so much. 486 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:26,600 That was awesome. Jesus took his disciples to 487 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:29,160 accessory of Philippi, which is kind of like the Lake of the 488 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:32,600 Ozarks for the Middle East. And while he's hanging out with 489 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:36,320 them, he asked them this question, Who do you say that I 490 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:39,160 am? And in chapter 16, verse 14, we 491 00:27:39,160 --> 00:27:41,400 get their reply. This is what they said. 492 00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:45,640 Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still 493 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:49,160 others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. 494 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:52,240 They answer the question that Jesus saying, people say a lot 495 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:57,480 of things about you and that's still true today. 496 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:00,520 There are some of you, you have friends and family members who 497 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:03,040 will say Jesus was just a fictional character. 498 00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:04,440 Some will say that he was a prophet. 499 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:06,320 Some will say that he was a really good teacher. 500 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:08,120 Some will say he was a charismatic leader. 501 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:10,160 Some people would say he was an example to follow. 502 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:13,320 Other people would say he was just a misunderstood 1st century 503 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:16,280 Jew and he didn't intend any of this to take place. 504 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:18,640 But Jesus doesn't end the question there. 505 00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:23,200 He pushes a step further. He says, but what about you? 506 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:29,960 Who do you say I am? Hear me. 507 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:33,320 The question today is not what do other people believe about 508 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:36,440 Jesus, but what do you believe about Jesus? 509 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:39,080 When you die and you stand before God, he's not going to 510 00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:40,600 ask you, what does your mom think about me? 511 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:43,000 What does your dad think about me? 512 00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:44,920 What does your boss think about me? 513 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:48,720 What about you? What do you believe about my son 514 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:51,040 Jesus? Simon Peter raises his hand, 515 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:56,760 starts talking before he gets called on, and he says you are 516 00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:01,480 the Christ, the Son of the living God. 517 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:04,560 Peter's answer was the right one. 518 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:07,760 He realized that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one, the 519 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:11,160 promised Messiah, God in the flesh, who was going to deliver 520 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:14,320 people not just from the penalty of their sins, but he was going 521 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:17,040 to save them from their sins so they could be made right with 522 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:18,840 God. And you might be thinking, and 523 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:25,280 rightfully so, easy for Peter to say, he was there with Jesus. 524 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:28,920 And I would tell you, yes, he was. 525 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:34,520 And he died taking his eyewitness testimony about who 526 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:39,120 Jesus was to the nations. When we talk about placing our 527 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:43,120 faith in Jesus, it is a step of faith, but it is a reasoned 528 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:45,400 faith. There are the eyewitness 529 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:49,560 accounts not just of his life, but also of his death and his 530 00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:52,880 resurrection. In fact, over 500 Jesus appeared 531 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:56,560 to over 500 people after his resurrection. 532 00:29:57,080 --> 00:29:59,760 The biblical text. They stand up to critics and 533 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:03,320 they can stand up to skeptics. The evidence for the existence 534 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:06,920 of God not only stands up to scrutiny, but they deliver the 535 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:11,120 best and most reliable answers. It is the best answer for the 536 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:13,920 beginning of the universe, the fine tuning of the universe, the 537 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:17,240 laws of nature, and the existence of objective moral 538 00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:20,200 values. And that is before you count the 539 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:24,440 countless lives that have been changed, transformed, redeemed, 540 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:30,160 repurposed, of which I am one. And I've seen him do it over and 541 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:32,120 over again. And I know you might be saying, 542 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:34,640 but I don't know everything I want you to know. 543 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:39,360 I get it, but I think you know enough at all of our locations. 544 00:30:39,360 --> 00:30:42,000 Raise your hand if you know everything there is to know 545 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:46,360 about women. Raise your hand if you knew 546 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:47,840 enough to know that you wanted one. 547 00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:51,840 There you go. You don't have to know 548 00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:56,160 everything, but you know enough. I still don't know everything 549 00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:59,200 there is to know about Jennifer. I just knew enough that I wanted 550 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:01,720 to spend the rest of my life with her. 551 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:04,960 It makes sense to me. Hear that line. 552 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:10,280 It makes sense to me that a God who created the world, set the 553 00:31:10,280 --> 00:31:12,720 stars in place, wrote the laws of nature, moved the mountains 554 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:15,440 into their spots, and is big enough to hold the waters of the 555 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:18,240 ocean in the palm of His hand might be a little too big for me 556 00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:22,200 to completely understand. But I know enough. 557 00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:25,880 I know enough to know that I need Him. 558 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:28,640 I know enough to know that I want Him. 559 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:32,640 And I want to spend the rest of my life in eternity with Him. 560 00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:36,600 And if you were here today and you haven't sorted that thing 561 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:39,080 out, I'm going to encourage you to do just that. 562 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:41,280 We're moving to a time of decision. 563 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:49,320 This is a special moment for me because I get to share this at 564 00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:52,920 all of our different locations. And so wherever you're watching 565 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:54,920 from or joining from, I just want to talk. 566 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:57,560 First off, to those of you who don't have a relationship with 567 00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:00,160 Jesus yet, I want you to hear me say this. 568 00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:04,440 God is not just great and powerful and majestic and mighty 569 00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:08,400 and a creator. He is also good. 570 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:12,840 So good, in fact, that He did not make you and I get right 571 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:15,880 with Him so we could come to Him. 572 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:21,160 Instead, He came down and made us right so we could be with 573 00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:24,120 Him. Romans chapter 5 verse 8 says 574 00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:28,160 this about our God. But God demonstrates His own 575 00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:33,360 love for us in this that while we were still sinners, Christ 576 00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:38,480 died for us. Hear me, this was His idea, not 577 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:41,200 ours. He did this before you drew your 578 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:44,360 first breath, before you committed your first sin, before 579 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:47,560 you rejected his son, abandoned his purpose for you. 580 00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:50,680 He knew all of those things would happen, and He still sent 581 00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:53,520 his son to die on your behalf anyway. 582 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:58,960 He is so good, good enough that if you come to him today in 583 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:02,400 faith, He will receive you. And so in just a few moments, 584 00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:05,040 when the people around you stand and sing and some of the people 585 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:08,040 come to the steps and pray, I want to encourage you to walk 586 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:10,800 over next to the baptistery at whatever location you're at. 587 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:13,640 Or if you're online, just type something in the chat saying I 588 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:17,200 need to talk to somebody and ask the question that you need to 589 00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:20,920 ask so you can take the step of faith that you need to take. 590 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:24,440 And to those of you who do know Jesus, here's my prayer over 591 00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:27,680 you. May your faith in God inspire 592 00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:32,240 you to greater devotion, obedience, and participation in 593 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:36,800 the mission of God's Kingdom. May it strengthen you in your 594 00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:40,200 prayers and guide you through the darkest of valleys. 595 00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:44,240 Would you stand with me? Heavenly Father, we're asking 596 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:47,280 you to do a mighty work in US right now. 597 00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:52,360 We know that there are steps that we need to take, lids in 598 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:56,240 our lives that need to be lifted, sins in our life that 599 00:33:56,240 --> 00:33:59,520 need to be let go. And we're asking you, through 600 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:02,520 the power of your Holy Spirit, to give us the courage and the 601 00:34:02,520 --> 00:34:07,200 strength to do just that. God, we want to leave here today 602 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:12,679 more committed to you, more sure of you, more obedient to you. 603 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:15,320 Help us to do that. In your name I pray. 604 00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:16,120 Amen.