Participants:
Series Code: AU
Program Code: AU000112S
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00:01 A- Have you ever bristled when somebody you barely know,
00:03 somebody you don't even respect, 00:05 starts telling you what to do? 00:07 There might be a reason for that. 00:08 So stick around for today's episode of Authentic. 00:12 [gentle snappy music] 00:33 At the time, it was one of the biggest projects 00:35 of my career, a nationwide live event 00:38 that linked countless auditoriums together by satellite. 00:42 Now, this was before the internet really became widespread, 00:45 and so the best way 00:46 we knew of to connect distant groups of people 00:49 in real time was to bounce a signal off a satellite 00:52 and put inexpensive dishes on hundreds of buildings. 00:56 Now, it wasn't really a new idea at the time, 00:59 and it wasn't original with me, 01:00 but it had never been done up in Canada, 01:03 and so I was eager to try it. 01:05 We rented a main auditorium out on the eastern edge 01:08 of the country because if you start an event at 7:30, 01:11 it's much easier to time delay 01:12 and send the signal backwards 01:14 to the earlier time zones than the other way around. 01:17 Trust me, I've tried it in both directions. 01:20 So this event ran for about five weeks 01:23 and it ran five nights a week 01:25 and I was pretty happy about the way it turned out. 01:27 And when I flew back to my home office near Toronto, 01:31 I was a really happy camper. 01:33 But then about a week 01:35 after the event was over, a handful of people, 01:37 just a tiny handful, started phoning me to complain. 01:41 And it was only a few, 01:43 but sometimes when you're really tired, it can start 01:46 to feel like the complainers are overshadowing the overall 01:49 success of a project. 01:51 And, and I'm guessing it goes the same 01:53 way just about everywhere. 01:54 A handful of whiners can really throw a bucket 01:57 of cold water on your hard work and your sacrificial effort. 02:01 You've likely been through this. 02:03 You can have a hundred people working on something 02:06 and it seems like it only takes a couple of people 02:08 to destroy everybody's level of contentment. 02:11 You could build a really vibrant church, 02:14 but there will always be a handful who seem 02:16 to think they've been called by God 02:18 to take everybody else down a notch. 02:20 And I don't just mean that figuratively, 02:22 I've actually met people 02:24 who think it's their God-appointed duty 02:26 to critique other people, 02:28 even though they sometimes don't have much 02:30 of a resume of their own. 02:34 These are the people who love to sit on the sidelines 02:36 and throw stones. 02:37 They never seem to do anything constructive. 02:40 And when you talk to them about their constant negativity, 02:44 they'll tell you that they're keeping everybody honest 02:47 as if they've been nominated The chief fault finder. 02:50 So I got this phone call from the head 02:52 of a small organization 02:54 and he seemed a little put out that I had dared 02:57 to plan this whole event without consulting Him. 03:00 "Why didn't you ask me about how this should be done?" 03:02 He said, "I'd think that you'd want to know 03:04 that I was in favor of 03:05 what you were doing before you did it." 03:08 You know, I'm, I'm seldom at a loss for words, 03:11 but that was one occasion 03:13 where I really didn't know what to say. 03:14 I mean, where does this guy get off? 03:16 What made Him think I needed his permission to do something? 03:20 And I'm guessing if you're human, you've gone 03:22 through something similar. 03:25 In fact, it happened again just a few years ago 03:27 when I put out a simple questionnaire asking people 03:29 what they thought of the program we just completed, 03:31 kind of like a customer satisfaction survey, 03:34 and 90% of the feedback we got was really useful. 03:38 But imagine my surprise when I received a completed form 03:41 that had an extra note scribbled across the bottom, 03:44 demanding that I preach something they wanted to hear, 03:46 and then they wrote, God is making you accountable to us. 03:51 You know, I've never been able to figure out 03:54 why it is that some people who develop a burden 03:57 for some kind of theological idea, 04:00 never seem to wanna do the hard work 04:02 of building a ministry of their own. 04:04 What they want is for someone else 04:06 to pick up the burden for them 04:07 and sometimes in the world of religion, 04:10 they'll throw God into the mix hoping 04:12 that they make you feel obliged to do what they want. 04:15 God told me, you're gonna do this. 04:18 You know, it it, it takes a lot of chutzpah to recruit God 04:21 to your own cause 04:23 and use his authority 04:24 to guilt people into doing what you want. 04:27 But I'm sure you've seen it 04:28 and tragically most people kind 04:30 of let these folks get away with it. 04:32 They become religious bullies 04:34 or they start to split a congregation 04:36 or in the worst case scenario, 04:39 they can even become cult leaders, 04:41 and this is one of those moments when a sense 04:44 of pride actually comes in handy. 04:47 Because when somebody claims to have some kind 04:50 of divine authority over you, there's something, 04:51 something in your makeup that starts to scream 04:54 just who do you think you are? 04:57 And in that case, rightfully so. 05:00 Look, most of us right from childhood push back 05:03 against the notion of authority. 05:05 When we're toddlers, we don't want help from our parents. 05:08 Not all the time I can do this myself. 05:11 Then you'll notice that teenagers begin 05:13 to differentiate themselves from their parents 05:15 trying to figure out who they are. 05:17 And mom and dad's authority 05:19 starts to rub their fur wrong way. 05:21 If you've ever raised kids 05:23 or you've ever been an adolescent, 05:25 you'll know roughly which years I'm talking about. 05:28 Then later on when we entered the workforce, 05:30 we learned to control our impulse toward independence 05:33 because the person telling you what to do 05:35 is probably also the person signing your paycheck. 05:38 And because you don't wanna lose that paycheck, 05:40 you'll sometimes wait till you get home 05:42 to express your displeasure. 05:44 You might even find yourself muttering about the things you 05:47 should have said to the boss on the drive back home. 05:50 Most of us don't really like having other people 05:53 tell us how to live. 05:55 I mean, sometimes you do. 05:56 We will submit ourselves to the advice of a consultant 05:59 or a life coach, and we'll even pay for that. 06:02 When you're just getting started in life, 06:03 you could take advantage of more experienced people 06:06 who are willing to mentor you. 06:07 It's something that smart people do. 06:10 And in those cases, we don't feel threatened 06:12 because we gave these people permission. 06:14 And you can always take the permission back if you don't 06:16 like the way things are playing out, 06:19 it's voluntary. 06:20 It's when you don't have a choice 06:22 that things get a little more complicated. 06:24 When a traffic cop tells you, 06:26 you will not be taking your current route home 06:29 or when an unsympathetic judge will not listen to your case 06:31 and gives you the maximum possible fine, 06:34 or when you're arrested and put in jail 06:36 and now somebody else tells you exactly 06:38 how you're gonna spend your day, what time you're gonna eat, 06:41 what time you're gonna go to bed. 06:42 Or let's say you end up in a nursing home and now 06:45 after running your own life for decades, 06:47 somebody barely out of college is telling you 06:50 what you're allowed to eat 06:51 and when you're allowed to sit in the common area, 06:54 now it's involuntary, even coercive. 06:56 And that really gets to us, 06:58 especially here in the very independent west. 07:03 Now, where am I going with this idea? 07:05 Well, it turns out that the world of religion is saturated 07:08 with the concept of authority, not the least 07:11 of which is the authority that God claims 07:13 to have over our lives. 07:15 Honestly, I think that's really the biggest problem 07:17 that most people have with the claims of the Bible. 07:20 It's a book that says you are accountable to somebody 07:23 and that doesn't sit right with a lot of folks, 07:26 but exactly who is this abstract distant deity 07:29 who claims that he's in charge? 07:32 Who says that I have to do what God says? 07:36 Look, I'm a practicing Christian and a minister, 07:39 but I'll be honest, I still struggle with that 07:41 because I'll open a book like the Bible 07:44 and suddenly realize that 07:45 what the prophets wrote all those hundreds of years ago 07:49 is about to interfere with something 07:50 that I wanna do with my life, 07:52 and it offends my sense of personal autonomy. 07:55 It leaves me with a choice. 07:57 I can either make the necessary changes in my life to adapt 08:00 to the biblical point of view and try to live my life 08:03 and harmony with the will of God 08:06 Or I can close the book 08:07 and pretend that I didn't see it, 08:09 which in the long run doesn't make much sense 08:11 because well, if the Bible is real, 08:13 you'd be a fool to ignore it. 08:16 And if it isn't real, 08:18 what harm is there in just reading it? 08:20 I'll be right back after this. 08:22 [gentle music] 08:25 - [Announcer] Here at The Voice of Prophecy, 08:27 we're committed to creating top quality programming 08:30 for the whole family, like our audio adventure series, 08:33 Discovery Mountain. 08:34 Discovery Mountain is a bible-based program 08:37 for kids of all ages and backgrounds. 08:39 Your family will enjoy the faith building stories 08:42 from this small mountain summer camp and down. 08:45 With 24 seasonal episodes every year 08:47 and fresh content every week, 08:49 there's always a new adventure just on the horizon. 08:55 - I know that some of you aren't really sure that God exists 08:58 or maybe you don't believe it, 09:00 but just humor me for a moment 09:02 and let's pretend that God is real. 09:04 If there is a supreme being an intelligence 09:06 that created this universe, you would have to think 09:10 that he would possess an awful lot of authority 09:12 just because of who he is. 09:14 I mean, one of the reasons your parents have authority 09:17 when you're a kid is because they're responsible 09:20 for your existence. 09:21 They brought you into this world 09:22 and they're highly invested in making sure 09:24 you become a responsible, well adjusted adult. 09:29 There's a reason that the laws 09:30 of most countries in most cultures invest a high degree 09:34 of authority and responsibility in parents. 09:37 That authority is just natural. 09:40 So now let's suppose that God is real 09:42 and He is the source of your life. 09:45 The only reason you exist is because God exists. 09:49 At the very least that would make you dependent on Him. 09:52 In that famous story where Moses meets the Almighty, 09:56 he asks God to identify Himself more clearly 09:59 and this is the answer he gets from God. 10:02 "And God said to Moses, 'I am who I am. 10:06 And He said, 'Thus, you shall say to the children of Israel, 10:08 I am has sent me to you.'" 10:11 Now, this is easily one of the grandest titles ever claimed 10:14 by any deity in any religion, in all time. 10:18 The gods of pagan mythology, 10:20 you'll notice like to flex their muscles 10:22 and remind the human race that they are bigger 10:24 and more powerful than us, so we better listen or else. 10:28 But the God who met Moses 10:29 at that burning bush explains Himself a little differently. 10:33 He says that he's self-existent. 10:35 He doesn't depend on anything else 10:37 or anybody else for his being. 10:40 When it comes to the God of the Bible, if you're looking 10:42 for cause and effect, if you're looking for chains 10:44 of causality when it comes to God, 10:46 you're not gonna find them because this God is uncaused. 10:53 Then we have this description over in the book of Isaiah 10:54 where God continues to underline the fact 10:56 that He exists quite apart from the usual constraints 10:59 of time and space. 11:01 Listen to this, "For thus says the high 11:03 and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy, 11:07 I dwell in the high and holy place." 11:11 Now, that's a lot to wrap your mind around 11:13 because nothing we know, 11:14 nothing in our human experience actually inhabits eternity. 11:19 Thanks to Albert Einstein, 11:21 we've only just begun to understand how time actually works 11:24 and what we're finding is kind of mind blowing. 11:27 But we do know this, 11:28 nothing in our experience can possibly exist 11:31 unless it exists for a definite period of time, 11:34 that makes time the fourth dimension. 11:37 In order for something to exist, 11:39 it has to have height, width, and depth, 11:41 and it has to inhabit all three of those dimensions, 11:44 but that it also has to exist for a given amount of time. 11:49 Now, that's the nature of our existence. 11:51 We live in a well-defined space 11:53 at a particular spot on the planet, 11:55 and usually we do it for seven or eight decades. 11:59 Our existence is fleeting, 12:00 we're here one minute and gone the next. 12:02 And it reminds me of something I read in the book of James 12:05 where it says, "Come now, you who say, 'Today 12:08 or tomorrow, we will go to such 12:09 and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell 12:12 and make a profit.' 12:13 Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow 12:16 for what is your life, it is even a vapor that appears 12:19 for a little time and then vanishes away." 12:23 That's how it works for you and me. 12:25 But when God describes Himself, 12:27 he tells us that He inhabits eternity. 12:29 In other words, he's not restricted by the usual constraints 12:33 of time and space. 12:34 I know that's really hard for us to wrap our heads around 12:37 because we've got a really limited experience 12:40 and we've got no way to grasp the possibility 12:43 of existing without time. 12:46 Them to make matters more complicated, 12:49 God says He's not restricted by spatial constraints either. 12:52 I mean, look in the hundred 12:55 and 39th Psalm, this is what David writes, 12:58 "Where can I go from your spirit? 13:00 Where can I flee from your presence? 13:02 If I ascend into heaven, you are there. 13:04 If I make my bed in hell, behold you are there. 13:07 If I take the wings of the morning 13:08 and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there, 13:11 your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me." 13:16 So God defines Himself as being both eternal 13:19 and omnipresent. 13:21 He is not a mere creature. 13:23 He is the creator of everything else. 13:26 Everything that exists including us, 13:29 is dependent on Him for continued existence. 13:34 When he was visiting the city of Athens, Paul explained 13:36 to a gathering of philosophers that we should never think 13:40 of God in terms of mere physicality. 13:42 I mean here, listen to what Paul actually said. 13:46 "God, who made the world 13:48 and everything in it, 13:49 since He is the Lord of heaven and earth, 13:51 does not dwell in temples made with hands, 13:54 nor is He worshiped with men's hands 13:56 as though He needed anything since He gives 13:58 to all life breath and all things. 14:00 And He is made from one blood every nation of men 14:03 to dwell on all the face of the earth 14:05 and has determined their pre-appointed times 14:07 and the boundaries of their dwellings 14:09 so that they should seek the Lord in the hope 14:12 that they might grope for Him and find Him. 14:14 Though He is not far from each one of us, for in Him, 14:18 we live and move and have our being. 14:20 As also some of your own poets have said, 14:23 'For we are also his offspring.'" 14:26 The Bible insists over and over 14:28 and over that God is self-existent. 14:32 He doesn't depend on anything else. 14:34 That's why Paul told these philosophers 14:35 that God doesn't need anything, 14:38 more than that, we need something. 14:41 We need the existence of God in order to exist ourselves. 14:45 "In Him, we live and move and have our being," 14:48 Which means that you and I are completely dependent. 14:51 If God didn't exist, neither would you. 14:55 I submit to you that this would give God at least a modicum 14:58 of authority over us. 14:59 We have no other way to survive 15:01 and aligning our lives with the will of the one 15:04 who made us would easily be the smartest course of action. 15:08 But you know, there's still a big part of us 15:10 that squirms when we hear that 15:12 because it feels like a constraint on our liberty. 15:17 And again, that's really where a lot of people's issue 15:19 with God comes from. 15:21 We feel like He doesn't give us a choice. 15:25 But the real question today is whether 15:26 or not that's true, is God some kind of angry tyrant 15:29 that just dictates 15:32 or does the Bible reveal something different? 15:34 Let me show you something really interesting 15:36 I found in the book of Revelation, 15:38 a passage that summarizes the source 15:41 and reason for God's authority very nicely. 15:44 This takes place during a vision 15:45 of the throne room in heaven 15:47 where heavenly creatures are worshiping God. 15:49 We'll pick it up now in Revelation 4:8, 15:52 where it says, "The four living creatures, 15:54 each having six wings were full of eyes around and within, 15:58 and they do not rest day or night saying, 16:00 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God Almighty, 16:03 who was and is and is to come.'" 16:07 So there you have it again, 16:08 this idea that God is self-existent 16:10 and eternal, the one who was and is and is to come. 16:15 God is the summary of all time the past, the present, 16:18 the future, and it says He's holy, 16:21 which means He's different. 16:23 The Greek word is hagios, which is used 16:25 to describe something set apart as distinct and special. 16:29 It's actually the same word the Bible uses 16:31 to describe the saints, which are people set apart 16:34 for God's holy purpose. 16:36 Then it tells us why God is deserving of our worship, 16:40 but because I have to live inside time, 16:43 you're gonna have to hang tight. 16:44 I gotta take a break and I'll be right back after this. 16:48 [soft music] 16:51 - [Announcer] Life can throw a lot at us. 16:53 Sometimes we don't have all the answers, 16:57 but that's where the Bible comes in. 17:00 It's our guide to a more fulfilling life. 17:03 Here at the Voice of Prophecy, 17:04 we've created the Discover Bible guides 17:06 to be your guide to the Bible. 17:08 They're designed to be simple, easy to use, 17:10 and provide answers to many of life's toughest questions, 17:13 and they're absolutely free. 17:15 So jump online now or give us a call 17:17 and start your journey of discovery. 17:21 - In Revelation chapter four, 17:22 the apostle John gets to witness the throne room of God 17:25 and He sees these heavenly creatures engaged 17:28 in the act of worship, 17:30 just before the break, we left off at verse eight. 17:32 So now let's pick it up again beginning in verse nine, 17:35 where it says, "Whenever the living creatures 17:38 give glory and honor and thanks to him 17:40 who sits on the throne, 17:41 who lives forever and ever," 17:43 and there's that concept of eternity again, 17:46 "The 24 elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne 17:49 and worship Him who lives forever and ever, 17:52 and cast the crowns before the throne saying," 17:55 here it comes, 17:57 The reason the Bible says, God possesses ultimate authority, 18:00 "'You are worthy, oh Lord, to receive glory and honor 18:04 and power for you, created all things 18:07 and by your will, they exist and were created.'" 18:11 All comes down to the same concept. 18:13 The universe belongs to God because He made it, 18:16 it's just common sense. 18:17 If God wasn't still holding this place together, 18:20 you and I would no longer exist. 18:22 and you'll find that same idea over in the book 18:24 of Colossians, chapter 1:17, 18:27 where Paul says this about Jesus, 18:30 "For by Him," 18:31 that's God the Son, "All things were created 18:34 that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible 18:37 and invisible, whether thrones or dominions 18:39 or principalities or powers, all things were created 18:43 through Him and for Him." 18:45 And now comes the important part, 18:46 "And He is before all things. 18:49 And in Him all things consist." 18:53 Now, if God is real 18:55 and He did make this universe, 18:57 then we would be accountable to Him. 18:59 But again, there's something about our nature 19:01 that makes us push back against that, 19:04 we don't like somebody telling us what 19:05 to do or how to live. 19:07 And it's starting to look like 19:08 with every passing generation, 19:10 our resistance to God's authority 19:12 is getting more and more visceral. 19:16 But what if we're wrong? 19:18 What if that resistance to God is actually ill-informed? 19:21 We always seem to push back the hardest 19:23 when we feel we're being forced into doing something. 19:26 But what if God isn't coercive? 19:30 Let's go back to a story we find in the book of Genesis 19:33 where the human race first pushed back against God 19:36 and let's ask just one easy question, 19:38 did God coerce the human race to obey Him 19:42 or did He give them a choice? 19:45 Go and read the story carefully because it's important. 19:48 He tells us what his perspective was 19:50 and warned us that if we disconnected from Him, 19:53 if we disobeyed, it would lead to disaster. 19:55 But you'll notice in Genesis, 19:57 God doesn't force us to do what He wants. 20:01 Read your way through the whole Bible, 20:02 you'll start to see it. 20:04 Even though God has ultimate authority 20:06 over absolutely everything, 20:07 he always seems to give us a choice. 20:10 He values freedom of conscience, 20:12 and there's a really good reason for that. 20:14 He's a God of relationships. 20:16 A God who made the human race is companions for Himself. 20:20 What He wanted was a voluntary relationship. 20:23 The same way you want voluntary relationships. 20:27 You don't want people to drop by 20:28 and visit you out of a sense of obligation or guilt 20:31 because that would be kind of meaningless. 20:33 But when somebody calls or drops by the house 20:36 because they want to, well, that's pretty rewarding. 20:40 What you find in the Bible is a God 20:42 who weeps over his lost children, 20:44 a God who begs us to return and voluntarily come back 20:47 to a meaningful relationship. 20:49 God has all the authority in the universe, 20:52 but He chooses to win us instead of force us. 20:56 And I know the Bible also describes an unhappy fate 20:59 for those who ultimately reject God, 21:01 but that also bears up under scrutiny. 21:03 I think I've read this passage before on the show, 21:05 but listen to this fantastic statement 21:09 from the book of Ezekiel. 21:11 "'Say to them," God says, "'as I live says the Lord God, 21:14 I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, 21:16 but that the wicked would turn from his way 21:18 and live, turn, turn from her evil ways 21:21 for why should you die, O, house of Israel?'" 21:26 Does that sound like a God who can't wait to get rid of you? 21:29 Or does that sound like a broken-hearted father 21:31 hoping his children will finally come home? 21:34 If this is who God is, in addition to being the source 21:39 of all life, tell me He doesn't have a legitimate 21:42 claim on our lives. 21:46 But then how do you explain the ultimate fate of the wicked? 21:48 Well, we should probably dedicate a whole show 21:50 to that subject because I think you'll be surprised 21:52 by what the Bible actually says and what it doesn't. 21:56 But to summarize it, what you have in the end is a group 21:59 of people who are hell bent on destroying themselves. 22:02 God knows they're never going 22:04 to escape their lives of misery. 22:06 They're never gonna escape the pain and suffering 22:08 that comes with detaching yourself from God. 22:11 So what alternatives would a loving God have? 22:15 He's not gonna force us to spend eternity with Him 22:17 because if you don't love God 22:19 or enjoy Him, that would just be torture. 22:22 So what choice does God really have? 22:25 I'll be right back after this. 22:28 [gentle music] 22:30 - [Announcer] Dragons, beasts, cryptic statues, 22:35 Bible prophecy can be incredibly vivid and confusing. 22:40 If you've ever read Daniel, a revelation 22:42 and come away scratching your head, you are not alone. 22:45 Our free focus on prophecy guides are designed 22:48 to help you unlock the mysteries of the Bible 22:51 and deepen your understanding of God's plan 22:53 for you and our world. 22:55 Study online or request them by mail 22:57 and start bringing prophecy into focus today. 23:00 - You know, over the centuries, 23:02 a lot of people have really done God a huge disservice 23:04 by the way they talk about Him. 23:06 The God of medieval Europe sounded vengeful, 23:09 a little like Thor or Ode 23:11 and a God who is eager 23:12 to shower destruction on people He didn't like. 23:15 The only way you'll ever get 23:17 to heaven they preached is on some kind 23:18 of legal technicality where God has to take you 23:22 because of Jesus. 23:23 There's no way He wants you, 23:25 but the technicality of the cross leaves Him no choice. 23:28 Now, tragically, we're still kind of living 23:30 with that picture of God, 23:32 and that's still the way a lot of people think about Him. 23:35 But something Jesus said contradicts that. 23:39 In John 16:27, he said, "For the Father Himself loves you." 23:43 And then of course, 23:45 we have that really famous passage from John 3:16, 23:48 the one you see on placards at football games 23:51 where Jesus described our situation like this by saying, 23:55 "For God so loved the world 23:57 that He gave his only begotten son, 24:00 that whoever believes in Him should not perish 24:02 but have everlasting life. 24:04 For God did not send his son into the world 24:06 to condemn the world, 24:08 but that the world through Him might be saved." 24:12 The truth of the matter is that God is not trying 24:15 to keep you out of his kingdom. 24:16 He's doing everything He can to get you in. 24:19 And at the end of the day, if you're just not interested, 24:23 you still don't want God, 24:25 he's not gonna let you continue to reap the consequences 24:27 of sin and keep living this tortured existence 24:30 forever and ever. 24:33 And I realize a lot of people talk about the fire 24:36 and brimstone of God, 24:38 but sometimes they miss one really important detail, 24:41 there's no question that God really does eventually 24:43 push the reset button here on this planet 24:46 because he's had enough of the pain and suffering. 24:49 And honestly, I'm looking forward to the big reset, 24:53 but pay careful attention to what the Bible actually says. 24:57 Listen to this, 24:58 "But the wicked shall perish 25:00 and the enemies of the Lord, like the splendor 25:03 of the meadows, shall vanish into smoke. 25:07 They shall vanish away." 25:08 Now, you tell me, does that sound like God wants 25:12 to torture folks throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity? 25:16 Pick up a Bible, read your way 25:17 through the whole thing sometime 25:18 and look for the passage that says, 25:20 God intends to torture you forever 25:24 because you didn't do things his way. 25:26 What you will find is God describing his ultimate solution 25:29 as lasting forever and ever, 25:33 but the people perish. 25:35 The Bible says they're devoured 25:37 and that they vanish like smoke. 25:39 And in a moment ago when we read 25:41 that famous verse from John 3:16, what did it say? 25:44 Whoever believes in Him should not perish, 25:48 but have everlasting life. 25:50 There's nothing there to suggest a cruel or vindictive God. 25:55 So yeah, when people tell me 25:57 that they've been put in charge of my life, 25:59 I'm always gonna push back on that. 26:02 Demanding obedience from your fellow human beings 26:04 and using God's name to do it, 26:07 That's not legitimate, 26:09 and you have my full permission 26:10 to ignore the bullies at church. 26:14 But when I see how God exercises his authority, 26:18 when I see that he's patient and loving and merciful, 26:24 and He always gives me a choice in spite of who I am 26:26 or what I might actually deserve, 26:29 that's the kind of authority I want to respond to 26:32 because I can see for myself that God was willing 26:35 to sacrifice Himself to put everything, 26:37 absolutely everything on the line for the sake 26:43 of saving a guy like me. 26:46 I know you've heard a lot of stories about God. 26:49 You've heard a lot of stories about religion. 26:52 You've been told by all kinds of people what this book says, 26:54 but don't you think it might be time to pick up a copy 26:57 of the Bible for yourself and read it? 27:03 If you don't know where to start, don't know how to start, 27:05 give me a call, contact me. 27:07 Go to my website vop.com, 27:09 or better yet, go to biblestudies.com. 27:11 I've got free courses, yes, absolutely free, 27:15 it's hard to beat that price. 27:16 We'll show you how to study all the major themes 27:19 of the Bible, how to get into the word of God. 27:21 And I guarantee that most 27:23 of you are gonna find unbelievably good news in this book. 27:27 Yes, God is just, 27:29 but this whole book, 66 books of it, 27:33 it's all the story of God doing everything in his power 27:36 to make sure you are fully restored 27:38 and you end up in his kingdom. 27:40 It's the story of a God of love 27:43 and that God can have all the authority over my life 27:47 that He would like and deserves. 27:49 Thanks for joining me again this week, 27:50 I'm Shawn Boonstra. 27:53 This has been another episode of Authentic. 27:55 [snappy guitar music] |
Revised 2024-10-06