Introduction:
I Can Trust the Bible Because... (2 Peter 1:16-21)
- It is not a myth but Historical Fact (2 Peter 1:16)
The Bible is Verified by...
- Eyewitness Testimony
- Archaeological Evidence
- Scientific Accuracy
- It is not an incomplete guide but The Only Source of Light in a Dark World . (2 Peter 1:17-19)
- It is not the opinion of man but An Inspired Message from God . (2 Peter 1:20-21)
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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01:28-01:33
All right, so you can turn your Bibles to 2 Peter 1, verses 16 through 21.
01:35-01:42
And as you're turning there, I want you to join me in exploring an annoying experience that happens to me on almost a weekly basis.
01:42-01:49
You know, Kate and my kids are out of the house, I'm getting ready to leave, I grab my keys, grab my wallet, head to the car, and I head out.
01:51-01:55
But then a few minutes into the drive, a question pops up into my mind.
01:57-01:58
Did I close the garage door?
01:59-02:01
Does that happen to anybody else besides me like every single day?
02:03-02:06
And I answer that question by saying, yeah, of course I did.
02:06-02:11
But then another question burrows its way into my mind that I hate with my entire being.
02:11-02:13
Are you sure about that?
02:13-02:14
You sure about that?
02:14-02:22
It's like, ah, and I turn around, I go back, and of course the garage door is never actually opened, it's always closed.
02:22-02:27
But time after time, I still turn around because of that question, are you sure about that?
02:28-02:30
It's not even just my garage door.
02:31-02:33
It's things like, oh, I made lunch, I used the oven.
02:33-02:35
I'm like, wait, did I turn the oven off?
02:35-02:36
Is the house gonna explode?
02:36-02:37
Did I turn around and do a 180?
02:38-02:40
Or even, oh, I left a window open.
02:40-02:41
I think it might rain later.
02:41-02:43
I had to turn around and do it once again.
02:43-02:52
That question, are you sure about that, time and time again, stirs up this hornet's nest of doubt in my mind.
02:53-03:05
And to be honest with you, One of the most embarrassing things I do when we go on vacation, I'll actually take a picture of our closed garage door to knock down that question of are you sure about that?
03:07-03:17
As much as you may be laughing at my expense right now, I think we can all admit that we deal with this question to a certain extent when it comes to more serious matters and issues of our faith.
03:18-03:21
We believe that God is real.
03:21-03:29
We believe that he has made a way of salvation for us, but at times that question rears its ugly head.
03:29-03:30
Are you sure about that?
03:31-03:32
Are you sure about that?
03:32-03:36
And we go through seasons of discouragement and doubt.
03:37-03:43
We know that the Lord loves us and cares about every single aspect of our lives, but again, that question nags us.
03:43-03:45
Are you sure about that?
03:45-03:50
Do you really think that God cares about little insignificant you?
03:52-04:00
We know what the Bible says about marriage, sexuality, and gender, but our society keeps yelling that question of, are you sure about that?
04:00-04:03
Did God really say that?
04:04-04:14
As we saw in the introduction video a few moments ago, dealing with this question isn't a new development, as Satan has been asking it since the very beginning.
04:15-04:22
Adam and Eve are set up in a beautiful garden, are given an awesome mission of taking care of God's creation and filling the earth.
04:22-04:26
But they're told that there is one thing they're not to do.
04:26-04:27
And what is that?
04:28-04:32
Do not eat of this one tree in the garden.
04:33-04:34
That's it.
04:35-04:42
But Satan weasels his way into the garden in the form of a serpent and asks that question, are you sure about that?
04:42-04:46
Did God really say that you should not eat of any tree in the garden?
04:47-04:48
You see what Satan does there?
04:49-04:51
He twists what God actually said.
04:51-05:04
God said, "Don't eat of this one tree." And Satan asked, "Did God really say "you can't eat of any tree in the garden?" He sows that seed of doubt in Eve's mind.
05:05-05:10
A seed of doubt in the goodness and trustworthiness of God.
05:11-05:23
As I already said, Satan has been using this tactic for thousands of years, and we have to prepare to fight against it, No matter how mature and theologically secure we think that we are.
05:24-05:30
So this morning, we're taking a bit of a break from Hebrews to start a four-week series called Did God Really Say?
05:30-05:38
And we're gonna unpack important doctrines and scriptural realities that our enemy constantly tries to attack and undermine.
05:39-05:58
And sadly, he's been extremely successful in this endeavor, as many churches have caved and compromised on a variety of key issues because of societal pressure, because of a desire to be liked by everyone, and in general, because of a lack of confidence in the good news of Jesus Christ.
05:59-06:04
But at Harvest Bible Chapel, let us refuse to become this kind of statistic.
06:04-06:12
Let us refuse to follow our hearts, trust in our own opinions, and let our feelings dictate our choices.
06:13-06:21
Let us stand firm on what God has definitively said instead of falling prey to Satan's pathetic question of, did God really say?
06:23-06:28
So before we dive into our specific passage and topic of study this morning, let's go to the Lord and ask for His help.
06:31-06:33
Father, we thank you so much for this time.
06:33-06:36
We can come together as your people to study your word.
06:38-06:46
Lord, I pray that you would speak in and through me, Lord, and as I preach, Lord, you'd be preaching a much better message in people's hearts and minds, Lord.
06:47-06:56
I pray that you would challenge us, you would convict us, you would encourage us, you would build us up, but at the same time, you would tear things down in our lives that need to be torn down.
06:57-06:58
I pray that we'd submit ourselves to you.
07:00-07:01
In Jesus' name, amen.
07:03-07:13
So the best way to kick off this series is to focus our time and attention on the thing that Satan tries to challenge to undercut the most, and that is the word of God itself.
07:14-07:20
Our enemy knows that this book contains the message of eternal life and salvation.
07:20-07:28
He knows that followers of Christ can't grow, mature, and become who God wants them to be apart from spending time within its pages.
07:29-07:34
So he'll do whatever he can to keep this book out of people's hands.
07:35-07:41
He'll do whatever it takes to distract us that this book gathers dust on our nightstands at home.
07:42-08:03
Even worse than that, he loves to deceive people into misinterpreting the Bible, into reading their own meaning into a text, and taking a certain passage out of context, where he loves to use people to use this book as a religious weight upon people that they can never hope to lift on their own.
08:04-08:13
The Bible can either be an effective weapon used by your enemy against you, or it can be a powerful weapon used by you against your enemy.
08:14-08:15
The choice is yours.
08:16-08:28
So please open your Bibles to 2 Peter 1:16-21, and we're gonna unpack why the Bible is worthy of our time, attention, and full assurance.
08:29-08:31
Let's begin by reading verse 16.
08:31-08:32
Peter writes this.
08:33-08:54
"For we did not follow cleverly devised myths "We made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." So we're outlined this morning, I can trust the Bible because, number one, it is not a myth, but historical fact.
08:55-08:58
It is not a myth, but historical fact.
09:01-09:10
So throughout this letter, Peter calls out and debunks false teachers who are trying to oppose the gospel of Jesus Christ and the reality of his second coming.
09:11-09:17
Like Satan in the Garden of Eden, these false teachers are sowing seeds of doubt, disunity, and destruction.
09:17-09:32
And some of these people are passing around the lie that the story of Jesus' divine ministry, his miraculous resurrection, his death on the cross is just that, it's just a story.
09:32-09:34
It's a story with no basis in reality.
09:35-09:36
It's just another legend.
09:36-09:39
It's just another collection of myths.
09:39-09:45
Christianity is just a bunch of imaginative fables that teach us important lessons about life.
09:46-09:51
In their minds, Jesus isn't God, but he was a man made out to be God.
09:52-10:00
But Peter makes it crystal clear in the passage we just read that he and the other apostles aren't peddling myths, fables, legends.
10:01-10:05
They aren't writing a fictional fantasy novel like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.
10:05-10:11
He says that he is making known the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
10:12-10:16
And he says they were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
10:17-10:19
Eyewitnesses of his majesty.
10:20-10:21
What's he talking about there?
10:22-10:32
Well, he's talking about the historical account of Jesus' transfiguration in which he took Peter, James, and John to the top of the mountain to unveil his glory to them.
10:33-10:39
He popped the hood, so to speak, on his humanity to display the engine of his divinity.
10:40-10:46
We read this account in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and we'll discuss it in greater detail in a few minutes.
10:46-10:57
But Peter points to this firsthand witnessing of the transfiguration to prove that he is a reliable witness who should be listened to.
10:58-11:04
He's denying the claims of his opponents that Jesus isn't God, and he's not really coming back someday.
11:05-11:06
He's saying, listen, it's all true.
11:07-11:09
Every single word of it.
11:09-11:23
Jesus first came in humility to suffer and die to save sinners, but he will come back one day in glorious power, and I know this is gonna happen because I saw him unveil his majesty on that mountain years ago.
11:25-11:31
Peter is making a point here you don't want to hammer into your brain so that it will stick there forever.
11:31-11:37
And that point is, the word of God is historical fact.
11:38-11:42
The word of God is historical fact.
11:43-11:45
I love what Jesus says in John 10, 35.
11:45-11:53
"Scripture cannot be broken." The word of God is 100% true and reliable.
11:53-12:00
It is not a flimsy glass vase that will easily shatter, a strong diamond that will bear up under any pressure.
12:01-12:04
No one and nothing can disprove this book.
12:04-12:13
No one can pull on a thread to unravel it, even though many have tried, and many think they have succeeded, but they have not.
12:14-12:22
You know, two men spring to mind who sought to disprove the Bible and the claims of Jesus, but their mission actually backfired on them in the process and they became Christians.
12:23-12:30
The first is Josh McDowell, who was agnostic in college, he tried to write a paper that disproved Christianity.
12:31-12:35
As he examined the evidence, he realized that Jesus is real.
12:36-12:40
He realized that he is savior, he is Lord, and he gave his life to Christ.
12:41-12:57
And he wrote extremely famous books like "More Than a Carpenter" and "Evidence That Demands a Verdict." Another well-known man is Lee Strobel, an investigative journalist who sought to debunk the claims of Christ, but actually debunked his own atheism in the process.
12:58-13:17
And he has written a ton of books like "The Case for Christ," "The Case for a Creator," "The Case for Faith." You know, sadly, this isn't the case for every single person who tries to poke holes in the Bible, because many people choose to harden their hearts and close their eyes to the reality before them.
13:19-13:27
Listen, if you're a Christian, you're going to face opposition and disagreement about your faith and the book that you base your life upon.
13:28-13:30
And I want you to listen to me here, please pay attention.
13:31-13:33
That's okay, it's okay.
13:34-13:37
The Bible is not gonna be proven wrong someday.
13:37-13:40
Jesus will not be discovered as a fraud.
13:40-13:47
As I already told you, people have been trying for thousands of years and they'll keep trying and failing until the end of time.
13:49-13:53
But maybe you're sitting here and you're unconvinced about the reliability of the Bible.
13:54-14:00
Maybe you're here today and you would like to have some evidence to lean back on or point others to.
14:01-14:05
So let's spend a few minutes unpacking some of the evidence that backs up the Bible.
14:06-14:15
Because I want us to be confident that this book has an unbreakable spine that we can build our lives, that we can build our families upon.
14:16-14:21
All right, letter A, the Bible is verified by eyewitness testimony.
14:21-14:25
The Bible is verified by eyewitness testimony.
14:27-14:37
As you already mentioned, Peter is emphatic that he witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus with his own two eyes, and he also had a front row seat to his entire ministry.
14:38-14:44
His two letters are backed up by this firsthand knowledge of Christ and the birth of the early church.
14:45-14:55
But beyond the apostle Peter, so much of the Bible is written by men who were actually there, or is based off the firsthand accounts of those who were actually there.
14:56-14:59
Luke makes this abundantly clear in the first several verses of his gospel.
14:59-15:33
He writes this, "In so much as many have undertaken "to compile a narrative of the things "that has been accomplished among us, "just as those who were from the beginning "were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word "have delivered them to us, "It seemed good to me, having followed all things closely "for some time, to write an orderly account for you, "most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty "concerning the things that you have been taught." That you may have certainty considering the things that you have been taught.
15:34-15:50
Luke is saying that we can have certainty that his gospel is based on the first-hand account of disciples and other men and women who saw Jesus heal, who saw him teach, who saw him suffer, die, rise again and ascend back into heaven.
15:51-15:58
Mark's gospel was based off Peter's firsthand account and Matthew and John written by those apostles themselves.
15:59-16:02
The Bible was backed up by eyewitness testimony.
16:03-16:07
Letter B, the Bible is verified by archeological evidence.
16:07-16:09
Archeological evidence.
16:12-16:18
You know, I can give a really long lecture on how archeology backs up the claims of the Bible, but don't worry, I'm not gonna do that this morning.
16:19-16:21
Let me just give you some of the highlights.
16:22-16:27
In 1993, a stone tablet was found that dates back to the ninth century BC.
16:27-16:33
And it has an inscription that references the house of David.
16:33-16:39
This tablet backs up the reality that David wasn't a made up king of myth, but a historical figure.
16:39-16:46
Before we had this, we couldn't definitively prove that David was a real person, but now we can.
16:47-17:06
In 1947, the shepherds made the biggest archeological discovery of the 20th century when they came across a cave by the Dead Sea that is filled with Old Testament scrolls and fragments that have been sitting there for 2000 years, and some dated back to 300 BC.
17:08-17:20
Over the next several years, they checked all the other caves and they found more documents, 800 fragments from 190 biblical scrolls and an entire scroll of Isaiah was found.
17:22-17:24
You may be asking, Taylor, why is this a big deal?
17:24-17:38
Because this goes a long way in us being able to show, to prove that the 39 books of the Old Testament were written before the New Testament and that the prophecies made about Jesus weren't written after the fact.
17:38-17:41
They were written before he came to this earth.
17:43-17:50
And speaking of manuscripts, we have more fragments and complete copies of the New Testament than any other ancient document by far.
17:51-17:57
We have over 5,800 fragments or completed manuscripts of the New Testament.
17:58-18:00
Do you wanna know who comes in second place?
18:01-18:08
That's Homer's "The Iliad," and it comes in with 643 complete or fragmented manuscripts.
18:08-18:09
That's not even kind of close.
18:10-18:13
5,800, 643.
18:14-18:18
No archeological finds or digs have been able to disprove the Bible.
18:18-18:26
With each passing year, more and more evidence continues to pile up for the historical authenticity of God's word.
18:28-18:33
All right, finally, the Bible is verified by scientific accuracy.
18:34-18:35
Scientific accuracy.
18:36-18:40
Who has ever heard someone say, "Oh, well, faith and science don't mix.
18:40-18:45
You can't trust in the Bible and science at the same time." Who's ever heard someone say something like that?
18:46-18:48
We've all heard different variations of that.
18:48-18:51
Maybe you don't know how to respond.
18:51-18:54
You don't know what to say when someone makes that kind of claim.
18:56-19:01
Well, I want you to be assured that science and the Bible are not enemies, but friends.
19:02-19:06
The Bible isn't a science textbook, but does make correct scientific claims.
19:07-19:11
In Genesis, we're told that God created animals after their own kind.
19:11-19:20
And no matter what evolutionists say, they can never prove from the fossil record that one species completely morphs into a different species over time.
19:21-19:22
It's just not possible.
19:23-19:26
There's no evidence that we come from primates or single-celled organisms.
19:28-19:39
Geology proves the flood actually happened in that fossils and bones were catastrophically deposited over a matter of minutes.
19:41-19:50
The Old Testament speaks to such things as the water cycle, sea currents, the predictable pattern of the stars, and the reality that the earth hangs on nothing.
19:52-19:58
The Bible was way ahead of the curve on these scientific claims because it is written by the creator himself.
20:01-20:05
You know, I really don't even have to defend the Bible because the Bible defends itself.
20:06-20:14
Its reliability, its accuracy is abundantly clear with those with the eyes to see and the ears to hear.
20:16-20:25
My favorite preacher of all time, Charles Spurgeon, once urged his congregation not to view scripture as a defenseless animal that we have to help, but as a roaring lion.
20:26-20:29
He writes this, "Pardon me if I offer a quiet suggestion.
20:30-20:31
"Open the door and let the lion out.
20:31-20:33
"He will take care of himself.
20:33-20:37
"He no sooner goes forth in his strength "than his assailants flee.
20:37-20:41
"The way to meet infidelity, unbelief, "is to spread the Bible.
20:41-20:49
"The answer to objections against the Bible is the Bible." The Bible defends itself.
20:51-20:59
Secondly, I can trust the Bible because it is not an incomplete guide, but the only source of light in a dark world.
21:00-21:04
It is not an incomplete guide, but the only source of light in a dark world.
21:09-21:17
So let's read verses 17 through 18, which unpacks Peter's take on the transfiguration in even greater detail.
21:18-21:45
He says this, "For when Jesus received honor and glory "from God the Father, and the voice was born to him "by the majestic glory, this is my beloved Son "with whom I am well pleased, "we ourselves heard this very voice born from heaven, "for we were with him on that holy mountain." Just imagine what this must have been like to see, hear, and experience.
21:46-21:59
Seeing Jesus Christ unveil his glory, to hear the voice of God the Father speak out of heaven, affirming who Jesus is, This is my beloved son.
22:00-22:05
And we're told in the gospels that two Old Testament rock stars show up on the scene and stand next to Jesus.
22:05-22:06
And who are these men?
22:07-22:16
Moses and Elijah, who Peter has heard about on an endless loop since he was a kid, from his parents, from his family, from his rabbis.
22:17-22:20
This must have been one of the highlights of Peter's life.
22:21-22:26
I don't know about you, but I wish I could have experienced something like this.
22:26-22:28
All of us do, right?
22:29-22:34
But Peter goes on to say something astounding in verse 19.
22:35-22:37
As Pastor Jeff often says, this is game-changing stuff.
22:39-22:49
He writes this, "And we have something more sure, the prophetic word." What's he saying there?
22:51-22:58
He's saying, hey, this encounter was fantastic and I'll never forget it about it as long as I live, but we have something better.
22:58-23:02
We have something more sure, the word of God.
23:03-23:04
Isn't that amazing?
23:06-23:09
But some of you may be thinking, how can that possibly be true?
23:10-23:13
How can Peter write that and mean that?
23:14-23:21
You know, if I offered you a free and inclusive trip to Hawaii or a typed up description of the trip, what would you pick?
23:23-23:24
You'd pick the actual trip, right?
23:25-23:33
What if I offered you the best steak that you could possibly imagine grilled by the greatest chef in the world or a typed up review of how the steak tasted?
23:34-23:35
What would you pick?
23:36-23:40
You would pick the experience of actually eating the steak.
23:40-23:51
So how can this book that we read possibly be better and more sure than this kind of physical and tangible experience that Peter had?
23:51-23:52
How is that possible?
23:54-24:02
Well, as great, as important, as impactful as experiences are, they are here one minute, but quickly fade to memory the next.
24:03-24:12
Experiences in this life come and go, but we're told in Isaiah chapter 40 that the word of the Lord endures forever.
24:13-24:15
It's unchanging and it's not going anywhere.
24:15-24:29
Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, "but my words will never pass away." This book has a supernatural power that we should not underestimate or we cannot possibly overestimate.
24:31-24:36
No matter what our society says, this book is relevant and it is life-changing.
24:39-24:55
You know, over the years, I've had a lot of people ask me, "Taylor, how can you possibly believe "a book that was written over 2,000 years ago "is true and relevant to your life?" And I have a lot of responses to that question but I always say something similar to this.
24:56-25:02
Because it is the only thing that possibly makes sense of this crazy world that we live in.
25:02-25:11
It tells the truth about why things are so broken, why people act the way that they do, and it points to the only way to truly change.
25:13-25:21
When I try to step outside of my biblical worldview and look at life, it is hopeless, it is meaningless, it is confusing, it is chaotic.
25:21-25:28
But when I look at this world, when I look at this life, the lens of scripture, I see the hand of God at work.
25:28-25:31
I see that he is in control.
25:34-25:36
And Peter says something similar at the end of verse 19.
25:37-25:50
And we have something more short, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
25:52-26:00
According to Peter, we should pay attention to the Bible because it is a bright light that pierces the darkness of this world.
26:00-26:08
It is our only hope of seeing Jesus Christ in this life until the day we finally see him face to face and become fully like him.
26:09-26:14
It is a complete and definitive guide that tells us where to go and where not to go.
26:15-26:20
Why would we put this lamp down and just sit in the blackness.
26:20-26:24
Why would we put this map away and just try to forge our own paths?
26:26-26:27
But we do it all the time, don't we?
26:29-26:36
We feel the nudging of the Holy Spirit to spend time in his word, and we think, I'm just too tired, I'll do it tomorrow.
26:37-26:40
I'm just so busy right now, I can't do that.
26:43-26:49
Reading scripture should be as important to us as drinking water and eating food.
26:50-26:58
Jesus said, and Deuteronomy tells us, man does not live by bread alone, but every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
26:58-27:02
Imagine saying to yourself, you know what, I know I should eat this week, but I'm just too busy.
27:02-27:03
I'm just too, everything's just too hectic.
27:04-27:07
Maybe when things slow down next week, I'll finally eat.
27:08-27:12
Your stomach would go insane, not leave you alone until you fed it.
27:13-27:22
May our spiritual stomachs not even let us go one day without eating the meat of God's word and drinking from the fountain of life-giving truth.
27:24-27:32
Finally, the Bible can be trusted because it is not the opinion of man, but an inspired message from God.
27:33-27:37
It is not the opinion of man, but an inspired message from God.
27:39-27:40
(congregation laughing)
27:43-27:49
You'll often hear people say, you can't trust the Bible because it was written by a bunch of dudes with their own opinions and agendas.
27:50-27:53
Let me ask you two really important questions.
27:54-27:56
Was this book written by God, yes or no?
27:58-27:58
All right.
27:59-28:01
Was this book written by men, yes or no?
28:03-28:06
Both are true at the same exact time.
28:07-28:12
And Peter explains this process more in verses 20 through 21.
28:12-28:16
And he proves to us that this book isn't just a man-made document.
28:16-28:40
He says, "Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of scripture comes from someone's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." So God didn't just take over these men's bodies and use them as mindless pens to take down dictation.
28:41-28:44
We're told they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
28:45-28:51
And this word in the Greek is pharaoh, and it brings to mind the picture of a ship being driven by the wind.
28:53-28:57
I'll give you another example of the word pharaoh and what it tries to communicate.
28:58-29:02
You know, it took me a lot longer than it should have to learn how to ride a bike.
29:03-29:13
And I'm too embarrassed to even admit how long it took me and at what age I learned, but if you corner my dad and my sister after service, I'm sure they'll happily tell you all the gory details.
29:14-29:25
So an undisclosed number of years ago, my dad would teach me how to ride a bike by grabbing onto the handles, and as I pedaled, he would point me in the right direction, right?
29:26-29:28
He was holding me the entire time.
29:28-29:33
And whenever he felt like I had my balance, he would let go and let me go by myself.
29:33-29:37
And this led to a lot of me falling over and literally jumping in the grass.
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Eventually I got it.
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I don't wanna tell you when, but eventually.
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But in those moments when my dad was holding on to the handlebars, I was in a sense still riding my bike.
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I was pedaling, I was doing the work, but my dad was carrying me along.
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He was pointing me in the right direction to the right destination.
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And the Bible was written in a very similar way.
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The biblical authors didn't just have their eyes go into the back of their heads and go into a trance and then wake up whenever God was done writing a book of the Bible.
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These men put in the time, they put in effort to write, but every single word was guided by the Holy Spirit.
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God used these men's different personalities, backgrounds, and styles to create unique but in the end, all the honor, all the glory, all the credit goes to God and God alone.
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How this whole process worked out is a mystery, but we can have confidence that every single word of this book is there because of the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
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So if God himself is ultimately the author of this book, then we need to dedicate ourselves to being faithful to what he has definitively said and submitting to his authority.
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You know, English classes across this country will teach, you know, the intent of the author really doesn't matter.
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What matters is the meaning that you bring to a book or a poem.
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It means what you says that it means.
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It means what you want it to mean.
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And people try to take that and apply it to the Bible.
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We can bring our own meaning to a text.
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We can bring our own experiences to it, and it changes based on who reads it.
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What do we think about that, thumbs up or thumbs down?
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That's complete and utter garbage.
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Either the Bible means what it says that it means, or it means nothing at all.
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You know, as a preacher, I refuse to put words into God's mouth or take words out of his mouth.
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We have a wide bench of preachers at this church who are dedicated to telling you what God wants you to hear instead of just telling you what your flesh wants you to hear.
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We do this because we want to be found as faithful handlers of the word of God.
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We have to give an account to God someday for the sermons that we preach.
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We want to deliver God's unfiltered truth instead of watering it down like a batch of McDonald's orange juice.
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You know what I'm talking about, right?
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Their orange juice is terrible.
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(congregation laughing)
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Even though we're not perfect preachers by any stretch of the imagination, and a few weeks ago we actually spent time talking about all the ways we wanna grow and improve and get better, Pastor Jeff, myself, and men such as Rich Sprunk, Justin Cady, Mike Wolski, Matt Cole, Dan Thompson, James Austin, Brian Krause, and on on the list goes, we are committed to getting it right when we stand behind this pulpit.
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Again, we're not perfect, but that is always our aim and our goal when we preach.
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So let me ask you, are you also committed to getting it right when you sit down to read and study the word of God?
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Do you put in the hard work to study so that you won't take passage of scripture out of context?
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Do you read slowly and prayerfully?
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Do you take the time to highlight verses, write questions in the margins, and use a solid study Bible when you're lost?
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Are you willing to humble yourself and ask others for help and guidance when you know what a certain passage means?
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Are you committed to only listening to reputable preachers who won't pull any punches?
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Listen, there are so many preachers out there under the name of Christian that preach sermons that are anything but.
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You have to be discerning.
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You have to filter everything through the word of God.
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Do you seek to not just know the Bible, but live it out and apply it?
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The New Testament has nothing good to say about the man or woman who has a fat theological head, but does nothing with the knowledge that they possess.
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These things should affect everything about you, your thought life, what you say, how you treat other people, and how you react to tough situations.
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You know, growing up, my dad would teach me to ask yourself two questions Whenever you read the Bible, these two questions are, what does this teach me about God?
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And what does this teach me about myself?
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What does this teach me about who God is, who he's called me to be, and what he's calling me to do?
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Head, heart, hands.
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Maybe you're sitting here this morning and you wanna become a better student of God's word, but you don't know where to start.
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and you're embarrassed to even ask for help.
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Listen, you aren't expected to know everything.
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That's something that only God can do.
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But you are expected to be faithful with what you do know and pursue after more knowledge and wisdom.
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If you need help or don't know where to start, please talk to Pastor Jeff or myself after service.
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We would love to come alongside you and equip you to become a student of God's word.
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I can think of very little in this life that I enjoy more than sitting down with a person one-on-one to unpack the word and teach them how to read the Bible for themselves.
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And there are so many other people besides Pastor Jeff and I who would love to do that with you in this church.
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If you're already a part of one, I would love to connect you with a small group this fall where you can study and unpack the word and community with other believers in Christ.
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Ladies, you can sign up to be one of our precept studies with First Samuel or Philippians.
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Guys, you can sign up to be a part of a fisherman group where guys meet up weekly to unpack the word, to keep each other accountable, and do life together.
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We have a Fundamentals of the Faith class that we're gonna continue to run throughout the next several years.
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Sign up for that whenever it is available.
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There are so many opportunities for diving deeper in discipleship at Harvest.
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Please grab ahold of these things and study the word with other believers.
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We can't do it without each other.
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We need each other if we're gonna become faithful readers, messengers, and appliers of God's word.
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So as we close, let's evaluate our question for this morning one final time.
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Did God really say that his word can be trusted?
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What's the answer, church?
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Yes.
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We can't say yes loud enough to that question.
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This book is a historically accurate account of what God has done in the past, which means that we can trust him in the present and we can trust him with our future.
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It is a sure and complete source of light and guidance, which means that we don't have to be lost in the darkness of this world.
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It is the authoritative and inspired word of God, which means that we don't have to fall prey to the opinions of our culture or the deceptive lies of our enemy.
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Let's pray.
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Father, we thank you for your word.
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We thank you that you have revealed yourself to us in this book and through the person and work of your son.
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And Lord, we admit that we so often don't value it in the way that we should.
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We have a ton of copies laying around at home, but some days we don't even open it.
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And whenever we do read it, Lord, sometimes we just speed through it, then check it off our list and move on.
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Lord, may that never be so, Lord.
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May we view this time in your word as more important than eating or drinking, Lord.
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This is the time where we connect with you.
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We hear from you.
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We grow closer to you.
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And Lord, if there's someone in this room who doesn't know and love you, and they're unsure about this book, Lord, I pray that you'd open up their hearts to the truth and show them the beauty and the glory and the truthfulness of your word.
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They would submit to you both now and forever.
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In Jesus' name, amen.
Small Group Discussion
Read 2 Peter 1:16-21
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
What does it mean that the Bible defends itself? Why can it be trusted?
Why do we delay/put off Bible reading and study at times? How can you take steps to grow in your ability as a student of the Bible over the next several days and weeks?
Breakout
Pray for one another.
