Text: 2 Peter 1:12-21
Faith does not require us to be without facts. On the contrary, it is the facts that inspire our faith. The gospel itself is based on the disciples claim that they had in fact seen the risen Christ?
Is the Bible Reliable?
1. Superior Documentation
2. Archeological findings
3. Eyewitness accounts
4. The life of Jesus
5. Redeemed lives
But the greatest proof is provided by the witness of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us. Because in Jesus words, if someone doesn’t believe the Scriptures, they wouldn’t believe even if someone came back from the dead and told them life after death was a reality.
After my departure I want you to remember God’s truth.
• The apostle Peter wanted the believers he was shepherding to be established in the truth, so that when he was gone the truth that they had been rooted and grounded in wouldn’t fade.
• Bible Verses Posted on Website
o Verses for a solid Bible foundation. Thirty-one passages.
o Pastor Dan’s personal favorite verses.
Click here for Bible Verses
The Scriptures provide us with stability and the light of hope in a dark and shifting world.
• Though it appears the world is in utter chaos…Isaiah 14:24 (NIV) 24 The LORD Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.
We didn’t follow cleverly devised stories about Jesus, we were eyewitnesses of His glory.
• But even beyond our own eyes there is further proof. Vs. 19 says we have the prophetic word.
• The Bible is not a single volume of theology written by one man. It is a series of 66 books, by 40 authors over a period of 1500 years, and all of them either forecasting or confirming Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Vs. 19 Pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place,
• Judges 21:25 describes a time when “all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” It sounds like where we are today in the world. So, we as believers are directed to illumine our paths with God’s truth.
• If there is ever a discrepancy between what we think God is saying to us and what the Scripture instructs us to do, we must go with what is written as Jesus did when he was prompted by Satan to turn stones into bread.
• Promptings, feelings and experiences can be deceptive. Because, according to the Scriptures, the evil one disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).
• We need to confirm what we are prompted to do with the Scriptures. The Spirit will never prompt us to act contrary to the Scriptures.
Vss 20-21 Understand that the Scripture is God-inspired.
• Last week Jesus is the light of life. These words represent the heart, the mind, the will, the soul of Christ. He leads us by His Spirit and He leads us by His word.
• With reliance on God’s Spirit and His word we can approach our faith with passion driven by confidence and as a matter of fact.
Three ways to meditate.
1. Meditate by personalizing it. Using personal pronouns.
• God demonstrated His love for me, in that while I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me (Romans 5:8).
2. Meditate by thanking the Lord through it.
• Sometimes it’s better to thank our way through a passage of Scripture instead of just trying to think our way through it.
o “Thank You, Lord, for so loving me that You gave Jesus so that I would not perish.”
o “Thank You for helping me believe and desire this truth.”
3. Meditate by “subscribing.”
• Hit the “subscribe” button. “Do not repay evil with evil but repay evil with good” (Romans 12:17). It may not be in your life right now, or to the degree that you want it to be, you can dialogue with the Lord and ask Him for it
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