Breath Part 1
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Introduction
Introduction
Illustration: Working out, back spasm (wasn’t thinking about breathing until that happened)
Breaths. We take them all the time without even knowing it.
That’s awesome if the air you are breathing is clean and healthy.
But for many people in this world, the air they breathe is polluted and toxic. And without knowing it they are killing themselves.
It’s the same way for every one of us spiritually. We breathe in polluted air all the time and it works intoxicate us and kill us.
What we “breathe” in intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually can have a profound effect on your wellbeing.
Here at Vintage we believe the best thing that you can breathe in for your health is the Bible, God’s word.
In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he makes a claim about the Bible. says, ....
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
So Paul is saying that
What is Scripture?
What is Scripture?
66 books of the Old & NT
These 66 different books, poetry, letters, writings written over thousands of years remarkably tell one unified story. The story of God's plan to create a people for himself forever--a people that would eventually be rescued by His very own Son, Jesus.
For 2000 years Christians (and Jew even before that) have claimed that these books are actually God’s special revelation to us.
This is different than general revelation. God revealing himself through creation, etc.
Where did it come from?
Where did it come from?
Short history of the bible
God's people the Israelites—given special revelation about God
The formation of the 39 books of the OT
The coming of Jesus (Jesus accepted all 39 books of the OT as God's Word)
The writing of the Gospels and Acts
The writing of the New Testament Letters
The collection of these NT documents over time in the church (and the removal of books that were unauthentic)
How do I know its true & trustworthy?
How do I know its true & trustworthy?
It is authentic -- leaders for example—If the Bible is made up, why would it depict its most important characters so poorly?
It is trustworthy -- has shown to be right so many times
Archeology
"It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference." Nelson Glueck, famous archaeologist
Predictive prophecy—it amazingly has predicted precise events in the future (SHOW CHART)
“But Russell, the Bible has been used in so many bad ways over the centuries.” Yes, but if someone uses a shovel as a weapon doesn’t make shovels bad.
Is it the Word of God?
Is it the Word of God?
I cannot prove this to you.
However, the best evidence that the bible is in fact the word of God is that it shows us God's glory in Jesus.
You don't have to be a historical scholar to see this.
The beauty of the Bible is that it tells the story of a God that would sacrifice his own Son in order to invite us into relationships with him.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Illustration: Arguing with Tommy after Bible college
Here’s the thing: I’ve stopped trying to prove the Bible to people
If people don’t what to believe the Bible, they will not
However, if I can show them how they might want to believer
Don’t you want it to be true? That the creator of the universe, your creator, the one who designed you, wants to know you; to give you joy beyond understanding? And in order to do that He was willing to sacrifice his only Son, Jesus. And that thought His miraculous defeat of death in the resurrection you are promised perfect, harmonious life in utopia for eternity.
Don’t you somehow want this to be true? If so, then start a journey of discovery.
And those of you who do believe, are we neglecting God’s beautiful revelation to us? His love letter to us?