WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:01.840 I'm gonna start a new series this week. 00:00:01.919 --> 00:00:05.040 Uh we're actually calling just real simple, calling it theology. 00:00:05.280 --> 00:00:11.279 Gonna do three weeks that we're gonna be talking about theology, which is the study of God. 00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:12.960 All right, that's what it is. 00:00:13.119 --> 00:00:15.439 And so let me open this up in prayer and then we'll jump in. 00:00:15.519 --> 00:00:15.759 All right. 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:18.000 God, we come to you in the name of Jesus. 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:20.320 We open up our hearts to you. 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:23.120 We prepare ourselves to receive from you. 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:26.719 And that means we open up our minds and become receptive. 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:31.280 Lord, I pray that you would show us the things that you want us to see as a collective. 00:00:31.519 --> 00:00:40.240 And that, Lord, you would speak to us as individuals as well to see what we need to change and maybe how we think or what we think. 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:42.880 And then, Lord, what you want us to do with that. 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:46.640 And God, we thank you that when we do that, we grow in wisdom. 00:00:46.960 --> 00:00:51.200 And Lord, we are transformed and have our minds renewed. 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:52.079 That's what we want. 00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:53.679 We want it coming from you. 00:00:53.920 --> 00:00:56.399 So speak to us in Jesus' name. 00:00:56.719 --> 00:00:57.359 Amen. 00:00:57.840 --> 00:00:58.479 Amen. 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:04.480 So theology, okay, if you break down the word, means the study of God. 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:10.879 And uh I want to take really throughout this series, I want to take a very practical approach. 00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:14.319 In fact, let's just start by setting our expectations. 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:19.120 Uh, these next three weeks are not going to be a whole lot of rah-rah. 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:22.640 I don't anticipate them to be highly emotional weeks. 00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:25.519 Um, these are going to be equipping type weeks. 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:33.519 These are going to be preparation type weeks to really help you uh to be able to be a theologian, all right? 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:39.040 A person that studies and understands and learns about God throughout your lifetime. 00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:44.159 Uh you think of the old adage: you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. 00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:47.359 You teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:54.079 And sometimes churches are places that in these types of moments you come in and we give you a fish. 00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:55.680 Here you go, here's a fish. 00:01:55.840 --> 00:01:58.239 And, you know, I think there's a better way. 00:01:58.319 --> 00:01:59.840 I think certainly we're gonna do that. 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:09.439 We're gonna try to give out fish uh when you come to church, but uh, if I can equip you to fish, then you're gonna get seven fish a week. 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:13.919 And I just think you're healthier when you eat seven fish a week versus one fish a week. 00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:20.479 And and really, I think in when it comes to leadership of any kind, um, that's a good approach. 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:29.280 Like if you're a parent, you know that your job is to train your kids to become independent, to not need you over the long haul. 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:39.039 And you prepare them emotionally and intellectually, and uh you pass on lessons, and eventually you can you can send them on on their way, and they can not only survive but thrive. 00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:40.960 And I I want to do that here. 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:45.199 I I don't want you dependent on me, I want you going way past me. 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:48.080 Um, what prompted the series? 00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:49.680 Two two observations. 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:56.400 Uh the first observation is actually when you read the New Testament, you see a large portion of the New Testament was written by the Apostle Paul. 00:02:56.560 --> 00:03:06.400 And the Apostle Paul spent a lot of his time trying to help people that he cared about to sort of meander their way through the chaos and to get clear theologically. 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:21.599 So he would go to a city, he would gather the believers, they would start a church and a gathering and a community, and then once he had sort of taught them doctrine and foundational teachings and uh taught well, and it might have taken them a year, a couple years, he then would move on and go to the next city. 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:27.360 Well, he's in the next city, and while he's in this city, somebody rolled into the last city and they started teaching other stuff. 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:31.919 And so he would have to sort of, you know, he'd get a letter from them, like these people back here. 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:38.400 He'd get a letter, and they'd be like, hey man, you know, these Judaizers just came in, or these Gnostics came in, and they're teaching us this stuff. 00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:43.360 Okay, we don't know what to believe because they're pretty compelling, but it's different than what you said. 00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:44.159 What's up? 00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:50.080 So then Paul's writing them a letter and he gives it to a courier who then takes it back and they're going back and forth. 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:53.280 And this is how you get stuff like 1st and 2 Corinthians. 00:03:53.520 --> 00:03:56.639 All right, um, Ephesians, Philippians, all these. 00:03:56.800 --> 00:03:58.000 Paul's writing back and forth. 00:03:58.159 --> 00:04:00.879 And you'll this where you'll see stuff like this, Colossians 2, 4. 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:05.120 He says, I'm telling you this so that no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments. 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:10.159 So he's all the time trying to help them get their theology straight because he cares about them. 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:11.439 He doesn't want them to be confused. 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:14.479 Look what it says in Romans 16, 17 and 18. 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:22.079 He said, Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people's faith by teaching things contrary to what you've been taught. 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:23.279 Stay away from them. 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:29.120 Such people are not serving Christ our Lord, they're serving their own personal interests, they're self-interested. 00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:37.120 They want to come in and cause division, and in so doing, in that polarization, now they gotta have a following and they're influential and they can capitalize. 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:41.040 He said they use smooth talk and glowing words to deceive innocent people. 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:42.639 So Paul was compelled to do it. 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:50.480 And as I was looking at that, I thought, you know, I think I think that's part of my job as well, because I think we do live in a day where there's still a lot of confusion. 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:52.160 Man, what should I believe about God? 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:52.800 You know, A. 00:04:52.959 --> 00:04:53.040 W. 00:04:53.199 --> 00:05:00.000 Tozier said, uh, one of the most important things about you, or the most important thing about you, is what you believe about God. 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:02.319 It's it's really, really important what you believe. 00:05:02.399 --> 00:05:16.319 And when we think about this, like to believe the right thing about God really is a life-changing thing because we bring God into our lives, we invite God into our lives, into our problems, into our challenges, into our life experience. 00:05:16.480 --> 00:05:24.480 But if we don't see him the right way, we don't understand him the right way, there's a lot of confusion because things aren't kind of playing out the way that I thought they would. 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:30.879 All right, think about this when you were a kid, you went to school, and your teacher gave you math problems. 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:32.800 Math problems. 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:36.000 I don't know any kid went to school and made up their own math problems. 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:37.199 Those just came to him. 00:05:37.439 --> 00:05:38.879 The teacher delivered that to you. 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:40.800 And then from there you came up with an answer. 00:05:40.879 --> 00:05:44.399 And I think throughout life, I don't know anybody looking for problems. 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:49.199 I don't know anybody's like, you know, you know, really, just looking for more complications in my life. 00:05:49.279 --> 00:05:51.439 You know, I'm actually what I'm looking for are some challenges. 00:05:51.519 --> 00:05:52.959 All right, I'm looking for more problems. 00:05:53.120 --> 00:05:55.439 Problems come our way, they come to us. 00:05:55.600 --> 00:06:08.720 And what we're looking for are answers, and not just getting the right answer so I can get on the honor roll and get the honor court at graduation and I can prove where I uh fit in the dominance hierarchy or the food chain at school. 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:14.800 Beyond that, is actually to have a transformational experience comes through better knowledge and understanding. 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:20.240 I learn more so I can apply more and become wiser and more mature. 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:21.759 More mature. 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:26.639 Not just more intellectual, that's a part of it, but also more mature. 00:06:26.959 --> 00:06:32.160 And so the question is this do you want God involved in your life? 00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:38.079 Do you want your understanding about God to inform your answers and how you deal with your life? 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:42.879 If the answer is yes, then you have to accept the fact that you are a theologian. 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:44.639 You are a theologian. 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:46.800 The question is not, are you a theologian? 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:47.360 Because you are. 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:50.079 I know you're a theologian because you have thoughts about God. 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:52.079 You have beliefs about God. 00:06:52.399 --> 00:06:54.319 The question isn't, are you a theologian? 00:06:54.480 --> 00:06:57.680 The question is, what kind of theologian will you be? 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:00.800 An informed one or an uninformed one? 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:09.519 A good one or a bad one, which leads me to the second observation as why this whole series is even happening, is because I think we live in a really interesting time. 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:15.519 In Paul's day, the way he dealt with bad theology was writing letters through a courier, like I mentioned. 00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:17.360 That was their system of communication. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:19.759 We live in the information age. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:25.600 And in the information age, there's more good information that is accessible to you than there's ever been. 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:33.279 You have more opportunity right now than anybody's ever had to get good information and content to inform your theology. 00:07:33.519 --> 00:07:39.279 But the other side of that coin is there's more bad information available to you as well. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:46.240 I talked to somebody the other day whose primary source of theological intake comes from TikTok. 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:48.560 And I'm not trying to be funny. 00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:57.839 They're truly hungry, they're trying to figure out, but they're they're doing this and they're getting somebody's hitting them with some TikTok theology, which, hey, I there's no, I'm not upset about TikTok. 00:07:57.920 --> 00:07:58.560 All right, whatever. 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:00.720 It's a place like hungry people are there. 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:03.600 Let's pull up with a food truck and start feeding good stuff. 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:09.680 But but the whole point is if I'm seeing something on TikTok that's theological, how do I know if it's good? 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:10.959 How do I know if it's bad? 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:12.560 There's a lot of stuff being fed to you. 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:23.759 I'm gonna give you some handles here to prepare you to be able to take these thoughts, take these concepts, run them through a grid and get some good theology. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:24.480 All right? 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:25.040 Okay. 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:27.439 I'm starting with this. 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:36.000 Um start with the mindset that theology is gonna be a lifelong journey. 00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:50.399 I think when when you become a Christian or you give your life to Jesus and you start reading your Bible, often we feel this pressure like I have to get all of my beliefs about the Bible and God and everything, I gotta get them rock solid ASAP. 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:59.279 And so there's this urgency about being dogmatic and confident about everything you believe. 00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:02.399 And I get it, in a sense. 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:08.240 I get that um, in a sense, uh being stubborn can be a good thing. 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:12.320 It can be, in that you go, hey, I'm I'm steadfast. 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:15.519 You know, if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:22.559 And Jesus said a righteous man builds his house on a rock, not on sand, and you put your roots down and all this. 00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:30.399 And so I think there are some times that you just put those heels in the ground and you put those roots really deep and you refuse to be moved. 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:40.879 But I I think throughout life, if you take in an honest journey, life experience will take you to some places and your theology will be morphing over time. 00:09:40.960 --> 00:09:51.600 And I think it takes wisdom to know what things am I dogmatic about and stubborn about, and then what things is actually I should be reopening and thinking about. 00:09:51.679 --> 00:09:53.039 I'm gonna give you some things to help you with that. 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:56.879 But we got to pack for a lifelong journey, okay? 00:09:57.120 --> 00:10:01.440 And the first thing you pack is a tent because you gotta be patient. 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:09.840 Okay, so we got a tent and we got a sleeping mat here, because there are some concepts that you just not gonna, it's not gonna get you in one teaching. 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:13.360 Okay, it's not one teaching, it's gonna take time, overtime. 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:17.360 We we got ropes here, because we're gonna climb to higher places, all right? 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:23.759 We got uh we got uh binoculars here because we wanna see things that are a long way off and to look at them closely. 00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:29.279 We got we got a first aid kit here because sometimes you gotta deal with injuries along the way. 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:33.120 As you're trying to get good theology, you gotta you know patch up some stuff. 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:38.399 And then we got um buffalo style chicken, mac and cheese. 00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:40.639 Nothing spiritual about that. 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:44.399 It's just tastes good and you're gonna get hungry, all right? 00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:48.559 Um, and so to pack up this bag, this is a mindset. 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:57.519 And the mindset is I don't have to have all the answers right now, but I I'm gonna spend my life developing as a theologian. 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:04.320 I'm gonna ex I'm gonna spend my life learning about God and and and uh going to the next level. 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:07.440 And so that's why you got your walking stick. 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:08.080 All right? 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:10.000 Alright, here's what I'm gonna give you. 00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:15.039 I'm gonna give you three tools to put in the old backpack for the journey of a lifetime. 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:15.840 You ready? 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:16.799 How do I look? 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:17.519 How do I look? 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:21.440 I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not much of an outdoorsman to be honest with you. 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:22.639 I don't know if you could tell. 00:11:22.799 --> 00:11:30.480 Alright, um first thing to put in your bag is your head, your brain. 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:32.879 You're gonna have to use your brain. 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:41.440 Um God, Almighty God, gave you a hundred billion neurons in your brain, and he wants you to use them. 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:45.279 So there is no we check our brains at the door is part of it. 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:55.840 Now, what I'm gonna do is I wanna give you a systematic approach to how I would run my TikTok theology through something. 00:11:56.080 --> 00:11:59.200 I read something in the Bible, I hear something. 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:00.080 Is this true? 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:02.080 How do I know if it holds any weight? 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:07.759 I'm gonna give you what's uh called, this is called the Wesleyan quadrilateral. 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:09.200 Okay, very simple. 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:13.360 I hope you take notes on this or take a picture of it or do something with it. 00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:17.279 I'm gonna call it the West Quad, but it's the Wesleyan quadrilateral. 00:12:17.360 --> 00:12:24.320 These are four things that you take any idea, any scripture, any thought, any theological principle, and you run it through these four things. 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:28.159 The first is the scripture itself. 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:36.240 So we believe that all scripture is given by the inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for approval, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. 00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:36.879 Why? 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:42.000 So that men and women of God can be thoroughly furnished and equipped to do good works. 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:44.799 That God's word is living and active and sharp. 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:46.720 And so it's it's it's the word of God. 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:52.720 66 books written by a whole bunch of authors over many eras, and that's the scripture. 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:54.559 And we we we start there. 00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:57.279 The second is tradition. 00:12:58.559 --> 00:12:59.360 Tradition. 00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:10.240 When I say tradition, I don't just mean your customs or your rituals, but I want you to think of your background. 00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:14.639 So for some of you, you're like, Greg, honestly, man, I'm not like a church person. 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:16.080 Didn't really grow up in church. 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:21.039 In fact, maybe your family tradition was that you didn't go to church or that you weren't religious. 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:35.039 And so you you go, you know, uh, I was taught in my tradition, religion's the opiate of the masses, that weak people need it because they need it as a crutch, and they they can't cope with life, and so they need some uh superstition or whatever. 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:40.639 And you see where people often get mind control or group think, and you're like, you know, I'm independent think. 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:53.279 Okay, maybe that's the family you grew up in, or maybe you grew up in a church that had strong traditions, and and so before you really even read the Bible for yourself or studied the Bible for yourself, you already knew what the traditions were. 00:13:53.679 --> 00:14:10.720 You knew what you believed about it before you even knew what it was, but you knew what you believed about it, and if you didn't believe the right thing about it, what the tradition said about it, or what your parents said about it, you were gonna be ostracized. 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:11.200 All right? 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:13.039 It's a dishonoring. 00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:14.000 It's wrong, it's wrong. 00:14:14.159 --> 00:14:16.159 You knew it was wrong, you didn't even know what it was. 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:25.279 So, so tradition, okay, is is is a good thing, but let's look, but but it's it's it can be both a good thing and it also can be an impediment. 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:26.960 So let me say it like this. 00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:28.399 Let's think more about tradition. 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:32.720 Tradition, okay, isn't just what you do at Christmas time or how you do church. 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:35.600 Do we have an organ or do we have lights or what do we do? 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:37.039 Tradition's bigger than that. 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:39.919 Think of tradition, think of education as tradition. 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:42.960 So let's let's say you're a biologist, okay? 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:50.000 Biologist, you go to school, they they don't, you don't go to your first day of biology class, and they just send you out in the woods and go figure it out. 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:50.879 Right? 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:52.000 What do they do? 00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:54.399 They start by tradition. 00:14:54.720 --> 00:15:00.240 They start and say, hey, for many, many years people have been studying and looking at the earth. 00:15:00.480 --> 00:15:12.080 And with the technology that they had, they had hypotheses, they came to certain conclusions, they proved things that are now principles, and then you get vocabulary words. 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:16.320 And those vocabulary words represent huge concepts. 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:35.360 So if you were to sit around and listen to biological geniuses talk about biology, they'd be using shorthand and vocabulary words that you may not understand, but it's taking thousands of years of studying and information and tradition and bringing it into shorthand so that we can build on it. 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:37.039 We can build on it. 00:15:37.279 --> 00:15:39.360 This is the same with theology, right? 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:48.320 People took what they had, they studied it, they thought about it, they brought vocabulary to it, um, they used the technology that they had at their time. 00:15:48.480 --> 00:15:52.000 In fact, I talked about in a message uh last week. 00:15:52.159 --> 00:16:02.159 I talked about how uh one version of the Bible that was written uh in the 1600s uh had this in it, and then the ones that were written after the 1800s had this. 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:02.399 Why? 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:03.919 Because they had better manuscripts. 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:04.960 You see what I'm saying? 00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:09.120 Over time, the theologians have studied created traditions. 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:17.759 So now you might have a verse that different traditions interpret different ways because they see it differently. 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:30.559 If you know those things and you understand those theological concepts, it helps to develop your intellect around that verse or that theological concept so that now you can make a decision for yourself. 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:32.080 Now, here's the challenge though. 00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:33.600 Here's the challenge. 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:55.039 The challenge is if you have an affection for the tradition you came up in, okay, there's a nostalgic perspective there, and there's also a visceral feeling that you have to challenge something that Mama and Papa gave you, or mom and dad gave you, or the Sunday school teacher gave you, or the tradition you can't, because I'm dyed in the wool this. 00:16:55.519 --> 00:17:06.240 So you you you come up there, and then now when it comes time to reopen that case or to look at it, it feels like a dishonoring of my ancestors to even ask this question. 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:14.880 It feels like I'm dishonoring people that I should be honoring, which again, it's good to honor people who you love or who have done things for you. 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:18.160 But at the same time, that can become, friend, hear me, hear my heart. 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:19.519 I'm all about honor. 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:29.519 But it can become an impediment to you actually getting to some good deep truth because you feel wrong to even examine something that was given to you that you believe. 00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:33.359 Most people are more well-versed in tradition than they are in scripture. 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:39.039 In fact, a lot of what they think they know about scripture comes from their tradition, and they never even looked at the verse. 00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:42.799 They can quote, hey, the Bible says, and then they'll say something, they don't even know where it's at. 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:45.599 They probably hadn't even really read it or really studied it. 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:49.519 And this is why I say, hey, pack your bag and take some time. 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:54.160 Because you don't have to have yourself all super dogmatic out the gate. 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:54.960 Take some time. 00:17:55.119 --> 00:17:57.519 There will be things that will come your way that you have to examine. 00:17:57.839 --> 00:17:59.359 Which leaves me to the last two. 00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:02.480 All right, um, the last two are reason. 00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:07.599 Reason, logic, and experience. 00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:09.839 Life experience. 00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:16.640 Okay, so I'll give it, let me work this out in front of you here. 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:17.759 John 14. 00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:19.119 Let's say it's Tuesday, man. 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:24.720 You want to get a little, you want to get a little scripture in your system before you go to work and deal with these folks. 00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:29.200 So you open up your Bible to John 14 and you read the words of Jesus. 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:34.880 And Jesus says in verse 13, you can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it. 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:37.759 So that the Son of Man can bring glory to the Father. 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:40.319 And then he repeats himself in verse 14. 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:45.279 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. 00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:46.400 Okay. 00:18:47.440 --> 00:18:49.519 Well, there's some theology there. 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:51.440 What should I believe about that? 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:52.640 Because that's a big deal. 00:18:52.960 --> 00:19:01.279 Whatever you do with that verse, what you believe about that verse will at least inform how you attempt to bring that concept into your life. 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:04.319 What is that saying? 00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:06.480 Is that saying what it looks like it's saying? 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:10.000 You can ask anything in Jesus' name? 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:11.680 What does that mean? 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:14.559 Is in Jesus' name like the magic words? 00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:19.519 It's like abracadabra, like in Jesus' name, Ferrari. 00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:24.880 In Jesus' name, rich husband. 00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:28.480 In Jesus' name, I get the promotion. 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:36.240 As funny as it is, some people traditionally believe that. 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:38.640 They think you can just name it and claim it. 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:46.799 And as long as you put Jesus' name on it, you said the magic words, just get ready for the blessing coming to you. 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:48.960 You ask what the problem is, y'all. 00:19:49.119 --> 00:19:50.240 You're not asking for it. 00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:52.240 You have not because you ask not. 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:57.599 Ferrari in Jesus' name, private jet in Jesus' name, the hookup in Jesus' name. 00:19:57.680 --> 00:20:00.480 Now, okay, does that does that does that hold? 00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:01.599 Is that correct? 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:02.960 Is that theologically correct? 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:08.720 Because if you try to bring that into your life and it's not theologically correct, you're in for disappointment, confusion. 00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:10.400 So what is it saying? 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:13.119 Well, let's run it through the quadrilateral here. 00:20:13.759 --> 00:20:15.759 Let's run it through reason. 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:18.079 Does that make sense? 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:21.279 You can ask anything in the name of Jesus, you're gonna have it. 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:23.359 No, that doesn't make sense. 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:27.440 Because people could be praying competing prayers. 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:34.240 Two guys want to marry the same woman, and they're both praying that God would deliver her to them. 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:36.160 Well, she ain't going with both of you. 00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:38.240 Somebody's not gonna get the prayer answer. 00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:41.519 Ten people praying for the promotion, one person's gonna get it. 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:44.160 Nine people go, but I prayed in Jesus' name. 00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:48.640 A hundred thousand people praying for a victory. 00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:18.000 My experience has taught me that you can pray all you want in Jesus' name for more first downs and more touchdowns, and God would send confusion to the other team's coach. 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:23.200 We'd stop the run and the pass. 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:25.279 In Jesus' name. 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:30.880 I stand here today bearing witness to you that I prayed that prayer. 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:36.000 And I said the magic word. 00:21:39.440 --> 00:21:42.799 But it doesn't, it doesn't make, it doesn't make logical sense. 00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:45.759 So now you gotta go, okay, what do I do with that? 00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:49.359 Because let me tell you something, friends, all jokes aside. 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:54.480 What happens for folks is they know a little bit of scripture, a little bit of tradition. 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:56.640 They know more tradition than scripture. 00:21:56.880 --> 00:21:59.759 And something happens in their life experience. 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:06.720 And now their life experience outpaces their scripture knowledge. 00:22:07.359 --> 00:22:12.160 So their theology is often rooted in their deepest pain. 00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:15.440 And the realest life experience. 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:19.440 Because my life experience is more tangible than your Bible. 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:21.119 You got me? 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:28.720 So people get there and you got when you come up against that, and by the way, if you're there, you're in a better spot than you think you are. 00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:30.160 You have an opportunity. 00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:33.839 Because you got three oper you got you can really do three things the way I see it. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:42.079 You can do three things when you're in the position where your life experience or your pain or whatever has outpaced truly what you know about God's word. 00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:46.000 Or it's gone outside of your traditional ability to cope. 00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:48.160 Like I don't have answers for all this. 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:50.880 So you can do three things. 00:22:51.119 --> 00:23:05.599 One, you can choose to live in the cognitive dissonance, and you can go with platitudes, and you you you can come out, you can be so confused on the inside, but you bury it as deeply as you can, and then you show up at church talking about how you doing, brother. 00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:07.599 Too blessed to be stressed, is what I am. 00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:10.079 I'm too blessed to be stressed. 00:23:10.160 --> 00:23:12.240 And inside you're about to have a nervous breakdown. 00:23:12.559 --> 00:23:17.039 But you told everybody you were too blessed, so you just you're lying to everybody, including yourself. 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:18.799 Actually, you're lying to yourself first. 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:20.240 Everybody else knows better. 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:21.920 But but you you believe it. 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:26.640 So you just shove it down as far as you can and just keep going about business as usual. 00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:28.079 I don't think that's a good plan. 00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:28.640 You can do it. 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:30.640 I've seen people do it, it doesn't end well. 00:23:31.359 --> 00:23:40.559 The second plan is you can just walk away because you go, man, my life experience tells me John 14 doesn't hold water. 00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:41.839 So yeah, you know what? 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:46.079 It is the opiate of the masses, and it is a bunch of hocus pocus, and it is a bunch of whatever. 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:47.519 And so then you head for the hills. 00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:52.160 Or the third option is then you can go, you know what, I'm gonna I'm gonna dig deep. 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:53.200 How do you dig deep? 00:23:53.359 --> 00:23:58.960 Well, okay, I I'm out here, okay, and I'm I'm I'm I'm on my exploration. 00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:01.119 Think about earth science. 00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:03.359 Think of the concept of earth science. 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:08.559 I I'm I'm it's geology, it's geography, it's geophysics. 00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:11.200 I'm out in the world, I get a sample, something doesn't make sense. 00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:19.119 I see the forest and I see a tree, and I go in on that limb, and I take something and I put it under the microscope. 00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:33.119 Because my my life experience tells me something's going on, I don't get it, I don't understand it, and I take it and I put it under the microscope and I look at it under the microscope so I can see something different than I've seen before. 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:35.519 How what does that look like in theology? 00:24:35.680 --> 00:24:40.480 Well, that would look like I go into John 14, and now I'm gonna actually dig deep into this text. 00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:43.039 I'm gonna find out what was Jesus talking about? 00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:44.640 Who was he talking to? 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:46.160 What did he really mean by it? 00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:48.640 And I am gonna look at different traditions. 00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:50.319 What is the view of this verse? 00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:51.440 What could it mean? 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:53.759 And so I'm gonna look at it more deeply. 00:24:53.839 --> 00:25:10.640 I'm gonna put the words under the microscope, I'm gonna put their culture under the microscope, I'm gonna put context under the microscope, but but as I look under the microscope, I'm not gonna get lost under the microscope because you have to have both uh an understanding of microbiology but also earth science as a whole. 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:15.440 So I have to have in my bag both a microscope and a drone. 00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:29.440 So I look at the word and I chop the word down and I look at it in its original language and I learn uh the the deeper concept, but then I'll come back and I'll look at it through the light of the character of God. 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:32.720 I'll look at it through the weight of scripture. 00:25:32.960 --> 00:25:45.680 So you gotta go big, small, zoom in, zoom out, look in the microscope, grab the binoculars, get the drone, and this is a theological journey to be able to go deeper. 00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:47.759 So you gotta bring your head. 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:51.440 The second thing is you gotta bring your heart, okay? 00:25:51.759 --> 00:26:00.640 Um by the way, here's some brain science for you that you actually have clusters of neurons outside of your brain. 00:26:01.200 --> 00:26:09.200 So the you can I some book recommendations, there's a book called M braining, M braining, multiple braining, another book, Head, Heart, Guts. 00:26:09.839 --> 00:26:20.240 Talks about this concept where you have when a fetus is developing and the stomach develops, the stomach develops before the other organs so that it can feed the child as the child grows. 00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:30.240 And so the neurons, hundred billion, end up in your brain, but the all of that starts in the stomach, and actually you end up with about a hundred million neurons in your stomach. 00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:37.119 And you have about 40 million neurons, sorry, 40,000 neurons in your literal heart. 00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:38.640 This is where you go, man. 00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:40.240 I had a gut feeling about that. 00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:43.599 And we use it a bit metaphorically, but you actually did feel something in your gut. 00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:48.799 There's actually some intelligence in your stomach, which is why your stomach says, don't eat white castle. 00:26:48.880 --> 00:26:50.400 You're it's telling you. 00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:53.759 It warned you, you can't be upset about it. 00:26:53.839 --> 00:26:55.519 It told you, don't do this. 00:26:56.880 --> 00:27:00.880 But you have intelligence in your gut, you have intelligence actually in your heart. 00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:02.960 And God uses these three things, right? 00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:05.200 This is your intuition, your sense. 00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:08.400 Actually, the the Holy Spirit will speak to you. 00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:14.559 And then you have your heart, you you have your values, the thing that matter, the things that matter to you, all right? 00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:18.400 Your passion, your compassion, and you have your head, which is your analytics. 00:27:18.880 --> 00:27:26.240 So, so what's what's the right heart posture for me to actually be the best theologian I can be, or for you to be? 00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:28.079 I'm gonna give you a few things real quick. 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:30.960 One is I do believe a heart of sincerity. 00:27:31.200 --> 00:27:39.279 And I think it takes true sincerity to be willing and able to actually move past some of these types of things. 00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:44.720 I think it takes sincerity to go, I know I'm in pain now, but I really want to see the truth. 00:27:44.880 --> 00:27:46.400 I don't just want to be right. 00:27:47.119 --> 00:27:50.480 I I know it feels weird to reopen this case. 00:27:50.559 --> 00:27:52.559 It feels weird to ask this question. 00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:56.880 It almost feels wrong to ask this question, but I know it's not. 00:27:57.039 --> 00:27:59.359 And so I'm gonna go in here and I'm gonna dig for deeper truths. 00:27:59.440 --> 00:28:01.759 So I think you have to have sincerity. 00:28:01.920 --> 00:28:05.039 I think the the second thing is you have to have humility. 00:28:05.839 --> 00:28:07.039 Let me show you this. 00:28:07.200 --> 00:28:13.920 Um, 1 Corinthians, written by the Apostle Paul, uh, very famous 1 Corinthians 13, right? 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:15.519 You probably heard it at weddings. 00:28:15.680 --> 00:28:18.000 Love is patient, love is kind, it's a love chapter. 00:28:18.240 --> 00:28:22.799 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but I have not love, I'm nothing, I'm just making a bunch of noise. 00:28:22.880 --> 00:28:24.960 He says, I'm like a clanging cymbal. 00:28:25.680 --> 00:28:29.119 And then he goes on to talk about what love is. 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:33.680 When you look at that in its context, it's in a sequence. 00:28:34.079 --> 00:28:42.240 So you have chapter 12, which talks about theological concepts around gifts of the Spirit, gifts that the Holy Spirit gives. 00:28:42.480 --> 00:28:53.759 And it's not just the ability to have talent or do certain things well, but it's like God will give people a special gift in a moment to be able to serve uh the overall body, to serve people. 00:28:54.160 --> 00:29:04.640 And in chapter 14, it's a very culturally specific logistical direction on this is what functioning in a body like this looks like in decency and in order. 00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:06.640 We don't want to become chaotic, okay? 00:29:06.799 --> 00:29:08.000 We want to do things in order. 00:29:08.079 --> 00:29:13.680 And he so he uses their context to talk to them about what that would look like, how that would function in Corinth. 00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:22.559 But in chapter 13, he gives a transcendent principle, and he's saying, Look, these gifts and a lot of these concepts are things that will come and go. 00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:25.599 He said, What really matters is love. 00:29:26.160 --> 00:29:31.920 And look what he says, and look at this, look at his heart posture here in 1 Corinthians 13, 9 and 10. 00:29:32.079 --> 00:29:40.960 He said, Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture. 00:29:41.119 --> 00:29:43.039 I want to pause there real quick. 00:29:43.519 --> 00:29:51.759 He's saying, prophecy, a divine download from God into the mind of a person. 00:29:52.400 --> 00:29:54.720 Pretty amazing, pretty dramatic. 00:29:54.960 --> 00:30:01.359 The ability to foretell, to see something into the future, or to foretell, to speak forth. 00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:02.799