1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,880 I opened today's sermon with a clip from Indiana Jones and the 2 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:05,800 Last Crusade. In this clip, Indy has to take a 3 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:09,560 literal leap of faith onto an invisible bridge to find the 4 00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:11,480 treasure and save his father's life. 5 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:13,520 If you want to watch the clip, there's a link in the 6 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:16,680 description or you can search Indiana Jones Leap of Faith on 7 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:19,360 YouTube. Also, I want to let you know up 8 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:21,440 front that I made a mistake in this sermon. 9 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:24,240 If you figure it out for yourself, you get 50 points, 10 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:26,760 which you can use for anything you want. 11 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:29,920 At the end of the sermon, I'll tell you where the mistake was 12 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:31,760 and give you the correct information. 13 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:34,480 Talk to you then anyone. Is that the first time? 14 00:00:34,480 --> 00:00:36,800 Is anyone here that that's the first time you've seen that 15 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:41,000 couple folks? It's like this classic movie. 16 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:46,800 I think that clip and that scene in in that movie is one of the 17 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:51,000 best illustrations of what it means to walk by faith and live 18 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:54,520 by faith that you can find anywhere where India's staying 19 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:56,480 there. He can't see the bridge. 20 00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:02,040 It's invisible to him until he steps out onto it and it's 21 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:04,239 there. You couldn't see it before. 22 00:01:04,239 --> 00:01:08,880 The reality of it didn't appear until he took that step, that 23 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:11,280 leap of faith. As we talk about living an 24 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,240 Easter life, we are an Easter people, people who are born out 25 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:17,440 of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 26 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:19,560 That's why we're a gathered community. 27 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:24,000 If Jesus had just died as a sacrifice on the cross, he might 28 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:27,160 be remembered as a great martyr. But we would not be here today 29 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:31,000 worshipping and celebrating together, certainly not in his 30 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:34,760 name and for his glory. We are an Easter people. 31 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:39,320 We exist as a community of faith because of Easter and what God 32 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:42,400 did on that day. And, and so as we are an Easter 33 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:44,520 people, we need to talk about what does it mean to live an 34 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:47,240 Easter life. And and last week we looked at 35 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:50,480 that that that living an Easter life is living in a world that's 36 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:53,560 been turned upside down. And today we're talking about 37 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:56,400 the fact that if we're going to live an Easter life, that means 38 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:58,600 we're going to live a life that's lived by faith. 39 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:01,640 And that's a lot of lived in one's sentences there and lives. 40 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,560 But a life lived by faith is the Easter life. 41 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:10,039 Thomas is a great window and and step into this question of 42 00:02:10,039 --> 00:02:15,000 living a life by faith who has become you know, for a poor guy, 43 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:19,120 he has one doubt And for 2000 years he's known as doubting 44 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:22,960 Thomas that Rick. It reminds me of a joke that I 45 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:25,680 cannot tell in church. I'm going to pass on that right 46 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:29,600 now. Ask me later unless you don't 47 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:35,160 want me to get fired. But Thomas, one of the 12 had 48 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:38,480 been with Jesus for years, heard all of the prophecies. 49 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:43,280 But like everybody else, when he heard Jesus talking about being 50 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:47,440 betrayed, dying and rising again, he thought Jesus was 51 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:50,080 talking in parables. He thought he was telling a 52 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:53,640 story, not talking about something that would actually 53 00:02:53,640 --> 00:02:57,960 physically happen. And so when Jesus died, Jesus 54 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:00,160 was dead. He knew he was dead. 55 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:03,320 People that he knew and trusted and helped bring him down from 56 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:06,920 the cross and helped wrap him in spices and linen had helped 57 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:09,280 place him in the tomb. He was dead. 58 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,160 There was no doubt about that whatsoever. 59 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:17,760 And what's more that there was the way we speak of the 60 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:21,240 resurrection now one day we talk about one day there will be the 61 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:25,080 resurrection of the dead that that when Jesus returns, all of 62 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:27,480 the dead in Christ will rise to eternal life. 63 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:32,480 That's very close to anyone who actually believed in the 64 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:35,240 resurrection, and not all Jewish people at that time believed in 65 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:37,640 the resurrection. But when they talked about the 66 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:41,880 resurrection, they talked about the Day of Resurrection, when 67 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:45,360 all of the faithful dead of Israel would rise. 68 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:51,840 There was absolutely no concept whatsoever of a single 69 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:59,920 resurrection of Messiah coming. Dying as a crucified slave and 70 00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:03,720 then rising again from the dead was a thought that was beyond, 71 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:06,560 beyond anyone's wildest imaginations. 72 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:09,000 No one had speculated about that. 73 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,360 No one had theorized about that. It would not have occurred to 74 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:16,440 anyone as another good reason to to say that this whole story is 75 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:18,240 true. Because if you're going to make 76 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:22,400 up a story about what happened to your savior after he gets 77 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,880 crucified, you don't make up a story that he rose from the 78 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:27,440 dead. You make up a story that his 79 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:30,560 ghost appeared. Everyone believed in ghosts. 80 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:32,880 That would have been an easy sell. 81 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,640 Jesus's ghost appeared to me, but they didn't say that. 82 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:41,680 They said Jesus was resurrected. Well, that doesn't. 83 00:04:41,840 --> 00:04:44,320 The day of resurrection is the day of resurrection for 84 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:45,200 everyone. They will. 85 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:48,360 No, apparently not, because Jesus is here and he's 86 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:50,000 resurrected. Apparently the day of 87 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,360 resurrection for everyone else is later, but Jesus rose from 88 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:55,960 the dead. But it's understandable that 89 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:58,000 Thomas would have a hard time believing this. 90 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:02,560 And Jesus had appeared to the women in the graveyard and then 91 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:06,320 he had appeared to the disciples in the upper room where they had 92 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:09,520 shared that Last Supper and then went into hiding after Jesus was 93 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:12,560 arrested. And and but Thomas wasn't there 94 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:16,400 when Jesus came. And so just like, you know, we 95 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:18,880 got to be a little bit fair when when the women came back and 96 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:22,600 said Jesus is risen from the dead and the men said, no, 97 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:25,520 you're crazy. Thomas didn't believe the guys 98 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:28,200 either. So at the very least, Thomas has 99 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:32,120 an egalitarian view of men and women on reliability of people 100 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,840 rising from the dead. He was like, I don't care if 25 101 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:38,280 or 30 of you saw this, 100 of you saw this. 102 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:40,920 Unless I see it, I cannot believe this. 103 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:48,760 I think most of us would be in that same spot if you went out 104 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:53,680 to lunch after church sometime today and and someone sitting in 105 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:56,360 the booth next to you at whatever restaurant you're 106 00:05:56,360 --> 00:06:01,280 eating at said, hey, you're not going to believe this, but my 107 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:04,200 cousin Bob rose from the dead last week. 108 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:08,480 He was dead and now he's alive. You, you would not believe them. 109 00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:11,600 You would. It wasn't like it was just a few 110 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:14,760 minutes on the operating table. He was like at the Funeral Home, 111 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:17,160 at Freak, the funeral director out like crazy. 112 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:20,560 He's the one that called me and told me he was having kittens. 113 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:25,600 It was nuts. You would, you would smile, you 114 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:28,440 would nod, and then you would hope to get out of there before 115 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:31,680 something dangerous happened because clearly this person is 116 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:35,000 off their rock. I'm trying to say is it's not 117 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:40,120 unreasonable for Thomas to have doubted and Jesus never condemns 118 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:44,080 Thomas for his doubts. Thomas, we can we can see 119 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:47,400 Thomas's doubts. Unless I see the nail marks in 120 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:51,560 his hands and put my finger where the nails were and put my 121 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:55,240 hand into his side, I will not believe. 122 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:57,720 For Thomas seeing wasn't even believing. 123 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:02,920 He had to touch and feel this resurrected Jesus and he had to 124 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:05,800 know by the wounds that he could feel himself. 125 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:10,120 I what a horrible image that I I got to think when Jesus showed 126 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:12,680 up, Thomas was like, oh, please don't make me put my hand in 127 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:14,440 your side. Please don't make me put my hand 128 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:19,840 in your side. He needed more than just the 129 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:23,440 word of other people. He needed to experience it 130 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:27,360 himself. And Jesus never condemns him for 131 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:31,640 that. In fact, Jesus offers a blessing 132 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:38,800 to all of us through Thomas because Jesus did come back 133 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:41,600 again and Thomas was there this time. 134 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:44,520 He held out his hands. He said, hey Thomas, you want 135 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:49,680 scars right here, fingers side. You want to Thomas like no, I 136 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:52,400 believe now I believe don't have to do that. 137 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:57,840 My Lord, my Savior, my God. Thomas confessed and Jesus 138 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:00,960 offered this blessing because you have seen me, you have 139 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:03,960 believed. There's no condemnation, there's 140 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:06,320 no judgement. There's just observation. 141 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:10,040 Thomas, if he were alive today, would probably be for Missouri. 142 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:12,360 You know, show me. You want me to believe it, Show 143 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:16,720 me. And Jesus doesn't condemn that. 144 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:22,960 But Jesus recognizes a very important reality when he says 145 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:26,920 blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed. 146 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:32,320 Jesus recognizes that the vast majority of Jesus's followers, 147 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:35,840 if they're going to believe it, all have to believe without 148 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:41,760 seeing. I know a handful of people, 149 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:44,320 maybe less than a handful or maybe just two or three people 150 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:51,520 that I have met personally that tell me quite sincerely and 151 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:54,280 quite confidently that they have seen Jesus. 152 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:58,320 One of them is a man. I know he's a pastor down in one 153 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:00,480 of the Carolinas. I think it's North Carolina, but 154 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:05,000 it might be South Carolina. I got a 5050 chance called Naeem 155 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:12,960 Fazal and from Pakistan, born and raised a Muslim until Jesus. 156 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:18,200 He encountered Jesus and had a vision of Jesus. 157 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:22,760 He saw and he believed and his story is amazing. 158 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:24,720 He's got a book out there. It's really, really good. 159 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:27,920 I've had the opportunity to hear him preach live and speak to him 160 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:29,680 a couple times. He wouldn't know me from Adam, 161 00:09:29,680 --> 00:09:32,880 but but he's, he's got an incredible story of faith to 162 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:39,440 tell and and he saw and that seeing enabled him to believe. 163 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:42,840 Jesus still does that on occasion. 164 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:47,040 But for the vast majority of us, we don't get to see, not like 165 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:51,520 that, not with our eyes, not a not a vision of our resurrected 166 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:55,640 Lord present with us. We have to believe based on the 167 00:09:55,640 --> 00:10:00,600 word of others, on the testimony of others, the witness and the 168 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:03,120 example of others. That's where most of us are, and 169 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:10,680 thank God that for Thomas, who who prompted Jesus to issue this 170 00:10:10,680 --> 00:10:14,720 blessing for all of us who have to believe without seeing. 171 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:20,720 Believing without seeing is the essence of faith, but faith is 172 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:23,600 more than just belief. I think really there are at 173 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:26,680 least three dimensions to faith and that's what I want to talk 174 00:10:26,680 --> 00:10:29,280 about that. And we see these in in Hebrews 175 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,400 as well as other places in the Bible in the first dimension of 176 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:35,640 faith, the bottom line, first dimension of faith is, is 177 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:38,200 belief. Writer of Hebrews says this. 178 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:41,480 Without faith, it's impossible to please him that is God. 179 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:44,960 For who comes to? For he who comes to God must 180 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:48,560 believe that he is, and that he is the rewarder of those who 181 00:10:48,560 --> 00:10:52,680 diligently seek him. If we don't believe in God, we 182 00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:54,600 can't believe in God, right? We can't. 183 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:57,800 We can't put faith in God unless we believe that there's a God 184 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:00,400 there to put faith in. Belief is the first part of it, 185 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:06,000 but belief alone does not equal living a life of faith. 186 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:10,640 Bible says the demons believe, and they're shaken in their 187 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:15,600 shoes. Satan believes that God is God 188 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:21,040 and Jesus is Lord, and Satan's going to spend eternity cast 189 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:27,600 into the bit of fire. Simply believing is only one 190 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:31,640 dimension of faith. And if you can allow me to do 191 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:36,760 physics poorly this morning, 1 dimensional objects have no 192 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:39,680 actual physical existence that I'm aware of. 193 00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:41,600 There's probably a physicist out there going Blevins. 194 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:42,960 You're wrong about that. There's these. 195 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:45,440 I don't know. You know, I'm, I'm doing poor 196 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:47,760 physics today. Then we do Sesame Street 197 00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:49,720 physics. We can do high school physics 198 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:53,720 later. You know, we one dimension a 199 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:57,040 line is, is, is 1 dimension. It just has length. 200 00:11:57,040 --> 00:11:59,120 And I never understood that because I'm looking at it on the 201 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:01,560 paper and going, I can see it has width as well. 202 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:03,560 And the teacher would say that's not really a line. 203 00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:07,000 OK, I'm going to get off of physics before I make myself 204 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:10,800 crazy because 1 dimensions we can't see, we can't experience, 205 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:13,480 there's nothing there to it. It doesn't have an actual 206 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:15,720 reality. And that's the same with faith. 207 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:19,560 James said it this way, some people were saying there were 208 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:23,200 arguments about faith and works and how do faith fit with works 209 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:26,800 and oh I don't have to do any works, I just need to believe in 210 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:28,480 Jesus. And James said, you know what? 211 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:31,720 You, you show me your faith without your works. 212 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:34,240 I'll show you my faith by my works. 213 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:38,560 And the clear implication in the context of that is, is without 214 00:12:38,560 --> 00:12:41,120 your works, you can't show me you have faith. 215 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:45,240 There's no evidence of faith. Your faith is not really real, 216 00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:49,720 but belief is necessary. Belief is necessary, but it's 217 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:54,840 not adequate for faith. The second dimension of faith is 218 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:58,840 obedience. This is what most of chapter 219 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:01,840 Elevens of Hebrews, well, most much of chapter Elevens is 220 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:05,640 talking about over and over again, by faith, so and so, by 221 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:08,560 faith, so and so, and over and over and over again. 222 00:13:08,560 --> 00:13:13,640 It's a person who did something because God called them to, 223 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:19,680 invited them to, commanded them to by faith, they obey by faith, 224 00:13:19,680 --> 00:13:25,320 Noah prepared the ark by faith, Abraham obeyed and he left his 225 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:28,160 homeland and went to the promised land by faith. 226 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:31,800 And this was even tougher than that by faith, Abraham placed 227 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:35,520 his own son on the altar when God commanded him to offer him 228 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:38,920 as a sacrifice. And over and over again we see 229 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:43,320 that in Hebrews and we see that throughout the Scriptures that 230 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:47,680 the second dimension, the necessary dimension of faith is 231 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:51,560 obedience. That's the faithfulness part of 232 00:13:51,560 --> 00:13:55,120 faith. You know, if, if, if a husband 233 00:13:55,120 --> 00:14:00,400 says, oh, I, I have faith in my wife, I believe she exists, but 234 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:03,160 then is out, you know, catting around and doing all sorts of 235 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:06,880 things they ought not be doing. You can say what you believe she 236 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:08,800 exists, but you're not being faithful to her. 237 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:14,960 It's the same with God. We can believe God exists, be 238 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:20,080 100% convinced of it. But if we're not obedient to the 239 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:23,400 Word of God in our lives and in our living, then we are not 240 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:26,480 being faithful to God and we have no meaningful faith to 241 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:32,920 speak of, certainly not a faith that will save us in that day of 242 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:36,440 resurrection. Obedience is required. 243 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:39,320 One of the oldest and most classical definitions of faith 244 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:44,400 is obediently hearing the Word of God that that we believe that 245 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:49,320 it's God, that God has spoken this, and God having spoken it, 246 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:53,040 I will, we will now obey it. And that is faith. 247 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:58,440 That's one of the reasons why it's important to know and 248 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:00,080 understand the Scripture in depth. 249 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:03,280 It's one of the reasons why it's so important to live a life of 250 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:05,840 prayer and discernment. Because just knowing the 251 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:08,960 Scripture or, or knowing some of the rules in the Scripture isn't 252 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:13,560 enough for faithfulness to be faithful, to obey God, to follow 253 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:16,200 the voice of God. We have to be able to recognize 254 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:20,360 where God is, what God is doing, and what God is saying around us 255 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:26,200 so that we can join God in that. That we can step in to what God 256 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:29,640 is blessing, what God is calling us to do, what God is calling us 257 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:32,280 to say, maybe where God is calling us to sit down and shut 258 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:35,800 up. Whatever the call is, that we 259 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:39,760 respond in faith and knowing the Bible helps us recognize God 260 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:44,640 acting now and then in prayer and discernment, with Scripture 261 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:46,720 and with others. We follow faithfully where God 262 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:51,160 is leading. If God says go and we don't go, 263 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:55,800 doesn't matter how many times we said the sinner's prayer, we are 264 00:15:55,800 --> 00:16:00,360 not being faithful to God and so we have no real faith. 265 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:04,800 Second dimension is obedience. We have to believe. 266 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:08,720 We also have to obey. There is 1/3 essential dimension 267 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:13,600 to faith which we have no control over whatsoever, but is 268 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:18,120 100% essential to our faith. And that is, this is God's 269 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:21,760 faithfulness to us. Paul writes to Timothy, he's 270 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:25,240 talking about we do this, you know, God does that, we do this. 271 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:27,840 God does that. And, and, and, and he concludes 272 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:33,320 with if we are faithless, God remains faithful for he cannot 273 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:36,120 disown himself. That the conclusion there, we 274 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:38,920 cannot Denisone himself. It, it doesn't make a lot of 275 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:43,080 sense without the preceding verse in which Paul said, if we 276 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:47,400 disown disown God, then God will disown us. 277 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:52,200 That's a tough one. If we say God, yeah, you're out 278 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:56,240 there, I reject you. I turn you down. 279 00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:59,680 I turn my back on you. I will you exist. 280 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:02,640 I will do what I want to. You have no claim on me. 281 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:07,560 Go ahead and make me if you can. If we disown God, the Scripture 282 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:15,400 says God will disown us. But if we lack faith, if, if our 283 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:19,000 lack of obedience is, is produced by a lack of belief and 284 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:22,760 a lack of understanding, a lack of faithfulness, God still 285 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,599 remains faithful to us. Why? 286 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:29,240 Because God can't disown himself. 287 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:34,400 I think what Paul is part of what Paul is telling us here is 288 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:38,280 that faithfulness is part of who God is. 289 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:40,680 It's not just a thing that God does. 290 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:45,320 It's not just a some, some decision that God makes. 291 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:55,480 It's an essential in it's a part of God's character and identity. 292 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:01,920 It is part of who God is. So for God to be faithless means 293 00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:05,040 for God to disown himself. It's like he's walking away from 294 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:08,640 himself. And even if we're faithless, God 295 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:13,440 remains faithful. And that is so good news for us 296 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:16,840 because that is also the reason why we are here today. 297 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:22,200 Jesus himself said no one comes to me unless they're drawn by my 298 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:26,960 Father who's in heaven. None of us would have faith in 299 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:31,920 Jesus apart from God's faithfulness to us and drawing 300 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:35,440 us to Jesus so that we can put our faith in him. 301 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:41,040 None of us would have the opportunity to be faithful to 302 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:45,480 Jesus, to be even alive, if God had not been faithful to 303 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:50,440 humanity and spared Noah when all of humanity had turned his 304 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:57,760 back on God and disowned God. If God had when when Jesus was 305 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:02,760 crucified, killed, murdered, brutally rejected God in the 306 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:07,440 flesh in front of us, rejected by the people that he came to 307 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:13,680 save, had were it not for God's faithfulness, we would have all 308 00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:17,600 been destroyed, then humanity wiped out. 309 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:25,520 It's God's faithfulness that opens the door for God's grace, 310 00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:28,320 for God's patience, for God's mercy. 311 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:31,000 I've, I've said before, I'll say again, it's it wouldn't. 312 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:34,160 If you read the Old Testament and just see God as an angry, 313 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:38,200 vengeful, wrathful, destroying God, then then you're missing 314 00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:40,880 most of the message of the Old Testament. 315 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:45,320 There is anger, there is wrath, there is vengeance, there is 316 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:50,040 destruction from God in the Old Testament, But it's after years 317 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:54,520 and years and years, generations and generations of patience and 318 00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:59,520 mercy and God faithfully calling to his people to return to Him, 319 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:07,760 to abide with him, to obey him. His faithfulness is what makes 320 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:11,800 life possible for us and what makes our faith in Jesus 321 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:14,960 possible. These three things together are 322 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:18,320 what make that that Easter life of living a life of faith. 323 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:22,680 It is believing that God exists, it's obeying God when God is 324 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:26,880 calling to us, and it's God's faithfulness to us even when we 325 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:34,160 mess up, even when we screw up. Faith is not insanity, 326 00:20:34,360 --> 00:20:39,640 stupidity, or ignorance. I have confessed that I am a 327 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:43,120 nerd. You knew that already, and I, 328 00:20:43,120 --> 00:20:46,640 and I love Star Trek. Star Trek Next Generation is my 329 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:49,400 favorite Star Trek. I don't love everything about 330 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:50,440 it. There are things about it that 331 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:56,480 irritate me and, and Star Trek the Next Generation Faith, any 332 00:20:56,480 --> 00:21:01,120 sort of religious belief, is always treated as being born of 333 00:21:01,120 --> 00:21:05,480 ignorance and primitive thinking and a lack of understanding. 334 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:10,320 It's, it's for, it's for human beings or other beings that are 335 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:14,440 in their infancy of their, of their maturing process. 336 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:18,080 And one day they will mature out of faith and into science. 337 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:22,080 That's the way the writers of Star Trek, at least at that 338 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:25,160 time, the, the mindset and the conception that they had in 339 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:26,840 faith. And I think that's 340 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:31,240 representative of the lot of the attitude, a lot of what I see 341 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:34,440 when I'm surfing online and hearing people that are are 342 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:38,840 opposed to or antagonistic to or indifferent to faith, religious 343 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:42,160 faith of any kind, whether it's Christian or, or some other. 344 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:46,440 Is, is that it's stupid that you'd have to be really dumb, 345 00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:50,080 really ignorant to think that there's an old man up in the sky 346 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:53,400 someplace who's keeping attendance on Sunday mornings 347 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:57,400 and, and, and punishing the good and, or punishing the bad and 348 00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:00,680 rewarding the good. That that's a childish fantasy, 349 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:04,360 not a reality. That science tells us everything 350 00:22:04,360 --> 00:22:08,160 we need to know about reality, how we are here, why we are 351 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:10,080 here, and what we are when we are here. 352 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:15,360 And that, that that faith is just childish stupidity, 353 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:20,440 ignorance or insanity. But there are really good 354 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:27,440 reasons to believe in God. A real a lot of really smart 355 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:32,680 people throughout history that were not crazy had strong faith 356 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:35,360 in God. You know, everyone from, you 357 00:22:35,360 --> 00:22:39,360 know, will leave the religious leaders out for now because 358 00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:41,800 they're, you know, I mean, kind of well, they're just biased. 359 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:44,840 They're deceived and, and can they really be smart anyway? 360 00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:50,080 If if the best job they can get is leading in the church, It's 361 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:53,440 not a question to bring up, an administrative council will will 362 00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:56,160 table that for another discussion. 363 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:02,800 Folks like Blaise Pascal, one of the most amazing mathematicians 364 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:09,880 in history, was absolutely convinced that God is real and 365 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:12,160 that faith in God is important and necessary. 366 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:17,000 People like Isaac Newton, one of the most influential scientists 367 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:21,720 and mathematicians in history, absolutely convinced that God 368 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:23,600 was real and faith in God is important. 369 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:34,440 Charles Darwin was pretty sure God was real and faith was 370 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:37,840 important. It's not insanity. 371 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:41,400 One of the good reasons to believe is there's a lot of 372 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:45,040 really not crazy people and really smart people who have 373 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:49,280 also believed. There are other good reasons I I 374 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:52,640 that I'm going to do that as a sermon series one of these days. 375 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:54,080 There's a lot of good books out there. 376 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:57,280 Probably the most well known is evidence that demands A verdict 377 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:01,240 by Lee Strobel, who was an atheist journalist who who 378 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:05,960 wanted to disprove Christianity and so did a deep dive research 379 00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:09,880 into Christianity and ended up based on the evidence that he 380 00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:14,560 found believing stop he repeat stop being an atheist and became 381 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:17,760 a follower of Jesus and wrote some really interesting books 382 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:20,240 about it. It's a good books that really 383 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:22,440 long can't some or even summarize it now. 384 00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:27,440 But there are again things like the fact that the people that 385 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:30,040 said Jesus rose from the dead, if they were making that up, it 386 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:35,520 was a dumb lie to make up and it didn't get him anything except 387 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:38,360 persecution. All the people that originally 388 00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:43,080 told that story were either martyred or died in exile 389 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:45,840 because of their faith. So there was no social advantage 390 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:50,040 to telling the lie. Would have been easier to just 391 00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:54,480 give up on Jesus. The fact that women were as part 392 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:57,120 of the story from the beginning, the first evangelists in the 393 00:24:57,120 --> 00:25:01,160 first, the first apostles, would have made the story less 394 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:02,600 believable. If it's a lie, why? 395 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:11,640 Why would you add that in? If, if, if it were a lie, Why 396 00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:16,840 for 400 years when Christians were persecuted off and on in 397 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:20,680 various ways, when there were tremendous social costs to 398 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:24,680 following Jesus? Why would so many people commit 399 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:28,920 their lives to following Jesus if there wasn't someone there 400 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:31,040 that was worth committing your life to? 401 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:37,920 The martyrs who went to their deaths, whether it was being 402 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:41,760 burned alive at the stake, eaten by wild animals, or killed by 403 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:45,480 soldiers for the entertainment of others who went singing and 404 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:49,760 praising God, joyfully awaiting death and receiving death 405 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:52,160 because of the hope that they had in the resurrection. 406 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:59,000 Is it possible all of those folks were just dumb or insane? 407 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:05,600 You know, here's the thing, we can't prove that God exists. 408 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:11,640 We can't prove that our faith is in something that is real. 409 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:16,520 And, and that's, that's the, that, that's the risk of things 410 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:19,960 like Lee Strobel's evidence that demands A verdict and that sort 411 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:21,920 of thing. There's a lot of evidence out 412 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:25,400 there, but we still not in the way we talk about proof with 413 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:27,120 science. It's, it's impossible to do 414 00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:31,520 that. That leap of faith is required. 415 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:37,680 It is essential, and as Grace read at the beginning today, 416 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:44,360 that that faith is what gives substance, is what makes real. 417 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:48,920 It is the evidence of what we cannot see. 418 00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:53,240 Faith is what makes it real. That's why I love that image of 419 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:56,640 Indiana Jones sticking his leg out and stepping off of that 420 00:26:56,640 --> 00:26:58,560 ledge and onto that invisible bridge. 421 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:03,080 It was for, you know, we said, well, no, it was, it was there. 422 00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:06,520 His faith didn't make it real. His faith made it real for him. 423 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:11,840 Had he not been willing to take that step of faith, it might as 424 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:13,760 well have been that there was no bridge there. 425 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:20,080 God is real. We can never really know it 426 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:24,040 until we take the step. And even then there's room for 427 00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:27,520 doubt like Thomas and so many others have had over the years, 428 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:31,560 But there are also good reasons to believe. 429 00:27:32,120 --> 00:27:35,680 And if, if you're sort of the sort of person that, that, that 430 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:38,360 that's important to, or you're talking to someone who needs 431 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:40,520 that kind of evidence, then again, there's lots of 432 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,720 resources, resources out there, You know, just search Lee 433 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:47,280 Strobel on, on Amazon. And there's some other books 434 00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:49,120 too. I'm happy to connect you with, 435 00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:51,400 to, to connect and, and get some of that. 436 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:54,920 But there are good reasons, by the way. 437 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:59,400 Everything that science says about the origins of the 438 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:04,560 universe and how we got here and why we are here is also simply a 439 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:09,160 matter of faith and not science. Here's an interesting thing. 440 00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:11,440 Again, if you're a science person and I'm getting this 441 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:12,960 wrong, let me know. I don't like to get things 442 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:14,560 wrong. This is how part of how I 443 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:17,000 understand it. The Big Bang theory is currently 444 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:20,040 in the scientific community, the most popular theory to explain 445 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:25,200 how and why we got here. But, but for The Big Bang theory 446 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:27,840 to be right, there's not enough matter in the universe. 447 00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:32,040 There's there's we, we could somehow they do this, they can 448 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:33,960 measure how much matter there is in the universe. 449 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:37,000 I don't know how, but people that are a lot smarter than I am 450 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:39,840 can do that. And, and for The Big Bang theory 451 00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:42,080 to work, there's not enough matter. 452 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:44,840 There should be about twice as much matter as there is. 453 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:48,960 And so scientists developed the theory of dark matter. 454 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:52,520 Have you heard of this? Let me let me describe dark 455 00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:55,040 matter to you and see if it sounds familiar. 456 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:58,320 Dark matter. You can't see dark matter. 457 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:05,040 You can't measure dark matter. There is no way to perceive dark 458 00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:08,200 matter at all. It is the nature of dark matter 459 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:11,760 that we will never be able to directly observe dark matter, 460 00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:17,120 but the scientists tell us we can see the effects of dark 461 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:21,640 matter on the things around it. That's how we know it's there, 462 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:25,200 because it has to be there, because these other things are 463 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:27,080 happening. Does that sound familiar to you? 464 00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:30,280 Sounds a heck of a lot like God to me. 465 00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:38,360 So part of this is recognizing too, that that that there are 466 00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:41,880 things beyond science's ability to explain. 467 00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:46,640 And, and when you push scientists hard enough, they 468 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:50,000 arrive, you know, atheist hard enough, they arrive at faith and 469 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:53,800 belief somewhere there as well. There was a line and, and one of 470 00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:58,560 Stephen Hawking's books where he said ultimately he concluded 471 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:01,960 that the universe came into existence because the universe 472 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:06,600 decided to exist. That's not science. 473 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:12,960 It's not, we can't prove that he's wrong, but that's not 474 00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:16,800 science. And so when we're deciding what 475 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:22,160 to believe, look at the good reasons to believe what the 476 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:25,040 Bible tells us the good reasons to believe. 477 00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:28,400 One of the reasons I've clung to my belief throughout my life and 478 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:32,760 my faith even at times when I was like, really is when I think 479 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:37,560 of folks like my grandmother, Ruth Blaine, my mom, other other 480 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:41,960 people in my life who had such tremendous faith. 481 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:44,240 And like, I know they're not dumb. 482 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:48,400 I know they're not crazy. And they believed through a lot 483 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:50,280 worse than what I'm going through right now. 484 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:55,040 So maybe I can hold on to these good reasons to believe. 485 00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:57,880 You're so important. The thing that Indy did at the 486 00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:00,240 end of that, and he did it for himself. 487 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:02,200 He knew he was going to have to come back and he didn't want to 488 00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:05,560 have to deal with the mental anxiety of taking another leap 489 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:07,600 of faith. So he threw the dust out there 490 00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:15,360 on the bridge. Our obedience in faith, our 491 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:21,000 stepping out and believing in God, trusting in God, obeying in 492 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:27,240 God, obeying God makes us the dust on the bridge. 493 00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:32,440 For the people that follow after, how do they know they can 494 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:35,120 trust God? There's someone out there. 495 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:36,800 I don't know what they're standing on. 496 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:39,000 I don't know what's keeping them up right now. 497 00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:41,840 I don't know what's keeping their head above water. 498 00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:44,680 I don't know what's keeping them from falling into oblivion. 499 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:51,800 And we can say it's it's Jesus. Without him, I got nothing. 500 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:55,600 It's the only hope I have. If I'm not sinking, it's because 501 00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:57,760 of him. We become the dust on the 502 00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:02,240 bridge. We become in our faithfulness, 503 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:06,840 not just what we say we believe, but how we live obediently to 504 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:09,720 the Word of God. We become the evidence that 505 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:12,960 other people need to take that leap of faith themselves. 506 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:16,920 That's what it means to live an Easter life, a life lived by 507 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:18,920 faith in Jesus name. Amen. 508 00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:21,560 Amen. You may have already realized 509 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:24,920 that the mistake I'd made was that I got my authors and book 510 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:28,160 titles mixed up. Lee Strobel wrote The Case for 511 00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:30,800 Christ, Not Evidence that Demands A Verdict. 512 00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:34,320 Evidence that Demands A Verdict was written by Josh McDowell. 513 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:36,800 Both are good books about historical evidence that 514 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:39,600 supports Christian faith. Lee Strobel's book is a little 515 00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:42,480 more readable, and Mcdowell's book is a little more dense and 516 00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:44,640 scholarly. But both are worth reading, and 517 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:46,240 I hope you'll check one or both of them out.