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Triple Testimony · Sermon Podcast at Cartersville1st

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If you had your copy of God's word, go make your way to 1st
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John First John chapter 5. Our text will be first John 5
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verses 6 through 12. Praise God for John and praise
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team inquire. I'm so grateful for those who
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lead us to lift our voices in praise each week.
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What a blessing it is to see you all this morning.
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If you are a guest among us, I want to give you an extra
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special welcome and just want to say thank you for walking in the
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doors today. I know nobody walks into the
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doors by accident. I believe God has something
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special for you for each one of us today.
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And I pray that your heart will be attuned to what that is and
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that you'll follow God's lead by faith and whatever He is He
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wants to do in your life. Y'all, when Lee Strobel's wife
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Leslie became a Christian, he, being an atheist and an
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award-winning winning Yale educated journalist, set out to
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disprove his wife's new faith. He believed Christianity to be a
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cult. He saw Christianity as a threat
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to their marriage, and he saw Christianity as a set of foolish
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beliefs. He personally believed in a
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completely naturalistic explanation for everything, and
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he saw faith as a crutch. Lee, though, initially planned
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to just give a quick weekend to find enough evidence to present
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to his wife. The only problem was the
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evidence he found compelled him to keep digging.
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So then Lee decided that he would approach this whole matter
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just like he would a legal case, which led him to spend the next
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two years investigating the historical and scientific
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evidence for Jesus's life, death, burial and resurrection.
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Using his journalistic skills, he treated the New Testament
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like a historical document and examined every piece of evidence
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from various sources, including even non biblical sources.
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So after a deep and prolonged investigation, Lee concluded
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that the evidence pointed powerfully to the truth of
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Christianity, so much so that he says he found that it would have
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taken more faith to remain an atheist than it would to become
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a Christian. So on November the 8th of 1981,
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just shy of 45 years ago, Lee Strobel became a Christian.
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By the way, so also did his son and daughter.
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Also, after their father trusted Christ, they chose to as well.
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CS Lewis, in his book that's well known by the name of Mere
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Christianity, wrote that if Jesus is not who he claimed to
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be, then either he is a liar or a lunatic.
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Why is that? Because Jesus clearly claimed to
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be who to be God. And if Jesus is not who he
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claimed to be, ladies and gentlemen, there's no other
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choice. Jesus is straight up lying or he
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is off his rocker. You could put it like this.
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Jesus is either mad, deceptive, or divine, but those are the
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only three options you got. If Jesus is not who he says that
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he is, there's no other legitimate option.
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The question that John asked and answers for us this morning is
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simply this. How do you know?
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How do you know that Jesus is true?
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How do you know that Jesus is really who he says he is?
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How do you know that Jesus really is the Son of God?
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How do you really know that Jesus is genuine?
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This is what John is going to write.
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To answer, listen to the Word of God in first John 5, beginning
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in verse 6. This is he who came by water and
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blood, Jesus Christ, not by the water only, but by the water and
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the blood. And the Spirit is the one who
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testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
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For there are three that testify, the Spirit and the
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water and the blood, and these three agree.
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If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is
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greater, for this is the testimony of God, that He is
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born concerning His Son. Whoever believes in the Son of
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God has the testimony in himself.
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Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar because he's not
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believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning His
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Son. And this is the testimony that
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God gave us eternal life and this life is in His Son.
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Whoever has the Son has life. Whoever does not have the Son of
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God does not have life. John has urged and he has taught
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so many things in this little New Testament 5 chapter letter,
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and as he's done so, he's not minced words.
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If you've been paying attention, John's not pulled any punches.
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John's not been beating around any bushes.
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He's come straight out and at it and he says things like this
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y'all, there is light and there is darkness.
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There is life and there is death.
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There is truth and there is lies.
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There is Christ and there is the Antichrist.
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This is the language with which John is clarifying the realities
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of life and eternity. And you might hear all this and
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want to say, well, who does John think he is?
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Who's he to say such things? How do we know his testimony is
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true? How do we know Jesus is true?
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How do we know John is trustworthy?
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Well, John essentially tells us the basis for his authority in
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his teaching in this text we just read, while also answering
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the question how do we know that Jesus is true?
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John is also answering how do you know that his testimony is
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true? The answer to our question is
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how do we know that Jesus is true?
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John says we have because we have the triple testimony of God
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the Father. How do we know that Jesus is
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true? Because John says we have the
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triple testimony of God the Father.
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You know, one thing I want you to realize that you may have
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never thought about is that the gospel is not just based on
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human testimony. Ultimately, the gospel we have
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believed as followers of Jesus is based in ultimately divine
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testimony. What's fascinating about that
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fact, too, is that all things in the Old Testament, God said,
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according to principle, were to be established by how many
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witnesses? Two or three, and in fact, what
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we're going to discover here is that God the Father is following
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that principle in his own testimony to the truthfulness of
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his gospel of his Son and his legitimacy with more than not
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just two, but three witnesses, a principle which continues in the
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New Testament. So how do we believe in, how do
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we know that Jesus is true? We have the testimony of God the
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Father. What is that testimony?
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Listen closely. Here's the first part of it.
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You ready? Number one, God the Father has
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witnessed to the truth of His Son with water.
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God the Father has witnessed to the truth of His Son with water.
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You say, Kyle, what in the world do you mean?
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The water is the witness of Jesus's baptism.
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I want you to listen to God the Father concerning His Son
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through the witness of the water.
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This is Matthew chapter 3, verses 13 through 17.
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I want you to listen to this. Then Jesus came from Galilee to
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the Jordan to John to be baptized by him.
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John would have prevented him, saying, I need to be baptized by
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you, and do you come to me. But Jesus answered him, Let it
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be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all
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righteousness. Then he consented, and when
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Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water and
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behold, the heavens were open to him, and he saw the Spirit of
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God descending on him like a dove and coming to rest on him.
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And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son,
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with whom I am well pleased. Y'all few places in all of
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scripture so clearly clarify the three person nature of the
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Godhead, Father, Son and Spirit as clearly as the baptism of
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Jesus. So what happens here?
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How does God the Father testify through water?
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Well notice here in this baptism when Jesus comes up out of the
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water, the Holy Spirit visibly comes down upon him.
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Now this is not because Jesus didn't have the Spirit before
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baptism, He certainly did. But this was an act of the Holy
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Spirit ordained by God the Father to visibly, physically
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demonstrate that this beginning of Jesus's ministry was marked
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by the blessing, the presence and inauguration of the Holy
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Spirit of God joining him to complete what God the Father had
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sent the Son to do, the beginning of Jesus's public
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ministry. And then when Jesus came up out
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of the water, it wasn't just the Holy Spirit physically, visibly
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in a way resting upon him, but God the Father audibly said,
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this is my son. Now, if you just want something
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clear, it doesn't get more clear than that, right?
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A witness of a voice from heaven.
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This is my son. I just want you to think about
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this. God the Father didn't say, hey,
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Jesus, you're my son. Jesus already knew that.
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God the Father's not saying this for his sake.
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He's not saying it for Jesus sake.
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You know what? He's who he's talking for.
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Whose sake everyone gathered and including us witnessing.
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Now years past from the witness of John, he says this is hey
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y'all, I'm giving witness that this is my son.
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I know it and Jesus know it knows it, and the Holy Spirit
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knows it, but I want you to know it.
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This is my beloved son, y'all. People often wonder why was
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Jesus baptized? Well of course baptism is a
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public witness. So baptism is not the moment of
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salvation. I know that's the way it sounds
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like in country songs. That's just not true, all right?
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When you come up out of the water, that's not when all your
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sins are washed away, all right? You don't leave them in the
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river, all right? So anyway, and talk to country
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writers about that. You get saved when by faith you
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trust Jesus and you give your life to him, and the blood of
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Jesus cleanses you from the inside out.
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That's when you get saved. Baptism is a public testimony to
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what's happened on the inside. It's a picture of the gospel for
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everybody to see here. Jesus as they stood in the
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water. Jesus stood and lived a sinless
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life in our place. Jesus went to the grave.
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That's why we're laid in the grave because we're identifying
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and believing in the death of Jesus.
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And then guess what? We're too dying to our old way
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of life. My old self has been crucified
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with Christ, and yet Jesus walked out of the grave to give
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me life. So I'm raised out of the water
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to live a new life by the power of Jesus with the Holy Spirit
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living within me, right? It's a total witness.
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It's a public witness. So when Jesus this was baptized,
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again, you can think about it, baptism as a public witness.
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Why was Jesus baptized? Well, there's no doubt in my
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mind. And again, the Bible didn't come
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out and say this, but no doubt with what the Father does, it's
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another public witness to the identity, to the genuine, to the
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reality that Jesus is the Son of God.
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And the Father putting his seal of public witness of approval on
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Jesus in that baptism to fulfill the righteousness of what?
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Perhaps that same principle that everything be confirmed by two
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or three witnesses and it was the Baptist baptism of Jesus
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that God the Father says, hey, y'all, this is when I'm going on
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public record. This is my Son and this is the
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beginning of His ministry. Watch out and follow Him.
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This is my witness. Are you watching?
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Are you listening? God the Father has witnessed to
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the truth of His Son with water. That's Part 1 #2 God the Father
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has witnessed to the truth of His Son with blood.
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This is verses 6 through 8. What is the witness of blood?
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It is the witness of Jesus's death on the cross.
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I want you to listen as I read a portion of this from the same
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author, different book, the Gospel of John chapter 19 about
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the crucifixion of Jesus. Beginning in verse 28.
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It says this. And after this, Jesus, knowing
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that all was now finished, said to fulfill the scripture.
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I thirst and a jar full of sour wine stood there.
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So they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and
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held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour
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wine, he said, It is finished. And he bowed his head and gave
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up his spirit, since it was the day of preparation, and so that
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the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for
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that Sabbath was a high day. The Jews asked Pilate that their
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legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.
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So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the 1st and of the
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other who had been crucified with him.
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But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
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they did not break his legs, but one of the soldiers pierced his
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side with a spear, and at once there came out blood.
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And what are some will want to argue?
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Jesus didn't really die? Ladies and gentlemen, Jesus was
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dead and they ensured He was who saw it, has borne witness.
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This testimony is true and He knows that He is telling the
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truth, that you may also believe for these things took place,
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that the Scripture might be fulfilled, that none of His
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bones would be broken. That was prophesied hundreds of
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years in advance. And again another scripture says
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they will look upon whom they have pierced.
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So God the Father is not only witness to the genuineness of
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His Son with water, but also with blood.
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The blood of Jesus began to be shed when Jesus started sweating
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drops of blood. The Garden of Gethsemane, a
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modern day medical term described as hematidrosis with
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the sweat glands begin and the capillaries burst under intense
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stress and pressure that blood begins to throw to actually flow
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through the sweat glands. His blood continued to be shed
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as he was beaten, as he was flogged and his back ripped, as
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the flesh was torn, and as he was crowned with a with a crown
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of thorns. Blood continued to flow from his
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hands and his feet as spikes were driven through him to
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fasten him to a tree. And then Jesus's blood flowed as
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his side was pierced to confirm his physical death and avoiding
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the breaking of his bones. By the way, just as scripture
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had predicted, the Bible says y'all, the life of the flesh is
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in the blood. Leviticus 1711, the life of the
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flesh is in the blood. And then it furthermore says in
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Hebrews that without the shedding of blood there is no
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forgiveness of sins. You see, perfect, full, final,
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total, complete forgiveness could only be purchased by
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perfect blood. Jesus's blood had to be shed for
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our sins and the sins of the world to possibly be forgiven
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with His blood shed for sinners. No wonder Jesus said just before
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He took His last breath, it is finished.
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What I started at my baptism with the witness of the Father
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by water has now been completed and finished under the witness
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of the shedding of Jesus's blood.
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God the Father has witnessed to the truth of His Son not just by
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water but also by blood #3 God the Father has witnessed to the
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truth of His Son by the Holy Spirit.
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This is verse 6 through 8 as well.
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The Bible says in the Spirit is the one who testifies because
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the Spirit is the truth. Y'all if the witness of the
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water in the blood wasn't enough, the Holy Spirit of God
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himself testifies to the truthfulness of Jesus Christ,
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the Son of God. We see that the Holy Spirit was
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there testifying at the baptism of Jesus as he descended on
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Jesus like a dove. The Holy Spirit was there
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testifying in the death of Jesus.
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How so? He was confirming what he had
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spoken prophetically through the Scriptures hundreds of years in
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advance, that not a bone of his body would be broken, but that
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he would. If you read Isaiah 53, his
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homework this afternoon, you'd read words like this.
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He would be smitten by God and afflicted.
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He would be pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our
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iniquities, pouring out His soul to death, numbered with the
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transgressors, that is criminals on his right and on His left,
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bearing the sin of many to make intercession for them.
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This is the Holy Spirit testifying and the Holy Spirit
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continue to testify to the truth to Jesus to this day.
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In fact, John chapter 16 verse 13 says it like this.
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When the Spirit of truth comes, that is Jesus saying, when He
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sends the Holy Spirit after He ascends to the Father, He that
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is the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth.
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For He will not speak of His own authority, but whatever He
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hears, He will speak and declare to you the things that are to
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come. He will glorify me, for He will
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take what is mine and declare it also to you.
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Y'all. One of the primary roles of the
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Holy Spirit to this day is testifying to the truth of the
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Spirit. I want you to realize if you've
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been saved, it's because you've responded to the testimony of
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the Holy Spirit. Did you realize that without the
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working of the Holy Spirit, nobody's eyes of their heart
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would be open to realize the truth of who Jesus is?
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It is the Holy Spirit that illuminates for us the identity
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and the genuineness and the reality of Jesus.
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You know, the Bible says it is the Holy Spirit that draws us to
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Jesus. It is the Holy Spirit that
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convicts. If you've ever been under the
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conviction of sin, if you're under the conviction of sin
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right now, that is the work and the witness of the Holy Spirit.
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Then Jesus says to Nicodemus, nobody can be born again unless
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by the born again by the Holy Spirit, right?
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Salvation is made possible because of the witness of the
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Holy Spirit to Jesus that he did.
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The days that Jesus walked this earth in the flesh and to this
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day as we preach and teach and follow Jesus ourselves, the Holy
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Spirit testifies that Jesus was baptized and crucified and that
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Spirit continues to this day. The Spirit cannot lie, for the
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Spirit is God, the third person of the Trinity, and God does not
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lie. What the Spirit says is and
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always will be true. And so how do we know Jesus is
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true? How do we know Jesus is true?
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We have the triple testimony of God the Father, water, blood,
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and Spirit. I want to mention a little
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something that may sound like a hard right turn.
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But this is just where we need to call a little time out.
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I want to speak to something that you may see in your Bible
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that I want to clarify and just pastorally speak to because
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often times this is where our faith can be attacked.
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If you have a King James Version Bible in front of you, verse 7
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actually reads a little different.
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It reads like this. For there are three that bear
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record in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost.
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And these three are one. And that reads pretty different
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than what I just preached, does it not?
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Well, what's the deal? Well, y'all, the deal is here is
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that that one of the Greek text that the King James Version is
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based upon was edited or put together by a man in the 1500s
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by the name of Erasmus. All right, But this version that
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got included in the King James Bible is based on a Greek
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translation that does not go back to the earliest, earliest
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early century Greek New Testament documents.
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It does. It is in some later 4th century
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Latin versions, but it doesn't show up in a Greek manuscript
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until like 12/13/14 hundred years after it was originally
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written. All right, so it's most of your
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more modern Bible translations go back to rely on some of those
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earlier Greek manuscripts and therefore read the way that I've
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read it, not the way the King James read it.
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Most most realize when this first showed up, these different
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words, that it was written in the margin of early Greek
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manuscripts in the 12th, 13th, 14th century, as if one of the
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copyists thought maybe the doctrine of the Trinity needs a
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little bit of help. And I'm going to try to write
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that in on the margin. And then it got included in some
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later ones, but this not in the earliest of ones.
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Now some people say, well, Oh my goodness, this is this is
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evidence the Bible's been tampered with.
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The Bible's been changed. We can't trust our Bibles.
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Don't buy that for a minute. Why is that?
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There is no human document, written document in history with
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the level of validity and verification than your Bible.
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Thousands, thousands of manuscripts, one after another
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all the way back to the early centuries that we don't have
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anything like that to compare any other human written
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document. And here's the real issue.
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When something is unique or stands out, we know about it
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like a sore thumb because we can go all the way back to the
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beginning and compare all the documents and their consistency.
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And if a copyist made changes or wrote something in the margin,
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it stands out pretty obvious. And now sometimes some
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translations may include that and some may not.
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But you can study the history of your Bible.
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You can see what was in the earliest and what was not.
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And some translations make differences on that.
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But as I've heard one man say, the problem is not that we don't
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have 100% of the Bible. We kind of have 102% because
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over years and centuries of translation, sometimes some
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people may have written something in here and there, but
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we can see what clearly was there and what was not.
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We don't have any reason to doubt the truthfulness and
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validity of what we have in our Bibles.
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So when someone says like a Mormon or like a Jehovah's
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Witnesses or like a Muslim, you can't trust your Bible.
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It's been changed. No, no it's not.
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And when they maybe point to something like this, you can
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say, look, we can walk all the way through and we can see the
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tiny minuscule amount of our scripture that has been in any
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way debated. And if it has, it stands out
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like a sore thumb. We know.
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We know what the consistent original was as we can trace
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back copies of that. And none of this, none of the
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parts of our Bible, y'all, none of the parts where there is some
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arguing about have any thing to do with the basic doctrines of
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our faith, you need to realize the trustworthiness of the
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validity of the Bible. There is no human document in
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history that comes close to its faithfulness and reliability.
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All right, but you're going to run into the lie, You're going
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to run into the attack that you can't trust it, all right?
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But it's just not true, y'all. This is the triple testimony of
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the Father. So #4 is God the Father's
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testimony. God the Father's testimony is
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the ultimate testimony. This is verse 9.
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It says if we receive the testimony of men, the testimony
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of God is greater. For this is the testimony of God
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that He has borne concerning His Son.
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You know, every single day we live our lives based on the
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testimony of men and women, do we not?
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When's the last time you've asked for a word of mouth
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recommendation for a restaurant? When's the last time you've read
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online reviews? When's the last time you've read
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a social media post? When's the last time you've
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typed in directions on your phone or asked a question on
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ChatGPT? By the way, somebody put that
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in. Whatever answers you're getting
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right to formulate the output. World history, balls and
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strikes, instant replay in a court of law, instructions on
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the medicine bottle. They're all the testimony of
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who? Human beings, John says like
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this. Which one is greater, the
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testimony of man or the testimony of God?
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God, of course. And if you've believed and if
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you live your life by the testimony of men, have you also
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believed the greater testimony, the testimony of of God?
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John is not asking you and me to believe based on blind faith.
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Some people think that Christianity is this blind faith
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leap, like I've got to overcome my rationale or my logic to
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believe. John's not saying to believe
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based on blind faith. He wants you to realize the
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reliability of the evidence for faith.
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And, and part of that is not just human testimony, but the
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reliable ultimate testimony of God #5 everyone.
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Everyone receives or rejects the testimony of God the Father,
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including you and me. John's talking about you and me.
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Listen, everyone either receives or rejects the testimony of God
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the Father. Verse 10.
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Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in
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himself. Whoever does not believe God has
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made him a liar because he has not believed in the testimony
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that God has borne concerning His Son.
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Those who received the testimony of God the Father have the truth
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and the testifier, the Holy Spirit within them.
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But whoever rejects the testimony of God the Father
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calls God. I want you to hear this clearly.
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Whoever rejects the testimony of God the Father literally calls
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God a fill in the blank for me, a liar.
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Some of you are like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
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I've never said that. I've never claimed that God was
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a liar. I don't necessarily want to say
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that now. Well, here's what John says.
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Whoever does not believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God,
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which is the testimony of the Holy Spirit of God, calls God
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the Father a liar. You say?
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Kyle, how's that? People who do not believe may
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not mean to call God a liar, but that's exactly what they're
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doing. Let me borrow the words from a
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preacher of yesteryear by the name of Charles Spurgeon.
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He says the great sin of not believing in the Lord Jesus
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Christ is often spoken of very lightly and in a trifling
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spirit, as though it were scarcely any sin at all.
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Yet according to my text, Spurgeon says that is the Bible.
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And indeed, according to the whole tenure of Scripture,
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unbelief is the giving of God, the lie.
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And what could be worse, Unbelief is handing God
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responsibility for the lie. And what could be worse, I love
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Charles Spurgeon. He starts meddling right here.
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He says stuff like this. He says, listen, what if
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somebody says I really want to believe, preacher?
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I just can't listen to what he says to that.
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He says, oh unbeliever, you have said I cannot believe, but it'd
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be more honest if you have just said I won't believe.
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The mischief lies there. Your unbelief is your fault, not
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your misfortune. It is a disease, but it is also
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a crime. It is a terrible source of
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misery to you, but it is justly so, for it's an atrocious
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offense against the truth of God.
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If somebody else might say, Charles Spurgeon says, listen,
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I'm trying to believe. I'm not there yet, but I'm going
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to keep on trying to which Spurgeon says, does it the Bible
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say try to believe or believe? For by your trying, you keep
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calling God a liar. And perhaps you've been trying
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for years and now it's even worse because you basically said
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I've given God day after day and month after month and year after
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year and heard his testimony over and over and I'm still
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calling him a a liar. God has testified to the truth.
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God. God has testified to the truth
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of his Son. You either accept it or reject
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it. Trying to be neutral is not
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being neutral. It's rejecting God's testimony.
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6 And finally, the testimony of God the Father is that he gave
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us his Son so that we might have life.
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This is verse 11 and 12. You know every, every human
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being has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
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And the Bible clearly says that the wages are the result of
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that. Sin is death, physically and
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spiritually. And yet God so loved us so much.
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The Bible says this is the most wonderful news in the world,
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that He sent his one and only Son, that whoever would believe
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on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
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This is why there's only one. There's only one.
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Can I say that one more time? There is only one who offers
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life. There's only one.
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His name is Jesus. And so again, John, I told you,
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doesn't mince any words. He doesn't beat around any Bush.
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The person who has Jesus has life.
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The one who does not have Jesus does not have life.
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It's as plain and simple is that if one does not have life in
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Jesus, they do not have life at all.
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What is eternal life? What is eternal life?
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Y'all? It is to be in fellowship with
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the triune God, to be in a right relationship with Him and in
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fellowship with those who have joined faith in Him and received
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salvation, faith in Jesus, fellowship with Jesus and the
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Father and the Spirit and all those who trusted him by faith.
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I want to be very clear. You cannot reject the Jesus of
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the Bible and have eternal life. I want to say that one more
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time. You cannot reject the Jesus of
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the Bible and have eternal life. All kinds of people are
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following a Jesus of their own making, and a Jesus of your own
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making is not the Jesus of the Bible and not a Jesus that can
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give you eternal life. Let me give you some examples.
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Hindus expect or accept Jesus as a little G God along their
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pantheon of other gods. They're not following the real
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Jesus. New Agers think of Jesus as an
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advanced, wonderful human being to follow as an example.
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They do not have the real Jesus. Christian Science considers
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Jesus to be just another man. None of these and their many
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other wrong perspectives match up with what John says Jesus is.
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None of these have the sons, so they're none of them have life.
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Friends, do not trust in or follow a Jesus of your own
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making or one of your imagination.
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Trust in the Jesus of the Bible. You cannot be neutral about
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Jesus and have life. Believe on him.
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He is the one and only way of salvation.
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And y'all, when you do listen to me Christians in the room when
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you do. John and Jesus both want you to
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know that you absolutely have eternal life.
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They don't want you going home at night or waking up in the
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morning wondering if you're saved.
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Once you've trusted Jesus Christ.
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The Bible says if you have Jesus, you have life, and it
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says no one can snatch you out of his hand.
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Did you realize that our assurance of salvation does not
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rest in our performance in what we've done, but in the perfect
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performance of what Jesus has done?
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Do you see the difference? Because if it rests in your
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performance, on a good day you might be like, oh, I got it, I'm
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saved. But on a bad day you might be
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like, whoa, I don't know, praise God, it's not dependent on your
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performance. It is dependent on the
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perfection of Jesus who finished what he started.
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Y'all? I heard somebody say a man once
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came to DL Moody and asked and said he was worried about his
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faith. Why?
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Because he he told the preacher DLI don't feel saved.
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DL looked at him and said, well let me ask you a question.
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What made Noah safe on the ark? Was it the ark or was it his
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feelings? The man said it was the ark.
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He said God's order is facts, faith then feelings, not
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feelings, facts, faith. God's order is facts, then
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faith, then feelings. Your feelings may come and go.
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We rest our lives on the fact of who Jesus is.
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If you have Jesus, you have life and no one or no thing can take
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it from you. The question is, do you have
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Jesus? Have you trusted in the Jesus of
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the Bible? God is not calling us to blind
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faith. If you're here or you're
34:30
watching online wondering about this whole Christian faith, and
34:32
God is not calling you to blind faith, Lee Strobel said.
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I investigated the evidence and I'd have had more faith to to
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believe in a purely merely physical explanation for
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everything versus all the evidence that amounted and piled
34:48
up to affirm that Jesus is who he says he is.
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Have you received? Have you received the testimony
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of God, the water, the blood, the Spirit?
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How do we know Jesus is true? Because we have the triple
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testimony of God the Father. If you're in the room, John and
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priest team are coming to the stage.
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If you're in the room, listen to me close.
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You can't be neutral about Jesus.
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There is no neutral. It's receive or reject.
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I'm asking you if you've not received Jesus, to not reject
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him, but to receive him today. You say, Kyle, how do I do that?
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Listen, I want to implore you to step out from where you are so I
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can walk with you through that. But right now or in just a
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moment, you can step out. As we sing, you can simply tell
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me I need to receive Jesus and I'm going to lead you in praying
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a prayer. There's no magic words, there's
35:46
no magic formula, but I'm going to give you an opportunity just
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right here with me to just call on Jesus and ask for forgiveness
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and say, Jesus, I want you to be the Lord of my life.
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I'm giving my life to you. I'm confessing you as Lord.
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Some of you need to do that. Some of you in the room, and you
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know what? You've been kind of letting your
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assurance of salvation ebb and flow based on a good day or a
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bad day. You've been putting feelings
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before the facts and you just need to kind of put a marker
36:13
down in your life where you said, you know what, I'm going
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to believe what the Bible says that if I got Jesus, I have life
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and nothing can take that from me and I want to rejoice in
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that. I want to stake my life on that.
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I'm going to put my joy in that and I'm going to let feelings
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follow because I'm going to put facts and then my faith in what
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the Bible says. And then I'm going to feel what
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happens after that because guess what?
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I know what's true and I'm in the art of Jesus Christ.
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The waves may Buffett me and the circumstances of my life may be
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crazy, but I'm safe in the hands of Jesus.
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You've already won. All you got to do is trust Him
36:46
to live each day for His glory. I don't know what God wants to
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do in your life, but I'm going to ask you to be bold as you
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respond. I'm going to pray, then we're
36:52
going to stay, and then you come.
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Father, I want to pray right now that whatever decisions or
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leadership you want to accomplish in the life of any
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man, woman, boy or girl in the room that you would be able to
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have total freedom to do that by faith, move by your spirit,
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witness to Jesus today. Holy Spirit, open blind eyes and
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confirm the facts. Father, for people today,
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because of your divine testimony, I pray in Jesus name,
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Amen. Would you stand with me?
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Church family, we're going to sing and you come as we respond
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to Jesus this morning.