The Journey's Map - Trust the Source

James Watson

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Introduction: I’ve noticed a slight different between the younger and the older generation. Say I’m meeting someone somewhere but I don’t know how to get there.

With the older generation follow main street to the end, turn right at the big red bard, count 5 trees and turn left (if you hit the river, you’ve gone too far), Foll that road to the top of the hill at the bottom of that hill, the place is on your left.

With the younger generation, it’s like “here’s the address.”

In our journey of faith, there are a lot of people trying to tell us how to get where we need to get. Books, advice, podcasts…even pastors. And how many are pointing people to the Bible? My dad doesn’t trust GPSs on your phone, he would much rather have a road map. In the same way, many just don’t trust the Bible in their own life, let alone to the point to recommend it to others.

But the Bible is a GPS for our lives.

It tells us where we are. (sinner, saved, on the journey.)

It tells us where we’re going. (Heaven or hell)

It tells us how to get there…embrace the love of Jesus and follow Him in obedience or don’t.

But it comes back to the age old question, can we trust the Bible. Turn in your Bible’s to

Background: 2 Peter was written near the end of Peter’s life and sums up the final thing that Peter wants to say before He dies. His primary purpose in writing the letter doesn’t come until ch. 3 when he reminds them that Jesus is coming back. However there have been many who have risen up to dispute the claims of the apostle even though they should know better than anyone else of what they saw. Before, he gets to that, He wants to reinforce the truth of scripture.

Let’s read.

2 Peter 1:16–21 ESV

16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Big Idea: Trust a reliable source.

I probably goes without saying, don’t trust an unreliable source.

The Bible often tells us not to trust ourselves and our feelings. Don’t trust your heart.

It certainly tells us that there are people we shouldn’t trust.

But it does say that you can trust Scripture (The Bible).

1. Trust Eyewitnesses. ()

Peter goes right in and says, we are not some random people who said some stuff and wrote some stuff. They are not fables like Esops or the Epics of Homer. These events really happened and how do we know? Because we lived them. We walked with Jesus. He taught us. We saw lazarus rise from the dead. We saw the blind see and the lame walk. Oh and we saw Him crucified. And 3 days later we saw Him alive…not a ghost, but alive. He talked with us. 500 other people saw him too....go ask them if you don’t believe.

Illustration: There are events called seismic event that completely change the world or your world. And you know its a seismic event because you can still remember every detail.

The end of World War 1 and 2

The assassination of JFK

When Neil Armstrong landed on the moon.

For some people when elvis died.

When the Iphone was unveiled.

For me, it will be 9/11.

You know it’s a seismic event because even after year and years, you can still remember ever detail of where you were, what you were doing, even what you were wearing. It’s a fixed point in time that everything seems to rotate around.

For the disciples, the resurrection of Jesus was one of those events. We need not doubt their understanding of those events....they witnessed them.

Application: The hope is that you have or will have a seismic event in which you will witness the intersection of Jesus with your life and your life will never be the same. That’s why we’re often called to remember what God had done. You may not be an eyewitness to the resurrection, but you are an eyewitness to what God has done in your life. Which is all the more reason to tell your story. We strengthen each other’s faith as we share our journey of faith.

2. Trust verifiable evidence. ()

One of the biggest misconceptions about the Bible is that it’s claims must simply be taken on faith. However there is a lot of evidence for the truth of scripture. There is a lot of evidence to the truth of who Jesus is.

Peter and the other writers of Scripture weren’t writing in a bubble. They wrote and distributed to others…many of whom were also eyewitnesses.

Even Luke seems to have consulted with those eyewitnesses in writing both the gospel of Luke and the Acts. There are intimate details of Mary’s thoughts when it came to finding out she was pregnant with Jesus. It makes sense because she would still have been alive when Luke wrote. He would have been foolish not to ask her what it was like.

Even the things that the eyewitnesses are writing are being written in the lifetimes of other eyewitnesses. If anyone wanted to dispute these claims they would have.

Peter also points to the Old Testament prophecies to solidify the argument that Jesus is the Messiah. These prophecies which they had learned about their whole lives were regarding the coming Messiah were coming true before their very lives. Some might say it was a coincidence. But the odds of 1 person fulfilling just 48 of the messianic prophecies would have been the equivalent of winning the powerful every day for a year.

The prophecies related to the coming of the Messiah all came true and there were many eyewitnesses to that fact. And should you have wanted to discretic the early church, just produce a bunch of eyewitness testimony to say the opposite. But they couldn’t produce any so they just tried to silence Christians by killing them.

Illustration: In 2016 a movie came out about Sully the pilot who successfully landed his commercial airliner on the Hudson river and saved every passenger on board. And while it was no doubt a heroic act, the movie made it out to be that there was some contention about whether Sully did the right thing.

But the problem with the movie being made so close to the actual events is that those who actually witnessed the hearings said that isn’t what happened at all. There was never any question that he did the right thing. It was just a routine hearing to debrief and learn from what happened.

The movie should have been no longer that 30 minutes, but of course that wouldn’t have sold tickets.

Application: Check facts. Dig deeper. Find the truth. You shouldn’t be suprised when you dig into the truth claims of God, that these things seem to prove true.

3. Trust the Holy Spirit. ()

Peter reminds us that the Bible’s true author is the Holy Spirit.

Carried along is a nautical term. Like a wind in your sails guiding you along on the open see. tells us that scripture is breathed out by God carrying this same idea. Peter believed that the words that He was writing were guided by the holy Spirit even after he instructed them to test him and see if what he was saying is true. It’s not a myth. Its not a cleverly devised story. It’s the word of God. If not, trust the Holy Spirit.

There are 2 actions of the Holy Spirit at work here.

Inspiration which occurs at the point of writing. The Bible is not inspired because it inspires me, but it inspires me because it is inspired.

Illumination which occurs at the point of reading. The Holy Spirit works to speak through the words of the Bible.

This is why at times you’ll read a passage and something jumps off the page at you.

And again, Holy Spirit works like that GPS to show us where we are, where we are going, and how to get there.

Without the Holy Spirit, the Bible is just another book. like another map.

Illustration: Have you ever been in the car with someone who is tasked with giving directions. This is such an important job. And so easily messed up. You’re driving along waiting for directions and then they are like oh sorry....that was your turn. That’s pretty annoying.

But think about our lives, we have the living breathing word of God and we’re wondering where to go. Is it possible that we’ve missed our turn because we weren’t listening to God’s Word?

But again, you have to trust it, believe that it is relevant to my life and that it’s authoritative.

So this begs the question.

The Questions: Is there anything keeping you from trusting the Bible?

For some we might say believe the world and trust other things. For others we’ll read it, highlight some verses that make us feel good but then not apply it.

But people is calling us to lean on every word.

Other Scriptures:

Isaiah 55:10–11 ESV

10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

is 55:

Matthew 4:4 ESV

4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

Proverbs

Proverbs 30:5 ESV

5 Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Hebrews 4:12 ESV

12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.