You Can Be Certain

(36) Ken Vail - You Can Be Certain - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDDY6dIKJJ4

Transcript:
(00:01) well good afternoon to all and those on the webcast welcome it's a beautiful day here and we had a fantastic Passover last night and in fact it was we stayed up until midnight talking about it so if I doze off just you know throw something at me you know I enjoy uh a good cup of coffee and I like to visit quaint little coffee shops i just love that they often have a variety of reading m material to peruse while you're sipping your drink and some time ago while visiting one I I picked up a small local newspaper and
(00:53) began to read a section on books new books that are out and their reviews now I was attracted to one a review of three books on spirituality for young adults because you know I put myself into that category so to make a long review short the reviewer ridiculed any reference to basic Christian beliefs and extol the enlighted thinking on accepting as valid beliefs in shamanism or shamanism voodoo or any kind of multicultural mythology the character in one of the books made a statement that the reviewer thought was very appropriate
(01:40) he said 'I respect faith but I don't respect fundamentalists they're too certain about everything certainty is fake now how do you how do you feel about that statement is it wrong to be certain about things can we be certain should we be certain certain about what the definition of certain free from doubt sure to happen inevitable true indisputable you know there's one thing that we can be certain about this is something that Paul was talking to Timothy he said "For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can
(02:29) carry nothing out." That's 1 Timothy 6:7 i believe that don't you and that goes hand in hand with a saying that uh I'm sure we've probably all heard nothing is sure except death and taxes and the IRS makes sure that it fulfills first Timothy and it also makes sure that your relatives don't get anything either but are not getting political here but are there are there any big truths to be known you know some absolutes you know indisputable things in John 18:37 John 18:37 this is it's speaking of Jesus after that last Passover and
(03:16) his betrayal and when he was taken before Pilate John 18:37 Pilate therefore said to him said to Jesus Christ are you a king then Jesus answered you say rightly that I am a king for this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth everyone who is of the truth hears my voice so we have Jesus Christ saying that we can be certain that he is a king and that there is a truth out there that we can know if we hear his voice more on that later but but look at Pilate's response to
(04:04) Jesus the next verse 38 Pilate said to him "What is truth?" And when he had said this he went out again to the Jews and said to them "I find no fault in him." Pilate's question "What is truth?" You know that's a question that philosophers have been asking for thousands of years what is truth socrates Plato Aristotle they sought wisdom and truth through human reasoning socrates even died for his beliefs but never did find the truth you know perhaps Pilate even read some of those great philosophers he probably studied some of them
(04:50) a contemporary with Pilate was Plenny the Elder who said the only certainty is that nothing is certain you know that's something that our book reviewer agrees with nothing is certain you know but we all we all have various beliefs in fact those those beliefs make up who we are they guide us in our perceptions our decisions the habits that we have and what we say and how we act you know I believe that 1 + 1 equals 2 but you know if I was in school today I might not even believe that you know they say it's in the spectrum of
(05:33) two some new math is stressing that solving problems in group is groups is even better you know even if the answer is wrong as long as you work together on it i believe that smoking is bad for the health of my body which you know is part of the temple of God so I avoid it i I believe children are a blessing and should be nurtured and loved unconditionally those are some of my beliefs you know the some of the the habits the way we act and and do things we believe there is a God and his instructions on how to live are in the
(06:12) Bible his word and that guides us in our do daily choices john 8:31 and 32 john 8:31-32 then Jesus said to those Jews who believed him "If you abide in my word you are my disciples indeed and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." Now that spiritual truth abide the Greek is mino or m and it just means to continue or to dwell or to endure to abide so we can know the truth if we abide or endure or continue in him if we become his followers by doing what he says this is a truth you know that we
(07:12) all need to agree on and be united in that truth john 14 verse1 15 john 14 verse 15 and 23 says if you love me keep my commandments in verse 23 Jesus answered he was answering one of the disciples uh Judas not a scariot but he said Jesus answered and said to him if anyone li loves me he will keep my word you know abide or continue in my word and my father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him and once you do that once you love God and faithfully obey then you will know the truth and it
(08:09) will set you free from the slavery of this world and its deceptions and its unrighteousness and isn't that what these holy days are about the spring holy days are all about those who Jesus was talking to you know back in uh John 8 you know they totally misunderstood what he was saying to them they were saying we're already free you know we're we're not slaves but they were thinking carnally and physically you know we have never been slaves to anyone we're proud of being Abraham's seed and in bondage to no one
(08:50) but Jesus was talking about sin about transgressing God's laws laws that are are you know for our own good and about coming to him for the truth and walking out of sin and the deception this world is in you know the the complete bondage to Satan truth and obedience to that truth is what leads us out of Egypt out of sin romans 6 verse 16 romans 6:16 romans 6:16 do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey you are that one's slaves whom you obey whether of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to
(09:48) righteousness you know there's just two choices sin equals death or obedience righteousness to eternal life verse 17 but God be thank though you were slaves of sin yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered that God called us he gave us certain truth to see if we would obey verse 18 "And having been set free from sin you became slaves of righteousness.
(10:28) " You know we obeyed and then we were set free verse 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh for just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness uncleanness and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness we have to keep on now you know as as a new man a different kind of slave righteousness leading to holiness verse 20 for when you were slaves of sin you were free in regard to righteousness you know you at that time you didn't even bother about thinking
(11:13) about right living you just did whatever you felt like doing verse 21 what fruit did you have in the things of which you are now ashamed for the end of those things is death you know think about where your life was headed you know I I I do that occasionally and maybe more this time a year about where my life was headed before you know I got that call or or however you want to say it uh it was not going in a good direction so you know but now having been set free from sin and having become slaves of God you have your fruit to holiness and in the
(11:58) end everlasting life obey then free from sin to eternal life you know righteousness into holiness into eternal life and that's what Passover night to be observed days of unleven bread are about truth freedom now and a path toward everlasting life through faith 1 Corinthians 5'8 one I'm sure we all familiar with 1 Corinthians 5:'8 therefore let us keep the feast not with old leaven nor with the leavenven of malice and wickedness but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth truth keeps bouncing back you know
(12:49) in these scriptures with God's Holy Spirit we will keep the feast with a new spirit and understanding a a deeply felt love of God's truth john 4:23 and 24 john 4:23 but the hour is coming and now is when the true worshippers will worship the father in spirit and truth for the father is seeking such to worship him god is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth must have to truth must become a way of life it's one of the principles or it's one of the lessons to be learned during these days
(13:48) do we value enough the truth we have and the freedom that we have now do we think about that enough about God's truth and about how free we are with that truth you know this year you know the Sabbath coincides with Passover day this is Passover day today followed by the night to be observed tonight and the first holy day tomorrow now in in New Testament chronology Jesus Christ would be on the stake right now dying around 300 p.
(14:28) m and being buried just before sundown tonight as the night to be observed begins after sundown in the Old Testament the the Israelites would have been gathering their belongings and preparing to march out of Egypt at sundown on the 15th it was truly a night to remember and to observe let's look at that in Exodus 12 verse 40 and 42 exodus 12:40 exodus 12:40 now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was 430 years and it came to pass at the end of the 430 years on that very same day it came to pass that all the armies
(15:22) of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt it is a night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt this is that night of the Lord a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations you know the the Exodus of Israel was a defining moment in history an act of divine deliverance that the people of God were commanded to remember throughout their generations god kept vigil over them as they left Egypt and he does the same for us as we leave sin god's plan of salvation revealed through
(16:12) the Exodus it is foundational to understanding the greater exod exodus initiated by Christ's sacrifice and we are participants in the deliverance of mankind from the bondage imposed by Satan and we've all experienced captivity in a dying world ruled by a very powerful jailer but just as God brought Israel out of Egypt he called us out of that world to a future of true freedom to fully embrace this deliverance we must learn to abhore this abhore the system that we are leaving to abhore it to break free of its influences and
(17:04) to never look back the adversary Satan does not willingly release his captives but like the like the infamous Devil's Island from which escape was deemed impossible mankind is trapped without God's intervention yet through God's calling our repentance and faith in Christ sacrifice and the indel indwelling of the Holy Spirit we find true liberation christ paid the ransom price for our freedom do we remember the Egypt that we came out of does the thought of eternal life with God influence our daily behavior our obedience you know do we look back at
(18:03) the joy of learning the truth when first called the feeling of false doctrine falling off of you you know coming out of sin i remember those early days of of learning God's truth and it was "Wow wow this is amazing." But how do you know those beliefs are true we're getting back to truth how do you know what we believe is true i mean how can we know how do you know this is the true church why are you sitting here and not in one of thousands of other choices of worship you know I think that most other churches believe in what they
(18:52) teach i believe most of them are sincere but you know as I heard many times when I first came into the church you can be sincere but sincerely wrong 1 Timothy 3:15 1 Timothy 3:15 this is Paul saying "But if I am delayed I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God which is the church of the living God the pillar and ground of the truth the church of God the body of Christ should be the pillar and ground and foundation or mainstay of the truth.
(19:53) " pillar that's in the Greek it just means support the support so the church of God with Jesus Christ as the head and and you and I and we form the foundation and and must support the truth of God i know the the motto at ABC I'm not sure what it is now but several years ago when I was I remember it was teaching the truth abc teaching the truth but how can I be sure of this belief how can I be sure of that statement you know pillar and ground of the truth that's what we are you know there are millions of people out there
(20:35) highly intelligent people that would and do refute everything that we say they would say "How can you prove you have the truth there's no end to the beliefs or the theories out there a book I sometimes read Philosophy for Dummies it's a right up my line it says "But is this is about relativism." Relativism says quote "But is there really any such thing as truth?" The philosophy of relativism claims that all so-called truth is relative that there really is no absolute truth but that different things may be true for me and true for
(21:24) you this is sometimes also known as perspectivism perspectives different differ alleges and one is as good as another you know there there are so many ways and means that the world uses to avoid basic god-given absolute truth to devalue your beliefs and certainties so now before you can go too far in seeking and study of truth you have to come to a rational conclusion i think that's probably one of the first things that we have to come to number one you have to prove to yourself that there is a God that's very
(22:16) basic yet essential without a God anything goes and you can see the results that's in the world of of that belief hebrews 11:6 hebrews 11:6 it says "But without faith it is impossible to please him for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him." You have to believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who seek the truth through him now I believe we had all all of us at one point prove that to ourselves or you know we wouldn't be sitting here but
(23:10) how did we do that again you know there's so many beliefs in the world even those that finally think well there must be some god you have theism polytheism monotheism penotheism trinitarian monotheism theism atheism agnosticism one god many gods no god who knows i must say there are more adherence to each one of those beliefs than there are people who believe as we do why do we believe what we believe you know there are so there are many ways that we came to a belief in God at least fundamentally to begin with
(24:00) you know maybe as a youth through parental teaching which is the good way to do it through personal experiences maybe answered prayer or just a rational look at life and the universe and realizing that there has to be a supreme God you know both Psalm 14 and 53 both say that only a fool would say there is no God but our understanding became more focused when God called us and began to open our minds to his word the Bible to begin to refine our knowledge of God you know that's an important point he calls us he calls
(24:49) us well-known scripture i'll just refer to it john 6:44 where it says "No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up at the last day god calls or draws us to him second Peter 1 verse 1-8 second Peter 1 verse 1-8 simon Peter a bondervant and apostle of Jesus Christ to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord as his divine power has given to us all
(25:47) things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue through our calling and access to God and the knowledge of Jesus Christ we've been given truth and we've been given the ability to lead a godly life you know how how important is that how amazing is that to know the truth verse four by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the
(26:31) world through lust again escape from devil devil's island walking out of sin developing the very nature of God or changed lives our repentance points to God verse five but also for this very reason giving all diligence add to your faith virtue to virtue knowledge to knowledge self-control to self-control perseverance to perseverance godliness to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness love you know it's still a growing process but it ends at love you know God is love and that's that's the end point
(27:18) we're we're going to verse eight for if these things are yours and abound you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ eating of unleavened bread all week is taking in that true bread of life Jesus Christ the more we apply those stepping stones of growth the more we will come to know about God the Father and Jesus Christ you know it it's a process of growing in the knowledge through application of the word the Bible and that's the second point after we know there is a God and believe in that
(28:05) God the second thing to find truth we we had to prove that the Bible is the inspired word of God it's very important these two things that there is a God and the Bible is his instruction book for mankind is essential to know real truth the Bible is itself uh claims that it was inspired by God another scripture I'm sure we all familiar with 2 Timothy 3:16-1 17 um 2 Timothy 3:16-1 17 all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction and righteousness that the man of God may be
(28:59) complete thoroughly equipped for every good work you know there are many many proofs of the Bible you know such as a reliability of of historical texts archaeology and there was an article not that long ago about having found Sodom which was an amazing thing if it's really found Sodom because a lot of people said that was just a story made up about Sodom but I you know if they found that and they're talking about having found the Noah's arc and there's so many things fulfilled prophecies is another proof uh of the Bible i talked
(29:46) recently about the messianic prophecies and how that proves that the Bible is true just the fact that we have all proved that has led us to more truth you know there's a cycle of of belief action and then understanding of truth you know it it's a cycle and as we learn more truth we grow in knowledge of God what he is like and his purpose for us which then increases our faith and belief which stirs us to more action and the more action you do and the more understanding it's a cycle and it continues to grow we just continue to
(30:28) grow with that uh belief action and understanding but God had to start that whole process in us by calling us you know is is this book I don't turn to the scriptures because I have them written down much bigger where I can read them but anyway is that book the Bible a book of revealed truth or is it a book of truth that need revealing there's a difference there a book of revealed truths would be a book anyone could pick up and read an explanation of something and understand it yes it is a book it's crammed with
(31:16) truths but they are only fully revealed to those God is calling and have given the Holy Spirit to matthew 13:10 Matthew 13:10 and 11 then the disciples came and said to him "Why do you speak to them in parables?" He answered and said to them "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven but to them it is it has not been given.
(31:53) " So he's he's only calling some now 1 Corinthians 2:10 and 12 1 Corinthians 2:10 been given to us to know 1 Corinthians 2:10 but but God has revealed them to us you know the things that God has prepared for those who love him to us through his spirit for the spirit searches all things yes the deep things of God verse 12 but now we have received not the spirit of things that have been freely given to us by God you know they're freely given yet needed the Holy Spirit to understand them but what was what was necessary for
(32:44) us to go from our many different beliefs in God and the Bible and life in general to where we are now as children of God you know was it our superior wisdom was it our superior education or our special status you know what's the common factor didn't we all have to come to an acknowledgment of the fact that we could be wrong that we are human that the whole world is deceived and that we just might not know everything humility humility first 1 Corinthians 8 2 and 3 this is in the New Living Translation 1 Corinthians 8
(33:41) 2-3 anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn't really know very much but the person who loves God is the one God knows and cares for you know one of the strongest forces in our lives of being human is that of selfdeception selfdeception believing what we want to believe and not facing the facts of reality the the 16th century philosopher English philosopher Francis Bacon said "Man prefers to believe what he prefers to be true.
(34:30) " And I think that's so true on all of us but when we began studying the booklets and the scriptural proofs and there was a powerful urge within us to say "Wow you know I must change i must change." You know that one of the first things I learned was about about Christmas and I had little kids and my parents were all upset that I was stealing Christmas from these little kids but that urge I you wanted to do the truth all humans are fallible and so humbly admitting that you might be an error is the next step toward learning truth after being belief in God and the
(35:18) p Bible is his inspired word you know that that force or voice within you was God's Holy Spirit leading you saying in effect "Yes it does matter what day you rest on what holy days honor God what you eat what to give and so forth it really does matter." And then yielding to it yielding to it humbling yourself brought more truth a humble person is a teachable person and that is what God requires so admitting our error and then taking that next step of actually making corrections and changing our ways no matter what the costs are proofs that we
(36:05) have the truth and are in the right place and that's repentance repentance how many will admit they are wrong and if they do will then change some people admit that Christmas is pagan but refuse to change their behavior because they either don't think it really matters or else they they can't really face the peer pressure and the embarrassment but you know we're accountable for what we know we live by the truth to the degree it has been revealed and we understand it but do we understand it all completely do we know all truth do you
(36:52) think we have all knowledge we are to grow in grace and knowledge that knowledge of the truth it's a it's a growing process and why didn't God just pour everything into our heads right at the beginning right when we came out of that water at baptism had hands laid on us to receive the Holy Spirit why didn't God just fill your head with everything that was known and why this painful period of learning god knows human nature as long as we were still physical we couldn't handle it ego vanity pride would have done us
(37:39) in but it motivates us to dig and search and to appreciate it more you know we all have to be in a in a constant state of humility and readiness to admit error and change if necessary you know to be teachable to be teachable as the church grows in knowledge we continue to get closer to to godly perspective of truth you know if you're not moving forward you end up going backward the very meaning of life our purpose our future you know all of the big questions you know those are truths that we have but as the light of truth gets brighter
(38:26) and the forms in the darkness start taking on distinctive characteristics you know sometimes maybe we need to refine our understanding as we see clearer you know uh 1 Corinthians 13:12 I'll just read that 1 Corinthians 13:12 for now we see through a glass darkly but then face to face now I know in part but then I shall know just as I also am known you know through a glass dark glass it distorts you know it's hard to really see completely until light begins to bring everything into focus you know it's like a a coat and a hat maybe on a chair in
(39:14) in a dark room might look like a monster to a child you know or an overhead fan sometimes you wake up and you forget where you're at and you see this fan above you and you think "Whoa what is that?" But try try explaining to a four-year-old you know electricity or a rainbow or or sex you have to use general terms at first it wouldn't it wouldn't do much good to try explaining light frequencies and prisms to you know a three or fouryear-old we are like the ch we are the children of god he he gently pushes or actually he leads us along teaching
(39:59) and extending our understanding as we are able to grasp it truth doesn't change what changes is our understanding of it you know don't you understand the holy days a little better after 10 20 30 years 40 years i think it continue to you continue to learn a little bit more about each thing you know the night to be observed is clearer to me or the day of atonement or you know the fush footwashing service last night were things that we learned last night that I had never heard before that extended the the understanding of
(40:48) the footwashing it was amazing but I believe that God refineses our knowledge of the truth through the leadership of the church along with those being led by the Holy Spirit you know the membership understanding the truth in a timely manner all of us God is not trying to trick us we He wants us to be mature always in a humble manner we are to be of one mind one mind there is unity in God's spirit i believe we have come to understand much more about the the husband and wife relationship and how we must treat one another and how it all
(41:36) points to a spiritual understanding of godly relationships like Jesus Christ and the church have it was amazing tying you know human marriage into that it was amazing it was like a new truth almost and all that is based on love and respect and forgiveness the godly aspects we learn through admitting that we could be wrong and changing you see as we grow we get closer to thinking like God but until we're spirit beings we we won't have it all down there's just no way do you really think that our understanding of
(42:17) truth per perfectly reflects God's understanding of truth it it sounds a little ludicrous when you put it that way but have we learned all the spiritual lessons from physical actions yet so rather than fear change or refinement it should be encouraging knowing that God is still working on us still working with us teaching us slowly changing our perceptions and thereby the conclusions that we reach about truth you know you shouldn't fear it it's it's really it's proof that we're in the right place i think some that some set fire uh
(43:02) firewalls or red herring strong straw man issues that limit their ability to follow God's lead if you have predetermined the end of a matter without knowing all the facts or allowing for new perceptions then you foolishly foolishly paint yourself and your ego into a corner an example might be in in Mark 3 verse 1-6 mark 3 1-6 mark 3:1 and he entered the synagogue again and a man was there who had a withered hand so they watched him closely whether he would heal him on the Sabbath so they might accuse him and he said to the man who had the
(43:59) withered hand "Step forward." Then he said to them "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent when he had looked around at them with anger being grieved by the hardness of their hearts he said to the man "Stretch out your hand." and he stretched it out and his hand was restored as whole as the other then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against him how they might destroy him those kind of things just always amaze me you know you've just seen a
(44:44) miracle and and and helping and healing and stuff and then you want to go kill the person it's just amazing but the Pharisees would not believe that Jesus spoke the truth they were hard-hearted they were legalistic and proud and they had established so many rules regarding the Sabbath that they couldn't or they wouldn't listen to reason they were blind to any change or godly perceptions they were so conditioned to react to anything about the Sabbath that could be looked upon as doing something or working that they couldn't see the truth
(45:27) or the principle behind it a friend of mine uh often quoted a saying that his father taught him he said "Don't hold a penny so close to your eye that you can't see the silver dollar behind it." And I always Interesting but the Pharisees were so close to the trees of their preconceived opinions that they couldn't see the forest of truth or principles of God behind them even to the point of killing someone who disagreed with them how can we teach and train and guide people without godly perception 1st Samuel 12:24 1st Samuel
(46:27) 12:4 Only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart for consider what great things he has done for you fear and serve in truth think about all the great things that God has done for you you know not just what he's done but what he is who he is he is a loving merciful patient p uh God i just want to get to across today how important God's truth is just how precious it is and how sought after this knowledge is by some and buried by others do we take it for granted the truth that we have ephesians 4:21 and
(47:21) 25 ephesians 4:21 and 25 if indeed you have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus verse 25 therefore putting away lying let each one of you speak truth of the truth of God's ways let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor for we are members of one another you know our character our example our love for one another again that that outgoing concern for the welfare of others you know many people stumble over the truth you know they come across it they stumble they pick themselves up eventually and you know dust themselves
(48:20) off and push the truth out of the way you know so that it won't interfere with their lifestyles anymore on the road that they're traveling we started with a question can we be certain proverbs 22 22:17-21 proverbs 22:17 verse 17 in incline your ear and hear the words of the wise and apply your heart to my knowledge for it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you let them all be fixed upon your lips so that you may trust so that your trust may be in the Lord i have instructed you today even you kind of our first point a belief in
(49:20) God trust in the Lord have I not written to you excellent things of counsel and knowledge truth of his word that I might may make you know the certainty of the words of truth that you may answer the words of truth to those who send to you so point three to live and and to show by our faith by faith our our faith by our works so you got a belief in God you've got the proof of his word and trusting in his word and then going out and and teaching and using that those words we shouldn't doubt God's words you know the title of this ser
(50:09) sermon is we can be certain if you haven't got that down yes and we should be able to answer those who ask us about our faith and hope god's word is truth and we can be certain of that we can be certain of that and as we humble ourselves God will continue to lead us by his Holy Spirit to come eventually to the fullness that's described in Ephesians 4:12-15 ephesians 4:12-15 the fullness described in Ephesians 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry for edifying of the body of Christ till we all come to the unity of
(51:03) the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ then we will no longer be immature like children we won't be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching we will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever that they sound like the truth verse 15 instead we will speak the truth in love the truth in love growing in every way more and more like Christ who is the head of his body the church you know grow up you know this is
(51:49) a process love and truth go together perfectly and as we continue our walk or journey out of sin you know th this coming week we can thank God and thank Jesus Christ for the love that they they have shown us and setting us free with this truth so let's continue on in faith as as humble teachable servants growing in the knowledge of God as his spirit leads us and as it says in uh I'll just the love chapter 1 Corinthians 13:6 it says speaking of love and God verse six says does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in the
(52:35) truth and we can rejoice in that truth this coming week the freedom that we have and and just to rejoice in the truth the world does not know the truth it's deceived about proper government marriage health you name it satan has his fingers in all aspects of human discernment and reasoning last night as we uh renewed our baptismal commitment we reflected on our own deliverance from sin through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and God's continual going before us going before us and and watching over us tonight as we begin seven days of
(53:24) taking in the bread of life we acknowledge we acknowledge you know that recalling and rehearsing God's guidance and protection is time that is very well spent so I hope we can all spend more time going over that and thinking about that tonight would be a good time to do it we remember that it is God's mighty hand that delivers us he is our protector he's our guardian he's our provider as we obser observe this night tonight joyful night we recognize and honor him as the one who leads us out of spiritual Egypt watching over us
(54:11) guarding us sustaining us on this journey of faith we are powerless to initiate our own deliverance we can't do it on our own and we declare our trust in him as he continues to guide us toward his promised future so God is love and God is truth so truth is love and that's the truth and we can be certain of that