Shawn Snobelen – Be Not Ashamed – Class 3 – What is Truth

1
00:00:00,280 –> 00:00:05,480
Get straight into our class.
This is the Watch and Lake 2024

2
00:00:05,480 –> 00:00:07,760
Bible School.
This is our brother Sean

3
00:00:07,760 –> 00:00:11,680
Snowblind’s third class on the
topic of what is truth.

4
00:00:12,200 –> 00:00:26,290
Brother Sean, please.
Well, thank you brother and and

5
00:00:27,570 –> 00:00:30,490
good morning everyone.
Once again, welcome to class 3.

6
00:00:31,330 –> 00:00:36,800
What is truth?
You know, yesterday we discussed

7
00:00:37,400 –> 00:00:43,040
Paul’s statements about us all
being without excuse as God has

8
00:00:43,040 –> 00:00:45,800
revealed Himself everywhere all
around us.

9
00:00:46,320 –> 00:00:49,760
However, as we know, despite
this revelation, people still

10
00:00:49,760 –> 00:00:53,360
rejected God, leading to
ungodliness and unrighteousness

11
00:00:53,360 –> 00:00:56,520
and suppressing the truth that
should have been very evident

12
00:00:56,520 –> 00:00:59,800
before them.
And so the problem is we we live

13
00:00:59,800 –> 00:01:04,560
in a world today that is in many
ways worse than any other time

14
00:01:05,000 –> 00:01:09,160
in history as it relates to the
ungodliness and unrighteousness

15
00:01:09,160 –> 00:01:12,400
of man.
We live in what’s called a pro,

16
00:01:12,400 –> 00:01:13,880
a post truth.
Age now.

17
00:01:15,280 –> 00:01:17,240
What does that mean?
I mean, we’ve heard the term.

18
00:01:18,160 –> 00:01:21,920
Well, essentially what it means
is that we live in this context

19
00:01:21,920 –> 00:01:25,560
where we’re beyond truth, that
people are much more likely and

20
00:01:25,560 –> 00:01:29,280
willing to accept information
that aligns with their own

21
00:01:29,280 –> 00:01:33,320
personal worldview than anything
that is actually structured in.

22
00:01:33,320 –> 00:01:36,240
Reality, even if it’s
information that’s false or

23
00:01:36,240 –> 00:01:38,720
misleading.
Now it may sound to you like,

24
00:01:38,720 –> 00:01:40,760
well, that’s crazy, Why would
anybody do that?

25
00:01:40,760 –> 00:01:43,480
Well, The thing is, brethren and
sisters, we actually do it

26
00:01:43,480 –> 00:01:46,920
ourselves when we choose to
listen to things that kind of

27
00:01:46,920 –> 00:01:50,000
play to our nature or make us
feel good, right?

28
00:01:50,000 –> 00:01:53,480
So we live in this this age,
this environment of feelings

29
00:01:53,480 –> 00:01:55,920
over facts.
Right, and I’m sure you’ve heard

30
00:01:55,920 –> 00:01:59,400
that term as well.
And so the key verse that’s up

31
00:01:59,400 –> 00:02:02,080
on the slide, the Lord Jesus
Christ speaking in in John 8, he

32
00:02:02,080 –> 00:02:06,080
says to those who were around
him that believed him is the

33
00:02:06,080 –> 00:02:09,080
context of the statement.
He says If you abide in my word,

34
00:02:09,400 –> 00:02:13,200
you are truly my disciples.
And you will know the truth and

35
00:02:13,200 –> 00:02:16,960
the truth will set you free.
And so in in keeping with our

36
00:02:16,960 –> 00:02:21,840
enduring theme for this week of
being not ashamed of the gospel,

37
00:02:23,120 –> 00:02:27,400
the question I have for you this
morning is do you believe that

38
00:02:27,400 –> 00:02:31,960
the truth will set you free?
And I know these are fundamental

39
00:02:31,960 –> 00:02:35,040
basic questions and, and
probably the knee jerk reaction

40
00:02:35,040 –> 00:02:38,320
is to always say, well, yes.
But again, do we live in that

41
00:02:38,320 –> 00:02:40,240
reality?
Do we live with that truth in

42
00:02:40,240 –> 00:02:44,040
our hearts that’s going back to
believing in the existence of

43
00:02:44,040 –> 00:02:47,440
God and believing in God’s
future because that’s the future

44
00:02:47,440 –> 00:02:50,680
where we will be set free from
this body of sin.

45
00:02:52,080 –> 00:02:54,280
And so the challenge that we
have every single day of our

46
00:02:54,280 –> 00:02:58,400
lives is that those who continue
to perpetuate the lie from the

47
00:02:58,400 –> 00:03:01,200
Garden of Eden, they have a very
compelling message.

48
00:03:01,880 –> 00:03:03,800
They say things that we want to
hear.

49
00:03:04,600 –> 00:03:08,200
The inclination of human nature
is towards self gratification.

50
00:03:08,200 –> 00:03:10,640
And that’s a very, very powerful
elixir.

51
00:03:12,080 –> 00:03:14,800
And the only antidote to it is
the truth of God.

52
00:03:16,320 –> 00:03:19,360
Turn over to John 18.
And and we often go to this,

53
00:03:19,720 –> 00:03:22,640
this series of verses when we’re
talking about what is truth.

54
00:03:22,640 –> 00:03:25,040
And I just want to touch on it
very quickly because of course,

55
00:03:25,040 –> 00:03:26,720
this is the statement that Pilot
makes.

56
00:03:26,720 –> 00:03:29,640
And I just want to make a, a
point, hopefully from this.

57
00:03:29,640 –> 00:03:32,520
And, and, and Pilot was an
awful, evil man.

58
00:03:32,520 –> 00:03:35,960
He was a Roman governor.
Many of us, I think, probably

59
00:03:35,960 –> 00:03:39,240
even know the historical facts
about this man and what happened

60
00:03:39,240 –> 00:03:41,960
after this particular event and
all the horrifying things that

61
00:03:41,960 –> 00:03:43,640
he did.
But in in this particular

62
00:03:43,640 –> 00:03:48,040
moment, he asks a question that
that I think rings in our ears,

63
00:03:48,640 –> 00:03:50,560
right?
He knew Christ either by

64
00:03:50,560 –> 00:03:52,440
reputation or by the things that
he’d heard.

65
00:03:52,680 –> 00:03:54,800
Maybe he’d even seen him.
I’m not really sure.

66
00:03:54,800 –> 00:03:57,920
But he did understand who this
man was in the context that he

67
00:03:57,920 –> 00:04:01,360
knew that the leaders had handed
him over because of envy, that

68
00:04:01,360 –> 00:04:04,720
he was not guilty of the crimes
that they had slated against

69
00:04:04,720 –> 00:04:06,080
him.
And even Pilate’s wife had came,

70
00:04:06,120 –> 00:04:07,600
came to him and said, look, I’ve
had a dream.

71
00:04:08,080 –> 00:04:10,280
And in the.
Dream, I was told, have nothing

72
00:04:10,280 –> 00:04:13,680
to do with this righteous man.
We know because Pilate also said

73
00:04:14,200 –> 00:04:16,959
that he found none of the
accusations to be true.

74
00:04:18,320 –> 00:04:24,080
And so in John 18 and 37, Pilate
asked the Lord Jesus Christ, so

75
00:04:24,080 –> 00:04:27,600
are you a king?
And Jesus responds, You say that

76
00:04:27,600 –> 00:04:30,800
I’m a king for the purpose.
For this purpose was I born, and

77
00:04:30,800 –> 00:04:32,920
for this purpose have I come
into the world to bear witness

78
00:04:32,920 –> 00:04:35,240
to the truth.
And everyone who is of the truth

79
00:04:35,240 –> 00:04:37,760
listens to my voice.
And I think what the Lord Jesus

80
00:04:37,760 –> 00:04:40,320
Christ is referring to when he
says truth here was.

81
00:04:40,600 –> 00:04:45,640
The truth that he was preaching,
but also the truth about sin and

82
00:04:45,640 –> 00:04:50,120
the truth about death and the
truth about the reality of God’s

83
00:04:50,120 –> 00:04:52,600
existence.
It’s like when Paul picks it up

84
00:04:52,600 –> 00:04:55,160
in Romans 1 and he says the
gospel of God.

85
00:04:56,400 –> 00:04:58,320
Paul meant everything that God
had given us.

86
00:04:58,360 –> 00:05:02,120
And I think that’s the intent
here because Pilate wouldn’t

87
00:05:02,120 –> 00:05:04,640
necessarily have known the
gospel truth.

88
00:05:07,920 –> 00:05:09,480
Pilate, however, is not a
spiritual man.

89
00:05:10,920 –> 00:05:13,200
That maybe.
Perhaps he was a a practical

90
00:05:13,200 –> 00:05:15,040
man.
In this particular case, he had

91
00:05:15,040 –> 00:05:18,320
to be a political man and
despite recognizing the

92
00:05:18,320 –> 00:05:21,560
innocence of the Lord Jesus
Christ and maybe even, I like to

93
00:05:21,560 –> 00:05:25,720
think, recognizing the divine
significance.

94
00:05:26,600 –> 00:05:35,440
Of this event asked the question
out of indifference, cynicism,

95
00:05:36,400 –> 00:05:38,320
maybe just being resigned to the
fact.

96
00:05:38,320 –> 00:05:41,480
That he was involved in powers
that were beyond his control.

97
00:05:42,520 –> 00:05:50,240
And he says what is truth?
What is truth anyway?

98
00:05:51,760 –> 00:05:54,560
It certainly reflected A
prevalent skepticism of the

99
00:05:54,560 –> 00:05:56,640
time.
And I think we can understand

100
00:05:56,640 –> 00:05:59,280
that today because truth for a
lot of people seems like this

101
00:05:59,280 –> 00:06:03,240
very elusive concept, almost
like a throwaway word, right?

102
00:06:03,240 –> 00:06:05,720
That’s manipulated to 1’s own
needs and benefits.

103
00:06:07,800 –> 00:06:10,520
And I think in this sense,
pilots already living in a post

104
00:06:10,520 –> 00:06:14,720
truth world.
But he could just throw this

105
00:06:14,720 –> 00:06:18,200
away and be resigned to the fact
that no matter what the reality

106
00:06:18,200 –> 00:06:21,560
of the situation was the
innocence of this man standing

107
00:06:21,560 –> 00:06:25,520
before him.
The most significant person in

108
00:06:25,520 –> 00:06:28,480
the history of mankind was on
trial before him.

109
00:06:29,760 –> 00:06:35,840
It didn’t matter.
What is truth If truth didn’t

110
00:06:35,840 –> 00:06:37,760
matter?
It wasn’t going to save the Son

111
00:06:37,760 –> 00:06:41,600
of God from death.
Then what is truth anyway?

112
00:06:41,840 –> 00:06:47,520
And I think it’s this cynicism
about truth that is is prevalent

113
00:06:47,520 –> 00:06:50,240
today.
The truth is not just a a tool

114
00:06:50,240 –> 00:06:53,280
that’s used for our convenience.
It’s become a weapon for

115
00:06:53,280 –> 00:06:56,000
intimidation and control.
It’s being manipulated for

116
00:06:56,000 –> 00:06:59,840
advantage and often disregard to
maintain.

117
00:06:59,840 –> 00:07:03,280
Power.
And unlike Pilot, we cannot

118
00:07:03,280 –> 00:07:07,880
become jaded or cynical or
indifferent about the abuse of

119
00:07:07,880 –> 00:07:11,840
truth in our lives, in our
society, in our cliches, in our

120
00:07:11,840 –> 00:07:14,840
families.
And we can’t just think, Wow,

121
00:07:16,000 –> 00:07:19,920
what is truth anyway?
Now I said I’d show a slide

122
00:07:19,920 –> 00:07:22,160
about, about what postmodernism
is.

123
00:07:22,160 –> 00:07:24,680
And, and we’ll go through this.
We went through this with the

124
00:07:24,680 –> 00:07:26,680
teens and, and they got it
pretty quick.

125
00:07:27,880 –> 00:07:31,400
And, and we’ll talk if I have
time, we’ll talk about something

126
00:07:31,400 –> 00:07:34,240
that whether Bernard showed me
last night, which is, which is

127
00:07:34,240 –> 00:07:37,880
pretty cool, which is basically
to say that nothing’s changed,

128
00:07:38,440 –> 00:07:39,560
right?
Nothing’s changed at all.

129
00:07:40,080 –> 00:07:44,400
So we think about pre modernism.
And modernism and postmodernism.

130
00:07:44,400 –> 00:07:46,880
So we live in the postmodern age
now.

131
00:07:47,280 –> 00:07:49,360
I want to just look quickly,
what was the prevailing

132
00:07:49,360 –> 00:07:52,160
worldview through these
different philosophical periods?

133
00:07:52,160 –> 00:07:53,880
What was the truth and how was
it treated?

134
00:07:54,160 –> 00:07:55,640
What were ethics and morality
like?

135
00:07:55,960 –> 00:07:58,840
And what was the society like?
Just so we understand how we got

136
00:07:58,840 –> 00:08:01,640
to today, right?
So in the pre modern world,

137
00:08:01,640 –> 00:08:04,360
we’re talking about any, you
know, before the 17th century,

138
00:08:04,360 –> 00:08:06,240
the Renaissance parade, the
Enlightenment, all those things

139
00:08:06,240 –> 00:08:10,200
that happened before, right?
The worldview was corrupted, but

140
00:08:10,200 –> 00:08:13,440
predominantly God centered,
right?

141
00:08:13,760 –> 00:08:15,800
There was an emphasis on divine
authority.

142
00:08:15,800 –> 00:08:17,800
I’m not saying it was perfect.
I’m just saying that was the

143
00:08:17,800 –> 00:08:20,480
underpinning of most Western
society, right?

144
00:08:20,480 –> 00:08:24,080
The church, you know, ruled
things that the revelation of

145
00:08:24,080 –> 00:08:28,960
God was the primary source that
guided truth in those particular

146
00:08:28,960 –> 00:08:32,240
societies.
And truth was considered at the

147
00:08:32,240 –> 00:08:36,400
time to be absolute, certainly
grounded in Scripture and the

148
00:08:36,400 –> 00:08:39,240
divine revelation and the
teachings of religious

149
00:08:39,240 –> 00:08:40,320
authorities.
And so there was an

150
00:08:40,320 –> 00:08:44,039
understanding of what was right
and wrong on the basis of the

151
00:08:44,120 –> 00:08:47,320
biblical truth, ethics, ethical
frameworks.

152
00:08:47,360 –> 00:08:50,160
Morality was generally based on
God’s moral authority.

153
00:08:50,160 –> 00:08:53,080
And so those commandments came
out and there was a clear

154
00:08:53,080 –> 00:08:55,720
understanding of right and wrong
and the rule of law.

155
00:08:55,720 –> 00:08:58,440
Again, I’m not saying it was
perfect, it certainly was not,

156
00:08:58,960 –> 00:09:01,440
but at least that was the basic
worldview at the time.

157
00:09:02,200 –> 00:09:04,360
Social structures were futile.
They were hierarchical, they

158
00:09:04,360 –> 00:09:07,520
were monarchical, but whatever.
And I’m not saying that was was

159
00:09:07,520 –> 00:09:10,040
right or wrong, it just was the
fact of the day.

160
00:09:10,320 –> 00:09:13,400
So as we moved into modernism,
we sort of passed the threshold

161
00:09:13,400 –> 00:09:15,360
of the 17th century.
Last night we were talking about

162
00:09:15,800 –> 00:09:19,440
the scientific revolution, which
came in in the 15th, 16th, 17th,

163
00:09:19,480 –> 00:09:22,520
18th centuries, right?
And science explodes.

164
00:09:22,640 –> 00:09:25,080
Well, that was reflected on the
world view at the time.

165
00:09:25,480 –> 00:09:28,720
So modernism became more reason
centered, right?

166
00:09:29,040 –> 00:09:32,520
It was more based on the
scientific perspective,

167
00:09:32,520 –> 00:09:33,880
empirical evidence.
Right.

168
00:09:34,400 –> 00:09:37,840
Truth was objective.
But it was based on scientific

169
00:09:37,840 –> 00:09:39,360
inquiry and logical reasoning,
right?

170
00:09:39,360 –> 00:09:42,280
So the shift from a sort of a
God centered to an objective

171
00:09:42,280 –> 00:09:45,720
reason, sort of more human
centered, right.

172
00:09:45,720 –> 00:09:49,080
Ethics.
Well, ethics were the focus

173
00:09:49,080 –> 00:09:52,440
became about human rights.
But as human rights reflect on

174
00:09:52,440 –> 00:09:55,520
the greater good of the whole.
So, you know, the social

175
00:09:55,520 –> 00:10:01,080
contract was to be benefited by
these emerging human rights.

176
00:10:01,400 –> 00:10:04,480
The universal principles of
justice and equity were starting

177
00:10:04,480 –> 00:10:06,640
to prevail.
The social structure, you know,

178
00:10:06,640 –> 00:10:10,760
went from monarchies and feudal
systems, etcetera, to the

179
00:10:10,760 –> 00:10:13,280
emergence of democracy and
representative democracy started

180
00:10:13,280 –> 00:10:14,720
to come into Western cultures,
right?

181
00:10:14,720 –> 00:10:17,640
the US Constitution was drafted
in the late 1700s.

182
00:10:17,640 –> 00:10:20,640
So in this particular time, we
were transitioning through all

183
00:10:20,640 –> 00:10:23,080
these different changes in
society.

184
00:10:24,200 –> 00:10:29,600
So postmodernism arrives in the
19th into the 20th century and

185
00:10:29,600 –> 00:10:32,560
now in our day today.
And the worldview is no longer

186
00:10:32,560 –> 00:10:34,800
God centered.
It’s not even based on reason

187
00:10:34,800 –> 00:10:37,400
and objectivity.
It’s become human centered,

188
00:10:38,120 –> 00:10:41,480
prioritizing sort of the
individual perspective and

189
00:10:41,480 –> 00:10:46,160
experience as as an overarching
narrative against the overall

190
00:10:46,160 –> 00:10:49,920
social structure, which disrupts
the social order, right.

191
00:10:49,920 –> 00:10:52,440
If it’s every man for himself,
society’s not cohesive.

192
00:10:52,440 –> 00:10:53,880
It becomes fractured and
fragmented.

193
00:10:53,880 –> 00:10:57,160
Truth is now perceived as
subjective, cultural relative,

194
00:10:57,720 –> 00:11:00,000
you know, varying from person to
person, culture to culture.

195
00:11:00,000 –> 00:11:03,480
And that is confusing and
fracturing society, ethics and

196
00:11:03,480 –> 00:11:05,320
morality.
Well, now it’s, it’s about

197
00:11:05,320 –> 00:11:07,800
relativism.
It’s about subjective truth,

198
00:11:07,800 –> 00:11:10,520
subjective morality, right.
We talked about the word the

199
00:11:10,520 –> 00:11:13,400
other day about Otto’s Nomus,
right?

200
00:11:13,400 –> 00:11:16,720
A law unto one’s selves.
And so that’s what’s happening

201
00:11:16,720 –> 00:11:18,400
today.
You can just see it in the in

202
00:11:18,400 –> 00:11:20,480
the rise of immorality and
lawlessness.

203
00:11:20,480 –> 00:11:24,760
And the social order right
overall in this era is not

204
00:11:24,760 –> 00:11:28,360
marked by governance for the
sake of the people, the rule of

205
00:11:28,360 –> 00:11:32,840
law for the sake of society.
But it’s about deconstructing

206
00:11:32,840 –> 00:11:36,440
and tearing down all of those
institutions, right, Brother

207
00:11:36,440 –> 00:11:38,720
Kitson, you don’t mention in
this, I think it’s first or

208
00:11:38,720 –> 00:11:41,840
second class about how it’s much
easier to tear something down,

209
00:11:41,840 –> 00:11:44,440
that is to build something up.
And that’s that’s the prevailing

210
00:11:44,440 –> 00:11:46,640
thought of today is tear
everything down.

211
00:11:47,160 –> 00:11:51,400
All these colonial powers, the
educational system, authority,

212
00:11:51,640 –> 00:11:54,560
police, governance, right?
And that’s why we’re seeing all

213
00:11:54,560 –> 00:11:58,280
of this lawlessness.
And so I think just showing this

214
00:11:58,280 –> 00:12:02,120
chart helps us understand where
we came from and now where we

215
00:12:02,120 –> 00:12:06,480
sit today in this world.
You know, it reflects a shift

216
00:12:06,480 –> 00:12:11,560
from what was generally A
cohesive society at certain

217
00:12:11,560 –> 00:12:16,600
points based on a generally God
centered approach to this

218
00:12:16,600 –> 00:12:18,840
fragmented focus on
individualism.

219
00:12:19,720 –> 00:12:22,560
I think at.
No other time in history can.

220
00:12:22,680 –> 00:12:27,240
Can we really apply Judges 20
and 20/21/25 to say in those

221
00:12:27,240 –> 00:12:28,480
days there was no king in
Israel.

222
00:12:28,640 –> 00:12:30,800
Everyone did that was right in
their own eyes.

223
00:12:31,040 –> 00:12:33,760
And not only is everybody doing
what is right in their own eyes,

224
00:12:33,760 –> 00:12:38,720
it’s supported by law.
And so we wonder why the world

225
00:12:38,720 –> 00:12:44,760
was in chaos.
You know the the mainstream

226
00:12:44,880 –> 00:12:47,120
churches now have already
capitulated.

227
00:12:48,160 –> 00:12:50,560
Right, the Anglican.
Church was gone 50 years ago.

228
00:12:51,320 –> 00:12:54,040
Like just accepting literally
everything.

229
00:12:55,400 –> 00:12:58,640
You know, there’s the, there’s
the pastor from the Temple

230
00:12:58,640 –> 00:13:00,920
church in, in Toronto called
Greta Vosper.

231
00:13:02,080 –> 00:13:04,120
She’s an Anglican.
Minister.

232
00:13:04,120 –> 00:13:06,480
She’s an atheist.
She doesn’t even believe in God.

233
00:13:06,480 –> 00:13:09,720
She’s written books about being
an atheist and the church

234
00:13:09,720 –> 00:13:12,880
initially challenged her
position on the pulpit, but she

235
00:13:12,880 –> 00:13:16,560
was able to get her way and so
she is still today.

236
00:13:16,560 –> 00:13:19,200
It’s on the website I checked.
She’s still a practicing

237
00:13:19,200 –> 00:13:20,600
minister in the Anglican Church,
and she.

238
00:13:20,600 –> 00:13:24,560
Doesn’t even believe in God.
In fact, her book was something

239
00:13:24,560 –> 00:13:27,840
like to believe or not to
believe.

240
00:13:27,840 –> 00:13:30,440
It’s about how you live, right?
So it doesn’t matter what you

241
00:13:30,440 –> 00:13:34,200
believe, It’s just how you live.
But of course, we know that how

242
00:13:34,200 –> 00:13:36,240
we live is based on what we
believe.

243
00:13:36,520 –> 00:13:39,840
And so the world has changed
dramatically that the Anakin

244
00:13:39,840 –> 00:13:43,000
church, all the other
mainstream, even even the Roman

245
00:13:43,000 –> 00:13:46,000
Catholic Church, which I
mentioned this before to some of

246
00:13:46,000 –> 00:13:49,960
you here that for the longest.
Time, their conservatism on

247
00:13:49,960 –> 00:13:52,360
certain things was a bit of a
help for us.

248
00:13:52,360 –> 00:13:54,960
It was a bit of a fence, a bit
of a barrier because they were

249
00:13:54,960 –> 00:13:57,560
very conservative about, I mean,
I’m not saying they had a

250
00:13:57,560 –> 00:14:00,720
literalistic view of, of
scripture because clearly they

251
00:14:00,720 –> 00:14:04,080
got a lot of things wrong.
But in terms of, of the, the

252
00:14:04,080 –> 00:14:07,840
family and traditions of those
types, right, They pushed back.

253
00:14:07,840 –> 00:14:10,960
They didn’t allow transgenderism
and gay priests.

254
00:14:11,160 –> 00:14:12,840
That’s only starting to happen
now.

255
00:14:13,680 –> 00:14:16,600
And I always thought when Pope
Francis got in, I said that’s

256
00:14:16,600 –> 00:14:20,080
the guy that’s going to blow
things wide open for the Roman

257
00:14:20,080 –> 00:14:22,320
Catholic Church.
And it’s already happening.

258
00:14:23,080 –> 00:14:28,320
So that traditional mainstream
Christian Church is done.

259
00:14:28,840 –> 00:14:32,960
Doctrinally, course, we already
knew it was done, but now

260
00:14:33,160 –> 00:14:36,080
structurally and traditionally,
it’s over.

261
00:14:37,200 –> 00:14:38,680
So the world is the world has
changed.

262
00:14:40,200 –> 00:14:43,400
It’s worse than ever.
The issue is that all of this

263
00:14:43,400 –> 00:14:45,960
comes straight into our pockets
through our phones.

264
00:14:45,960 –> 00:14:48,840
And so we have humanism that’s
created this antigod social

265
00:14:49,240 –> 00:14:51,760
order, subjective truth and
moral relativism.

266
00:14:51,760 –> 00:14:54,680
We’ll look at in just a SEC this
aggressive promotion of

267
00:14:54,680 –> 00:14:59,520
alternative lifestyles that
personal rights trump social

268
00:14:59,520 –> 00:15:01,720
rights.
That is a reality now.

269
00:15:01,720 –> 00:15:05,240
The disrespect for authority has
been happening for generations,

270
00:15:05,520 –> 00:15:10,040
but it’s really focused now
crime and disorder, this whole

271
00:15:10,040 –> 00:15:13,280
thing with gender ideology,
which is just anti science, it’s

272
00:15:13,280 –> 00:15:16,520
anti family, It’s it’s anti
everything and obviously anti

273
00:15:16,520 –> 00:15:18,600
God.
And so so the question is, with

274
00:15:18,600 –> 00:15:21,320
all this stuff going on, how are
we affected as believers?

275
00:15:21,320 –> 00:15:24,880
What is our worldview like?
What is our perspective on life?

276
00:15:24,880 –> 00:15:29,200
Because when you think about it,
you’re look, we’re all Bible

277
00:15:29,200 –> 00:15:31,360
believers and followers of
Christ.

278
00:15:31,360 –> 00:15:34,040
So that’s the core center of our
worldview.

279
00:15:34,040 –> 00:15:36,800
But we don’t all believe exactly
the same things.

280
00:15:36,800 –> 00:15:39,040
We have different perspectives
on different things.

281
00:15:39,040 –> 00:15:44,920
I think that’s realistic to say.
But what are we influenced by?

282
00:15:44,920 –> 00:15:48,520
What are the influences that are
just on the sides and around the

283
00:15:48,520 –> 00:15:51,720
corners and, and in the front
and back of our minds, right.

284
00:15:51,720 –> 00:15:55,840
So the things that influences
us, the things that we associate

285
00:15:55,840 –> 00:15:57,960
with, affect our general
worldview.

286
00:15:59,720 –> 00:16:01,800
And our worldview?
Changes sometimes it changes

287
00:16:01,800 –> 00:16:04,480
daily by the events that hit us
and the people that we speak to

288
00:16:04,480 –> 00:16:07,360
around us.
And The thing is, as we age, I’m

289
00:16:07,360 –> 00:16:10,080
not sure if this is a good thing
or bad thing, but I think as we

290
00:16:10,080 –> 00:16:12,480
age, as we get older, we kind of
get more set and said in that

291
00:16:12,480 –> 00:16:14,800
mindset, right?
Kind of the grumpy old man.

292
00:16:14,800 –> 00:16:15,360
Thing.
Kind of.

293
00:16:15,360 –> 00:16:19,680
Takes over, you know the words
of Paul or echoed here, evil

294
00:16:19,680 –> 00:16:22,240
communications corrupt good
manners, which really means in

295
00:16:22,240 –> 00:16:25,280
the Greek evil communication
corrupt good morals.

296
00:16:26,440 –> 00:16:29,280
And So what is corrupting us
rather than sisters?

297
00:16:30,080 –> 00:16:34,560
And so our worldview is the lens
by which we perceive the world.

298
00:16:35,320 –> 00:16:38,120
It’s events, our role in the
world.

299
00:16:38,120 –> 00:16:40,440
All those things are crucial for
us to get right if we’re going

300
00:16:40,440 –> 00:16:42,120
to live a faithful life of the
believer.

301
00:16:44,000 –> 00:16:47,520
Isaiah 5 and 20 says woe to
those who call evil good and

302
00:16:47,520 –> 00:16:49,760
good evil, who put darkness for
light and light for darkness,

303
00:16:49,760 –> 00:16:52,360
who put bitter for sweet and
sweet for bitter again.

304
00:16:52,800 –> 00:16:56,160
I don’t.
I haven’t lived in every social

305
00:16:56,160 –> 00:17:00,120
order ever, but I don’t think
you could apply that at any time

306
00:17:00,120 –> 00:17:04,160
except this particular social
order where all of those things

307
00:17:04,160 –> 00:17:06,119
are literally happening before
our eyes.

308
00:17:06,119 –> 00:17:09,520
So The thing is, it’s like if
you’re moving with society, you

309
00:17:09,520 –> 00:17:12,000
don’t, you don’t see the change
that happens to you, right?

310
00:17:12,000 –> 00:17:13,280
Because you’re moving at the
same speed.

311
00:17:13,280 –> 00:17:17,119
But if we’re anchored in the
truth, then we will see

312
00:17:17,119 –> 00:17:23,960
everything as it passes by.
So the question is, I made this

313
00:17:23,960 –> 00:17:26,200
mistake with the young people.
They’re sharp when they see

314
00:17:26,200 –> 00:17:29,000
something on the screen.
What is the?

315
00:17:29,000 –> 00:17:33,400
Average amount of time in hours
that the average person spends

316
00:17:33,400 –> 00:17:36,200
looking at a screen.
Any screen, computer screen,

317
00:17:36,200 –> 00:17:42,000
tablet, cell phone, TV, whatever
bunch you probably saw it right

318
00:17:42,000 –> 00:17:47,680
came up.
Don’t answer if you know, hey

319
00:17:47,680 –> 00:17:49,240
guys, how many hours a day
average?

320
00:17:49,240 –> 00:17:55,280
This is average 9.
So it’s 11 hours a day now in

321
00:17:55,280 –> 00:17:57,680
North America, the average
person.

322
00:17:57,680 –> 00:17:59,560
So that means some people it’s a
lot more.

323
00:18:00,400 –> 00:18:03,640
And I’m sure.
For all of you, it’s near 0, but

324
00:18:03,640 –> 00:18:07,000
you think about 11 hours a day
you go no, that’s not possible

325
00:18:07,320 –> 00:18:10,760
11 hours a day check your phone
check the app on your on your

326
00:18:10,760 –> 00:18:13,880
iPhone, which I think are evil
by the way, should have an

327
00:18:13,880 –> 00:18:18,600
Android either Either way, I’m
just kidding check the amount of

328
00:18:18,600 –> 00:18:20,000
hours you spend.
It’ll tell you, it’ll tell you

329
00:18:20,000 –> 00:18:21,880
how many hours check it and just
that and it’s.

330
00:18:22,360 –> 00:18:23,840
I bet you it’s going to be at
least.

331
00:18:23,840 –> 00:18:25,120
Two to three hours a day, you’re
on your phone.

332
00:18:25,120 –> 00:18:27,400
Now some of that is legitimate,
maybe all of it is legitimate,

333
00:18:27,400 –> 00:18:29,720
but those are the stats.
Now think about this.

334
00:18:30,440 –> 00:18:34,680
If you take the average lifespan
of a person, which is let’s just

335
00:18:34,680 –> 00:18:38,440
say 3 score and 10, and you just
take an average of four hours.

336
00:18:38,440 –> 00:18:41,880
Let’s just be, let’s go easy. 4
hours and you Add all of that

337
00:18:41,880 –> 00:18:42,600
up.
Full.

338
00:18:42,600 –> 00:18:45,200
Time.
How long is that in the average

339
00:18:45,200 –> 00:18:49,640
life of a person that they’re
literally doom scrolling on a

340
00:18:49,640 –> 00:18:53,320
screen?
12 years?

341
00:18:54,760 –> 00:18:58,000
It’s 11.
Yep, you can live a little

342
00:18:58,000 –> 00:19:02,320
longer than me, probably because
you’re a firmer. 11 straight

343
00:19:02,440 –> 00:19:06,000
years. 24 hours a day.
That’s the average person.

344
00:19:06,600 –> 00:19:10,720
That’s the lifespan on a phone.
You know, for older.

345
00:19:10,720 –> 00:19:13,600
Adults the The use of social
media is going through the roof

346
00:19:14,040 –> 00:19:17,800
right now.
This year, 2020, 468% of our age

347
00:19:17,800 –> 00:19:20,960
group here are on social media,
in particular Facebook with the

348
00:19:20,960 –> 00:19:21,920
kids.
Don’t even know what that is

349
00:19:21,920 –> 00:19:24,560
anymore.
Facebook What’s that, 70?

350
00:19:24,560 –> 00:19:29,160
Percent of us are on YouTube and
this is not every now and again,

351
00:19:29,160 –> 00:19:31,800
this is this is every day, this
is day, this is ours.

352
00:19:32,640 –> 00:19:36,600
Younger adults, 78% use
Instagram, 62% use TikTok.

353
00:19:36,600 –> 00:19:40,360
Now look, I’ll say something
right now about TikTok it and

354
00:19:40,360 –> 00:19:42,640
you know what?
I got a lot of teens nodding

355
00:19:42,640 –> 00:19:48,000
their head in class today.
It is the worst social media

356
00:19:48,000 –> 00:19:50,160
platform in the history of
mankind.

357
00:19:51,560 –> 00:19:56,760
It is the most left wing,
pervasive anti Israel, anti God,

358
00:19:56,960 –> 00:20:01,120
anti truth platform literally
that’s ever come out of all the

359
00:20:01,120 –> 00:20:04,240
ones that are bad.
Don’t go on TikTok.

360
00:20:04,240 –> 00:20:08,120
He gives her on TikTok.
Honestly, you got to get them

361
00:20:08,120 –> 00:20:11,880
off.
It’s it’s it’s so bad. 40% of

362
00:20:11,880 –> 00:20:15,800
young adults.
Between the age of 16 and 28,

363
00:20:16,800 –> 00:20:18,520
get.
All of their.

364
00:20:18,520 –> 00:20:21,440
Information on TikTok.
All of it.

365
00:20:23,920 –> 00:20:27,680
Like, that’s a, that’s a scary
thing, you know, The, the, the,

366
00:20:27,880 –> 00:20:31,760
the.
The Gaza protesters, generally

367
00:20:31,760 –> 00:20:34,280
speaking, when they were when
they were spoken to, got.

368
00:20:34,280 –> 00:20:36,680
All of their.
Information about Israel and

369
00:20:36,680 –> 00:20:38,680
Gaza on TikTok.
Enough said.

370
00:20:39,760 –> 00:20:42,200
I checked the stats and I’m 100%
correct.

371
00:20:42,280 –> 00:20:46,080
There are now 5.6 million
podcasts currently available on

372
00:20:46,080 –> 00:20:48,280
the major streaming platforms
that we have.

373
00:20:49,160 –> 00:20:52,000
We’re now into podcasts like
crazy.

374
00:20:52,160 –> 00:20:53,440
Look.
I think there’s a lot of.

375
00:20:53,440 –> 00:20:55,920
Podcasts out there.
So don’t get me wrong, right?

376
00:20:55,920 –> 00:20:58,720
There’s a lot of things that we
can learn from experts.

377
00:20:58,720 –> 00:21:01,200
There are Christadelphian
podcasts out there and they’re

378
00:21:01,200 –> 00:21:04,320
great.
But we also watch podcasts on

379
00:21:04,320 –> 00:21:06,360
everything we’ve we’ve become
obsessed with.

380
00:21:06,600 –> 00:21:09,000
Oh, just listen to that latest
podcast on you know, it’s on

381
00:21:09,000 –> 00:21:10,800
sports, it’s on work.
It’s on how to be a better

382
00:21:10,800 –> 00:21:12,400
mother, how to be a better
father, how to be a better

383
00:21:12,400 –> 00:21:14,640
gardener, how to invest better.
You know how to.

384
00:21:14,640 –> 00:21:16,120
Grow your empire, whatever it
is.

385
00:21:18,240 –> 00:21:22,400
I I listen to some podcasts.
I’m not immune, but are we

386
00:21:22,400 –> 00:21:25,080
getting more advice from the
world than we get from God?

387
00:21:27,520 –> 00:21:31,160
You know, I love Brother Frank
Abel’s description many, many

388
00:21:31,160 –> 00:21:37,120
years ago about when the
Internet came into our homes, so

389
00:21:37,120 –> 00:21:38,560
you’ve probably heard it, he
said.

390
00:21:38,560 –> 00:21:42,280
It’s just literally like a sewer
pipe pouring into our living

391
00:21:42,280 –> 00:21:44,400
rooms and.
When you hear that, you’re like.

392
00:21:45,360 –> 00:21:48,720
Ah, gross.
It couldn’t be more true.

393
00:21:49,440 –> 00:21:52,360
We have access to everything,
everything we want.

394
00:21:53,200 –> 00:21:56,000
And you know, we all have this
problem.

395
00:21:56,000 –> 00:21:59,920
I don’t have a phone up here to
show you, but it’s like doom

396
00:21:59,920 –> 00:22:03,680
scrolling, right?
What do you what do you look,

397
00:22:03,680 –> 00:22:05,840
hang on, what are you looking
for?

398
00:22:07,560 –> 00:22:10,720
We all have a problem with just
scrolling for content, content,

399
00:22:10,760 –> 00:22:13,160
content, that next thing, the
next funny thing, what’s going

400
00:22:13,160 –> 00:22:15,520
to what’s going to wake me up?
What’s going to entertain me,

401
00:22:15,520 –> 00:22:17,920
right?
And and it’s, you know, a lot of

402
00:22:17,920 –> 00:22:20,520
people say when they’re asked
about doom scrolling or watching

403
00:22:20,520 –> 00:22:24,120
Netflix or whatever it is, you
know what it’s I’m just

404
00:22:24,120 –> 00:22:26,560
escaping.
Just, I’m just, I need some time

405
00:22:26,560 –> 00:22:30,480
to unwind.
I just need to just switch off

406
00:22:30,480 –> 00:22:33,320
the brain and just let, let it
in for a little bit.

407
00:22:35,160 –> 00:22:39,320
The problem is, before long,
we’re always escaping.

408
00:22:40,760 –> 00:22:43,560
Like we never stopped to let the
truth back in.

409
00:22:43,920 –> 00:22:45,960
And we were talking about this
the other night, How?

410
00:22:46,280 –> 00:22:48,480
Look, it happens with Marty and
I.

411
00:22:48,480 –> 00:22:50,080
I know it seems like we’re
perfect.

412
00:22:50,680 –> 00:22:54,160
We’re not.
Ten o’clock rolls around.

413
00:22:54,160 –> 00:22:56,680
You’ve watched the program.
And just like we haven’t done

414
00:22:56,680 –> 00:22:59,880
the barbering, it’s like it’s.
It’s too late.

415
00:23:00,200 –> 00:23:02,160
I mean, how often do we
literally say that it’s?

416
00:23:02,160 –> 00:23:05,200
Too late to read the word of
God.

417
00:23:06,080 –> 00:23:09,520
I don’t need to lecture anyone
about the utter waste of time

418
00:23:09,520 –> 00:23:11,480
that media has.
But.

419
00:23:11,480 –> 00:23:14,600
But here’s the thing.
Every time we switch off from

420
00:23:14,600 –> 00:23:16,560
God.
We.

421
00:23:16,560 –> 00:23:18,800
Separate ourselves from his
character.

422
00:23:19,680 –> 00:23:22,440
And here’s something that a
writer on this topic recently

423
00:23:22,440 –> 00:23:24,120
stated, and I think this is very
appropriate.

424
00:23:25,400 –> 00:23:33,920
The Internet, social media,
Netflix, whatever literally does

425
00:23:33,920 –> 00:23:40,760
our thinking for us.
It keeps us stimulated and yet

426
00:23:40,760 –> 00:23:45,400
distracted so that we do not
have to confront who we are or

427
00:23:45,400 –> 00:23:47,280
what type of person we’ve
become.

428
00:23:48,640 –> 00:23:53,720
And I read that and I thought,
it’s like mind blowing.

429
00:23:55,720 –> 00:23:57,760
Our number one source of truth
must be God’s Word.

430
00:23:58,520 –> 00:24:01,000
It must be the filter by which
we see the world.

431
00:24:03,520 –> 00:24:06,480
Listen to what Jeremiah says in
Jeremiah 15 and 16.

432
00:24:08,360 –> 00:24:10,560
Said when your words.
Came to me.

433
00:24:11,120 –> 00:24:14,800
I ate them.
They were my joy, my heart’s

434
00:24:14,800 –> 00:24:19,560
delight.
For I bear your name, Lord God

435
00:24:19,560 –> 00:24:21,640
Almighty.
I never sat in the company of

436
00:24:21,640 –> 00:24:23,680
revellers.
I never made merry with them.

437
00:24:23,920 –> 00:24:30,720
I sat alone because your hand
was on me and you had filled me

438
00:24:31,640 –> 00:24:34,760
with indignation.
How often, brothers and sisters,

439
00:24:34,760 –> 00:24:38,400
when we’re sitting watching a
program on on Netflix, are we

440
00:24:38,400 –> 00:24:46,080
filled with indignation?
Maybe after we feel kind of bad,

441
00:24:46,080 –> 00:24:50,080
we feel kind of dirty.
We need to be filled with

442
00:24:50,080 –> 00:24:52,160
indignation.
Turn to Psalm 119.

443
00:24:52,160 –> 00:24:53,760
I.
Think this is an even more

444
00:24:53,760 –> 00:24:56,000
beautiful way to say this very
thing?

445
00:24:56,000 –> 00:25:06,360
Psalm 119 starting at verse 97,
it says.

446
00:25:06,920 –> 00:25:09,520
Oh how I love your law.
I meditate on it all day long.

447
00:25:09,520 –> 00:25:12,440
Your commands are always with me
and make me wiser than my

448
00:25:12,440 –> 00:25:15,080
enemies.
I have more insight than all of

449
00:25:15,080 –> 00:25:17,280
my teachers, for I meditate on
your statutes.

450
00:25:17,280 –> 00:25:19,880
I have more understanding than
the elders, for I obey your

451
00:25:19,880 –> 00:25:21,760
precepts.
I have kept my feet from the

452
00:25:21,760 –> 00:25:24,800
evil past so that I might obey
your word.

453
00:25:25,000 –> 00:25:28,240
I have not departed from your
laws, for you yourself have

454
00:25:28,240 –> 00:25:31,200
taught me.
And this is the beautiful part.

455
00:25:31,200 –> 00:25:34,200
How sweet are your words to my
taste?

456
00:25:34,200 –> 00:25:37,760
Sweeter than honey to my mouth.
I gain understanding from your

457
00:25:37,760 –> 00:25:39,960
precepts.
Therefore I hate every wrong

458
00:25:39,960 –> 00:25:42,280
path.
Your word is a lamp to my feet,

459
00:25:42,680 –> 00:25:45,360
a light to my path.
I have taken an oath and I have

460
00:25:45,360 –> 00:25:48,320
confirmed that I will follow
your righteous laws.

461
00:25:48,480 –> 00:25:51,200
How often when we watch
something or we scroll through

462
00:25:51,200 –> 00:25:53,800
something, do we taste the
bitterness of it?

463
00:25:53,840 –> 00:25:56,400
And I and I think that’s the
point, brethren and sisters,

464
00:25:56,400 –> 00:25:59,080
that the more we consume the
Word of God, the more

465
00:25:59,080 –> 00:26:03,120
distasteful the things of the
world will be, the less time we

466
00:26:03,120 –> 00:26:07,800
spend consuming God’s Word.
The more palatable the things of

467
00:26:07,800 –> 00:26:10,000
the truth will be.
Look, it’s hard to switch off

468
00:26:10,000 –> 00:26:12,840
the world.
Marnie and I have thrown away so

469
00:26:12,840 –> 00:26:17,600
many CD sets and VHS tapes and
then, you know, disconnected

470
00:26:17,600 –> 00:26:20,040
from Netflix multiple times and
and.

471
00:26:20,520 –> 00:26:22,960
It just.
Keeps coming back and then you

472
00:26:22,960 –> 00:26:25,200
know, but.
We got to keep training

473
00:26:25,200 –> 00:26:27,600
ourselves to switch it off.
The more often we switch it off,

474
00:26:27,920 –> 00:26:30,160
the easier it will be.
We have to create a boundary,

475
00:26:30,160 –> 00:26:31,760
and that’s what that word
separation means.

476
00:26:31,760 –> 00:26:36,400
It’s to mark off a boundary, A
separation between US and godly

477
00:26:36,400 –> 00:26:38,000
morals and the things that are
out there.

478
00:26:38,120 –> 00:26:40,720
And we need to consume the word
of God every day and it’ll be

479
00:26:40,720 –> 00:26:45,000
that reset that we need to see.
So the question is, how can we

480
00:26:45,000 –> 00:26:48,160
tell truth from deception and
and and the teens are.

481
00:26:48,160 –> 00:26:52,080
All over this clearly, when we
consume the word of God.

482
00:26:53,120 –> 00:26:57,000
It becomes the filter by which
we can determine truth from

483
00:26:57,000 –> 00:27:00,440
lies.
First, John four and one, dear

484
00:27:00,440 –> 00:27:04,280
friends, do not believe every
spirit, but test the spirits to

485
00:27:04,280 –> 00:27:07,080
see whether they are of God.
Because many false prophets have

486
00:27:07,080 –> 00:27:10,640
gone out into the world, so is
that the filter by which we

487
00:27:10,640 –> 00:27:13,640
discern the difference between
right and wrong.

488
00:27:13,960 –> 00:27:16,360
Now one of the teens in in the
in the workshop.

489
00:27:16,360 –> 00:27:20,800
Said at the end, you know, I
said, OK, so would you?

490
00:27:21,000 –> 00:27:23,360
I put some questions up on the
screen and then they discussed

491
00:27:23,360 –> 00:27:26,960
it amongst the group and he came
back and and I said, OK, you

492
00:27:26,960 –> 00:27:29,680
know, group at the back.
He said, what you need to do is

493
00:27:30,200 –> 00:27:33,760
that every time you see
something in the world, you

494
00:27:33,760 –> 00:27:40,480
immediately refer to the Bible,
look it up and go, Nope, that’s

495
00:27:40,480 –> 00:27:41,880
not right.
He said.

496
00:27:41,880 –> 00:27:44,480
Then you shut that off.
Now this is coming from a 16

497
00:27:44,480 –> 00:27:46,560
year old kid and.
I’ll tell the the parents who it

498
00:27:46,560 –> 00:27:51,480
was after.
And I just thought what a mature

499
00:27:51,480 –> 00:27:53,800
thing.
Now putting that in practice is

500
00:27:53,800 –> 00:27:55,920
a little bit harder, but how
often do we see?

501
00:27:55,920 –> 00:28:02,360
Something and then go Nope, not
correct off.

502
00:28:02,360 –> 00:28:04,880
You know what I mean?
Like like that’s that’s the

503
00:28:04,880 –> 00:28:06,920
mechanism that we have to build
into our brain.

504
00:28:06,920 –> 00:28:09,000
Now I did this for the sake of
the kids.

505
00:28:09,000 –> 00:28:15,240
So we’ll do this really quickly.
Why does Why does Christ call us

506
00:28:15,240 –> 00:28:18,720
sheep?
Why aren’t we?

507
00:28:19,560 –> 00:28:22,640
A predator I might, you know,
you say, what’s your favorite

508
00:28:22,640 –> 00:28:24,000
animal?
You’re not going to go, that’s a

509
00:28:24,040 –> 00:28:29,400
sheep, right?
My favorite animal is the black

510
00:28:29,400 –> 00:28:33,360
Puma.
Like they are incredibly

511
00:28:33,360 –> 00:28:35,600
beautiful and powerful.
And just you know what I mean?

512
00:28:36,320 –> 00:28:39,560
And and yet we’re not.
God didn’t label us as

513
00:28:39,560 –> 00:28:41,680
predators, as aggressive
predators.

514
00:28:42,760 –> 00:28:44,720
He labeled us as sheep and we’re
going to talk about sheep a

515
00:28:44,720 –> 00:28:46,880
little bit more, God willing in
in class 5.

516
00:28:47,080 –> 00:28:50,800
There’s a reason why we are to
be identified with that type of

517
00:28:51,160 –> 00:28:54,440
character.
And then Christ says he is wise

518
00:28:54,440 –> 00:28:57,760
as serpents and gentle as dubs.
So I’ll ask you the question.

519
00:28:57,880 –> 00:29:00,840
Why did he say that?
Why, why and how are we to be

520
00:29:00,840 –> 00:29:02,400
wise as.
Serpents.

521
00:29:05,320 –> 00:29:14,000
Non rhetorical, sorry.
So certain snakes are very

522
00:29:14,000 –> 00:29:16,880
discerning.
They have incredible senses.

523
00:29:17,440 –> 00:29:21,080
So it’s not to be like a snake,
it’s to use those

524
00:29:21,080 –> 00:29:24,040
characteristics they can.
Their whole body is a feeling

525
00:29:24,040 –> 00:29:25,240
member.
Right.

526
00:29:25,640 –> 00:29:27,360
They don’t hear like we do.
They have.

527
00:29:28,200 –> 00:29:29,600
Some of them are.
Different, but they feel

528
00:29:29,600 –> 00:29:32,360
vibrations up to their jawbone
that they interpret into sound.

529
00:29:32,720 –> 00:29:35,720
Some, some surf, some snakes to
be careful.

530
00:29:36,120 –> 00:29:38,520
They see like we do, but they
also have infrared vision where

531
00:29:38,520 –> 00:29:42,120
they can detect things at night.
And really for the serpent, it’s

532
00:29:42,120 –> 00:29:46,080
all about determining the
difference between prey and

533
00:29:46,080 –> 00:29:48,360
predator.
That’s what their senses are

534
00:29:48,360 –> 00:29:51,160
for.
Do I either run or do I attack?

535
00:29:51,160 –> 00:29:54,720
Oh, and also finding a mate.
Why doves?

536
00:29:55,040 –> 00:29:56,960
Well, the answer from the teens
was immediate.

537
00:29:57,240 –> 00:30:01,240
They’re innocent, they’re
harmless, they’re pure, they’re

538
00:30:01,240 –> 00:30:03,000
lovely.
One of them said they’re always

539
00:30:03,000 –> 00:30:04,880
white.
And I go, that’s not true.

540
00:30:07,400 –> 00:30:11,040
There’s black doves.
Listen to what Paul says in

541
00:30:11,120 –> 00:30:13,800
Romans 16 and 19.
And I think he takes that these

542
00:30:13,800 –> 00:30:18,120
two animals and just kind of
flips it upside down and puts in

543
00:30:18,120 –> 00:30:19,480
a way that maybe we can
understand.

544
00:30:19,480 –> 00:30:21,880
He says, for your obedience is
known to us all so that I may

545
00:30:21,920 –> 00:30:27,320
rejoice over you, but I want you
to be wise to what is good and

546
00:30:27,320 –> 00:30:32,320
innocent to what is evil, using
those two same characteristics.

547
00:30:32,320 –> 00:30:34,440
And so when we’re presented with
the deceptions of the world.

548
00:30:34,720 –> 00:30:37,480
Are we equipped to be wise to
what is?

549
00:30:38,280 –> 00:30:42,920
Good and innocent to what is
evil and that’s the intention of

550
00:30:42,920 –> 00:30:47,040
the Lord Jesus Christ commands.
So we look at social relativism

551
00:30:47,040 –> 00:30:51,880
and and and subjective truth and
relative morality.

552
00:30:52,000 –> 00:30:54,320
We have a huge problem in this
world right.

553
00:30:54,320 –> 00:30:57,120
I hear things like it’s my truth
and my lived experience and.

554
00:30:57,400 –> 00:31:00,480
Truth is just a social construct
and all these different things,

555
00:31:00,480 –> 00:31:02,840
right?
And so it appeals to our human

556
00:31:02,840 –> 00:31:06,320
nature because you know who
doesn’t want?

557
00:31:07,240 –> 00:31:12,200
Society to do everything for
you, right?

558
00:31:12,200 –> 00:31:15,040
To appeal to your individual
need.

559
00:31:15,520 –> 00:31:17,560
Because that’s the world we live
in, right?

560
00:31:18,040 –> 00:31:20,320
It’s that my truth Trump’s
yours.

561
00:31:20,960 –> 00:31:24,080
It’s that my world Trump’s.
What I do is more important than

562
00:31:24,120 –> 00:31:26,680
what you do.
That that’s that’s the narrative

563
00:31:26,680 –> 00:31:30,000
of postmodernism.
It’s hyper individualism.

564
00:31:30,680 –> 00:31:34,880
Sometimes they call it.
Humanism 3.0 It’s still all

565
00:31:34,880 –> 00:31:39,160
humanism, right?
We talked about the change in

566
00:31:39,160 –> 00:31:41,240
how we term different things,
right?

567
00:31:41,240 –> 00:31:44,920
We’re not, not all of us, but
some of us, very small amount of

568
00:31:44,920 –> 00:31:47,320
us, right?
Of switched over to these new

569
00:31:47,320 –> 00:31:50,080
terms.
Well, that’s my partner, not my

570
00:31:50,080 –> 00:31:52,400
wife.
Gender pronouns of the new

571
00:31:52,400 –> 00:31:53,880
thing, right?
You can turn yourself whatever

572
00:31:53,880 –> 00:31:55,000
you want.
Your gender is fluid.

573
00:31:55,200 –> 00:31:59,360
Today I’m he, him.
Tomorrow I’m a day then, right?

574
00:31:59,360 –> 00:32:00,800
You have to accept me today as a
man.

575
00:32:00,800 –> 00:32:02,000
Tomorrow I’m going to be
different.

576
00:32:02,800 –> 00:32:05,360
We have to accept there are
people getting sued for using

577
00:32:05,360 –> 00:32:07,400
the wrong pronouns.
That’s the new law in Canada,

578
00:32:08,320 –> 00:32:10,480
right?
You misgender somebody, you lose

579
00:32:10,480 –> 00:32:13,560
your job, right, If you’re in
the wrong place at the wrong

580
00:32:13,560 –> 00:32:16,600
time with the wrong person.
You know, we talked about how

581
00:32:16,600 –> 00:32:17,840
that.
You know, we live in a world

582
00:32:17,840 –> 00:32:20,680
where.
People now will say that yes, a

583
00:32:20,680 –> 00:32:26,760
man can become a woman, but
that’s why you see feminine

584
00:32:26,760 –> 00:32:28,960
hygiene products in male
bathrooms.

585
00:32:30,360 –> 00:32:33,360
And I may have mentioned this.
To some of you, but my first

586
00:32:33,360 –> 00:32:36,280
taste of this was like 8 years
ago when we first moved back

587
00:32:37,080 –> 00:32:39,520
down to Victoria and I went to,
to you Victoria.

588
00:32:39,520 –> 00:32:41,720
We were working there, doing a
job there, and I went to find a

589
00:32:41,720 –> 00:32:46,200
bathroom in the Student Union
building and I couldn’t find a

590
00:32:46,200 –> 00:32:49,000
men’s.
Bathroom They were gender

591
00:32:49,000 –> 00:32:51,200
neutral, all of them.
It’s.

592
00:32:51,200 –> 00:32:52,840
Not like they said, oh, let’s
just add a.

593
00:32:52,840 –> 00:32:55,640
Bathroom, you can have your
male, you can have your female,

594
00:32:55,640 –> 00:32:58,600
and you can have your other,
your universal, your whatever.

595
00:32:58,600 –> 00:33:00,880
No, no, no, they don’t want
that.

596
00:33:01,320 –> 00:33:04,200
They don’t want compromise.
Postmodern is not about

597
00:33:04,200 –> 00:33:06,200
compromise.
It’s about capitulation.

598
00:33:07,320 –> 00:33:10,360
I didn’t go to the bathroom like
I went, I went and found a

599
00:33:10,360 –> 00:33:13,280
Johnny on the spot somewhere.
Like it was, it was so bizarre

600
00:33:13,280 –> 00:33:15,520
and I, I didn’t think about it
for another couple of years.

601
00:33:15,520 –> 00:33:18,560
Then I realized, whoa, this is
already happening.

602
00:33:19,160 –> 00:33:21,800
And that’s just, that’s just a
minor thing, but these things

603
00:33:21,800 –> 00:33:24,440
are challenging to our Christian
sensitivities.

604
00:33:24,960 –> 00:33:27,480
Our understanding of truth and
it chips away at us.

605
00:33:27,480 –> 00:33:30,440
It wears away at us.
The more often you see

606
00:33:30,440 –> 00:33:32,240
something, and this is a problem
with doom scrolling, the more

607
00:33:32,240 –> 00:33:38,320
often you see the same thing,
the more normal it becomes.

608
00:33:39,600 –> 00:33:41,920
And so we’re.
Being normalized in this new

609
00:33:41,920 –> 00:33:46,320
philosophy instead of being
normalized in the truth of God

610
00:33:47,440 –> 00:33:51,200
and it begins to challenge how
we view the absolute truth of

611
00:33:51,200 –> 00:33:53,440
scripture.
Think about the Word of God as

612
00:33:53,440 –> 00:33:56,280
an.
Anchor that pins you to the

613
00:33:56,280 –> 00:34:01,800
ground, I mean in a good way,
and the world can move by, but

614
00:34:01,800 –> 00:34:04,240
you’re stable.
You understand everything that’s

615
00:34:04,240 –> 00:34:07,360
happening and then you can
challenge the reality that’s

616
00:34:07,360 –> 00:34:09,960
happening around you by the
stability that you have in the

617
00:34:09,960 –> 00:34:12,560
Word of God.
Now we now I think we’ve quoted

618
00:34:12,560 –> 00:34:15,360
this first before second Timothy
four and three for the time will

619
00:34:15,360 –> 00:34:18,040
come and people will not endure
sound teaching, but having

620
00:34:18,040 –> 00:34:21,480
itching ears and what
application of that.

621
00:34:21,560 –> 00:34:26,520
You think itching?
Ears is kind of like the word

622
00:34:26,520 –> 00:34:32,440
can also mean tickle.
Teens love this.

623
00:34:32,440 –> 00:34:41,360
It’s like it’s almost creepy.
The time will come when people

624
00:34:41,360 –> 00:34:44,360
not endure sound teaching, but
they want to hear things that

625
00:34:44,360 –> 00:34:47,840
will tickle their ears.
And so in, in, in doing that,

626
00:34:47,840 –> 00:34:50,440
they will look for and they will
find and they will accumulate

627
00:34:50,440 –> 00:34:53,440
for themselves teachers who will
suit their own passions.

628
00:34:53,440 –> 00:34:56,120
And, and we tend to do that.
We tend to hang out with people

629
00:34:56,320 –> 00:34:58,480
that we like.
That’s that, right?

630
00:34:58,480 –> 00:35:00,880
That do things that we do and
that believe the things that we

631
00:35:00,880 –> 00:35:02,240
do.
And in the truth, that’s

632
00:35:02,240 –> 00:35:03,840
fantastic.
We should definitely do that.

633
00:35:04,240 –> 00:35:08,120
But we also need somebody to be
objective about the things that

634
00:35:08,120 –> 00:35:10,080
we are doing.
And this is the problem with

635
00:35:10,080 –> 00:35:14,680
this relativism.
Turn to Second Timothy 4 and

636
00:35:14,680 –> 00:35:17,920
verse one.
Just read a little bit more of

637
00:35:17,920 –> 00:35:28,940
this particular verse.
Starting at verse one, I charge

638
00:35:28,940 –> 00:35:31,540
you in the presence of God and
the Lord Jesus Christ who is to

639
00:35:31,540 –> 00:35:34,940
judge the living and the dead
and by his appearing at his

640
00:35:34,940 –> 00:35:38,140
Kingdom to preach the word, be
ready in season and out of

641
00:35:38,140 –> 00:35:42,860
season to reprove and to rebuke
and to exhort and with complete

642
00:35:42,860 –> 00:35:47,720
patience and teaching.
So when we come across these

643
00:35:47,720 –> 00:35:51,240
things in our community, in our
cliche, in our family that are

644
00:35:51,240 –> 00:35:55,240
tickling the ears of the people
that we know or even, or even

645
00:35:55,240 –> 00:35:59,000
ourselves, we have to be.
Ready at all times, brothers and

646
00:35:59,000 –> 00:36:05,560
sisters, to teach, to reprove,
to rebuke to.

647
00:36:05,560 –> 00:36:09,920
Not.
Endure those things, otherwise

648
00:36:09,920 –> 00:36:13,720
they’ll wander off to miss.
As for you, the apostle Paul

649
00:36:13,720 –> 00:36:17,400
says to Timothy, always be sober
minded to endure suffering, do

650
00:36:17,400 –> 00:36:20,280
the work of the evangelist and
to fulfill your ministry.

651
00:36:21,240 –> 00:36:24,560
There is only one truth to
modernize that term.

652
00:36:24,560 –> 00:36:26,640
Let’s just say it is the meta
truth.

653
00:36:27,680 –> 00:36:30,920
It is the precondition for truth
itself, and that is the word of

654
00:36:30,920 –> 00:36:32,400
God.
And so we have to preach it.

655
00:36:32,520 –> 00:36:34,840
We can’t shrink back from
speaking it.

656
00:36:34,960 –> 00:36:38,640
We’re commanded to rebuke and to
reprove and to exhort with all

657
00:36:38,640 –> 00:36:41,400
patients and doctrine.
And so when we see something, we

658
00:36:41,400 –> 00:36:43,320
can’t fear speaking out about
it.

659
00:36:43,320 –> 00:36:44,640
We have to do it in the right.
Way.

660
00:36:45,200 –> 00:36:47,440
We have to approach it with love
and with compassion.

661
00:36:47,440 –> 00:36:50,160
But the problem is because of
everything that’s going on in

662
00:36:50,160 –> 00:36:53,840
the world and those philosophies
come into the ecclesia, we are

663
00:36:53,840 –> 00:36:55,720
shrinking back from saying
things.

664
00:36:55,880 –> 00:36:58,960
We’re not standing up for truth
all the time because sometimes

665
00:36:58,960 –> 00:37:02,680
we don’t know, oh, it’s, it’s
not the right time.

666
00:37:03,600 –> 00:37:05,280
I don’t know what to say to that
person.

667
00:37:05,680 –> 00:37:07,840
I’m not sure if they’re how
they’re going to react.

668
00:37:08,040 –> 00:37:11,240
And those are those are all.
Realities, I get it.

669
00:37:11,240 –> 00:37:15,800
It’s, it’s not easy speaking to
somebody about an issue that you

670
00:37:15,800 –> 00:37:19,880
might see or a problem, but if
we do nothing, then we are done

671
00:37:19,880 –> 00:37:22,320
as a community.
Here’s the other thing that

672
00:37:22,320 –> 00:37:26,640
happens with, with moral
relativism, OK, and, and, and,

673
00:37:26,640 –> 00:37:30,440
and this is, this is something
that is, it’s banging at our

674
00:37:30,440 –> 00:37:35,080
door and that is that society.
When I say downplaying the

675
00:37:35,080 –> 00:37:38,200
problem of sin, what I mean is
that in society they don’t even

676
00:37:38,200 –> 00:37:42,080
care about sin, but the issue is
that that impacts our brain and

677
00:37:42,080 –> 00:37:45,600
it starts for us to desensitize
us on things and we start to

678
00:37:45,600 –> 00:37:52,320
downplay the problem of sin.
Isai 59 starting verse 14 says

679
00:37:52,320 –> 00:37:55,640
as justice is turned back and
righteousness stands far away

680
00:37:55,640 –> 00:37:58,040
for truth is stumbled in the
public squares, the uprightness

681
00:37:58,040 –> 00:38:00,400
cannot enter.
Truth is lacking, and he who

682
00:38:00,400 –> 00:38:02,880
departs from evil makes himself
a prey.

683
00:38:07,280 –> 00:38:11,280
And then it says, And the Lord
saw it, and it was, and he was

684
00:38:11,280 –> 00:38:13,800
displeased of him that there was
no justice.

685
00:38:13,840 –> 00:38:15,680
And he saw that there was no
man.

686
00:38:16,040 –> 00:38:20,680
And he wondered, Is there anyone
who would intercede?

687
00:38:22,720 –> 00:38:25,200
And then his own arm brought him
salvation, and his righteousness

688
00:38:25,200 –> 00:38:27,280
upheld him.
And he put on righteousness as a

689
00:38:27,280 –> 00:38:29,520
breastplate.
And as the helmet of salvation

690
00:38:29,520 –> 00:38:31,880
was on his head, he put on
garments of vengeance for

691
00:38:31,880 –> 00:38:34,800
clothing, and he wrapped himself
in zeal as a cloak.

692
00:38:36,960 –> 00:38:40,760
Sometimes, brethren and sisters.
We are that person that needs to

693
00:38:40,760 –> 00:38:45,360
intercede and when we see these
things going on in our life

694
00:38:45,360 –> 00:38:49,240
around us, we have to step in
with the sword of the Spirit.

695
00:38:49,920 –> 00:38:52,200
Do not be sieved.
The the apostle Paul says in

696
00:38:52,200 –> 00:38:53,760
Galatians 6.
Do not be deceived.

697
00:38:54,000 –> 00:38:58,520
God is not mocked for whatever
one sows that he will also reap.

698
00:38:58,880 –> 00:39:02,000
And so we’ve become increasingly
reluctant to speak out against

699
00:39:02,000 –> 00:39:04,120
sin, even in our own
communities.

700
00:39:04,120 –> 00:39:08,560
Look, sin is not a popular
subject.

701
00:39:10,200 –> 00:39:14,000
Not even for believers.
I mean, I mean, really

702
00:39:14,000 –> 00:39:17,320
scripturally, we like to think
we’re in a post sin environment

703
00:39:17,320 –> 00:39:21,760
in the sense that we have
forgiveness and we prefer to

704
00:39:21,760 –> 00:39:24,800
talk about love and, and, and
we’ve already heard before that

705
00:39:24,880 –> 00:39:26,400
we, you know, we like to hear
more.

706
00:39:26,400 –> 00:39:28,800
Positive subjects.
You know, why can’t we talk

707
00:39:28,800 –> 00:39:32,760
about more positive subjects?
Well, yes, the truth is is

708
00:39:32,760 –> 00:39:35,320
amazing.
It’s very positive, but we have

709
00:39:35,320 –> 00:39:38,480
to deal with the issue of sin
1st and claiming to be without

710
00:39:38,480 –> 00:39:42,000
sin distorts our view of self
and it disconnects us from the

711
00:39:42,000 –> 00:39:45,600
reality of of God’s truth.
First, John one and eight, if we

712
00:39:45,600 –> 00:39:48,480
claim to be without sin, we
deceive ourselves and the truth

713
00:39:48,480 –> 00:39:52,440
is not in us.
But the beautiful part is that

714
00:39:52,440 –> 00:39:55,680
if we confess our sins, He is
faithful and he is just.

715
00:39:55,680 –> 00:39:58,720
And He will forgive our sins and
purify us from all

716
00:39:58,720 –> 00:40:02,000
unrighteousness.
That is the positive message of

717
00:40:02,000 –> 00:40:05,600
salvation, but it only comes
after we confront the reality of

718
00:40:05,600 –> 00:40:07,240
the sin that so easily besets
us.

719
00:40:08,200 –> 00:40:10,480
And these are the things we need
to see through the lens of

720
00:40:10,480 –> 00:40:12,600
truth.
That are happening in our lives

721
00:40:12,600 –> 00:40:15,080
and in our families, our
extended families and in the

722
00:40:15,080 –> 00:40:17,000
truth and in the broader
community.

723
00:40:23,480 –> 00:40:25,480
We don’t need to spend a lot of
time on this because we know

724
00:40:25,560 –> 00:40:29,360
exactly what happened in the
time of King Jehoiakim.

725
00:40:29,360 –> 00:40:34,720
But I, I, I put it in here
because it’s, it’s AI think it’s

726
00:40:34,720 –> 00:40:37,360
a powerful reminder of, of
sometimes the things that we

727
00:40:37,360 –> 00:40:39,680
unconsciously do.
Look, we can read through the

728
00:40:39,680 –> 00:40:42,400
Bible from beginning to end and
find all kinds of our favorite

729
00:40:42,400 –> 00:40:46,200
verses.
But I bet you our favorite

730
00:40:46,200 –> 00:40:49,080
verses are not about the
deceitfulness of our heart,

731
00:40:50,080 –> 00:40:53,280
right?
And so when Jehoiakim was up in

732
00:40:53,280 –> 00:40:56,400
his winter palace and he was
sitting in front of the fire and

733
00:40:56,640 –> 00:40:59,760
God came to Jeremiah and says,
you need to take these judgments

734
00:40:59,760 –> 00:41:02,960
and these prophecies and this
truth, and you need to have it

735
00:41:02,960 –> 00:41:06,200
read before the king.
And Jeremiah was under house

736
00:41:06,200 –> 00:41:10,320
arrest and Baruch was not able
to go up into the palace.

737
00:41:10,480 –> 00:41:12,840
And so we had to send it through
a bunch of different people.

738
00:41:12,840 –> 00:41:15,960
But as we know the story, it
eventually Jehudai stands before

739
00:41:15,960 –> 00:41:18,280
the king.
I can imagine what it would have

740
00:41:18,280 –> 00:41:21,760
been like to stand before him
and read the.

741
00:41:21,840 –> 00:41:27,800
The judgment from God himself to
this wicked king and he listened

742
00:41:27,800 –> 00:41:32,600
to a few lines on the scroll and
I just love how the truth is

743
00:41:32,600 –> 00:41:35,640
given to us that it’s just so
detailed and raw you.

744
00:41:36,280 –> 00:41:39,160
Just pull out his pen knife and
just cut that off.

745
00:41:40,000 –> 00:41:41,400
Threw that in the fire.
Jude.

746
00:41:41,400 –> 00:41:44,560
I would read a few more lines.
Cut it off.

747
00:41:44,800 –> 00:41:46,920
Throw it into the fire.
In the end, the whole scroll was

748
00:41:47,040 –> 00:41:53,120
was burned up in the fire.
You know, sometimes, brethren

749
00:41:53,120 –> 00:41:57,000
and sisters, we read things in
the Word of God that we don’t

750
00:41:57,000 –> 00:42:04,600
like to hear and and it’s.
It’s not always about saying,

751
00:42:04,600 –> 00:42:06,400
look, I really wish I could do
that.

752
00:42:06,400 –> 00:42:09,440
But sometimes it’s about, I
think God might be wrong about

753
00:42:09,440 –> 00:42:12,880
this thing.
And we might change a practice,

754
00:42:12,880 –> 00:42:15,440
we might change a doctrine, we
might change a principle, we

755
00:42:15,440 –> 00:42:16,960
might change a belief, we might
just.

756
00:42:16,960 –> 00:42:18,920
Tweak it a little bit so that.
We can, maybe.

757
00:42:18,920 –> 00:42:21,320
Justify, you know where we’re
at.

758
00:42:21,320 –> 00:42:24,040
And tomorrow we’ll talk about
how tolerance can lead to

759
00:42:24,040 –> 00:42:26,960
acceptance, which leads to
justification.

760
00:42:26,960 –> 00:42:30,000
And that’s.
It’s a whole other issue, but I

761
00:42:30,000 –> 00:42:32,720
think the stark reality of what
Jehoiakim did should, should

762
00:42:32,720 –> 00:42:37,240
echo in our minds that we cannot
cut away truth or reinterpret it

763
00:42:37,240 –> 00:42:40,000
to suit our own desires to
remove the Word of God, the

764
00:42:40,000 –> 00:42:42,240
things that we don’t like
because it makes us feel

765
00:42:42,440 –> 00:42:46,120
uncomfortable or ashamed.
Or that we won’t speak to other

766
00:42:46,120 –> 00:42:49,600
people because we feel it’ll
make them uncomfortable and

767
00:42:49,600 –> 00:42:53,040
ashamed.
All of these things the prophet

768
00:42:53,040 –> 00:42:55,400
Isaiah says in 66.
All of these things my hand is

769
00:42:55,400 –> 00:42:56,760
made.
And so all of these things came

770
00:42:56,760 –> 00:43:00,040
to be, declares the Lord.
But this is the one to whom I

771
00:43:00,040 –> 00:43:05,920
will look, he who is humble and
contrite spirit, and trembles at

772
00:43:05,920 –> 00:43:09,200
my word.
Sometimes the things that God

773
00:43:09,200 –> 00:43:14,080
says to us will make us tremble,
but they will correct us and

774
00:43:14,080 –> 00:43:16,120
measure and bring us back to
truth.

775
00:43:17,600 –> 00:43:20,640
And to say that as to is to lead
into the fact that the truth of

776
00:43:20,640 –> 00:43:23,320
God is A2 edged sword.
And we love to quote this as

777
00:43:23,320 –> 00:43:25,400
well.
I love this particular verse in

778
00:43:25,400 –> 00:43:27,160
Hebrews 4.
Let’s turn it up because you

779
00:43:27,160 –> 00:43:29,400
know, we quote it all the time.
We, we can’t be ashamed of the

780
00:43:29,400 –> 00:43:32,920
truth And we say that the the
word of God is A2 edged sword

781
00:43:33,120 –> 00:43:35,960
and we can go out and we can
slay the evil right?

782
00:43:37,680 –> 00:43:40,640
And it’s very powerful.
Hebrews 4 and 12 For the Word of

783
00:43:40,640 –> 00:43:44,760
God is quick and powerful and
sharper than any 2 edged sword,

784
00:43:45,080 –> 00:43:47,640
piercing even the dividing
asunder of the soul and spirit

785
00:43:47,640 –> 00:43:50,120
into the joints in the marrow,
and is the discerner of the

786
00:43:50,120 –> 00:43:51,400
thoughts in the intense of the
heart.

787
00:43:51,400 –> 00:43:54,360
And we think about, you know,
the mechanism of the priesthood

788
00:43:54,360 –> 00:43:57,200
and bringing the offering.
And they would inspect the

789
00:43:57,200 –> 00:44:00,160
offering from the outside and
look and yes, it looks perfect,

790
00:44:00,160 –> 00:44:02,480
but then they would open it up
and make sure it had all the

791
00:44:02,480 –> 00:44:05,120
internal organs, that there
wasn’t something hidden within.

792
00:44:05,120 –> 00:44:07,720
And that’s what the Word of God
has intended to do to us.

793
00:44:08,640 –> 00:44:12,520
It’s to open us up because the
Word of God cuts both ways.

794
00:44:14,840 –> 00:44:17,720
It says in Jeremiah 17 and 10,
The Lord is I.

795
00:44:17,720 –> 00:44:20,560
The Lord search the heart, and I
examine the mind to reward each

796
00:44:20,560 –> 00:44:22,800
person according to their
conduct and according to what

797
00:44:22,800 –> 00:44:25,720
their deeds deserve.
So the sword will divide asunder

798
00:44:25,920 –> 00:44:29,640
the soul and the spirit.
It can be profoundly structural

799
00:44:29,640 –> 00:44:35,000
to us rather than sisters.
It can cut us right to the bone,

800
00:44:35,000 –> 00:44:41,400
and it will open us up as it is
intended to do.

801
00:44:43,880 –> 00:44:47,360
God doesn’t intend to mortally
wound us by the Word that He

802
00:44:47,360 –> 00:44:49,720
speaks, but if we resist it, it
will.

803
00:44:50,440 –> 00:44:53,000
But He does want to open us up.
He wants to know what is inside

804
00:44:53,000 –> 00:44:54,640
our heart.
He wants to discern what is

805
00:44:54,640 –> 00:44:57,680
going on in our mind.
Wouldn’t you rather know now,

806
00:44:57,680 –> 00:45:02,320
brethren and sisters?
So that we can correct our path

807
00:45:02,960 –> 00:45:08,720
before we stand at the judgement
seat before Christ, God’s Word.

808
00:45:09,720 –> 00:45:12,400
Can correct us and it can heal
us.

809
00:45:14,160 –> 00:45:17,800
Just like David when he when he
heard the cold hard truth of

810
00:45:17,800 –> 00:45:20,680
what Nathan had to say to him
about his sin, it cut him

811
00:45:20,680 –> 00:45:23,600
asunder.
He was exposed, his heart was

812
00:45:23,600 –> 00:45:27,360
opened.
What was his response?

813
00:45:28,040 –> 00:45:31,360
Brought him to his knees.
It humbled him by the truth of

814
00:45:31,360 –> 00:45:33,320
his actions.
It changed him.

815
00:45:33,600 –> 00:45:36,040
He repented, and he was restored
of God.

816
00:45:37,240 –> 00:45:39,040
The truth, brethren and sisters,
will.

817
00:45:39,040 –> 00:45:42,560
Hurt.
It will wound us.

818
00:45:45,640 –> 00:45:49,720
If the truth doesn’t hurt us,
we’re not living.

819
00:45:49,720 –> 00:45:54,880
It right, But by God’s grace
we’ll be healed by those same

820
00:45:54,880 –> 00:45:57,440
words.
We’ll be rebuilt in the image of

821
00:45:57,440 –> 00:46:03,920
God and not of man.
And and so, brethren and

822
00:46:03,920 –> 00:46:07,920
sisters, truth is also missing.
If we don’t.

823
00:46:07,920 –> 00:46:10,800
Speak it.
The word of God will just stay

824
00:46:10,800 –> 00:46:14,080
static on the page if we’re not
the voice by which it is spoken.

825
00:46:14,840 –> 00:46:17,440
And so if the truth is absent
from our cliches, from our

826
00:46:17,440 –> 00:46:20,920
families, from our own mind, and
I find this happening more and

827
00:46:20,920 –> 00:46:23,480
more and more where we stand
back and we just let things

828
00:46:23,480 –> 00:46:25,080
happen.
We don’t we don’t speak out, as

829
00:46:25,080 –> 00:46:28,200
I said, because we fear maybe
there’s some moral confusion,

830
00:46:28,200 –> 00:46:31,520
maybe we feel will push people
away by the harsh, harsh reality

831
00:46:31,520 –> 00:46:33,920
of the truth.
You know one of the things that

832
00:46:33,920 –> 00:46:36,520
came up.
We talked about it yesterday

833
00:46:36,520 –> 00:46:38,400
with the teens was, you know,
when, when do you make that

834
00:46:38,400 –> 00:46:44,800
decision to cut somebody off?
And so we often feel that we can

835
00:46:44,880 –> 00:46:48,120
help somebody by keeping them
with us, that that that

836
00:46:48,120 –> 00:46:52,520
association, we can convert
them, we can save them.

837
00:46:52,520 –> 00:46:54,680
And that may in fact be the
case.

838
00:46:55,520 –> 00:46:59,160
But oftentimes, you know, we get
pulled off in their direction as

839
00:46:59,160 –> 00:47:01,800
opposed to us pulling them in
ours.

840
00:47:03,240 –> 00:47:06,680
You know, as I said, you can’t
save a mortally wounded man with

841
00:47:06,680 –> 00:47:12,320
just a Band-Aid and kind words.
In our desire to avoid being

842
00:47:12,320 –> 00:47:15,920
judgmental, we may end up doing
the opposite by enabling and

843
00:47:15,920 –> 00:47:18,600
tolerating those things that
should be confronted and

844
00:47:18,600 –> 00:47:21,360
addressed.
Turn to Ezekiel chapter. 33 This

845
00:47:23,920 –> 00:47:27,320
is the stark reality of those
who are intended to be Watchmen

846
00:47:27,560 –> 00:47:29,960
within the community, and
certainly here in the community

847
00:47:29,960 –> 00:47:33,160
of God.
Ezekiel 33 starting in verse 2.

848
00:47:40,930 –> 00:47:43,250
Son of Man, speak to your people
and say to them, If I bring the

849
00:47:43,250 –> 00:47:45,970
sword upon the land, and the
people of the land, take a man

850
00:47:45,970 –> 00:47:48,090
from among them, and make them
their Watchmen.

851
00:47:48,250 –> 00:47:51,170
And if he sees the sword coming
upon the land and blows the

852
00:47:51,170 –> 00:47:54,290
trumpet and warns the people,
then if anyone who hears the

853
00:47:54,290 –> 00:47:57,250
sound of the trumpet and does
not take warning, and the sword

854
00:47:57,250 –> 00:48:00,330
comes and takes him away, his
blood shall appear upon his

855
00:48:00,330 –> 00:48:02,640
head.
He heard the sound of the

856
00:48:02,640 –> 00:48:05,120
trumpet and did not take
warning, and his blood was upon

857
00:48:05,120 –> 00:48:07,600
himself.
But if he had taken the warning,

858
00:48:07,720 –> 00:48:12,400
it could have saved his life.
But if the watchman sees the

859
00:48:12,400 –> 00:48:15,680
sword coming and does not blow
the trumpet so that the people

860
00:48:15,680 –> 00:48:18,320
are not warned and the sword
comes and takes any one of them,

861
00:48:18,320 –> 00:48:20,400
then that person is taken away
in their iniquity.

862
00:48:20,400 –> 00:48:23,480
So there’s there’s two things
that have to happen.

863
00:48:23,840 –> 00:48:27,240
We as Watchmen need to blow the
trumpet to deal with these

864
00:48:27,240 –> 00:48:29,920
issues in our community and
those of us in the.

865
00:48:29,920 –> 00:48:35,440
Community need to listen.
And respond and change our ways.

866
00:48:35,840 –> 00:48:39,840
It is our responsibility as
shepherds to speak the truth.

867
00:48:40,080 –> 00:48:49,690
And as sheep to listen to it,
Apostle Paul says in Ephesians

868
00:48:49,690 –> 00:48:53,530
chapter 4 and 23 says Therefore
each of you must put off

869
00:48:53,530 –> 00:48:56,210
falsehood and speak truthfully
to your neighbor, for we are all

870
00:48:56,210 –> 00:49:03,680
members of one body.
He says in First Thessalonians 5

871
00:49:03,680 –> 00:49:05,160
and 11.
He says therefore encourage one

872
00:49:05,160 –> 00:49:07,480
another and build one another up
just as you are doing.

873
00:49:11,120 –> 00:49:12,960
There’s no truth if we don’t
speak it, brothers and.

874
00:49:12,960 –> 00:49:18,040
Sisters and there’s no truth and
we don’t listen and so we have

875
00:49:18,040 –> 00:49:22,720
to do both as hard as it is
sometimes to call things out or

876
00:49:22,720 –> 00:49:26,600
to stand up for truth.
You know one of the great

877
00:49:26,720 –> 00:49:29,800
answers that came today when I.
Asked How do we stand up for

878
00:49:29,800 –> 00:49:30,320
truth?
How do we?

879
00:49:30,320 –> 00:49:35,200
How do we speak truth?
This is one one of the younger

880
00:49:35,520 –> 00:49:37,400
in the group.
This is what he said.

881
00:49:39,080 –> 00:49:42,280
He said when you’re talking to
somebody at school, you’re like

882
00:49:42,280 –> 00:49:45,760
a friend at school and they want
to talk to you about, you know,

883
00:49:45,760 –> 00:49:47,960
stuff that’s gross and stuff
that’s not godly.

884
00:49:47,960 –> 00:49:51,520
And he said you’ve got to keep
redirecting the conversation

885
00:49:51,520 –> 00:49:54,200
back to good things, back to the
truth.

886
00:49:54,320 –> 00:49:55,840
He said you got to keep
correcting them.

887
00:49:55,960 –> 00:49:58,000
He said.
He actually said it was really

888
00:49:58,000 –> 00:49:59,320
weird.
You got to control the

889
00:49:59,320 –> 00:50:03,800
narrative, which is kind of a
modern term, but but it but it

890
00:50:03,800 –> 00:50:04,920
works.
You got to control the

891
00:50:04,920 –> 00:50:06,840
narrative.
And he goes and if you get to a

892
00:50:06,840 –> 00:50:10,160
point where they don’t listen,
you got to walk away.

893
00:50:10,440 –> 00:50:14,920
And I thought this is a very
mature thing for 13 year old kid

894
00:50:14,920 –> 00:50:16,840
to say.
And certainly that was what the

895
00:50:16,840 –> 00:50:20,720
table had talked about.
We have to determine when that

896
00:50:20,720 –> 00:50:24,400
moment is that we’re no longer
able to course correct and we

897
00:50:24,400 –> 00:50:28,360
have to walk away.
We have to stay centered on the

898
00:50:28,360 –> 00:50:34,680
truth.
So when we think about the

899
00:50:34,680 –> 00:50:39,520
deception of the darkness of the
world, when we think about being

900
00:50:39,520 –> 00:50:42,320
unashamed of the truth of God,
what it means when we’re

901
00:50:42,320 –> 00:50:45,880
confident to speak it and to
defend it, even at the risk of

902
00:50:45,880 –> 00:50:49,240
being cancelled, of being
belittled, or like Paul, who is

903
00:50:49,240 –> 00:50:51,360
ready to die for the things that
he believed.

904
00:50:51,760 –> 00:50:53,840
Turn over to Psalm 40.
We’ll just close with this

905
00:50:53,840 –> 00:50:55,920
particular verse.
This is one of the cross

906
00:50:55,920 –> 00:50:58,400
references we find from Romans 1
and 16.

907
00:50:59,280 –> 00:51:01,600
I like to.
Think it may very well have been

908
00:51:03,000 –> 00:51:06,960
used by the Lord Jesus Christ in
his words in Luke and the

909
00:51:06,960 –> 00:51:10,400
Apostle Paul in his.
And here’s David writing about

910
00:51:10,400 –> 00:51:13,320
the great.
Distress that he had endured,

911
00:51:14,600 –> 00:51:17,200
and how that his God had drawn
him up out of the pit of

912
00:51:17,200 –> 00:51:20,080
destruction, out of the miry
bog, and set my feet upon a

913
00:51:20,080 –> 00:51:22,160
rock, making my steps secure as
He.

914
00:51:22,160 –> 00:51:24,200
Says at the start Psalm 40 and
verse 9.

915
00:51:24,200 –> 00:51:28,680
He says through all of this.
He says, For I have preached

916
00:51:28,680 –> 00:51:30,680
righteousness in the great
congregation.

917
00:51:30,680 –> 00:51:35,080
Lo, I have not refrained my
lips, O Lord, Thou knowest I

918
00:51:35,080 –> 00:51:37,520
have not hid Thy righteousness
within my heart.

919
00:51:37,520 –> 00:51:40,560
I have declared thy.
Faithfulness and Thy salvation I

920
00:51:40,560 –> 00:51:44,080
have not concealed by loving
kindness and Thy truth from the

921
00:51:44,080 –> 00:51:50,920
great congregation.
You know, whatever I’m I’m down

922
00:51:50,920 –> 00:51:56,040
or I’m struggling spiritually.
And maybe it is for a lot of

923
00:51:56,040 –> 00:51:57,640
you.
The best place to go, I feel, is

924
00:51:57,800 –> 00:52:01,480
go to the Psalms.
And Marty pointed this out to me

925
00:52:02,120 –> 00:52:08,000
at one point, that in many of
the Psalms, David starts out in

926
00:52:08,000 –> 00:52:11,360
distress.
He’s struggling, he’s under

927
00:52:11,360 –> 00:52:17,000
trial, he’s being persecuted.
And as he communicates with God,

928
00:52:17,560 –> 00:52:21,320
he gets pulled back to center,
and often times at the end of

929
00:52:21,320 –> 00:52:25,040
the Psalm, he’s back elevating
his God in his life and thanking

930
00:52:25,040 –> 00:52:30,840
him as being his rock.
And so we can blame social

931
00:52:30,840 –> 00:52:33,320
relativism.
We can blame postmodernism, we

932
00:52:33,320 –> 00:52:37,560
can blame moral issues, we can
blame historical revisionism.

933
00:52:37,640 –> 00:52:39,680
We can blame postmodernism for
everything.

934
00:52:39,680 –> 00:52:41,040
But there’s one thing we can’t
do.

935
00:52:41,120 –> 00:52:43,000
We cannot blame God for his
truth.

936
00:52:45,320 –> 00:52:48,800
It’s right there in front of us,
always waiting for us to.

937
00:52:48,800 –> 00:52:52,200
Open it up.
And to use it to discern the

938
00:52:52,200 –> 00:52:57,440
very thoughts of our heart, so
that it might save us, that it

939
00:52:57,440 –> 00:53:00,880
might purify us, that it might
rebuke us, that it might correct

940
00:53:00,880 –> 00:53:05,080
us, and that we might be
reunited with our Father in

941
00:53:05,080 –> 00:53:10,240
heaven.
So what is truth, brethren and

942
00:53:10,240 –> 00:53:13,840
sisters?
It is the power of God unto

943
00:53:13,840 –> 00:53:15,760
salvation for everyone who
believes.

944
00:53:18,600 –> 00:53:27,360
The trick is we have to believe
it, and when we believe it,

945
00:53:27,880 –> 00:53:33,080
brethren and sisters, we have to
practice it, and in practicing

946
00:53:33,080 –> 00:53:39,360
it, we speak it.
And that is our task is to be

947
00:53:39,360 –> 00:53:44,440
unashamed of the truth, so that
everyone else who hears the word

948
00:53:44,440 –> 00:53:46,640
of God might also be saved.