Pathway to Life

The Book That Breathes

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: PTL

Program Code: PTL000003A


00:49 A hearty welcome to each and every one of you on
00:52 Three Angel's Broadcasting television network.
00:55 Whether you're watching by way of the television
00:57 or on your computer live stream, welcome to, Pathways to Life,
01:05 a special program that's been going on here
01:07 in Phoenix, Arizona.
01:09 My name is Jim Hakes.
01:10 I have the privilege of pastoring the Paradise Valley
01:13 Seventh-day Adventist Church
01:15 from which this, Pathways to Life, is taking place.
01:19 If you're here in Phoenix, Arizona, we'd love to
01:21 have you come and visit us live and in person.
01:24 But we're glad that each and every one of you are here.
01:27 Tonight...
01:31 This day we are actually in the third meeting
01:35 of fifteen meetings.
01:37 This is number three of fifteen.
01:39 And I hope you will plan on being here with us
01:43 each time, this same time, every day as we do this.
01:49 We're glad that you're here.
01:51 Today Pastor Lomacang is going to be speaking to us about,
01:55 The Book That Breathes.
02:00 And Pastor Lomacang has with him some friends.
02:04 The friends this time are the friends from
02:07 the ministry that is, Morning Dawn Ministry.
02:13 Stephanie Dawn and Dan are here with us,
02:16 and they will be leading us in the music.
02:18 After the song, Pastor Lomacang will be here.
02:21 But how about before Stephanie sings,
02:23 how about if we have a word of prayer, would we.
02:25 Gracious heavenly Father, we thank You
02:31 for the Book that breathes.
02:34 We thank You for those ancient words.
02:39 And it is our prayer that as we have come together,
02:45 that You will speak through Pastor Lomacang,
02:49 through the music of Stephanie Dawn,
02:52 and that we will be drawn closer to this wonderful Jesus
02:58 because of this wonderful Book.
03:00 And we thank You, for we ask it in Jesus' name, amen.
03:07 Stephanie, we look forward to your music.
03:16 Holy words long preserved for our walk in this world.
03:26 They resound with God's own heart;
03:30 Oh let the ancient words impart.
03:38 Words of life, words of hope give us strength, help us cope.
03:48 In this world where e'er we roam
03:52 ancient words will guide us home.
03:57 Ancient words ever true changing me and changing you.
04:07 We have come with open hearts;
04:12 Oh let the ancient words impart.
04:19 Holy words of our faith handed down to this age
04:29 came to us through sacrifice;
04:34 Oh heed the faithful words of Christ.
04:41 Holy words long preserved for our walk in this world.
04:51 They resound with God's own heart;
04:55 Oh, let the ancient words impart.
05:01 Ancient words ever true changing me and changing you.
05:10 We have come with open hearts;
05:15 Oh let the ancient words impart.
05:22 We have come with open hearts;
05:27 Oh let the ancient words impart.
05:44 - Can we say amen again? ~ Amen.
05:46 Thank you, Dan. Thank you, Stephanie.
05:48 Good evening, everyone.
05:51 - Good evening, everyone. ~ Good evening.
05:53 I know that you're here.
05:55 And now that you know I'm here,
05:57 we are going to ask the Lord to guide our
05:58 hearts and minds this evening.
06:01 The message is entitled, The Book That Breathes.
06:04 Are you ready to breathe with the book?
06:07 Thank you so much for being here.
06:08 We have quite a bit to cover tonight, so I'm going to
06:10 go to the Lord in prayer and ask for His guidance from above.
06:14 Loving Father in heaven, thank You for the ancient words
06:20 that are so true, changing all of us.
06:24 We pray tonight that Your ancient words would come alive
06:27 in our hearts and in our minds.
06:30 In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
06:35 Last night we were talking about sin.
06:37 I just want to make one quick correction
06:39 to save all the phone calls we may get at 3ABN.
06:43 I was so overwhelmed last night about sin, the topic,
06:46 that there was a particular quote I was
06:48 reading about children.
06:49 And I will quickly go ahead and insert that here.
06:52 It was a UNICEF statistical finding.
06:57 Here it was.
06:59 UNICEF determined that about 29,000 children
07:02 under age five, twenty-one children die every minute.
07:09 More than 70% of almost eleven million children
07:12 that die every year die from preventable diseases.
07:18 But what's the most preventable disease
07:20 that causes all these deaths?
07:21 Sin.
07:23 That was the point of the quotation.
07:25 Sin is the one that has caused all these deaths to occur.
07:30 Now tonight we go to the book that breathes.
07:32 You have your Bibles tonight?
07:34 That is the book that breathes.
07:35 Let's begin with a scripture in the Bible.
07:37 Acts 4:31
07:40 Speaking of the Word of God and the power that fell down
07:43 on the New Testament church, we read these words.
07:47 It's on the screen if you don't have your Bible.
07:49 The Bible says, "And when they prayed,"
07:51 speaking about the apostles...
08:07 This is the day and the age that we need to get back to
08:12 proclaiming the Word of God with boldness.
08:14 What do you say?
08:16 The New Testament church found their power and strength
08:19 in proclaiming the Word of God with boldness.
08:22 And the main reason why: these men were imbued,
08:25 not only by intellect, but they were filled
08:27 by the Spirit of God.
08:29 And when you look at the New Testament Scriptures,
08:30 you find that twelve times in the book of Acts
08:33 the success of the early church is described.
08:35 And every time that success is described in all of
08:39 those references, each time it is linked
08:42 to the preaching of the Word.
08:44 In other words, effective disciples and effective growth
08:49 of the church always begins on the foundation of the
08:53 unmovable, unshakable, reliable Word of God.
08:58 Now the reason I say that is, today many churches
09:00 are founded on music.
09:02 Many churches today are being founded on drama.
09:05 The Word of God is being pushed aside.
09:08 People are choosing churches based on what seems good.
09:12 They have great community programs,
09:14 wonderful outreach, great choirs, great children programs.
09:19 While all those things are good, the Word of God needs
09:23 to be the foundation that every church is established on
09:27 after it is established on Jesus.
09:30 - Can you say amen? ~ Amen.
09:31 Because the foundation is Christ.
09:33 Jesus is first and foremost.
09:35 But when Jesus establishes His church,
09:39 it is also established on the unchangeable Word of God.
09:44 But today it's quite different.
09:47 When we go back to the examples in the Scriptures,
09:49 we find that whenever the Word of God is preached,
09:51 notice what the book of Acts says.
09:53 Acts 12:24
10:00 And I believe today that if we would preach more of
10:04 God's Word and less philosophy,
10:09 that the Word of God would grow and multiply.
10:10 I was on a television program once, not on 3ABN,
10:13 but with another pastor.
10:15 And he asked me a question.
10:16 And I would always respond by saying,
10:18 "Well the Bible says..." "The Bible says..."
10:19 "The Bible says..."
10:20 And he told me, he said, "Would you stop saying,
10:23 'The Bible says,' and simply tell me what you believe?"
10:26 And I said to him, "What I believe doesn't matter.
10:29 What the Word of God says matters."
10:31 What do you say?
10:33 And I was at a television station that was not
10:35 owned by Adventists.
10:37 It was, matter of fact, owned by Pentecostals.
10:39 And they invited me to do the program.
10:42 And when they saw my responses, they said to me,
10:44 "You know, the reason why we believe what you said
10:47 was not just what you said from the Word of God,
10:49 but we saw the impact of God's Word in your life."
10:53 God's Word is not just something that changes you
10:56 with information and fills you with the Holy Spirit.
10:59 But the Word of God is able to transform our lives.
11:03 And so tonight, if the preaching of the Word of God
11:05 was needed at the inauguration of the church,
11:08 how much more is the preaching of the Word of God
11:10 needed during the coronation of the church?
11:13 If the Word of God was needed when the church began,
11:16 how much more is the preaching of God's Word
11:19 needed in the latter days of the church?
11:23 All through the Scriptures, "In the beginning was the..."
11:27 "In the beginning was the Word."
11:28 If the Word was needed in the beginning,
11:31 if the Word was used by Jesus to resist the temptations
11:35 of Satan, how much more does the church need to be
11:39 established on the Word of God?
11:43 It's the only book that breathes.
11:44 It's the only book that breathes.
11:46 Furthermore, when Jesus outlined the signs of
11:49 the last days, He inserted a description in the signs
11:53 of the last days that has become, to a large degree,
11:57 a pandemic that has gripped our world.
12:00 Notice the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:7-8.
12:04 He says...
12:10 Is that true?
12:12 That's true. But notice carefully.
12:23 Now most of those signs described in these verses
12:26 are catastrophic, epidemic, and also including deprivation.
12:31 But one of those signs has a spiritual application.
12:37 And here is the spiritual application found
12:39 in these verses in Matthew 24.
12:42 Notice the word that jumps out here.
12:43 The word, "famine."
12:44 Amos 8:11, the Bible says, "Behold, the days are coming..."
12:48 And let me paraphrase that.
12:49 "Behold, the days are here."
12:53 If Amos, thousands of years ago, said, "The days are coming,"
12:58 I could say thousands of years later, "The days are here."
13:01 But notice what he said is coming.
13:19 And when you go to the very next verse, which I don't have,
13:22 he said they'll go from shore to shore,
13:24 from north to south, east to west,
13:27 seeking for the Word of God, and they will not find it.
13:29 Well the world already went through a period
13:32 called, the Dark Ages.
13:33 And the Dark Ages was an indication that the reason why
13:36 it was called, the Dark Ages, is because the Word of God
13:39 is the light.
13:42 And the Word of God was almost obliterated from the earth.
13:45 But if you look at the Word of God in its history,
13:47 the Word of God is like an anvil.
13:49 You know what an anvil is?
13:51 It's a blacksmith's tool.
13:52 He takes the horses hoof and he's banging it on an anvil.
13:56 The Word of God is the anvil that have worn out
14:00 the hammers of time.
14:03 Because many people have tried to stamp out God's Word,
14:06 but anything that God establishes will stand forever.
14:09 Can you say amen?
14:11 The Word of God is unchangeable.
14:13 The Word of God is permanent.
14:14 Because it is not linked to men, but it is linked to God.
14:20 But when you read the scripture, you ask yourself the question,
14:23 it seems like God is sending the famine.
14:27 So people might say, "Well, why is He sending the famine?
14:29 Why would God do something like that?"
14:30 Here's the point.
14:32 The illusion is that the famine is divinely orchestrated,
14:35 but the reality is this...
14:37 And I remember this when I was growing up.
14:39 Mama would cook dinner and would put it on the table.
14:43 If I didn't want it, I'd starve.
14:46 She said, "Well, that's what you're going to eat.
14:48 If you don't eat it, you're not getting
14:49 anything else for dinner."
14:51 Anybody else knows...
14:53 So was mama causing the famine, or was it my refusal to eat
14:56 what she put before me?
14:58 When the Word of God is rejected, the natural
15:01 result will be famine.
15:03 And our world today does not want God's Word.
15:06 So God is not sending the famine.
15:08 But if He gives you the best food and you want junk food,
15:12 then you're going to starve to death.
15:14 Because, you know, you can eat a lot of junk food
15:16 and get absolutely no nutrition.
15:18 Might I also say that much of what is being proclaimed today
15:22 from pulpits all over the world is junk food.
15:26 We've got to get back to the bread of life.
15:28 Can you say amen?
15:29 The bread of life.
15:31 Because the world is socially motivated.
15:33 But the Lord wants the church to be scripturally motivated,
15:36 not socially motivated.
15:37 Many churches are becoming like clubs.
15:40 And furthermore, people today are deriving many of their
15:45 beliefs from movies.
15:50 I mean, think about it.
15:51 Somebody... I met... I did not see it.
15:53 Somebody told me about the movie, Noah.
15:58 And somebody saw it, they said, "It made it look like God and
16:02 Noah was having an argument."
16:05 And people have, the movie years ago, The Ten Commandments,
16:08 with Charlton Heston, people say,
16:11 "Oh, that's what the Bible teaches."
16:13 Moses wasn't having an affair with the Egyptian princess.
16:19 But many people today would rather get their beliefs
16:21 from a movie or from a pastor rather than from God's Word.
16:26 We've got to get back to the Word of God.
16:28 What do you say?
16:29 Let's talk about the Bible.
16:31 The Bible contains 66 books.
16:33 How many books did I say?
16:34 Sixty-six. Forty-four authors.
16:37 But the real author of the Bible is God.
16:41 Notice the words that Paul wrote to his protege, Timothy.
16:44 2 Timothy 3:16-17, the Bible says...
16:57 When you go to, and I want to say this kindly,
17:00 there are churches today that call themselves,
17:02 non-denominational, and they say, "We don't teach doctrines."
17:07 There is no such thing as non-denominational.
17:11 Every church links to some set of beliefs.
17:15 It's like going to a bank and saying,
17:17 "I'd like change for $100."
17:19 They say, "In what denomination?"
17:21 And you say, "No denomination. Just give me change."
17:28 It's got to be in some...
17:30 So the teller will say, "No denomination?
17:32 Here's you $100 back.
17:34 Because we can't change $100 and give you no denomination."
17:37 And so many churches nowadays are sucking you in by saying,
17:40 "We are non-denominational.
17:41 We just teach about the love of God.
17:43 We just teach from the Bible."
17:45 Anything from the Bible is a doctrine
17:48 when it talks about Jesus.
17:52 "...for reproof..."
17:53 It's showing you where you're wrong.
17:55 "...for correction..."
17:56 Not only showing you you're error,
17:58 but leading you in the right direction.
17:59 "...for instruction that is in the ways of righteousness..."
18:03 How does a righteous person live?
18:04 Read the Bible.
18:14 The only way that you can be thoroughly equipped
18:18 as a person who is working for God
18:20 is you've got to read God's manual.
18:24 Right?
18:26 Everything today comes with a manual.
18:30 The Christian has a manual, and it is the Word of God.
18:33 The Old Testament has 39 books.
18:37 The New Testament has 27 books.
18:40 The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed.
18:44 The New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.
18:49 The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed.
18:53 The New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.
18:57 There are churches today that say,
18:58 "We're New Testament believers."
19:00 What does that mean?
19:01 What that means in most cases is,
19:03 "We only read the New Testament."
19:05 Well you know, I say to those people,
19:07 they need to rent a movie and watch just the last 5 minutes.
19:14 Don't worry about the beginning. It doesn't matter.
19:17 The majority of the Bible...
19:19 And when Jesus said these words, notice these words...
19:22 Matter of fact, when Paul wrote, "All Scripture is given by
19:24 inspiration of God," there was no New Testament.
19:28 It was just the Old Testament.
19:30 He was no referring...
19:31 Somebody once said, "If the New Testament was good enough
19:33 for Paul, it's good enough for me."
19:36 There was no New Testament.
19:38 The Old Testament and the New Testament work in concert.
19:43 And many of the scriptures you find in the New Testament
19:45 you find first in the Old Testament.
19:47 Here is an example.
19:49 Look at Hebrews. Hebrews 8:10
19:54 Many people cite this as, "Well, this is the reason why
19:56 we should not keep the commandments of God."
19:58 But look at this.
20:14 That's the New Testament, "They will be My people."
20:16 But that's not the first time this scripture appeared.
20:19 Jeremiah 31:3 is where this comes from.
20:24 Old Testament.
20:39 Almost word for word. Amen, somebody.
20:42 So when the Bible says, "All Scripture is given by
20:44 inspiration of God," the inspiration is derived
20:47 not only from the words of the apostles,
20:50 but also from the words of the prophets.
20:54 The first five books of the Bible are not our enemy.
20:59 And neither is the last book of the Bible
21:01 intended to be kept as a concealed book.
21:05 So many churches today say,
21:06 "Well Revelation cannot be understood."
21:09 One of the main reasons why Revelation cannot be understood
21:11 is because God does not reveal His secrets to those
21:14 who refuse to honor His commandments.
21:17 Here's the evidence of it.
21:19 Isaiah 8:20, "To the law and to the testimony:
21:22 if they speak not according to this word, it is because
21:24 there is no light in them."
21:26 1 John 2:3-4, "And hereby we do know that we know Him,
21:30 if we keep His commandments.
21:32 He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments
21:35 is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
21:38 John 14:15, "If you love Me, keep My commandments;
21:41 and I will pray the Father and He will
21:43 send you another Comforter."
21:45 What would that Comforter do?
21:47 John 16:13, "However, when He the Spirit of truth has come,
21:52 He will lead you and guide you into all truth."
21:55 The apostle says that we are His witnesses, and so also are they
22:01 that obey God.
22:04 When we are disobedient, God will not reveal His secrets.
22:09 Amos 3:7, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing except
22:13 He reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets."
22:16 When you are a servant of God,
22:18 He can trust you with His secrets.
22:20 Amen?
22:21 Would you trust somebody that don't believe...
22:24 You know what I mean.
22:26 If you can't get along with somebody,
22:28 would you tell them your secrets?
22:32 If you knew somebody was going to double-cross you,
22:34 and they didn't believe what you said
22:36 and they didn't even support you and your own beliefs,
22:38 would you tell them your secrets?
22:40 God will not give His secrets to people that do not
22:43 honor the directions of His Word.
22:47 A lot of times people say, "Well the Bible was written by men."
22:50 Notice what the Bible says.
22:53 2 Peter 1:20-21
23:17 In other words, the entire Bible was written by holy men.
23:22 Say that with me.
23:23 Holy men.
23:25 Not men.
23:26 They make is sound like people in a bar were writing the Bible.
23:30 Or somebody just driving home
23:31 inebriated was writing the Bible.
23:32 They make it seem like the Bible is a common book
23:35 written by men that didn't have any sense.
23:37 The evidence that the Bible is so united
23:41 is, the Spirit of God was moving from Moses
23:45 all the way down to John the revelator.
23:47 Amen, somebody.
23:49 The same Holy Spirit was moving all through the lives.
23:53 When one man died, the Holy Spirit continued His work
23:56 through the next prophet, and the next prophet,
23:58 and the next apostle, and the next apostle, and the disciples.
24:01 The Lord continued.
24:03 The Holy Spirit was the active agent,
24:05 and is still the active agent today
24:08 for the promulgation and the proclamation of God's Word.
24:11 Furthermore, when you read in the Bible,
24:14 "God spoke," and, "God said," whatever follows that is a
24:17 direct quote from the mouth of God.
24:21 Look at the examples.
24:23 Look at some of the examples.
24:24 Genesis 1:3, "Then God said..."
24:27 Now when you read that, do you doubt that God said that?
24:32 "Then God said..." Come on, together.
24:36 When God said, "Let there be," there will be.
24:40 Another example we find in Exodus 20:1.
24:48 And then the Ten Commandments come after that.
24:50 What is so amazing to me is, if you tell somebody...
24:56 Because there are many, remembers, in the Bible,
24:58 but there are three very important, remembers.
25:01 One of the first ones is Ecclesiastes 12:1
25:04 where the Bible says, "Remember now the Creator
25:06 in the days of your youth..."
25:07 Would anybody argue that young people need to know Jesus?
25:12 Every church could preach that.
25:14 And then Dr. Luke writes three very short and potent words:
25:18 "Remember Lot's wife."
25:20 What does that mean?
25:21 Don't look back when God says go forward.
25:23 Would anybody deny that?
25:26 So many preachers say, "Listen to Solomon.
25:30 Listen to Dr. Luke."
25:31 But then you find the words of God.
25:34 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy."
25:36 And they say, "Don't do that."
25:40 And then we go and say...
25:42 And I'll be very respectful, but I'm going to be straight.
25:43 Can I be straight?
25:45 I'm going to be very respectful.
25:46 When a man of God says that we should ignore what God says,
25:52 then he is not a man of God.
25:58 No "amens" required.
26:00 I stand on the evidence of God's Word.
26:03 If a man of God reads the Word of God that says,
26:06 "Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy,"
26:08 and a man who says he's a man of God
26:11 says, "Don't do it," he's not a man of God.
26:17 The Scripture says it.
26:18 "He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His
26:22 commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
26:26 Stop tiptoeing through the tulips.
26:28 This is not about the denomination.
26:30 This is about salvation.
26:32 - Amen? ~ Amen.
26:34 Let's get back to the reality of why God has called us.
26:37 Another component that is repeatedly confirming
26:39 the authenticity of the Bible is prophecy.
26:42 Prophecy is history concealed,
26:45 and history is prophecy revealed.
26:49 I'll say that again.
26:50 Prophecy is history concealed,
26:54 and history is prophecy revealed.
26:58 The Bible confirms this.
27:01 In the faithful words of Isaiah the prophet...
27:28 There's nobody that can prevent God from doing what God says.
27:33 You know, archaeologists have been searching for
27:37 numbers of years to try to find out the
27:39 authenticity of the Word of God.
27:41 Tonight, we're going to walk through some of those
27:43 discoveries that verify...
27:45 My wife and I not too long ago came back from the Bible lands.
27:49 I don't call them the holy lands because when you kick Jesus out
27:52 it can't be that holy.
27:55 It's the Bible lands.
27:57 The holy land is the New Jerusalem.
28:00 But the Bible lands.
28:01 We enjoyed all the things about history and archaeology.
28:04 Went to see where Moses stood and looked over
28:07 to the Promised Land, Mount Nebo.
28:08 And we stood up on Masada, and we went to all the
28:11 historical sites.
28:12 I even asked our Jewish tour guide, as he was talking about
28:16 the confirmation of Scripture and all these things that
28:18 Jesus said that was happening exactly as Jesus said it,
28:22 I said to our tour guide, "I must ask you the question,
28:26 if all these things you've told us thus far
28:29 are happening exactly as you said that Jesus said they would,
28:33 how is it that you don't accept Jesus?"
28:37 And his response, and I quote, "That's a very sensitive topic."
28:44 Is that an understatement or what?
28:46 Look at some of the evidences.
28:47 Let's begin with the Moabite Stone.
28:52 My wife and I were in Jordan.
28:54 A beautiful country.
29:04 And not until 1868.
29:06 Now, up until 1868 you had to believe that by faith.
29:11 But the Lord allowed the Moabite Stone to be uncovered
29:14 to show that it's not just by faith, but by fact.
29:19 - Amen? ~ Amen.
29:20 Let's look at another one.
29:22 The Lachish Letters. This is one of the letters.
29:27 There are a number of letters.
29:31 When we were driving in the holy lands we saw a sign
29:33 that said, "Beersheba, that way."
29:36 It felt so good to see these Bible words in the Middle East.
29:44 But not until 1932 to 1938 were these words in Scripture
29:49 confirmed by archaeological discoveries.
29:52 Up until that time we had to accept it by faith.
29:56 Now we accept it by fact.
29:59 Continuing.
30:00 The Cyrus Cylinder.
30:09 Powerful records that continue to confirm
30:12 the authenticity of the Word of God.
30:14 Another one that we've heard about in various ways
30:16 was the Rosetta Stone.
30:19 Now that's huge.
30:20 If I could stand a person next to it, they'd be about
30:22 half the height of that.
30:34 Amen, somebody.
30:36 God is allowing His Word to be confirmed a little at a time
30:40 so that when we come to the end, as Romans 1:20 says,
30:46 they will be without excuse.
30:50 Going on further.
30:52 The Dead Sea Scrolls.
31:06 Which is confirmed in other archaeological discoveries.
31:09 Can the church say amen?
31:11 So if you want facts...
31:12 Somebody once said, "Well, you know,
31:14 I still don't believe in God."
31:16 Well, the problem is not the evidence is missing.
31:19 The problem is, you just don't want to believe.
31:22 And here's the point.
31:23 Because you don't believe it doesn't make it not true.
31:27 And because you believe it doesn't make it true.
31:31 In any court they say, "Can you give me some evidence?"
31:36 Now there are certain things in Scripture that we
31:38 accept by faith because we were not there.
31:40 And the Bible says that we must...
31:42 "Without faith it is impossible to please Him."
31:45 We have to have faith on certain things.
31:47 But when you see the consistency of God's Word
31:49 and you begin to look at the cities, the character,
31:52 and follow the archaeological family line,
31:56 when you look at the book of 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles,
31:58 then you begin in Matthew, and you talk about 42 generations,
32:02 and you can trace the lineage of Jesus back 42 generations,
32:06 and then you look through history, and these names
32:08 are confirmed in the archaeological records
32:11 of history, you've got to say, "This is either the most
32:15 divinely perfect hoax that existed for 6000 years
32:20 or somebody, somewhere is God.
32:27 Even is you planned it, you could not be that perfect
32:31 in your planning to connect the dots for 6000 years
32:35 through family lines.
32:37 And the evidence of the Bible, another thing is,
32:39 the Bible gives very little accolades to humanity.
32:44 The Bible says very few good things about us.
32:47 It calls us sinners.
32:49 Amen, sinners.
32:51 We all are in need of a Savior.
32:53 Now books that are put together by men
32:56 will say nice things about men.
32:59 But the evidence of the Bible, it reveals our character
33:02 whether we want it to be revealed or not.
33:05 But let's look at a couple of other facts.
33:07 Let's look at chronology.
33:08 Everything about our world from the very beginning
33:10 to the the very end has only two points of reference.
33:13 BC or AD.
33:15 BC means, before Christ.
33:17 AD is the Latin phrase, Anno Domini, meaning,
33:20 in the year of our Lord.
33:21 The fact of the matter is, the entire world,
33:25 the entire world, from atheist to agnostic,
33:31 to whatever stick you want to be, the entire world,
33:36 today, this is 2018, for the entire world...
33:45 I know you're so stunned you can't find, "amen."
33:47 But that's alright. I understand.
33:49 The entire world cannot deny the existence of Jesus.
33:55 You can deny it, but when you write a check
33:57 and you put the date wrong, they'll say, "Wait, it's 2018."
34:00 Anno Domini.
34:02 In the year of our Lord.
34:04 In the year of our Lord.
34:05 There could not be a BC or an AD except
34:08 Jesus is in the center of it.
34:11 That's what the Bible says.
34:12 He's the dividing line between the past and the present.
34:15 Galatians 4:4, "But when the fullness of time
34:19 had come, God sent forth His Son,
34:21 born of a woman, born under the law..."
34:26 Jesus, the dividing line between the past and the future.
34:31 Praise God for that.
34:32 But let's look at some other facts.
34:34 Astronomical time.
34:36 When you look up in the heavens,
34:38 the day to day sunrise to sunrise
34:41 is particularly a 24 hour period.
34:44 Do we all agree on that?
34:46 And matter of fact, it's so accurate that we can...
34:48 My watch tells me right now the sunrise
34:50 is going to be a 7:01 am.
34:52 Digital device.
34:54 Men are able to predict the sunrise because they know
34:56 the cycles when the sun rises and sets.
34:59 Pretty much the orbit of the earth around the sun.
35:02 That can be confirmed astronomically.
35:05 We have evidence for that.
35:07 And then we have the various phases of the moon.
35:10 It goes from quart to half, to three-quarter, to full,
35:14 then goes back in that particular cycle.
35:17 And it takes about 27.3 days to orbit the earth,
35:20 but the lunar phase cycle from new moon to new moon
35:23 is 29.5 days, or 30 days.
35:28 That's a cycle that is confirmed every month.
35:32 We have an astronomical point of reference for that.
35:35 But now let's look at the year.
35:37 365 days we go through the cycle,
35:40 say it with me, winter, spring, summer, fall.
35:43 One more time. Winter, spring, summer, fall.
35:46 We're in Arizona in the winter.
35:49 Arizona in the winter.
35:56 I didn't say anything.
35:57 I don't know what you're thinking.
35:59 But the fact of the matter is, these are cycles that can be
36:02 confirmed by repetitive patterns that are
36:05 astronomically confirmable.
36:08 Am I right?
36:09 And why is that the case?
36:11 Look at the Bible.
36:12 Genesis 1:14
36:25 So we've got the day, the month, and the year.
36:28 But hold onto your hat.
36:30 Or hold onto whatever. Anything.
36:33 But look at this.
36:35 Seven day week.
36:36 Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
36:38 Friday, Saturday.
36:39 There is no astronomical point of reference.
36:42 You can't point to the rising or the setting of the sun.
36:46 You cannot point to the rising or the changing of the moon.
36:49 You cannot point to the changing of the seasons.
36:51 There's no place that the seven day week is found
36:54 other than the Bible.
36:59 That ought to be a hallelujah.
37:02 The Bible is the only place.
37:05 The book that breathes.
37:07 Whether they want to make the first day Monday,
37:10 or Wednesday, you cannot deny the seven day week.
37:16 Undeniable.
37:19 The seven day week, where is it found?
37:21 Only in the Bible.
37:24 The first day God separated the light from the dark.
37:28 The second day He created the firmaments,
37:30 or the expanses of the heaven.
37:32 The third day He created grass, plants, fruits, and trees.
37:35 The fourth day He created the sun, the moon,
37:37 the stars, and seasons.
37:38 The fifth day, all sea creatures and all birds.
37:40 The sixth day, land creatures, invertebrates, and humans.
37:44 And what did He do on the seventh day?
37:46 The Bible tells us in Genesis 2:1-3.
38:05 The only place in the Bible where any kind of record
38:08 can be found of a seven day week is in the Word of God.
38:12 Can we trust the Word of God.
38:14 You know what amazes me?
38:15 People sometimes say, "Well I don't know what day is the
38:17 first day of the week."
38:18 I want to tell you this.
38:19 If I say to you, "Come and get your check on the
38:21 third day of the week," you'll find out what day it is.
38:24 Am I right?
38:26 You'll be there as soon as it dawns.
38:27 "You told me to come the third day.
38:30 I'm here for my check."
38:32 But we play ignorance when it come to our...
38:35 When it comes to trusting God, when it comes to believing
38:38 God's Word, we act ignorant.
38:40 But willing ignorance will get you in trouble.
38:46 Tonight I'm so glad to know that without the Bible
38:49 the existence of the world that surrounds us makes no sense.
38:54 You can deny the day, the month, the week, the year,
38:59 but the only way you'll deny that is, you will deny that
39:01 the God that made all these things does not exist.
39:05 I had a chance to talk to an atheist.
39:08 And what was amazing about having a conversation with
39:09 an atheist is, I said to him, he said, "I'm an atheist,"
39:12 I said, "Well, you know, that's kind of an oxymoron,
39:14 because you say you don't believe in God,
39:16 but then why would you be an atheist?
39:17 Because atheism means that you are standing up
39:20 and you have an organization that has been established
39:24 against a belief that God exists.
39:26 Why would you have an organization against the belief
39:28 of someone that does not exist?"
39:32 Why spend all those billions and millions of dollars
39:35 through the years to write documents about somebody
39:37 who does not exist?
39:39 And then they say, "Well, the evidence that God
39:40 exists does not exist."
39:42 And I said, "Now what evidence is missing?"
39:44 If you said that you were robbed, follow me carefully,
39:46 if you said that you were robbed, and I said,
39:48 "What did they take from your wallet?"
39:50 "Well, I don't know."
39:51 "Well, check it out."
39:53 "Well, I don't know what they took."
39:54 "Well, how do you know you were robbed?"
39:56 "My wallet was here. I don't know what they took."
39:57 If you tell a woman who says to you that she was robbed,
40:00 "What did they take from your purse?"
40:02 "I don't know?"
40:03 "Well, how do you know you were robbed?"
40:04 "Well, I think I was robbed."
40:08 "So what evidence do you have? What's missing?"
40:10 "I don't know."
40:12 You see, atheists, and this is the question,
40:14 when you ask them, "What is missing?
40:16 What evidence of the existence of God is missing?"
40:19 they cannot produce the evidence.
40:21 Because to produce the evidence means God does exist.
40:28 If you saw mouse droppings by your toaster,
40:33 follow me carefully, you don't want to find them there,
40:35 but if you did, if you saw three black dots by your toaster
40:40 when you went home on the counter...
40:41 Don't look; I know many of you are going to go look.
40:44 But if you found three black dots by your toaster
40:46 when you went home, you might say,
40:48 "Honey, there's a mouse in the house."
40:52 And you'll begin the arduous task of looking for that mouse.
40:56 He'll see you, but you won't see him.
40:59 And he'll say, "I feel so bad for those humans,
41:01 they just can't find me."
41:04 But the fact that he exists is he left some evidence.
41:07 It doesn't take the entire counter filled with
41:09 mouse droppings to prove his existence.
41:11 All you need is three little black dots.
41:14 Am I right?
41:16 No matter how much square footage you have in your house,
41:18 if you find those three, now follow me,
41:20 there's a point here, if you find those three black dots,
41:23 you can say, "Honey, we may not be able to find the mouse,
41:28 but we've got evidence he exists."
41:31 Now here's my point.
41:32 Look at the world around you.
41:36 You may not be able to find the Designer,
41:38 but the complexity of the design around us
41:41 tells us that God does exist.
41:46 Let me give you some more evidence.
41:48 Let's start... I didn't finish the text.
41:56 Amen. Now the next evidence.
41:58 Look at the world, for example.
42:01 The earth continually studied by scientists.
42:04 And I love astronomy.
42:06 Not astrology. Don't get it mixed up.
42:09 But I was amazed by some of the evidence I found.
42:11 Look at this about the earth.
42:12 The reference is right there.
42:13 It's entitled from the book called,
42:15 What's Missing Inside of You, page 19.
42:17 And Paul Schlieker is the writer of the book.
42:20 Under the title of the chapter, Uniqueness of the Earth.
42:41 Coincidental? No.
42:43 When you go on further to read, it says the earth is also
42:46 the perfect size to maintain oxygen.
42:49 If it were any larger, there would be more nitrogen
42:53 than oxygen which we could not breathe.
42:55 If it was any smaller there would be too little nitrogen,
42:59 and we still could not breathe.
43:01 Not only is the earth the perfect distance,
43:03 and the perfect size, but it spins at the perfect rate
43:06 to maintain the occurrence of the seasons
43:09 on the chronology of 365 days a year,
43:12 twelve months a year.
43:15 365 days, you put it all together.
43:18 You got the point.
43:20 Everything that God put in place is not coincidental,
43:23 but it's by a master Designer.
43:26 Let's go to the next point of evidence.
43:27 It's just so beautiful to me. I'm amazed by this.
43:30 Let's talk about the human brain.
43:32 This thing that we ought to pay really a lot of attention
43:35 to what we put in it.
43:38 The human brain.
43:40 Paul points out further...
43:48 Do you know that there are certain things that
43:51 are in your brain that a certain scent can unlock it?
43:58 A few years ago I smelt a perfume that my first grade
44:02 teacher had, and I saw her in front of my eyes,
44:06 in my memory.
44:08 But the brain stored that.
44:21 And it does that based on your preferences,
44:23 which, based on your habits and your likes and dislikes,
44:26 have put a catalog together based on the
44:29 things that interest you.
44:31 In other words, when I see an airplane,
44:35 my brain is going to remember that.
44:36 When I see a fast computer, my brain is going to remember that.
44:39 When I see lipstick and eyeshadow, I could care less.
44:43 Because that's not my interest.
44:45 When I put the catalog together in my brain,
44:46 my brain goes out and pulls all the things of my interests in
44:50 and records it for posterity.
44:52 And as long as I live, it's in there.
44:56 That's a powerful instrument.
44:57 And by the way, nobody could create any kind of computer
45:01 that can do the same thing.
45:03 Coincidental? No, design.
45:06 Let's go to another one. This is amazing to me.
45:09 Big brother is watching you.
45:12 The human eye.
45:13 I was fascinated by this.
45:17 And I just put some small quotes.
45:19 The story, when you want to read about the eye,
45:21 just read it for yourself; it'll fascinate you.
45:37 Have you ever ran past something, and you saw it,
45:39 and you did not remember it until like maybe hours later?
45:42 And you say, "Where did I see that?"
45:44 And you remember that while you were a passenger
45:45 in some vehicle, you glanced the sign.
45:48 I've done that. My wife said to me...
45:50 We were in the store in Walmart a few days ago.
45:53 And my wife was on one end of Walmart, I was on the other.
45:55 And she called me because of some strange experience she had,
45:58 and she talked about two people that had approached her.
46:01 And I said, "I know exactly who that is."
46:04 And I described them to the tee.
46:05 She said, "How did you see them?"
46:07 I said, "I saw them when they entered the store
46:08 about 15 minutes ago."
46:09 She said, "You remember those people
46:11 from all those people in Walmart?"
46:13 I sure did. I described them to the tee.
46:15 And then we saw them again at another Walmart just yesterday.
46:21 What's today? Sunday?
46:22 Yesterday evening.
46:25 We saw them again. I won't tell you who they are.
46:27 But the fact of the matter is, I just glanced
46:30 them as we entered Walmart.
46:31 My eye...
46:33 She said, "You described them to the tee.
46:35 Jacket and all."
46:37 That's where the eye has the ability...
46:39 1.5 million messages simultaneously.
46:42 Coincidence? No.
46:44 God does that.
46:47 Look at this: Astrophysicists, Robert Jastrow, wrote this.
47:00 Unlike evolution that says it came over a period of time.
47:03 He said it couldn't possibly be.
47:18 They call it, the Big Bang.
47:20 But what he was in essence saying, he said it all happened
47:22 so quickly it could not have evolved over millions of years.
47:35 Well let's go back to God's Word and find out.
47:38 Psalm 33:6, "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made..."
47:53 That is the God that we serve.
47:56 - Amen. ~ Amen.
47:58 I get excited about that kind of God.
48:00 Because there's nobody like Him.
48:02 Richard Feynman, Nobel prize winner, he said...
48:19 These are men that don't believe in God.
48:21 They're trying to figure this thing out.
48:23 If you believe in God, it makes it a lot easier.
48:24 What do you say?
48:26 I am not the result of a monkey that evolved.
48:28 How could that be? Because there are still monkeys.
48:30 Think about that.
48:33 And let's look at the DNA code, for example.
48:36 Are they going to evolve into your future relatives?
48:38 Please. No, that's not going to happen.
48:40 The DNA Code: Programs Cell Behavior.
49:07 And somebody once said, if you line up DNA from end to end,
49:12 if you line it up from end to end,
49:15 I forgot how tall, but I think they said about as tall as
49:17 the Empire State Building.
49:20 DNA
49:22 Deoxynucleic acid.
49:24 I think that's how they say it.
49:26 Don't quote me on that. I'm not a scientist.
49:28 I'm a novice.
49:30 But I want to tell you tonight, none of this would be possible,
49:32 none of these inventions would be possible,
49:34 none of these factual things confirmed archaeologically,
49:38 scientifically, and medically, none of these things
49:40 could be possible unless there was a Designer.
49:43 And the Word of God has continually, over and over,
49:47 pointed us to who He is.
49:49 His name is God.
49:51 He is God. Yahweh, Jehovah.
49:53 The Almighty, the everlasting self-existent One.
49:57 His Son's name is Jesus.
50:00 The Word of God accomplishes exactly what God intends
50:03 for it to accomplish.
50:05 For example, Isaiah 55:11.
50:24 The Word of God.
50:26 So tonight, let's talk about the most powerful weapon on earth.
50:30 It can outlast any slaughter and transform any life.
50:34 It can humble the exalted and educate the simple;
50:37 the Word of God.
50:38 It is a light in darkness and a pathway to the lost.
50:40 It can encourage the weak and comfort the weary.
50:43 If you are hungry, it will feed you;
50:44 if you are thirsty, it will soothe you.
50:47 I speak of nothing other than the Holy Bible.
50:49 This book reveals the mind of God, the state of man,
50:52 the way of salvation, the doom of sinners,
50:54 and the happiness of believers.
50:55 Its precepts are binding, its history is true,
50:58 and its decisions are immutable.
51:01 Read it to be wise, believe it to be saved,
51:03 and practice it to be holy.
51:05 It contains light to direct you, food to support you,
51:08 and comfort to cheer you.
51:11 It is the traveler's map and the Christian charter.
51:13 It cannot lie, but it can detect one.
51:16 What do you say?
51:17 It has no pulse, and yet it lives.
51:21 In it, paradise is restored, heaven opened,
51:23 and the gates of hell closed.
51:25 Christ is its grand subject, our good its design,
51:29 and the glory of God its end.
51:32 Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully.
51:36 It is a mind of wealth, a paradise of glory,
51:39 a river of life.
51:41 It will reward the greatest laborer and condemn all who
51:43 trifle with its sacred contents.
51:45 Paul turned the world upside down with it,
51:48 Elijah called down fire through it,
51:50 and God created the world by it.
51:53 It cannot be stopped, prevented, denied, or destroyed.
51:56 It will outlive any novel and outlast any show.
51:59 It is divine, dynamic, didactic, and delightful
52:03 all at the same time.
52:05 It is a conundrum to the proud and a solution to the humble.
52:08 It can open and close your eyes at the same time.
52:12 It can confuse the scoffer and enlighten the seeker.
52:14 The Book, the Book of books, the Book of Life,
52:16 the Book of God, the Bible, the revelation of God to man.
52:20 But it comes with a warning.
52:22 This book will keep you from sin
52:24 or sin will keep you from this book.
52:27 Reading and confessing the Bible will terrify the devil,
52:31 stupefy the rebellious, mystify the world,
52:34 pacify the critics, ratify the covenant,
52:36 edify the church, magnify the Word,
52:39 and glorify God.
52:40 And it is still the number one bestselling book of all time.
52:46 The Word of God.
52:48 In times like these we need the Bible.
52:53 What do you say?
52:55 In Times Like These.
52:58 As Stephanie sings this song tonight, I want you to ponder
53:02 how important the Word of God is in your life.
53:06 No other book can bring us solace and meaning
53:09 in our past, present, and future like the Word of God.
53:12 In Times Like These. Dan.
53:26 In times like these you need the Bible;
53:36 in times like these, O be not idle.
53:46 Be very sure, be very sure,
53:56 your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock.
54:05 The Rock is Jesus, yes He's the One;
54:13 The Rock is Jesus, the only One.
54:22 Be very sure, be very sure,
54:31 your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock.
54:40 Isn't that true, friends?
54:43 We've got to be sure that our anchor holds.
54:45 The Anchor, His name is Jesus.
54:49 We build on His foundation...
54:52 ...the Word of God, the unchangeable.
54:58 The only book that still breathes in this
55:00 generation is God's Word.
55:02 Tonight as you think about how God's Word can make a difference
55:05 in your life, I want to pray, and then I'm going to ask
55:08 Stephanie to sing the next verse of that song.
55:10 Loving Father, tonight we have come to You knowing that
55:14 without the Word of God our lives are meaningless, empty.
55:18 We pray that if we have a Bible, we can reconnect
55:21 with it when we get home.
55:22 We can find our hope and comfort there,
55:25 we can find meaning there,
55:27 knowing that without it our lives are aimlessly wandering
55:34 in directions without reward.
55:36 So fill us, Lord, with the knowledge of Your Word,
55:39 and give us a love for this chartering map
55:43 that will guide us, strengthen us,
55:46 and encourage us as we get ready for Your soon return.
55:51 In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
55:54 I'd like us to sing this song with Stephanie.
55:56 In times like these you need a Savior,
56:04 in times like these you need an anchor.
56:12 Be very sure, be very sure,
56:20 your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock.
56:28 The Rock is Jesus, yes He's the One;
56:35 The Rock is Jesus, the only One.
56:42 Be very sure, be very sure,
56:50 your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock.
57:02 Tonight, as you leave, remember the Lord is calling on a church
57:07 to rise up again, to embrace the Word of God.
57:10 Dan, keep playing for me.
57:12 To rise up again, to embrace the Word of God.
57:14 If there's someone here tonight, by standing, that says,
57:17 "You know, I want that kind of relationship.
57:19 I'm going to go back and get into this road map.
57:22 I'm going to go back and find that love
57:24 that I may have lost in God's Word."
57:26 Is there someone here tonight?
57:28 Is there someone here, just raise your hand if that's the
57:30 book that you want in your life.
57:31 Praise the Lord.


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Revised 2018-06-26