Participants:
Series Code: NOW
Program Code: NOW200006S
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00:15 This is 3ABN now
00:17 with John and Rosemary Malkiewycz. 00:20 Music... 00:22 John: Hello and welcome to 3ABN now. 00:24 I'm so glad you have taken the time 00:27 to listen to these programs. 00:29 I know a lot of people are listening on VAST 00:31 right across Australia in remote areas... 00:33 you know... these... these are unprecedented times 00:36 and as you find this channel, tell other people about it 00:39 because we want you to know 00:41 about a subject that's so important 00:43 and it's the Word of God. 00:44 With us today on the Program is Peter Watts... 00:47 Pastor Peter Watts... 00:48 he's the Senior Pastor for Avondale Memorial Church 00:51 and I know that you're going to be really, really blessed today 00:56 because we are digging into the Word of God 00:59 showing you the relevance... 01:00 it's relevant all throughout history 01:02 but today in particular as the world is in this phenomenon 01:06 that's never been before, you know, 01:08 Peter's going to take us through the Bible 01:10 to help us understand that God has the answers... 01:14 He's already shown to us exactly what is going to take place 01:17 and you know, Rosemary, 01:19 I'm looking forward to the Program. 01:21 Rosemary: I am too because we get to read 01:23 quite a few Bible verses and I love reading the Bible. 01:26 John: So do I. 01:28 Rosemary: Wonderful book... as we were discussing before 01:30 the Bible is just so incredible. 01:34 Peter: It's such a valuable book to us Adventists... 01:39 it's great to be here by the way 01:40 and it's just an amazing book to me... 01:43 and we'll talk more about that as we go on. 01:44 Rosemary: Yes, especially John was saying... 01:46 people who were not brought up reading it... you and him... 01:51 you were brought up non-believers 01:53 but I was brought up in a Christian home 01:55 and I was used to having a Bible around 01:57 but even I find it... even though I'm used to the Bible, 02:00 I find it exciting, so that's wonderful. 02:03 John: Peter has come into the message 02:06 reading the Word of God like me 02:08 by discovering that the Bible is a book 02:11 that is well worth investigating. 02:13 Now, we had an interview with you before of your story... 02:17 you were a total non-believer. 02:19 You didn't even know about the Bible, is that right? 02:22 Peter: Yes, so I grew up in the UK in a secular environment... 02:26 went to State School 02:27 and God and the Bible really just weren't part of my life... 02:33 it wasn't part of the group of friends that I was in 02:36 and so, I was... I believe we got here 02:40 by molecules-to-man evolution, that was taught at State School, 02:43 I left school when I was 16... became a car mechanic 02:47 and I was a... 02:49 I would have called myself an Atheist back then, 02:51 it would have been my late teens... early 20s... 02:54 I called myself an Atheist until my mid-20s 02:56 when I had an encounter with God 02:58 that changed my life forever, really 03:00 and then I started to pay a little bit of attention 03:03 to a Christian friend that I did have... 03:05 a friend who had... was raised a Christian 03:07 and he knew some things about the Bible 03:09 and he would share those things with me. 03:11 Rosemary: But he walked away from it as a young person. 03:13 Peter: He had drifted into the world 03:15 and he was living in the same sort of situation as me 03:18 but he remembered those things that the Bible had talked about 03:22 and once I had had my encounter with God, 03:25 then, I was more... I was open then to saying, 03:29 "Well, what does he have to say?" 03:31 And once we started looking into the Bible, 03:34 there were so many things in the Bible 03:36 that I didn't know were there 03:37 or I had no idea would be there, 03:38 but I found the Bible to be the most amazing book 03:43 that I've ever encountered 03:45 and it's not really like any other book, 03:47 it's not... you know, I've read other story books 03:50 and so forth and... but this is a... 03:52 it's a living book 03:53 and I mean that in every... every respect. 03:56 John: I like the aspect... that's a historical book also 03:59 dealing from the very beginning of mankind 04:02 and following through. 04:03 The great changes that took place in the lives of people 04:07 when they came to know God. 04:08 Rosemary: When you say that this is a living book, 04:10 it's relevant for every age... 04:15 every age of whether you're a child... 04:17 whether you're middle age... older person, whatever, 04:20 but also every age through this earth's history 04:24 that every generation in every culture... 04:27 this is relevant... 04:29 it's living because it's never out of date. 04:32 Peter: Yeah, I mean, that's one of the most remarkable things 04:34 about it... in fact, when I was in my early days, 04:37 when I was reading in the Bible, I was thinking, 04:39 "Hey, they had tax collectors too. " 04:41 Rosemary: Laughter. 04:42 Peter: You know, just think little bits and pieces 04:45 where you read and you think, 04:46 "You know, this could really have been written 04:48 yesterday for me... " 04:49 the counsel that's there... 04:51 the... the... the fact that it speaks to the human heart... 04:55 I think that's the thing, 04:57 is... you know, we can look down through history 05:01 and I visited the Middle East on a number of different occasions 05:05 and there are different cultures and from the Biblical culture, 05:10 we are separated by thousands of miles, 05:12 we're separated by the cultural differences 05:15 as well as the... the time space of thousands of years 05:18 and at the same time, I think, one of the... 05:22 the beauties of the Bible, 05:24 one of the things that makes it a living Book 05:26 is that it speaks to the human heart... 05:28 it speaks to the human mind in the 21 century... 05:31 as much as it did to the first century 05:34 and in fact, I would say that for our generation, 05:37 it's even more relevant than it ever has been 05:40 because there's so much of the Bible 05:42 that has been fulfilled in terms of prophecy 05:46 that has been fulfilled that gives us just even greater 05:49 confidence in its message. 05:50 Rosemary: But a lot of it is also written for the end time. 05:52 Peter: Yeah. 05:54 Rosemary: So, there's a lot of relevance to the time 05:56 in which we're living 05:57 actually written in the Bible specifically for us. 06:01 Peter: Yeah, so, you know, I was thinking about 06:05 Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison 06:08 had made a statement in regard to the Coronavirus Crisis, 06:11 and he had said that there's no rule book for this. 06:15 We're in unchartered territory 06:18 and I thought about those comments as he made them and 06:21 I thought about the fact that before I knew God... 06:25 before I knew the Bible... 06:26 I would have had that whole approach myself, 06:30 I don't know what to do... 06:32 I don't know what the future holds... 06:34 I don't know what's ahead of us... how should we react? 06:36 in this new environment that we find ourselves in? 06:39 And... but as far as God is concerned, 06:43 it's not uncharted territory... 06:45 there is no unchartered territory 06:47 as far as God is concerned because he has charted it all 06:50 and what He's done for us is... He's revealed a little bit 06:53 of that wisdom and knowledge that we need 06:55 in order to understand where we are... 06:58 where we've come from... where we are 07:00 and what's ahead of us so that we can be best prepared 07:03 for His soon coming which is really... 07:06 His goal is to ensure that we're ready for when He returns. 07:09 Rosemary: And a lot of people in the world 07:11 turn to things like Astrology... Clairvoyance 07:13 and all those sorts of things to try and find out 07:15 what's going to happen in the future 07:17 because they are so worried about it, 07:18 but God has given us His Word 07:21 where He's revealed some of these things to us 07:24 so that we don't have to worry about that... 07:27 we don't have to know what's going to happen in the future, 07:31 we've got a basic understanding and we just trust God for it 07:35 so, we don't have to get caught up 07:37 in all these things, "Oh, what's going to happen... 07:38 what's going to happen... the calamities... " 07:40 because God has said... Jesus... well, Jesus said in John 14:27, 07:46 "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: 07:49 not as the world giveth, give I unto you. " 07:51 So, He's given us an internal peace 07:53 through His Word 07:55 that we don't have to be going to astrologers and... and things 07:57 to find out what's going to happen. 07:59 Peter: That's right and I think one of that... 08:01 that was one of the most impressive things to me. 08:03 In fact, I studied one of the prophecies in the Bible... 08:06 a prophecy that many of your Viewers may know... 08:10 it's in Daniel chapter 2. 08:11 Once I understood that prophecy 08:12 and I understood what God had revealed there, 08:15 it was so convincing to me that I said, 08:18 "That is a Divine Book... " 08:19 that is... that's no ordinary book, right? 08:22 Who can do that?" 08:23 And so, prophecy has been 08:26 very comforting to me because I know that there's a God 08:30 in charge of the universe, 08:31 I know there's a God Who knows where we live now 08:34 and where He's planning to take us to... 08:37 there's another verse that we're... 08:38 we weren't planning to study but I just want to throw it in 08:42 because of the comment that you made 08:43 that we can have peace of mind 08:45 and I think that's one of the purposes of this Program 08:48 I think today is to... 08:50 to let people know that it's not just this information 08:53 about the future in the Bible, 08:55 but it's that we can have peace with God 08:57 because He shared that information with us. 08:59 He wants us to know that you can trust Me... 09:02 that you can have peace in Me... 09:04 and it's that verse in John 16:33 that says, 09:06 "In this world, you will have tribulation, 09:09 but in Me you can have peace... 09:13 these things I've told you that in Me you can have peace... 09:15 in this world you'll have tribulation 09:17 but be of good cheer, for I've overcome the world. " 09:19 John: It's a lovely text. 09:21 Peter: It's a fantastic text, I think. 09:22 Rosemary: Despite the tribulation. 09:24 Peter: Correct. 09:25 John: Well, Peter, we brought you here 09:27 talking about the daily bread 09:28 so we'll let you lead out with that 09:33 and Rosy's got a text to read 09:35 and then we can launch into telling the people 09:38 exactly about the Word of God and what it can do for you. 09:41 Rosemary: Well, do you want to lead us into it? 09:43 Peter: Well, I was just... yeah, I think, there was... 09:47 I was thinking about the last time I took a flight, 09:51 you know, most of us have been on an airplane, I guess, 09:55 and not recently of course because of the Coronavirus 09:58 but... and who knows when the next flight will be... 10:01 maybe our next flight will be flying to heaven with Jesus 10:04 but you know, you get on the flight 10:06 and you have the Cabin Crew 10:09 go through the Flight Safety Card. 10:11 John: That's right. 10:13 Peter: And you know... 10:14 Rosemary: Just in case. 10:16 Peter: Just in case, that's right... 10:17 and, you know, they go through it every flight 10:20 no matter how many flights you've been on 10:21 they will go through that process 10:24 and, of course, if you've been on a few flights, 10:26 you sort of... "Yeah, I've seen this before" 10:29 and maybe you don't take as much notice 10:31 as you're not as focused perhaps. 10:34 Rosemary: So, they try to get more creative 10:36 on how to get your attention. 10:38 Peter: Yeah, they try to get your attention and so forth 10:40 but they go through that Safety Card 10:41 and I guess, most of us don't take that much attention to it 10:44 if you've flown before 10:45 and then, of course, when you take off, 10:47 if in the flight, then you start to experience some turbulence... 10:51 maybe you try to pull out that Flight Safety Card 10:53 and all of a sudden, it becomes essential reading 10:56 because you want to know where the exits are 10:58 and you know... you want to know what kind of plane it is 11:00 and what the configuration is and all of that kind of thing 11:03 and I think in a way what the current crisis does 11:11 is it focuses the mind... 11:12 it helps us to... to think about 11:14 what's really important and what's less important in life 11:17 you know, there's so many things that have been closed down 11:20 and what it enables us to do, 11:23 you know, there's been a turbulence 11:25 as we're going along 11:27 and we want to look at what's the essential reading... 11:30 what's the counsel... what's the guidance... 11:33 what's the important information 11:35 that I need to know while I'm on this journey. 11:39 Rosemary: That's right, so, I'm going to read 11:43 Psalm 119 verse 105 is one of my assignments, 11:47 I really... this is one of the verses I learnt long time ago 11:50 it's, "They Word is a lamp unto my feet, 11:54 and a light unto my path... " 11:57 and that's a wonderful description. 12:01 Peter: Yeah, I sometimes look at this verse and I think 12:05 if I were in a dark place... if you're in a dark alley... 12:10 maybe you've got to make your way home at night 12:12 and maybe you've gotten lost 12:15 or you're not sure of the road... 12:16 it's maybe unfamiliar to you 12:17 and you're going down in this dark alley, 12:19 it would sure help if you had a torch in your hand. 12:21 Rosemary: Yeah. John: It certainly would. 12:23 Peter: You know what I'm saying? It's like... 12:24 Rosemary: Or you had your phone with a torch on it. 12:26 Peter: Well, that's right... that's right 12:27 and that... that... most of us have that 12:30 so... but it makes a big difference when there's light 12:33 and you know, a lot of the city streets in the main... 12:37 the center of town... they have the streets lit up 12:40 and it's in order to try and make them safer, I guess, 12:43 where there is less danger lurking 12:46 when... when you can see where you're going 12:48 and others can see you 12:50 and I think in a world of... 12:52 that's spiritually dark at the moment 12:55 what we need is a light and the Bible provides that, 12:58 it is a lamp to my feet... 12:59 it actually helps me to know where I'm going. 13:01 There's actually a companion verse to this 13:03 that I want to look at that's... we hadn't planned for... 13:06 I'm going to turn to there now, it's 2nd Peter chapter 1 13:09 in the New Testament 13:10 that has the same idea about light and darkness 13:13 and I just want to turn there, turn to Peter... my namesake... 13:18 and... 13:20 Rosemary: What's the verse number? 13:21 Peter: It is 2nd Peter chapter 1 13:23 and we're going to pick it up in verse 19. 13:26 2nd Peter chapter 1 verse 19. 13:29 and Peter is writing here to the church at large 13:32 and he says, "And so we have 13:34 the prophetic word confirmed, 13:37 which you do well to heed as a light that shines 13:40 in a dark place, 13:43 until the day dawns 13:45 and the morning star rises in your hearts... " 13:47 and he goes on and we can read more 13:48 but He's basically saying 13:51 about the prophetic passages in the Bible 13:55 that have come to pass 13:58 and I guess, Peter, in part... 14:00 he's thinking about the fact that 14:02 all through the Old Testament the Messiah was predicted... 14:05 He was prophesied to come and Jesus has come 14:08 and he was one of His disciples 14:10 and he's saying, "We've seen Him... 14:11 we've seen Him alive after the resurrection... " 14:13 and he's testifying to that 14:15 and he's saying, "We have the prophetic word" 14:17 all those prophecies about Messiah came true 14:20 because Jesus came 14:21 and it says, "We have the prophetic word confirmed, 14:24 which you do well to heed 14:26 as a light that shines in a dark place... " 14:29 and that to me is what the Bible is... 14:31 it provides light in a dark place. 14:34 John: When you gave us that illustration 14:36 and we're walking along in the dark... 14:38 you don't have light without a source... 14:40 it's either a phone or torch or something, 14:42 so, when we talk about "The Word is the lamp... " 14:46 that's the source from where the light comes and emanates from. 14:49 Peter: That's true. 14:51 John: And so, it's very important that we understand 14:52 that the Word of God is the source 14:54 and it helps us to go through life. 14:56 Rosemary: We have to have power. 14:57 Peter: That's interesting, you know, 14:59 sometimes... often you'll find... 15:01 I've got a red Bible here, 15:03 but often times, you have a Bible 15:04 that's got a black cover and people will say, 15:07 "Why are so often Bibles in black?" 15:11 and I say, "Well, because when they're closed, 15:12 it's all dark. " 15:14 All: Laughter. 15:15 John: So, open it, it's inside. Peter: You got to open it. 15:18 Rosemary: I was actually thinking of an illustration 15:19 when you were talking about going down the back... 15:21 the dark alley... 15:22 when we were in Thailand one time 15:24 and the kids were very young and we were working there, 15:27 we went through a... a cave... 15:30 from one side of a mountain to the other side through a cave 15:34 it had a river running through the cave, 15:36 and we were in the dark... total darkness... 15:39 climbing through a cave 15:41 with a couple of guys who knew their way in the dark... 15:43 we didn't have a clue where we were putting our feet, 15:46 there were boulders... there were all sorts of things, 15:48 there were ledges 15:49 and we didn't know where we were going 15:51 but we were feeling our way in the dark 15:53 and then, finally, there was a pinpoint of light 15:57 at the end of the tunnel... 15:58 and I'm in the end of the tunnel 16:00 because that was where the river came into the... 16:02 into this huge cave... 16:05 and it was quite an experience I'll never forget 16:08 but it was groping in the darkness 16:10 until we saw that light and the Bible is like that, 16:12 it lights up your life 16:14 so you're no longer groping in the dark. 16:15 Peter: It's a very comforting thing 16:17 to have light in the dark, you know, 16:18 sometimes young children... when they go to sleep at night, 16:21 they... they're afraid of the dark. 16:24 Rosemary: That made me think of another illustration. 16:26 Peter: They're afraid of the dark but... but yes... no... 16:28 the light is very comforting 16:29 and that is God's purpose, I believe, 16:31 He wants... He gave us this record for a reason, 16:34 He wants us to... to know that He knows where we are, 16:37 He wants us to know there's a plan... 16:38 and He wants us to know that He has our future secure. 16:41 John: I like the idea... you go to sleep at night, 16:43 it's dark... and you look forward to the morning 16:46 and... and the light is up and you become active, 16:49 it's a bit like that with the Word of God too, 16:51 you become active and you know better. 16:52 Peter: That is so true, yeah. 16:54 Rosemary: Hmmm... so I've got a verse... 16:55 John: Matthew 6:11, you know that's the Lord's Prayer 16:58 and I'm sure many of you know it, 17:00 and in verse 11 it says, 17:02 "Give us this day our daily bread. " 17:05 Is that talking about our food, Peter? 17:08 what is that talking about? 17:09 Peter: Well, you know, I think that... 17:11 I'm sure there are many ways you could look at this verse, 17:15 and certainly, God is our Provider, right? 17:17 John: Yes. 17:18 Peter: He is the provider of the sustenance... 17:21 the sun and the rain that makes the crops grow. 17:24 He is the One that provides our literal daily bread 17:26 in terms of the food that He brings forth from the earth 17:30 that He designed for us to eat. 17:32 But I also think of it in terms of the Word of God. 17:36 The Bible is compared... 17:38 the Word of God is compared to bread in the Bible 17:42 in a number of different places... 17:44 we're going to look at some of those other verses 17:46 a little later as well 17:47 but in terms of the daily bread, 17:50 you know, bread is one of those staples 17:53 that people around the world eat... 17:56 we talk about the bread line or we talk about... 18:02 John: Your bread and water shall be sure. 18:04 Peter: Well, that's what the Bible says... 18:06 or we might say, "Putting bread on the table... 18:08 how am I'm going to put bread on the table?" 18:10 and it's just one of the standards staple foods 18:13 that people eat all over the world 18:15 and I think that when it talks about the daily bread, 18:19 I think there's a spiritual element here that... 18:21 we need our daily dose of God. 18:24 You know, we need our daily dose of God 18:26 and I often will say to people... 18:28 and I'm teaching them the Bible 18:29 that God only expects you to read the Bible 18:32 on the days you eat. 18:34 Rosemary: Yes, I've heard you say that. 18:35 Peter: You know, and so... 18:36 and of course, the days we eat are pretty much every day 18:39 unless you're fasting for a particular reason... 18:41 most days you're eating and so, 18:43 every day you're eating and so. 18:46 John: And you don't eat once, you eat... 18:48 Peter: That's right. 18:50 John: And some people eat continuously through the day... 18:52 that's not a bad thing with the Word of God. 18:54 Peter: That's right... that's right. 18:56 I also think... you know, in terms of daily... daily bread 19:01 I think the Bible for me is like spiritual medicine. 19:05 John: Hmmm... hmmm... 19:06 Peter: You know, we have the sin sickness 19:08 that the Bible talks about 19:09 and it's really a self-centeredness... 19:12 it's a selfishness, you know, if I was to... 19:14 if you wanted to sum up what the scene really is... 19:17 it's selfishness amongst other things 19:20 and... and we all have it 19:22 and it's something that we can't deal with 19:25 unless God deals with it for us... 19:27 we have to bring it to God and He... He will deal with that 19:31 it's... the Bible to me is like, yes, it's like daily bread, 19:34 it's daily food... but it's also like daily medicine, 19:37 you know, daily medicine that helps me 19:39 to learn to be less selfish 19:43 and to learn from Jesus to be more selfless. 19:46 You know, Jesus was... the Bible says, 19:49 "God is love" and we see the best example 19:53 of the character of God in the person of Jesus 19:56 who came into the world... God in the flesh 20:00 to show us really what God was like 20:02 and to show us how to treat one another... 20:05 how to live a selfless life as opposed to a selfish life 20:08 and I find in the Scriptures that it's like a daily medicine, 20:12 you know, sometimes you might get sick 20:15 and you go to a physician... you go to a doctor 20:17 and he might prescribe for you some antibiotics 20:20 and he'll say, "Take one a day 20:23 but finish the course. " 20:24 Rosemary: Hmmm... hmmm... 20:26 Peter: And you might take one a day 20:27 and after three or four days, 20:29 you might be feeling a lot better 20:30 and you might think, "Well, do I need to...?" 20:32 Well, no he said, "Finish the course... " 20:33 Rosemary: That's the temptation isn't it? 20:34 Peter: And I think God is saying "You need me every day... 20:38 and you need to finish the course... " 20:40 which means, you're going to need me every day 20:42 until Jesus comes 20:43 and then you'll be with me face to face. 20:44 John: Someone said, "It's the eye problem... " 20:47 and so, the Word of God helps you to see clearly 20:50 and takes away the eye problem. 20:52 Peter: Yes, yeah I know, 20:55 and so, that's how I sort of see that in the daily bread. 20:59 The other thing I think of is the fact that 21:02 no matter how well you eat, John, 21:05 I'll never be nourished by that, 21:08 you know that I'm saying? 21:09 John: That's true. 21:11 Peter: You can eat three hearty meals a day 21:14 but that's not going to help me at all 21:16 you know, and I think sometimes we can... 21:19 I think, Christians sometimes can get caught in the trap 21:22 of waiting for a preacher or a teacher 21:28 to give them that morsel of spiritual food 21:32 where God really wants us to learn 21:35 how to get the food ourselves that He has provided. 21:38 There's a... there's a story that I've heard 21:44 and I might have even heard it on 3ABN 21:46 and it's about the bears in Yellowstone Park 21:50 and the tourists that go there to feed the bears 21:53 and there are Park Rangers there 21:55 and the tourists are feeding the bears... 21:57 there were some alone 21:59 and one of the tourists says, 22:00 "You know, you've got all these signs up around the park 22:03 saying to the tourists "Do not feed the bears" 22:05 but the tourists seem to take no notice 22:08 and they're feeding the bears all the time and what have you 22:10 and the... the Ranger says... 22:12 he said, "Yeah, it's very sad, 22:14 I wish the tourists would be back here in the winter time 22:17 where they see the bears starving 22:20 because the bears have never learned to feed themselves 22:23 because they've relied on the tourists... 22:25 and so, when the winter comes when there are no tourists, 22:27 the bears are starving because they haven't learned 22:32 to feed themselves... " 22:33 and the Ranger said, "A fed bear is a dead bear... " 22:36 and the... the idea is that 22:39 God has provided this for us as Christians 22:41 not to wait for some expert or some priest or some doctor 22:45 to be able to share wisdom 22:48 although those people can do that 22:50 but God has provided the Word. 22:52 We're so lucky that we have the Word available to us 22:56 and God wants us to go and get our daily bread 22:58 straight from the source. 23:00 Rosemary: Talking about daily bread, let me read Exodus 23:03 chapter 16 verse 21. 23:05 Peter: Right. 23:07 Rosemary: This is talking about heavenly bread... 23:09 I want to taste this bread. 23:11 It was a test that God had given to the people of Israel 23:16 and it says, "And they gathered it every morning, 23:20 every man according to his eating: 23:23 and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. " 23:26 Now, this is the manna... the bread from heaven. 23:29 Peter: Right, so this story is... 23:32 I think there is an element of test in it 23:34 but I... I actually think it's a story 23:36 about God's great provision 23:37 and the children of Israel had come out of Egypt, 23:41 they were now in the wilderness, 23:42 they were free but they were still hungry 23:44 and they wanted something to eat 23:46 and God rained down manna from heaven 23:48 for them to eat and we don't know precisely 23:50 what it looked like... 23:52 the Bible describes it a little bit 23:53 but this is obviously something unique, 23:55 you don't see this stuff growing on trees, 23:57 but God had rained down manna... bread from heaven... so to speak 24:02 to feed His people... He was providing for His people 24:05 and He was raining it down six days of the week 24:07 and then there would be none on the Sabbath 24:10 and the idea would be, 24:11 on the sixth day, they would gather twice as much 24:13 so that they would have some for Friday 24:15 and then some for the Sabbath as well 24:17 and, of course, the reason I sort of put this verse in there 24:24 is that sometimes as Christians we get the idea that 24:29 we go along every weekend to church 24:32 and we get our meal for the week 24:35 and we try and... 24:36 Rosemary: We get filled up. 24:38 Peter: We get filled up on what the preacher has preached 24:40 with the food he's eaten over the week 24:42 and we try and grab some of those crumbs 24:46 and we hope that that meal is going to last us all week long 24:50 until we can get back to church and get another helping, 24:53 so to speak of spiritual food, 24:56 whereas I think what this story of the manna teaches me 25:01 is that God is providing bread from heaven every day 25:05 for us to go out and collect and it's in the Word of God 25:10 and then, you see, on Sabbath, there is no more... 25:14 well, what does that mean? 25:16 I think what it means is, we gather that bread every day 25:19 and we're studying the Word of God... 25:21 we're reading from the Word of God... 25:22 we're getting that daily bread every day 25:24 and then on Sabbath, we come to church 25:26 praising the Lord... thanking God 25:29 for all that He's fed us with through the week. 25:32 John: That's right. 25:33 Peter: So, rather than coming starving to death 25:35 hoping to get it filled. 25:37 Rosemary: And it's not as though there isn't any bread 25:39 for the Sabbath 25:40 because He's given us extra on the Friday 25:42 to use on the Sabbath. 25:44 So, on the Sabbath we still have bread... 25:46 we just didn't have to go and gather it... 25:48 He's given it to us already. 25:50 Peter: That's right... that's right, 25:51 but I think that that to me... 25:53 there's a huge shift in my mind 25:55 because as an unbeliever, I would think to myself, 25:58 "Why would you spend any time at all going to church? 26:02 What a phenomenal waste of time... " 26:05 I would have thought, you know, 26:07 because I didn't think God exists... 26:08 it makes a whole bunch of difference if God really is real 26:11 and it makes a difference as to... 26:13 "Is He worthy of worship?" 26:15 The Bible tells us that God is worthy of worship 26:18 because He is the Creator and He is the Redeemer 26:20 and so, that makes a whole lot of difference 26:23 but I think it... it makes a difference 26:24 in the Christian sense that why do we go to church? 26:28 Do we go to get or do we go to give?" 26:31 Rosemary: Hmmm... hmmm... 26:32 Peter: And from my perspective it's definitely 26:35 a very much a case of... you go to give... 26:37 you go to give God your worship... your adoration... 26:40 you go to give support and encouragement 26:42 to other Christian believers 26:43 and when you go to give, in the beautiful economy of God, 26:48 you always get blessed. 26:50 You don't go to get it, 26:52 but because you go to give, you get blessed 26:55 and that's... 26:57 Rosemary: You go to give because you've been getting all week. 26:59 Peter: That's right... yeah... 27:00 so, that's one of the beautiful things. 27:02 There's one other thing I'm going to mention about that 27:04 in terms of the spiritual battle that we face, 27:08 we have a carnal nature... a natural nature 27:12 and that is a natural selfish nature, 27:14 I don't need to be taught how to be more selfish, 27:16 I'm pretty good at that naturally, right? 27:18 But I do need to be taught how to be more selfless... 27:21 and so, you... we have this... 27:23 the battle going on that... 27:25 that is in our hearts... it's in our minds... 27:27 we see it in the world... 27:28 the battle between good and evil, 27:30 but that battle exists in the heart and in the mind too 27:32 and we want to give God the victory in that battle 27:36 and so, sometimes I think of the... 27:39 the spiritual battle... 27:41 it's like a battle between two dogs fighting 27:45 and you might separate those two dogs 27:47 and you might feed one for two weeks 27:50 and then you starve the other for two weeks 27:52 and then you put them back together... 27:54 and it's the one that's the strongest... 27:56 it's the one that's been fed for the two weeks 27:58 that's going to win that battle, 27:59 so, I like to say, "You've got to feed the dog 28:02 you want to win. " 28:03 Rosemary: Hmmm... 28:05 Peter: And in the spiritual battle, 28:06 we have to feed the dog we want to win... 28:08 we have to feed the spiritual side 28:10 and that's why I think the Scriptures are so important 28:13 because it enables us to feed the spiritual side of our nature 28:17 there's plenty of other influences in the world 28:19 that are going to attempt to fill and feed the carnal nature 28:24 and I think sometimes in my own Christian experience, 28:30 if I spend six days with the world 28:32 and then come again to try and get that feast on Sabbath, 28:37 to... to... to fill me up for the rest of the week, 28:41 it's a lot greater challenge to live a Christian life. 28:45 John: It's an absolutely huge challenge 28:47 because it's interfering with what you've done 28:49 in the six days previous and so... 28:51 Peter: Yeah, it's contrary... it's like running upstream. 28:53 John: Yeah, and so, why? it becomes unpleasant 28:57 because you can't do anymore what you want to do, 29:00 and so, it is a real challenge, an absolute challenge. 29:03 Peter: So, feeding the side we want to win 29:05 is important in that spiritual battle. 29:08 Rosemary: John, why don't you read Proverbs... 29:10 John: 3:5 and 6... these are verses... 29:13 some texts that I've learnt also it says, 29:16 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; 29:18 and lean not unto thine own understanding. 29:21 In all thy ways acknowledge Him, 29:23 and He shall direct thy paths. " 29:25 I mean, can we trust God? Absolutely. 29:29 Peter: Absolutely, and I think well... we say that John, 29:32 because we have experience in trusting God 29:35 and having the payoff, you know what I mean? 29:38 He is... He is faithful... 29:39 we have had some experience with that 29:44 and there were times when I didn't have that experience 29:46 and I had to choose... 29:48 trust God or go back to the world? 29:49 John: It's like driving a car, you're in charge, 29:51 you want to go where you want to go... 29:52 this is saying, "I'm going to give it to someone 29:55 who really knows how to drive and really knows where to go. " 29:58 That's the... that's the faith that's needed. 30:00 Peter: And then there are a lot of metaphors 30:03 that we'll use in this Program 30:04 and a lot of metaphors that are being used 30:06 to describe the Bible 30:07 but in lots of ways, it's like a map from here to heaven, 30:13 all right, it's a way... it's a way of directing us... 30:16 in fact, these two verses, 30:18 I like to think of Proverbs 3:5 and 6 30:21 as God's GPS... John: Okay. 30:23 Peter: God's Positioning System 30:26 you know, where we'll rely on our GPS these days 30:29 to get us from A to B and it hopefully shows you the best way 30:32 and doesn't take you off into a field 30:33 or find yourself in the middle of nowhere. 30:35 John: When those first GPSs came out, 30:37 I remember we would go... 30:39 Peter: They were a bit dodgy. John: They were very dodgy. 30:41 Rosemary: There's also just down... 30:43 just down a little bit further in that chapter, 30:46 there's a verse that says, 30:47 "My son despise not the chastening of the LORD; 30:51 neither be weary of His correction... " 30:53 and when you put it together with Proverbs 3:5... 30:57 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart... " 30:59 when He's chastening you, trust Him 31:01 don't lean to your own understanding 31:03 of what's going on. 31:05 Peter: Well, that fits right in with the GPS idea 31:07 because the verse 6 there... you've got... I'll read it again 31:11 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart 31:12 and lean not on your own understanding... " 31:14 that's verse 5... 31:15 and verse 6, "In all your ways acknowledge Him 31:18 and he shall direct your paths. " 31:21 Rosemary: But then verse 7 says, "Be not wise in your own eyes: 31:25 fear the LORD, and depart from evil... " 31:27 so, they all go together, 31:28 when you put those verses together, 31:30 it makes a lot more sense. 31:31 Peter: Well, the verse you refer to... verse 11, 31:34 it says, "Do not detest His correction. " 31:37 You're driving down the road, 31:38 you're supposed to have taken a left turn 31:41 and the GPS says, "Perform a U turn... " 31:44 you heard that? You know, 31:46 when you've gone past the road you should have gone down, 31:48 and then you need to come back and take... 31:50 that's a "course correction" right? 31:52 Do not despise that correction 31:55 because otherwise you're going to get lost... 31:58 right? Isn't that right? 32:00 You're going to end up lost 32:02 if you don't follow the directions 32:05 so, that's what God provides and I think that... 32:07 that for me... again was... 32:09 it's a very comforting set of verses... 32:11 you put your trust in the Lord, 32:13 He's going to be the One who directs your paths 32:16 because we all have limited understanding 32:18 of the... the place that we live in 32:21 or the work that we're doing, whatever it might be... 32:23 we have limited understanding and the Bible says, 32:26 "Do not lean on your own understanding... " 32:28 rather lean on the understanding of the One who made you... 32:32 who knows where you came from... 32:34 knows where you are now... 32:35 and knows what these plans are for you 32:36 and so, I really like that... 32:39 it's God trying to direct us on a path that takes us to heaven. 32:43 John: It doesn't matter who you are... 32:45 we are all a product of what we're taught 32:48 and so, if you've had the ability 32:49 to grow up in a Christian home, 32:51 your understanding is very different to someone who hasn't 32:54 but the thing is, if we trust in the Lord... 32:57 if we go to the Word of God, you'll discover more information 33:01 more knowledge that will help you to go down that right path. 33:04 Rosemary: Now, you're talking about God directing our paths, 33:07 I want you to use the ability and the knowledge 33:10 that God has given you 33:11 to direct us on the path of how to study this Word. 33:14 Peter: Well... well... thank you for... 33:17 yeah, mentioning that because I think there's... 33:19 a couple of things I would say, 33:21 there's lots of different ways to approach the Bible 33:23 and I'm going to talk a little bit about some of the tools 33:26 that I first... I guess discovered 33:29 when I first came to the Bible because the Bible is a big book 33:34 right, for... for the average person... 33:36 the Bible is a big book... 33:38 a lot of people don't do a lot of reading these days 33:39 and I didn't do a lot of reading, 33:41 I'm a very visual person 33:42 but the Bible was so fascinating and I had to get into it 33:46 and the... you can read from the beginning, 33:50 you can read Genesis and Exodus 33:52 and you can start reading if that's what you want to do 33:55 and actually Genesis is a good foundational book 33:58 to understand where everything came from, 34:00 but a lot of people will start reading in the New Testament 34:02 they might read one of the gospels: 34:04 Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, 34:05 in fact, I often will say in terms of the Christian faith... 34:09 in terms of the gospels... I often say to people, 34:12 "Start with the gospel of Mark... " 34:14 it's a very... it's the shortest of the gospels 34:17 and it's very brisk as it moves through the story 34:24 of the life of Jesus 34:25 and so, all the time in Mark it will say, 34:29 "And immediately Jesus did this... 34:31 and immediately this occurred" 34:32 and it moves fairly rapidly through the story 34:35 so, if you're going to start somewhere, 34:37 I think Mark is not a bad place to start 34:39 in terms of... if you're new to the Book, 34:42 but the other thing I would say... 34:45 there were three tools, I guess, that I found helpful 34:49 when I was starting out in the Bible 34:51 and I realize there will be many people watching this Program 34:53 who have been studying the Bible for a while... 34:56 and that's great and we should keep doing that, 34:59 in fact, I'll insert a piece here 35:01 that one of the reasons that the Bible is unlike any other book, 35:05 is because you can read the whole thing through 35:07 and you still need to read the whole thing through again. 35:11 Rosemary: And again, and again, you keep reading more. 35:13 Peter: Every time you come... 35:15 my wife and I were circling through the Bible again 35:18 at the moment and 35:19 you come across verses that you've never seen before 35:23 even though you have seen them before. 35:26 "How come I haven't seen that before?" 35:28 "Who wrote that in there?" 35:29 Rosemary: I come across verses, I think, 35:31 "I've never seen that before... " 35:32 and yet I've got it underlined 35:34 or I've got a word circled and go, 35:35 "I have looked at that before. " 35:37 Peter: And suddenly, because of the experiences that you've had 35:40 since you last read that... that word 35:43 or because of all the other Bible verses that you've read 35:45 circling your way back to that verse, 35:47 it's opened a window on that verse for you... 35:50 your experience is opened... 35:51 your experience with God has opened a window on that verse 35:53 for you... that makes it all the more prevalent 35:56 so, I love re-discovery of the Bible as you go along 36:00 but there were three, I guess, things that I found helpful 36:03 when I first came to the Bible, one was a Concordance... 36:07 a good Concordance 36:08 and I have a Strong's... 36:10 a hard copy of Strong's Concordance 36:12 of course, these days, I have my computer Bible version 36:16 and I've got the Concordance on that 36:17 and I've got the Bible on my phone 36:19 and I can search words on that but that's a really useful tool 36:22 to be able to search up words 36:24 so that you can see the word "Messiah" 36:27 in one place in the Bible 36:28 and you can find out where that word appears 36:30 in other places in the Bible, 36:32 that's a very helpful tool. 36:33 The other two tools that are very... fairly basic 36:36 but I think are really quite helpful 36:39 is to have timeline of the Bible 36:42 and realize what happened when... 36:45 because when I understood 36:46 and you mentioned this before, John, 36:48 about the historicalness of the Bible... 36:50 the fact that this is bedded in history... 36:53 this is God interacting with real people 36:55 in real places that really existed 36:58 which is again another encouragement to us... 37:00 if God can work in real people's lives back then, 37:03 He can work in real people's lives today. 37:05 But it was really helpful to me 37:08 to have a timeline from the beginning... 37:11 where all the different characters and events 37:13 of the Bible took place 37:15 because that is not all chronological. 37:17 The Bible is gathered together in different sections 37:22 so, you have the section of the Law... 37:23 then you have the history 37:24 and then you have the minor prophets 37:26 and then you have the poetry... the Psalms... 37:29 the major prophets... the minor prophets and so forth, 37:32 they're gathered together in a different way 37:34 than a chronological fashion 37:36 so, it's helpful because most of us think chronologically... 37:40 it's helpful to have that timeline. 37:41 Rosemary: It helps you also see where the Bible and History... 37:45 the things that you're learning in school... 37:47 where they fit together... where the pharaohs were... 37:50 where the Romans were... where the... whoever... 37:51 Peter: Yeah, there's so much great ancient history there 37:54 but... and the thing is a map... 37:56 you know, you can buy a fairly cheap Bible map... 38:01 you know, a set of Bible maps 38:02 to just help you find your way around the Bible lands 38:05 and the journeys that Abraham took or... 38:08 Rosemary: When you're a visual person... that's very helpful. 38:10 Peter: I think so... so in terms of studying the Bible, 38:13 what we're really talking about here... 38:16 we mentioned before about the daily bread 38:18 and the need really for me to get 38:20 a dose of God's Word every day 38:22 and so, how do you do that 38:25 and how do you keep that... that fresh... 38:27 and I've mentioned you could... 38:28 you can read through a book of the Bible 38:31 but what I tend to do these days in my own daily devotions is... 38:35 I'm in the Gospels... I'm in John now... 38:37 I've been going through the Gospels, 38:39 Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and what I will do is, 38:43 I just take one story in the Gospel of John... 38:46 so, not even a whole chapter but one little section... 38:49 and in my Bible I have little headings 38:51 for each of those sections 38:53 and so, I can read a little section of the Bible... 38:56 one particular story that is there 38:58 and I will read that story through... 39:01 and I might read it through two or three times 39:03 so I've got a good handle on what that story is 39:06 and then I ask myself three questions 39:08 and these are the three questions that I ask, 39:12 "What does this story teach me about God?" 39:16 Rosemary: Hmmm... 39:17 Peter: Okay... that's what I want to know. 39:19 We're reading the Bible because we want to know about God right? 39:22 So, what does this story teach me about God? 39:25 And it might tell me something about a characteristic of God... 39:29 God's care for humanity... 39:30 God's creative power... 39:32 might tell me about the compassion of God through Jesus 39:34 and so forth, but I'm asking that question, 39:37 "What does this story teach me about God?" 39:41 And what I'm doing now too is I'm journaling 39:45 and I didn't use to journal 39:46 because I don't enjoy writing much, 39:48 I'm not a great writer I mean, I can write, believe me, 39:51 I was able to pass exams and everything so, I can write 39:57 but it's not my most enjoyable thing to do 39:59 but I have begun... 40:01 in the last few years I've begun journaling 40:06 and I don't write a lot 40:08 but what I do write is, I write the date... 40:11 I write the passage of Scripture that I'm looking at, 40:15 and then I write 1... the answer to question 1... 40:19 "What does this say about God?" 40:20 And I'll write in there what this passage tells me about God 40:25 and I'll just write that down in a couple of sentences 40:28 and then, the question 2 is, 40:31 "What does this passage teach me about humanity?" 40:34 Rosemary: Chuckling... 40:36 Peter: And that's often not good you know, 40:38 this is... it's talking about the fallenness of man 40:41 or the need of man... or the assumptions that man makes, 40:44 or the... the selfish motivations 40:49 that sometimes we have for doing or saying certain things... 40:52 or... 40:54 Rosemary: That means that there are actually some good people? 40:56 Peter: Well, sometimes depending on the story... 40:59 sometimes it's the reaction of man which is positive 41:02 so, it's not always negative. 41:04 Okay, what does this story teach me about God? 41:06 What does this story teach me about humanity? 41:09 And, it might be... 41:11 it teaches me that man can respond positively 41:14 to God's commands... instructions... invitations... 41:17 whatever... you know, 41:19 so, I'm always looking for those things 41:22 so, that's the second question. 41:23 First question: What does this teach me about God? 41:25 Second question: What does it teach me about humanity? 41:27 And then, thirdly, it's that personal application. 41:30 What is this story telling me that God wants me to know. 41:35 What does He want me to do? 41:36 What is he trying to teach me today through this story? 41:40 And I find those three questions very helpful 41:44 for reflecting on the Bible passage 41:48 and gleaning from it certain things 41:51 that I might otherwise miss with the surface reading of it. 41:55 Sometimes, we want quantity... 41:58 we just want to read through the Bible as quickly as we can 42:01 to get the whole big picture 42:03 but I think it's really beneficial 42:07 to take the time in daily devotionals... 42:10 that's at least the approach I'm taking now, 42:13 is to look at each verse... each passage of Scripture 42:17 and by asking those questions, 42:20 it helps you to dig in a little bit more 42:22 rather than just reading through and saying, 42:24 "Yup, that's another good story 42:26 and let's move on to the next one, so... " 42:27 Rosemary: Hmmm... very good. 42:28 Peter: So, those are some ways I think that can be helpful. 42:31 Of course, there are other things you can buy 42:33 books with topical studies in them... 42:35 you can get Bible-marking resources and forth 42:38 where you're going through topics of the Bible. 42:40 Rosemary: Which is very helpful. Peter: Which is very helpful 42:41 particularly if you want to know 42:43 what does the Bible say about the second coming of Jesus 42:46 or... or what have you. 42:47 Rosemary: What happens when you die? 42:49 Peter: Or what happens when you die 42:50 and I think not only is it useful for you 42:53 but then it enables you to be able to teach that 42:54 subject to somebody else. 42:56 John: That's right. Peter: So, yeah. 42:57 Rosemary: Yeah, that's right. 42:59 John: One of the important things too, Peter, 43:00 when you're studying the Word of God... 43:01 when you open it... we're told to ask for the Holy Spirit 43:04 to give us understanding and enlightenment to His Word. 43:07 That's an important part of studying the Bible 43:09 because if you just approach it from reading it as a book 43:13 and think you're going to get understanding, 43:15 I think you'll be very disappointed 43:16 but the Holy Spirit is there for you to call upon 43:21 to give you understanding. 43:22 Rosemary: Well, the Bible... Bible says that 43:24 spiritual things are spiritually discerned 43:26 and that we need the Spirit of Truth 43:28 to teach us and guide us into all truth. 43:30 Peter: I'm so glad you raised that John because 43:32 what I'm really... I suppose through this Program 43:35 I'm wanting to encourage people to do 43:37 is to have an on-going daily relationship with God... 43:40 daily devotions... 43:41 and it's so true that before I open the Bible, I want to pray. 43:47 I want to ask God to guide me because this... 43:50 the Bible talks about God the Father... 43:53 the Son and the Holy Spirit... 43:54 and the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit wrote a book 43:58 and this was the book... 44:00 it's the Holy Spirit that inspired the various writers 44:03 of the Bible to write down what they wrote 44:05 and so, the beauty of the Bible and the beauty of God is... 44:09 He's a living God... He's not a dead idol... 44:11 He's a living God... 44:13 He's there to be talked to today 44:15 and there to be listened to today 44:17 and so we can ask God, 44:19 "Please guide us through Your Holy Spirit 44:21 as we open Your Holy Word... teach us... 44:23 what you inspired others to write... 44:25 help me to understand. " 44:27 Very... very vital. 44:30 Rosemary: There's something you've said 44:33 that it's a two-way communication... 44:36 Peter: Yes. 44:37 Rosemary: We pray to God 44:39 and He speaks to us through His Word 44:41 which I think is very pretty... it's a beautiful concept. 44:44 Peter: Yeah, absolutely so you know, 44:46 I think one of my challenges perhaps before I was a Christian 44:51 or even when I was coming into the Christian faith is, 44:53 "Well, if God loves us so much, you know, where is He? 44:56 You know, I don't see Him with my eyes" 44:58 and the Bible says that... 44:59 I did a presentation not so long ago called, "Invisible" 45:02 and talked about the fact that God is invisible, 45:04 we face an invisible enemy 45:06 but we have an invisible friend as well in God and the angels 45:09 and... and so, how does God communicate with us 45:13 if He's not sitting here like you and I, face to face? 45:17 We don't have that privilege at the moment 45:19 because God is dealing with the "sin" problem 45:21 and when that is over, we will be brought back 45:24 into face to face contact 45:25 but if God were to appear on the earth today 45:27 in His unbridled, unveiled glory... 45:30 we'd all go ooof... 45:31 because of sin... the sin... we'd be consumed in a moment 45:35 so, God is dealing with the "sin" problem 45:37 so, it's actually for our own benefit 45:39 that we're not in His current unbridled presence 45:41 but, you're right... God wants a relationship with us 45:46 and that relationship is too full... 45:48 God has provided this incredible technology called "Prayer" 45:55 that while we are physically separated, 45:58 we can communicate through this incredible ministry 46:02 that God has given us in prayer 46:03 that we can talk to God anywhere we are... 46:06 any time, day or night... 46:08 and we can communicate our wants... our needs... 46:12 our gratitude... our praise to God 46:14 and then how does He talk to us? 46:17 Well, He talks to us primarily through His Word. 46:20 Now, He can talk to us through other people, 46:23 He can talk to us through the natural world... 46:25 He can talk to us through circumstance... 46:27 He can impress my mind... my heart through the Holy Spirit 46:31 He can convince my... convict my conscience, right? 46:36 He can communicate that way 46:38 and God has spoken audibly to people, 46:40 we read about that in the Bible but that's rare... 46:42 that doesn't often happen 46:44 and God has provided His Word right here 46:48 that He can talk to us 46:49 so, we can talk to Him in prayer He talks to us through His Word 46:52 and that's how we build relationship with God. 46:55 Rosemary: Hmmm... 46:56 John: And I also see... when we ask God for things, 46:59 when we have the answer... we have the evidence... 47:02 that gives us a reassurance that God is alive... 47:05 He is listening... 47:07 but sometimes we don't get answered the way we want to 47:09 but the point is, where our faith is strengthened 47:12 and we get to know God better 47:14 when He as a Father provides for us the things we've asked. 47:17 Peter: Yes. 47:19 John: And so, it's very clear that we have a God that loves us 47:21 it's just us that are putting the boundary... 47:24 putting something between Him and us... 47:26 it's our minds and our thinking 47:28 but our faith is strengthened when God reveals 47:30 the answers to our prayers. 47:32 Rosemary: Now, there's a verse here in John 14 47:35 and it's verse 6, "And Jesus said... " 47:39 it says, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, 47:44 the truth, and the life: 47:46 no man cometh unto the Father, but by me... " 47:51 and so, Jesus is saying, He's the truth 47:55 and He said that the... the One that He would send... 47:57 the Spirit of truth would lead us into all truth 48:00 so the Spirit of truth is going to lead us into 48:02 understanding Jesus... understanding who He is... 48:05 what He's about and why He had to come. 48:08 Why He is so important... 48:10 What is this thing about Jesus? 48:12 The Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of truth 48:15 will lead us into understanding about Jesus 48:18 because Jesus is the truth. 48:20 Peter: That's right... and I like... 48:22 when I read this verse... when He says, 48:24 "I am the way, the truth, and the life... " 48:26 you know the truth is not simply a list of beliefs that we have, 48:32 it's not a list of things to do 48:34 or a list of... of prayers to pray... 48:38 the truth is a person primarily and that's the person of Jesus 48:43 and so, all the things that we learn in the Bible 48:47 are little facets of Jesus... 48:49 they teach us something more about the character of God 48:51 which is Jesus in the flesh... 48:53 you know, Jesus... He is God in the flesh... 48:55 and the other thing... 48:58 in a couple of chapters' time He'll say, 49:00 He's praying... Jesus is praying to the Father, 49:03 He says, "Sanctify them" that's the believers... 49:06 by Your Word... 49:08 Sanctify them by Your truth, 49:11 Thy Word is truth. " 49:12 In other words, set believers apart by the truth 49:17 and what is the truth? It's the Word. 49:19 And so, we have... 49:20 I think about the world we live in 49:25 John and Rosemary 49:27 and there's a great deal of confusion in the world 49:31 about so many things and how reassuring it would be 49:36 to know what is the truth of these matters 49:38 and what is the truth about how we should respond 49:43 to the world around us... 49:45 how we should respond to each other... 49:46 how we should relate to God. 49:49 All that is truth and Jesus, of course, is the truth 49:53 but the things that He's revealed in His Word 49:55 reveal those truths that help us to not be confused, 49:58 it... you know, we talked at the beginning 50:01 about coming out of darkness and into the light, 50:03 and that's really... those metaphors are really 50:06 the darkness of confusion... the light of God's truth 50:10 and that's so valuable to us. 50:12 John: In John chapter 5 verse 39, the Bible says, 50:15 "Search the scriptures; 50:16 for in them ye think ye have eternal life: 50:19 and they are they which testify of me. " 50:22 So, Jesus really is at the center of the Word of God. 50:25 He is the truth... 50:27 He's the One that's going to reveal to you 50:29 about eternal life... 50:30 that's what we are privileged to know 50:34 and to experience. 50:35 Rosemary: I had a number of people say, 50:38 "What is truth to you is truth to you 50:41 and what is truth to me is truth to me. " 50:43 So, in other words, everybody can pick and choose 50:46 what they want to have for truth 50:47 and it doesn't work that way 50:50 because what might be truth for you 50:52 might trample on what truth is for me 50:54 and it's comforting to me to know 50:57 God actually has absolute truth on every subject. 51:01 There's nothing that He doesn't cover... 51:04 that there is actually absolute truth on everything 51:09 and this is what reveals absolute truth to us, 51:12 it doesn't have to be what we think it might be 51:16 or what we would prefer it to be... 51:17 there is truth. 51:19 Peter: Yeah, then I think that is very important 51:21 in the era that we're living, 51:22 it's called relative truth isn't it, 51:25 that you've got your truth and I've got my truth 51:27 and we... we... kind of... 51:29 Rosemary: Pluralism. 51:30 Peter: Yeah, it's a pluralistic notion 51:32 and, of course, what that actually does is 51:34 destroy the notion of truth 51:35 because if truth can be anything to anyone at any time, 51:40 and is ever changing depending on which room you are in 51:43 or which chair you're sitting in or... 51:44 Rosemary: Or whether you burnt your toast that morning. 51:46 Peter: Yeah, so, it kind of... 51:49 it destroys the very meaning of the word "truth" really, 51:53 because what that means is truth can be anything 51:56 and if it can be anything, then it's... 51:57 Rosemary: Not truth. 51:59 Peter: Not anything at all, really. 52:00 Rosemary: Actually, truth becomes a lie. 52:02 Peter: Yeah, truth... it becomes a deception really, 52:05 I suppose and what it's saying here 52:08 in the fact that Jesus has said, 52:11 "I am the way, the truth, and the life... " 52:14 in this verse here in 5:39, that you read John, 52:16 it says, "For in them ye think ye have eternal life: 52:18 and these are they which testify of me. " 52:20 When Jesus spoke those words, only the Old Testament existed 52:25 and this is significant because there are a number of places 52:29 and we won't go to them all today 52:31 but there are a number of places in the New Testament 52:33 where Jesus just affirms the Old Testament 52:35 over and over again 52:36 and here He's saying to the religious authorities, 52:39 "You're searching the Scriptures 52:42 but they're actually pointing to Me. " 52:44 That's really what He's saying 52:46 and so, He's saying that's the Old Testament, 52:49 now, of course the New Testament points to Jesus too. 52:51 But for many Christians... for some Christian churches, 52:56 they'll only provide New Testaments 52:58 and they're missing the value 53:01 of what Jesus is trying to teach us in this verse... 53:04 is that the whole of the Old Testament 53:06 is talking about Him... it's pointing to Him. 53:09 In the context of the stories... 53:11 there are so many stories in the Bible in the Old Testament 53:15 that in and of themselves they're great stories 53:18 about how God interacts with people 53:20 but they're also... tells us something 53:23 about the story of Jesus as well. 53:25 John: And I urge you to take a break there for a moment 53:26 because we have an address roll where you can write to us... 53:30 we are a faith-based ministry 53:33 and we would like to have you contact us 53:36 and tell us about what you would like about these programs 53:40 or anything else... maybe about what Peter is saying 53:42 and you can do so at this address: 53:44 music... 53:48 If you would like to contact 3ABN Australia, 53:50 you may do so in the following ways, 53:52 you may write to: 3ABN Australia 53:55 PO Box 752 Morisset, New South Wales 2264 54:00 Australia 54:01 That's PO Box 752 Morisset, New South Wales 2264 54:06 Australia 54:08 or you may call: 02-4973-3456 54:12 that's: 02-4973-3456 54:17 from 8:30 a. m. to 5 p. m. Monday to Thursday 54:20 or 8:30 a. m. to 12 p. m. Fridays... New South Wales' time 54:25 you may also e-mail us at: mail@3abnaustralia. org. au 54:32 that's: mail@ the number 3 54:34 abnaustralia all one word 54:36 . org. au 54:38 Thank you for all you do to help us light the world 54:41 with the glory of God's truth. 54:43 Pause... 54:47 I hope you've got all those details down. 54:49 We are talking with Pastor Peter Watts 54:51 and we learnt a little bit about his journey 54:54 as becoming a Christian, mine's not too much different 54:57 but we want you to turn to the Word of God 54:59 because that's where you will find the answers... 55:02 that's where you will find the absolute truth 55:05 for our existence and where we're going. 55:08 Now, Peter, you have a thought in closing 55:11 on a text and that's Isaiah... 55:13 Rosemary: That's Isaiah 8:20, 55:15 I'm going to read it for you, okay, 55:16 I really like this verse, it's so important... 55:18 "To the law and to the testimony! 55:20 If they speak not according to this word, 55:23 that is because there is no light in them. " 55:25 So, unpack that for the people who are watching, please. 55:30 Peter: Okay, yeah, so, it says, 55:31 "To the law and to the testimony... " 55:33 and what that really is referring to 55:35 is the Law of Moses 55:36 which is the first five books of the Bible 55:38 and then the testimony would be the testimony of the prophets... 55:41 what the prophets have said 55:43 that God has inspired them to say, 55:44 of course Isaiah was a prophet himself. 55:46 But... so it's talking about the Word of God 55:50 as it existed to that time... 55:52 talking about the Word of God... 55:53 "To the law and to the testimony, 55:55 if they do not speak according to this word, 55:57 it is because there is no light in them. " 55:59 Rosemary: Hmmm... 56:00 Peter: I think sometimes we are tempted to go to the Word of God 56:03 and we will read it and we will say, 56:04 "I really like that section, I think that... you know... 56:07 I really enjoy the promises that God has given me there... " 56:10 but then we come to another section that we don't agree with 56:13 and we might say, "Well, that's all they knew back then" 56:17 or "That was their perspective for that period of time... " 56:20 Rosemary: Or we heard someone say, 56:22 "Well, of course we all know that Jonah is not real... " 56:23 Peter: Yeah, yeah, yeah... that's right. 56:25 Rosemary: Jesus quoted from Jonah as a real person. 56:27 Peter: Exactly, and I think one of the... 56:28 probably the classics in regard to this would be Creation, 56:31 right? 56:33 So, the Bible says, "God created in six days... " 56:36 the world generally believes in million and billions of years 56:41 and that's what I believed as... 56:42 as someone who believed in Evolution 56:44 and so, the question really is: 56:46 "How am I going to approach the Bible? 56:50 Is it the Word of God to me 56:52 or is it a book that I can decide 56:56 which bits are valid and which bits are not?" 56:58 in terms of, you know, if I were to say that 57:04 I might take a Scientist's view more than the Bible's view. 57:09 This book has authority... 57:11 it was written by the Author of the universe... 57:13 you know, the Author of the universe 57:15 and to come into this space that I'm recognizing 57:19 that everything that I understand needs to come into... 57:23 be subject to the authority of the Word of God. 57:25 Rosemary: Very good. 57:27 John: You know, Pete, we've been really glad to have you 57:29 on the Program... but we really didn't cover everything 57:31 that we wanted to cover, 57:32 we're just scratching the surface 57:34 but we would like to encourage you... all of you... 57:36 to dig into the Word of God, 57:38 especially at this time in this world's history 57:40 and we look forward to seeing you next time. 57:42 May God richly bless you... until then. |
Revised 2020-08-25