Reliably Knowing Jesus
Series: Prepare Him Room
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 28th December 2025
Passages:
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Good morning, everyone. Welcome to St Paul's. My name's Steve. I've never met you before.
00:00:03 --> 00:00:11 ! I'm the lead pastor here. In this last couple of weeks, as you probably realise, maybe,
00:00:11 --> 00:00:20 that we've been in our Christmas season here at St Paul's. And I began this season by quoting
00:00:20 --> 00:00:29 the late theologian James Packer, who suggested that what Christianity claims
00:00:29 --> 00:00:41 regarding Christmas is so outrageous that nothing in all of fiction has anything like it. In other
00:00:41 --> 00:00:48 words, what he's saying there is that there is no worldview that comes even close to the outrageous
00:00:48 --> 00:00:55 claims of what the Bible declares around Christmas and other things. And so what we've been doing
00:00:55 --> 00:01:03 in the last couple of weeks is really exploring some of those claims and whether or not you can
00:01:03 --> 00:01:10 actually believe what the Bible says about Christmas, or whether it's just much better just to keep it
00:01:10 --> 00:01:17 as a holiday at the end of the year and with a great deal of light and joy and so on. The claim
00:01:17 --> 00:01:24 of Christmas in the Christian faith is the claim that the infinite God who made all things became
00:01:24 --> 00:01:34 a human being, a limited human being, a Jew, a helpless human baby, unable to do more than lie and stare
00:01:34 --> 00:01:42 and wriggle and make noises, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:49 And if that wasn't enough in terms of just the claims of Christmas, the claim that the Almighty became a
00:01:49 --> 00:02:00 baby, but also the fact that the author of life came into this world to die on a cross for humanity.
00:02:01 --> 00:02:07 It claims, the Bible claims that Jesus performed miracles, that he was raised from the dead,
00:02:07 --> 00:02:12 and that he is now present with his followers by his Holy Spirit through his word.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:21 It claims that he will, Jesus will come back to earth one day as universal judge and ruler of all things.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:24 Extraordinary claims.
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 Not just the claims of Christmas, but extraordinary claims.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:33 And we need some serious evidence to believe any of those claims.
00:02:33 --> 00:02:38 And that's kind of what we've been looking at the last couple of weeks through our Christmas season.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:45 And if you've just joined us, there's a couple of really short resources to do with Christmas and whether or not it's believable.
00:02:45 --> 00:02:51 Just on the other side of the wall, you can take these and continue on yourself.
00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 Extraordinary claims.
00:02:53 --> 00:03:08 And yet, billions of people from all different culture groups and different socioeconomic educational stages of life and other things like that have come to believe those claims.
00:03:09 --> 00:03:16 In fact, some of the smartest people in the world today believe those claims.
00:03:16 --> 00:03:31 And throughout history believe that the claims of the Bible are true and that they are, in fact, not just true, but have authority over my life in every aspect of my life.
00:03:31 --> 00:03:47 And so, as we, you know, come to the close of our Christmas season and, you know, if you're already thinking ahead, if you're like me, people with ADHD, you're always thinking of something else forward.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:52 You know, the New Year's there, New Year's resolutions are there.
00:03:52 --> 00:04:17 And so, I want to put the claims of the Christian faith and specifically the reliability of the Bible in front of us and an encouragement for you to pick it up and to read it as you look into the year ahead and explore those claims and what they mean for your life.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:22 And, in fact, that's really what we're going to be doing as we move into January as well.
00:04:22 --> 00:04:34 Just looking a bit more about the reliability of the claims of the Christian faith, why you'd want to believe it in 2026 and why you'd want to shape your life around those claims.
00:04:35 --> 00:04:43 So, what I want to do today really is just really simply, very quickly propose that the Bible is true and reliable for everything in life and faith.
00:04:43 --> 00:04:50 And I want to say really that the Bible is historically, culturally and personally reliable.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 Okay, so that's kind of our journey today.
00:04:53 --> 00:05:09 So, one of the common accusations today is that the Bible and particularly the New Testament accounts about Jesus and what are written there were written by the winners in history, if you like.
00:05:09 --> 00:05:32 The claim that he did miracles, that he was, that Jesus was divine and that he rose again were all written much later in time by church leaders who were trying to get Christianity to spread and to be the dominant religion in the world.
00:05:32 --> 00:05:42 And so, what those church leaders did was they fudged things a little bit to kind of make it, to make it more effective, if you like.
00:05:42 --> 00:05:50 They just sort of fudged a little bit of the accusations, prop Jesus up a little bit more to make him what he was than what he wasn't actually.
00:05:50 --> 00:06:02 Now, there are many reasons why those accusations, people might want to grab hold of them, but also why they fundamentally are not right at all.
00:06:03 --> 00:06:10 But let me look briefly at three reasons why you can trust what the Bible says about Jesus.
00:06:10 --> 00:06:14 And I'm referring here particularly about the New Testament, what it says about Jesus.
00:06:14 --> 00:06:22 Firstly, the New Testament accounts about Jesus were written far too early for them to be legends.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:24 Take the beginning of Luke.
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 The angels read out to us, Luke chapter 1.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:37 Luke was written as a biography of Jesus and he points out to his readers there in verses 2 and 3,
00:06:37 --> 00:06:59 So here's Luke.
00:06:59 --> 00:07:04 Luke is writing this gospel that Andrew just read out to us.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:10 He's writing it 30 to 40 years, only 30 to 40 years after Jesus.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:19 And he makes the point there that lots of people who saw Jesus are still alive right now.
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 And so you can check the facts with those people.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:30 And writing even closer to those events than Luke here was Paul.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:37 And Paul wrote his letters only 15 to 20 years after the events of Jesus' life.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:42 And he says this in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 6 about the resurrection of Jesus.
00:07:42 --> 00:07:51 He appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living.
00:07:53 --> 00:08:05 So what that means is Paul could not have possibly written a public document promoting Christianity,
00:08:05 --> 00:08:10 a statement like that, unless it was in fact the case.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:17 Or in Philippians chapter 2, Paul quotes a hymn of Jesus' divinity.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:22 And if Philippians is written so close to the events of Jesus' life,
00:08:22 --> 00:08:28 and Paul is quoting something here that's written earlier about Jesus,
00:08:28 --> 00:08:37 then what it says in Philippians 2 is that the very earliest Christians worshipped Jesus as God.
00:08:37 --> 00:08:42 The very earliest Christians worshipped him as God,
00:08:43 --> 00:08:49 which stands opposed to the claims that Christians didn't worship him as God
00:08:49 --> 00:08:52 until 300 to 400 years later under Constantine.
00:08:54 --> 00:08:55 Absolute rubbish.
00:08:57 --> 00:09:00 They worshipped him as God from the very beginning.
00:09:00 --> 00:09:10 The documents of the New Testament are way too early for people to say whatever they wanted about Jesus,
00:09:10 --> 00:09:15 while thousands of people who witnessed him in person were still alive.
00:09:17 --> 00:09:24 Secondly, documents of the New Testament are too counterproductive to be legends.
00:09:24 --> 00:09:31 Remember, the accusation is that the Bible is what the early,
00:09:31 --> 00:09:36 the New Testament is what the early church leaders wanted people to believe had happened,
00:09:37 --> 00:09:40 because this helped them to consolidate their power
00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 and to grow the Christian faith throughout the Roman Empire.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:51 So imagine you're a church leader living 70 to 80 years after Jesus,
00:09:51 --> 00:09:55 and so what you've decided to do to consolidate your power
00:09:55 --> 00:09:57 is to make up a heap of stories about him.
00:10:00 --> 00:10:02 Would you put in those stories
00:10:02 --> 00:10:06 that Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane
00:10:06 --> 00:10:11 asking the Father to get out of his plan?
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 If there's any other way of doing this,
00:10:14 --> 00:10:16 please come up with another plan.
00:10:16 --> 00:10:17 Would you put that story in it?
00:10:17 --> 00:10:17
00:10:17 --> 00:10:23 Not in the Roman Empire, you wouldn't.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 In fact, it was the Garden of Gethsemane
00:10:27 --> 00:10:31 and the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross
00:10:31 --> 00:10:37 that resulted in the Nazi Party rejecting Christianity
00:10:37 --> 00:10:41 because they would not believe in a God who was so weak.
00:10:42 --> 00:10:45 That was the fundamental issue for Adolf Hitler.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:50 Christianity is about humility and about sacrifice,
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 and that is weak.
00:10:54 --> 00:10:55 And that's the Roman Empire.
00:10:57 --> 00:11:00 Would you put Jesus on a cross asking God
00:11:00 --> 00:11:04 why he had forsaken him?
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 Jesus looks weak.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:09 Would you include in your first century stories
00:11:09 --> 00:11:12 that all of your very first eyewitnesses
00:11:12 --> 00:11:15 to the historical fact of the resurrection were women
00:11:15 --> 00:11:20 at a time when women's evidence
00:11:20 --> 00:11:23 was not even permissible, admissible in court
00:11:23 --> 00:11:26 because of their low social status?
00:11:26 --> 00:11:29 And all the gospel accounts say
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 that the original eyewitnesses were women.
00:11:32 --> 00:11:34 If you're trying to fudge things,
00:11:34 --> 00:11:36 why would you put that in there?
00:11:36 --> 00:11:40 Not only that,
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43 but when you get into the New Testament,
00:11:43 --> 00:11:45 you see the apostles don't come across
00:11:45 --> 00:11:50 as glowing historic, heroic figures in any way.
00:11:51 --> 00:11:52 They're cowardly.
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 They're slow to believe,
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 and they are fundamentally self-interested.
00:11:57 --> 00:12:00 So why include any of it
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 if they were in fact making it up?
00:12:02 --> 00:12:06 They are in fact totally counterproductive
00:12:06 --> 00:12:07 for consolidating power
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 for the early Christian leaders
00:12:09 --> 00:12:09 of the Christian movement.
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 And thirdly,
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 they are too detailed.
00:12:16 --> 00:12:18 The New Testament accounts are too detailed
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 to be legends.
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 Ancient myths and novels
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 were never written like this.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:29 Modern novels might have,
00:12:30 --> 00:12:31 if you like,
00:12:32 --> 00:12:34 familiar characteristics to the New Testament,
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37 but not ancient ones.
00:12:38 --> 00:12:40 The New Testament accounts of Jesus
00:12:40 --> 00:12:44 don't have the form of legends.
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 They are written too early to be legends,
00:12:50 --> 00:12:53 and they are too counterproductive to be legends.
00:12:54 --> 00:12:55 And so you can trust them.
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 Now, that's just really brief.
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 I haven't touched on the Old Testament.
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 I haven't got time to delve into all of that as well.
00:13:01 --> 00:13:02 But briefly,
00:13:02 --> 00:13:05 if you can trust what the New Testament says about Jesus,
00:13:06 --> 00:13:08 then you can trust what Jesus says
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 about the Old Testament.
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 And his view was that the Old Testament,
00:13:13 --> 00:13:14 the Jewish Bible,
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 was God's word,
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 it was true,
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 and it had authority.
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 Historically reliable New Testament.
00:13:25 --> 00:13:28 Secondly,
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 it's culturally reliable.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 Now,
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 I think it's pretty much true to say
00:13:33 --> 00:13:36 that modern people
00:13:36 --> 00:13:39 care less about the historical reliability of the Bible
00:13:39 --> 00:13:41 because, really,
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 in our Western world,
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 particularly at the moment,
00:13:45 --> 00:13:48 we're more troubled about the cultural aspects of the Bible.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:54 And in our progressive cultural society at the moment,
00:13:55 --> 00:13:58 we consider many aspects of the Bible offensive,
00:13:59 --> 00:13:59 primitive,
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 and backward.
00:14:00 --> 00:14:05 The Bible offends Sidneysiders in many ways,
00:14:06 --> 00:14:07 in certain ways.
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09 Of course,
00:14:09 --> 00:14:12 the offense might have a long list,
00:14:12 --> 00:14:15 but the offense is a constantly moving offense,
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 and the list constantly changes.
00:14:18 --> 00:14:20 So here's three considerations
00:14:20 --> 00:14:22 for any bit of the Bible
00:14:22 --> 00:14:26 that you regard offends you right now,
00:14:26 --> 00:14:26 that, you know,
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 you want to read it with a pair of scissors
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 and cut that bit out,
00:14:29 --> 00:14:30 keep these bits,
00:14:30 --> 00:14:31 but cut those bits out.
00:14:31 --> 00:14:32 Three considerations.
00:14:34 --> 00:14:34 Firstly,
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 consider the possibility
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38 it isn't teaching
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 what you think it's teaching.
00:14:41 --> 00:14:42 For instance,
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 I could never understand
00:14:44 --> 00:14:47 why some of the great spiritual heroes
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 of the Old Testament
00:14:48 --> 00:14:51 had so many wives.
00:14:51 --> 00:14:55 until I realized
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 that the Bible
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 in no way
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 was endorsing it.
00:14:59 --> 00:15:01 It was recording it,
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 not endorsing it.
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06 And in fact,
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 the Bible
00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 in every instance
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 in those moments
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 is actually subverting it.
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 In every case
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 where polygamy was practiced,
00:15:17 --> 00:15:19 it goes bad
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 for those people.
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 Families break down,
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 lives are ruined,
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 physically,
00:15:24 --> 00:15:24 spiritually,
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 emotionally,
00:15:25 --> 00:15:25 relationally,
00:15:25 --> 00:15:29 in every single instance.
00:15:31 --> 00:15:31 You see,
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 if the Bible
00:15:32 --> 00:15:35 is a recording of history,
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 it doesn't just record
00:15:36 --> 00:15:38 the successful bits.
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 It records
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 all the evil
00:15:41 --> 00:15:42 and the carnage
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 and the difficulty
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 and the sin.
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 The Bible shows us,
00:15:47 --> 00:15:47 in fact,
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 how bad it is.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 The Bible
00:15:50 --> 00:15:52 wasn't endorsing
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 what I thought
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 it was endorsing.
00:15:54 --> 00:15:54 It was simply
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 recording it.
00:15:56 --> 00:15:56 Secondly,
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 please consider
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 the possibility
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 that you are
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 misunderstanding
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 what the Bible
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 teaches
00:16:02 --> 00:16:02 because
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 of your own
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 cultural blind spots,
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 which we all bring
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 to the Bible.
00:16:09 --> 00:16:13 in Luke 24
00:16:13 --> 00:16:13 verses 20,
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 21,
00:16:14 --> 00:16:14 again,
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 Anne read this out
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 to us.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:18 On the road to Emmaus,
00:16:18 --> 00:16:20 we see these early
00:16:20 --> 00:16:20 disciples
00:16:20 --> 00:16:22 had misunderstood
00:16:22 --> 00:16:24 the prophecies
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 about the Messiah.
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 You see,
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 as Jews,
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 they were really
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 only thinking
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31 about the redemption
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 of Israel,
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 currently under
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 occupation
00:16:34 --> 00:16:36 by the Roman Empire.
00:16:37 --> 00:16:37 They weren't thinking
00:16:37 --> 00:16:38 in terms of the redemption
00:16:38 --> 00:16:40 of the whole human race.
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 They had a cultural
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 blind spot
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 that meant
00:16:44 --> 00:16:45 they misread
00:16:45 --> 00:16:45 Scripture
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 and therefore
00:16:46 --> 00:16:48 they misread
00:16:48 --> 00:16:48 Jesus.
00:16:48 --> 00:16:52 And the modern person
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 does the same.
00:16:54 --> 00:16:56 In many ways,
00:16:57 --> 00:16:57 for instance,
00:16:57 --> 00:16:58 a common one nowadays
00:16:58 --> 00:17:01 is that on slavery,
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 one accusation is
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 the Bible condones
00:17:06 --> 00:17:06 slavery
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 and we all know
00:17:08 --> 00:17:08 nowadays
00:17:08 --> 00:17:10 that slavery is wrong.
00:17:12 --> 00:17:14 If it is wrong
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 on that moral issue,
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 then it's quite possibly
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 it's wrong
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 on every other
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 moral issue as well.
00:17:22 --> 00:17:22 And I've heard
00:17:22 --> 00:17:24 that argument
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 played out
00:17:25 --> 00:17:27 even in the press
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 over the last
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 five to ten years
00:17:29 --> 00:17:31 on multiple occasions
00:17:31 --> 00:17:33 whenever a moral issue
00:17:33 --> 00:17:33 is raised.
00:17:35 --> 00:17:35 And so does
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 the Bible
00:17:36 --> 00:17:36 condone slavery.
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 For instance,
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 there's parts
00:17:40 --> 00:17:40 of the New Testament
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 when Paul tells
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 slaves to obey
00:17:42 --> 00:17:42 their masters
00:17:42 --> 00:17:44 and as soon as
00:17:44 --> 00:17:44 we read that
00:17:44 --> 00:17:44 we go,
00:17:44 --> 00:17:44 well,
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 there you go.
00:17:46 --> 00:17:46 You know,
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 there it is right there.
00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 Condoning of slavery.
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 In fact,
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 in one New Testament
00:17:52 --> 00:17:52 letter,
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55 Paul is addressing
00:17:55 --> 00:17:55 a relationship
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 between a master
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 and his slave
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 and it's clear
00:17:58 --> 00:18:00 from that letter
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 it's not the kind
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 of relationship
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 that we would
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 in fact call
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 modern slavery
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 at all.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:08 You see,
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 when we read
00:18:09 --> 00:18:09 the word slave
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 in the Bible
00:18:10 --> 00:18:12 we automatically
00:18:12 --> 00:18:12 import
00:18:12 --> 00:18:14 17th,
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 18th
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 and 19th
00:18:16 --> 00:18:16 century
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 thinking,
00:18:18 --> 00:18:18 experience,
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 history
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20 and modern
00:18:20 --> 00:18:20 slavery
00:18:20 --> 00:18:22 into the Bible
00:18:22 --> 00:18:24 which is
00:18:24 --> 00:18:26 in those
00:18:26 --> 00:18:26 the 16th
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 through to the
00:18:27 --> 00:18:27 19th century
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 slavery
00:18:28 --> 00:18:30 is race-based
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 and ethnic
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 minority slavery.
00:18:32 --> 00:18:35 when we read
00:18:35 --> 00:18:35 the Bible
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 with those
00:18:36 --> 00:18:38 cultural blinders
00:18:38 --> 00:18:38 on
00:18:38 --> 00:18:41 we are not
00:18:41 --> 00:18:41 understanding
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 what the Bible
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 is teaching
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 and we're not
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 actually allowing
00:18:45 --> 00:18:45 it to sit
00:18:45 --> 00:18:47 in its historical
00:18:47 --> 00:18:47 context.
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 In the Greco-Roman
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 world of the
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 New Testament
00:18:51 --> 00:18:54 slaves were not
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 distinguishable
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 from anyone
00:18:57 --> 00:18:57 else
00:18:57 --> 00:18:59 by their
00:18:59 --> 00:18:59 race
00:18:59 --> 00:19:01 by the way
00:19:01 --> 00:19:01 that they
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 spoke
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 or by the
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 clothing
00:19:04 --> 00:19:04 that they
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 wore.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 They looked
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 and lived
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 like everyone
00:19:09 --> 00:19:09 else
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 and they
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 were not
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 segregated
00:19:12 --> 00:19:12 off
00:19:12 --> 00:19:14 as a
00:19:14 --> 00:19:14 different
00:19:14 --> 00:19:14 segment
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 of society.
00:19:17 --> 00:19:17 Slaves
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 were often
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 quite well
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 educated
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 and they
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 held high
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 managerial
00:19:23 --> 00:19:23 roles.
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 Slaves
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 also made
00:19:27 --> 00:19:27 the same
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 wages
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 as free
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 labourers
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 and therefore
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 over time
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 they were
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 able to
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 pay off
00:19:36 --> 00:19:36 the debt
00:19:36 --> 00:19:38 that resulted
00:19:38 --> 00:19:38 them being
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 into slavery
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 in the first
00:19:40 --> 00:19:40 place
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 and to buy
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 themselves
00:19:42 --> 00:19:42 out of that
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 scenario.
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 Much like
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 the very
00:19:47 --> 00:19:49 early convicts
00:19:49 --> 00:19:49 of Australia
00:19:49 --> 00:19:52 who at the
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 end of their
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 day
00:19:54 --> 00:19:56 went home
00:19:56 --> 00:19:56 to their
00:19:56 --> 00:19:56 homes
00:19:56 --> 00:19:59 and their
00:19:59 --> 00:19:59 families
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 and their
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 houses.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 Slavery
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 was never
00:20:06 --> 00:20:06 a permanent
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 status.
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 The average
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 slave worked
00:20:11 --> 00:20:11 for a master
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 for about
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 10 years
00:20:13 --> 00:20:15 and this
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 is very
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 different
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 than new
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 world slavery
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 of the past
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 300 years
00:20:21 --> 00:20:21 or so.
00:20:23 --> 00:20:23 So those
00:20:23 --> 00:20:23 who have
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 used the
00:20:24 --> 00:20:24 Bible
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 to defend
00:20:26 --> 00:20:26 their
00:20:26 --> 00:20:26 practice
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 of kidnapping
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 and slavery
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 in the
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 slave trade
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 in the past
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 several hundred
00:20:32 --> 00:20:32 years
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 have read
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 the Bible
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 through their
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 cultural
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 blind spots
00:20:38 --> 00:20:41 and those
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 who use
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 it today
00:20:43 --> 00:20:45 to reject
00:20:45 --> 00:20:45 the Bible
00:20:45 --> 00:20:47 are you
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 reading it
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 through their
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 cultural
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 blind spots?
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 Thirdly,
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 consider the
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 possibility
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 that you're
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 being offended
00:20:59 --> 00:20:59 by the
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 Bible
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 because of
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 assumption
00:21:02 --> 00:21:04 that your
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 cultural
00:21:05 --> 00:21:05 moment,
00:21:06 --> 00:21:06 our cultural
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 moment,
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 is superior
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 to all
00:21:09 --> 00:21:09 other
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 cultural
00:21:10 --> 00:21:10 moments.
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 Often
00:21:14 --> 00:21:14 that
00:21:14 --> 00:21:14 assumption
00:21:14 --> 00:21:16 has actually
00:21:16 --> 00:21:16 in fact
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 never been
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 tested
00:21:18 --> 00:21:18 or
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 acknowledged.
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 The reason
00:21:21 --> 00:21:21 we are
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 offended by
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 some
00:21:23 --> 00:21:23 biblical
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 passages
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 is because
00:21:25 --> 00:21:25 it's
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 culturally
00:21:26 --> 00:21:26 offensive
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 in our
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 own
00:21:28 --> 00:21:28 cultural
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 moment.
00:21:30 --> 00:21:30 But in
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 other
00:21:31 --> 00:21:31 cultural
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 moments
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 today,
00:21:33 --> 00:21:33 right,
00:21:34 --> 00:21:34 today,
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 in other
00:21:35 --> 00:21:35 parts of
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 the world,
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 and also
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 historically
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 in the
00:21:40 --> 00:21:40 past,
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 they have
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 absolutely
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 no problem
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 with the
00:21:44 --> 00:21:44 same
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 passage of
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 the Bible.
00:21:48 --> 00:21:48 On the
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 other hand,
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 the passages
00:21:50 --> 00:21:50 that we
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 think are
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 totally fine
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 for us
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 and appropriate
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 for our
00:21:55 --> 00:21:55 cultural
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 moment,
00:21:57 --> 00:21:57 others in
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 the past
00:21:58 --> 00:21:58 and in
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 other parts
00:21:59 --> 00:21:59 of the
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 world
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 are
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 fundamentally
00:22:02 --> 00:22:05 appalled
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 by those
00:22:06 --> 00:22:06 passages.
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 For
00:22:10 --> 00:22:10 instance,
00:22:10 --> 00:22:10 in our
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 progressive,
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 individualistic
00:22:13 --> 00:22:13 Western
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 society,
00:22:15 --> 00:22:15 what the
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 Bible says
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 about
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 sexual
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 relationships,
00:22:19 --> 00:22:19 we go,
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 you know,
00:22:21 --> 00:22:21 like,
00:22:22 --> 00:22:22 that is
00:22:22 --> 00:22:25 pre-1950s,
00:22:26 --> 00:22:26 it's
00:22:26 --> 00:22:29 so narrow-minded,
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 and you
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 get on a
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 plane and
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 you go to
00:22:32 --> 00:22:32 the Middle
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 East and
00:22:33 --> 00:22:33 they go,
00:22:33 --> 00:22:33 yeah,
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 absolutely,
00:22:34 --> 00:22:34 what the
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 Bible says
00:22:35 --> 00:22:35 about sex,
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 totally
00:22:36 --> 00:22:36 appropriate.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 That's
00:22:38 --> 00:22:38 exactly right,
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 that's
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 exactly how
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 it should
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 be.
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 And yet,
00:22:43 --> 00:22:43 we,
00:22:44 --> 00:22:44 in our
00:22:44 --> 00:22:44 cultural
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 moment here,
00:22:45 --> 00:22:45 we read
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 what the
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 Bible says
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 about forgiveness
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 of someone
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 who has
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 wronged you,
00:22:51 --> 00:22:51 about doing
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 good for
00:22:52 --> 00:22:52 other people,
00:22:52 --> 00:22:55 and we
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 go,
00:22:56 --> 00:22:56 yes,
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 that is
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 absolutely
00:22:59 --> 00:22:59 appropriate,
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 it is
00:23:01 --> 00:23:01 good and
00:23:01 --> 00:23:01 it's
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 right,
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 and again,
00:23:03 --> 00:23:03 you get
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 on a
00:23:04 --> 00:23:04 plane and
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 you fly
00:23:05 --> 00:23:05 the Middle
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 East and
00:23:06 --> 00:23:06 they say
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 what the
00:23:07 --> 00:23:07 Bible says
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 about
00:23:08 --> 00:23:08 forgiveness,
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 that is
00:23:10 --> 00:23:10 absolutely
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 offensive,
00:23:13 --> 00:23:13 totally
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 inappropriate.
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 We love
00:23:17 --> 00:23:17 forgiveness
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 and hate
00:23:18 --> 00:23:18 justice,
00:23:19 --> 00:23:19 whereas
00:23:19 --> 00:23:23 14 hours
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 away on
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 an
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 airplane,
00:23:25 --> 00:23:25 and they
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 love justice
00:23:26 --> 00:23:26 and hate
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 forgiveness.
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 If we
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 are offended
00:23:33 --> 00:23:33 by something
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 in the
00:23:34 --> 00:23:34 Bible,
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 why should
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 our cultural
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 sensibilities
00:23:38 --> 00:23:40 trump everyone
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 else's cultural
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 sensibilities?
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 Why should
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 we say
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 we've got it
00:23:45 --> 00:23:45 right and
00:23:45 --> 00:23:45 they've got it
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 wrong?
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 That's a bit
00:23:47 --> 00:23:47 arrogant,
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 isn't it?
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 a bit
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 narrow-minded,
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 isn't it?
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 Why get
00:23:54 --> 00:23:54 rid of the
00:23:54 --> 00:23:54 Bible?
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55 Because it
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 offends
00:23:56 --> 00:23:58 our culture
00:23:58 --> 00:23:58 only at
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 certain
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 points.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:02 And if
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 you haven't
00:24:03 --> 00:24:03 worked that
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 one out,
00:24:05 --> 00:24:05 bear in
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 mind that
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 all of
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 your
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 great
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 grandchildren
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 are going
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 to find
00:24:12 --> 00:24:12 a lot
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 of what
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 you think
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 today to
00:24:15 --> 00:24:15 be
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 incredibly
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 embarrassing.
00:24:18 --> 00:24:20 where you
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 think your
00:24:21 --> 00:24:21 cultural
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 moment is
00:24:22 --> 00:24:22 progressive
00:24:22 --> 00:24:24 and right,
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 your
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 great
00:24:25 --> 00:24:25 grandchildren
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 are going
00:24:26 --> 00:24:26 to think,
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 my goodness,
00:24:27 --> 00:24:27 my great
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 grandparents
00:24:28 --> 00:24:28 were
00:24:28 --> 00:24:30 narrow-minded.
00:24:30 --> 00:24:39 don't miss
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 out on
00:24:40 --> 00:24:40 all that
00:24:40 --> 00:24:40 the
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 Bible
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 and the
00:24:42 --> 00:24:42 Christian
00:24:42 --> 00:24:42 faith
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 has to
00:24:43 --> 00:24:43 offer
00:24:43 --> 00:24:43 you
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 just
00:24:44 --> 00:24:44 because
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 you
00:24:45 --> 00:24:47 can't
00:24:47 --> 00:24:47 get
00:24:47 --> 00:24:47 over
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 one
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 aspect
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 of
00:24:49 --> 00:24:49 your
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 so-called
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 cultural
00:24:51 --> 00:24:51 truth,
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 your
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 cultural
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 moment,
00:24:53 --> 00:24:55 that in
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 fact,
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 your
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 cultural
00:24:56 --> 00:24:56 moment
00:24:56 --> 00:24:56 will in
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 fact be
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 considered
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 a joke
00:24:58 --> 00:24:58 within
00:24:58 --> 00:24:58 50
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 years.
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 If the
00:25:03 --> 00:25:03 Bible
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 really is
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 God
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 revealing
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 himself
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 to
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 his
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 creation
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 and
00:25:07 --> 00:25:07 it's
00:25:07 --> 00:25:07 not
00:25:07 --> 00:25:07 just
00:25:07 --> 00:25:07 a
00:25:07 --> 00:25:09 byproduct
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 of
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 any
00:25:10 --> 00:25:10 specific
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 culture,
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 then what
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 that means
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 is it
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 will
00:25:16 --> 00:25:16 contradict
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 every
00:25:17 --> 00:25:17 culture
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 at some
00:25:18 --> 00:25:18 point.
00:25:21 --> 00:25:21 It
00:25:21 --> 00:25:21 will
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 offend
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 every
00:25:23 --> 00:25:23 culture
00:25:23 --> 00:25:25 and every
00:25:25 --> 00:25:25 cultural
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 moment
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 at
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 some
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 point.
00:25:28 --> 00:25:28 And so
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 if you
00:25:29 --> 00:25:29 read it
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 and find
00:25:30 --> 00:25:30 some
00:25:30 --> 00:25:30 things
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 beautiful
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 and other
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 bits
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 offensive,
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 then it's
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 probably
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 true
00:25:37 --> 00:25:39 and it's
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 from God.
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 But
00:25:42 --> 00:25:42 lastly,
00:25:43 --> 00:25:45 the Bible
00:25:45 --> 00:25:45 is personally
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 reliable.
00:25:49 --> 00:25:49 A
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 completely,
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 a completely,
00:25:52 --> 00:25:52 that is a
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 totally
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 authoritative
00:25:54 --> 00:25:54 Bible
00:25:54 --> 00:25:56 is in
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 fact
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 the
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 prerequisite
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 for a
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 warm
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 personal
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 relationship
00:26:02 --> 00:26:04 with God.
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 It is
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 not the
00:26:06 --> 00:26:06 enemy
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 of it.
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 Have a
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 look there
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 at Luke
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 24 that
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 Anne read
00:26:11 --> 00:26:11 out for
00:26:11 --> 00:26:11 us,
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 verse 32.
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 The
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 disciples
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 are reflecting
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 back on
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 their journey
00:26:15 --> 00:26:17 over the
00:26:17 --> 00:26:17 last previous
00:26:17 --> 00:26:19 days as
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 they walk
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 in their
00:26:20 --> 00:26:20 road to
00:26:20 --> 00:26:20 Emmaus
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 with Jesus
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 and it
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 says,
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 were not
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 our hearts
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 burning
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 within us
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 while he
00:26:28 --> 00:26:28 talked with
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 us on
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 the road
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 and opened
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 the scriptures
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 to us?
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 So in
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 the Bible,
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 the heart
00:26:38 --> 00:26:40 is not
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 the muscle
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 pumping the
00:26:42 --> 00:26:42 blood through
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 the system.
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 The heart
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 is the
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 centre of
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 the whole
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 person.
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 It's the
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 driving centre
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 of the
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 person,
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 not just
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 the emotions,
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 it's the
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 driving centre
00:26:54 --> 00:26:54 of the
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 desires of
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 the person.
00:26:56 --> 00:26:56 And the
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 hearts
00:26:57 --> 00:26:57 burning
00:26:57 --> 00:26:59 here means
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 a full
00:27:00 --> 00:27:02 life-changing
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 personal
00:27:03 --> 00:27:03 encounter
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 with God.
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 That's what
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 it means
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 here in
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 Luke 24.
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 They
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 experienced
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 something on
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 that road
00:27:10 --> 00:27:10 to Emmaus
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 with Jesus
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 that they
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 had never
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 experienced
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 before.
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 When?
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 When did
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 they experience
00:27:18 --> 00:27:18 it?
00:27:18 --> 00:27:20 when the
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 Bible and
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 its meaning
00:27:22 --> 00:27:24 was properly
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 opened up
00:27:25 --> 00:27:25 to them.
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 When they
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 understood
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 what it
00:27:28 --> 00:27:28 had meant.
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 And that
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 is the
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 key to
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 this deep
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 personal
00:27:35 --> 00:27:35 relationship.
00:27:36 --> 00:27:36 Notice how
00:27:36 --> 00:27:36 it happens.
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 Verses
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 20-21,
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 they say
00:27:38 --> 00:27:40 Jesus died,
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 but we
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 had hoped
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 that he
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 would be
00:27:44 --> 00:27:44 the one
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 who would
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 save us.
00:27:46 --> 00:27:48 that's
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 what they
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 had hoped.
00:27:49 --> 00:27:49 Their
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 cultural
00:27:50 --> 00:27:50 blinders
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 were on.
00:27:51 --> 00:27:51 He's the
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 Messiah
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 of Israel.
00:27:53 --> 00:27:53 We had
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 hoped he
00:27:54 --> 00:27:54 would save
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 us.
00:27:56 --> 00:27:56 And Jesus
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 calls them
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 out for
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 being foolish
00:27:59 --> 00:28:01 and so
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 slow to
00:28:02 --> 00:28:02 believe the
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 scriptures.
00:28:05 --> 00:28:08 What did
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 they not
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 understand?
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 Keys
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 verse 27.
00:28:12 --> 00:28:16 beginning
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 with
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 Moses
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 and all
00:28:18 --> 00:28:18 the
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 prophets,
00:28:20 --> 00:28:20 he
00:28:20 --> 00:28:20 explained
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 to them
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 what was
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 said in
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 all the
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 scriptures
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 concerning
00:28:25 --> 00:28:25 himself.
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 That's the
00:28:27 --> 00:28:27 key to it
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 right there.
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 What Jesus
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 is saying
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 here is
00:28:31 --> 00:28:33 that everything
00:28:33 --> 00:28:33 in the
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 Bible
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 is about
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 him.
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 It's all
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 about
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 him.
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39 He
00:28:39 --> 00:28:43 way too
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 many people
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 have walked
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 away from
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 the Christian
00:28:47 --> 00:28:49 faith and
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 ultimately from
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 the Bible
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 because they've
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 misunderstood
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 that crucial
00:28:54 --> 00:28:56 central point.
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 If we
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 think the
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 Bible is
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 about us
00:29:00 --> 00:29:02 and what
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 we must
00:29:03 --> 00:29:03 do,
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 then what
00:29:06 --> 00:29:06 that means
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 is we
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 don't need
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 a saviour.
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 We don't
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 need a
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 Messiah
00:29:11 --> 00:29:11 dying for
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 us.
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 All we
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 need is a
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 bunch of
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 rules and
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 a code of
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 conduct to
00:29:17 --> 00:29:17 live by.
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 That's what
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 it means
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 if we think
00:29:21 --> 00:29:21 it's about
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 us.
00:29:23 --> 00:29:23 You see,
00:29:23 --> 00:29:23 there are
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 only two
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 ways to
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 read the
00:29:25 --> 00:29:25 Bible.
00:29:26 --> 00:29:26 Read it
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 as if it's
00:29:27 --> 00:29:27 all about
00:29:27 --> 00:29:29 me and
00:29:29 --> 00:29:29 what I
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 must do
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 or we
00:29:31 --> 00:29:31 can read
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 every part
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 of it as
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 if it's
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 about him,
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 God,
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36 and what
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 he has
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 done for
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 us.
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 And the
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 whole Bible,
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 the whole
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 lot of
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 it,
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 Old Testament
00:29:43 --> 00:29:43 included,
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 points us
00:29:45 --> 00:29:45 to Jesus
00:29:45 --> 00:29:47 and it
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 explains
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 Jesus and
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 everything that
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 Jesus has
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 achieved for
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 us in
00:29:53 --> 00:29:53 dying in
00:29:53 --> 00:29:56 our place
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 for our
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 sin.
00:30:00 --> 00:30:00 And the
00:30:00 --> 00:30:00 Christmas
00:30:00 --> 00:30:02 message is
00:30:02 --> 00:30:04 exactly that,
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 that God
00:30:06 --> 00:30:06 entered
00:30:06 --> 00:30:08 history for
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 that purpose.
00:30:10 --> 00:30:10 You see,
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 when the
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 Bible is
00:30:12 --> 00:30:12 all about
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 Jesus and
00:30:13 --> 00:30:13 what he's
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 achieved for
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 us out of
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 purely out of
00:30:16 --> 00:30:16 love for
00:30:16 --> 00:30:18 us because
00:30:18 --> 00:30:18 of our
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 incapability to
00:30:19 --> 00:30:19 do it
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 ourselves,
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 that all of
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 a sudden is
00:30:23 --> 00:30:25 when it
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 becomes
00:30:26 --> 00:30:26 personal,
00:30:28 --> 00:30:28 relational.
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 It's when the
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 Bible starts to
00:30:32 --> 00:30:32 become an
00:30:32 --> 00:30:34 encounter with
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 him.
00:30:35 --> 00:30:37 Now,
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 my conviction
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 from both
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 personal
00:30:40 --> 00:30:42 experience over
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 30-odd
00:30:43 --> 00:30:45 years and
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 also from the
00:30:46 --> 00:30:46 teaching of the
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 Bible itself,
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 more importantly,
00:30:49 --> 00:30:49 is that the
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 most effective
00:30:50 --> 00:30:52 means for
00:30:52 --> 00:30:54 bolstering
00:30:54 --> 00:30:56 confidence in
00:30:56 --> 00:30:58 the Bible is
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 not to do
00:30:59 --> 00:30:59 what I've
00:30:59 --> 00:31:01 just done in
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 the last 20-odd
00:31:02 --> 00:31:02 minutes,
00:31:03 --> 00:31:06 giving you
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 arguments as
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 to why you
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 should believe
00:31:09 --> 00:31:09 it.
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 They have a
00:31:10 --> 00:31:13 place about
00:31:13 --> 00:31:13 its authority
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 and its
00:31:14 --> 00:31:14 truthfulness and
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 its reliability,
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 but in actual
00:31:17 --> 00:31:18 fact, to spend
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 time in the
00:31:19 --> 00:31:20 Bible, reading
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 the Bible,
00:31:21 --> 00:31:23 with Jesus at
00:31:23 --> 00:31:23 the centre of
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 it as a
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 supernatural
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 activity.
00:31:26 --> 00:31:29 very simply,
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 God, if you
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 exist and
00:31:31 --> 00:31:31 this is your
00:31:31 --> 00:31:33 word, then
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 you need to
00:31:34 --> 00:31:34 revere yourself
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 to me.
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 Let me put it
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 like this.
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 I could
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 tell you
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 that honey,
00:31:46 --> 00:31:46 which I'm
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 assuming you're
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 all familiar
00:31:48 --> 00:31:48 with,
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 honey is a
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 substance that
00:31:52 --> 00:31:54 is made by
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 a species of
00:31:55 --> 00:31:58 insects called
00:31:58 --> 00:32:00 bees, not
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 by all bees,
00:32:00 --> 00:32:02 but by several
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 species of
00:32:03 --> 00:32:03 bees.
00:32:04 --> 00:32:06 Bees produce
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 honey by
00:32:07 --> 00:32:09 gathering and
00:32:09 --> 00:32:11 then refining
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 the sugary
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 excretions of
00:32:13 --> 00:32:15 plants and
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 the secretions,
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 in fact, of
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 other insects.
00:32:20 --> 00:32:20 And this
00:32:20 --> 00:32:22 refining
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 process takes
00:32:23 --> 00:32:25 place within
00:32:25 --> 00:32:25 individual
00:32:25 --> 00:32:28 bees through
00:32:28 --> 00:32:29 regurgitation
00:32:29 --> 00:32:31 and the
00:32:31 --> 00:32:32 enzymatic
00:32:32 --> 00:32:34 activity that
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 happens in
00:32:35 --> 00:32:35 that process
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 where they
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 vomit it and
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 do stuff
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 with it.
00:32:40 --> 00:32:41 I could also
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 tell you that
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 honey is
00:32:43 --> 00:32:43 sweet.
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 Like, it's
00:32:45 --> 00:32:47 sweet because
00:32:47 --> 00:32:47 it's sweet
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 because of
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 its high
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 concentration
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 sugar and
00:32:51 --> 00:32:51 sugar.
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 It's a
00:32:52 --> 00:32:52 simple
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 sugar.
00:32:53 --> 00:32:53 It's a
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 sugar of
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 fructose and
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 glucose.
00:32:57 --> 00:32:58 It's about the
00:32:58 --> 00:32:59 same relative
00:32:59 --> 00:33:01 sweetness as
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 white sugar
00:33:02 --> 00:33:04 interchangeably.
00:33:05 --> 00:33:05 So one
00:33:05 --> 00:33:07 standard teaspoon
00:33:07 --> 00:33:09 of honey provides
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 around 120
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 kilojoules of
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 food energy.
00:33:12 --> 00:33:12 honey.
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 And I
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 could go on
00:33:15 --> 00:33:15 and break
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16 down the
00:33:16 --> 00:33:16 chemical
00:33:16 --> 00:33:18 components that
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 make up
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 honey and
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 tell you from
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 all that
00:33:22 --> 00:33:22 information,
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 you should be
00:33:24 --> 00:33:24 able to
00:33:24 --> 00:33:26 deduce that
00:33:26 --> 00:33:27 honey is
00:33:27 --> 00:33:27 sweet.
00:33:30 --> 00:33:31 If you're a
00:33:31 --> 00:33:31 chemist.
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 It's all
00:33:35 --> 00:33:35 true.
00:33:35 --> 00:33:38 but the
00:33:38 --> 00:33:38 best thing I
00:33:38 --> 00:33:39 could do
00:33:39 --> 00:33:39 for you is
00:33:39 --> 00:33:40 not tell you
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 that honey is
00:33:41 --> 00:33:41 sweet but to
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 actually get
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 some onto a
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 teaspoon and
00:33:44 --> 00:33:44 shove it in
00:33:44 --> 00:33:44 your mouth.
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 That's when
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 you go,
00:33:50 --> 00:33:52 oh, I
00:33:52 --> 00:33:52 get what
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53 you're talking
00:33:53 --> 00:33:53 about now.
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56 You see,
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 and if in
00:33:57 --> 00:33:57 that moment
00:33:57 --> 00:33:59 that I put
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 it on a
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 teaspoon and
00:34:01 --> 00:34:01 shove it in
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 your mouth,
00:34:02 --> 00:34:04 if you don't
00:34:04 --> 00:34:05 get it then
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 no amount
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 of explanation,
00:34:08 --> 00:34:08 no more
00:34:08 --> 00:34:10 argumentation
00:34:10 --> 00:34:10 will in
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 any way
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 come through
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 for you
00:34:13 --> 00:34:14 at all.
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 And so
00:34:19 --> 00:34:22 as 2025
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23 draws to a
00:34:23 --> 00:34:24 close and
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 we move
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 forward into
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 2026,
00:34:28 --> 00:34:28 I want
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 to do,
00:34:30 --> 00:34:32 to invite
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 you to do
00:34:33 --> 00:34:34 what
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 King David
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 invited others
00:34:36 --> 00:34:38 to do and
00:34:38 --> 00:34:38 to join him
00:34:38 --> 00:34:39 in in
00:34:39 --> 00:34:40 Psalm 34
00:34:40 --> 00:34:41 verse 8,
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 to taste
00:34:43 --> 00:34:43 and see
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 that the
00:34:44 --> 00:34:44 Lord is
00:34:44 --> 00:34:46 good in
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47 2026.
00:34:49 --> 00:34:49 You see,
00:34:49 --> 00:34:57 the best way
00:34:57 --> 00:34:59 for you to
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00 build confidence
00:35:00 --> 00:35:00 in the
00:35:00 --> 00:35:01 reliability of
00:35:01 --> 00:35:02 the scriptures
00:35:02 --> 00:35:04 is to
00:35:04 --> 00:35:04 actually read
00:35:04 --> 00:35:05 it.
00:35:07 --> 00:35:07 And to
00:35:07 --> 00:35:08 read it
00:35:08 --> 00:35:08 regularly
00:35:08 --> 00:35:10 and ask
00:35:10 --> 00:35:10 God to
00:35:10 --> 00:35:11 work in
00:35:11 --> 00:35:11 you as
00:35:11 --> 00:35:12 you read
00:35:12 --> 00:35:12 it,
00:35:12 --> 00:35:13 to reveal
00:35:13 --> 00:35:14 himself.
00:35:14 --> 00:35:14 You see,
00:35:15 --> 00:35:15 God himself
00:35:15 --> 00:35:16 promises to
00:35:16 --> 00:35:18 bless the
00:35:18 --> 00:35:18 reading and
00:35:18 --> 00:35:19 teaching of
00:35:19 --> 00:35:20 his word.
00:35:21 --> 00:35:22 The word
00:35:22 --> 00:35:22 of God
00:35:22 --> 00:35:24 itself is
00:35:24 --> 00:35:25 more than
00:35:25 --> 00:35:26 enough to
00:35:26 --> 00:35:27 accomplish the
00:35:27 --> 00:35:28 work of God
00:35:28 --> 00:35:29 in the people
00:35:29 --> 00:35:30 of God.
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32 And there is
00:35:32 --> 00:35:32 no better
00:35:32 --> 00:35:34 way to
00:35:34 --> 00:35:35 understand and
00:35:35 --> 00:35:36 to come to
00:35:36 --> 00:35:37 embrace the
00:35:37 --> 00:35:39 truth of
00:35:39 --> 00:35:39 the Bible
00:35:39 --> 00:35:41 than, in
00:35:41 --> 00:35:41 fact, than
00:35:41 --> 00:35:42 to open it
00:35:42 --> 00:35:44 up and to
00:35:44 --> 00:35:45 let it
00:35:45 --> 00:35:46 into your
00:35:46 --> 00:35:48 life, as
00:35:48 --> 00:35:49 a regular
00:35:49 --> 00:35:50 habit in
00:35:50 --> 00:35:52 your life.
00:35:53 --> 00:35:54 And so I
00:35:54 --> 00:35:55 commend it to
00:35:55 --> 00:35:56 you that
00:35:56 --> 00:35:56 you might
00:35:56 --> 00:35:57 not just
00:35:57 --> 00:35:58 know it,
00:35:58 --> 00:35:59 but that
00:35:59 --> 00:35:59 you might
00:35:59 --> 00:36:00 taste and
00:36:00 --> 00:36:01 see in
00:36:01 --> 00:36:02 2026 that
00:36:02 --> 00:36:03 the Lord
00:36:03 --> 00:36:04 is good.
00:36:04 --> 00:36:04 Amen.