The Case For Christ | Jerry Harris

Good morning Crossing Church. How are you doing today?

It's so good here at 48th Street to see the place packed.

Always love. Seeing that welcome.

All of the other campuses that are joining with us, we have the

opportunity to be a family of Believers and I don't know if

you saw this or if you look around and like, you know, kind

of let yourself out of worship for a little bit and just kind

of look around you. And I don't know if it's that

way everywhere else but you know what, I see a lot at 48.

Sure, I see this. You guys are good at swaying.

You kind of got the sway down and and I think that's awesome

because there's something about worship.

That is very emotional, isn't it kind of hits you in a kind of a

deep level like the center of yourself and you can't help but

have a response to it like an emotional response and I think

that that is just so awesome. But you're not just an emotional

person, are you? I think some people think that,

you know, when it comes to Faith, you know, that's just

this thing, we feel, it's just this, you know, we kind of have

this Faith thing going on and I feel the presence of God and so

because I feel it, it's real. But you're not just an emotional

person. You're also an intellectual

person, you're a thinking person.

Right? And those two things need to

come together and I think that as a church, we do really well

when it comes to those emotional responses and getting in touch

with our faith feelings, but I think we have to have a ready

answer for the hope that is within us, we have to engage our

minds. God gave us our minds and he

didn't give them to us so that we would turn them off and

that's why we're in the series called if And what if is about

is, it's about understanding apologetically what the Bible

says. And what I mean by that is to

have a defense for what you believe that is, is not just an

emotional one, but an intellectual one to give you

solid reasons to know what you believe about God.

What you believe about the Bible, what you believe about

Jesus and about your place in this world.

And to understand that from a reasonable standpoint.

So just to review, Clayton started us off Easter weekend

with proof that Jesus was a real person who claimed to be God in

human form and fulfilled. All that was foretold about him

and paid for all of our sins when he died on the cross and

gave us Life by rising from the dead, our second week.

We were treated with a guest appearance by Ken Ham who helped

us? Understand that a person of

Faith does not require that person to be unscientific, or to

believe in fairy tales. And the only just briefly

touched on such a great amount of evidence that shows the

science that backs up all of that narrative in the Bible so

that you don't have to turn your brain off to understand that

it's inspired by God. The only reason we don't know

that is that when we grow up in school, the separation of

church, Church and state won't allow you to learn about

intelligent design one. Allow you to learn about God's

role in creation, And so what is supposed to be understood?

As a theory which actually is a much more of a fairytale than

you might think we're indoctrinated to believe that?

But the truth of God's word will bear that out.

Scientifically if you're exposed to that information last week, I

talked about how the Bible is, historically credible and

reliable. And by that, I mean that it was

written by those who say they wrote it and it was copied

carefully and correctly until now so that you can depend on

it, you are actually reading what they wrote.

And the understanding that that was actually inspired by God

that they moved as God directed them.

What I want to do today is kind of pull all that together.

And the kind of use a legal term, to put the burden of proof

on us. Can you prove can I prove Beyond

a reasonable doubt? That Jesus is actually who he

says he is and did what the Bible says he did.

Can I actually trust that what? I'm reading there is true so

that I would stake my whole life on it.

And I'll tell you that not only do I believe that, but I

actually think that you have to have a whole lot more faith to

believe in any other alternative than, to believe.

The Bible is true because all of the real evidence points there

The way I'm going to try to to do that today is by using a

theory of probability called. Occam's razor now.

What Occam's razor is? I know that's kind of that

sounds kind of highbrow, but what it is is this, it's this

philosophical idea that if there are multiple explanations for

just Oracle event, the simplest one is probably the true one.

Okay, lots of different explanations of what I'm going

to do is I'm going to give you every kind of explanation that I

can think of. And if you're if you have

another one, I'd like to hear it because I'm going to go through

all of them. And I'm going to show you that

it takes an incredible amount of Faith to believe in those.

And the simplest one is, in fact, the true one.

So here's the first one, okay? And and even though he didn't

dwell on it, Clayton talked about it on Easter weekend and

it's this that Jesus never really existed.

That he was a mythological character, like an avatar that

was created by these authors to kind of show us what a good life

looks like or maybe even to manipulate people.

Now, this one to me, has a lot of personal implications because

I remember when I went to college, I went to Indiana

University before I went to Bible College and it was my

freshman year and I was looking for a couple of easy credits.

You I mean, like because I knew that some of the classes I was

going to take, we're going to be hard and I was looking for an

easy one and in the in the course, curriculum, I could take

as an elective The Life of Christ in the synoptic gospels.

That's Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And I thought, oh yeah.

All that. By all that Sunday school time.

All that Church times about to pay off.

I'm going to get these credits. It's going to be easy.

And I went to that class in the very first day that I went to

that class the professor stood up and he said, I want you to

know that my point of view as we go through this class is that I

believe that Jesus Christ was not a historical figure.

That he was a mythological character.

So not really someone you can put your faith in just a good

just a good mythological example and I went and I deflate it

because I'm going man. I thought I was going to get

some easy credit here. And it didn't take long in that

class for me to realize. The best thing I could do is

Drop It. Because I just went adding, we

went at each other and and you know in college if you don't

regurgitate what the professor says it's going to get you into

trouble with your grades. So I didn't really want to stay

there but I can tell you a little bit of what I said kind

of in short form and that's this three historians wrote about

Jesus that were contemporary with Jesus.

They lived at nearly the same time Jesus did.

And the three historians that I'm going to talk to you about.

None of them believed that Jesus was who he said he was now, why

the world will historian right about a person that he didn't

believe actually existed at the time?

Doesn't make a lot of sense. Does it the first one was a man

named Josephus. He's probably the most famous of

the three and Josephus was a Jewish historian who was writing

under Emperor. Vespasian, who was the Roman

Emperor at the time, wanted him to write this.

He had written a book called Wars of the Jews.

He also wrote one called Antiquities of the Jews, and

this is in that book Antiquities of the Jews and it was written

at 94 ad. So, how close is that to Jesus?

I mean, not very far right? Like 60 years from the

resurrection of Jesus. And even though he wasn't a

Christian, he wrote about Jesus crucifixion about Pontius Pilate

about Jesus. Resurrection about John the

Baptist, that's a lot right there.

Jesus is half-brother James wrote about him and the death of

the Apostle James, a different James.

Well, that's a pretty good historical argument, right?

But he wasn't the only one, there was a second, one named

tacitus. Who was a Roman historian, not a

Christian, he wrote A History called annals in 116 ad and he

wrote about Jesus, his crucifixion, Pontius Pilate and

the life of early Christians. Even though he himself, was not

a Christian, a third historian by the name of Pliny did write

history. But what's more interesting

about? This guy is a personal letter

that he wrote the emperor. Er er at that time the emperor's

name was trajan and he wrote this in 112 ad trying to figure

out how to deal with the Christians in his area.

He was a governor of a Roman province in what is now turkey,

and here's a quote of what he wrote to trajan.

They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day

before. It was light, when they sang, an

alternate versus a him to Christ as to a God and themselves by a

solemn party to not, do any wicked.

Deeds never to commit any fraud theft or adultery to never

falsify their word or deny a trust when they should be called

upon deliver it up after, which it was their custom to separate.

8 and then reassemble to partake of food, but food of an or an

ordinary and innocent kind. So, when you have that kind of

historical provenance, it's pretty hard to say.

I don't really believe that Jesus was in historical person.

As a matter of fact, it takes a great deal of Faith to say, he

was not a historical person, an incredible amount of Faith, a

fairytale amount of faith. And if I run that through the

filter of Occam's razor, I'm going that's just not a good

explanation. Well, how about this one?

Jesus was a good teacher, just not the son of God.

Maybe that one because this is what modern Jewish culture

believes. Like people that some of us

might listen to like Ben Shapiro.

This is what he believes that Jesus was a good teacher.

And he'll say this, just not the Son of God.

Well, as c.s. Lewis puts it, that just doesn't

make any sense. And I'll tell you why, because

Jesus repeatedly claimed to be the Son of God and to do things

like the forgive sins, that only God can do.

Now if a person is pathologically lying to you all

the time about who he is, how in the world, can he be a good

teacher? He might be a teacher but he's

certainly not good. He would be instead called a

what a false teacher. So it just doesn't hold any

water to say that. Jesus was a good teacher kind of

throwing Christians a bone here. No, it really doesn't.

So I don't think that one holds water, so let's push that one

through Occam's. Razor and go.

That's really privileged really. Not a good option and you takes

an awful lot of faith to believe that.

Well, what if that opposite was true?

What if Jesus was a liar or just nuts?

Just delusional. Just a guy who just wanted to be

this other thing. Well, both of those are going to

be disproven by the resurrection, but let's not go

there yet because of Jesus was a liar.

Someone certainly would have been able to point it out

because he was under constant scrutiny and he was constantly

being questioned, but he never faulted, not even once and even

when it went to the extreme of going on trial.

Don't you think that a person who's a liar when he, when he's

on trial for his life? Wife would say, sorry, guys.

Made it all up. You know, I really didn't mean

this. You know, to the best of my

recollection would be like one of these Senate hearings or

something. You know.

I don't have a recollection of that now.

I think it would be more like that, but here he is on trial

and he's calmly saying exactly the same thing.

Well, then they turn him over to the Romans to beat him nearly to

death with the scourge. You think maybe that didn't

break the liar know, He just holds right onto it how about

when they're getting ready to put him on a cross, even while

the guy is dying being tortured on a cross, he's still

everything he was before calmly telling the truth about who he

is. Do you really want me to

believe? That he was lying.

Maybe, maybe it's not that. Maybe he's delusional, maybe

he's just nuts. The pressure, I want you to

think something the pressure that this man was under was

constant. He was, and that kind of

pressure, and all of that. All right, questioning would

have surely exposed a delusional person.

Modern-day cult leaders, always show their inconsistency.

And I believe that Jesus is suffering and death would have

certainly exposed the reality that he was not in his right

mind. If, in fact, he was not In his

right mind, I don't think that one Bears.

The smell test passes, the smell test either.

Well, how about this one other one, this is one that that

Clayton shared just for a short period on Easter and that is

that Jesus didn't really die. He just fainted Now that became

a popular theory in 1965 because there was a theologian named

Hugh. Schoenfeld that wrote a book in

1965 is a best seller was called the Passover plot.

And the Passover plot was all about this idea is called the

Swoon theory that Jesus fainted. And when he went after, they

took him off the cross and laid him in the Tomb he comes to And

then gets out of the Tomb and shows himself alive to

everybody. This one is the one that you

have to be absolutely Bonkers to believe it is.

It is the most ridiculous of all the options.

That's what you to think about this for a little bit.

Romans soldiers are experts at execution.

It's a matter of fact, the detail that was responsible for

Jesus execution. That's probably just what they

did. They were the execution detail.

So they knew how to kill people. As a matter of fact with

crucifixion, it really wasn't about killing someone.

It was about keeping them alive. As long as you could.

In the most Agony, you could. And they were always crucified

in a very public. Place to put fear into other

people who would defy the Roman government.

Jesus was crucified at a Crossroads.

Okay, so they knew what they were doing, and it wasn't just

his crucifixion. It was what they did after he

died. The Bible says that he gave up

his Spirit. He died.

And then they took a spear and put it up underneath his rib

cage into his vital organs. And the Bible says, and he

doesn't say it in this way, but that his blood had divided into

plasma and red cells, blood and water came out.

That means that it was a post-mortem wound.

He had already died and then they take him off the cross.

Now, do you think that Roman Executioner's would be really

polite when they would take a body off a cross?

Do you think would be like be careful when you pry out those

nails? I don't think they pry them out

at all. I think they just pulled him

off. And then they give them to

Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, right?

And and Joseph of Arimathea has the tomb and they take Jesus and

put him in the Tomb. The women didn't know this, but

they had prepared his body, they had, they had wrapped his body

and his face, and they had put the spices on his body, to keep

the smell down of decay. And then a stone was rolled in

front of the Tomb and those stones are on inclines because

people they don't want, they don't want people robbing tombs

and you can see them in Israel today they're on an incline.

Like in a trough a role in a trough and then there's like

this little indention at the bottom.

That locks that stone into place average Stone weighs about 4

tons. About 8,000 pounds.

Okay? So they put Jesus in the Tomb,

they wrap him up, they put the stone over, right?

They leave Roman Detachment of soldiers, come.

They put a seal on the tomb and then there's a Detachment of

soldiers to stand, watch over it.

Now, what schoenfeld wants you to believe is that after

enduring all that Jesus, endured he wakes up in the Tomb.

Takes the time in total darkness to fold his grave clothes.

Walks up to a 4 ton Stone, that's on the outside, not the

inside. And with his nail-pierced hands,

the palms of his hands somehow, he is able to roll a 4 ton Stone

Away by himself up, a hill, breaking a seal, and doing it.

So quietly, That the Detachment of soldiers outside that on pain

of death, had to have to guard this tomb, don't hear him.

And then on his nail pierced feet, he tiptoes away And then

goes to the upper room, couple of miles away and goes, hey

guys. What kind of Faith does it take

for you to believe that cockamamie story?

A lot. So, how about this?

Jesus died. Okay.

All right. But his body was stolen.

Now, that's a, that's another crazy.

Almost as crazy as the Passover plot.

Except for it needs to be mentioned because of what the

Bible says. In Matthew 28 So, you know, like

in our government the only thing worse than the crime is the

what? It's the cover-up.

Right, here we go. While the women were on their

way, some of the guards went into the city.

These are the guards that were standing watch over the tomb,

when the resurrection happens and some of them actually

fainted and some of them ran and it says, they reported to the

chief priests everything that had happened.

And when the chief priests met with the elders and devised a

plan, this is their plan. This is her cover up plan.

They gave the soldiers, a large sum of money.

It always begins with the money, right?

So they give them money and they telling them you are to say his

disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were

asleep, which is kind of interesting how you can testify

to, a particular fact, when you're asleep.

But that's what they were supposed to say.

Well, that's a dumb thing to do, if you're a guard because you

are summarily executed, if somebody is able to steal a body

that you're in charge of protecting, And then they say

this in verse 14, if this report gets to the governor, we will

satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.

So this isn't this is bribery, this is cover up.

This is all of that, right? So verse 15 says, the soldiers,

took the money and did as they were instructed.

And this story here it is, has been widely circulated among the

Jews to this very day as ridiculous as of an idea, is

that is of an option, is that is it was the one they decided to

go with. Think about the Apostle stealing

this body, these guys, the apostles are hiding they're

scared to death, they don't get boldness until later.

I mean there and you think that they're going to sneak up In

this Garden where Jesus is buried and somehow get past the

guards in a right in front somehow break.

The seal somehow roll a 4 ton Stone away, it makes a lot of

noise by the way, and chalk that stone.

So it doesn't roll back tiptoe into the tomb.

Take the time to fold the grave clothes, take Jesus body.

I don't know if they, you know, over the shoulder or what and

get past all of those other guys with Without being noticed.

You see, it's ridiculous. Okay, maybe there's I can only

think of one more, okay, one more option and that is that you

really can't trust the Bible and its account of the story.

Well, I think last week should have already kind of finished

that argument in your mind. But if you weren't here, the

Bible is the most reliable ancient document in the world.

There are over 24,000 handwritten copies of it, over

5,000 of them. In ancient, Greek.

And the closest competitor of an ancient document is Homer's

Iliad, and they're only 650 of it.

So there's just no comparison when it comes to historical

Providence of God's word. See the books of the New

Testament were written at the time, when many of the people

who were witnessing these things, we're still alive in

Jerusalem and there were hundreds of them.

So if you're writing something that's a complete fantasy,

anybody could have come up and said that's not true.

That didn't happen. It was nothing like that but you

don't read any of that. Historically.

So what are you left with? Now, I'm going to go over them

real quick, ready? Jesus never existed.

Okay. Jesus existed, but he was just a

good teacher. Okay.

Well, Jesus wasn't a good teacher but he was just a liar,

okay? Jesus wasn't a liar, but he was

just, you know delusional. Sorry, Jesus, never actually

died. He just fainted and people used

it. No, that doesn't work.

Jesus has died, but his body was stolen.

No, you really can't even trust the Bible on this one.

Sorry. What are you left with?

You are left with either trying to apply a ridiculous amount of

Faith to any one of those, that makes no sense whatsoever, or

following Occam's razor razor, which is the simplest

explanation is probably the truth.

And that is Jesus is exactly who he said he was just as simple as

that. And you think I'm done and I'm

not even close. Ready in Acts. 13, Luke is

writing about this. He says, after his suffering, he

presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs.

That he was alive. Here's a dozen of them very

quickly, everything that Jesus did and dying on the cross and

rising from the dead. He spoke about all of those

things, claim them before any of it happened, right?

Here's one. Here's another one.

The first Witnesses of the Resurrection were women, there

were six of them and if you're trying to prove something to the

local masses at the time you wouldn't use women because they

were not allowed to even testify in court.

And yet, God chose that and to me, when I read the scripture

account, I'm going that is also proof.

How about the conversion of Saul of Tarsus a guy who committed

his life to wiping out Christianity.

Christianity becomes the greatest proponent of

Christianity, how about the conversion of Jesus?

Half-brother James, who thought his brother was crazy until he

experienced the resurrection of his of his older brother, and

then became the writer that we know for The Book of James in

our new testament. What about the immediate change

in worship? Of something that had been held

onto for 1500 years from Saturday to Sunday from the

Sabbath to the Lord's day. You think you can move an entire

culture of people to change that overnight and yet they did?

How about the birth of the church?

All being a bunch of monotheistic juice.

You know all of the original Believers on the day of

Pentecost, they were all Jewish right?

And if you ever if you get to know a Jewish person, if they

follow their faith, Most of them will have what's called a

mezuzah outside their home on the doorpost of their home.

It's a little tin thing or maybe a ceramic and inside there's a

scroll it has the Shema of Israel hear o Israel.

The Lord Our God. The Lord is one.

And the reason that Jewish people don't like Christianity's

because they think we believe in three Gods, father, son, Holy

Spirit. We don't we believe in one God

that exists in three persons. How do you explain all of these

Jewish people saying, I'm going to throw away that view of

monotheism because I believe in Jesus all at once.

How about the fact that there was no, contrary evidence found,

even though people desperately looked for it, how about the

fact that it was proclaimed in Jerusalem, it began there, where

it actually happened, where people would have been easily

able to refute it if it didn't happen.

How do you explain a tomb being empty?

What about the transformation of the disciples from being so

fearful and hiding to being willing to go into martyrdom?

What about the immediate proclamation of this truth?

Only 50 days after his death on the day of Pentecost in

Jerusalem, And what about the fact that the disciples all

claim that they witness this empirically with their eyes,

they saw him, they heard him, they touched him.

There's a dozen I could go on, maybe that's enough.

Oh no, it's not beyond the simple.

Logic of all that we have. All of these prophecies

concerning Jesus from the Old Testament, that could not be

faked or manipulated the Hebrew Old Testaments called the Tanakh

it existed for hundreds and hundreds of years.

It was translated into Greek in Alexandria, Egypt into What's

called the Septuagint. And that was over 300 years.

Before Jesus was born pretty hard to change, documents that

existed, 300 years before you were born.

Right? And so, when we look at Old

Testament prophecy, what do we see a thousand years?

That's a long time, a thousand years before Jesus was born

King, David described this in Psalm 22, Psalm 23 is the most

famous song but he said this in Psalm 22.

Listen to verses 1 and 2. My God my God.

Why have you forsaken me? Wait a minute.

If I heard that, there's somebody else say that.

Why are you so far from saving me so far from My Cries of

Anguish? My God.

I cry out by day, but you do not answer by night.

I find no rest. Well, maybe King.

David was just having a bad day. Maybe there isn't anything

prophetic in that at all? Well, how about we go down to

verse 6, but I'm a worm and not a man scorned by everyone

despised by the people. All who see me mock me.

They hurl insults at me, shaking their heads, wait a minute, he's

the king for goodness sake. They don't do that to him.

He trusts in the Lord, they say, let the Lord rescue him.

Let him deliver him since he Delights in him still

unconvinced verse 12, many bulls surround me, strong Bulls of

Bashan, encircle me roaring lions, that tear, their prey

open, their prey open, their mouths wide against me.

I am poured out like water, all my bones are out of joint.

My heart is turned to wax. It is melted within me.

My mouth is dried up like a potsherd.

It's a broken piece of pottery. My tongue sticks to the roof of

my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death.

Dogs around me. Me, a pack of villains and

circle me. Listen, they pierced my hands

and my feet. All my bones are on display,

people stare and gloat over me. They divided my clothes, among

them and cast. Lots for my garment, a thousand

years before Jesus was born. when that when death by

crucifixion didn't even hadn't even invented yet, Let's go 300

years into the future, 700 BC written by Isaiah chapter 53,

Isaiah 53 · chapter mention

who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord

been revealed. He grew up before him as a

tender shoot like a root out of the dry ground.

He had no Beauty. Your majesty to attract us to

him nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by mankind.

A man of suffering and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces.

He was despised and we held him in low esteem.

Surely took up our pain and bore our suffering.

Yet, we considered him punished by God, stricken by him and

Afflicted. Here it is again, 700 years.

Before Jesus is born, he was pierced for our transgressions.

He was crushed for our iniquities.

The punishment that brought us. Peace was upon him by his

wounds. We are healed.

We all like, sheep have gone astray.

Each of us has turned to his own way and the lord has laid on

him. The iniquity of us all that

sounds like the gospel to me and if you aren't it, if you're

going okay, well that's death. But where's life?

Where's the resurrection? Just go down to verse 10.

Yet. It was the Lord's will to crush

him and cause him to suffer. And though, the Lord makes his

life and offering for sin, he will see his offspring and

prolong his days and the will of the Lord will prosper in his

hand. After he has suffered, he will

see the light of life and be satisfied.

That's the resurrection by his knowledge.

My righteous servant will justify many and he will bear

their iniquities. Therefore, I will give him a

portion among the great, and he will divide this.

The spoils with the strong because he poured out his life

unto death and was numbered with the transgression transgressors

for. He bore the sins of many and

made intercession. Golly.

The odds of Jesus fulfilling 8 prophecies about hit of his

birth. Something he or his followers

couldn't control the mathematical probability of that

is 1 times 10 to the 28th power. That means one chance in 10 and

in 28, more zeros. I don't even know what the word

is for that number. I don't think you do either but

Jesus didn't fulfill 8 prophecies.

He fulfilled over 300 of them. So what is the problem?

It's certainly not the truth of Jesus.

You know what it is and so do I. It's the ramifications of that

truth because it will affect your life because if Jesus is

who he says he is Then I am who he says I am.

If Jesus is who he says he is, then I have a sin problem.

And I have an eternity problem, and I also have a will problem.

Now, my problems have a solution but there is an Incredible cost

associated with that solution. That solution was Jesus taking

my place in paying my debt. On the cross to set me free, his

blood covering my sin. That truth tells me that Jesus

knows exactly who I am. And he still loves me.

Loves me enough to solve my sin problem for me by taking my

place on the cross and paying for my sin.

He also solves my eternity problem.

He did that by rising from the dead because the power of Jesus

to rise from the dead isn't just a show us that he has power

over. His own death, is to show us

that he has power over death itself, which means he can give

you life. Not just himself that you can

trust him to give you life. But I also have a will problem.

You see his? It's not just my past, I don't

know about you. I'm not going to judge you but

I'll judge me. It's every day of my life.

And here's where it gets expensive for me.

Now while I cannot learn what Jesus did for me and I can only

receive it as a gift, I don't deserve it.

His expectation for me today and every day is to repent of my

sins and to turn and follow him. That means to abandon my will

and to surrender to his will. And I'm going to tell you

something that's hard to do. And most of the time, I don't

want to. I want my will to Prevail, not

his. So in a lot of human beings in

their brains, they're going to give me another look at that

list. Which one is the least

ridiculous? Because I would rather believe

that then to believe the truth, because if I believe the truth,

it's going to have a major impact on my life.

That maybe I don't want it to have.

Maybe I'd rather believe in something silly.

Then to surrender to what is obvious.

And that my friend is the real issue.

It's the real issue to all of us.

The question isn't whether it's true or not?

The question really isn't? Whether I can prove it or not.

The question is whether or not you can believe it.

And trust your life. To the life of Jesus who gave it

for you. We're moving to a time of

decision. I started the sermon this

morning by talking about a swing.

And feelings. And we all have I think it's

great that we have those feelings.

And I think, right now, we're in a time in a space in American

culture where we're all trying to get in touch with our

feelings, Feelings in many people's hearts Trump's truth.

Like I don't know that you know because now I live in a post

truth culture where that's my truth as opposed to your truth.

Like we can all have a different truth Like, truth isn't static.

And so for some of you when it comes to issues of Faith, you're

just fine because you have this emotional attachment to it and

you know, it's that Sway in the song and you're kind of going.

Yeah, it feels good to have a relation, I believe it, you

know. And maybe my mind will catch up

with my feelings but there's some of you may be many of you

that are here today that are the reverse That you're more, the

intellectual. Show me.

Prove it to me give me good reasons, my mind matters to me

and maybe I will let my feelings.

Move after I feel like I can stand firm on those facts.

That's what this series is about.

Because as an individual, you are not one or the other.

You're not an all feelings person and you're not an all

intellectual person you're both, aren't you?

Both of those that realities are woven together in your mind and

in your heart. That if I believe something is

true, it ought to impact how I feel about it.

And if I feel something is true, it ought to impact.

What I think about it. And I'm here to tell you today,

if you're here, and you do not have an intimate personal

relationship with Jesus Christ, you can stand on that, it's not

shifting sand. It's not a Pious platitude.

It's real and you can stand on it.

Let your mind go first and then let feelings follow it up.

If you're here today and I, you know, I hear people say this to

me like that they come to the crossing and they'll come up to

me later. I just had a person last week.

Do this come up to me and said I was crying.

I don't even know why, I'm not even sad because something's

happening inside me. That's not just me.

There's feelings happening, right?

You may be feeling that maybe your mind needs to catch up with

your feelings. I'm just saying.

Come to Christ. You can trust him, you can

believe him and you can believe in him.

There's going to be somebody right over there.

By that baptistery would love nothing more than to talk to you

about next steps, what it means to come into relationship with

Jesus, many of you here today and you say, well, you know, I

made that relationship. I, I walked into that

relationship, I accepted that invitation.

I've done that but Isn't it true?

That sometimes the lower story gets the best of you. and

sometimes you start wondering and you start questioning and

you start going his all of this real Do I really have something

to stand on here? And I think it's times like that

with all of our incredible intellect that we just come up

like a little child, And remember, be reminded.

Who he is? And how he sees you as a child

and loves you. To just relax for some people at

church right now. This is like the most difficult

time. It's like confrontational there

doesn't need to be confrontation In This Moment.

There just needs to be surrender.

And you know what? We can relax in that.

Because the one we surrender to doesn't mean us harm.

He loves us. To surrender to someone who

loves you enough to die for you. That's good surrender.

And that's what these steps are for for you to come up here and

just lay it down, whatever it is, just lay it down.

Let him have it. And walk away.

Lighter. To surrender to someone who

loves you enough to die for you. That's good surrender.

And that's what these steps are for for you to come up here and

just lay it down, whatever it is, just lay it down.

Let him have it. And walk away.

Lighter.