James A. McMenis | The Authority of the Scriptures | Part 1

so we read before the prayer in the gospel of luke the seventh chapter i want to go back and look at this as we get into a new series study the authority of the scripture the authority of the scriptures 50 times in the new testament 50 times in the new testament some translations it shows up like 51 but we can say 50 times of certainty the word scripture shows up in the new testament 50 times and what i want to show you over the next few weeks is what are you reading when you read the new testament and there's a reference to scripture because what we are reading and i'm going to show you one exemption to this in second peter but what you're reading 49 out of 50 times when you read of the word scripture in the new testament you're reading a reference to the old testament you're you're reading a reference to the old and you're reading it in the new and i think that's so important for a new testament believer for you and i today to know that there's no expiration date on the word of god that god has not just thrown away the old testament that you know the the the books of moses that were pinned by him authored by the spirit of god first five books of the bible all the way through the prophets ending in malachi they are still relevant alive today and are part of the canon of scripture and the authority of god still rests in scripture that's genesis to malachi matthew to revelation and i'm going to show this to you and so that you don't just say amen like oh yes i believe that but i want you to have the conviction behind it and so therefore i'm going to show it to you in the word that the scripture's authority never ends the the authority that god has given his word never ends the authority that god has exercised through his word never ends and what we're going to do is just look at the authority of god's word the authority of the scriptures i'm going to show you lord willing next week how that jesus came to fulfill scripture that he is one with scripture i'm going to show you the power of the relationship between jesus and his word and what happens when we begin to live our life under the authority of the written word of god now the reason i wanted to start here in luke chapter 7 is because we get a picture of a man who was a centurion and that means he had at least a hundred men under him he's a man that understands honor and he understands authority and those are two very important words for every one of us to understand honor and authority because when you talk about honor you're talking about the delegation the handing over of authority and authority in its simplest form authority in its simplest most broke down definition broke down means i'm breaking it down not like a broke down car on the side of the road all right but when you break that that definition all the way down to the root you'll find that authority is the right to command and be obeyed the right to command and be obeyed so the authority of god is his right to command and be obeyed or to put it another way god will always have what he says he will always have what he says so i'm going to show you things in scripture that even in the life of jesus where a certain thing went a certain way quote that the scripture might be fulfilled that the scripture might be fulfilled and so when you look into the new testament and you see jesus show up and god manifesting himself in the person of his son and you begin the new testament with the four gospels of matthew mark luke and john and you see this man of god this son of god born into the earth and he begins to uh carry out the the the assignment that his father had given him since before the foundation of the world again and again there's a statement that follows nearly every major facet of jesus's life in ministry and that is that the scriptures might be fulfilled that the scriptures might be fulfilled jesus didn't leave anything undone he didn't leave not one i dotted he didn't leave one tea uncrossed he came to fulfill the scriptures he recognized the authority of the scriptures now when we look at this example here in luke chapter number seven this centurion this this soldier that had been given delegated our honored authority he understood the delegation of authority he understood that he had been delegated the authority or the right to command and be obeyed that's what he says here when you look down in verse number eight where he says for i am also a man set under authority having under me soldiers i say unto one go and he goes to another come and he comes to and to my servant do this and he does it but notice how he began that statement i'm a man set under authority i have been delegated authority this word authority in scripture comes from the greek word exousian exousy it's spelled e-x-o-u-s-i-a exousia it's a delegation of authority or jurisdiction jurisdiction authority it it it represents like an authority over territory you may remember in luke chapter 10 where jesus had sent out the seventy and they came back and they were ecstatic and and and they they're like wanting to give jesus a revelation of just how powerful his name is so they come to jesus and they said lord do you realize that even the devils are subject to us when we use your name as if jesus didn't know how powerful his name was jesus looked back at those 70 and he said you don't have to rejoice in that the devils are subject to you rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven he said for i watch satan fall as lightning from heaven so i know the authority that my name has over him and this is what he says in verse 19 in luke 10 19 he says behold any time you read in scripture the word behold that means this thing is here this thing is now behold jesus said behold i give unto you power over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you when you read that in the king james or an english bible you see that word power listed twice behold i give you power over the power of the enemy and it looks like some type of struggle where the lord's power is stronger than the enemy's power like there's an arm wrestling contest but jesus is going to win but it's not a struggle of power because when you break those words down to the original language in luke 10 19 and you read it in the original greek the word power uh is explained and the way it reads in the greek is this behold i give unto you exousia over all the dunamis of the enemy now that word dunamis d-u-n-a-m-i-s is where we get our english word dynamite and he was saying that the enemy has dunamis dunamis power but i give you exousia power what is the difference exousia is jurisdiction exousia is dominion exousia is the territory the jurisdiction power is just the working of power like we would see you know someone exercising uh a mighty power jesus is saying what's greater than power is jurisdiction because just because you have power doesn't mean you have the jurisdiction to use that power and what i give you is jurisdiction over all the power of the enemy so you might say well you know the devil's got a lot of power yeah but you got a lot of authority and authority is greater than power because authority dictates where power can be exercised you might be saying but pastor james you just don't know how busy the devil has been in my life well my word to you is lay his tail off lay him off you don't have to give him any jurisdiction in your home in your life in your marriage in the lives of your children evict that rascal out of your home and don't give him jurisdiction to exercise his power over our lives is that scripture absolutely give no place give no jurisdiction give no territory to the enemy now i i'm i'm setting this up but my i have every intention of breaking it down i'm saying these things up front just to kind of show you the direction we're going but i have every intention of breaking this down and showing you exactly how this operates but the body of christ believers in jesus we have got to know what the father has given us and the authority that we have in this word if we don't recognize the authority that god has invested in scripture we'll never live a life of faithfulness and humility to god because we won't give him authority over our life if we don't understand the authority that's in his word we'll never exercise that authority in our prayer life in our walk of faith where we know that god has given us the keys to his kingdom and what we bind on earth he'll bind in heaven and what we loose on earth is loosed in heaven we never exercise that binding and losing authority the keys that's been given to the church because we don't recognize authority and too many believers don't recognize the authority that they have in god's word the authority that i have in his word the jurisdiction that i have in his word i want you to see it now it's going to be twofold as we begin to look at it number one we're going to begin to see how am i submitting to the authority of his word how am i submitting to the authority of his word how and then secondly how am i exercising the authority he has given me in his word so those two things are very important and we have this perfect example here in luke chapter seven and it took a soldier to get it but not just any soldier a centurion what does that mean a soldier that had soldiers under him it took a man that had authority over him and the opportunity to exercise that authority under him he said i am a man under authority he he he's acknowledging that the authority that he walks in had been delegated delegated authority all right what is delegated authority it's honor honor is delegated authority honor is delegated authority it's not my authority it's delegated it's delegated authority it was given to me if you give your key you know start saying your kid but you know uh your young adult your teenager the keys to your car and you say okay you can use my car that's your car parents you can say amen right there when when you hand them the keys that is not their car therefore if they're not honorable in the use of that car and they don't come back when they said they'd be back and they don't go where they said they were going to go then you reserve the right to remove the keys and say i take my car back because you were dishonorable you weren't truthful with me about where you were going and how long you were going to be there amen see delegated authority means it was not mine it's been delegated and delegated authority is summed up in one word honor honor what is honor a delegation of authority psalms 149 verse 9 put this in your notes psalms 149 verse 9 says that as believers we have been honored with the authority to execute his written word what does that mean that means that god has honored me to declare his word over my life he has honored me with his written word how does that look well the first step for me is is to allow god to speak into my life and be obeyed to give him the right to speak into my life and be obeyed that's honor you you know if you tell your child do this that or the other and they give you a 30-minute argument before they do it that's dishonorable because true biblical honor is give me the right to speak into your life and you respond that's biblical honor and i know that's a foreign message in the world we're living in today but i'm telling you when you honor god you'll give him the right to speak into your life and you respond with faithfulness you respond with compliance lord i honor you i take you at your word and i do what you've said i'm honoring you that's honor now when you talk about honoring god jesus tells us in john 8 44 that many will seek an honor that comes from another but they won't seek the honor that comes from god alone that comes from god only so there there there is an honor that comes from god alone it comes from no one else it it's his honor and that's not verse 44 i'm going to find that for you and and and uh uh but i know it's in that eighth chapter when when uh you start in verse 54 you begin to see it but jesus speaks of the honor that comes from god only in other words will i honor a man and let him speak into my life and i do what he says out of the hope of the reward and benefit that man can give me all while ignoring the honor that comes from god only i want the honor that comes from god only the the delegation of authority that comes from god only where does that start that starts with me recognizing that his word has all authority if you believe the bible is a bunch of old wives tales or a history book you won't give it the honor that it's due but when you recognize that the bible god's word has been preserved for a thousand generations that heaven and earth will pass away but that his word will never pass away and when you begin to give it the honor and the recognition that it is due and you begin to uh submit your life to its instruction and his teaching you begin to walk in the benefit of what he said it all starts with me saying okay i believe that this is the word of god and i'm going to honor the teachings of jesus i'm going to honor the word of god in my life that's where it starts that's simple enough the centurion here said look all you have to do is say it and it'll happen because i'm a man under authority and i know i've been delegated honored with the right to say go and one goes to say come and one comes to say do this and it is done he said i'm under a i know what that's like to say go come do this he said i recognize that you have that power and your power is unlimited because the centurion recognized authority but yet he couldn't speak healing over his own servant's life he recognized that his power had been limited and was limited but that jesus's words were unlimited and that jesus could speak life over his sick servant and that man would live and not die he recognized there was no limitation on the word of god that it didn't matter whether it was physical it didn't matter if it was spiritual it didn't matter whether it was a financial jesus operated and exercised on authority over all things and there was no limitation to his word glory to god that's good right there this man recognized that and so he says lord just say it just say the word it'll be done jesus looked back and said that's the greatest faith i've seen so we've got a model we've got an example of great faith what is that example taking god at his word knowing that if he said it he'll do it that if he spoke it it will come to pass hallelujah the authority of the word of god now let's do this turn over to the book of hebrews i'm going to go to the first chapter hebrews chapter 1. you know our faith our faith in god's word is tested through submission because if i really believe that god will have what he says i will do what he said oh amen if i really believe that he'll have what he says then i'll do what he says if he says bless your enemy and when you do you put coals hot coals on his head and you get him in a way that retaliation would never achieve bless your enemies do good to them to curse you if we really believe that we'd bless our enemies but sometimes we draw the line on the lord and say lord i know that you know most of what you say works but i need to put this one here you know in my own hands i got a way of fixing this jesus we'll talk about it sunday but let me just do this today we we we we we find ways or loopholes to excuse ourselves from doing what the lord has said proverbs chapter 3 says honor the lord with your substance honor the lord with your substance so shall your barns be filled with plenty what does that mean that means allow god to speak into my life as it relates to my stuff if we really believe that we'd be sensitive to god in every aspect of giving first fruits tithes offerings alms we would be completely submitted to everything that god has said because we recognize that when i honor him he will enrich and bless my life but we excuse ourselves from doing what god has said saying things like well the lord knows i can't afford it he understands no the lord knows your lack of honor and therefore you're not seeing the benefit of it because you really don't believe what god has said when he said what he said when he said what he said you understand what i'm saying the acid test of whether or not i really believe the word of god will have what it says is my submission to it basing my life on it basing my eternal life on this is what he said this is not about me this is about him this is what he said this is what he said and he will do what he said he would do numbers 23 19 he is not a man that he should lie if he spoke it he'll make it good if he said it he'll bring it to pass psalms 89 verse 34 god says my covenant my covenant will i not break nor alter the words that have gone forth out of my lips and if we really believe that god will do what he said he would do and have what he says he would have we would always be found in a place of submission under the authority of his word hallelujah now watch this in hebrews chapter 1. we'll start in verse 1 but i want to get to verse 3 and highlight it god who at sundry times or in pastimes and in divers or different manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son whom he hath appointed heir of all things by whom also he made the worlds who being the brightness of his glory what does that mean that jesus is the brightness of his glory it means he's the full expression of the identity of god the glory of god is the kabad of god it is the revelation of god it is the disclosure of god god is saying here jesus is the brightness of my glory he is the full uncut unedited disclosed copy of the almighty god manifested in human flesh glory to god the brightness of god's glory and the express image of his person it was through the person of his son jesus that god expressed himself we just came out of a lengthy series called one god in three persons it's available on our youtube channel if you want to go back and and watch that so he says who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person watch this and upholding all things by the word of his power hallelujah and upholding all things by the word of his power if you're one that writes in your bibles or highlights that kind of thing you want to do something with that statement there he upholds all things by the word of his power when he had by himself purged our sins and sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high but notice this statement that god upholds all things by the word of his power oh i can't say it enough god upholds all things by the word of his power nothing in this world nothing ever since man was created has ever escaped the power of the word of god no man can ever excuse himself this planet will never find itself out from under the power of the word of god he says that that that all things are upheld by the word of his power nothing escapes the word of his power that's good news right there nothing ever escapes the word of his power no matter how bad things may look in your life or in this world and you may wonder what in the world is going on nothing in this world can ever escape the word of his power god will always have what he says i was thinking this evening about the service tonight and i was just processing the things that i've i've been looking over for months preparing for this series and and and this this thought came to my mind and that is the prophetic word of god when you study prophecy the prophetic word of god proves that this word is authentic the prophetic word of god proves that this word is authentic if god had never spoken anything before it happened then what separates his words from man what separates the bible from a history book it what separates the word of god is that everything god has spoken has come to pass everything that he says has happened or is happening and when you study the the the scripture you begin to see that the new testament is nothing more than a fulfillment of what god had already declared in the old testament that everything that he said about jesus was fulfilled in jesus as a matter of fact jesus would fulfill 29 different prophecies in one day the day that he was crucified when you study the 22nd psalm and you see every little detail about jesus's life and the way he would be executed and the day of his of the judgment every detail was covered down to the nails being in his hands and in his feet psalm 22 16 all foretold before it happened hallelujah jesus at one point will say the reason i got a disciple that's a traitor the reason i have a disciple judas that that will betray me with a kiss is that the scripture cannot be broken and i'm going to show this to you in the word of god as we study the scriptures as it relates to jesus what jesus was saying was is the old testament already foretold that i would have a disciple that would be a traitor and the scripture cannot be broken so i'm willing to recognize i got a traitor because god said i'd have one before it ever happened jesus recognized the authority of the scripture and rested in it that's powerful it's it's extremely powerful when you start studying prophecy about the last days and i mean get into a study of it we're going to be doing this lord willing this coming sunday in the in the prophetic season series and then you start looking at what's going on in the world and then you look at what prophecy said you look at what's going on you say wow what a coincidence everything that's happening in the world that's exactly what prophecy said would happen that's no coincidence the scripture is still being fulfilled because every word of god is authoritative he will have everything that he said now let's do this let's go further go go with me to second peter second peter i wanna go to the first chapter second peter chapter number one just keep turning you'll see hebrews james first peter ii peter go with me to second peter chapter number one the authority of the scripture the authority of the word so you you want to tap my nerve if you want to tap my nerve then in front of me one day say say to me this statement you'll tap my nerve say to me well that's an old testament if you ever say to him you'll tap my nerve don't tap my nerve but that's how you could tap my nerve if you said to me that's old testament because 50 times in the new testament just the word scripture or scriptures is used that's not including all the times the old testament is quoted in other words there are plenty of references to the old testament and the new where there is a direct quote but the word scripture is not used i'm telling you that 50 times in the new testament the word scripture or scriptures is used and in the new testament in the new testament when you read the epistles of the new testament like peter the new testament was not in print yet matthew mark luke and john was not in print yet the epistles the pauline epistles were not in print yet so what was the early church teaching the scripture what was the church preaching the scripture the church of jesus the church that was spirit filled on the day of pentecost throughout the book of acts what are they preaching what are they teaching how jesus fulfilled the scripture my point is is that we have the advantage of reading and studying the 27 books of the new testament but the early church did not have that advantage they heard the word the spirit of god had had authored it but there was no publication that every believer could have that didn't change the fact that it had been spoken but they didn't have it to be able to assemble on a sunday morning and the preachers say turn to ii peter second peter was not in print yet for them to turn to ii peter so what did they use to rest their faith in what did they use to preach jesus the bible says they use the scripture but what is the scripture the scripture was the old testament so why in the world do church folk today say old testament i had uh uh uh older uh couple tell me this years ago well i thought it was beautiful and i i i i and i've heard it other people share it it's just powerful powerful truth and that is jesus or the old testament is jesus concealed the new testament is jesus revealed the old testament is jesus concealed the new testament is jesus revealed jesus manifests in the new testament and what does he manifest to do he manifests to fulfill scripture it's left undone in the old testament it's fulfilled in the new you ever wondered why there are 39 books in the old testament when 39 is just one short of god's number for wholeness or fulfillment 40 is god's number of something being fulfilled after being tested children of israel 40 years in the wilderness moses 40 years in the wilderness 40 years in the journey to the promised land when you look at all the the the the the 40s in scripture the the flood 40 days and 49th it represents something being made whole after being tested why are there 39 books in the old testament because it could not be complete until jesus was introduced and so when you get to the gospel of matthew the first book we have in the new testament guess what the word fulfilled shows up in matthew 16 times why because matthew is introducing the fulfillment of scripture because without scripture being fulfilled in christ then it does not have any authority you say why would he not have any authority because god didn't have what he said but jesus proves that god has what he says jesus proved that god will have everything that he said he validated the word of god when that word was made flesh you can't believe that jesus is the son of god and not believe the bible you cannot separate jesus from scripture they are one and the same you don't have the son of god without scripture and you don't have scripture without the son of god they work together jesus is the manifested word of the living god hallelujah glory to god he proves that god's word is true now when you when you when you turn with me to second second peter i i want to show you something here in this first chapter and we'll look at it and uh oh man that's all good let's go to verse 16. second peter 1 16 you there just say amen for we have not followed cunningly devised fables we have not followed cunningly devised fables and don't think the enemy doesn't want you to doubt what god said you know the greatest fear of all fears for a believer the greatest fear the greatest fear of all fears and we have many fears but the greatest fear of all fears is the fear that god didn't mean what he said you take every fear that a believer could have in their walk of faith and you break it down you say what is the ultimate fear the ultimate fear is that this isn't true well no pastor i'm just afraid that when i die oh your fear is that this isn't true my fears that i if they do this layoff what that's going to mean no no no your fear is that he didn't mean what he said when he said never have the righteous been forsaken or his seed begging bread no no no you don't understand there are some folk that are against me and they're lying on me and they're planting and plotting against me and that's my fear no your fear is that he didn't mean what he said when he said no weapon formed against you shall prosper and that every tongue risen against you in judgment would be condemned every fear if you break it down is ultimately a fear that god will not have what he said now of course you got to know what he said because you know fear fears can over overtake your life until you begin to apply faith so i need to know what he has said but every fear is really just a fear that god won't have what he said and so the enemy's oldest tactic is to get man to doubt what god said so we have this enemy that's the little g god of the world if you ever wonder what the enemy is doing in the world he is doing in the world what the church is allowing him to do that's a heavy statement it probably makes somebody mad mystery all right the culture of the kingdom of god should be changing the world but we've allowed the culture of the world to alter the church another sermon another day satan's oldest tactic is to get man to doubt what god said so satan's first recorded words in the bible the first recorded words after man because his he has words that out date man you can read them in isaiah and those were the words spoken by lucifer one of three archangels when he said that he could be the most high god and for that belief that he could be the most high he got put out of heaven so he has older words but the first words of the serpent the fallen lucifer in the earth after the creation of man the first words are when he comes to eve and his first statement is hath god said did did god say that's his first recorded word hath god said he's trying to see can i get this woman to question what god said can i get her to doubt what god said and i'm going to say this just as an injection you have to know because i want to explain to you what's going on in the world you have to know that whatever god has said that will always be what the enemy attacks it does not matter what it is whatever god said is and ever how god said a thing be and how he made that thing to be satan's ultimate objective in this earth is to pervert everything that god said so you know 60 years ago and i wasn't alive 60 years ago but 60 years ago when this nation decided that we would stop teaching creation which is what god said and that we would start teaching the the doctrine of what hitler believed evolution and that darwin's theory that everything evolved from a big bang that that would cause us to advance in science and beat russia in the cold war that's all the history behind the uh uh emergency or the times required that our nation advance in its education and in its science and so sadly our leaders in what they call uh catastrophe are a potential war we've got to get ahead of the nations that hate us and therefore we've got to believe it or not adopt their teachings of evolution so we can beat them and so a creation is kicked out of the public school evolution is put in and you might have thought if you were alive or understand history today that well that is as far as the enemy could ever go you know that that's debatable did god use evolution to create we get that but satan did not stop there and so whatever god has said about marriage between a man and a woman satan attacks when god says in the beginning i made man and i made two versions male and female and says no god said that let me alter that let me change that that's not true no matter what god says satan's objective is to reverse it or pervert it it sees no end it explains what's going on in our world satan's oldest statement hath god said well what did he what did he question eve about he questioned eve he hear this now i'm gonna try to find a closing place here he questioned eve on whether or not god had the authority to determine what could be good and what could be evil because when she said back no god said we can't eat of this tree the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and he says well the only reason you're not being allowed to eat of this tree is because eating of this tree would make you god and you get to determine what is good and evil and after all this tree is pleasant to the eye and would be good for food it was selling eve on the idea she did not have to submit to the authority that had been spoken through her husband adam which he repeated to eve otherwise she would not have known what god said about that tree because she had not been made when god gave her that command man that commandment she only got it from adam satan's first word is an abuse of scripture a questioning of scripture a doubting of scripture not just because it's scripture itself but because that scripture is attached to god's authority why does the enemy want me to doubt the word of god so that i will doubt god's authority over my life his jurisdiction over my life his jurisdiction over this planet it's not just that i doubt the word of god it's that because i doubt the word of god i don't i don't believe that what he has said will come to pass i'm not walking in a respect or a fear of god i'm not i'm not turning my life to jesus who died for my sin because if this word isn't true then who's to say i even sinned who gets to decide what sin see our world tells us today no one gets to make that judgment there there there is no real right and wrong and you you think oh that's just creating peace and harmony in society and that's the motive no no no the motive is that the enemy does not want there to be a consciousness of sin because if there's no conviction of sin and all things are acceptable then i don't need the one that died from my sin no different than you would never go to a doctor unless you were convinced you were sick people will not turn to jesus until they are convinced that they have sinned but in a world that says all things are acceptable why do i need salvation so let me wrap this up he says in verse 16 we have not followed cunningly devised fables this is not some fairy tale when we made known unto you the power and coming of our lord jesus christ but we're eyewitnesses of his majesty and what he's getting ready to share you can find it in matthew chapter 17 starting in verse 1. for he received from god the father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory this is my beloved son in whom i'm well pleased god spoke that over his son in matthew 17 in the presence of peter james and john moses and elijah what kind of meeting was that peter james john moses and elijah jesus and the father what you say and the father spoke over his son this is my beloved son in whom i'm well pleased and then he tells peter james john moses and elijah he says these words hear ye him why moses why elijah because moses is god's lawgiver and elijah is a prophet that never saw death that makes you a pretty popular prophet matter of fact when you study the old testament you find out that the body of moses was retrieved when the heavenly chariots caught away elijah that was when elijah went to heaven the body of moses was raptured with him they go together why are they together because one represents law and the other represents prophecy what makes that important the old testament is basically made up of law and prophecy and so god's got his poster boy for the law moses and he's got his poster boy for all prophets elijah they're representatives of both and they're in front of jesus as god honors his son in the presence of moses and elijah and three new testament disciples and he gives jesus this honor on that mount you can read it in matthew chapter number 17. so when jesus is challenged he says this i i came not to disannul cancel or break the law or prophecy he said i came to fulfill all law and prophecy what's he said i came to fulfill the old testament i came to fulfill the scripture when you use the word scriptures you're speaking of law and prophecy that jesus fulfilled so peter writing here he says well this isn't some fable we were eyewitnesses god allowed us to see this when he honored the son on that holy mount verse 19. now that was pretty powerful right that they were eyewitnesses of that but watch what he says in verse 19. we have also a more sure word of prophecy oh read that under your breath out loud ready read we have also a more sure word of prophecy well if you go back to verse number 16 through 18 he's telling you about what they were eyewitnesses of go to verse number 16. look at that latter part but we're eyewitnesses if you're one that writes in your bible circle that word eyewitnesses he said we were our witness when we heard the father honor the son we we saw it this isn't some fable we didn't hear about this we didn't have a crazy dream we saw it and being that peter is telling about it that might explain why god called up peter james and john why because the word tells us in the mouth of two or three witnesses let every word be established so god didn't do this big thing and honor his son and only let peter be there because then others would say peter how do we know you tell us the truth well peter's telling us the truth because james and john saw the same thing he got three so now i've got three people that saw the same thing they were eyewitnesses but we've got to see what he says next because in verse 19 look at it again we have also a more sure word of prophecy what how can anything be more sure than what you saw how can anything be more sure than what you have seen he said we have a more sure word of prophecy where until you do well that you take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts knowing this first that no prophecy of the scripture no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man but holy men of god spake as they were moved by the holy ghost what's he saying he's saying not only did we see this not only were we our witnesses of this but the scripture of the old testament spoke of this man jesus it told us of him you don't have to take three men's word for it there are 40 authors that make up the canon of the word of god and all spoke by the power of the holy spirit whose writings span 2 000 years of time not like peter james and john that could have gotten together and huddled and said hey now you say this i'll say that and you say this now you got your point i got my part okay we all saw the same thing right right no he's saying there are 40 men that were moved by the spirit of god men that were not together on the same mount men that did not live in the same country at the same time prophets priests fishermen of kings and queens speak of the word of god and when you look at the totality of everything that they have said it's all in harmony it all says the same thing that's the more sure word of prophecy and what do we call it scripture scripture he he he's saying we were our witnesses but there's even something more sure and it is how can you explain so many men and women of god who would speak and point to the same person and declare the same thing when they were not huddled together at the same time on the same mountain the fulfillment of prophecy validates scripture now let me close with this and we'll we'll uh we'll shut it down for this week go with me to second timothy 3 2 timothy chapter 3. we've got to get our faith built up in the word hallelujah see we don't we don't need our faith to stand in some preacher that speaks eloquent words you know i'm not talking about me because i don't speak yellow words sometimes i struggle to get the right word out thank you pastor brandon you'll only caught my struggle all right second second timothy chapter 3. and i'm convinced that we'll never see the power of god until we know the word of god and i'm not the one that said that jesus did in matthew 22 29 he said your error he was speaking to the religious hierarchy of the day he said your error your mistake is that you don't know the scriptures nor the power of god why didn't they know the power of god because they know the scripture his word will never return unto him void i spoke this morning at our elementary campus our kindergarten through sixth graders and i shared psalms 46 10 to kindergarten through sixth graders every wednesday we have chapel and i'm talking about being still and knowing that he is god and we were meeting in the gymnasium over there and all the kindergartners and first graders are seated on the floor you know distance out and they're all there and i was i marveled that i spoke for like 30 minutes and they all were like being still and the scripture was be still and know that maybe maybe when i read the scripture like we got to be still but i was just so impressed with how still they were and how the lord just moved in that chapel service this morning and and i was able to share with them the importance of getting in the right position to receive that you can't receive in the wrong position and it was such a simple verse and i'm speaking to kindergarten through sixth graders but you just knew they were getting it and i came over here to the middle high campus in our seventh through twelfth graders and shared the same word but it came out a different way because i was speaking to a different group at a different season and age and the lord just moved and blessed and and we got a hold of this principle that that if you don't get in the right position you can't receive from god and it's not because he's not wanting to give it that you're not positioned like a pitcher to a catcher if the catcher's out of position the pitcher can't release it because the catcher's in the wrong position the pitcher wants to throw the ball but the catcher's got to get in the right spot i was in cracker barrel yesterday coming my wife and i coming back from missouri we stopped got something eaten and i'd taken care of my ticket and you know they got the registers and they got the little stickers on the floor you know about six feet you know showing you where to stand and i'd already paid my ticket and i was waiting on the order and i'm over here out of the way and there was another lady that was standing there but she wasn't behind her register and she wasn't where the little stickers are it looked like she was just shopping and and and the clerk behind the cashier was just standing a little bit off just straightening some things off and she was getting agitated i was up in northern arkansas and and and and so what i did is i wanted to say ma'am if you get behind a register you over here looks like you're shopping and you're getting irritated but you're not even in the right position how are you mad that the that that the the clerk isn't acknowledging you when you're not in the right position if you if you would get in front of that register you would signal and so i became the mediator the the solution was right there and the person that needed the solution was over here and so i told the one right here hold on a minute and i said sir and i got the ones that i said she needs help and then they got together like that's what jesus did because i wasn't in the right position to receive from god but jesus didn't just watch me over there wondering wondering why i couldn't get no help he came in to mediate but what i told the middle and high schoolers and the elementary kids today was that when you get in the right position that's when god is able to distribute that's when he's able to release that's when he's able to show you his power he can't do it when you're out of position and my point of even bringing all this up is is until we get under his word until we get in his word how can we really receive what he has for us and my concern today is that the church has gotten in all these other cultural things worldly things but we're not positioned at the feet of jesus we're not positioned under the authority of his word and is it any wonder that we are experiencing the disconnect that we have in our lives we're not getting in the right place be still and know that i'm god position yourself and you'll know who i am get in the right position and there shouldn't be any other position for a believer than underneath the authority of his word hallelujah all right see there how y'all doing i was gonna read this and be done second timothy three there say amen verse 13 but evil men in seducer shall wax worse and worse deceiving and being deceived that's the world we're living in deceiving and being deceived it's only going to get worse we keep thinking oh it's going to get better now it's only going to get worse god told us it's gonna get worse what do i do in the middle of a crooked messed up dark world what do i do verse 14 continue in the things you have learned and been assured of knowing of whom you have learned them that from a child you knew the holy scriptures you knew the what holy scriptures which are able to make the wise unto salvation salvation so tyria that's the greek word deliverance healing safety preservation redemption salvation through faith which is in christ jesus all scripture genesis malachi everything in between matthew to revelation all scripture is given by inspiration of god god breathed god inspired that that that that that word in the original language is is pneuma and it's where we get the word pneumonia and it speaks of breath god breathed this word that these words are filled with his spirit and his power he breathed these words you can't utter a word without giving a breath god breathed his words into manifestation and the word says here that all scripture is god breathed god breathed inspired of god and what do we need it for why do i need to be under it why should i be positioned in it here's why verse 16. it is profitable for doctrine what's doctrine teaching that that's what i use it for to be taught it is profitable for reproof for correction and for instruction in righteousness that the man or woman of god may be perfect thoroughly furnished unto all good works to in what context is he saying this he's saying this in the context of verse 13 that evil men and seducers will only get worse deceiving and being deceived but what are we supposed to do as the church continue in what we've learned continue in what the scriptures don't ever don't ever leave don't ever abandon the authority of the scriptures no matter what the world does don't leave the truth don't leave the authority of the word of god that's what he's saying here how in the world the church is going to hold a meeting and say well you know the world's changing so so we need to change our doctrine if we're going to get the world in here you must be out of your mind how you going to vote on what god already legislated he's not going to change what he said and we would be wise to get under the authority of his word amen let me pray for you father we thank you for your word and father i pray in this moment in this atmosphere that lord there would be a conviction a conviction to position ourselves in your word if we've left your word if we've left it in our personal lives if we've left it in our devotion in our meditation give us a conviction to get back father i pray for teachers ministers missionaries evangelists pastors that might be here or watching this live stream and i pray for my own life that we would never leave scripture that we'd never write sermons that weren't based on scripture that we never write curriculums that were not founded in scripture well we thank you today for every bible believing parent teacher mom dad aunt uncle grandparent that taught us your word that planted your word in our lives and that that word that's been planted in our lives will never return to you void in a world that is deceived that is deceiving [Music] father i pray that you would draw your church back to the authority of your word to never abandon the truth that makes us free we thank you for jesus your manifested word the proof the evidence that you are who you say you are the fulfillment of all law all prophecy your son jesus who died for our sins as we open your word father may we see him in ways we've never seen him before in jesus name with every head bowel just for a moment i want you to think about something then i'll pray with you and we'll be dismissed but i want you to think about this the church was built on two questions in matthew 16. jesus asked his disciples who do you say i am and then he said first he said who do they say i am then he asks who do you say i am who do they say i am who does the world say i am who do you say i am the church was built on those two questions and we cannot resolve what an unbelieving world in darkness believes about jesus when we ourselves don't know what we believe to bridge the gap and to be the church that god has called us to be we have to know the truth we have to know his word i invite you to pray with me heavenly father i've heard your word and you've said faith comes by hearing i receive that faith [Music] i believe that your word is true that you sent your son to die for the sins of the world that you raised him from the dead that whosoever would call upon the name of the lord would be saved thank you for that faith [Music] and i ask by the power of your spirit that you would draw me closer to the truth of your word that you would reveal to me the scriptures and their power and authority that i would be wise unto salvation [Music] and by the power of your spirit use me to intercede to pray your word to stand in faith to be a minister of the truth not by might not by power but by your spirit [Music] remind me this week when i get too busy to be still to position myself in your word that i might receive from you in jesus name amen [Music]

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Id: U-640870-pk

Length: 66min 10sec (3970 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 05 2021