Are people basically good?

(to listen to a podcast of this sermon, please visit www.pacificviewbaptist.com and click on "sermons" from the menu on the left.)

Frequently avoided questions of the Christian faith. (Are people basically good?) Do good people go to hell?

Intro…VIDEO of kids fighting…

• I know it sounds nice to say that we are all basically good, but everyone of us was born selfish. It is our natural tendency to sin.

Big Picture: Many present day philosophies and worldviews claim that people are basically good and that bad or immoral behavior is the exception. The Bible states quite the opposite - that people are selfish and sinful as soon as they are able to express that kind of behavior. Because of this fact, people need a Savior in order to be acceptable to God. In contrast, the implication of the "people are good" worldview is that good people don't need a Savior.

• I know that not everyone commits human atrocities; however, we see examples of it every day and throughout history.
• We can all think of numerous examples of how humans have mistreated each other since the beginning of time.
• And it all started with Adam and Eve…

Text: Genesis 3:1-13

Nugs from this passage and how they relate to the human condition:
v.1 Satan is crafty, deceitful and tricky.
• He’s always trying to get us to think we are better than we really are, that what we are doing “at least isn’t as bad as what he is doing.”
• Look at how he fooled Adam and Eve, v. 2
• “Did God actually say…” “Oh it will be ok, surely you won’t die…” completely contradicting God. Gen. 2:9, 15-16 v. 6-7

Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve and is passed down to each generation.
• Now before you get all freaked out over that…remember that there is a way out of the sin problem.
• Sin entering the world wasn’t a surprise to God…
• He had a plan all along for our redemption/making things right with God…Jesus.
• It’s really not worth trying to figure out why we have to deal with sin. That’s the way it is and there is a solution!

v. 12-13 Adam and Eve started sinning right away! (just like you and I would have)
• Shifting the blame, pointing fingers…just like little kids.
• He made me do it! It’s her fault!
• They are a fair representation of the human race.
• We all have the propensity to sin and make wrong choices.

For example:
• Marriage? A verbal promise is not enough; we need a contract.
• Home security? Doors are not enough; we have to lock and bolt them. Security systems etc.
• Riding the Coaster from Encinitas to Downtown? The payment of fares is not enough; tickets have to be issued, inspected and collected.
• Police officers? Law and order is not enough; we need the police to enforce them.
• Basketball referees calling technical fouls? We’d argue all day if there weren’t officials.
• All this is due to man's sin. We cannot trust each other. We need protection against one another. It is a terrible indictment of human nature."

But what about the person I know who is so-o nice and has never hurt anyone and in fact does more for people and the community than most Christians I know?
• Gandhi, (Hindu) Mother Theresa, (Catholic) or how about your neighbor.
• Someone like Gandhi or Mother Theresa acted more like a Christian than many Christians we know.

It all comes down to which scale of goodness you are using.
• On man’s scale of goodness, it’s not too hard to be good.
• What does it mean to be good according to human standards?
• On God’s scale, since he is perfect and holy and we’re not, we are not good. That’s just the way it is…

• According to God’s standards, we all need to repent and turn to God.
• “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

• Now that doesn’t mean we are awful, wicked people 24/7…
• But, sin entered the world through Adam and Eve and we will have to fight the tendency to sin our entire lives.

• (Isaiah 64:6) "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."

Do good people go to Hell? Do bad people go to heaven? Yes and No.
• There will be “good” people who will not end up in heaven.
• There will be “bad” people who end up in heaven…because of God’s mercy.

We may not be able to fully comprehend that, but it’s true.
• There is a tricky balance between someone who said the “sinners prayer,” and may or may not be saved and the moral “good” person who lives like Jesus.

• What is the real proof of the Christian life? Someone who lives like Jesus.

• We don’t receive Jesus with words alone. Jesus doesn’t become our “Lord and Savior” simple because we refer to him in those terms.

• Becoming a disciple of Jesus is a process that starts with acknowledging a need for God, recognizing your sinful nature, repenting of that and accepting Christ.


All you have to do is study the bible to see numerous examples of God’s justice and his mercy.
• Deut. 9:19 I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again the Lord listened to me.
• Isaiah 51:4-5 “Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: The law will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations. My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations.
• Isaiah 30:18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
• Psalm 33:5 “The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.”

We HAVE to emphasize both sides of God. They are equally important!
• I want to worship and serve a God who is wholly righteous and demands our best.
• It’s good when we recognize our need of God, where we fall short and to be humbled in his presence.

• 1 Tim. 1:15 “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.”

Conclusion: In a trial, in a small town the prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elder woman. He approached her and asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know me?” “Why yes, I do know you Mr. Williams. I’ve known you since you were a boy, and frankly, you’ve been a big disappointment to me. You lie, cheat on your wife, manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you are a big shot when you haven’t the brains to realize you’ll never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher.” The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?” She again replied, “Why yes I do. I’ve known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster too. He’s lazy, bigoted and has a drinking problem. He can’t maintain a normal relationship with anyone and his law practice is one of the worst in the state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. The defense attorney nearly died. The judge asked both counselors to approach the bench and said in a very quiet voice, “If either of you two idiots asks her is she knows me, I’ll send you both to the electric chair.”

Are Christians the morality police?

(to listen to a podcast of this sermon, please visit www.pacificviewbaptist.com and click on "sermons" from the menu on the left.)

Frequently avoided questions of the Christian faith.
“Are Christians the morality police?” John 4:7-26

Intro…Christine’s blog. “thoughts on church.”
• What happens when we encounter people who have a different set of beliefs than us?
• Can we treat them with respect?
• Is it our job to be the morality police?
• Should non-Christians adopt the moral values that apply to Christians?
• How much time are we allowed to spend with a “sinner” before another Christian will accuse you of being too tolerant or compromising?

Big Picture: When Jesus spent time with “sinners” he engaged them in conversation which helped them see their need for God. We would be wise to do the same thing.

Text: John 4:7-26

Jesus sets the example of how we should encounter “sinners.”
v. 4-6 Jesus broke cultural taboos.
• Jesus took the initiative to speak to a Samaritan woman…
• This was a huge break with culture and tradition.
• He spoke to a woman, (from the hated Samaritans) in public.
• This showed Jesus’ willingness to be with sinners, not so much as the “morality police” but as someone who cared about the deeper things in a person’s life.
• Who is someone you could talk to that would be a break with culture and tradition for you?
• I would hope that all of us are having regular conversations with people who don’t share the same religious views.
• We need to think through what language we use, not too much “Christianese.”
• Think about these words in a Christian context and what they mean to us vs. a non-Christian. Judge, preach, convert, crusader, proselytize, missionary, indoctrinate.
• What do you think of when you hear these words?
For many people outside the church, these words mean:
• judge (to determine that someone else is not as good as you are, to point out the faults is someone else while ignoring your own.)
• preach (to talk down to people, telling them what they ought to do)
• convert (to pressure someone to adopt your way of thinking, believing or living)
• crusader (someone who forces with the threat of violence someone else to accept his faith.)
• proselytize (to constantly attempt to either coerce or seduce others into our religion)
• missionary (someone who tries to destroy indigenous cultures in the attempt to Christianize or civilize those cultures)
• indoctrinate (to brainwash other people into a system on belief)

One of the reasons the Moral Majority failed to have a lasting influence in U.S. politics is because the true majority of Americans felt the leaders of the Moral Majority exemplified all of most of those characteristics.
• That is what my friend Christine is starting to feel about church…

So how do we communicate the truths of the bible without knocking people over or shoving it down their throats?
• I believe we can look to the example of Jesus in this story.
• Even though this woman had a whole list of stuff she’d done wrong, Jesus got to what was really important.
• (Divorced, been married 5 times, “Living in sin,” most likely a bunch of kids from different fathers, a social outcast, she came at midday to draw water because of her shame. Normally women would come to draw water in the morning or evening when it was cooler. This well was located at a major junction of ancient roads.)
• v. 16 “Go call your husband and come here.” NOT, “You did what?”
• It’s almost like Jesus is saying, “Yeah, yeah, I know what you did in the past, let’s talk about the really important stuff, where we go from here.”
• What we need to ask ourselves: “Is it my job to interfere with the process through which God is taking a person, or do we cooperate with God by showing them love and acceptance for who they are in that moment?
• When we look at all the things this woman at the well had done wrong, these are the kinds of lists we come up with for people and then stick them in certain categories. And if we’re not careful, that’s when we’re tempted to be the morality police.
• If all we are is the morality police and stay away from those we disagree with, than we won’t be nearly as effective as Jesus was when he associated and ate with sinners.

v. 9 Jesus spoke with someone who was despised. (Most Jews hated Samaritans.)
• Samaritans were considered by most Jews to be in a continual state of uncleanness.
• So drinking from this woman’s water jar would make a person unclean, yet that’s exactly what Jesus did.
• The phrase “have no dealings” could also have a more specific meaning of “share use of (things).”
• We need to be comfortable spending time with non-Christians without criticizing their language, habits, behavior, values and morals.
• When dealing with people who have opposing religious views, are we willing to set aside our bias and listen?
• We need to be careful that we don’t make judgments without first establishing rapport and credibility through friendship, conversations and other interactions.
• Spiritual wanderers need to know they are loved rather than judged.

What’s the biblical balance? A little bit of both.
• Eph. 5:11, “Have nothing to do with fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”
• John 3:17, “God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
• Yes, God has called us to reveal his salvation to the world, just remember that we too are broken and sinful and need to be transparent.
• If Jesus were in our city tonight, would he be in all the Christian hangouts, or would he be among the sinners?
• Would we recognize him? Would we tell him, “You have no business spending time with “those” people!

v. 13-15 Only Jesus can give us what we really need and quench our thirst.
• Talk about being “culturally relevant”, the analogy with the water was ripe.
• A person’s deepest spiritual need is to know God personally.
• That can only happen through Jesus, the living water.
• GOSPEL

Conclusion: VIDEO “Reverse thinking”

Q & A?

What makes Christianity unique?

Frequently avoided questions of the Christian faith
What makes Christianity unique? John 14:1-14

Intro…For most people today, it’s not politically correct to say that Christianity is the only true, right religion.
• How can you know that? Is your answer based on reason or scripture or a combination of both?
• So many people “experience” or “feel” spiritual, so what makes the Christian “experience” unique?
• What is the balance between human reason and faith? (It’s actually both.)

Big Picture: As you grow deeper in your understanding of the Christian faith, you discover that our faith or Christian experience of God in Christ according to the Bible is unique, desirable and at the same time threatening to other religious claims.

Text: John 14:1-14

I chose this passage because it centers on Jesus Christ.
• What makes Christianity unique is Jesus Christ and his grace extended to us.
• C.S. Lewis “Only Christianity dares to make God's love unconditional.”

v. 1-4 (How can Christianity be the ONLY way to God?)
Don’t be troubled. Trust God. Trust Jesus.
• Jesus says that the way to eternal life, though unseen is secure.
• Jesus reminds us that he has already prepared the way, we just need to follow it.

Here we have verses that actually describe eternal life:
• Jesus will return for us.
• Jesus is preparing a place for us.
• In vs. 4 Jesus reminds us that we know how to get there.
• These are comforting thoughts! (On the quest for God)

v. 5 Thomas (doubting) speaks for many, “Lord we do not know where you are going, how can we know the way?”
• So many people feel this way in regards to the exclusive claims of Christianity. (How do we know this is the way?) What is the right way? What is the right path?
• And remember, this is Jesus saying this, not us. Point people to Jesus and let them sort it out from there.

One of the challenges is how we communicate our faith to a culture that does not believe there is absolute truth.
• Why do people want to deny absolute truth? (It’s so limiting, confining, non-politically correct).
• Do we learn about God’s truth only through reason?
• Can we intellectually reason our way to God? (for some yes…)
• For others, God reveals some things to “little children” that the “wise and learned” could not discern.
• Luke 10:21, At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
• 1 Cor. 1:17-31
• So whether Christianity makes sense to you in a “reasonable way” or takes more faith, remember there is truth and it’s found in Jesus!

v. 6 Jesus covers all the bases here, he is:
• The way to God
• The truth we all seek
• The life we all really need
Vs. 7 Know Jesus – Know God
Vs. 8 Philip says, “Show us the Father”
Vs. 9 Jesus says, “I’m right here!”

When it comes to the balance of human reason and scripture, one of the safest ways of protecting ourselves from errors and misinterpretations is to study the Bible in community. That helps keep human reason in check.
• Nothing like a good bible study/discussion to keep us all sharp.
• We need to look for an encounter with God that is both experiential and rational.
• We need to leave enough slack in our beliefs to be corrected, to allow God to teach us even more and to make room for discovering the truth with clearer and clearer vision.

v. 12 If you are willing to believe that Jesus truly is the way, then follow up action is needed.
• “Anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works.”
• IOW, We need to live like Jesus.
• What makes Christianity unique is not only Jesus, but his disciples. We should be living different and better than everyone else!
• If we are doing that, then we can ask anything in his name and God will do it. (that is, if it’s best for us).

Throughout the history of man other religions have a belief in a supreme being, that there is a problem with man, that a god reaches down to man, that a god dies, even the concept of a virgin birth dates back to pagan traditions before Christ, there is a concept of judgment, miracles and the belief in heaven and hell.

Yet that doesn’t mean that Christianity is essentially equal or parallel to other religions. Key elements of orthodox Christian theology stand unique:
• The character of the Christian God (including the way mercy and love are intermingled with holiness, righteousness and purity),
• The transcendent/immanent God (God is God, wholly other, yet with us through Jesus)
• The nature of God (including the Trinity)
• The nature of the love relationship between God and humanity, (although there is sin in the world, God loves us so much that he created a way for us to come back into relationship with him.)
• Salvation by faith alone, (nothing we can do to earn it)
• The openness and the simplicity of the gospel (the good news is to all, no secrets, no difficult rituals)
• The role of sacrifice in the life of the believer (a reflective role versus an appeasing role, we don’t need to appease God)
• The humility and the exaltation of the lowly (servant to all, first will be last and the last will be first)
• The community of the church as the body of God (we are his “hands and feet.”)
• And the nature of the eternal state. (our souls in heaven)
• The resurrection of Jesus (necessary to make his death on the cross complete and show that he is God…)

Conclusion:
(Chuck Swindoll)
When it comes to following God, believing and having faith, he still prompts us to follow a certain direction. No audible voice. No image of Jesus on a piece of toast or tortilla. Nothing mystical or magical. But as you are moving along and trusting Him, you stay sensitive to the quiet, yet all-important prompting of God through His Holy Spirit. By doing so, you may well sense inner promptings that will spur a thought, such as, “I can’t believe I’m still interested in that. I wonder what the Lord is doing? I wonder where He’s going with this?”
That inner prompting is crucial because, much of the time, we just can’t figure it out. Evaluate the prompting. Obviously, you know the Spirit of God will never contradict the Bible. In fact, the prompting often is a passage from Scripture.

However, there is nothing wrong with planning. Nothing wrong with thinking it through. There’s everything right and wise about listing all the pros and cons. But stay sensitive to God’s leading. His plans may be different than yours. By the way, His are always better.

“The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. . . .
Man’s steps are ordained by the LORD, How then can man understand his way?” (Proverbs 16:9; 20:24)

I love that! When all is said and done, you’ll say, “Honestly, I didn’t figure this thing out. It must have been God.” Talk about mysterious! The longer I live the Christian life, the less I know about why He leads as He does.
But I do know that He leads.

Q & A?

Is forgiveness real?

(to listen to a podcast of this sermon, please visit www.pacificviewbaptist.com and click on "sermons" from the menu on the left.)

Frequently avoided questions of the Christian faith, "Is forgiveness real?" John 8:1-11

Intro…. One year anniversary of the Chelsea King death (John Gardner)
• Crazy, weird, unexplainable, awful things happen in our lives.
• How do we forgive others?
• Or maybe you are wrestling with a sin in your own life that seems unforgiveable.
• For some of us, the first step may be learning to accept God’s forgiveness, before we can ever consider forgiving others.

Big Pic: If we can learn to accept God’s forgiveness for our “wickedness” we’ll have an easier time forgiving others for their wickedness.

Text: John 8:1-11
(v. 1-2 Get ready for a teaching moment…)
v. 3-6 The accusers, Scribes and Pharisees.
• These Jewish leaders had already disregarded the law arresting the woman without the man.
• The law (Lev. 20:10) required that both parties to adultery be stoned.
• When it comes to pointing fingers and accusing others, often we are quick with our judgment, ready to attack.
• The Scribes and Pharisees started out with good intentions to obey God, but eventually they became so devoted and extremist in very limited parts of the Law, plus all that they themselves added to it, that they became blind to the Messiah when He was in their very midst. They became nitpickers of the law always trying to trick Jesus.
• And now they are attempting to use this woman as a trap to trick Jesus.
• If Jesus said the woman should not be stoned, then they would accuse him on not keeping the Mosaic law.
• If he told them to stone her, then his reputation for compassion and forgiveness would have been questioned and,
• They could report Jesus to the Romans who did not permit the Jews to carry out their own executions. (18:31).
• This is a classic example of someone who wants to skip right over the possibility of forgiveness and land on judgment…
• That’s too easy and too fun for most of us…think about that.
• Why is that the case?

What we need to do first of all is remember that God forgave us in our wickedness.
• “Wickedness” may too heavy of a word for some of you, but it’s actually accurate for all of us.
• And that’s why Jesus says in verse 7, “Let him is who is without sin among you, be the first to throw a stone at her.”
• Romans 3:23 …”all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
• It started with Adam and Even in the garden. They did exactly what God told them not to do and sinned.
• Then they (rightly so) ran and hid. They were ashamed and probably expected God’s wrath.
• And what did God do? He called to them. (Gen. 3:7-9)

v. 9 Jesus’ reaction and statement silenced the Jewish leaders and sent them away.
• Imagine the impact this must have had on the crowd.
• It would be the same today. As Christians, we love to pounce on people who have public sexual sins.
• At the top on the list would be premarital or extramarital affairs, abortion, divorce and pornography.
• While those are wrong and have dire consequences, you know what else is just as wrong with dire consequences?
• Greed, pride, injustice, self-indulgence, stinginess, gluttony, hatred, materialism, domestic violence and just plain meanness, polluting the air, exhausting the earth’s resources, hoarding our possessions, ignoring those in need, supporting oppression or slavery through what we buy, gossiping, slandering and maligning others...
• Or what if someone is going through a divorce, or their kids are on drugs, or came to church “messed up.”
• Any of us can fall into any of these categories!

• So, let’s not act like the Scribes and Pharisees in today’s story.
• They needed to learn how to forgive others.
• When it comes to forgiving others, there is a way to love and forgive people, even to show them mercy and at the same time act toward them with wisdom and discernment.
• I started today’s message with the example of Chelsea King, that kind of forgiveness take time and doesn’t need to be rushed into.
• That will take an act of God on her parents hearts…
• Forgiveness should cost you something, “One of the basic characteristics of forgiveness is that the one who forgives is the one who suffers.”

Let’s be especially careful when it comes to creating two classes of Christians:
• “First class” those who have never been divorced, never had an affair or abortion, never looked (or got caught looking) at pornography etc.
• “Second class” anyone who is guilty of one or more of these actions and is therefore unfit for church membership or ministry in the church.
• What we need to be saying is, “How can I dare judge someone else, seeing how messed up I am?”
• However, forgiveness, mercy and understanding does not translate into freedom to disregard the Bible’s moral code.
• It also does not allow us to live a permissive lifestyle or fail to address sin because we know we’ll be forgiven. That’s abusing grace.
• Look what Jesus said at the end of this story, (v. 11) “Go and sin no more.” or, “Leave your life of sin.”
• There is a condition with Jesus’ forgiveness. We are to continually strive to walk away from sin. To press on, move forward.
• Jesus will forgive any sin in our lives, but confession and repentance means a change of heart.
• Communion intro…
• With God’s help we can accept Christ’s forgiveness and stop sinning.

Eventually it came down to just the woman and Jesus. v. 9b.
• And that’s what it always comes back to.
• Can we continually accept the forgiveness that Jesus offers us?
• Many of us will carry the scars of our sins for the rest of our lives, even though we are forgiven and spiritually healed and restored to God.
• There are some people who love God and want to serve him, but have made a serious mistake and are forever blackballed from Christian service. That’s not right!
• In reality, we’ve all made mistakes and would do well to confess those mistakes and share our growth.

Conclusion:
• What if our churches really practiced mercy to the degree that Jesus taught and demonstrated?
• True forgiveness includes healing, in the one doing the forgiving, in the one being forgiven and the relationship between them.
• As Christians, we should never forget the debt we’ve been forgiven and as a result, know how to extend mercy when mercy is what God wants to give us.
• Who are we in this story? Either the woman or the accusers…

Does God speak outside of the Bible?

(to listen to a podcast of this sermon, please visit www.pacificviewbaptist.com and click on "sermons" from the menu on the left.)

Frequently avoided questions of the Christian faith, “Does God speak outside of the Bible?”
Psalm 19:1-6, Romans 1:18-22

Intro…”God moments” for me… in our lives…
Text: Psalm 19:1-6
Big Pic: God has revealed himself to mankind since the beginning of time. If we have eyes to see and ears to hear, we can be surprised at the messages he has for us that can come in a variety of ways.

These verses speak of the majestic heavens and describe how features of the sky bear witness to their Maker.
• Through creation, there is a divine speech that goes out to all humanity.
• Part of that creation as includes mans creativity, movies, music, books, art etc.
• I do believe that God speak primarily through the Bible…

V. 1 “The heavens, the sky above…”
• The heavens show God’s creativity, power, majesty, wisdom etc.
• They also show God’s worthiness of honor and worship.
• Think of the last time you saw the stars away from the city lights, or witnessed and amazing sunset or sunrise…it’s truly awesome.

v. 2-3 “Day to day pours out speech”
• God is speaking to us with each new day…if we’re willing to listen.
• Every evening reveals God’s knowledge.
• God is speaking to us through His creation, and he’s saying, “Look for me, I’m here. I created all this for you.”

v. 4 All the world has received some kind of message from God.
• But what it comes down to is, “Are people willing to listen?”
• It’s important to distinguish between “general revelation” (what is known about God through the natural world) and “specific revelation” (the proclamation of the gospel).
• Ps. 19:4 refers to “general revelation.”
• Romans 10:14-18 is “specific revelation.”

Let me mess with your mind for a minute when it comes to the gospel going to the ends of the earth.
• Let’s look at Romans 1:18-22
• God’s power and divine nature are clearly revealed through the world he has made (so that men/they are without excuse).
• The wonder, beauty and majesty of all of creation points directly to God (not just a “higher power”).
• No one can complain that God has left insufficient evidence of his existence and character. The fault is on those who reject him.
• Usually it’s pride that gets in the way of believing that.
• When we get to heaven, we are going to be surprised at who is there and who isn’t.
• I believe that God can reveal himself even to someone “in the middle of nowhere” if they look up at the heavens, or at God’s creation and realize there is something bigger than themselves and that they have a need to connect with God.
• All cultures and people have a knowledge of right and wrong…
• People’s moral standards are always better than their behavior.
• Yet salvation does not come through “general revelation”
• People have an inner sense of what God desires…a need for forgiveness and redemption…

v. 5-6 Just consider the power of the sun, a specific way in which the voice of the heavens is revealed to all mankind.
• The sun is so powerful, we need protection from it.
• The sun comes out every day with the “excitement of a bridegroom.”
• The suns runs its course or does its job with joy (like a strong man).
• The sun is all-powerful shining on the entire earth, there is nothing hidden from it.
• Same with God, same with his relevations to us, through his creation and specifically through the scriptures. (As verses 7-11 show)

One of the key factors in determining if God is speaking through sources other than the Bible…is the Bible!
• The more we study the scriptures and God’s character throughout history, the more we’ll be able to detect a wrong message.
• Silly example, the movie “Hall Pass”….it doesn’t take a theological genius to know that it’s going to be a trashy movie…
• On the other hand, sometimes I’ve heard God speak clearly to me through the story told in a “non-Christian” movie.
• God can insert his messages into popular culture that tell us something about our world, our neighbors, ourselves and our relationship with God.
• God has used wicked rulers etc. throughout history…
• Again, the key is having the Christian maturity to be able to discern right from wrong.
• The bible never says that God would at some point limit himself to speaking exclusively through the written text and abandon any other form of communication with humans.
• To refuse to listen to God through whatever medium he chooses diminishes our experience and awareness of him.
• “God is larger and more bountiful than our intellectual boxes or theological constructs that we tend to put him in.”

Conclusion:
• There is no book we should love and treasure more than the Bible.
• Every time we read it we should approach it with a sense of wonder and awe, always ready to hear from God in a new way.
• When it comes to hearing from God, let’s see when we look, hear when we listen and understand with our hearts what God is saying to us everywhere and at all times.
• God can speak to us clearly everyday through his word.
• Let’s not limit what God has to say to us to only that time we spend in the Bible.
• However, when we do feel like we are getting a message from God, let’s always go back to the Bible as a comparison.
• Mark 8:14-21