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 --> 00:00:11,440 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 00:00:21,640 --> 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 --> 00:00:34,080 Talk to you then. Our scripture reading today is 14 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:37,960 John chapter 20, verses 24 through 29. 15 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:42,480 Now Thomas also known as Didymus, one of the 12 was not 16 00:00:42,480 --> 00:00:44,960 with the disciples when Jesus came. 17 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:49,480 So the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord, but he 18 00:00:49,480 --> 00:00:54,160 said to them, Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put 19 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:59,040 my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I 20 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:03,240 will not believe. A week later his disciples were 21 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,280 in the house again, and Thomas was with them. 22 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:10,840 Though the doors were closed and locked, Jesus came and stood 23 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:13,600 among them and said, Peace be with you. 24 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:19,480 Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here, see my hands, reach 25 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,480 out and put your hand, reach out your hand and put it into my 26 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,120 side. Stop doubting and believe. 27 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:29,200 Thomas said to him, My Lord and my God. 28 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:33,640 Then Jesus told him, because you have seen me, you have believed. 29 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:38,200 Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. 30 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:41,680 May the Lord add His blessing to the reading and the hearing of 31 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:44,080 His Word. And I've got a video clip to 32 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:48,960 start the message with today. It's one of my favorite video 33 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:52,160 clips from one of I think one of the best movies ever made, 34 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:58,360 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Harrison Ford and Sean 35 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,080 Connery in it. I I think as far as the 36 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:03,640 franchise goes, that should have been the last crusade. 37 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:07,320 They insisted on making more, but this was the the last really 38 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:11,320 good one, I think. And Indy, as usual, is hunting 39 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:13,960 treasure. This time, he needs the treasure 40 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:16,840 to, among other things, save his father's life. 41 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:20,920 And as he's following the treasure map, he walks through a 42 00:02:20,920 --> 00:02:25,440 cave, and he comes to a chasm that he can see The Cave 43 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:27,520 continuing on the other side of the chasm. 44 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:30,200 And he has to figure out how to get across because there's no 45 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:33,760 bridge that he can see. And he has to sort out what to 46 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:36,440 do. Donna, could you pump up the 47 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:39,360 volume a little bit for the the dialogue on this, for whatever 48 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:42,840 reason, is very low compared to our music. 49 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:49,360 I think that's one of the best examples and illustrations of 50 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:53,920 faith that you can find anywhere, books, movies, TV, you 51 00:02:53,920 --> 00:02:57,160 know, high art, low art. I just think it's a beautiful, 52 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:03,120 beautiful depiction of of what faith entails having to step out 53 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:07,520 and something that you can't see and and it doesn't become 54 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:12,680 verifiably real until you've put all of your weight on it. 55 00:03:12,920 --> 00:03:16,240 You know, till it till, till you've trusted in it and acted 56 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:20,200 on that trust. Now, as followers of Jesus 57 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:24,480 Christ, we are Easter people. We would not be here if it 58 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,440 wasn't for Easter. If the crucifixion had been the 59 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:31,920 end and Jesus had been a wise teacher and a faithful martyr, 60 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:35,080 we would not be gathered here today worshiping in his name. 61 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:38,040 We would not be following him in our lives. 62 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:42,120 It is because of Easter, because of the resurrection, that we are 63 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:44,560 a people. And, and so the life that we 64 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:49,120 live, the life that we're called to live is the Easter life, life 65 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:52,040 in light of Easter. Last week we talked about that 66 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:55,120 and saw that part of living the Easter life is living in a world 67 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,400 turned upside down. The second thing we're going to 68 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:01,440 see that living the Easter life is, is living the Easter life is 69 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:06,680 living a life of faith. The Easter life is a life lived 70 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:13,120 by faith, like Indiana Jones stepping out and what we can't 71 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:19,160 see and not knowing for sure, for sure that it's real until 72 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:24,120 we've stepped out onto it. Faith and doubt are not mutually 73 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:27,160 exclusive. It is possible to have doubts 74 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:30,440 and to have faith. I would argue that without the 75 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:33,640 possibility of doubt, there is no possibility of faith. 76 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:37,040 Someone told me, actually my daughter who said this, the 77 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:39,720 first person I heard say it, and I think she was spot on, that 78 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:41,520 the opposite of faith is not doubt. 79 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:46,120 The opposite of faith is certainty, and and we can see 80 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:49,200 that when Thomas doubts, Jesus doesn't condemn him. 81 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:53,640 There's a lot of good reasons for Thomas to doubt the the the 82 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:57,000 story that he had been told was preposterous. 83 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:01,800 Thomas knew Jesus was dead if he didn't see him die himself. 84 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:03,720 People that he knew well saw him die. 85 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:06,880 He knew that the Romans knew how to execute people and that they 86 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:09,800 didn't bring people down from the cross until they were dead. 87 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:12,640 He knew and trusted the people that brought him down from the 88 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:14,560 cross. He knew and trusted the people 89 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,400 that put the spices that wrapped him in the linens that placed 90 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:19,760 him in the tomb. That had been days ago. 91 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:25,720 He knew that Jesus was dead and there was no framework for 92 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:29,920 Jesus's resurrection. Now there were, there were 93 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:33,920 people, Jewish people of, of, of great faith that believed in the 94 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:36,080 reality of the resurrection at that time. 95 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:38,600 Not all Jewish folks did, but many of them did. 96 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:41,560 But when they talked about the resurrection, they talked about 97 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:44,160 the resurrection, the way we talk about the future 98 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:47,040 resurrection. They referred to it as the day 99 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:50,480 of resurrection. And the day of resurrection was 100 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:54,400 the day when all of the faithful dead, when all of God's faithful 101 00:05:54,400 --> 00:06:01,160 dead, would rise to new life. There was no one who had ever 102 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:05,880 predicted the singular. This easy for me to say. 103 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:10,800 The singular resurrection of a crucified Messiah, a crucified 104 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:12,760 Messiah was a contradiction in terms. 105 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:15,640 The Messiah would never be crucified. 106 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:19,200 That's what happened to slaves, not God's chosen and anointed 107 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:23,840 king. And the notion that that one 108 00:06:23,840 --> 00:06:29,440 person would experience the resurrection was not in anyone's 109 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:32,440 mind or mindset. The day of resurrection was for 110 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:35,680 everyone. And so this goes back again to 111 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:38,400 some things that that Rick had been teaching in the children's 112 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:43,200 sermons about, about things, the reasons why if Jesus 113 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:47,560 resurrection is a lie, one of the reasons why it's a bad lie. 114 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:49,920 We talked about one of the things Rick said and I said last 115 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:53,520 week too, is that that choosing women to be the first apostles 116 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:56,240 and evangelists is a bad lie. If you're trying to convince 117 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,720 people of something because people people didn't trust women 118 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:03,200 to be their testimony was not as valid. 119 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:07,080 That's we know that's dumb, but that was the mindset in those 120 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:08,680 days. And so it would have been a bad 121 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:11,080 lie. Another reason that telling 122 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:14,400 people that Jesus rose from the dead was a bad lie was that no 123 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:18,360 one had ever believed or even thought that that was a 124 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:21,080 possibility. A good lie. 125 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:25,680 If they were making up a lie, a good lie would have been look, 126 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:30,280 Jesus's ghost appeared to us. People would have believed that. 127 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:35,160 Lots of folks believed in ghosts and consulted ghosts and had 128 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:38,760 appearances from ghosts for them if they wanted to make up a lie. 129 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:43,360 A much more believable lie was Jesus's ghost appeared to us in 130 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:47,520 the garden this morning. But to say that Jesus rose from 131 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:54,240 the dead resurrected was a stupid lie because no one would 132 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:55,680 have been prepared to believe that. 133 00:07:56,040 --> 00:08:01,040 There's Thomas been spent years with Jesus and and he, like the 134 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:04,560 other disciples, had heard Jesus over and over again say I'm 135 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:08,640 going to be betrayed, going to be handed over, going to be 136 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:12,320 crucified, I'm going to die, and then I'm going to rise again 137 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:17,560 from the dead. And Thomas, like all of Jesus's 138 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,920 other followers, thought Jesus was talking in parables because 139 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:24,280 they had no frame of reference for that being an actual 140 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:26,520 physical reality. None. 141 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:30,880 Not for a crucified Messiah and not for a singular resurrection. 142 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:36,159 A double whammy. And, and so to be fair, the 143 00:08:36,159 --> 00:08:38,440 other thing I think that's worth pointing out here, because we 144 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:41,240 give the disciples a little bit of a hard time for, for not 145 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:43,520 believing the women. And I think it's appropriate to 146 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:45,040 give them a little bit of a hard time for that. 147 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:46,840 Thomas didn't believe the men either. 148 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:49,640 So at least he's equal in his skepticism. 149 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:52,560 It's like the women said it. I don't believe you guys any 150 00:08:52,560 --> 00:08:55,160 more than I believe them. You know, gender equality right 151 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:57,040 there. And the book of John. 152 00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:00,560 John didn't believe the men either when they said we've seen 153 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:04,560 Jesus. Not until Tommy wasn't even 154 00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:09,600 seeing he's I want to touch. I need to know that that's 155 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:11,760 Jesus. There's got to be holes in his 156 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:13,960 hands that I can put my fingers in. 157 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:16,360 I want to be able to put my hand in his side. 158 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:19,480 That's a rather graphic and disgusting image, isn't it? 159 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:26,240 I got to think that that that John regretted that as soon as 160 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:28,320 he saw Jesus. He's like, oh, please don't make 161 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:30,720 me put my hand in your side. Please don't make me put my hand 162 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:32,440 in your side. You know, he was all right. 163 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:34,960 He eventually just needed to see him, but he was. 164 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:36,360 I got to, I got to touch it. I got it. 165 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:38,560 I got to put my hand in that wound in his side. 166 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:43,400 Thomas's doubts were reasonable and Jesus understood that. 167 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:46,880 Jesus understood that, and that's why he didn't condemn 168 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:50,200 Thomas. He used Thomas's doubts that 169 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:54,160 turned to faith as an opportunity to bless us. 170 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:56,120 We're just to review the text again. 171 00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:58,400 But he said to them, this is Thomas. 172 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:02,400 Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger 173 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:07,160 where the nails were and put my hand into his side, I will not 174 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:09,360 believe. It's a bold statement. 175 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:11,840 Be careful what you dare Jesus to do. 176 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:14,280 I'm just going to say that. Didn't plan to say that this 177 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:16,000 morning. But if you say Jesus, you're 178 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:19,240 going to have to be careful that Jesus might do it, and then 179 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:22,160 you're stuck. So, all right, Jesus didn't 180 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:27,200 condemn Thomas for his doubts. He didn't scold him. 181 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:30,880 He called him to believe, but he didn't condemn him for his 182 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:33,400 doubts. Instead, this is what Jesus 183 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:35,840 said. Jesus told him, because you have 184 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:40,080 seen, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not 185 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:47,200 seen and yet have believed. Jesus recognized that Thomas's 186 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:50,720 doubts were not an indication that he had rejected God. 187 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:53,720 He wasn't abandoning Jesus, wasn't turning his back on the 188 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:57,640 Messiah. He's that a if Thomas had been 189 00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:00,280 born in the 21st century, he'd be born in Missouri. 190 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:02,280 You know, show me. You want me to believe. 191 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:07,360 Show me, show me. And a lot of folks feel that 192 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:10,120 way. It's really hard to believe in 193 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:12,680 something that you have no frame of reference for. 194 00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:15,560 No it. It defies everything you've ever 195 00:11:15,560 --> 00:11:19,640 been taught as being logical, rational, reasonable, and to be 196 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:21,200 expected. It's real you. 197 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:25,000 You wouldn't struggle to don't know where you're going for 198 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:26,440 lunch. If you're going out for lunch 199 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:28,920 today, let's say you're going to Foxes. 200 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:31,080 It's one of my favorite places to eat lunch. 201 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:33,560 Oh my God, they got good onion rings at Foxes. 202 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:39,520 The person in the booth next to you, it's all excited and 203 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:41,160 they're so they can't contain themselves. 204 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:42,640 They walk around and they say, you know what? 205 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:48,800 My uncle, my uncle Bill died last week and then rose again 206 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,520 from the and it wasn't like he was dead on the table for a few 207 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:53,360 minutes and then and then came back to life. 208 00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:56,960 He was at the undertakers. He was at the Funeral Home and 209 00:11:56,960 --> 00:12:01,280 he sat up on the table there, scared the bejeebers out of the 210 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:03,200 undertaker. He's still having kittens. 211 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:05,640 He's the one that called me and told it's incredible. 212 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:09,840 You you would very politely slide as far away from that 213 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:14,480 person as you could get and hope that someone with the authority 214 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:17,400 to restrain that person came before it was time for you to 215 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:20,440 pay your bill of leave. You think they were nuts? 216 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:24,280 Any reasonable person would think that was nuts. 217 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:29,880 It was not unreasonable for Thomas to doubt and Jesus didn't 218 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:32,480 condemn him for doubting. He just used that as an 219 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:36,080 opportunity to bless you and me and the vast majority of 220 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:41,160 Christians in this world and in history who have, if we're going 221 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:46,600 to believe it all, we would have to believe without seeing I, I 222 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:52,240 know a few Christians, faithful people, intelligent people, non 223 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:57,920 crazy people who who will tell you with great sincerity that 224 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:01,280 they have seen Jesus. One of them, a gentleman I know, 225 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:03,600 don't know him well. He doesn't know me from Adam. 226 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:05,960 I've met him before, but it was in a context where he wouldn't 227 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:09,600 have any cause to Remember Me. He's a pastor in one of the 228 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:12,080 Carolinas, North Carolina, South Carolina, I can't remember. 229 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:18,160 He's originally from Pakistan and he was born Muslim, but he 230 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:23,280 saw Jesus. He had a vision where he saw 231 00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:29,040 Jesus and he left Islam and put his faith in Jesus and now is an 232 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:33,680 amazing disciple of Jesus and leader in the church in the 233 00:13:33,680 --> 00:13:36,080 United States. He's got books if you go on 234 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:37,960 Amazon and search for Naim Fazal. 235 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:41,320 If you need help spelling that, you'll have to have me text you 236 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:43,040 because I can't spell it without looking at it either. 237 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:47,480 But he's, he's a great preacher and he's a great writer and, 238 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:49,640 and, and and it's an amazing story. 239 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:56,280 But, but Naeem is by far the exception rather than the rule. 240 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:02,640 Jesus is alive and well and he appeared, He occasionally makes 241 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:06,320 himself physically known to people in this world. 242 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:11,200 Yet today, But for the most of us, if we're going to believe, 243 00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:13,080 we have to believe without seeing. 244 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:18,200 And that that's what faith is, is believing without seeing. 245 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:21,000 Now there's a lot more to faith than just belief. 246 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:24,880 I think there are three dimensions, three essential. 247 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:28,760 You know, for an object to exist in real space, it has to have 3 248 00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:31,640 dimensions. I think physics people out 249 00:14:31,640 --> 00:14:34,400 there, you might correct me on this, but I think that that, 250 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:37,040 that we can only talk about two-dimensional and 251 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:39,440 one-dimensional objects. They don't really exist. 252 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:42,920 We just think about it because I remember in high school and 253 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:45,520 there was the line on the paper and my teacher saying that line 254 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:48,400 is 2 dimensional. It has, it has length, but it 255 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:50,720 has no depth or width, depth or width. 256 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:53,960 And I'm going, I can see the width right there on the paper. 257 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:55,640 And the teachers like you don't get it, Scott. 258 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:58,400 And I didn't, I didn't. But it represents something 259 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:01,680 that's not really there. For something to be real, it 260 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:04,040 needs 3 dimensions. I think faith has three 261 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:06,440 dimensions. The first dimension is belief. 262 00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:09,560 Belief. Hebrews, the writer of Hebrews, 263 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:11,120 says this. But without faith it's 264 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:15,160 impossible to please him. That is God, for he who comes to 265 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:19,880 God must believe that he is, and that he's a rewarder of those 266 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:22,680 who diligently seek him. You have to. 267 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:25,920 You can't put your faith in God without believing in God. 268 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:29,960 You can't follow God without believing in God. 269 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:36,280 Now, you can believe in God without following God, right? 270 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:37,280 You hear that? You hear that? 271 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:39,440 You can't. You can't follow God without 272 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:40,960 believing in God. But you can't. 273 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:44,440 You can't believe in God. Well, the demons believe in God. 274 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:47,640 The Bible tells us that they're shaking in their shoes. 275 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:52,120 They're not following him. Satan believes in God and his 276 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:54,360 rebellion in rebellion against God. 277 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:59,840 Belief is essential, but it's not all that's essential for our 278 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:04,520 faith to be real. It takes more than just a belief 279 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:08,200 that God is and that Jesus is who he says he is. 280 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:13,000 The second dimension of faith, which is an essential element of 281 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:18,640 faith, is obedience by faith. The writer of Hebrews 11 you get 282 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:21,800 you get all three dimensions here in Hebrews Chapter 11. 283 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:28,120 By faith, Noah prepared an ark that should be an not and ark. 284 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:32,400 By faith, Noah prepared an ark. Abraham obeyed and went to the 285 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:35,440 promised land. Abraham offered up Isaac at 286 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:37,960 God's command. Over and over and over again at 287 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:40,800 these representatives, great representatives of faith in 288 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:45,840 Hebrews 11, we see that their faith LED them to do what God 289 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:51,720 said to do, to follow, to hear, to listen, and to obey. 290 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:57,560 James, put it this way. You want to tell me that faith 291 00:16:57,560 --> 00:16:59,720 can exist without works? Fine. 292 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:03,440 You can say that you show me your faith without your works. 293 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:08,520 I'll show you my faith by my works without the work of 294 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:15,160 obedience. Without that, there is no real 295 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:18,119 faith. Simply believing is what the 296 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:23,520 demons and Satan do. We're called to obey. 297 00:17:24,079 --> 00:17:26,920 It's the difference between belief and faithfulness. 298 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:31,240 Let's pretend you're married. Some of you are maybe everyone 299 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:35,120 today we don't have none of the I don't see the kids. 300 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:40,240 Nope, no kids today. Some of you are so you have 301 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:41,480 been. Some of you never been asked. 302 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:45,840 However that is that works. But pretend you're married and 303 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:48,200 your spouse says I believe in you. 304 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:53,640 On Friday and Saturday nights, they're out catting around doing 305 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:56,680 all sorts of things with other people that they shouldn't be 306 00:17:56,680 --> 00:18:00,320 doing. You would never say that spouse 307 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:04,120 was faithful. He said, well, you can't tell me 308 00:18:04,120 --> 00:18:06,080 I'm not faithful. I believe in my wife. 309 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:09,640 I believe in my husband. That's not Yeah, but that's you 310 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:13,400 got to keep the vows. You know, we're going to call 311 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:17,320 you faithful. You got to be faithful. 312 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,240 It's not enough just to believe that your spouse exists. 313 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:22,800 It's not enough just to believe that God exists. 314 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,840 It's not enough just to believe that Jesus is who he says he is. 315 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:31,320 Jesus calls us to live a life of faith, and that life of faith 316 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:33,840 requires us to be obedient to the Word of God. 317 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,760 That's why it's so important to know the Word of God, not as a 318 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:39,880 list of rules, but because by knowing the Word of God, we can 319 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:43,080 better recognize what God is doing in the world around us now 320 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:47,000 and join God in doing that. We can better understand and 321 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:50,920 recognize when God, God is calling us to do something or to 322 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:54,000 stop doing something and to follow that instruction. 323 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:58,560 Obedience is a necessary aspect of faith. 324 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:01,200 Without it, there is no real faith. 325 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:06,080 It's just A1 dimensional thing, but there is 1/3 essential 326 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:11,280 dimension to faith, and without it we have no faith. 327 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:13,760 But we have absolutely no control over this one. 328 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:16,600 And the third dimension of faith is this. 329 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:20,360 It's God's faithfulness, God's faithfulness to us. 330 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:23,960 Paul put it this way when he was writing to Timothy. 331 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:29,960 If we are faithless, God remains faithful for he cannot disown 332 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:33,680 himself. Makes a little more sense if you 333 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,480 read the verse before it, Paul, a couple verses before it. 334 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:40,720 Really Paul is talking about our the ways we have been faithful, 335 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:43,680 the way we respond to God versus how God responds to us. 336 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:47,200 And then the one right before this says if we disown God, God 337 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:52,280 will disown us. But even if we're faithfulness, 338 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:57,760 even if we are faithless, God will still be faithful to us 339 00:19:57,960 --> 00:19:59,880 because he cannot disown himself. 340 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:04,600 It's a strange turn of phrase to say that that God is still 341 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:07,760 faithful because he cannot disown himself. 342 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:11,920 It says to me that the the reality Paul is driving at is 343 00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:16,000 that that faithfulness is not a just a thing God does. 344 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:19,960 It's an essential part of who God is. 345 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:26,760 God is faithful. Just like God is love and Jesus 346 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:30,120 is the way, the truth and the life, God is faith, God is 347 00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:34,920 faithful and without God's faithfulness to us, we have no 348 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:38,760 hope. Jesus himself said no one comes 349 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:40,480 to me unless they're drawn by the Father. 350 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:44,760 You want someone to put their faith and trust in Jesus and 351 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:49,240 part of the prayer is God lead that person to put their faith 352 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:52,760 and trust in Jesus. Be careful again with those kind 353 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:56,480 of prayers because sometimes people have to go through hell 354 00:20:57,280 --> 00:20:59,320 before they can put their faith and trust in Jesus. 355 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:02,800 So just be aware when you're praying that prayer, you're not 356 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:06,000 praying for lambs and bunnies and puppy dogs for that other 357 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:07,600 person. You might be praying for some 358 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:09,520 struggle and hardship in their life. 359 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:15,880 But none of us would be followers of Jesus if it weren't 360 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:20,360 for God drawing us to Jesus. It might have been through other 361 00:21:20,360 --> 00:21:21,680 people. It might have been directly 362 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:23,600 through our minds or through our own hearts. 363 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:27,960 But the only way we have a chance of ever coming to Jesus 364 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:30,320 is because God is faithful to us first. 365 00:21:31,360 --> 00:21:34,760 If God weren't faithful to humanity, God would have wiped 366 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:38,480 us all out. In Genesis chapter 6, we got one 367 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:41,440 family, Noah, his family, everyone else. 368 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:43,960 You know, God could have just wiped everyone else. 369 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:49,000 So this is a failed experiment. We're done if when we crucify 370 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,120 Jesus. When Jesus was crucified, God 371 00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:53,920 said, I, I this is me in the flesh. 372 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:57,160 This is my son. This is the one to show you and 373 00:21:57,160 --> 00:21:58,960 be for you the way, the truth and the life. 374 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:02,200 You're rejecting him, you're despising him, you're lying 375 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:05,920 about him, and you're killing him to get him out of your way. 376 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:11,680 In response, I will kill you. But God didn't do that. 377 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:18,480 Instead, God stayed faithful to us and left the door open for 378 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:26,040 His mercy, for His grace, and for our opportunity to respond 379 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:29,800 to His faithfulness to us with our faithfulness to Him. 380 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:35,200 God's faithfulness to us is the foundation of every aspect of 381 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:38,040 our faith. Without God's faithfulness to 382 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:43,240 us, we could never follow Jesus. We could never follow God. 383 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:48,200 The three dimensions of faith, the other piece here that I want 384 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:50,640 to just take a moment to mention because I think it's important 385 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:54,080 and, and talking about a life of faith, faith in God is not 386 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:56,840 insanity or stupidity or ignorance. 387 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:02,400 It's not childishness. There are good reasons to 388 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:07,320 believe in and obey God, to have faith in God, believe and obey. 389 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:15,760 And and we can never prove it. We can't prove God's existence, 390 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,200 but there's again, I keep Rick and I are overlapping a lot 391 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:20,320 here. Sorry you're getting a double 392 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:26,720 dose, but but there's a lot of evidence out there that God 393 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:29,480 exists and that God is who he says he is in the Scriptures. 394 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:33,720 If you're looking for a book, well, a great book, I is the one 395 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:36,440 I think Rick was using Lee Strobel's book Evidence Demands 396 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:38,360 A verdict. There are other books out there 397 00:23:38,360 --> 00:23:40,480 as well. And and if you don't recall, Lee 398 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:43,920 Strobel was an atheist and I believe a journalist. 399 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:48,120 And he set out, his intention was to do a deep dive and 400 00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:51,480 thorough research of Christianity to prove that it 401 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:55,040 was false. And in his studies, he was 402 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:59,400 convinced that it was true and left atheism to become a 403 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:01,600 follower of Jesus. It's a good book. 404 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:03,480 It's a good book. It's a long book. 405 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:10,040 It's a good book. There are lots of good reasons 406 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:14,520 to believe that God exists. For me, one of those reasons is 407 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:18,120 the people that have gone before me as personal. 408 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:22,400 I know my grandmother, Ruth, my mom. 409 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:26,640 They're not stupid people. They're not crazy people. 410 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:29,520 They're not ignorant or childish people. 411 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:35,560 And they absolutely believe in Jesus Christ and they live. 412 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:39,000 Or my grandmother, she passed on years ago, but she lived like 413 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,760 she believed it. To me, that's, that's evidence. 414 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:46,080 It's not going to prove things. But there are other people, 415 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:49,200 very, very smart people. Blaise Pascal, one of the 416 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,680 greatest mathematicians in the history of the world, a person 417 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:57,640 of deep faith who believed in God, one of the smartest human 418 00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:01,560 beings to ever live. Isaac Newton, one of the 419 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:05,880 smartest human beings to ever live, a pioneer in physics and 420 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:10,040 mathematics and and he believed in God. 421 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:13,600 Think if you dig in close, you'll discover that Charles 422 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:21,640 Darwin believed in God. A lot of smart people throughout 423 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:24,880 history have believed and lived like they believed. 424 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:28,880 And the other side of this too, is, you know, we can't, we can't 425 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:30,640 prove it. If we could prove it, we 426 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:34,080 wouldn't need faith. I don't need faith to know that 427 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:38,040 water freezes at 32°F. I got a freezer. 428 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:40,960 I can do that experiment myself. Don't need faith for that. 429 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:47,720 We can see that we can't prove God, but there's evidence. 430 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:51,320 The the flip side though, is, is when, when, when, when we hear 431 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:55,600 and encounter people that are sort of looking down their nose 432 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:58,360 at Christians or, or people of other religious faith and at 433 00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:01,680 all, it's all just juvenile. It's all just, you know, you're 434 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,640 immature. You just haven't grown up enough 435 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:08,360 and, and left behind the old, you know, superstitions of the 436 00:26:08,360 --> 00:26:11,880 past and realized that science tells us everything we need to 437 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:15,120 know. No, it doesn't. 438 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:17,560 Science can tell us a lot of things. 439 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:22,600 Science can tell us with confidence, with certainty, 440 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:25,680 nothing about our origins. You need to be able to observe 441 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:29,280 and repeat things and, and science can't observe and repeat 442 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:32,920 our origins. And, and it's interesting is I, 443 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:35,680 I love this. Again, if you're a science 444 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:37,280 person and I'm getting this wrong, let me know because I 445 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:39,440 don't like to get these things wrong, but I believe I'm getting 446 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:42,960 this right. The Big Bang theory is, is 447 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:48,080 currently the most popular scientific explanation for the 448 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:53,280 origin of all that is and, and there are problems with The Big 449 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:56,400 Bang theory and people that study it are aware of those 450 00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:58,600 problems. There are certain aspects of our 451 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:02,400 reality in the physical universe that don't fit with The Big Bang 452 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:05,960 theory, and they're constantly within that trying to find ways 453 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:09,720 to fill those gaps. One of those things is, is for 454 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:12,720 The Big Bang to have worked, there needed to be a certain 455 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:15,080 amount of, there needs to be a certain amount of mass in the 456 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:17,640 universe that came together and then exploded. 457 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:22,640 And the problem is there's not enough mass in the universe. 458 00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:29,760 It's just not there. And, and scientists will tell 459 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:32,240 you that I'm not, I'm not saying anything earth shattering. 460 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:35,560 They've scientists know this. People that are deeply committed 461 00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:36,720 to The Big Bang theory know this. 462 00:27:37,120 --> 00:27:38,840 They so they came up with this idea. 463 00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:42,040 We know there's got to be for The Big Bang theory to be right. 464 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:44,400 And we know it's right because, you know, we know it's right. 465 00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:48,960 There must be more mass. We just, you know, where is it? 466 00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:50,840 And they came up with this theory. 467 00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:52,320 See if this sounds familiar to you. 468 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:55,400 This to me sounds remarkably familiar. 469 00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:58,200 They came up with this theory called dark matter. 470 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:00,760 Have you heard of dark matter? Dark matter. 471 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:05,080 You can't see it. You can't touch it. 472 00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:07,760 You can't hear it. You can't smell it. 473 00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:12,760 You can't taste it. It is impossible for us with our 474 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,760 senses or with any scientific means that are available 475 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:20,400 available to us, to observe dark matter. 476 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:24,600 There's only two reasons we know it's there. 477 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:30,520 One is our theory says it has to be there, and the other is the 478 00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:32,840 effect that it has on things around it. 479 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:38,080 We can't see it, but we can see how it affects other things 480 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:42,440 around it. That's faith. 481 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:45,120 That's exactly what we say about God. 482 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:49,440 No, we can't see God, but we can see the effect that God has in 483 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:52,920 the world around us. No, we, we can't see God, but 484 00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:58,040 but we know we got here somehow. And, and, and God seems a lot 485 00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:00,600 more plausible to me than accident. 486 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:05,040 Stephen Hawking, another one of those brilliant minds in history 487 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:10,160 who was, you know, not a person of Christian faith at all. 488 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:14,240 In one of his books, he came down to this later in his life, 489 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:18,600 he said, he said the universe exists because the universe 490 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:23,680 decided to exist. That's not science, that's 491 00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:25,960 faith. That's faith. 492 00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:29,280 So when people are looking down their noses at us, we don't need 493 00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:33,640 to cringe and feel embarrassed because we can't prove what we 494 00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:37,040 believe, because they can't prove what they believe either. 495 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:39,840 And we don't look down our noses at them for that. 496 00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:41,960 Looking down your nose at someone doesn't do anything to 497 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:46,160 bring into faith. But we can learn the good 498 00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:49,800 reasons to believe that God does exist, that the story of the 499 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:53,800 resurrection is true. Might take some reading and some 500 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:57,080 studying to really get those reasons grounded in your head. 501 00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:01,480 It's time well spent to do that. I might make that a preaching 502 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:04,000 series one of these days. And we can, we can go through, 503 00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:07,240 I'll just take, you know, Rick's children's sermon outline and go 504 00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:11,760 from there. But I wouldn't steal it. 505 00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:15,360 I'd, I'd, I'd give you credit, Rick, I, you know, I only steal 506 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:19,960 from the best. So good reasons to believe and 507 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:21,640 obey. And this is the life that God 508 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:23,880 calls us to, to believe and obey. 509 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:27,920 Now that into that scene with Indiana Jones, he gets across, 510 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:29,760 he knows he's going to have to come back. 511 00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:32,040 He doesn't want to deal with the psychological trauma of the 512 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:34,720 invisible bridge again. So he leans down, He picks up a 513 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:38,040 handful of sand and throws it out on the bridge so we can see 514 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:48,140 the bridge. Our obedience, our not just our 515 00:30:48,140 --> 00:30:53,580 belief, which is not likely to convince anyone, but our 516 00:30:53,580 --> 00:30:58,620 faithfulness to God is for other people. 517 00:30:58,940 --> 00:31:05,320 The sand on the bridge, it is the way other people can say I 518 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:08,880 can believe it. I know what, I know what they're 519 00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:12,240 going through. I don't know what's keeping 520 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:15,160 their head above water. I don't know what's getting them 521 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:18,280 out of bed every morning. They tell me it's Jesus. 522 00:31:18,280 --> 00:31:27,520 But maybe it is when they see it in us, when they see God 523 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:31,160 sustaining us, when they see us putting our faith in God, 524 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:35,160 obediently following God even when it costs, even when it 525 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:38,960 hurts, and giving God the praise and the glory all along the way. 526 00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:45,680 When they see that that makes us the sand on the bridge so that 527 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:48,800 they can get that courage to take that step, that leap of 528 00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:52,040 faith as well, to step out on something that they can't see 529 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:56,720 for themselves yet. This is what Jesus did. 530 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:01,640 He was the sand, only He was the first biggest piece of sand on 531 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:06,840 the bridge. I died, I rose again, I'm 532 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:10,880 leaving, but I'm coming back. And we look at his life and say 533 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:16,400 because Jesus is, because I can see the results of Jesus's 534 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:19,640 faithfulness to God, I can choose to be faithful to. 535 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:24,480 And then the story just spread and spread and spread as the 536 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:29,560 disciples lived out their faith and the people that they lived 537 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:31,640 it out in front of. They lived it out and they lived 538 00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:34,640 it out and they lived it out. And now, 2000 years later, here 539 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:38,760 we are living it out so that others can see it and they can 540 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,920 come to faith too. That's the Easter life, a life 541 00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:44,920 lived by faith in Jesus name, Amen. 542 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:48,360 You may have already realized that the mistake I'd made was 543 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:51,120 that I got my authors and book titles mixed up. 544 00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:55,080 Lee Strobel wrote The Case for Christ, Not Evidence that 545 00:32:55,080 --> 00:32:57,760 Demands A Verdict. Evidence that Demands A Verdict 546 00:32:57,880 --> 00:33:00,760 was written by Josh McDowell. Both are good books about 547 00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:03,160 historical evidence that supports Christian faith. 548 00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:06,160 Lee Strobel's book is a little more readable, and Mcdowell's 549 00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:08,240 book is a little more dense and scholarly. 550 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:10,920 But both are worth reading, and I hope you'll check one or both 551 00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:11,360 of them out.