WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:02.560 Well, good morning and happy Mother's Day. 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:14.400 I think it's just so cool that we're in the book of 2 Timothy right now on Mother's Day, because uh if you look throughout the book, you see that uh the way that Timothy became a follower of Christ is his mother and his grandmother passed the faith to him. 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:18.879 Uh just shows how important of a role that uh mothers play in the spiritual lives of their children. 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:21.920 And we just look across here at MBC, and that's what our mothers are doing. 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:25.120 You know, our children's program on Sunday mornings are packed out. 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:30.960 Uh Wednesdays at Iwana, we have tons of kids there, BBS, so just be encouraged, know that you're serving the Lord. 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:33.840 Um, just thank you to each and every one of our mothers here this morning. 00:00:33.840 --> 00:00:38.640 Uh it's just so amazing uh all the things that you do for uh this church. 00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:41.359 And so as I said this morning, we are in 2 Timothy. 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:46.079 We are continuing on our sermon series called Passing the Faith to the Next Generation. 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:52.880 And so today we're coming up to 2 Timothy chapter 3, verses 16 to 17. 00:00:52.880 --> 00:01:00.240 And so for me in my life, I remember one of the scariest, most terrifying moments that I've ever been through was my junior year of college. 00:01:00.240 --> 00:01:13.200 And so for me, I went to Liberty University down in Lynchburg, Virginia, and I remember it was my junior year, and it was like the day before spring break, and most people had already left and gone back, and there was just a couple, a couple of us that were still there for another day. 00:01:13.200 --> 00:01:19.359 And I remember that evening there was nothing really going on, and you know, I figured, why not kill the time and just go out for a little hike? 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:23.519 So I decided to go to a nearby mountain and went out for a hike after dinner. 00:01:23.519 --> 00:01:28.640 I had it in my water bottle and put on some headphones, listened to a great worship album. 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:40.239 Uh, I was just having a blast, having a good time, and so there I was out there hiking hiking across this mountain, and then I started to notice that you know the sun was starting to come down, it was getting a little bit darker outside, so I figured, you know, this would be a good time to turn back. 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:46.560 So I started walking back, and and then I was starting to have a little bit of a difficult time finding back to where I came from. 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:51.920 Um and then at that point I noticed my phone battery was getting low, and after a few minutes, my phone died. 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:53.920 But thankfully, I had my Apple Watch. 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:56.959 Um I was using my Apple Watch as a flashlight, looking around. 00:01:56.959 --> 00:01:59.120 Uh I saw this like abandoned house somewhere. 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:01.519 And then a few moments later, the Apple Watch died. 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:03.920 And so at that point, it was literally pitch black. 00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:08.319 I was out there on a mountain in the middle of nowhere, having no idea where I was. 00:02:08.319 --> 00:02:22.400 I remember like the week before I listened to this Francis Chan sermon where he said that he was going for this spiritual experience and he was gonna sleep out in the woods for a whole weekend with nothing, and there were moments where I saw a pile of leaves and I was like, this might be my bed tonight. 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:25.199 And I was absolutely terrified. 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:29.439 And thankfully, eventually I did make it back to my car and still alive today. 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:35.840 But I do remember throughout that journey back to my car, there were multiple times where I'd come up to these signs. 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:40.159 I'd come up to these signs and they would have two arrows pointing in different directions. 00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:44.479 And they would say, if you follow this arrow this way, you can go down this trail. 00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:49.520 But if you follow the other arrow, you can go down this other trail. 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:57.520 And so for me at the time, I couldn't remember which trail I came from, so I had no idea which one to choose from. 00:02:57.520 --> 00:03:02.159 And every time I'd have to make that choice, it was terrifying. 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:09.919 And so this morning, as we look at 2 Timothy chapter 3, a similar choice is going to be placed before us this morning. 00:03:09.919 --> 00:03:14.400 But for us, it's not going to be a choice between two trails on a mountain. 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:16.159 It's going to be two voices. 00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:19.360 Two voices that we can choose to listen to this morning. 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:27.680 And like me on that mountain, one of those voices will lead us back to where we ought to be and back to safety. 00:03:27.680 --> 00:03:39.599 Well, the other arrow and the other voice will lead us further into the mountain, further into the darkness and further into being lost. 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:45.439 So here we are, 2 Timothy chapter 3, verses 16 to 17. 00:03:45.439 --> 00:04:03.439 The Apostle Paul writes this All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:06.560 So a hypothetical question for you. 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:16.399 If you were the enemy, this may seem strange, but if you were the enemy and you were tasked with trying to get humanity to turn from their relationship from God into the book of Genesis, what would be step one for you? 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:19.279 What would be like the first step in your plan? 00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:22.319 What would you do to try and get them to turn from God? 00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:31.360 Because in Genesis, God creates humanity, gives them the gift of life, and then he gives them one command, one rule, one thing not to do. 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:36.480 He says, Do not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:39.439 Because if they do, they'll die. 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:44.240 How would you try and get Adam and Eve to turn from that? 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:45.839 Because you would think that would be difficult, right? 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:48.959 I mean, they literally just heard God say that. 00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:54.000 Well, let's see what the enemy does in Genesis 3. 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:59.120 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:06.160 He said to the woman, Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden? 00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:10.399 Did you catch that there? 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:15.120 Did you see what step one of the devil's plan was? 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:18.240 The father of lies? 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:20.639 The murderer? 00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:26.720 What is his game plan to try and get Adam and Eve to turn from God? 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:31.839 I think it's those first four words there. 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:35.360 What did God really say? 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:40.560 Did God really did God did God really say? 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:52.560 See, at this moment, the devil brings into the equation this question of, what is it God really said? 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:56.000 Will you really die if you eat from that tree? 00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:58.399 Surely you won't die, right? 00:05:58.399 --> 00:06:01.040 God's withholding something from you. 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:03.920 Did God really say? 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:07.920 Maybe we can eat from this tree. 00:06:07.920 --> 00:06:17.199 See, I think today, thousands of years later, we still hear those four words in our lives. 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:19.040 Did God really say? 00:06:19.040 --> 00:06:26.160 Did God really say that marriage is only between one man and one woman? 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:27.759 I mean, it's 2026. 00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:29.040 We can't be excluding things. 00:06:29.040 --> 00:06:32.959 Did God really say that's the only way for marriage? 00:06:32.959 --> 00:06:37.839 Did God really say that he's the only way to salvation? 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:42.480 I mean, there's so many religions, there's so many people that are genuinely seeking eternal life. 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:46.160 Surely it's exclusive for us to say that Jesus is the only way. 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:49.920 Did God really say he's the only way? 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:58.879 Have you heard those four words echo in your life before? 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:06.560 Have you seen a loved one, someone you care about, plagued, deceived by those four words? 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:08.319 What did God really say? 00:07:08.319 --> 00:07:11.360 I think a lot of us have. 00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:18.000 I think a lot of us have seen the effects of listening to those four words. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:23.199 Doubting God, doubting his goodness, doubting his love. 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:34.800 And it's led humanity further into that mountain, further into the darkness, further into spiritual lostness. 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:44.879 Here in 2 Timothy, the Apostle Paul is responding to those four words. 00:07:44.879 --> 00:07:51.199 Here in 2 Timothy, the Apostle Paul is defending what God has said. 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:56.079 He says, all scripture is breathed out by God. 00:07:56.079 --> 00:08:00.800 Paul is tearing down the enemy's attack against God's word. 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:04.160 Paul is defending what God has truly said. 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:06.959 That question of, did God really say? 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:10.720 the Apostle Paul is saying, yes, God really has said something. 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:12.800 God has made his word known. 00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:15.519 He has breathed his word into the scriptures. 00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:27.680 If you want to hear what God really said, you can open up your Bible and see for yourself the very words of God, the creator of heaven and earth, the one who gave us life has spoken. 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:31.360 He has breathed his word into the Bible. 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:36.480 You can hear what God really said in the scriptures. 00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:47.120 But what does that actually mean when Paul says all scripture is breathed out by God? 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:50.000 You know, I think that's kind of a strange thing to say. 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:52.240 You know, I don't think we really hear that a whole lot anymore. 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:58.000 Like you're never off at a at a dinner party talking to a few people and saying, hey, have you guys heard that new album by Harry Stiles? 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:02.720 Man, I mean, just every single lyric he just breathed out into that song. 00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:04.799 It was absolutely incredible. 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:06.000 I mean, we never hear that. 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:07.519 No one says it anymore. 00:09:07.519 --> 00:09:08.720 Never hear that. 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:10.879 So what is Paul saying here? 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:16.320 You see, other translations like the NLT say all scripture is inspired by God. 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:22.799 So here, what we're dealing with is the doctrine of the inspiration of scripture. 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:25.519 And I was trying to think of the best way to explain this. 00:09:25.519 --> 00:09:30.399 And if you've ever talked to me outside of church, you wouldn't be surprised that I was reminded of a movie. 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:33.200 And for me, the movie that I was reminded of is movie Whiplash. 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:38.720 And if you've never seen the movie Whiplash, uh tells this really cool story about this drummer, uh, this kid named Andrew Nayman. 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:40.480 He has this pursuit. 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:48.080 He wants to be the best drummer he can be, he wants to be a professional drummer, and for him, he's in this college and he's trying to do the best that he can. 00:09:48.080 --> 00:09:53.120 And for me, prior to that, I never really listened to the drums a whole lot, wasn't really familiar with it. 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:56.159 But then after I saw the movie, I was just crazy about it. 00:09:56.159 --> 00:09:58.399 I was listening to the whole album all the time. 00:09:58.399 --> 00:09:59.919 I was crazy about the drums. 00:09:59.919 --> 00:10:02.639 I was just absolutely amazed. 00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:10.240 But there's a difference between the one playing the drums and the drums themselves. 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:14.320 You see, there's a musician and there's an instrument. 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:22.480 In that movie, Andrew Naaman was the musician, and he could have chosen any instrument he wanted, and he chose the drums. 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:26.799 So the inspiration of scripture is very similar. 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:28.639 For God is the musician. 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:35.039 God is the author of Scripture, and he could have chosen any instrument to communicate his word to us. 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:38.480 He could have had golden tablets drop down out of the sky. 00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:45.279 He could have put his word in the clouds in the sky, but what he chose to use, the instrument he chose to use, was just humans. 00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:47.360 People like you and me. 00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:53.919 He breathed his word into them, and they wrote the very words of God in the scriptures. 00:10:53.919 --> 00:10:56.799 And so that is what the inspiration of scripture is. 00:10:56.799 --> 00:11:01.519 It is God's word to humanity that he breathed into the authors. 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:05.679 And so the Bible is the very word from God. 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:13.360 But as we see here in 2 Timothy, God has a purpose for this word. 00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:17.360 He didn't just give us his word to just read it and just carry on with our lives. 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:18.399 He has a purpose. 00:11:18.399 --> 00:11:19.440 He has a desire. 00:11:19.440 --> 00:11:22.960 There's something he's trying to do with his word. 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:24.639 Let's continue. 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:37.200 All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:43.600 So I remember for me growing up, I accepted Christ at a very young age. 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:45.919 And, you know, I went to youth group growing up. 00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:49.679 I went to church on Sunday mornings and prayed and did everything. 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:52.720 But for me, my faith was always a private faith. 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:58.480 It was something I held closely to my heart, but it was never something I made public, something that I told other people about. 00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:01.919 And I just distinctly remember my three best friends growing up. 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:05.360 You know, we went to charter days together, we went to the Washington, D.C. 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:07.919 trip together, we played football together, we did everything together. 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:12.799 I knew them, we were close friends, and I knew, I knew that they weren't Christians. 00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:14.720 I knew they didn't know Jesus. 00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:16.879 And I never told them about him. 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:20.000 I never told them about my faith in Christ. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:23.120 I never told them about the gospel. 00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:28.960 You see, that was how I lived my life for the first 20 years of my life. 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:32.720 And I just distinctly remember my junior year of college. 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:38.879 I remember coming back that year and I was carrying all these trials that all just piled up at the same time in my life. 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:50.000 I just remember I went to my bookshelf and I picked up my little Zondervan backpack Bible that was like 15 years old, and I opened it up and I just started reading it. 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:55.759 Throughout that entire year, I started reading it, book after book in the Bible, just read it straight through. 00:12:55.759 --> 00:12:58.399 No one forced me to do it, no one made me do it. 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:00.159 I just started reading. 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:05.120 It was over that year I saw the Lord change my heart. 00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:08.080 He changed the direction of my life. 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:14.720 The boy that walked into college that junior year was not the same one that left at the end of the year. 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:25.360 Now I just remember there was this one verse in Philippians where Paul writes, For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:29.440 Prior to that year, I never lived like that. 00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:34.799 But God used his word to change my life, to change my heart. 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:41.440 So that now today, the greatest desire of my heart is to tell lost people about the gospel. 00:13:41.440 --> 00:13:50.320 And providentially, over the next year, God opened three doors for me to go back to those three friends of mine and to tell them about Jesus. 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:53.200 God used his word and changed my life. 00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:54.720 I can't take credit for it. 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:57.840 I can't stand before you today and say I did this or I did that. 00:13:57.840 --> 00:14:01.440 I can only stand before you today and say that God did this. 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:10.000 God used his word to teach me, to reprove me, and to correct me for my own good and for his glory. 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:15.360 And so my question for you this morning is would you like to see that in your life? 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:20.720 Is there an area in your life that you see doesn't line up with how it ought to be? 00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:26.240 Is there an area in your life that you know needs to be fixed? 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:36.480 Let me encourage you this morning, stop trying to self-will a better life, better behavior, better obedience, better following of Jesus. 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:38.399 Stop trying to do it yourself. 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:43.039 God has given you a divinely inspired word that has a purpose. 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:47.360 And that purpose is to lead you to be more and more like Christ. 00:14:47.360 --> 00:14:55.120 As the Apostle Paul says, this word is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. 00:14:55.120 --> 00:15:01.120 God wants to shape and change your life, and he wants to do that through his word. 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:12.639 All scriptures breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training and righteousness. 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:19.039 See, at the same time, I think many of us in here may be quite intimidated by the Apostle Paul here. 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:24.879 I think many of us might hear his words and become filled with fear of what will this entail? 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:31.440 What will those words of teaching, reproof, and correction do in my life? 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:42.240 See, in that same movie Whiplash, that I mentioned before, throughout the whole movie, you see the relationship between Andrew Naaman, the drummer, and his band teacher Terence Fletcher. 00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:45.919 Andrew Naaman wanted to be the best drummer he could be. 00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:53.039 And yet Terence Fletcher decided the way to do that was to push him. 00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:57.039 To push him harder and harder. 00:15:57.039 --> 00:16:06.720 To the point where every little mistake, every little mishap, every little miscue that Andrew did, he would hurl these harsh and terrible words towards him. 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:12.240 He put this weight, this pressure, this burden on him. 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:14.960 And it led to this one scene where Andrew just struggling. 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:22.159 He's trying to play the right beat, he's trying to do it the right way, and he keeps messing it up, he keeps doing the same mistake over and over and over again. 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:24.879 And then this Terence Fletcher just can't take it anymore. 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:35.200 He just hurls this chair straight at his head, and just everyone in the room just feels the weight of what just happened to Andrew. 00:16:35.200 --> 00:16:44.320 And the truth is, God's word can be used that way too. 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:50.480 Where it's all about our performance. 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:52.960 It's all about what we do. 00:16:52.960 --> 00:17:00.399 Every little misstep, every little mess up, you just get a spiritual chair hurled at your head. 00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:03.120 And you just receive this pressure, this weight. 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:08.640 Like it's all about how you perform in your spiritual life. 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:22.000 When Jesus walked here 2,000 years ago, there was one group of people he consistently had a problem with. 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:25.920 There was one group of people that he always had a word for. 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:32.960 And it was these people called the Pharisees, the spiritual teachers of the day. 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:35.519 And this is what Jesus had to say about them. 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:47.759 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 00:17:47.759 --> 00:18:07.839 See, the Pharisees went out and they tied up these heavy spiritual burdens and placed them on people's shoulders, burdens that they knew they couldn't carry, burdens that they knew they couldn't handle on their own, and it left them stranded, feeling like they had this weight, this pressure on them, that spiritually they couldn't live the way that they ought to live. 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:10.000 It was all about their performance. 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:15.519 They just placed these rules and these restrictions and these burdens on people. 00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:22.000 And maybe you're here this morning, and that sounds quite familiar to you. 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:31.279 Maybe for you you've had some kind of spiritual Pharisee place some kind of burden or weight or pressure on you, and it's left you feeling that way. 00:18:31.279 --> 00:18:36.880 When you hear about those heavy burdens that are hard to wear, you feel like you have one on you this morning. 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:40.640 Maybe you just always feel like you're not doing enough. 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:49.039 You're not reading your Bible enough, you're not praying enough, you're not obeying enough, you're not loving God enough, you're not doing enough, you're not being enough. 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:55.200 See, Jesus had a special set of words to say to people who felt that way. 00:18:55.200 --> 00:19:03.599 In Matthew 11, where Jesus says, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I, I will give you rest. 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:12.240 If you are here this morning and you have a burden on your shoulders that some Pharisee placed on you, Jesus has a word, an invitation for you. 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:13.599 He says, Come to me. 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:17.440 He says, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened. 00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:20.559 Jesus knows you can't carry those burdens on your own. 00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:28.559 Jesus saw it 2,000 years ago when the Pharisees were doing it, and he still sees it today, and he has an invitation of come to me. 00:19:28.559 --> 00:19:30.880 Stop trying to carry those burdens on your own. 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:32.240 You are not strong enough. 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:37.440 There is a reason Jesus stepped down here, and it was to free us from those burdens. 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:40.799 He came so that we can bring those burdens somewhere here. 00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:42.799 He wants us to bring them to the cross. 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:47.680 He wants us to bring those burdens to the cross so that he could take the full weight of those. 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:58.160 And then when we believe on him, he frees us from those burdens so we can follow him, listen to his word, and allow that word to shape us and to change us. 00:19:58.160 --> 00:19:59.200 Come to me. 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:00.640 That's what Jesus says. 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:01.839 Come to me. 00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:04.720 Say, yes, I will come to you, Jesus. 00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:06.640 Because he wants you to. 00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:12.160 And he will never place burdens you can't handle on your shoulders. 00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:27.039 But I'd like us to come back to that verse we started with in verse 16, where Paul says, all scripture is breathed out by God. 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:36.319 I think the question that a lot of us are possibly asking here is, how do we know that's true? 00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:40.799 How do we know that the Bible really is inspired by God? 00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:44.880 How do we know that the Bible really is the Word of God? 00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:47.920 Because we're not the only ones that claim this. 00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:53.839 There are numerous other religions that claim they have the inspired word. 00:20:53.839 --> 00:20:57.839 They claim that they have the very words of God Himself. 00:20:57.839 --> 00:20:59.359 So how do we know that this is it? 00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:04.799 How do we know that we actually have the true word of God? 00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:15.039 See, there's something different about the Bible from any other text. 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:22.160 There's something different about the scriptures that no other acclaimed word of God has. 00:21:22.160 --> 00:21:27.200 And that's that all of Scripture is pointing somewhere. 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:30.960 All of Scripture is pointing in a direction. 00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:38.240 And it all starts in Genesis, where after Adam and Eve fell, a prediction is made. 00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:45.119 That someone one day would come to slay the serpent, to slay the enemy. 00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:53.440 But even after Adam and Eve, generations came and generations went, and that serpent slayer never came. 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:57.680 Then you come to Noah and the Ark. 00:21:57.680 --> 00:21:59.759 And God instructs him to build. 00:21:59.759 --> 00:22:05.839 This ark that will save them from the floods on the earth. 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:12.160 But that ark wasn't sufficient to save people from the eternal punishment of sin. 00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:22.720 Humanity would need a greater ark, a spiritual ark that would save people from the floods of God's eternal punishment for sin. 00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:29.839 But generations came and generations went and no ark came. 00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:44.559 Then we come and we see Abraham up on a mountain, told to sacrifice his son, moments from sacrificing his son, and God stops him. 00:22:44.559 --> 00:22:47.839 And in comes a lamb that he provides. 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:52.480 A ram for Abraham to sacrifice in place of his son. 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:57.920 See, on that mountain, that ram was sufficient for Abraham and Isaac. 00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:02.160 But it wasn't sufficient for all of humanity's sins. 00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:03.839 We would need a greater ram. 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:12.000 We would need the lamb, the perfect, spotless lamb of God, but generations came and generations went, and no lamb came. 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:22.480 Then you see Moses and the Israelites in the book of Numbers, and they're out in this wilderness, and they're being bit and killed by these serpents. 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:30.160 And God instructs Moses to lift up this bronze serpent, and anyone who would fix their eyes on that serpent would be saved and wouldn't die. 00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:37.200 But that bronze serpent wasn't sufficient to save people from eternal death. 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:39.839 Something else would need to be lifted up. 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:48.640 Someone else would need to be lifted up so that all of humanity could look upon him and be saved from their sins. 00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:54.400 But even after Moses, years went by. 00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:57.599 And that person never came. 00:23:57.599 --> 00:24:04.799 Then after all the events of the Old Testament, 400 years passed by. 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:06.000 Silence. 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:07.839 No scripture. 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:11.920 No more God-breathed text. 00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:16.720 And it seems like maybe this wasn't God's word. 00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:22.079 Maybe this scripture wasn't truly breathed out by God. 00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:27.039 All those prophecies, all those things that it seemed to be pointing towards. 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:45.680 But then on an ordinary night, in a seemingly insignificant town called Bethlehem, a baby boy was born. 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:50.480 But this was no ordinary baby boy. 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:53.839 This boy was God in the flesh. 00:24:53.839 --> 00:24:57.920 In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God. 00:24:57.920 --> 00:25:00.559 Here he is. 00:25:00.559 --> 00:25:02.400 In the flesh. 00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:05.519 Jesus Christ was born. 00:25:05.519 --> 00:25:10.400 In came the Son of God, the Messiah. 00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:16.079 This was the one who came to slay the enemy. 00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:20.799 This was the eternal ark that humanity needed. 00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:23.359 This was the Lamb of God. 00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:35.680 This is the one that would ultimately be lifted up on a cross so that whoever would look upon Jesus on the cross and believe would be saved, would be freed from the eternal punishment of their sins. 00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:38.480 This is what all of Scripture testifies to. 00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:41.519 This is what all of the Bible points towards. 00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:48.160 The God-breathed text of Scripture is all pointing towards this Messiah, this Jesus church. 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:51.920 This is how we know that the Bible truly is the Word of God. 00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:57.920 It's because of Jesus, the Messiah, the one who fulfilled all of the prophecies of Scripture. 00:25:57.920 --> 00:26:02.319 He is the living, breathing Son of God, God in the flesh. 00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:04.960 This is how we know Christianity is true. 00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:08.480 This is how we know we are not like any other false religion. 00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:11.680 This is how we know the Bible is the only word of God. 00:26:11.680 --> 00:26:15.920 This is how we know the answer to the devil's question of did God really say? 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:18.720 We know that we could say, yes, God really has spoken. 00:26:18.720 --> 00:26:33.119 And it's in the scriptures, the scriptures that are confirmed by Jesus Christ Himself, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, the one who came in the flesh as God, our Savior, our Lamb of God. 00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:37.119 Church, this Bible is the word of God. 00:26:37.119 --> 00:26:46.079 So as we close this morning, I'd like to invite the worship team up for one last song. 00:26:46.079 --> 00:26:53.039 And before we close, I'd like to read the final verse that Paul writes to us this morning. 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:56.559 And this is what he writes. 00:26:56.559 --> 00:27:07.200 After telling us everything about Scripture, he says this that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:17.599 You might be here this morning and you look inside that spiritual mirror and you just feel like you're not enough. 00:27:17.599 --> 00:27:28.640 Feel like you don't have enough within you, you're not strong enough, wise enough, know enough, and you feel like God just can't use you for good and mighty things. 00:27:28.640 --> 00:27:42.400 But the truth is, if you look through this entire scripture, this entire scripture that was breathed out by God, you would see character after character after character in the Bible. 00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:44.319 Failed. 00:27:44.319 --> 00:27:48.240 Every single one was not enough. 00:27:48.240 --> 00:27:52.400 Abraham, how many times did he not trust God? 00:27:52.400 --> 00:27:54.799 David, what does he did? 00:27:54.799 --> 00:27:57.519 What is it that he did with Bathsheba? 00:27:57.519 --> 00:27:59.039 Peter? 00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:01.599 How many times did he deny Jesus? 00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:03.359 Not once, not twice. 00:28:03.359 --> 00:28:05.279 Three times. 00:28:05.279 --> 00:28:07.920 Paul, how does Paul describe himself? 00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:11.039 Wretched man that I am? 00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:20.720 See, Jesus didn't come to use those who think that they're perfect and they have it all together, but he came to use those who know that they're not enough. 00:28:20.720 --> 00:28:33.759 He came to use those who see their brokenness, see their insufficiencies, and need God to make them complete, and need God to equip them for every good work. 00:28:33.759 --> 00:28:52.160 And so this morning, church, let me encourage you to lift your eyes up off of yourself and fix your eyes on Jesus, the incarnate word of God, the one who came to make you complete, and the one who came to equip you for every good work. 00:28:52.160 --> 00:28:54.160 Would you pray with me? 00:28:54.160 --> 00:29:06.319 Father in heaven, we come before you this morning and Lord, we thank you for your word. 00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:16.079 Lord, we thank you for how your word points us somewhere and it points us back to you. 00:29:16.079 --> 00:29:20.799 God, we confess and we admit that we're not enough on our own. 00:29:20.799 --> 00:29:23.119 We fall short in so many ways. 00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:32.400 But Lord, we thank you for sending your Son to come in, to die for us, to make us complete, and to equip us for all that you have for us. 00:29:32.400 --> 00:29:42.400 So, Lord, this morning I pray that all of us here may fix our eyes on the cross and fix our eyes on Jesus and see the great love that you have for us. 00:29:42.400 --> 00:29:44.400 Lord, we thank you. 00:29:44.400 --> 00:29:46.000 Lord, we love you. 00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:48.400 We pray this all in the name of Jesus. 00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:49.359 Amen.