Oct. 31, 2024

Connection: Faith and Reality

Connection: Faith and Reality

More discussion about the reality of sin and the perspective of faith

Spreaker podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
PocketCasts podcast player badge
Amazon Music podcast player badge
Overcast podcast player badge
Audible podcast player badge
Castro podcast player badge
iHeartRadio podcast player badge
Castbox podcast player badge
Podchaser podcast player badge
TuneIn podcast player badge
Deezer podcast player badge
Pandora podcast player badge
RadioPublic podcast player badge
Podcast Addict podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
YouTube podcast player badge
Fountain podcast player badge
PlayerFM podcast player badge
Goodpods podcast player badge
Podverse podcast player badge
Podyssey podcast player badge
Breaker podcast player badge
Podurama podcast player badge
Audacy podcast player badge
JioSaavn podcast player badge
Spreaker podcast player iconApple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconPocketCasts podcast player iconAmazon Music podcast player iconOvercast podcast player iconAudible podcast player iconCastro podcast player iconiHeartRadio podcast player iconCastbox podcast player iconPodchaser podcast player iconTuneIn podcast player iconDeezer podcast player iconPandora podcast player iconRadioPublic podcast player iconPodcast Addict podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player iconYouTube podcast player iconFountain podcast player iconPlayerFM podcast player iconGoodpods podcast player iconPodverse podcast player iconPodyssey podcast player iconBreaker podcast player iconPodurama podcast player iconAudacy podcast player iconJioSaavn podcast player icon

More discussion about the reality of sin and the perspective of faith

WEBVTT

1
00:00:02.319 --> 00:00:06.040
Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

2
00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:12.359
the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. In just a

3
00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:16.559
few hours, you're going to start hearing some this sound

4
00:00:16.600 --> 00:00:20.760
at your front door. You're gonna hear that, You're gonna

5
00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:24.719
hear the doorbell, and there's going to be people standing

6
00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:27.199
at your door right and you're going to open the

7
00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:29.359
door and you're gonna be like, wait, they're Spider Man.

8
00:00:29.559 --> 00:00:34.039
Wait wait, there's there's there's a serial killer from a

9
00:00:34.359 --> 00:00:37.520
horror movie. There's Jason, there's Michael Myers. Oh wait, wait, wait,

10
00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:40.320
wait wait, there there's a there's this, there's that. And

11
00:00:40.359 --> 00:00:42.479
you're gonna be like, what is happening on my front door?

12
00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:45.039
How did all of these fictional characters show up on

13
00:00:45.079 --> 00:00:47.640
my front door? What? There's a princess, there's a warlock,

14
00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:51.280
there's a witch. What is there's there's there's a devil.

15
00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:54.399
What is happening? Well, you know what is happening because

16
00:00:54.520 --> 00:00:59.439
well it is Thursday, October the thirty first, twenty twenty four.

17
00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:03.159
It is currently three zero five pm Central time here

18
00:01:03.159 --> 00:01:05.480
in West Texas, and that means we're just a few

19
00:01:05.560 --> 00:01:08.200
hours away before you're going to open your door and

20
00:01:08.200 --> 00:01:10.719
You're going to see all of these things, spider Man,

21
00:01:11.239 --> 00:01:14.079
iron Man, who knows Captain America, I don't know, a

22
00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:16.400
superheroes in I don't know where You're You're going to

23
00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:19.120
see all types of things. And you know what you're

24
00:01:19.159 --> 00:01:21.760
actually seeing, right, what you're actually seeing is not really

25
00:01:21.799 --> 00:01:24.439
spider Man, not really iron Man, not really a witch,

26
00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:27.879
not really this not really that. You're going to see

27
00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:34.359
people dressed up because it is Halloween, whether you celebrate it,

28
00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:37.920
whether you don't celebrate it, whether you leave the porch

29
00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:40.680
light on and open the door, or whether you turn

30
00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:43.359
the porch light off and turn off all your lights

31
00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:46.480
so that no one will bother you. Whatever your tradition is,

32
00:01:46.519 --> 00:01:50.680
whatever your ideas, whatever you will participate in or not

33
00:01:50.719 --> 00:01:54.200
participate in. You will if you happen to look outside,

34
00:01:54.239 --> 00:01:56.959
you're going to see all these people walking, you know,

35
00:01:57.239 --> 00:02:00.840
down the street, along the sidewalk, maybe even in the

36
00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:02.640
middle of the street, and they're going to be dressed

37
00:02:02.719 --> 00:02:05.280
up in all kinds of different costumes. But you're going

38
00:02:05.319 --> 00:02:07.439
to know that they're just dressed up in a costume. Right,

39
00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:09.800
You're not going to go with a minute wit a minute,

40
00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:11.639
wit a minute. No no, no, no, no, no, no, No,

41
00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:14.400
that's really a ghost, that's really a witch, that's really

42
00:02:14.680 --> 00:02:17.599
that's really a superhero, that's really You're not going to

43
00:02:17.639 --> 00:02:20.159
do that because you know what is happening. You have

44
00:02:20.280 --> 00:02:27.319
some correlation between everyone dressing up, playing pretend versus what

45
00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:31.879
reality is. There is some correlation. You know, they're pretending.

46
00:02:32.120 --> 00:02:34.439
You may want them to have fun. You may even

47
00:02:34.520 --> 00:02:37.319
pretend and go oh and act all scared and play

48
00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:39.879
along with them. Right, You may even do that, right,

49
00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:42.400
I don't know. There may be a lot of people

50
00:02:42.759 --> 00:02:46.280
dressed up tonight, like Caitlin Clark from the Indiana Fever.

51
00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:47.879
I bet you there's a lot of little girls will

52
00:02:47.879 --> 00:02:49.759
be dressed up that way. There's gonna be a lot

53
00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:53.199
of different costumes and characters. And you may play along,

54
00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:56.120
but everyone knows, Hey, we're just playing along. You know

55
00:02:56.479 --> 00:03:00.680
that here, here's reality. Here's what we will call fantasy,

56
00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:06.199
reality fantasy, right, and we know that how that correlates. Right,

57
00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:09.599
We like to escape into fantasy, but at the same

58
00:03:09.639 --> 00:03:12.680
time we know what reality is. Right. You don't want

59
00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:15.319
to get lost in fantasy, but you do like to

60
00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:18.960
escape there sometimes, right, But you know the difference you

61
00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:23.719
can separate them. That makes sense, you go to a movie,

62
00:03:24.039 --> 00:03:29.159
you may. You may in a sense respond emotionally. You

63
00:03:29.240 --> 00:03:33.960
may respond with a gasp or or shock, or applause,

64
00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:36.719
or with crying based on what you're seeing on the

65
00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:39.240
screen right You may. You may because you at so

66
00:03:39.400 --> 00:03:42.240
caught up into the story that you act and react

67
00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:46.199
almost as if it's real with your emotions. Some people

68
00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:48.400
may be more than others. Some people can in a

69
00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:53.319
sense set aside any of their you know, perception of

70
00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:56.159
what's real or not real, and just escape into the story.

71
00:03:57.199 --> 00:04:00.080
Some people can do that. So a lot of that

72
00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:03.879
will be happening tonight, where there'll be people pretending, people

73
00:04:03.879 --> 00:04:07.960
playing along. But everyone knows the difference when you go

74
00:04:08.039 --> 00:04:10.639
into a movie, even though you know the difference, But

75
00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:13.080
you can allow yourself to just be caught up into

76
00:04:13.080 --> 00:04:16.639
the story and escape, and there's nothing wrong with that.

77
00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:23.399
That's great, that's fun, that's wonderful. In a similar way,

78
00:04:24.519 --> 00:04:29.079
not exactly the same, but just for illustration purposes, just

79
00:04:29.160 --> 00:04:32.000
to try to connect something that you can relate to

80
00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:34.959
to maybe something that may be a little bit more abstract.

81
00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:37.639
So I'm going to take that, which is you understand

82
00:04:38.040 --> 00:04:40.240
tonight October thirty. First, there's going to be all these

83
00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:42.720
people in costumes. It's Halloween. You're going to understand that,

84
00:04:42.920 --> 00:04:45.279
and you're going to know the difference between the pretend

85
00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:48.439
and the reality. Right, you understand that. But I think

86
00:04:48.480 --> 00:04:52.079
when we enter into the world of Christianity, I think

87
00:04:52.199 --> 00:04:57.439
sometimes we have a problem because we have this thing

88
00:04:57.560 --> 00:05:02.160
called faith. We have this thing that called faith where

89
00:05:02.199 --> 00:05:06.839
we believe in what we cannot see. We believe and

90
00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:10.040
a lot of these concepts that maybe seem abstract, we

91
00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:14.120
can't necessarily see them. They're spiritual, they're not necessarily physical.

92
00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:17.560
We believe in it. But at the same time we

93
00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:21.839
live within this reality. And I think sometimes as Christians

94
00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:26.399
there is not only a conflict between faith and reality.

95
00:05:26.759 --> 00:05:30.639
I think sometimes we don't know how they connect. When

96
00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:35.120
should they disconnect, should there be agreement, should there be disagreement?

97
00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:39.079
How does this work? And it leads to some really

98
00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:44.720
bizarre things within the history of Christianity. I'll give you

99
00:05:44.759 --> 00:05:48.240
the most obvious, you know, the most obvious. There's an

100
00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:53.519
entire stream of theology out there, an entire stream that

101
00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:57.759
will say, hey, by faith, I believe that the Bible

102
00:05:57.879 --> 00:06:04.120
teaches that physical fee is guaranteed in this life. We're

103
00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:07.600
not talking about something in eternity in this life. If

104
00:06:07.639 --> 00:06:11.160
you will believe you can be healed, it's not if

105
00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:14.360
it's God's will. It is God's will because by faith.

106
00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:17.439
I believe that's what the Bible teaches, and I believe it.

107
00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:21.560
I don't care what I see. God guarantees helly. God

108
00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:24.480
will fix He can raise the dead, he will raise

109
00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:26.759
the dead, he will get rid of that cancer, he

110
00:06:26.920 --> 00:06:30.680
will let you walk again. And they believe it. It

111
00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:33.279
doesn't matter what reality says. They say they are not

112
00:06:33.399 --> 00:06:37.800
walking by sight, they are walking by faith. Well, this

113
00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:40.680
leads to some weird things, right, They're making all of

114
00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:44.199
these claims and over and over and over. You can

115
00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:50.120
be like, uh, your claim and reality are in conflict.

116
00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:52.759
But they'll say, but you're walking by sight. I walk

117
00:06:52.839 --> 00:06:56.120
by faith. I know you're walking by faith. But look

118
00:06:56.199 --> 00:06:59.120
around you. People are not being raised from the dead.

119
00:06:59.480 --> 00:07:02.000
People with missing arms and legs are just they're not

120
00:07:02.120 --> 00:07:04.800
just growing back all. And a lot of your claims

121
00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:09.079
of miracles turn out to be fraudulent. So how do

122
00:07:09.160 --> 00:07:12.240
you reconcile that? For some they don't feel like they

123
00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:15.439
have to reconcile. They don't care. They just they have

124
00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:20.360
in a sense they have committed themselves. Dare I say

125
00:07:20.920 --> 00:07:26.399
to the fantasy, to the dress up, to the pretend,

126
00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:32.120
and they they are so convinced that these things are happening,

127
00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:34.959
even though everything around you says, look around, there's a

128
00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:37.680
hospital here, there's a hospital here, there's a hospital here,

129
00:07:37.720 --> 00:07:41.519
there's a cemetery there, there's a cemetery there. There's kids

130
00:07:41.519 --> 00:07:44.879
in hospitals all over the country right now suffering from

131
00:07:44.959 --> 00:07:49.879
horrible childhood diseases that are terminal, and they're not going

132
00:07:49.959 --> 00:07:51.879
to make it to sixteen or seventeen. They're going to

133
00:07:51.920 --> 00:07:54.319
live their lives, in many cases in and out of hospital,

134
00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:57.600
suffering and suffering and suffering and suffering. Yet you say

135
00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:00.720
that healing is guaranteed, and so then what do they

136
00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:03.000
have to Well, then they have to blame the person

137
00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:07.319
not being healed. You don't have enough faith. It's like

138
00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:12.279
they've almost entered into a well, a halloween dress up

139
00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:17.920
and they're playing these characters and you're like, can we

140
00:08:17.959 --> 00:08:21.600
take the mask off? Can we take the costume off?

141
00:08:22.519 --> 00:08:27.720
Because reality is saying something completely different. That's one example.

142
00:08:28.199 --> 00:08:31.480
Another one much closer to what we've been talking about

143
00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:35.559
for now. It feels like a good portion of twenty

144
00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:39.360
twenty four is this reality. There is a reality in

145
00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:41.480
your life and my life. And here is the reality.

146
00:08:41.960 --> 00:08:46.039
God says, be holy as he is holy, that is perfect,

147
00:08:46.120 --> 00:08:50.679
that is perfection. You have never been that. You are

148
00:08:50.840 --> 00:08:54.360
not that, and you never will be that in this life.

149
00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:57.639
Meaning you will always fall short. Meaning you're in a

150
00:08:57.639 --> 00:09:02.279
perpetual stat of sin. You cannot fulfill that. You cannot

151
00:09:02.279 --> 00:09:04.840
fulfill God's law, you cannot keep it. Be holy as

152
00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:07.360
he is holy, Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

153
00:09:07.480 --> 00:09:10.360
Do all things without grumbling and complaining. Uh. I mean,

154
00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:12.320
I can go Love God with all your heartmind, body

155
00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:14.320
and soul. Love your neighbor as yourself, love your enemy,

156
00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:15.879
turn the other cheek. I can go on and on

157
00:09:15.919 --> 00:09:19.879
and on. You cannot accomplish that. That is a reality,

158
00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:24.480
ladies and gentlemen. It's an it's not even disputable. You

159
00:09:24.600 --> 00:09:29.720
live in perpetual sin. That's reality. But Christians come along

160
00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:31.240
and go no no, no, no, no no no no

161
00:09:31.240 --> 00:09:33.960
no no no no no no. By faith in Jesus Christ,

162
00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:37.200
I have become a new creation. All things have passed away,

163
00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:40.080
all things have become new. You're but but you're but

164
00:09:40.200 --> 00:09:45.600
there's a conflict here the reality you're in perpetual sin. Well, no, no, no,

165
00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:47.679
I'm a new creation. Whole things are passed away, all

166
00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:50.519
things have become new. Like, no, you're still sin, but

167
00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:54.960
I'm a new creation. No, you're still a sinner. It's

168
00:09:55.080 --> 00:09:59.080
as if Christians have perfected this. Halloween is not a

169
00:09:59.159 --> 00:10:03.120
one time event. For Christians, we live in a perpetual

170
00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:06.320
state of dress up, a perpetual state may of make believe,

171
00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:10.159
a perpetual state of fantasy and our fantasy. Well, for some,

172
00:10:10.440 --> 00:10:14.279
as I've already stated, their theological stream is God guarantees healing.

173
00:10:15.039 --> 00:10:19.200
No reality says it. So, oh, you're walking by sight

174
00:10:19.320 --> 00:10:21.200
and not by faith. We walk by faith and not

175
00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:25.440
by saying no reality is healing is not guaranteed. Right now,

176
00:10:25.480 --> 00:10:27.759
can you stop saying that? Oh no, no, no, I'm

177
00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:31.000
not taking off my Halloween costume. I'm gonna continue to

178
00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:33.639
wear it. And then you've got others going look, look, look, look. No.

179
00:10:33.679 --> 00:10:35.440
When I became a Christian, I became a new creation.

180
00:10:35.639 --> 00:10:37.759
All things have passed away, all things have become new.

181
00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:40.639
I can now say no to sin and yes to God.

182
00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:44.440
I now have been free, freed from the bondage of sin,

183
00:10:44.759 --> 00:10:48.799
I can do it. And you're like, but you don't.

184
00:10:50.519 --> 00:10:53.080
If you break one point of the law, you're guilty

185
00:10:53.159 --> 00:10:56.440
of all the law. So guess what, You're guilty of

186
00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:58.720
every point of the law, because you're always guilty of

187
00:10:58.759 --> 00:11:00.879
one point of the law. Because you never love God

188
00:11:00.919 --> 00:11:02.960
with all your heartmind, body, and soul. You never love

189
00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:05.279
your neighbor as yourself. You're never as holy as God

190
00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:07.679
as holy, You're never perfect as your heavenly Father is

191
00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:10.000
perfect you. I can go on and on and on

192
00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:14.200
and on and on, but there's this conflict. And if

193
00:11:14.240 --> 00:11:17.840
you scream wait reality, they're like no, no, no faith.

194
00:11:17.879 --> 00:11:21.559
And you're like reality, They're like, no faith. Just like

195
00:11:21.799 --> 00:11:24.519
if you walk up and some kid walks up to

196
00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:26.720
your door tonight, knocks on the door and open the door,

197
00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:29.399
and who knows what they're dressed up as it It

198
00:11:29.399 --> 00:11:32.879
doesn't matter whether something scary, whether something heroic, whether something

199
00:11:32.919 --> 00:11:36.559
from fantasy fiction, It doesn't And you're like, look, kid,

200
00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:39.360
I know what you are. You're just a kid. Take

201
00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:43.559
off the mask, you know, just show you're the kid.

202
00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:46.759
Will be like what are you doing? What are you doing? No? No, no, no, no,

203
00:11:46.840 --> 00:11:50.320
I'm really I really am spider Man. No, really, I'm

204
00:11:50.360 --> 00:11:53.080
really a skeleton. No, I'm really a ghost, I'm really

205
00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:55.600
a witch, and I'm really a warlock. They're gonna be like,

206
00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:58.879
what are you doing? Stop ruining my Halloween. Don't I'm

207
00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:02.600
not a kid, I'm right now. Well that's how many

208
00:12:02.759 --> 00:12:06.799
that's for some weird reasons. That's how Christians are. No, no, no, no,

209
00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:09.480
you're still a sinner. No, no, I'm not taking off

210
00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:11.960
my mask. I'm a new creation. I can do all things.

211
00:12:13.320 --> 00:12:15.639
I can basically stop sinning. No, you're a sinner. No,

212
00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:18.639
I am not taking off my mask. It is Halloween

213
00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:22.440
every day of the year. I'm pretending to be basically sinless.

214
00:12:23.240 --> 00:12:26.919
Now they always throw in basically because well push comes

215
00:12:26.919 --> 00:12:29.000
to show, they will admit that they are a sinner.

216
00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:33.480
It's the same kind of concept we played dress up.

217
00:12:37.159 --> 00:12:40.360
Oh no, healing is guaranteed. Look around, you stopped with

218
00:12:40.440 --> 00:12:44.440
your nonsense. Oh no, no, no, you just don't have faith.

219
00:12:44.600 --> 00:12:49.960
You just don't have faith. You just don't have faith. See,

220
00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:52.039
if you truly have faith, you would realize that you

221
00:12:52.120 --> 00:12:54.080
really are a new creature in the old pastway, and

222
00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:56.200
everything has become new it you've been freed from the

223
00:12:56.240 --> 00:12:57.840
bondage of sin, and now you can say no to

224
00:12:57.879 --> 00:13:00.440
sin and yes to God, so I can be perfec Well,

225
00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:02.159
I mean, well, wait a minute, I thought you just

226
00:13:02.200 --> 00:13:06.759
said I didn't have enough faith. Can you make up

227
00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:08.840
your Are we playing dress up? Are we not playing

228
00:13:08.919 --> 00:13:11.799
dress up? Are we playing We're not playing pretent? It

229
00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:14.639
is reality? Well, if it's reality, then I can be sinless. Well,

230
00:13:14.679 --> 00:13:16.480
I mean, come on. And so then it goes back

231
00:13:16.559 --> 00:13:20.320
and forth, and we've talked about all of this just confusion.

232
00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:24.879
Now why am I starting? Why have I spent thirteen

233
00:13:24.919 --> 00:13:28.080
minutes using this kind of Halloween illustration and talking about

234
00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:31.840
this kind of conflict between basically faith in reality. Just

235
00:13:31.879 --> 00:13:35.840
as there is a conflict or there's a connection, conflict

236
00:13:35.919 --> 00:13:38.720
and connection. I want you to see both concepts. There's

237
00:13:38.759 --> 00:13:42.960
a correlation between faith and reality, and there should be

238
00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:46.759
a correlation obviously between fantasy and reality. When we lose

239
00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:50.919
when we lose grasp of reality, whether it's fantasy or reality,

240
00:13:51.080 --> 00:13:54.799
or whether it's faith in reality, things go horribly wrong. Right.

241
00:13:55.840 --> 00:13:58.080
There was just the big news story I don't know

242
00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:02.480
release the last week. I think, in fact my daughter

243
00:14:02.600 --> 00:14:04.600
sent it to me. I think was it today? Let me.

244
00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:05.039
Look here.

245
00:14:06.360 --> 00:14:08.799
She sent me a lot of news stories here today.

246
00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:10.279
You see here?

247
00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:12.240
Where is it?

248
00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:15.120
She sent me a lot? I can't keep track of

249
00:14:15.159 --> 00:14:15.519
all of them.

250
00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:19.120
Here here we are, this is the news story. There

251
00:14:19.159 --> 00:14:23.840
are no guardrails. This mom believes inn ai chatbot is

252
00:14:23.960 --> 00:14:27.600
responsible for her son's suicide. Let me read that again.

253
00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:31.840
There are no guardrails. This mom believes an AI chatbot

254
00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:36.600
is responsible for a son's suicide. This teenager started chatting

255
00:14:36.600 --> 00:14:39.120
with an AI chatbot that I think was supposed to

256
00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:43.440
mimic pretend to be a character in games Game of

257
00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:47.840
Thrones if I remember correctly, And what happened is next thing,

258
00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:49.919
you know, he's committing suicide. And they're saying, well, he

259
00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:54.480
got so lost in the fantasy that he forgot reality.

260
00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:58.679
When anyone gets so lost and fantasy and loses touch

261
00:14:58.679 --> 00:15:02.519
of reality, we say that's a bad thing, right, We

262
00:15:02.679 --> 00:15:06.000
condemn that. We're like, no, you gotta stay in touch

263
00:15:06.039 --> 00:15:08.519
with reality, or once you get lost in the fantasy,

264
00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:12.759
it's a bad thing. Right. Well, in a similar way,

265
00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:18.559
what happens when Christians lose touch of reality and fall

266
00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:22.159
into this faith faith, faith, faith, and they can there's

267
00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:25.600
almost like a disconnect between reality where you walk around

268
00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:28.559
telling everyone no, no, no, no no no. God guarantees healing.

269
00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:30.919
If you'll just believe your cancer will be gone, this

270
00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:33.120
will be gone, and they and so they say, I'm

271
00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:36.120
gonna believe it and then they die. Well guess what

272
00:15:36.360 --> 00:15:41.279
That disconnect between faith and reality leads to pain, suffering, confusion.

273
00:15:42.879 --> 00:15:44.399
Well what do you do when you run around telling

274
00:15:44.440 --> 00:15:46.679
everyone no, no no. When you become a a Christian

275
00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:48.600
you're a new creature, old things that passed away. All

276
00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:50.519
things have become new. Okay, well, then I should be

277
00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:57.000
able to stop sinning. See, if you get so caught

278
00:15:57.080 --> 00:15:58.759
up in the faith part, you've got to keep it

279
00:15:58.840 --> 00:16:02.600
correlated to reality, to lovel Isn't there a correlation somehow

280
00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:08.919
between faith and reality? Isn't there some connection? Now? Again,

281
00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:11.440
as I was saying, and I cut myself off, why

282
00:16:11.480 --> 00:16:14.360
am I talking about this? Why am I going through

283
00:16:14.360 --> 00:16:17.480
all of this illustration? Because well, we have been talking

284
00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:20.919
about some realities in the Christian life that I believe

285
00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:24.840
Christianity is not they're not willing to accept, they're not

286
00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:27.120
willing to deal with in any meaningful way. And here

287
00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:32.080
is the reality you keep sinning even as a believer.

288
00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:36.200
You will never stop sinning. You're in a perpetual state

289
00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:40.039
of sin. You cannot keep the law of God. You cannot.

290
00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:44.399
Now that means that's a reality that many Christians are

291
00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:49.080
not willing to accept, not willing to acknowledge, and almost

292
00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:52.440
minimize because they get so caught up in the so

293
00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:56.000
called faith aspect. Well you've got to see it by faith.

294
00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:57.679
Well you can try to see it by faith, but

295
00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:01.200
that faith has to be connected to reality to some level.

296
00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:03.440
And we have talked about this before. I did an

297
00:17:03.559 --> 00:17:10.079
entire message on faith versus reality. But here's what happened.

298
00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:13.240
We've been working through this book, the Sixth Secrets of

299
00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:17.319
the Christian Life, and I opened it up to chapter

300
00:17:17.480 --> 00:17:23.119
five for the fifth Secret, and it really started emphasizing

301
00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:27.839
this idea of faith, faith, faith, faith, faith, faith. And

302
00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:29.640
so then I just had to step back and go,

303
00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:34.079
m is faith the secret? If I just have the

304
00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:37.720
right faith, if I just believe the right things that

305
00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:40.240
done dun't to done, I have found the secret to

306
00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:42.839
the Christian life. And I guess I will almost basically

307
00:17:42.839 --> 00:17:46.000
be free from sin. Now I'm not saying that that's

308
00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:49.200
exactly how the book puts forth. The argument will actually

309
00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:51.680
work through the chapter at some point, but it made

310
00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:55.640
me step back and go this concept the struggle between

311
00:17:56.359 --> 00:18:01.920
faith and reality. There has to be correlation. So I

312
00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:04.359
started doing a little bit of work kind of basically

313
00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:07.599
with this mindset, this kind of question in my mind.

314
00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:13.640
I basically should I basically asked, I basically.

315
00:18:13.359 --> 00:18:20.160
Put forth this concept of there being possibly a conflict

316
00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:24.039
between faith and what isn't seen versus what actually is

317
00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:28.839
seen and experienced. Right. I started talking about this possible

318
00:18:28.920 --> 00:18:32.799
conflict because I had read an on Ai kind of

319
00:18:32.839 --> 00:18:37.000
a summary of chapter five of the book Six Secrets

320
00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:39.279
of the Christian Life, and it really emphasized this faith

321
00:18:39.319 --> 00:18:42.839
faith faith faith thing. And so then I basically asked AI, well,

322
00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:46.680
doesn't this create a conflict between having faith and what

323
00:18:46.920 --> 00:18:50.680
isn't seen versus what we actually see and experience, because

324
00:18:50.839 --> 00:18:52.519
you can't just say, well, if we have faith and

325
00:18:52.839 --> 00:18:55.160
I guess you know, all of a sudden we now

326
00:18:55.519 --> 00:18:58.920
just we never sin, or like, how does this work?

327
00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:06.920
Because there's a reality. So AI acknowledged this. Hodge, which

328
00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:09.359
is the you know, Zaane Hodge is the author of

329
00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:14.160
the book Hodge's Approach. This is what Ai said, Hodge's

330
00:19:14.359 --> 00:19:19.119
approach to living by faith rather than site, can create

331
00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:24.079
a noticeable tension between trusting and the unseen promises of

332
00:19:24.119 --> 00:19:29.039
God and navigating the realities we see and experience daily.

333
00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:33.519
This conflict is often part of the Christian experience, as

334
00:19:33.559 --> 00:19:37.880
believers try to reconcile faith in God's invisible truth with tangible,

335
00:19:38.359 --> 00:19:44.759
visible circumstances that may appear contradictory or challenging. So AI

336
00:19:44.920 --> 00:19:47.960
acknowledges this is kind of the conflict in the Christian life.

337
00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:52.039
We have these supposed promises, these ideas, which in a

338
00:19:52.119 --> 00:19:55.920
sense are spiritual. They're not tangible, they're in some cases

339
00:19:55.920 --> 00:19:59.680
they're unseen. But we while we have these, we live

340
00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:05.640
in the real world, and the real world in many

341
00:20:05.640 --> 00:20:12.799
cases calls into question greatly some of these concepts. So

342
00:20:13.720 --> 00:20:19.160
AI gave me this. The sources of conflict between faith

343
00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:27.640
and sight Number one, they give human natures need for tangibility.

344
00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:33.720
Humans are wired to rely on their senses and reasoning

345
00:20:33.799 --> 00:20:38.200
to interpret the world, making it challenging to trust in

346
00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:42.920
something unseen or not immediately verifiable. Faith, however, calls Christians

347
00:20:42.920 --> 00:20:48.160
to move beyond sensory evidence to rely on God's promises,

348
00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:52.000
even if they don't align with visible circumstances. Now, this

349
00:20:52.079 --> 00:20:54.559
is where the problem shows up. And I think, and

350
00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:59.119
at least with me and a lot of Christians, because

351
00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:02.519
they say, lying on God's promises and as long as

352
00:21:02.519 --> 00:21:05.480
I have a promise, who cares if they don't align

353
00:21:05.559 --> 00:21:09.359
with visible circumstances. And that sounds so good, and that

354
00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:12.079
preach is so good, and there is maybe a level

355
00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:14.720
of that I can agree with, but there is also

356
00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:18.559
a danger. Charismatics will say, see, we rely on God's

357
00:21:18.599 --> 00:21:22.519
promises even if they don't align with visible circumstances. God

358
00:21:22.599 --> 00:21:26.599
guarantees healing by his stripes. We are healed, so healing

359
00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:28.960
is guaranteed for now. And you're like, wa, wait, wait, wait,

360
00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:32.400
I don't think that this is a conflict in that

361
00:21:32.519 --> 00:21:38.400
case between God's promises and visible circumstances. I think because

362
00:21:38.440 --> 00:21:44.359
you are misinterpreting those promises and misapplying those promises, right,

363
00:21:44.480 --> 00:21:48.000
see that. I don't think the charismatic issue is that, well,

364
00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:50.920
they're walking by faith and I'm walking by sight. I No.

365
00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:53.920
I think the issue is they're putting faith and promises

366
00:21:54.319 --> 00:22:00.319
based off of misinterpretation and a misunderstanding. Is healing guarantee

367
00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:04.079
in the atonement? Well, yes, and glorification when there'll be

368
00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:06.039
no more pain, no more suffering, no more death, and

369
00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:11.640
will have a new body. Then not for now, So

370
00:22:11.720 --> 00:22:17.240
it's a misunderstanding. So I believe faith, and now see

371
00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:20.599
this is where I would would argue, if I put

372
00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:23.440
faith that there is a time of glorification in a

373
00:22:23.480 --> 00:22:26.000
new body, that I am putting my faith in that

374
00:22:26.039 --> 00:22:29.720
which I cannot see, which goes beyond and it does

375
00:22:29.759 --> 00:22:34.519
not necessarily align with visible circumstances. So in that case,

376
00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:37.039
it is doing that I am putting my faith in

377
00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:40.759
something I cannot see that goes beyond visible circumstances. But

378
00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:44.720
at least it still can be somewhat correlated with reality,

379
00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:47.839
because they can explain the reality now of people not

380
00:22:47.880 --> 00:22:51.599
being healed, people not being healed, death, death, death, death, death, death,

381
00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:58.599
children suffering, people suffering, pain, disease, all the things, because

382
00:22:58.599 --> 00:23:01.559
it would be remove those promises not being for now,

383
00:23:01.720 --> 00:23:05.599
but being for eternity. See, then I can correlate. I

384
00:23:05.640 --> 00:23:12.599
can correlate and connect my faith to reality. So I

385
00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:15.640
do believe human nature has a need for tangibility, and

386
00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:18.200
I think that need for tangibility means that there has

387
00:23:18.279 --> 00:23:22.000
to be some way to correlate and connect faith and

388
00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:27.519
reality to something that actually works and not basically Halloween

389
00:23:27.880 --> 00:23:29.920
every day of the year where we're all dressed up

390
00:23:29.960 --> 00:23:35.440
pretending something that's not the case. Saying when people say, well,

391
00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:37.279
if anyone's on Christ is a new creature, old things

392
00:23:37.319 --> 00:23:39.279
have passed away, all things have become new. Well, you

393
00:23:39.319 --> 00:23:41.680
can put your faith in this promise and say that

394
00:23:41.720 --> 00:23:43.599
it's for now, but you're going to be living in

395
00:23:43.720 --> 00:23:47.279
complete disconnect between faith and reality. But if I understand

396
00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:50.759
that promise to be referencing my position in Christ, if

397
00:23:50.799 --> 00:23:54.440
anyone is in Christ, that's my position, then I'm a

398
00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:56.359
new creature. Old things are passed away, all things have

399
00:23:56.400 --> 00:23:59.759
become new. It is speaking of my positional reality. Now

400
00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:04.359
I cannot see that reality. It does go beyond visible circumstances,

401
00:24:04.599 --> 00:24:09.160
but I can believe it and yet remain in connection

402
00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:13.240
to reality because reality is you're a center. I'm a center,

403
00:24:13.240 --> 00:24:16.559
Sin Sin Sin Sin. Since then, the big mega church

404
00:24:17.480 --> 00:24:20.680
right right down the street from me, five minutes from

405
00:24:20.680 --> 00:24:23.599
my house. There's a south side campus and a north

406
00:24:23.640 --> 00:24:25.759
side campus. I live about five minutes from the south

407
00:24:25.799 --> 00:24:29.960
side campus. It is the Megachurch here in Abilene, Texas. Right.

408
00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:35.559
Oh wait, here's the breaking news story.

409
00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:39.440
Youth leader from the church right down the street arrested

410
00:24:39.880 --> 00:24:50.119
for child pornography. Now, how does that happen? Because the

411
00:24:50.160 --> 00:24:53.680
reality and people, that's horrible. He's not even a Christian. See,

412
00:24:53.720 --> 00:24:55.559
that's what we always run. That's our only way to

413
00:24:55.559 --> 00:24:58.279
be able to see. We can't process that reality that

414
00:24:58.359 --> 00:25:01.039
someone could be in the church, even be a believer,

415
00:25:01.400 --> 00:25:05.400
and be committing some horrible sin. We can't process that

416
00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:08.559
because we want to play dress up. No no, no, no, no, no, no,

417
00:25:08.599 --> 00:25:11.839
we're all perfect. No we're not. We're sinner, sinner, center sinners,

418
00:25:11.880 --> 00:25:14.599
and sinner sin. They may not commit your sin, they

419
00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:18.559
may not commit my sin, but they sin. Oh and

420
00:25:18.599 --> 00:25:20.559
I can, I can go. I can pull up probably

421
00:25:20.680 --> 00:25:24.079
I probably pull up five ten fifteen reports probably from

422
00:25:24.079 --> 00:25:28.680
the last week of different horrible things that's happened inside churches.

423
00:25:33.039 --> 00:25:36.680
I saw there was a report about some either some

424
00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:40.400
form of sexual sin, some something bad in a church, right,

425
00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:45.039
And they said, oh, this is the fruit of once saved,

426
00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:49.160
always saved. Right, And so I wanted to respond to

427
00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:51.920
the person and say, oh, yeah, you're right, because all

428
00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:56.200
of that horrible Catholic sexual abuse scandal, and they and

429
00:25:56.240 --> 00:25:58.480
it's all because they believe in once saved. Oh yeah,

430
00:25:58.519 --> 00:26:01.759
that doesn't work. That doesn't work because because churches who

431
00:26:01.839 --> 00:26:04.680
don't believe in what saved always says they never commit sin.

432
00:26:04.759 --> 00:26:08.039
So we always got to find some reason to excuse,

433
00:26:08.359 --> 00:26:12.839
to explain the sin. It can't just be Christians still sin. No, no, no,

434
00:26:12.880 --> 00:26:15.039
we've already given that up and we're playing dress up.

435
00:26:15.079 --> 00:26:18.319
No no, no, everyone's in Christ They're a new creation.

436
00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:21.319
So basically we don't sin. No, we are a new

437
00:26:21.359 --> 00:26:25.480
creation positionally. Practically, guess what we are? A sinner and

438
00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:28.400
guess what that means. You can have your faith and

439
00:26:28.480 --> 00:26:32.440
still be connected to reality. But Christians want to separate

440
00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:37.880
and so remove the two that we live. We say

441
00:26:38.039 --> 00:26:41.319
and live and say things that are just utterly disconnected

442
00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:45.440
from reality. This is where this what cares. This is

443
00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:50.319
what charismatics do. They live in this fake, fake, fake world.

444
00:26:51.119 --> 00:26:55.160
All right. So the first thing AI gave me was

445
00:26:55.680 --> 00:26:57.960
if I can go back here, if I can go

446
00:26:58.039 --> 00:27:02.319
back here, that human natures need tangibility, We need tangibility,

447
00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:05.079
but that needing it can create the conflict. And I

448
00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:07.680
think what happens is many Christians start denying that need

449
00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:12.200
for tangibility and then turn their faith perspective into tangibility

450
00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:14.119
even when it's not. And I think this leads to

451
00:27:14.839 --> 00:27:22.839
really psychological just craziness. Number two, visible challenges versus spiritual promises.

452
00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:27.720
Life's hardship, such as illness, financial struggles, relational conflicts in

453
00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:33.000
justice often seems inconsistent with God's promises of provision, healing,

454
00:27:33.240 --> 00:27:37.559
and justice. This discrepancy between present trials and God's promises

455
00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:41.160
can cause doubt, as it may feel like faith requires

456
00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:45.039
ignoring or overlooking real life difficulties. And as the thing,

457
00:27:45.160 --> 00:27:47.960
some people so live in this faith world, this faith

458
00:27:48.279 --> 00:27:51.240
we'll call it a faith halloween where they're playing dress

459
00:27:51.319 --> 00:27:55.599
up and they just cannot They have some like, well,

460
00:27:55.759 --> 00:27:57.680
why is all these bad things are happening? So then

461
00:27:57.680 --> 00:28:00.519
they come up with all, well it's satan, Well it's

462
00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:03.680
free will. They come up with a million excuses because

463
00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:07.440
they just can't accept that maybe their idea of faith

464
00:28:07.720 --> 00:28:09.960
and their idea and the promises is that they have

465
00:28:10.200 --> 00:28:14.920
just so disconnected their faith to reality that they've created

466
00:28:14.920 --> 00:28:25.480
a fantasy world. They go on to say a kind

467
00:28:25.519 --> 00:28:28.319
of a third idea that society often lives by empirical

468
00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:32.359
evidence and proof living by faith and what isn't seeing

469
00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:36.519
can feel countercultural or irrational within a world that prioritizes

470
00:28:36.559 --> 00:28:41.160
scientific reasoning and observable outcomes. This cultural backdrop can make

471
00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:45.000
faith based decisions seem disconnected or even foolish. Well, listen,

472
00:28:45.359 --> 00:28:48.960
disconnected decisions can be foolish because in many cases they've

473
00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:51.920
disconnected it with reality. Yes, we live in a world

474
00:28:51.920 --> 00:28:54.559
that should care about empirical evidence. I think we no

475
00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:56.880
longer live in a world that cares about empirical evidence.

476
00:28:57.000 --> 00:28:59.559
That's a whole different discussion, but I think there is,

477
00:29:00.039 --> 00:29:03.400
and I think that that conflict should make us go,

478
00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:06.039
wait a minute, Wait a minute. Have I so abandoned

479
00:29:06.079 --> 00:29:10.240
empirical evidence for a faith concept and that I have

480
00:29:10.359 --> 00:29:15.359
abandoned any connection to reality? Therefore, my theology says things

481
00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:20.079
that are just empirically not true. God guarantees healing. He's

482
00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:23.319
doing all of these miracles. Now you're the empirical evidence

483
00:29:23.359 --> 00:29:25.400
proves that you're a liar, because every time we go

484
00:29:25.440 --> 00:29:28.200
investigate your so called miracles, they turn out not to

485
00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:34.880
be anything but frauds. Oh, if anyone's in Christ is

486
00:29:34.920 --> 00:29:36.400
a new creature, old things have passed away, All things

487
00:29:36.440 --> 00:29:39.759
have become new Is that true? Practically yes, empirical evidence

488
00:29:39.759 --> 00:29:42.160
says you're a liar. Okay, so what do we have

489
00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:44.319
to do? We have to throw out anyone out of

490
00:29:44.319 --> 00:29:47.440
the Kingdom of God who doesn't quo quote unquote live

491
00:29:47.559 --> 00:29:50.000
up to what we claim. But what we're claiming is

492
00:29:50.039 --> 00:29:57.960
not true. Another issue is many Christians grapple with internal

493
00:29:58.039 --> 00:30:03.240
expectations of how God's promises shouldn't be menifest. I think

494
00:30:03.319 --> 00:30:06.440
any real Christian, any good Bible students, should be like,

495
00:30:06.440 --> 00:30:09.599
wait a minute, if that's what God's promising, how should

496
00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:12.759
that be made manifest in a real, practical way. That's

497
00:30:12.799 --> 00:30:15.319
all I do on the podcast. In many cases, when

498
00:30:15.319 --> 00:30:17.839
I challenge Christianity, I'm like, well, wha wait, wait, wait, wait,

499
00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:23.160
you're claiming the scripture says this, but reality tells you

500
00:30:23.240 --> 00:30:27.519
that your interpretation here is maddening, it's insanity. It's not

501
00:30:27.680 --> 00:30:30.799
connected to reality in any way, shape orform. Faith in

502
00:30:30.839 --> 00:30:39.440
reality should have some correlation with these expectations. When these

503
00:30:39.480 --> 00:30:42.599
expectations don't align with actual experiences, it can lead to

504
00:30:42.599 --> 00:30:46.839
frustration and disillusionment. Faith then requires trusting that God's understanding

505
00:30:46.839 --> 00:30:50.839
and timing differ from our own, which can be difficult. Now,

506
00:30:50.880 --> 00:30:54.039
I think it's not about reconciling. I don't think it's

507
00:30:54.079 --> 00:30:57.759
about trusting in God's understanding about timing. Now, I think

508
00:30:57.759 --> 00:30:59.359
what we have to do is sometimes go, wait a minute,

509
00:30:59.559 --> 00:31:04.000
is my am I believing something that's not actually been promised?

510
00:31:05.680 --> 00:31:08.599
For example, if anyone's in crisis, a new creature old things,

511
00:31:09.480 --> 00:31:11.599
old things have passed away, all things have become new. Well,

512
00:31:11.640 --> 00:31:14.400
if I connect that promise to real life every day,

513
00:31:14.559 --> 00:31:17.200
that I basically be completely transformed, well, then the only

514
00:31:17.279 --> 00:31:21.960
practical reality would be sinlessness. Well, since no one is sinless,

515
00:31:22.279 --> 00:31:24.519
then I either have to argue people aren't saved, which

516
00:31:24.519 --> 00:31:28.200
would include me because I'm not sinless, or maybe we

517
00:31:28.279 --> 00:31:31.200
misunderstand this promise, and then we can say, well, if

518
00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:33.839
we look at it from a theological perspective, this speaks

519
00:31:33.880 --> 00:31:36.960
of my standing before God based off imputed righteousness, and

520
00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:39.759
practically I'm still going to sin. So there, I don't

521
00:31:39.799 --> 00:31:41.440
have to say, well, I got to try to come

522
00:31:41.480 --> 00:31:44.480
up with some explanation. No, there, I've been able to

523
00:31:44.640 --> 00:31:50.480
maintain the scriptural belief, place it in a correct philological perspective,

524
00:31:50.839 --> 00:31:58.440
and maintain my connection to reality. Now, AI says this

525
00:31:58.599 --> 00:32:03.240
conflict isn't about denying reality. Now, this is where I

526
00:32:03.240 --> 00:32:05.920
don't know if I agree with this statement. This conflict

527
00:32:05.960 --> 00:32:09.960
isn't about denying reality, but reinterpreting it through the lens

528
00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:12.799
of faith. Now I get a little nervous there. I

529
00:32:12.839 --> 00:32:17.240
don't think we need to reinterpret reality. I think what

530
00:32:17.279 --> 00:32:20.839
we have to do is reinterpret our understanding of the

531
00:32:20.839 --> 00:32:23.680
things we read in scripture that we then create a

532
00:32:23.960 --> 00:32:27.680
fantasy faith world, a faith Halloween where we play dress

533
00:32:27.759 --> 00:32:30.240
up to pretend something that's not real. I think what

534
00:32:30.240 --> 00:32:33.480
we have to do is reinterpret how we've understood these

535
00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:36.039
things and our faith and go, wait a minute, there's

536
00:32:36.079 --> 00:32:37.960
got to be a way that this correlates better with

537
00:32:38.039 --> 00:32:40.839
reality to some level. I'm not saying this is always

538
00:32:40.920 --> 00:32:42.759
going to be the case, but it has to at

539
00:32:42.839 --> 00:32:49.640
least be a major a major point of it. They say.

540
00:32:49.640 --> 00:32:53.200
Here is some of the approaches Christians take viewing challenges

541
00:32:53.200 --> 00:32:56.160
as faith building. Some believe that visible hardships or opportunities

542
00:32:56.160 --> 00:32:58.279
for God to deepen their faith as they trust Him

543
00:32:58.279 --> 00:33:01.319
to work behind the scenes, even in adverse. So they're like, Hey,

544
00:33:01.559 --> 00:33:04.359
there's these problems, but God's using it. Okay, great, but

545
00:33:04.839 --> 00:33:07.799
you're still acknowledging the problem, and you're still not creating

546
00:33:07.839 --> 00:33:11.119
some idea that these problems should just magically go away.

547
00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:13.720
So I think that that is at least putting faith

548
00:33:13.759 --> 00:33:19.359
in reality together. Many Christians hold that while what is

549
00:33:19.480 --> 00:33:24.079
visible is temporary and what and while spiritual truths are eternal,

550
00:33:24.440 --> 00:33:27.480
this perspective can provide comfort is that frames current experience

551
00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:31.720
and experience within a large faith centered narrative. Now, I

552
00:33:31.880 --> 00:33:35.119
like this when I see some promises. That promise may

553
00:33:35.160 --> 00:33:38.799
be for eternity, that promise may be about my position,

554
00:33:39.200 --> 00:33:42.559
it's not about my temporal practical life. And if I

555
00:33:42.599 --> 00:33:46.039
can separate that, then I can have the eternal promise,

556
00:33:46.240 --> 00:33:48.799
I can have the positional promise and at the same

557
00:33:48.839 --> 00:33:54.960
time acknowledge the temporal, practical reality. So that means I'm

558
00:33:54.960 --> 00:33:58.799
interpreting the Bible and its proper context because I'm understanding

559
00:33:58.920 --> 00:34:02.599
that's an eternal promise, not a temporary promise, and that

560
00:34:02.720 --> 00:34:05.960
is a positional promise, not a practical promise. Therefore, I

561
00:34:05.960 --> 00:34:08.960
can acknowledge the position and the eternity, and yet very

562
00:34:09.000 --> 00:34:19.880
much willing to acknowledge here's reality. Now. AI went on

563
00:34:19.960 --> 00:34:22.559
to say the tension between faith and sight can be

564
00:34:22.639 --> 00:34:26.760
uncomfortable and challenging, but Hodges and many other Christian teachers

565
00:34:27.079 --> 00:34:30.960
see this struggles central to spiritual growth. The conflict becomes

566
00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:33.960
an invitation to rely less on human understanding and more

567
00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:36.559
on God's promises. See I don't know about that. I

568
00:34:36.599 --> 00:34:39.119
don't think the conflict becomes an invitation to rely less

569
00:34:39.159 --> 00:34:44.280
on human understanding. I just I disagree with that. It's

570
00:34:44.360 --> 00:34:48.199
human understanding and how we understand the Bible right because

571
00:34:48.199 --> 00:34:53.320
we're using principles of reading, reading, comprehension, reading interpretation. I

572
00:34:53.360 --> 00:34:56.400
know many see, even many Christians. That's why we'll never

573
00:34:56.440 --> 00:34:59.199
agree on biblical harmoneutics, because many Christians believe it's some

574
00:34:59.320 --> 00:35:02.960
mystical thing just praying God will tell me what the

575
00:35:02.960 --> 00:35:05.800
passage means while people have been praying for two thousand years,

576
00:35:05.840 --> 00:35:08.039
and if God is telling everyone the meaning of the passage,

577
00:35:08.119 --> 00:35:13.039
something went wrong because nobody agrees. I don't think it's

578
00:35:13.079 --> 00:35:17.639
a it's where we decide to become less to rely

579
00:35:17.800 --> 00:35:20.159
less on human understanding. I think this is where we

580
00:35:20.400 --> 00:35:24.480
become more acknowledging of human understanding, but at the same

581
00:35:24.599 --> 00:35:28.119
time trying to ensure that we're understanding scripture correctly and

582
00:35:28.360 --> 00:35:37.039
light of what we see in experience cultivating a faith

583
00:35:37.239 --> 00:35:40.800
that matures it learns to trust in God's invisible yet

584
00:35:40.880 --> 00:35:43.760
enduring presence and power. Well, I can trust in God's

585
00:35:43.840 --> 00:35:47.079
enduring presence and power, but I must understand that sometimes

586
00:35:47.079 --> 00:35:51.559
that power and that presence is no guarantee that anything

587
00:35:51.679 --> 00:35:54.679
practically is going to change or anything's going to happen,

588
00:35:54.800 --> 00:35:58.400
because that promises, those promises may be about eternity and

589
00:35:58.440 --> 00:36:05.639
about my position and not practice and not temporary. So

590
00:36:05.719 --> 00:36:09.199
after reading AI, I was like, huh, I got some

591
00:36:09.320 --> 00:36:13.119
problems here. So I questioned AI. I said, well, shouldn't

592
00:36:13.119 --> 00:36:17.679
there be some correlation if someone says things like God

593
00:36:17.800 --> 00:36:20.880
is guaranteed physical healing in this life and God is

594
00:36:20.920 --> 00:36:24.320
freed from sin, so we can say noicein and yes

595
00:36:24.360 --> 00:36:27.320
to God, and at the very same time, reality says

596
00:36:27.800 --> 00:36:31.559
healing isn't guaranteed in any way possible, and Christians obviously

597
00:36:31.559 --> 00:36:33.880
can't stop sinning because we never come close to God's

598
00:36:33.880 --> 00:36:39.280
standard up perfection. There has to be some place for reality.

599
00:36:40.480 --> 00:36:45.079
So AI says, you raise a crucial point that many

600
00:36:45.119 --> 00:36:49.360
people grapple with. There's a real tension between the promises

601
00:36:49.440 --> 00:36:53.519
often taught or assumed in Christian faith. Let me say

602
00:36:53.519 --> 00:36:56.760
that again. I love how Ai says that there is

603
00:36:56.800 --> 00:37:01.840
a conflict. There is a tension between the promises often

604
00:37:02.159 --> 00:37:09.920
taught or assumed in Christian faith. Christians just assume promises.

605
00:37:11.039 --> 00:37:13.719
They just hear things being taught in many cases the

606
00:37:13.760 --> 00:37:17.400
teaching of the promises and the ideas. Again, those promises

607
00:37:17.480 --> 00:37:21.079
and ideas are about eternity and positional, they're not about

608
00:37:21.079 --> 00:37:23.800
the temporal and the practical. But yet we just assume

609
00:37:23.880 --> 00:37:26.079
that they are. And so then you come into Christianity

610
00:37:26.079 --> 00:37:29.079
and they're like, here's your Halloween costume. Welcome to a

611
00:37:29.159 --> 00:37:32.320
life of faith. Halloween. You're gonna play dress up and

612
00:37:32.400 --> 00:37:34.920
you're gonna pretend to be this, this, and you're never

613
00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:37.079
any of these things, but we're all gonna pretend it.

614
00:37:37.159 --> 00:37:39.159
We're gonna pretend that this is happening, and we're gonna

615
00:37:39.159 --> 00:37:41.960
pretend this is happening. And someone's got to say, hey, hey, hey,

616
00:37:42.079 --> 00:37:53.960
Halloween's over. Take off the costume. It says there's a

617
00:37:54.000 --> 00:37:56.480
real tension between promises often taught or assumed in the

618
00:37:56.519 --> 00:38:00.559
Christian faith and what's actually observed. The expectation that faith

619
00:38:00.559 --> 00:38:03.719
will correlate with reality, especially in specific areas like healing

620
00:38:03.719 --> 00:38:08.679
your sinlessness does not does seem necessary for a grounded

621
00:38:08.840 --> 00:38:12.639
honest faith. If you want a grounded honest faith, there

622
00:38:12.719 --> 00:38:17.079
has to be a correlation between faith and reality. If

623
00:38:17.119 --> 00:38:21.280
you disconnect that, it just loses. You've lost, I don't

624
00:38:21.320 --> 00:38:23.760
know what you you You've left the planet. You're You're

625
00:38:23.840 --> 00:38:26.480
just over there in fantasy land. It's like, okay, hey, hey, hey, hey,

626
00:38:26.639 --> 00:38:30.199
what's that over there? Oh? Sh be quiet? Why because

627
00:38:30.239 --> 00:38:33.719
they're playing they're playing make believe. They're playing fantasy. We

628
00:38:33.760 --> 00:38:36.079
don't want to We don't want to disturb them. But

629
00:38:36.079 --> 00:38:40.159
but don't don't they shouldn't they wake up? Ssh, they're Christians.

630
00:38:40.400 --> 00:38:42.719
We don't want to disturb their make believe world. Let

631
00:38:42.719 --> 00:38:49.880
them should be very quiet. Now. I know that's offensive

632
00:38:49.880 --> 00:38:52.960
to many Christians, but that's exactly what happens. There's we

633
00:38:53.079 --> 00:38:59.159
we just we untether ourselves from being connected. We cut

634
00:38:59.199 --> 00:39:02.400
away the anchor. We just drift away into cuckoo land. Okay,

635
00:39:02.440 --> 00:39:07.880
that's what happens. Cuckoo for cocoa puffs is what happens.

636
00:39:09.920 --> 00:39:13.519
We have to have a grounded, honest faith. We have

637
00:39:13.639 --> 00:39:16.960
to we have to have a grounded honest faith if

638
00:39:17.039 --> 00:39:19.800
we don't. I don't know what it is at that point.

639
00:39:20.159 --> 00:39:23.960
Now what some people say, if I say grounded and honest,

640
00:39:24.280 --> 00:39:28.960
they'll say, you're teaching a powerless Christianity, you're removing the miraculous,

641
00:39:29.400 --> 00:39:32.519
or I'm I don't know, trying to live in the

642
00:39:32.559 --> 00:39:36.119
world that we actually live in, you know, the world

643
00:39:36.159 --> 00:39:39.119
we actually can see. Like you could sit there and

644
00:39:39.159 --> 00:39:42.039
pretend all day. You can stand behind the pulpit and

645
00:39:42.079 --> 00:39:45.320
make all your outrageous claims, but when push comes to show,

646
00:39:45.639 --> 00:39:52.039
reality always wins out. That doesn't destroy the concept of faith.

647
00:39:54.639 --> 00:39:58.440
So the importance of this is what AI then says, well,

648
00:39:58.480 --> 00:40:01.599
what is the importance of real list stick correlation and faith?

649
00:40:01.840 --> 00:40:04.840
Oh that's good, Wow, what is important? What is the

650
00:40:05.440 --> 00:40:10.360
importance of realistic correlation and faith? Like? Where does the

651
00:40:10.840 --> 00:40:14.679
How important is reality and correlation with faith? How how

652
00:40:14.719 --> 00:40:19.679
important is it? Well says number one, Faith with integrity.

653
00:40:19.960 --> 00:40:23.239
For faith to hold integrity, it should engage with reality.

654
00:40:23.639 --> 00:40:26.280
If believers are told that God promises physical healing or

655
00:40:26.320 --> 00:40:29.000
sinless victory in this life, and the ongoing presence of

656
00:40:29.039 --> 00:40:32.199
sickness or struggle with sin feel like a contradiction, leading

657
00:40:32.199 --> 00:40:35.800
to confusion or even disillusionment. There's your faith has and

658
00:40:35.840 --> 00:40:39.039
not just that I think you're living a lie. Faith

659
00:40:39.079 --> 00:40:43.960
with integrity is enough to acknowledge. Guys, guys, come on, now,

660
00:40:44.079 --> 00:40:47.920
stop this nonsense. And even in many of the sermons,

661
00:40:48.039 --> 00:40:51.440
especially many that deal with basically, oh, if anyones in

662
00:40:51.519 --> 00:40:54.159
crisis and new creation, whole things have passed away, all

663
00:40:54.199 --> 00:40:56.119
things have become new, You've been set free from sin.

664
00:40:56.199 --> 00:40:58.840
You can say, notice sin and yes to God. All

665
00:40:58.920 --> 00:41:01.119
of them preach that, and we've heard it a million

666
00:41:01.159 --> 00:41:03.280
times in all of our sermon reviews. Then they'll say,

667
00:41:03.360 --> 00:41:08.400
but however, you're still fighting against it, You're still struggling.

668
00:41:08.920 --> 00:41:11.360
You just said that I'm a new creation and everything

669
00:41:11.440 --> 00:41:13.679
is gone and I'm completely free from it. Why am

670
00:41:13.679 --> 00:41:16.239
I struggling? What am I fighting? That? They and they

671
00:41:16.280 --> 00:41:19.000
contradict themselves because no matter how much they want to

672
00:41:19.039 --> 00:41:22.159
teach that, even they can't go so far to say

673
00:41:22.320 --> 00:41:25.280
you can be sinless because they know deep down they can't.

674
00:41:25.840 --> 00:41:27.840
So why don't we just be more honest with that

675
00:41:28.039 --> 00:41:32.119
and say, hmm, maybe our theology is messed up here,

676
00:41:32.280 --> 00:41:34.559
because you know what, if you don't fix that, you

677
00:41:34.599 --> 00:41:39.400
know what you create, You create a situation where not

678
00:41:39.559 --> 00:41:43.880
now most Christians are good at playing dress up. I

679
00:41:43.920 --> 00:41:46.639
think the majority go to church, they're ready, they're ready

680
00:41:46.679 --> 00:41:49.599
for their their their faith Halloween costume, and they play

681
00:41:49.679 --> 00:41:51.920
dress up right, and they're ready, they're ready to go.

682
00:41:52.480 --> 00:41:56.679
But there's some I think who look around. I think

683
00:41:56.679 --> 00:41:59.719
these are always the minority. They kind of look around

684
00:41:59.760 --> 00:42:01.880
and and kind of like they start taking off the

685
00:42:01.880 --> 00:42:05.840
costume and they're like, guys, what are we doing? You sin?

686
00:42:06.119 --> 00:42:09.280
I sin? God's standard is perfect. Nobody here. What are

687
00:42:09.320 --> 00:42:12.320
you talking about? People being healed? This person died, this

688
00:42:12.360 --> 00:42:14.920
person got sick, this person, what are you talking about?

689
00:42:17.159 --> 00:42:19.440
And they become disillusion and you know what, They'll start

690
00:42:19.440 --> 00:42:24.519
thinking that Christianity is a scam. It's not Christianity as

691
00:42:24.559 --> 00:42:26.800
a scam. You went to a fake you went to

692
00:42:26.880 --> 00:42:34.639
a church dedicated to faith Halloween. So I need we

693
00:42:34.719 --> 00:42:39.480
faith with integrity. Number two. Avoiding misinterpretation of promises. Many

694
00:42:39.519 --> 00:42:44.199
theological traditions interpret certain promises of healing or freedom from

695
00:42:44.280 --> 00:42:48.159
sin as ultimate promises fulfilled in the new creation, rather

696
00:42:48.199 --> 00:42:52.440
than immediate ones. This interpretation allows for a realistic faith

697
00:42:52.480 --> 00:42:55.679
that sees God's promises as beginning now but reaching full

698
00:42:55.719 --> 00:42:58.639
expression only in eternity. For example, freedom from sin is

699
00:42:58.719 --> 00:43:01.679
viewed as a positional being declared righteous by God, but

700
00:43:01.800 --> 00:43:05.119
not yet fully practical, still wrestling with sin daily. That's

701
00:43:05.159 --> 00:43:07.559
what I've always talking about that so much of this

702
00:43:07.679 --> 00:43:11.320
is not even as you disconnect faith from reality when

703
00:43:11.360 --> 00:43:16.679
you misinterpret promises. When you go to Ezekiel thirty six,

704
00:43:16.719 --> 00:43:19.559
that's clearly about Israel and say, oh, we get a

705
00:43:19.559 --> 00:43:21.440
new heart, we get a new this, we get work

706
00:43:21.519 --> 00:43:23.559
perfect on the inside. We have a new heart, we

707
00:43:23.599 --> 00:43:26.800
have a new spirit. We've been set free from sin. Well,

708
00:43:26.840 --> 00:43:31.239
you preach it that way. Nobody's experiencing that, so why

709
00:43:31.280 --> 00:43:35.440
are you pretending? But I can understand. Well, first that

710
00:43:35.559 --> 00:43:38.639
promise for a new heart, and ezekiels for Israel, and

711
00:43:38.679 --> 00:43:40.599
they get that right before they go into the land.

712
00:43:40.760 --> 00:43:42.679
So you already got to just put that in its

713
00:43:42.679 --> 00:43:45.840
proper context. But many of the other passages, if anyone

714
00:43:45.920 --> 00:43:47.880
is in crisis, a new creational things passed away, all

715
00:43:47.880 --> 00:43:54.000
things wound come new. It's clearly positional, not practical. So

716
00:43:54.079 --> 00:43:58.360
then I can guess what I can still have faith

717
00:43:59.440 --> 00:44:06.599
that's connected to reality. See this interpretation allows for a

718
00:44:06.639 --> 00:44:10.199
realistic faith that sees God, that sees God's promises, is

719
00:44:10.239 --> 00:44:12.360
beginning now, but reaching full expression and an attorney. But

720
00:44:12.400 --> 00:44:15.239
I want you to hear that if a realistic faith

721
00:44:17.079 --> 00:44:28.360
faith connected to real reality, it's a realistic faith. Now

722
00:44:28.400 --> 00:44:33.159
I've got more here. I'm skipping some. A faith that

723
00:44:33.320 --> 00:44:40.320
incorporates reality tends to recognize the role of suffering, imperfection

724
00:44:40.559 --> 00:44:45.559
and brokenness in this life. This view doesn't dismiss faith. Rather,

725
00:44:45.599 --> 00:44:48.519
it suggests that faith can grow precisely because of challenges.

726
00:44:48.880 --> 00:44:52.039
Faith in this sense isn't about denying reality, but trusting

727
00:44:52.039 --> 00:44:55.920
God's promises for the future while accepting the imperfect, complex

728
00:44:56.039 --> 00:45:02.519
nature of the present. We've got to have that. There's

729
00:45:02.559 --> 00:45:13.159
a balance faith, but there's a reality. Many believe that

730
00:45:13.280 --> 00:45:18.880
a mature faith can hold the tension between God's promises

731
00:45:19.159 --> 00:45:24.760
and the current imperfect state of the world. This perspective

732
00:45:24.800 --> 00:45:29.000
acknowledges that while certain realities don't yet align with divine promises,

733
00:45:29.039 --> 00:45:31.800
faith is still meaningful because it points towards the future

734
00:45:31.800 --> 00:45:35.239
where those promises are ultimately fulfilled. This allows believers to

735
00:45:35.280 --> 00:45:38.039
live with hope while also being honest about the limits

736
00:45:38.039 --> 00:45:42.159
and struggles present in this life. I think that the

737
00:45:42.639 --> 00:45:45.320
more mature you become in your faith, this is what

738
00:45:45.440 --> 00:45:51.039
I think immature faith. You just put on the Halloween

739
00:45:51.079 --> 00:45:54.960
costume and you're run around pretending to be whatever because

740
00:45:55.000 --> 00:45:58.119
you can't accept the reality. The reality is too much

741
00:45:58.239 --> 00:46:00.800
for you. The more mature you finally like, you know what,

742
00:46:00.840 --> 00:46:03.719
I got to take off the costume. Ladies and gentlemen, Okay,

743
00:46:03.920 --> 00:46:06.599
I'm not this. I'm not this, I'm not that. I'm

744
00:46:06.599 --> 00:46:09.519
a sinner. You're a sinner. God is not healing. All

745
00:46:09.559 --> 00:46:12.239
these supposed things are happening, are not happening. None of

746
00:46:12.280 --> 00:46:15.800
this makes any sense. This is all broken. Come on, guys,

747
00:46:16.079 --> 00:46:21.639
let's have a faith rooted in reality. That's maturity. Immaturity

748
00:46:21.880 --> 00:46:25.159
is you just create a fantasy world. Oh you may

749
00:46:25.199 --> 00:46:29.840
talk with much more bravado, you may talk with much

750
00:46:29.880 --> 00:46:32.840
more whoo, you've got it all figured out. And you

751
00:46:32.920 --> 00:46:36.119
sound so certain, and you sound so dogmatic, and you

752
00:46:36.159 --> 00:46:39.840
sound so sure, and you're so condemning and you're so judgmental,

753
00:46:39.960 --> 00:46:42.519
and you think you've got it all figured out. That's

754
00:46:42.559 --> 00:46:46.400
because you're immature. And trust me, I've spent most of

755
00:46:46.400 --> 00:46:57.000
my Christian life right there in the immature classroom. Allowing

756
00:46:57.119 --> 00:47:02.519
faith to correlate with observable reality creates a more sustainable

757
00:47:02.880 --> 00:47:06.599
and resilient belief system, one that holds on to hope

758
00:47:06.599 --> 00:47:11.400
without requiring the distortion of what is tangibly experienced. We

759
00:47:11.440 --> 00:47:25.880
don't distort our reality. We acknowledge it. So when we

760
00:47:25.920 --> 00:47:28.840
get to secret number five and it talks about faith,

761
00:47:29.000 --> 00:47:31.559
we'll see how they handle it. But I just want

762
00:47:31.599 --> 00:47:33.880
to see that there is has to be a correlation

763
00:47:34.199 --> 00:47:39.639
between faith and reality. Faith and reality, how do they connect?

764
00:47:39.880 --> 00:47:46.000
Typically we put at odds faith versus reality. There there's

765
00:47:46.000 --> 00:47:49.119
a there's a there's a an attack between the two.

766
00:47:49.400 --> 00:47:54.199
And I understand that right, in some ways, there is

767
00:47:54.360 --> 00:47:57.519
a conflict between faith and reality. So let me try

768
00:47:57.559 --> 00:48:01.360
to explain in some ways there is right if I

769
00:48:01.440 --> 00:48:03.519
believe that there's gonna come a time, I'm gonna have

770
00:48:03.920 --> 00:48:05.840
a new hen, there's gonna be a new heaven, a

771
00:48:05.840 --> 00:48:08.039
new earth, I'm gonna have a new body, there's gonna

772
00:48:08.079 --> 00:48:11.559
go wait, no more pain, no more suffering, no more death. Okay,

773
00:48:11.719 --> 00:48:14.760
none of that correlates with reality. Reality would not lead

774
00:48:14.800 --> 00:48:17.199
me to that conclusion in any way. There's my faith,

775
00:48:19.920 --> 00:48:22.960
So there is a core, there is a disconnect there,

776
00:48:23.039 --> 00:48:25.880
there is a conflict there. But at the same time,

777
00:48:27.039 --> 00:48:30.000
by saying that it's going to happen, but it's not yet.

778
00:48:30.159 --> 00:48:33.599
Now I can then at the same time hope, maintain

779
00:48:33.679 --> 00:48:36.320
that faith, but then put that faith in the context

780
00:48:36.320 --> 00:48:38.920
of reality and go. But as of right now, I'm

781
00:48:38.960 --> 00:48:41.400
still a sinner. I still have a sinful nature. I

782
00:48:41.440 --> 00:48:43.960
cannot fulfill the law of God. There's gonna be pain,

783
00:48:44.119 --> 00:48:46.760
there's gonna be suffering, there's gonna be death. God's not

784
00:48:46.840 --> 00:48:49.159
going to intervene and do all these miraculous things as

785
00:48:49.199 --> 00:48:52.000
he's done in the past. He's not healing people today

786
00:48:52.159 --> 00:48:54.639
as he has in the past. There's just those things

787
00:48:54.679 --> 00:48:57.119
are not occurring, or it would be everywhere twenty four

788
00:48:57.159 --> 00:49:00.000
to seven. It's not happening. And if it does happen,

789
00:49:00.079 --> 00:49:04.400
and you're talking about something that's so well unusual, it's

790
00:49:04.400 --> 00:49:07.719
because it's supernatural. It's not natural. It's something that would

791
00:49:07.760 --> 00:49:11.199
be so just obviously it's not seen all the time.

792
00:49:11.199 --> 00:49:14.039
It would be everywhere and all and every single time

793
00:49:14.079 --> 00:49:16.280
you hear claims that this stuff. What if we find

794
00:49:16.320 --> 00:49:19.679
out either they won't give us evidence, or they won't

795
00:49:20.039 --> 00:49:22.760
open up, you know, the medical files, or or you

796
00:49:22.760 --> 00:49:24.719
start doing a little bit of investigation, you'd be like

797
00:49:24.800 --> 00:49:27.119
what or they just give you something like, well, this

798
00:49:27.159 --> 00:49:29.880
person was having cancer and it went into remission, and

799
00:49:29.920 --> 00:49:33.159
that happens to atheists too, Okay, and I without even

800
00:49:33.199 --> 00:49:37.559
any prayer. Okay, things happen medically that are unexplainable, and

801
00:49:37.599 --> 00:49:40.840
it happens to people who pray. People have different faiths.

802
00:49:40.920 --> 00:49:44.119
So you can, you can try to, you can do

803
00:49:44.199 --> 00:49:46.360
whatever you want with that. But then again you start

804
00:49:46.440 --> 00:49:49.039
trying to make it more pretend instead of connecting it

805
00:49:49.079 --> 00:49:58.239
to reality. There's gotta be got to be. They gotta

806
00:49:58.320 --> 00:50:08.320
be together somehow, they have to be. And I think

807
00:50:08.360 --> 00:50:16.760
the Bible exists with the connection between the two. Right.

808
00:50:19.400 --> 00:50:22.519
The Bible may say that, hey, we're in that we

809
00:50:22.559 --> 00:50:25.800
are a new creation in Christ, and you know, and

810
00:50:26.079 --> 00:50:27.800
the old things have passed away, all things have become new.

811
00:50:27.800 --> 00:50:29.679
But the Bible also says, for I know that I

812
00:50:29.719 --> 00:50:32.440
know that good itself does not dwell in me, that

813
00:50:32.559 --> 00:50:34.639
is in my sinful nature. For I have the desire

814
00:50:34.679 --> 00:50:36.760
to do what is good, but I cannot carry it

815
00:50:36.960 --> 00:50:39.960
out the Bible. The Bible, the same author who says,

816
00:50:40.159 --> 00:50:42.320
if anyone's in Christ is a new creation, old things

817
00:50:42.360 --> 00:50:44.400
have passed away, all things have become new, are the same?

818
00:50:44.599 --> 00:50:46.719
Is the same one who said, Hey, I want to

819
00:50:46.760 --> 00:50:48.559
do good, but I can't do it, and I continue

820
00:50:48.559 --> 00:50:51.039
to sin and I continue to struggle. How do we

821
00:50:51.079 --> 00:50:55.639
reconcile the two. Well, maybe the promise it is about

822
00:50:55.639 --> 00:50:58.599
position and not practice, and practice is we struggle and

823
00:50:58.679 --> 00:51:02.800
we sin. See. I think if we put the promises

824
00:51:02.840 --> 00:51:04.960
in the right category and in the right place and

825
00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:07.760
in the right timing, then we can maintain our faith

826
00:51:08.519 --> 00:51:11.159
even though it's going to be in conflict to some level,

827
00:51:11.719 --> 00:51:15.239
but at the same time have a correlation between our

828
00:51:15.239 --> 00:51:18.320
faith and the real world of what you know, what

829
00:51:18.360 --> 00:51:22.679
you see, and what you experience. And the more your

830
00:51:22.719 --> 00:51:33.599
faith removes you from reality, the more worthless your faith becomes.

831
00:51:36.400 --> 00:51:43.440
You move towards immaturity and not maturity. I think the

832
00:51:43.440 --> 00:51:55.360
Biblical writers constantly acknowledge reality. All right, I will stop there.

833
00:51:55.480 --> 00:51:59.280
It's fast approaching four pm Central time here in West Texas.

834
00:52:00.039 --> 00:52:04.320
Won't be long. People are going to be knocking on

835
00:52:04.360 --> 00:52:08.480
your door. You're gonna open it up. You're gonna see

836
00:52:08.480 --> 00:52:18.079
all these costumes. Now, you know reality versus the fantasy.

837
00:52:18.239 --> 00:52:22.760
You know the difference, and you can allow them to

838
00:52:22.800 --> 00:52:27.840
play dress up, pretend you can even Oh, oh, that's

839
00:52:27.840 --> 00:52:31.639
so scary. Oh iron man, I'm so glad you're here.

840
00:52:32.039 --> 00:52:34.519
There's some bad guys two blocks down the street. Go

841
00:52:34.559 --> 00:52:36.119
catch them and put them in jail. Right, you can

842
00:52:36.159 --> 00:52:40.119
play it long because you know the reality you still

843
00:52:40.119 --> 00:52:42.559
are connected to. You can have a little fantasy, but

844
00:52:42.639 --> 00:52:45.639
still connected to reality. And I think as Christians we

845
00:52:45.639 --> 00:52:51.119
can have faith. It's got to be connected to reality.

846
00:52:51.159 --> 00:52:54.920
And when people stop being connected to reality and fantasy,

847
00:52:55.320 --> 00:52:59.880
bad things happen, really bad things. And when Christians disconnect

848
00:53:00.239 --> 00:53:06.639
reality and their faith, I think theologically, biblically and practically

849
00:53:07.199 --> 00:53:11.320
gets a little weird. You can tell me what you think.

850
00:53:13.159 --> 00:53:15.079
I always want to hear from you, so I appreciate

851
00:53:15.079 --> 00:53:19.199
any feedback you may provide. But for now, go do

852
00:53:19.239 --> 00:53:22.000
whatever you do, whatever you're going to do tonight. Not

853
00:53:22.039 --> 00:53:24.000
here saying telling you what to do or not to do,

854
00:53:24.039 --> 00:53:25.960
because I know Christians will fight about this fro until

855
00:53:25.960 --> 00:53:27.840
the end of time, so I'm not here to get

856
00:53:27.840 --> 00:53:31.559
into the fight. I'm just acknowledging the reality that it's

857
00:53:31.599 --> 00:53:34.360
Halloween in the United States of America. You may choose

858
00:53:34.360 --> 00:53:36.039
not to participate in it, but if you look out

859
00:53:36.039 --> 00:53:38.360
your front door, you're going to see the reality of it.

860
00:53:40.000 --> 00:53:43.519
So I'm just using that reality to try to show

861
00:53:43.559 --> 00:53:47.159
you that we in some ways play faith Halloween where

862
00:53:47.199 --> 00:53:54.880
we dress up. Thank you for listening, God bless