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Mark 4:26-29 – 26 Jesus also said, "The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, while he's asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. 28 The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. 29 And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come."
Church Picnic Today! When: After Service Where: Stuart Park Recreation Area @ Group Shelter GS2
Summit Church Directions to Stuart Park Recreation Area • Turn left/East on US 33 (from church) @ McDonald’s & Kroger’s intersection. • Go East for approx. 4 miles and turn left onto Old Route 33 (Kelly Mtn. Road is to the right). • Travel for 2 miles (crossing Shaver’s Fork River) & turn left @ Stuart Park’s directional sign. • Follow signs to Picnic Group Shelter # 2.
The Counterfeiter • They called him the Picasso of counterfeiters. • He said: I defy you to tell the difference between these two bills. • The treasury agent didn’t argue with him. • I don’t have to. The one you copied is fake too. • Many believers do this today. • They hear what society is saying about their faith, and they gradually begin to accept it. • We are bombarded on all sides with voices questioning what we believe.
It’s a slow process but eventually some accept a man-made counterfeit. • Part of the problem is that we don’t know how to articulate our faith when we are challenged. • Because of that, we begin to question our faith. • At least, compartmentalize faith from science. • A frog in water . . . • Recently, I heard about a conversation between 2 young men. • One, Tony, is a believer, but Clay is not. • Their conversation went something like this:
Clay: You don’t really buy that stuff about Jesus dying and coming back to life again?! • Tony, swallowing hard and trying to sound confident, responded: • Why don’t you tell me what you believe, Clay? Then I will give you reasons for what I believe. • Tony did the right thing because many challenge the Christian Faith without 1st considering what they believe and why.
I want to suggest that the Bible is the most powerful book ever written. • It has the power to transform your life. • And, to give you what you need to stand strong for the Lord in the face of opposition. • The more than 7,000 promises found within its pages are just as applicable today as they were when they were 1st written!
There are many people in our culture who are questioning our faith at the very least to being downright antagonistic toward it at the most. • The questions many ask: • Is God real? • Is He trustworthy? • Is Jesus really the Son of God? • Did He really die on the cross and rise from the dead? • Is the Bible Reliable?
These are questions which most of us here have settled personally. • But, you may not be able to articulate it in clear, well-defined answers when challenged. • This series has been designed to help you be able to defend your faith when questioned. • You will encounter these questions or a variation of them sometime in your life. • This is especially true for our young people. • But, parents and grandparents will have opportunities as well.
Are you ready to defend your faith? • It may surprise you that the Bible mandates us to be able to give a defense for our faith when challenged. 1 Peter 3:15 – . . . Always be prepared to give an answer [defense] to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. (NIV)
This verse tells us 2 things: • Be Prepared – Peter clearly admonishes us to be ready when questioned about our faith. • We need to know why we believe what we believe. • In this hour, we need to be solidly grounded in our faith.
Just about everywhere you turn, there are negative vibes about the Christian Faith: • School and university teachers usually have nothing but negative things to say. • The more liberal news outlets rarely mention Christianity unless to mock it. • Few have witnessed true examples of Jesus, so they are turned off by our preaching.
But do this with gentleness and respect. • How you say your answer is as important as what you say. • This is a point that is at loss on some people. • When questioned, many become defensive and hostile. • Their nostrils flare and their faces grow red.
But: the most convincing proof you can give someone is with your life. • A life that shines love will speak quicker than all the logical arguments in the world. • You’re not responsible for them receiving Jesus. • But, you are responsible for presenting Him in a loving manner. • You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. • But, you can put salt in his oats. • Your life is the salt that makes them thirst.
A leader of a large Hindu caste in India who decided to change religions. • After his investigation, he decided to lead his people toward Buddhism. • This was his reason: Although I believe Jesus is the Truth, I have not found one of His followers who are truly living His teachings. • This proves the point that our lives speak more loudly than our words.
About 10 years ago, the 3rd most powerful leader among the Kurdish people stated: • Get ready for a major religious shift among the Kurdish people from Islam to Christianity. • Why? • During a major natural disaster in northern Iraq, it was Christian relief agencies who brought food, shelter and medical aid. • Not one Muslim agency lifted a finger to help them. • Once again, our lives of love speak much louder than our words.
The Bible is totally reliable for you to live your life by and to trust in its teachings and what it promises. • How can you expect to receive the blessings of God’s promises if you are always questioning whether they are true or not? • You need to settle the issue in your own heart! • Both God and His Word are trustworthy and reliable!
2 Timothy 3:16-17 – All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.17 God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work. • What I believe is not based on man’s opinion, but on what the Word of God teaches.
2 Peter 1:19-21– 19 Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet's own understanding, 21 or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.
The Bible was inspired by God and is without error. • These are claims that the Bible makes about itself. • These are the very Words of God Himself! • My faith is not based on man’s opinions which change, but on the Bible which never changes.
Deception is certainly the work of this age. • When people don’t know the truth, they are easily deceived. • Popular culture has created a god in its own image. • Instead of God creating us in His image. • When you do this, you come up with some goofy ideas about life, where we are headed, and where we originated from.
Everyone has their own opinions. • On what do they base their opinions? • What someone else says? • It just sounds good? • This is where our culture is right now—creating God in its own image. • We don’t like the one that is presented by Christians, so we are going to create a new one. • We have a bunch of confused people who don’t know what they believe or why. • And they foolishly relish in attacking the only people who truly know the answer—Christians.
Refuting their arguments is actually easy. • Because at the very core most are simply deceived about the truth. • When you shine the truth on the lies, the lies will be exposed for what they are. • Deception is actually a spiritual entity that you have to pray is removed from their eyes. • It will cloud their perception of reality. • Intellectualism without faith has pride attached. • Intellect (only) + pride = deception
In this series, we are going to teach on the Top 10 Defenses to the Faith. • I am going to deal with each one individually. • Hopefully this will equip you to be ready to give a defense for your faith when asked. • You need to be armed with both the spiritual and intellectual.
How can you know for sure that anything is true? Is there such a thing as truth? • Remember that Pontus Pilate asked this to Jesus when He questioned Him: John 18:37-39 – 37 Pilate said, "So you are a king?" Jesus responded, "You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true." 38 "What is truth?" Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, "He is not guilty of any crime. (NLT)
What is truth? • This is a question that even people during Jesus’ day were asking. • Like many today, Pilate believed that truth is relative. • It is whatever the majority believes or whatever advances me in life. • There is no set standard of what is right and wrong. • Right is what feels good at the moment. • Many today even believe that truth cannot be known.
A fictional conversation from a novel The Quest illustrates this: • “I think truth is out there, somewhere. I just don’t think we can ever really know it.” • “You don’t think truth can be known or discovered?” • “No, I don’t.” • “Do you think that’s a true statement?” • I blinked, “What do you mean?” • “What you just agreed to: ‘I don’t think truth can known.’ Do you view that as a true statement?”
“Well, ye-eah,” I said slowly. Something didn’t sound right. • She smiled and leaned forward in her chair. She didn’t say anything, but looked at me like she was waiting for something. • It took a minute, but I finally realized what she was waiting for. “You’re saying that if I think that’s a true statement, then I’ve claimed to know something that is true . . . By saying truth can’t be known, I contradicted myself.” • “It’s called a self-refuting statement,” she said.
It’s like the college professor who proclaimed that there are no absolute right and wrongs. • Absolutely! • To declare there are no absolutes or there is no truth is actually an absolute and a truth. • You just have to show people how they contradict themselves. • At the core of this argument is the desire to live without any moral responsibility.
Conclusion • My goal this morning is to simply lay the foundation for dealing with the Top 10 Defenses of the Christian Faith. • My prayer is that when you are confronted with one of these myths, you will always be ready to give a defense for the hope that is within you. (1 Peter 3:15).
Not only that, I also pray that your own faith will be strengthened and reinforced. • Yes, you took a step of faith when you accepted Jesus, but it was not a blind leap of faith. • Neither did you have to check your brains at the door when you accepted Him. • Now, you will be armed to challenge all the lies that contradict the Word of God. • Your life is built on the real thing and not upon a counterfeit.
