1 00:00:01,500 --> 00:00:04,000 Good morning Crossing Church. How are you doing today? 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:09,200 It's so good here at 48th Street to see the place packed. 3 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:11,200 Always love. Seeing that welcome. 4 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:14,000 All of the other campuses that are joining with us, we have the 5 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,600 opportunity to be a family of Believers and I don't know if 6 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:21,300 you saw this or if you look around and like, you know, kind 7 00:00:21,300 --> 00:00:24,900 of let yourself out of worship for a little bit and just kind 8 00:00:24,900 --> 00:00:26,900 of look around you. And I don't know if it's that 9 00:00:26,900 --> 00:00:30,400 way everywhere else but you know what, I see a lot at 48. 10 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:34,400 Sure, I see this. You guys are good at swaying. 11 00:00:35,700 --> 00:00:40,800 You kind of got the sway down and and I think that's awesome 12 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:43,100 because there's something about worship. 13 00:00:43,500 --> 00:00:48,400 That is very emotional, isn't it kind of hits you in a kind of a 14 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:52,400 deep level like the center of yourself and you can't help but 15 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:56,700 have a response to it like an emotional response and I think 16 00:00:56,700 --> 00:01:02,200 that that is just so awesome. But you're not just an emotional 17 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:07,100 person, are you? I think some people think that, 18 00:01:07,100 --> 00:01:10,300 you know, when it comes to Faith, you know, that's just 19 00:01:10,300 --> 00:01:15,000 this thing, we feel, it's just this, you know, we kind of have 20 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,500 this Faith thing going on and I feel the presence of God and so 21 00:01:18,500 --> 00:01:23,100 because I feel it, it's real. But you're not just an emotional 22 00:01:23,100 --> 00:01:25,500 person. You're also an intellectual 23 00:01:25,500 --> 00:01:27,600 person, you're a thinking person. 24 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:30,700 Right? And those two things need to 25 00:01:30,700 --> 00:01:34,100 come together and I think that as a church, we do really well 26 00:01:34,300 --> 00:01:37,900 when it comes to those emotional responses and getting in touch 27 00:01:37,900 --> 00:01:43,100 with our faith feelings, but I think we have to have a ready 28 00:01:43,100 --> 00:01:46,400 answer for the hope that is within us, we have to engage our 29 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:49,500 minds. God gave us our minds and he 30 00:01:49,500 --> 00:01:53,000 didn't give them to us so that we would turn them off and 31 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:59,500 that's why we're in the series called if And what if is about 32 00:01:59,500 --> 00:02:04,000 is, it's about understanding apologetically what the Bible 33 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:05,600 says. And what I mean by that is to 34 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:11,300 have a defense for what you believe that is, is not just an 35 00:02:11,300 --> 00:02:13,900 emotional one, but an intellectual one to give you 36 00:02:14,300 --> 00:02:18,100 solid reasons to know what you believe about God. 37 00:02:18,300 --> 00:02:20,900 What you believe about the Bible, what you believe about 38 00:02:20,900 --> 00:02:25,100 Jesus and about your place in this world. 39 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:29,900 And to understand that from a reasonable standpoint. 40 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,000 So just to review, Clayton started us off Easter weekend 41 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:38,000 with proof that Jesus was a real person who claimed to be God in 42 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:42,100 human form and fulfilled. All that was foretold about him 43 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:47,600 and paid for all of our sins when he died on the cross and 44 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:51,200 gave us Life by rising from the dead, our second week. 45 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:56,000 We were treated with a guest appearance by Ken Ham who helped 46 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:57,700 us? Understand that a person of 47 00:02:57,700 --> 00:03:03,200 Faith does not require that person to be unscientific, or to 48 00:03:03,208 --> 00:03:06,800 believe in fairy tales. And the only just briefly 49 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:11,000 touched on such a great amount of evidence that shows the 50 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,600 science that backs up all of that narrative in the Bible so 51 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:19,000 that you don't have to turn your brain off to understand that 52 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:21,800 it's inspired by God. The only reason we don't know 53 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,900 that is that when we grow up in school, the separation of 54 00:03:25,900 --> 00:03:29,700 church, Church and state won't allow you to learn about 55 00:03:29,700 --> 00:03:34,000 intelligent design one. Allow you to learn about God's 56 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:39,800 role in creation, And so what is supposed to be understood? 57 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:44,400 As a theory which actually is a much more of a fairytale than 58 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,700 you might think we're indoctrinated to believe that? 59 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:52,900 But the truth of God's word will bear that out. 60 00:03:52,900 --> 00:03:57,900 Scientifically if you're exposed to that information last week, I 61 00:03:57,900 --> 00:04:00,600 talked about how the Bible is, historically credible and 62 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:04,200 reliable. And by that, I mean that it was 63 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:07,900 written by those who say they wrote it and it was copied 64 00:04:07,900 --> 00:04:10,900 carefully and correctly until now so that you can depend on 65 00:04:10,900 --> 00:04:13,800 it, you are actually reading what they wrote. 66 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,300 And the understanding that that was actually inspired by God 67 00:04:18,300 --> 00:04:20,899 that they moved as God directed them. 68 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:25,300 What I want to do today is kind of pull all that together. 69 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:30,300 And the kind of use a legal term, to put the burden of proof 70 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:36,800 on us. Can you prove can I prove Beyond 71 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:41,000 a reasonable doubt? That Jesus is actually who he 72 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:43,300 says he is and did what the Bible says he did. 73 00:04:44,500 --> 00:04:50,800 Can I actually trust that what? I'm reading there is true so 74 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:52,800 that I would stake my whole life on it. 75 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,500 And I'll tell you that not only do I believe that, but I 76 00:04:56,500 --> 00:05:00,100 actually think that you have to have a whole lot more faith to 77 00:05:00,100 --> 00:05:03,100 believe in any other alternative than, to believe. 78 00:05:03,100 --> 00:05:07,400 The Bible is true because all of the real evidence points there 79 00:05:09,100 --> 00:05:16,800 The way I'm going to try to to do that today is by using a 80 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,300 theory of probability called. Occam's razor now. 81 00:05:20,300 --> 00:05:22,500 What Occam's razor is? I know that's kind of that 82 00:05:22,500 --> 00:05:27,700 sounds kind of highbrow, but what it is is this, it's this 83 00:05:27,700 --> 00:05:32,300 philosophical idea that if there are multiple explanations for 84 00:05:32,300 --> 00:05:36,700 just Oracle event, the simplest one is probably the true one. 85 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:41,400 Okay, lots of different explanations of what I'm going 86 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:44,900 to do is I'm going to give you every kind of explanation that I 87 00:05:44,907 --> 00:05:48,200 can think of. And if you're if you have 88 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:51,500 another one, I'd like to hear it because I'm going to go through 89 00:05:51,500 --> 00:05:54,800 all of them. And I'm going to show you that 90 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:57,600 it takes an incredible amount of Faith to believe in those. 91 00:05:58,900 --> 00:06:03,200 And the simplest one is, in fact, the true one. 92 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:09,500 So here's the first one, okay? And and even though he didn't 93 00:06:09,500 --> 00:06:12,100 dwell on it, Clayton talked about it on Easter weekend and 94 00:06:12,100 --> 00:06:15,400 it's this that Jesus never really existed. 95 00:06:17,100 --> 00:06:20,700 That he was a mythological character, like an avatar that 96 00:06:20,700 --> 00:06:24,700 was created by these authors to kind of show us what a good life 97 00:06:24,700 --> 00:06:28,300 looks like or maybe even to manipulate people. 98 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:32,800 Now, this one to me, has a lot of personal implications because 99 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:37,800 I remember when I went to college, I went to Indiana 100 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:42,400 University before I went to Bible College and it was my 101 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:45,900 freshman year and I was looking for a couple of easy credits. 102 00:06:45,900 --> 00:06:48,900 You I mean, like because I knew that some of the classes I was 103 00:06:48,900 --> 00:06:51,700 going to take, we're going to be hard and I was looking for an 104 00:06:51,700 --> 00:06:56,700 easy one and in the in the course, curriculum, I could take 105 00:06:56,700 --> 00:07:00,600 as an elective The Life of Christ in the synoptic gospels. 106 00:07:00,900 --> 00:07:05,000 That's Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And I thought, oh yeah. 107 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:07,700 All that. By all that Sunday school time. 108 00:07:08,100 --> 00:07:10,600 All that Church times about to pay off. 109 00:07:11,500 --> 00:07:14,000 I'm going to get these credits. It's going to be easy. 110 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:18,600 And I went to that class in the very first day that I went to 111 00:07:18,608 --> 00:07:21,700 that class the professor stood up and he said, I want you to 112 00:07:21,700 --> 00:07:25,400 know that my point of view as we go through this class is that I 113 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:28,600 believe that Jesus Christ was not a historical figure. 114 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:31,800 That he was a mythological character. 115 00:07:33,100 --> 00:07:36,600 So not really someone you can put your faith in just a good 116 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:41,500 just a good mythological example and I went and I deflate it 117 00:07:41,500 --> 00:07:44,200 because I'm going man. I thought I was going to get 118 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:48,000 some easy credit here. And it didn't take long in that 119 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:50,200 class for me to realize. The best thing I could do is 120 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:54,600 Drop It. Because I just went adding, we 121 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:58,900 went at each other and and you know in college if you don't 122 00:07:59,100 --> 00:08:02,000 regurgitate what the professor says it's going to get you into 123 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:06,600 trouble with your grades. So I didn't really want to stay 124 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:10,300 there but I can tell you a little bit of what I said kind 125 00:08:10,300 --> 00:08:16,200 of in short form and that's this three historians wrote about 126 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:18,400 Jesus that were contemporary with Jesus. 127 00:08:19,100 --> 00:08:21,700 They lived at nearly the same time Jesus did. 128 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:24,800 And the three historians that I'm going to talk to you about. 129 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,300 None of them believed that Jesus was who he said he was now, why 130 00:08:28,300 --> 00:08:32,799 the world will historian right about a person that he didn't 131 00:08:32,799 --> 00:08:35,500 believe actually existed at the time? 132 00:08:36,500 --> 00:08:39,900 Doesn't make a lot of sense. Does it the first one was a man 133 00:08:39,900 --> 00:08:43,700 named Josephus. He's probably the most famous of 134 00:08:43,700 --> 00:08:48,500 the three and Josephus was a Jewish historian who was writing 135 00:08:48,500 --> 00:08:51,800 under Emperor. Vespasian, who was the Roman 136 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:54,000 Emperor at the time, wanted him to write this. 137 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:57,000 He had written a book called Wars of the Jews. 138 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:00,300 He also wrote one called Antiquities of the Jews, and 139 00:09:00,300 --> 00:09:04,000 this is in that book Antiquities of the Jews and it was written 140 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:09,600 at 94 ad. So, how close is that to Jesus? 141 00:09:10,300 --> 00:09:13,200 I mean, not very far right? Like 60 years from the 142 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:17,000 resurrection of Jesus. And even though he wasn't a 143 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:23,100 Christian, he wrote about Jesus crucifixion about Pontius Pilate 144 00:09:23,900 --> 00:09:26,800 about Jesus. Resurrection about John the 145 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:29,400 Baptist, that's a lot right there. 146 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:34,200 Jesus is half-brother James wrote about him and the death of 147 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:36,400 the Apostle James, a different James. 148 00:09:38,100 --> 00:09:40,700 Well, that's a pretty good historical argument, right? 149 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:44,600 But he wasn't the only one, there was a second, one named 150 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:47,600 tacitus. Who was a Roman historian, not a 151 00:09:47,608 --> 00:09:53,800 Christian, he wrote A History called annals in 116 ad and he 152 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:57,900 wrote about Jesus, his crucifixion, Pontius Pilate and 153 00:09:57,900 --> 00:10:01,800 the life of early Christians. Even though he himself, was not 154 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:06,500 a Christian, a third historian by the name of Pliny did write 155 00:10:06,500 --> 00:10:08,700 history. But what's more interesting 156 00:10:08,700 --> 00:10:10,700 about? This guy is a personal letter 157 00:10:10,700 --> 00:10:14,800 that he wrote the emperor. Er er at that time the emperor's 158 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:20,400 name was trajan and he wrote this in 112 ad trying to figure 159 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:23,100 out how to deal with the Christians in his area. 160 00:10:23,100 --> 00:10:27,700 He was a governor of a Roman province in what is now turkey, 161 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:31,300 and here's a quote of what he wrote to trajan. 162 00:10:32,300 --> 00:10:35,000 They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day 163 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:38,000 before. It was light, when they sang, an 164 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:44,500 alternate versus a him to Christ as to a God and themselves by a 165 00:10:44,500 --> 00:10:47,800 solemn party to not, do any wicked. 166 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:54,200 Deeds never to commit any fraud theft or adultery to never 167 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:57,600 falsify their word or deny a trust when they should be called 168 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:02,000 upon deliver it up after, which it was their custom to separate. 169 00:11:02,100 --> 00:11:06,300 8 and then reassemble to partake of food, but food of an or an 170 00:11:06,300 --> 00:11:13,800 ordinary and innocent kind. So, when you have that kind of 171 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:17,100 historical provenance, it's pretty hard to say. 172 00:11:17,300 --> 00:11:19,900 I don't really believe that Jesus was in historical person. 173 00:11:19,900 --> 00:11:23,500 As a matter of fact, it takes a great deal of Faith to say, he 174 00:11:23,500 --> 00:11:28,200 was not a historical person, an incredible amount of Faith, a 175 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:32,200 fairytale amount of faith. And if I run that through the 176 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:37,700 filter of Occam's razor, I'm going that's just not a good 177 00:11:37,700 --> 00:11:40,800 explanation. Well, how about this one? 178 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:45,800 Jesus was a good teacher, just not the son of God. 179 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:50,300 Maybe that one because this is what modern Jewish culture 180 00:11:50,300 --> 00:11:52,500 believes. Like people that some of us 181 00:11:52,500 --> 00:11:54,200 might listen to like Ben Shapiro. 182 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:57,500 This is what he believes that Jesus was a good teacher. 183 00:11:57,500 --> 00:12:00,600 And he'll say this, just not the Son of God. 184 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:03,000 Well, as c.s. Lewis puts it, that just doesn't 185 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:07,100 make any sense. And I'll tell you why, because 186 00:12:07,100 --> 00:12:13,100 Jesus repeatedly claimed to be the Son of God and to do things 187 00:12:13,100 --> 00:12:16,400 like the forgive sins, that only God can do. 188 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:21,000 Now if a person is pathologically lying to you all 189 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:25,000 the time about who he is, how in the world, can he be a good 190 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:28,700 teacher? He might be a teacher but he's 191 00:12:28,700 --> 00:12:32,600 certainly not good. He would be instead called a 192 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:40,000 what a false teacher. So it just doesn't hold any 193 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:43,100 water to say that. Jesus was a good teacher kind of 194 00:12:43,100 --> 00:12:46,900 throwing Christians a bone here. No, it really doesn't. 195 00:12:47,700 --> 00:12:50,900 So I don't think that one holds water, so let's push that one 196 00:12:50,900 --> 00:12:52,100 through Occam's. Razor and go. 197 00:12:52,100 --> 00:12:56,200 That's really privileged really. Not a good option and you takes 198 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:58,000 an awful lot of faith to believe that. 199 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:01,700 Well, what if that opposite was true? 200 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:06,200 What if Jesus was a liar or just nuts? 201 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:10,500 Just delusional. Just a guy who just wanted to be 202 00:13:10,500 --> 00:13:14,000 this other thing. Well, both of those are going to 203 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:16,400 be disproven by the resurrection, but let's not go 204 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:19,900 there yet because of Jesus was a liar. 205 00:13:20,700 --> 00:13:24,600 Someone certainly would have been able to point it out 206 00:13:24,900 --> 00:13:28,600 because he was under constant scrutiny and he was constantly 207 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:32,900 being questioned, but he never faulted, not even once and even 208 00:13:32,900 --> 00:13:36,100 when it went to the extreme of going on trial. 209 00:13:36,300 --> 00:13:41,000 Don't you think that a person who's a liar when he, when he's 210 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:45,600 on trial for his life? Wife would say, sorry, guys. 211 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:50,300 Made it all up. You know, I really didn't mean 212 00:13:50,300 --> 00:13:53,200 this. You know, to the best of my 213 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:55,700 recollection would be like one of these Senate hearings or 214 00:13:55,700 --> 00:13:56,400 something. You know. 215 00:13:56,500 --> 00:13:58,700 I don't have a recollection of that now. 216 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:05,400 I think it would be more like that, but here he is on trial 217 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:09,600 and he's calmly saying exactly the same thing. 218 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:13,500 Well, then they turn him over to the Romans to beat him nearly to 219 00:14:13,500 --> 00:14:17,000 death with the scourge. You think maybe that didn't 220 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:22,500 break the liar know, He just holds right onto it how about 221 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:26,500 when they're getting ready to put him on a cross, even while 222 00:14:26,500 --> 00:14:31,600 the guy is dying being tortured on a cross, he's still 223 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:39,400 everything he was before calmly telling the truth about who he 224 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:41,900 is. Do you really want me to 225 00:14:41,900 --> 00:14:45,100 believe? That he was lying. 226 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:50,100 Maybe, maybe it's not that. Maybe he's delusional, maybe 227 00:14:50,100 --> 00:14:54,600 he's just nuts. The pressure, I want you to 228 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:58,300 think something the pressure that this man was under was 229 00:14:58,300 --> 00:15:01,500 constant. He was, and that kind of 230 00:15:01,508 --> 00:15:04,500 pressure, and all of that. All right, questioning would 231 00:15:04,500 --> 00:15:07,900 have surely exposed a delusional person. 232 00:15:08,100 --> 00:15:12,000 Modern-day cult leaders, always show their inconsistency. 233 00:15:12,900 --> 00:15:15,600 And I believe that Jesus is suffering and death would have 234 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:19,800 certainly exposed the reality that he was not in his right 235 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:23,100 mind. If, in fact, he was not In his 236 00:15:23,100 --> 00:15:27,300 right mind, I don't think that one Bears. 237 00:15:27,300 --> 00:15:30,200 The smell test passes, the smell test either. 238 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:34,100 Well, how about this one other one, this is one that that 239 00:15:34,100 --> 00:15:38,100 Clayton shared just for a short period on Easter and that is 240 00:15:38,100 --> 00:15:44,400 that Jesus didn't really die. He just fainted Now that became 241 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:50,500 a popular theory in 1965 because there was a theologian named 242 00:15:50,500 --> 00:15:53,000 Hugh. Schoenfeld that wrote a book in 243 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:56,700 1965 is a best seller was called the Passover plot. 244 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,600 And the Passover plot was all about this idea is called the 245 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:04,700 Swoon theory that Jesus fainted. And when he went after, they 246 00:16:04,700 --> 00:16:09,900 took him off the cross and laid him in the Tomb he comes to And 247 00:16:09,900 --> 00:16:12,500 then gets out of the Tomb and shows himself alive to 248 00:16:12,500 --> 00:16:15,100 everybody. This one is the one that you 249 00:16:15,100 --> 00:16:18,900 have to be absolutely Bonkers to believe it is. 250 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,600 It is the most ridiculous of all the options. 251 00:16:23,700 --> 00:16:26,400 That's what you to think about this for a little bit. 252 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:29,700 Romans soldiers are experts at execution. 253 00:16:29,700 --> 00:16:33,000 It's a matter of fact, the detail that was responsible for 254 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:35,700 Jesus execution. That's probably just what they 255 00:16:35,700 --> 00:16:38,500 did. They were the execution detail. 256 00:16:39,300 --> 00:16:42,000 So they knew how to kill people. As a matter of fact with 257 00:16:42,100 --> 00:16:44,800 crucifixion, it really wasn't about killing someone. 258 00:16:45,100 --> 00:16:48,000 It was about keeping them alive. As long as you could. 259 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:52,400 In the most Agony, you could. And they were always crucified 260 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:56,400 in a very public. Place to put fear into other 261 00:16:56,400 --> 00:16:58,600 people who would defy the Roman government. 262 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:01,300 Jesus was crucified at a Crossroads. 263 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:09,200 Okay, so they knew what they were doing, and it wasn't just 264 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:11,900 his crucifixion. It was what they did after he 265 00:17:11,900 --> 00:17:14,000 died. The Bible says that he gave up 266 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:15,300 his Spirit. He died. 267 00:17:15,700 --> 00:17:19,099 And then they took a spear and put it up underneath his rib 268 00:17:19,099 --> 00:17:23,800 cage into his vital organs. And the Bible says, and he 269 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:27,900 doesn't say it in this way, but that his blood had divided into 270 00:17:27,900 --> 00:17:30,600 plasma and red cells, blood and water came out. 271 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:33,400 That means that it was a post-mortem wound. 272 00:17:33,500 --> 00:17:38,700 He had already died and then they take him off the cross. 273 00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:43,700 Now, do you think that Roman Executioner's would be really 274 00:17:43,700 --> 00:17:46,000 polite when they would take a body off a cross? 275 00:17:47,100 --> 00:17:49,600 Do you think would be like be careful when you pry out those 276 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:52,200 nails? I don't think they pry them out 277 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:53,400 at all. I think they just pulled him 278 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:56,500 off. And then they give them to 279 00:17:56,500 --> 00:17:59,000 Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, right? 280 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:04,100 And and Joseph of Arimathea has the tomb and they take Jesus and 281 00:18:04,100 --> 00:18:08,700 put him in the Tomb. The women didn't know this, but 282 00:18:08,700 --> 00:18:12,900 they had prepared his body, they had, they had wrapped his body 283 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:16,800 and his face, and they had put the spices on his body, to keep 284 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:21,200 the smell down of decay. And then a stone was rolled in 285 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:26,100 front of the Tomb and those stones are on inclines because 286 00:18:26,100 --> 00:18:29,100 people they don't want, they don't want people robbing tombs 287 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:32,000 and you can see them in Israel today they're on an incline. 288 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:34,800 Like in a trough a role in a trough and then there's like 289 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:36,500 this little indention at the bottom. 290 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:41,400 That locks that stone into place average Stone weighs about 4 291 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:44,600 tons. About 8,000 pounds. 292 00:18:45,500 --> 00:18:48,000 Okay? So they put Jesus in the Tomb, 293 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:52,600 they wrap him up, they put the stone over, right? 294 00:18:52,900 --> 00:18:55,600 They leave Roman Detachment of soldiers, come. 295 00:18:55,600 --> 00:19:00,200 They put a seal on the tomb and then there's a Detachment of 296 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:02,100 soldiers to stand, watch over it. 297 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:06,200 Now, what schoenfeld wants you to believe is that after 298 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:11,000 enduring all that Jesus, endured he wakes up in the Tomb. 299 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:17,700 Takes the time in total darkness to fold his grave clothes. 300 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:24,100 Walks up to a 4 ton Stone, that's on the outside, not the 301 00:19:24,100 --> 00:19:27,600 inside. And with his nail-pierced hands, 302 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:33,900 the palms of his hands somehow, he is able to roll a 4 ton Stone 303 00:19:33,900 --> 00:19:39,600 Away by himself up, a hill, breaking a seal, and doing it. 304 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:45,700 So quietly, That the Detachment of soldiers outside that on pain 305 00:19:45,700 --> 00:19:48,700 of death, had to have to guard this tomb, don't hear him. 306 00:19:49,100 --> 00:19:55,600 And then on his nail pierced feet, he tiptoes away And then 307 00:19:55,800 --> 00:20:00,000 goes to the upper room, couple of miles away and goes, hey 308 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:05,700 guys. What kind of Faith does it take 309 00:20:05,700 --> 00:20:08,300 for you to believe that cockamamie story? 310 00:20:12,900 --> 00:20:19,700 A lot. So, how about this? 311 00:20:20,700 --> 00:20:22,400 Jesus died. Okay. 312 00:20:22,500 --> 00:20:25,400 All right. But his body was stolen. 313 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:29,000 Now, that's a, that's another crazy. 314 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,500 Almost as crazy as the Passover plot. 315 00:20:31,500 --> 00:20:34,700 Except for it needs to be mentioned because of what the 316 00:20:34,700 --> 00:20:39,700 Bible says. In Matthew 28 So, you know, like 317 00:20:39,700 --> 00:20:42,000 in our government the only thing worse than the crime is the 318 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:44,900 what? It's the cover-up. 319 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:49,800 Right, here we go. While the women were on their 320 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:52,700 way, some of the guards went into the city. 321 00:20:52,700 --> 00:20:55,100 These are the guards that were standing watch over the tomb, 322 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:59,400 when the resurrection happens and some of them actually 323 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:03,800 fainted and some of them ran and it says, they reported to the 324 00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:05,600 chief priests everything that had happened. 325 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:09,200 And when the chief priests met with the elders and devised a 326 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:11,900 plan, this is their plan. This is her cover up plan. 327 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:14,800 They gave the soldiers, a large sum of money. 328 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:16,700 It always begins with the money, right? 329 00:21:17,300 --> 00:21:21,900 So they give them money and they telling them you are to say his 330 00:21:21,900 --> 00:21:24,700 disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were 331 00:21:24,700 --> 00:21:28,600 asleep, which is kind of interesting how you can testify 332 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:30,900 to, a particular fact, when you're asleep. 333 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:34,200 But that's what they were supposed to say. 334 00:21:34,500 --> 00:21:38,500 Well, that's a dumb thing to do, if you're a guard because you 335 00:21:38,500 --> 00:21:43,300 are summarily executed, if somebody is able to steal a body 336 00:21:43,300 --> 00:21:47,700 that you're in charge of protecting, And then they say 337 00:21:47,700 --> 00:21:51,800 this in verse 14, if this report gets to the governor, we will 338 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:54,000 satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. 339 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:58,400 So this isn't this is bribery, this is cover up. 340 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:03,200 This is all of that, right? So verse 15 says, the soldiers, 341 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:06,400 took the money and did as they were instructed. 342 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:10,900 And this story here it is, has been widely circulated among the 343 00:22:10,900 --> 00:22:17,700 Jews to this very day as ridiculous as of an idea, is 344 00:22:17,700 --> 00:22:22,200 that is of an option, is that is it was the one they decided to 345 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:27,700 go with. Think about the Apostle stealing 346 00:22:27,700 --> 00:22:31,200 this body, these guys, the apostles are hiding they're 347 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:35,200 scared to death, they don't get boldness until later. 348 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:40,100 I mean there and you think that they're going to sneak up In 349 00:22:40,100 --> 00:22:44,000 this Garden where Jesus is buried and somehow get past the 350 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:47,200 guards in a right in front somehow break. 351 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:51,600 The seal somehow roll a 4 ton Stone away, it makes a lot of 352 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:53,900 noise by the way, and chalk that stone. 353 00:22:53,900 --> 00:22:57,500 So it doesn't roll back tiptoe into the tomb. 354 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:02,900 Take the time to fold the grave clothes, take Jesus body. 355 00:23:03,100 --> 00:23:06,400 I don't know if they, you know, over the shoulder or what and 356 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:11,100 get past all of those other guys with Without being noticed. 357 00:23:13,500 --> 00:23:19,000 You see, it's ridiculous. Okay, maybe there's I can only 358 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:24,000 think of one more, okay, one more option and that is that you 359 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:27,200 really can't trust the Bible and its account of the story. 360 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:31,000 Well, I think last week should have already kind of finished 361 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:34,000 that argument in your mind. But if you weren't here, the 362 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:38,000 Bible is the most reliable ancient document in the world. 363 00:23:39,500 --> 00:23:43,300 There are over 24,000 handwritten copies of it, over 364 00:23:43,300 --> 00:23:45,800 5,000 of them. In ancient, Greek. 365 00:23:46,900 --> 00:23:50,100 And the closest competitor of an ancient document is Homer's 366 00:23:50,100 --> 00:23:52,800 Iliad, and they're only 650 of it. 367 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:57,300 So there's just no comparison when it comes to historical 368 00:23:57,300 --> 00:24:01,000 Providence of God's word. See the books of the New 369 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,500 Testament were written at the time, when many of the people 370 00:24:04,500 --> 00:24:08,600 who were witnessing these things, we're still alive in 371 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:10,700 Jerusalem and there were hundreds of them. 372 00:24:10,700 --> 00:24:13,600 So if you're writing something that's a complete fantasy, 373 00:24:13,900 --> 00:24:16,800 anybody could have come up and said that's not true. 374 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:19,400 That didn't happen. It was nothing like that but you 375 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:23,400 don't read any of that. Historically. 376 00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:30,500 So what are you left with? Now, I'm going to go over them 377 00:24:30,500 --> 00:24:33,800 real quick, ready? Jesus never existed. 378 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:36,500 Okay. Jesus existed, but he was just a 379 00:24:36,500 --> 00:24:38,300 good teacher. Okay. 380 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:42,600 Well, Jesus wasn't a good teacher but he was just a liar, 381 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:46,100 okay? Jesus wasn't a liar, but he was 382 00:24:46,100 --> 00:24:51,300 just, you know delusional. Sorry, Jesus, never actually 383 00:24:51,300 --> 00:24:54,300 died. He just fainted and people used 384 00:24:54,300 --> 00:24:55,900 it. No, that doesn't work. 385 00:24:55,900 --> 00:24:59,300 Jesus has died, but his body was stolen. 386 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:03,200 No, you really can't even trust the Bible on this one. 387 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:06,100 Sorry. What are you left with? 388 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:15,000 You are left with either trying to apply a ridiculous amount of 389 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:19,500 Faith to any one of those, that makes no sense whatsoever, or 390 00:25:19,700 --> 00:25:23,200 following Occam's razor razor, which is the simplest 391 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:25,900 explanation is probably the truth. 392 00:25:25,900 --> 00:25:31,500 And that is Jesus is exactly who he said he was just as simple as 393 00:25:31,500 --> 00:25:35,400 that. And you think I'm done and I'm 394 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:39,500 not even close. Ready in Acts. 13, Luke is 395 00:25:39,500 --> 00:25:42,500 writing about this. He says, after his suffering, he 396 00:25:42,500 --> 00:25:47,300 presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs. 397 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:52,200 That he was alive. Here's a dozen of them very 398 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:56,300 quickly, everything that Jesus did and dying on the cross and 399 00:25:56,700 --> 00:26:00,000 rising from the dead. He spoke about all of those 400 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,700 things, claim them before any of it happened, right? 401 00:26:03,900 --> 00:26:05,400 Here's one. Here's another one. 402 00:26:05,500 --> 00:26:08,400 The first Witnesses of the Resurrection were women, there 403 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:11,500 were six of them and if you're trying to prove something to the 404 00:26:11,500 --> 00:26:15,400 local masses at the time you wouldn't use women because they 405 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:17,700 were not allowed to even testify in court. 406 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:23,600 And yet, God chose that and to me, when I read the scripture 407 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:26,800 account, I'm going that is also proof. 408 00:26:26,900 --> 00:26:30,100 How about the conversion of Saul of Tarsus a guy who committed 409 00:26:30,100 --> 00:26:32,600 his life to wiping out Christianity. 410 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:35,100 Christianity becomes the greatest proponent of 411 00:26:35,100 --> 00:26:38,100 Christianity, how about the conversion of Jesus? 412 00:26:38,100 --> 00:26:42,000 Half-brother James, who thought his brother was crazy until he 413 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:46,000 experienced the resurrection of his of his older brother, and 414 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:50,200 then became the writer that we know for The Book of James in 415 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:52,800 our new testament. What about the immediate change 416 00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:56,100 in worship? Of something that had been held 417 00:26:56,100 --> 00:27:00,000 onto for 1500 years from Saturday to Sunday from the 418 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:03,800 Sabbath to the Lord's day. You think you can move an entire 419 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:07,700 culture of people to change that overnight and yet they did? 420 00:27:07,900 --> 00:27:09,800 How about the birth of the church? 421 00:27:10,100 --> 00:27:12,600 All being a bunch of monotheistic juice. 422 00:27:13,500 --> 00:27:16,000 You know all of the original Believers on the day of 423 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:17,900 Pentecost, they were all Jewish right? 424 00:27:18,900 --> 00:27:23,100 And if you ever if you get to know a Jewish person, if they 425 00:27:23,300 --> 00:27:26,200 follow their faith, Most of them will have what's called a 426 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:30,200 mezuzah outside their home on the doorpost of their home. 427 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:34,200 It's a little tin thing or maybe a ceramic and inside there's a 428 00:27:34,208 --> 00:27:37,300 scroll it has the Shema of Israel hear o Israel. 429 00:27:37,300 --> 00:27:40,200 The Lord Our God. The Lord is one. 430 00:27:41,100 --> 00:27:43,800 And the reason that Jewish people don't like Christianity's 431 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:47,900 because they think we believe in three Gods, father, son, Holy 432 00:27:47,900 --> 00:27:52,700 Spirit. We don't we believe in one God 433 00:27:52,900 --> 00:27:58,600 that exists in three persons. How do you explain all of these 434 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:02,600 Jewish people saying, I'm going to throw away that view of 435 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:06,000 monotheism because I believe in Jesus all at once. 436 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:09,800 How about the fact that there was no, contrary evidence found, 437 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:14,100 even though people desperately looked for it, how about the 438 00:28:14,100 --> 00:28:17,800 fact that it was proclaimed in Jerusalem, it began there, where 439 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:21,000 it actually happened, where people would have been easily 440 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:23,300 able to refute it if it didn't happen. 441 00:28:24,300 --> 00:28:26,200 How do you explain a tomb being empty? 442 00:28:27,500 --> 00:28:30,500 What about the transformation of the disciples from being so 443 00:28:30,500 --> 00:28:34,000 fearful and hiding to being willing to go into martyrdom? 444 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:38,300 What about the immediate proclamation of this truth? 445 00:28:38,300 --> 00:28:42,300 Only 50 days after his death on the day of Pentecost in 446 00:28:42,300 --> 00:28:46,400 Jerusalem, And what about the fact that the disciples all 447 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:51,500 claim that they witness this empirically with their eyes, 448 00:28:51,500 --> 00:28:55,300 they saw him, they heard him, they touched him. 449 00:28:56,600 --> 00:29:00,000 There's a dozen I could go on, maybe that's enough. 450 00:29:00,100 --> 00:29:02,700 Oh no, it's not beyond the simple. 451 00:29:02,700 --> 00:29:06,000 Logic of all that we have. All of these prophecies 452 00:29:06,100 --> 00:29:09,100 concerning Jesus from the Old Testament, that could not be 453 00:29:09,100 --> 00:29:14,100 faked or manipulated the Hebrew Old Testaments called the Tanakh 454 00:29:14,100 --> 00:29:16,200 it existed for hundreds and hundreds of years. 455 00:29:16,500 --> 00:29:19,900 It was translated into Greek in Alexandria, Egypt into What's 456 00:29:19,900 --> 00:29:24,100 called the Septuagint. And that was over 300 years. 457 00:29:24,100 --> 00:29:29,100 Before Jesus was born pretty hard to change, documents that 458 00:29:29,100 --> 00:29:31,500 existed, 300 years before you were born. 459 00:29:32,700 --> 00:29:36,000 Right? And so, when we look at Old 460 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:38,700 Testament prophecy, what do we see a thousand years? 461 00:29:39,100 --> 00:29:42,800 That's a long time, a thousand years before Jesus was born 462 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:49,100 King, David described this in Psalm 22, Psalm 23 is the most 463 00:29:49,100 --> 00:29:51,900 famous song but he said this in Psalm 22. 464 00:29:51,900 --> 00:29:55,300 Listen to verses 1 and 2. My God my God. 465 00:29:55,300 --> 00:29:58,900 Why have you forsaken me? Wait a minute. 466 00:29:59,900 --> 00:30:03,200 If I heard that, there's somebody else say that. 467 00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:07,800 Why are you so far from saving me so far from My Cries of 468 00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:08,700 Anguish? My God. 469 00:30:08,700 --> 00:30:11,500 I cry out by day, but you do not answer by night. 470 00:30:11,500 --> 00:30:13,900 I find no rest. Well, maybe King. 471 00:30:13,900 --> 00:30:17,400 David was just having a bad day. Maybe there isn't anything 472 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:19,900 prophetic in that at all? Well, how about we go down to 473 00:30:19,900 --> 00:30:24,600 verse 6, but I'm a worm and not a man scorned by everyone 474 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:28,400 despised by the people. All who see me mock me. 475 00:30:28,500 --> 00:30:32,100 They hurl insults at me, shaking their heads, wait a minute, he's 476 00:30:32,100 --> 00:30:37,000 the king for goodness sake. They don't do that to him. 477 00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:40,800 He trusts in the Lord, they say, let the Lord rescue him. 478 00:30:42,100 --> 00:30:45,900 Let him deliver him since he Delights in him still 479 00:30:45,900 --> 00:30:50,200 unconvinced verse 12, many bulls surround me, strong Bulls of 480 00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:53,600 Bashan, encircle me roaring lions, that tear, their prey 481 00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:56,800 open, their prey open, their mouths wide against me. 482 00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:59,800 I am poured out like water, all my bones are out of joint. 483 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:02,500 My heart is turned to wax. It is melted within me. 484 00:31:02,700 --> 00:31:05,100 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd. 485 00:31:05,100 --> 00:31:08,300 It's a broken piece of pottery. My tongue sticks to the roof of 486 00:31:08,300 --> 00:31:10,700 my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death. 487 00:31:10,700 --> 00:31:13,200 Dogs around me. Me, a pack of villains and 488 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:15,500 circle me. Listen, they pierced my hands 489 00:31:15,500 --> 00:31:19,600 and my feet. All my bones are on display, 490 00:31:19,900 --> 00:31:23,600 people stare and gloat over me. They divided my clothes, among 491 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:27,800 them and cast. Lots for my garment, a thousand 492 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:34,400 years before Jesus was born. when that when death by 493 00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:42,600 crucifixion didn't even hadn't even invented yet, Let's go 300 494 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:47,400 years into the future, 700 BC written by Isaiah chapter 53, 495 00:31:47,500 --> 00:31:50,800 who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord 496 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:53,100 been revealed. He grew up before him as a 497 00:31:53,108 --> 00:31:55,700 tender shoot like a root out of the dry ground. 498 00:31:55,700 --> 00:31:58,000 He had no Beauty. Your majesty to attract us to 499 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:01,300 him nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 500 00:32:01,500 --> 00:32:04,400 He was despised and rejected by mankind. 501 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:06,800 A man of suffering and familiar with pain. 502 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,800 Like one from whom people hide their faces. 503 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:12,600 He was despised and we held him in low esteem. 504 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,600 Surely took up our pain and bore our suffering. 505 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:19,000 Yet, we considered him punished by God, stricken by him and 506 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:22,300 Afflicted. Here it is again, 700 years. 507 00:32:22,300 --> 00:32:26,300 Before Jesus is born, he was pierced for our transgressions. 508 00:32:26,300 --> 00:32:28,600 He was crushed for our iniquities. 509 00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:31,800 The punishment that brought us. Peace was upon him by his 510 00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:33,400 wounds. We are healed. 511 00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:35,800 We all like, sheep have gone astray. 512 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:39,100 Each of us has turned to his own way and the lord has laid on 513 00:32:39,100 --> 00:32:42,100 him. The iniquity of us all that 514 00:32:42,100 --> 00:32:46,700 sounds like the gospel to me and if you aren't it, if you're 515 00:32:46,700 --> 00:32:50,300 going okay, well that's death. But where's life? 516 00:32:50,500 --> 00:32:53,000 Where's the resurrection? Just go down to verse 10. 517 00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:56,200 Yet. It was the Lord's will to crush 518 00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:59,300 him and cause him to suffer. And though, the Lord makes his 519 00:32:59,300 --> 00:33:02,900 life and offering for sin, he will see his offspring and 520 00:33:02,900 --> 00:33:06,500 prolong his days and the will of the Lord will prosper in his 521 00:33:06,500 --> 00:33:09,700 hand. After he has suffered, he will 522 00:33:09,700 --> 00:33:12,600 see the light of life and be satisfied. 523 00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:15,700 That's the resurrection by his knowledge. 524 00:33:15,700 --> 00:33:18,900 My righteous servant will justify many and he will bear 525 00:33:18,900 --> 00:33:21,800 their iniquities. Therefore, I will give him a 526 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:24,100 portion among the great, and he will divide this. 527 00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:27,300 The spoils with the strong because he poured out his life 528 00:33:27,300 --> 00:33:31,400 unto death and was numbered with the transgression transgressors 529 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:33,500 for. He bore the sins of many and 530 00:33:33,500 --> 00:33:36,700 made intercession. Golly. 531 00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:42,200 The odds of Jesus fulfilling 8 prophecies about hit of his 532 00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:44,200 birth. Something he or his followers 533 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:48,200 couldn't control the mathematical probability of that 534 00:33:48,500 --> 00:33:54,200 is 1 times 10 to the 28th power. That means one chance in 10 and 535 00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:56,800 in 28, more zeros. I don't even know what the word 536 00:33:56,800 --> 00:34:00,500 is for that number. I don't think you do either but 537 00:34:00,500 --> 00:34:03,500 Jesus didn't fulfill 8 prophecies. 538 00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:11,400 He fulfilled over 300 of them. So what is the problem? 539 00:34:14,100 --> 00:34:16,600 It's certainly not the truth of Jesus. 540 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:22,300 You know what it is and so do I. It's the ramifications of that 541 00:34:22,300 --> 00:34:27,100 truth because it will affect your life because if Jesus is 542 00:34:27,100 --> 00:34:31,500 who he says he is Then I am who he says I am. 543 00:34:33,300 --> 00:34:37,100 If Jesus is who he says he is, then I have a sin problem. 544 00:34:38,100 --> 00:34:42,400 And I have an eternity problem, and I also have a will problem. 545 00:34:44,100 --> 00:34:47,699 Now, my problems have a solution but there is an Incredible cost 546 00:34:47,699 --> 00:34:53,500 associated with that solution. That solution was Jesus taking 547 00:34:53,500 --> 00:34:57,900 my place in paying my debt. On the cross to set me free, his 548 00:34:57,900 --> 00:35:05,700 blood covering my sin. That truth tells me that Jesus 549 00:35:05,700 --> 00:35:10,100 knows exactly who I am. And he still loves me. 550 00:35:11,500 --> 00:35:17,300 Loves me enough to solve my sin problem for me by taking my 551 00:35:17,300 --> 00:35:20,800 place on the cross and paying for my sin. 552 00:35:21,100 --> 00:35:23,300 He also solves my eternity problem. 553 00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:27,500 He did that by rising from the dead because the power of Jesus 554 00:35:27,500 --> 00:35:30,900 to rise from the dead isn't just a show us that he has power 555 00:35:30,900 --> 00:35:32,700 over. His own death, is to show us 556 00:35:32,700 --> 00:35:36,800 that he has power over death itself, which means he can give 557 00:35:36,800 --> 00:35:40,300 you life. Not just himself that you can 558 00:35:40,300 --> 00:35:47,700 trust him to give you life. But I also have a will problem. 559 00:35:48,900 --> 00:35:51,800 You see his? It's not just my past, I don't 560 00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:55,400 know about you. I'm not going to judge you but 561 00:35:55,400 --> 00:35:59,200 I'll judge me. It's every day of my life. 562 00:36:01,100 --> 00:36:03,100 And here's where it gets expensive for me. 563 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:07,800 Now while I cannot learn what Jesus did for me and I can only 564 00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:10,100 receive it as a gift, I don't deserve it. 565 00:36:10,900 --> 00:36:15,300 His expectation for me today and every day is to repent of my 566 00:36:15,300 --> 00:36:23,000 sins and to turn and follow him. That means to abandon my will 567 00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:26,200 and to surrender to his will. And I'm going to tell you 568 00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:31,500 something that's hard to do. And most of the time, I don't 569 00:36:31,500 --> 00:36:36,000 want to. I want my will to Prevail, not 570 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:40,400 his. So in a lot of human beings in 571 00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:43,500 their brains, they're going to give me another look at that 572 00:36:43,500 --> 00:36:45,500 list. Which one is the least 573 00:36:45,500 --> 00:36:47,900 ridiculous? Because I would rather believe 574 00:36:47,900 --> 00:36:52,100 that then to believe the truth, because if I believe the truth, 575 00:36:53,300 --> 00:36:55,500 it's going to have a major impact on my life. 576 00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:57,900 That maybe I don't want it to have. 577 00:36:59,200 --> 00:37:01,400 Maybe I'd rather believe in something silly. 578 00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:04,600 Then to surrender to what is obvious. 579 00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:08,100 And that my friend is the real issue. 580 00:37:11,900 --> 00:37:13,300 It's the real issue to all of us. 581 00:37:16,100 --> 00:37:19,300 The question isn't whether it's true or not? 582 00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:23,000 The question really isn't? Whether I can prove it or not. 583 00:37:24,300 --> 00:37:26,600 The question is whether or not you can believe it. 584 00:37:28,300 --> 00:37:34,300 And trust your life. To the life of Jesus who gave it 585 00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:37,200 for you. We're moving to a time of 586 00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:45,100 decision. I started the sermon this 587 00:37:45,100 --> 00:37:47,800 morning by talking about a swing. 588 00:37:48,900 --> 00:37:53,000 And feelings. And we all have I think it's 589 00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:55,800 great that we have those feelings. 590 00:37:56,600 --> 00:38:00,600 And I think, right now, we're in a time in a space in American 591 00:38:00,600 --> 00:38:03,400 culture where we're all trying to get in touch with our 592 00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:09,500 feelings, Feelings in many people's hearts Trump's truth. 593 00:38:10,900 --> 00:38:14,100 Like I don't know that you know because now I live in a post 594 00:38:14,100 --> 00:38:17,800 truth culture where that's my truth as opposed to your truth. 595 00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:22,600 Like we can all have a different truth Like, truth isn't static. 596 00:38:26,400 --> 00:38:29,900 And so for some of you when it comes to issues of Faith, you're 597 00:38:29,900 --> 00:38:34,000 just fine because you have this emotional attachment to it and 598 00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:37,500 you know, it's that Sway in the song and you're kind of going. 599 00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:41,600 Yeah, it feels good to have a relation, I believe it, you 600 00:38:41,600 --> 00:38:44,500 know. And maybe my mind will catch up 601 00:38:44,500 --> 00:38:48,800 with my feelings but there's some of you may be many of you 602 00:38:49,100 --> 00:38:53,100 that are here today that are the reverse That you're more, the 603 00:38:53,100 --> 00:38:55,600 intellectual. Show me. 604 00:38:56,400 --> 00:39:01,700 Prove it to me give me good reasons, my mind matters to me 605 00:39:02,700 --> 00:39:04,800 and maybe I will let my feelings. 606 00:39:06,100 --> 00:39:10,800 Move after I feel like I can stand firm on those facts. 607 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,000 That's what this series is about. 608 00:39:15,600 --> 00:39:20,000 Because as an individual, you are not one or the other. 609 00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:23,900 You're not an all feelings person and you're not an all 610 00:39:23,900 --> 00:39:26,400 intellectual person you're both, aren't you? 611 00:39:27,600 --> 00:39:32,000 Both of those that realities are woven together in your mind and 612 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:36,600 in your heart. That if I believe something is 613 00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:39,500 true, it ought to impact how I feel about it. 614 00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:43,100 And if I feel something is true, it ought to impact. 615 00:39:43,100 --> 00:39:47,000 What I think about it. And I'm here to tell you today, 616 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:50,000 if you're here, and you do not have an intimate personal 617 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:56,400 relationship with Jesus Christ, you can stand on that, it's not 618 00:39:56,400 --> 00:40:00,200 shifting sand. It's not a Pious platitude. 619 00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:02,300 It's real and you can stand on it. 620 00:40:05,700 --> 00:40:08,900 Let your mind go first and then let feelings follow it up. 621 00:40:08,900 --> 00:40:12,000 If you're here today and I, you know, I hear people say this to 622 00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:15,000 me like that they come to the crossing and they'll come up to 623 00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:17,300 me later. I just had a person last week. 624 00:40:17,300 --> 00:40:20,500 Do this come up to me and said I was crying. 625 00:40:20,500 --> 00:40:25,700 I don't even know why, I'm not even sad because something's 626 00:40:25,700 --> 00:40:28,200 happening inside me. That's not just me. 627 00:40:29,400 --> 00:40:31,300 There's feelings happening, right? 628 00:40:32,300 --> 00:40:36,000 You may be feeling that maybe your mind needs to catch up with 629 00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:37,600 your feelings. I'm just saying. 630 00:40:39,400 --> 00:40:44,200 Come to Christ. You can trust him, you can 631 00:40:44,200 --> 00:40:46,800 believe him and you can believe in him. 632 00:40:48,100 --> 00:40:49,500 There's going to be somebody right over there. 633 00:40:49,500 --> 00:40:53,200 By that baptistery would love nothing more than to talk to you 634 00:40:53,207 --> 00:40:57,700 about next steps, what it means to come into relationship with 635 00:40:57,700 --> 00:41:01,400 Jesus, many of you here today and you say, well, you know, I 636 00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:04,000 made that relationship. I, I walked into that 637 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:05,900 relationship, I accepted that invitation. 638 00:41:05,900 --> 00:41:10,600 I've done that but Isn't it true? 639 00:41:11,700 --> 00:41:15,600 That sometimes the lower story gets the best of you. and 640 00:41:15,600 --> 00:41:19,600 sometimes you start wondering and you start questioning and 641 00:41:19,600 --> 00:41:24,000 you start going his all of this real Do I really have something 642 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:28,300 to stand on here? And I think it's times like that 643 00:41:28,700 --> 00:41:33,900 with all of our incredible intellect that we just come up 644 00:41:34,100 --> 00:41:39,000 like a little child, And remember, be reminded. 645 00:41:40,600 --> 00:41:46,100 Who he is? And how he sees you as a child 646 00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:52,000 and loves you. To just relax for some people at 647 00:41:52,008 --> 00:41:53,800 church right now. This is like the most difficult 648 00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:56,800 time. It's like confrontational there 649 00:41:56,800 --> 00:41:59,300 doesn't need to be confrontation In This Moment. 650 00:42:00,500 --> 00:42:02,100 There just needs to be surrender. 651 00:42:03,400 --> 00:42:05,300 And you know what? We can relax in that. 652 00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:10,400 Because the one we surrender to doesn't mean us harm. 653 00:42:11,400 --> 00:42:14,900 He loves us. To surrender to someone who 654 00:42:14,900 --> 00:42:18,000 loves you enough to die for you. That's good surrender. 655 00:42:18,900 --> 00:42:21,400 And that's what these steps are for for you to come up here and 656 00:42:21,408 --> 00:42:23,700 just lay it down, whatever it is, just lay it down. 657 00:42:23,700 --> 00:42:26,300 Let him have it. And walk away. 658 00:42:26,300 --> 00:42:14,900 Lighter. To surrender to someone who 659 00:42:14,900 --> 00:42:18,000 loves you enough to die for you. That's good surrender. 660 00:42:18,900 --> 00:42:21,400 And that's what these steps are for for you to come up here and 661 00:42:21,408 --> 00:42:23,700 just lay it down, whatever it is, just lay it down. 662 00:42:23,700 --> 00:42:26,300 Let him have it. And walk away. 663 00:42:26,300 --> 00:42:26,900 Lighter.