WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 –> 00:00:07.000 You’re listening to the sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open The Bible. 00:00:07.000 –> 00:00:12.660 To contact us, call us at 1-877-Open365. 00:00:12.660 –> 00:00:15.000 Or visit our website at openthebible.org. 00:00:15.000 –> 00:00:17.760 Let’s get to the message. 00:00:17.760 –> 00:00:18.760 Here is Pastor Colin. 00:00:18.760 –> 00:00:26.459 Would you open your Bibles please at 2nd Timothy 1 and verse 12. 00:00:26.559 –> 00:00:31.059 What a marvelous, marvelous statement of scripture. 00:00:31.059 –> 00:00:40.580 It is so rich and speaks to the greatest realities and greatest trials of all of our lives. 00:00:40.580 –> 00:00:47.660 2nd Timothy Chapter 1 and verse 12. 00:00:47.660 –> 00:00:53.099 Paul speaks of how he is a herald, an apostle, and a teacher and he says, 00:00:53.099 –> 00:01:02.480 because that is why I am suffering as I am yet I am not ashamed. 00:01:02.480 –> 00:01:13.379 Because I know whom I have believed and I’m convinced that He is able to guard 00:01:13.379 –> 00:01:18.400 what I have entrusted to Him for that day. 00:01:18.400 –> 00:01:28.480 Now, we call this series Christian Confidence in an Uncertain World and it is really about 00:01:28.480 –> 00:01:32.379 how we are going to face life. 00:01:32.379 –> 00:01:40.739 How are we going to live in a post 9- 11 world with all of its dangers and uncertainties? 00:01:40.739 –> 00:01:48.699 How can you live in a world where the lives of college students are taken tragically in 00:01:48.699 –> 00:01:53.379 an accident on a road in an instant? 00:01:53.379 –> 00:02:01.419 How do you live in such a world with all its uncertainty? 00:02:01.419 –> 00:02:06.720 How do you navigate the more ordinary changes of life? 00:02:07.720 –> 00:02:14.119 Last Sunday, our youngest son David graduated from high school. 00:02:14.139 –> 00:02:20.619 And on the same weekend we were invited to be guests at the Seniors Breakfast. 00:02:20.619 –> 00:02:24.539 They have a marvellous group that gathers at the town and country buffet once a month 00:02:24.539 –> 00:02:31.279 and I told them that our youngest son was graduating high school and that we had decided 00:02:31.279 –> 00:02:36.039 to celebrate by joining the seniors for breakfast. 00:02:36.419 –> 00:02:40.600 Several folks, afterwards, assured me that there is indeed a short interval between being 00:02:40.600 –> 00:02:46.119 an empty nester and the Seniors Breakfast, but my observation is that if that goes as 00:02:46.119 –> 00:02:52.080 quickly as the interval between our boys being born and them going off to college, then that 00:02:52.080 –> 00:02:53.720 won’t be very long. 00:02:53.720 –> 00:02:58.600 How do you navigate the changes of life? 00:02:58.600 –> 00:03:04.160 How do you face, when you come to your fortieth birthday, how do you face your eightieth birthday 00:03:04.399 –> 00:03:09.380 when you know that God has said that the normal span of a human life is seventy years, and 00:03:09.380 –> 00:03:14.000 to some, more is given if they have the strength? 00:03:14.000 –> 00:03:20.039 How do you face the doubts and fears that are going to come with changes in your health, 00:03:20.039 –> 00:03:24.119 your life at home, at work, even your ministry in the church? 00:03:24.119 –> 00:03:27.139 How are you going to face disappointment? 00:03:27.139 –> 00:03:32.100 How are you going to stand through an experience of bereavement or loss? 00:03:32.119 –> 00:03:37.619 Now, you see, these are the great questions that are before us today, they are the questions 00:03:37.619 –> 00:03:43.119 that are always before us because they are the questions of life and many of us are struggling 00:03:43.119 –> 00:03:45.639 with these questions right now. 00:03:45.639 –> 00:03:49.039 Things are changing around us. 00:03:49.039 –> 00:03:52.860 How are you going to face that as a Christian? 00:03:52.860 –> 00:03:57.580 How are you going to find the strength to work through it? 00:03:58.020 –> 00:04:03.559 Now, the Apostle Paul has something to share with us out of his own experience, and it’s 00:04:03.559 –> 00:04:07.580 important that it comes out of his own experience, because you know that it’s easy for a man 00:04:07.580 –> 00:04:12.740 to write books if he’s sitting in a cabin overlooking a lake side, talking theory about 00:04:12.740 –> 00:04:14.520 things that he’s never experienced. 00:04:14.520 –> 00:04:17.839 But that is not what we have here. 00:04:17.839 –> 00:04:24.380 We remembered last time that Paul was in prison when he wrote this. 00:04:24.380 –> 00:04:32.160 Jim Hendrickson describes the situation memorably by saying Paul was incarcerated in some dismal 00:04:32.160 –> 00:04:36.940 underground dungeon with a hole in the ceiling for light and air. 00:04:36.940 –> 00:04:37.940 Picture that. 00:04:37.940 –> 00:04:40.920 Picture yourself there. 00:04:40.920 –> 00:04:42.200 Imagine it. 00:04:42.200 –> 00:04:47.119 He was experiencing – we saw it last time – great loneliness. 00:04:47.119 –> 00:04:49.660 He’d come through extraordinary disappointment. 00:04:49.940 –> 00:04:55.640 He knew that he did not have much longer to live. 00:04:55.640 –> 00:05:01.640 So his situation, I think, by any reckoning looked pretty bleak. 00:05:01.640 –> 00:05:05.660 But he had a pen and he had some paper, and sitting in the dark hole, he writes to his 00:05:05.660 –> 00:05:09.720 friend Timothy, who he’d been mentoring for many years. 00:05:09.720 –> 00:05:15.320 Paul was obviously concerned about Timothy as he wrote because Timothy was the kind who 00:05:15.320 –> 00:05:17.839 is nervous by disposition. 00:05:18.760 –> 00:05:23.399 The kind of person who always fears the worst. 00:05:23.399 –> 00:05:27.440 And his natural tendency, Timothy’s natural tendency, would have been to buckle under 00:05:27.440 –> 00:05:28.440 pressure. 00:05:28.440 –> 00:05:33.260 And Paul knows that even the knowledge of his own situation would be the kind of thing 00:05:33.260 –> 00:05:37.720 that would send young Timothy into a tailspin very easily. 00:05:37.720 –> 00:05:41.820 And so he writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so that Timothy will know 00:05:41.820 –> 00:05:47.420 how to stand in the pressure of a changing world. 00:05:47.420 –> 00:05:51.959 We looked last time at what Paul says in verse 8 to 11. 00:05:51.959 –> 00:05:56.440 Timothy whatever happens in your life, you can trace it down, 8 to 11, this is what you 00:05:56.440 –> 00:05:57.440 need to know. 00:05:57.440 –> 00:05:58.579 In Christ you are saved. 00:05:58.579 –> 00:06:00.739 You’re a saved person. 00:06:00.739 –> 00:06:06.119 And in Christ, Timothy, whatever happens, you are called to a holy life. 00:06:06.119 –> 00:06:11.720 And in Christ God’s purpose is that you will reflect the glory of Jesus in time and eternity. 00:06:11.720 –> 00:06:17.459 Timothy that is what I’m holding on to right here in this dark hole of a prison cell. 00:06:17.459 –> 00:06:22.579 Jesus Christ has brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. 00:06:22.579 –> 00:06:26.799 And so, Timothy I have to tell you that though I am facing dark times right now, I am not 00:06:26.799 –> 00:06:30.559 ashamed for I know whom I have believed. 00:06:30.559 –> 00:06:33.660 That’s what he is saying. 00:06:33.660 –> 00:06:38.359 Now, that’s impressive. 00:06:38.399 –> 00:06:44.359 And I don’t know about you, but I have to say for myself, I want to know more about 00:06:44.359 –> 00:06:50.679 how to live with that kind of confidence in the hardest situations. 00:06:50.679 –> 00:06:58.679 In fact, it’s hard to imagine anything that we need more, and that is why it is so valuable 00:06:58.679 –> 00:07:01.980 that we have the privilege of studying this verse together. 00:07:02.700 –> 00:07:09.179 Of course, the remarkable thing is that what we see here is not just a onetime effort, 00:07:09.179 –> 00:07:16.959 in which Paul kind of puts a brave face on things to keep his young friend cheerful. 00:07:16.959 –> 00:07:20.920 You know, anyone can do that for a limited period of time, but there’s more to it with 00:07:20.920 –> 00:07:21.920 Paul. 00:07:21.920 –> 00:07:23.799 This is the character of the man. 00:07:23.799 –> 00:07:29.279 Remember, we’re told earlier from his life, in the Acts of the Apostles, about another 00:07:29.380 –> 00:07:34.820 time when Paul and Silas were in prison, and in the middle of the night, what did we find 00:07:34.820 –> 00:07:35.820 them doing? 00:07:35.820 –> 00:07:37.100 They are singing. 00:07:37.100 –> 00:07:41.339 What makes it possible for a man to sing in prison? 00:07:41.339 –> 00:07:45.579 And that’s worth knowing. 00:07:45.579 –> 00:07:51.000 What is it that makes it possible for a man to endure what Paul endured, and then to have 00:07:51.100 –> 00:07:59.399 this confidence, this assurance, this peace, and even this joy? 00:07:59.399 –> 00:08:05.279 Well this man has clearly found something that enables him to stand in an uncertain 00:08:05.279 –> 00:08:11.119 and changing world, and he tells us what it is. 00:08:11.119 –> 00:08:12.839 And it’s right here. 00:08:13.040 –> 00:08:20.899 In 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 12, I am not ashamed because… 00:08:20.899 –> 00:08:29.220 Now here’s the reason, I know whom I have believed. 00:08:29.220 –> 00:08:33.380 I just go to focus on these six words this morning. 00:08:33.380 –> 00:08:41.059 I’m not ashamed because I know whom I have believed. 00:08:41.080 –> 00:08:49.559 That’s how I’m facing all that’s around me right now, I know whom I have believed. 00:08:51.219 –> 00:08:56.159 Now of course he’s talking about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:08:56.159 –> 00:09:00.340 As you have your Bible open you’ll see that Jesus is clearly the subject of all that he’s 00:09:00.340 –> 00:09:02.080 saying here. 00:09:02.080 –> 00:09:07.580 He tells us how God has saved us by his grace and then tells us in verse 9 that that grace 00:09:07.659 –> 00:09:12.900 was given to us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. 00:09:12.900 –> 00:09:17.219 Then verse 10, but now it has been revealed to us through the appearing of our Savior 00:09:17.219 –> 00:09:23.859 Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through 00:09:23.859 –> 00:09:25.380 the gospel. 00:09:25.380 –> 00:09:29.520 And he says it’s because of this gospel that I’m suffering as I am, but I’m not ashamed 00:09:29.520 –> 00:09:35.460 because I know whom I have believed. 00:09:35.460 –> 00:09:43.059 So I want us just to soak these six words that were life-changing for the apostle Paul 00:09:43.059 –> 00:09:46.780 and their reality into our own minds and our own hearts this morning. 00:09:46.780 –> 00:09:53.179 I want us to come to the place where you could say with the same conviction as the apostle 00:09:53.179 –> 00:10:01.179 Paul, I know whom I have believed. 00:10:01.219 –> 00:10:06.780 As we try and turn this truth over in our minds, let me turn it as it were three ways. 00:10:06.780 –> 00:10:13.419 The first is simply this, that Christian faith is focused on a person. 00:10:13.419 –> 00:10:19.260 I know whom I have believed. 00:10:19.260 –> 00:10:22.080 Christian faith is focused on a person. 00:10:22.080 –> 00:10:27.140 Now I’ve been helped to see the importance of this by thinking about what Paul didn’t 00:10:27.140 –> 00:10:30.479 say. 00:10:30.500 –> 00:10:35.799 He didn’t say, I know what I have believed. 00:10:35.799 –> 00:10:40.799 That would have been the language of systematic theology. 00:10:40.799 –> 00:10:44.320 Now it’s important to know what you believe. 00:10:44.320 –> 00:10:48.799 We set out what we believe in a statement of faith. 00:10:48.799 –> 00:10:50.739 Christians have done that throughout history. 00:10:50.739 –> 00:10:55.419 You know what we believe about God, what we believe about Christ and salvation, and justification 00:10:55.419 –> 00:10:58.159 by faith, and the second coming of Jesus Christ. 00:10:58.239 –> 00:11:02.979 Paul knew all of these things, I mean, remember, he wrote the book of Romans so he knew what 00:11:02.979 –> 00:11:05.340 he believed. 00:11:05.340 –> 00:11:10.059 But when he finds himself in a black hole, that’s not where he goes. 00:11:10.059 –> 00:11:15.340 You don’t find the man of God in the time of his greatest trouble saying, I know my 00:11:15.340 –> 00:11:16.719 doctrine. 00:11:16.719 –> 00:11:18.739 That’s not what he says. 00:11:18.739 –> 00:11:22.320 You find him saying I know Jesus Christ. 00:11:22.320 –> 00:11:24.580 It’s not what I’ve believed. 00:11:24.580 –> 00:11:28.820 It’s whom I have believed. 00:11:28.820 –> 00:11:31.299 Then think about this. 00:11:31.299 –> 00:11:35.979 He didn’t say I know when I believed. 00:11:35.979 –> 00:11:39.380 That would have been the language of personal testimony. 00:11:39.380 –> 00:11:44.659 Now, every Christian has a story of how you came to faith in Jesus Christ. 00:11:44.659 –> 00:11:49.599 You may not remember the exact time or place, but you have, if you are a Christian, a personal 00:11:50.440 –> 00:11:55.380 The Lord Jesus Christ has drawn you to faith in Himself. 00:11:55.380 –> 00:11:57.359 Now, think about it. 00:11:57.359 –> 00:12:02.039 No one could have had a more impressive story than the Apostle Paul. 00:12:02.039 –> 00:12:03.880 I mean, think what he could have said. 00:12:03.880 –> 00:12:09.539 Here I am in prison, but I am not ashamed because 30 years ago Christ appeared to me 00:12:09.539 –> 00:12:14.299 personally on the Damascus road and that was when I knelt in the dust and received Jesus 00:12:14.299 –> 00:12:16.260 Christ as my own personal Savior. 00:12:16.260 –> 00:12:18.380 He could have said that. 00:12:18.380 –> 00:12:21.739 But he didn’t. 00:12:21.739 –> 00:12:23.700 Why? 00:12:23.700 –> 00:12:28.099 Because if you are to stand in this uncertain and changing world, you need more than the 00:12:28.099 –> 00:12:31.400 language of personal testimony. 00:12:31.400 –> 00:12:38.900 You can’t face a faith crisis today on the basis of a faith journey yesterday. 00:12:38.900 –> 00:12:46.059 You can’t face today’s problems with yesterday’s experience and Paul isn’t living in the past. 00:12:46.059 –> 00:12:50.739 He isn’t reaching back to when he once had an experience of Christ. 00:12:50.739 –> 00:12:52.919 It isn’t, I know when I believed. 00:12:52.919 –> 00:12:59.200 It is I know whom I have believed. 00:12:59.200 –> 00:13:02.239 Think of one more possible alternative that occurs to me. 00:13:02.239 –> 00:13:07.799 He didn’t say, I know why I believed. 00:13:07.799 –> 00:13:12.099 That would have been the language of evidential apologetics. 00:13:12.099 –> 00:13:13.099 Bit of a mouthful. 00:13:13.400 –> 00:13:18.359 Throughout history, Christian thinkers have been concerned to set out the evidence for 00:13:18.359 –> 00:13:24.440 faith showing that it’s a reasonable and a rational thing to believe in God and to believe 00:13:24.440 –> 00:13:26.260 in the Bible. 00:13:26.260 –> 00:13:29.919 This has been an important work throughout history. 00:13:29.919 –> 00:13:37.239 I think at a popular level one of the most effective apologists of our time is Lee Strobel. 00:13:37.239 –> 00:13:38.739 Thank God for his ministry. 00:13:38.739 –> 00:13:45.099 He has a whole series of books setting out the evidence for faith – the case for Christ, 00:13:45.099 –> 00:13:48.780 the case for faith, the case for a Creator and so forth. 00:13:48.780 –> 00:13:53.859 It’s important to know why you believe. 00:13:53.859 –> 00:13:56.880 Christian faith is not a blind leap in the dark. 00:13:56.880 –> 00:14:00.140 And there are good reasons for believing that the Bible is the word of God and that Jesus 00:14:00.140 –> 00:14:01.479 is the Son of God. 00:14:01.479 –> 00:14:03.640 Paul knew all about that. 00:14:03.640 –> 00:14:08.500 He had one of the greatest intellects in human history trained in the school of Gamaliel. 00:14:08.500 –> 00:14:11.419 He could debate with the Greek philosophers. 00:14:11.419 –> 00:14:13.979 He could debate with the Jewish rabbis. 00:14:13.979 –> 00:14:22.099 But when he finds himself in a black hole he doesn’t go to rational arguments about 00:14:22.099 –> 00:14:23.099 faith. 00:14:23.099 –> 00:14:29.840 He doesn’t say, I know why I have believed and try and come up with answers to every 00:14:29.840 –> 00:14:31.619 question that occurs to his mind. 00:14:31.619 –> 00:14:32.840 No, this is what he does. 00:14:33.140 –> 00:14:39.400 He says, I know whom I have believed. 00:14:39.400 –> 00:14:43.500 Now you see that is the language of biblical faith. 00:14:43.500 –> 00:14:53.080 Because Christian faith uniquely is focused on a person, the blessed person of our Lord 00:14:53.080 –> 00:14:56.080 and Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:14:56.080 –> 00:15:00.719 You need to grasp that this is uniquely Christian. 00:15:00.739 –> 00:15:04.820 Other religions offer you a way of life. 00:15:04.820 –> 00:15:08.679 Other religions can offer you an ethic. 00:15:08.679 –> 00:15:13.320 Other religions can offer to you a set of spiritual disciplines. 00:15:13.320 –> 00:15:20.700 But Christianity offers to you a person, and his name is Jesus. 00:15:20.700 –> 00:15:25.960 And no matter what you face in your life, this person will be with you. 00:15:25.960 –> 00:15:28.619 That is the promise of the gospel. 00:15:28.679 –> 00:15:33.260 He will never leave you, he will never forsake you. 00:15:33.260 –> 00:15:38.679 He will guide you through whatever you face in your life. 00:15:38.679 –> 00:15:43.280 He will walk with you whenever the moment of your death comes, and he will bring you 00:15:43.280 –> 00:15:46.940 into eternity in the presence of almighty God. 00:15:46.940 –> 00:15:53.419 He is supremely competent, and you can trust in completely. 00:15:53.419 –> 00:15:57.820 And when Paul finds himself in a black hole, this is where he gains strength. 00:15:58.359 –> 00:15:59.739 This is where you need to go. 00:15:59.739 –> 00:16:06.099 I am not ashamed because I know whom I have believed. 00:16:06.099 –> 00:16:13.000 It is a great hymn that catches what Paul says here. 00:16:13.000 –> 00:16:17.039 You know that one, my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness, 00:16:17.520 –> 00:16:21.239 and it has got this great line in it. 00:16:21.239 –> 00:16:33.320 When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay. 00:16:33.320 –> 00:16:44.200 On Christ the solid rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand. 00:16:44.419 –> 00:16:51.340 Now you see that is Christian testimony, Christian conviction, Christian faith. 00:16:51.340 –> 00:17:01.919 It is focused on a person, I know whom I have believed. 00:17:01.919 –> 00:17:07.599 Now a second thing follows from that, very obviously, and it’s simply this, that Christian 00:17:07.599 –> 00:17:12.739 faith is a relationship with this person. 00:17:12.780 –> 00:17:16.219 Let me emphasize the text this way. 00:17:16.219 –> 00:17:20.060 Paul says, I know whom I have believed. 00:17:20.060 –> 00:17:22.020 I know him. 00:17:22.020 –> 00:17:24.500 There’s relationship here. 00:17:24.500 –> 00:17:29.660 My faith is focused on the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, but the wonderful thing is that 00:17:29.660 –> 00:17:33.339 to me he is not simply a figure of history, I know him. 00:17:33.339 –> 00:17:41.060 I have come to know him in a personal way in my life and this reminds us of some things 00:17:41.119 –> 00:17:45.380 that we desperately need to grasp. 00:17:45.380 –> 00:17:53.140 The first is that Christianity, therefore, is more than morality. 00:17:53.140 –> 00:17:59.739 See morality is important, but morality will never give you joy and victory when you find 00:17:59.739 –> 00:18:01.719 yourself in trouble. 00:18:01.719 –> 00:18:07.420 Morality will not help you navigate through the changes of life. 00:18:08.380 –> 00:18:10.540 Martyn Lloyd-Jones makes this point well. 00:18:10.540 –> 00:18:11.900 I just love this quote. 00:18:11.900 –> 00:18:19.819 He says, the apostle is not saying, I am happy in prison because ever since I heard the teaching 00:18:19.819 –> 00:18:22.739 of Jesus, I’ve been doing my best to put it into practice. 00:18:22.739 –> 00:18:28.479 So doing your best to put the teaching of Jesus into practice, morality will not give 00:18:28.479 –> 00:18:35.180 you joy and victory when you’re sitting in a dark hole in prison. 00:18:35.180 –> 00:18:42.880 Morality will not help you when you face the loss of health or a loved one. 00:18:42.880 –> 00:18:47.000 Being an upright person, trying to follow the example of Jesus is fine as long as everything 00:18:47.000 –> 00:18:54.239 is well in your life, but when your back is against the wall, you need more than morality. 00:18:54.239 –> 00:19:00.300 You need the power and the presence of Jesus in your life. 00:19:00.300 –> 00:19:09.900 It reminds us, I think, that being a Christian is more than spirituality. 00:19:09.900 –> 00:19:14.520 Now, a lot of people are confused over this today. 00:19:14.520 –> 00:19:19.060 The vast majority of people, if you ask them, in our country today will say to you that 00:19:19.060 –> 00:19:21.739 spirituality is important to them. 00:19:21.739 –> 00:19:27.880 But you know, it takes more than spirituality to face life in this uncertain world. 00:19:27.880 –> 00:19:34.060 You say, what’s the difference then between spirituality and Christian faith that Paul 00:19:34.060 –> 00:19:35.280 is describing here? 00:19:35.280 –> 00:19:39.239 Think of it this way, this is an analogy. 00:19:39.239 –> 00:19:47.560 I have a capacity to love, but I got something even better than that. 00:19:47.560 –> 00:19:51.780 I have a relationship of love with my wife. 00:19:52.739 –> 00:20:01.099 Now I don’t find joy and strength in the capacity to love, I find joy and strength in the relationship 00:20:01.099 –> 00:20:04.739 of love that I enjoy with my wife. 00:20:04.739 –> 00:20:07.819 Now, apply that to spirituality. 00:20:07.819 –> 00:20:15.699 You see, spirituality is an attempt to develop the human spiritual capacity. 00:20:15.699 –> 00:20:20.479 But the capacity of your spirit will not and cannot be fulfilled unless there is someone 00:20:20.479 –> 00:20:26.239 whose spirit can become one with your spirit, and that is precisely the promise of Jesus 00:20:26.239 –> 00:20:32.239 in the gospel, my spirit, I will give to you. 00:20:32.239 –> 00:20:38.300 Christianity is a relationship with this person, Jesus Christ. 00:20:38.300 –> 00:20:42.459 It is knowing his power and his presence with you in everything and anything that you face 00:20:42.459 –> 00:20:49.339 in your life so that Paul can say in the darkest of situations, I know whom I have. 00:20:50.000 –> 00:20:52.540 Believed. 00:20:54.819 –> 00:21:01.680 Reminds me of a third thing that Christian faith is more than Bible study. 00:21:01.699 –> 00:21:03.839 This is important. 00:21:05.619 –> 00:21:11.160 See Paul is speaking here about a personal knowledge of Christ, and that is much more 00:21:11.160 –> 00:21:14.939 than having information about Jesus. 00:21:14.939 –> 00:21:17.280 This is the language of relationship. 00:21:17.800 –> 00:21:24.599 Now many of you know well that one of the great debates today is about propositional 00:21:24.599 –> 00:21:28.040 and personal knowledge. 00:21:28.040 –> 00:21:33.199 Propositional knowledge simply means grasping certain truths that can be stated in words 00:21:33.199 –> 00:21:38.380 like Christ died for our sins, or Christ rose from the dead. 00:21:38.380 –> 00:21:42.699 Personal knowledge is obviously the language of relationship. 00:21:42.699 –> 00:21:51.339 The important thing to grasp here is that we need both and the personal knowledge cannot 00:21:51.339 –> 00:21:59.260 exist without that knowledge of Christ that is first revealed to us in the Scriptures. 00:21:59.260 –> 00:22:08.560 I well remember the first lecture that I ever took as a student studying theology. 00:22:08.560 –> 00:22:13.160 Our professor, who had just a delightful style that I think I can scarcely imitate but I 00:22:13.160 –> 00:22:18.199 might just about give a try, sort of paced up and down at the front of the classroom. 00:22:18.199 –> 00:22:25.459 Now he said, we’re here to study theology. 00:22:25.459 –> 00:22:32.219 Some of you might be wondering why you just can’t go through life with a nice simple faith 00:22:32.260 –> 00:22:39.680 saying, I believe in Jesus. 00:22:39.680 –> 00:22:44.400 I believe in Jesus. 00:22:44.400 –> 00:22:47.000 That raises three interesting questions. 00:22:47.000 –> 00:22:49.880 Who is Jesus? 00:22:49.880 –> 00:22:54.800 Who are you? 00:22:54.800 –> 00:22:56.119 And what is belief? 00:22:56.839 –> 00:23:02.680 That kind of got our attention, you know? 00:23:02.680 –> 00:23:14.020 You will not succeed in a purely personal mystical journey with Jesus, because there 00:23:14.020 –> 00:23:21.479 is no Jesus to know except the Jesus who reveals himself in the scriptures. 00:23:21.479 –> 00:23:23.380 The Jesus of history. 00:23:23.380 –> 00:23:25.579 The Jesus who died and rose. 00:23:25.579 –> 00:23:26.760 The Jesus who ascended. 00:23:26.760 –> 00:23:29.160 The Jesus who is at the right hand of God. 00:23:29.160 –> 00:23:33.199 And these things we know from his word. 00:23:33.199 –> 00:23:39.319 There is no personal knowledge of Jesus apart from propositional truth. 00:23:39.319 –> 00:23:42.939 But knowing Jesus Christ is more than propositions. 00:23:42.939 –> 00:23:45.459 It is more than Bible study. 00:23:45.459 –> 00:23:50.359 See, nobody studied the Bible better than the Pharisees. 00:23:50.359 –> 00:23:51.439 Think of it. 00:23:52.060 –> 00:23:59.380 They spent their whole lives poring over every mark of the Old Testament. 00:23:59.380 –> 00:24:03.699 And this is what Jesus said to them, in John chapter 5 verse 39. 00:24:03.699 –> 00:24:10.239 He said to the Pharisees, now look, you diligently study the Scriptures. 00:24:10.239 –> 00:24:13.099 Because you think that by them you possess eternal life. 00:24:13.099 –> 00:24:17.459 But these are the Scriptures that testify about me. 00:24:17.459 –> 00:24:23.839 Jesus said, and yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 00:24:23.839 –> 00:24:31.020 You’ve got all this Bible study but you’re living your life independent of me until you 00:24:31.020 –> 00:24:36.040 will recognize your need of me and come in that personal way to receive of me you will 00:24:36.040 –> 00:24:41.979 not have life, you’ll only have knowledge. 00:24:42.900 –> 00:24:50.040 Perhaps the best way to bring this a little more down to earth is to tell you 00:24:50.040 –> 00:25:01.800 about two Cairns. I’ve been reading this book by Cairn Hughes, Ten Minutes From 00:25:01.800 –> 00:25:08.540 Normal. It’s the story of her experience as special counselor to President Bush 00:25:08.900 –> 00:25:14.699 and at the beginning of the book, she describes traveling in the train during 00:25:14.699 –> 00:25:19.300 the election campaign in the year 2000 across the country, and the train came to 00:25:19.300 –> 00:25:25.020 our great state of Illinois. And at one point, there was an announcement on the 00:25:25.020 –> 00:25:32.760 train saying, ladies and gentlemen, we are ten minutes from normal, ten minutes 00:25:33.060 –> 00:25:39.079 from normal. And she says in the book that that’s so described how she felt 00:25:39.079 –> 00:25:42.380 about her entire life that she said to someone else, if I ever write a book 00:25:42.380 –> 00:25:49.079 that’s going to be the title, Carne Hughs 10 minutes from Normal. Well, I’ve really 00:25:49.079 –> 00:25:54.099 enjoyed reading this book and what a fascinating life and experience she has. 00:25:54.099 –> 00:26:01.020 I tell you, I could write a reasonable essay on the life of Carne Hughes, but I have 00:26:01.079 –> 00:26:08.619 never met her personally and I probably never will. My knowledge of her is simply 00:26:08.619 –> 00:26:14.439 propositional. I know certain things about her. I know what she said or at 00:26:14.439 –> 00:26:18.520 least something she said. I know things that she has done. I know opinions that 00:26:18.520 –> 00:26:25.880 she holds. I know places that she went and so forth and so on. Now let me talk 00:26:26.119 –> 00:26:35.760 another Karen. Karen Smith. I could write a reasonable essay about her too. I know 00:26:35.760 –> 00:26:41.780 a great deal about her, things she has said and done, places she has been, her 00:26:41.780 –> 00:26:49.900 date of birth and of marriage and things like this. But my knowledge of her is much 00:26:50.199 –> 00:26:56.760 more than propositional, because she is my wife. It is a personal knowledge. 00:26:57.800 –> 00:27:03.560 It is a knowledge that comes from a living relationship, and Christian faith 00:27:03.560 –> 00:27:11.719 is a relationship with this person, Jesus Christ. He is revealed in the 00:27:11.719 –> 00:27:19.599 Scriptures, so that you may come to him, and know him, and walk with him, 00:27:19.599 –> 00:27:24.239 and trust him, and love him, and experience his strength, and his comfort, 00:27:24.239 –> 00:27:28.859 and his help in every circumstance of life as you serve him until one day 00:27:28.859 –> 00:27:35.900 you will see him. And Paul says, I know whom I have believed. 00:27:36.760 –> 00:27:45.839 Christian faith is focused on a person Christian faith is a relationship with 00:27:45.839 –> 00:27:53.959 this person. Now, here’s the last thing as we emphasize the text one more time. 00:27:53.959 –> 00:28:01.959 Christian faith is confidence in this person. Notice what he says, I know whom I 00:28:02.000 –> 00:28:08.719 have believed, believed Him, whom I trust in Him, I’ve confidence in Him, 00:28:08.719 –> 00:28:15.359 Christian faith is confidence in this person. It’s so important to grasp this. 00:28:15.359 –> 00:28:21.540 It’s not about confidence in yourself, it is confidence in Jesus Christ, 00:28:21.540 –> 00:28:31.280 based on everything that He is, past, present, and future. Confidence in Jesus. 00:28:31.280 –> 00:28:34.540 Now think about His past. If you’re going to trust a person fully, 00:28:34.540 –> 00:28:38.939 you need to know about their past. You need to understand that experience 00:28:38.939 –> 00:28:42.520 of life, if you are going to be able to relate to them fully. 00:28:42.520 –> 00:28:50.719 Now think about that in relation to Jesus. He has no beginning. 00:28:50.719 –> 00:28:54.760 Before the world began, He was loved by the Father. He was one 00:28:54.760 –> 00:29:00.280 with the Father. It was through Him that the moon and the stars were made. 00:29:01.839 –> 00:29:08.660 He reigned in heaven at the time of Adam, at the time of Noah, 00:29:08.660 –> 00:29:12.859 at the time of Moses, and at the time of David. He said, 00:29:12.859 –> 00:29:17.020 before Abraham was I AM. 00:29:19.479 –> 00:29:27.420 And when the time was fully come, He took flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary. 00:29:28.900 –> 00:29:36.699 He spoke the words of God, He did the work of God, and all the fullness of God came to us in Him. 00:29:37.619 –> 00:29:43.359 He lived a perfect life and then He chose freely to lay down that life for us, 00:29:43.359 –> 00:29:51.020 bearing our guilt, our shame, our punishment, and offering His righteousness, His purity, and His 00:29:51.020 –> 00:29:57.380 peace to us in exchange. And having entered into death, He triumphed over it, 00:29:57.380 –> 00:30:01.959 breaking its power by his resurrection from the dead and His ascension into 00:30:02.260 –> 00:30:07.060 heaven, where he reigns for us forever. 00:30:07.239 –> 00:30:14.400 Think of Him now. If you’re going to trust someone fully, you need to know how 00:30:14.400 –> 00:30:24.060 they are now. Think about our Lord Jesus Christ now. He reigns in heaven for you. 00:30:24.439 –> 00:30:30.140 He’s been doing that through the tenure of 43 American presidents, 00:30:30.300 –> 00:30:34.780 He reigns on the day of your greatest joy, He reigns on the day of your 00:30:34.780 –> 00:30:40.500 greatest sorrow. He is in heaven as Christian people we can 00:30:40.500 –> 00:30:50.040 say for us. He intercedes for us. He provides for us, He gives grace for us, 00:30:50.079 –> 00:30:55.800 He gives strength for us, He gives His Spirit to us and he has said I will 00:30:55.800 –> 00:31:00.660 never leave you I will never forsake you, and so the Scripture says we can 00:31:00.660 –> 00:31:07.680 therefore in response say with confidence the Lord is my helper I will 00:31:07.680 –> 00:31:11.859 not be afraid what can man do to me that is Christian confidence in an 00:31:11.939 –> 00:31:16.859 uncertain world. Whatever you are facing 00:31:16.859 –> 00:31:22.800 and think about him the one in whom we place our confidence in relation to the 00:31:22.800 –> 00:31:29.880 future. God is outside of time and so of course the future is already known to 00:31:29.880 –> 00:31:38.400 him and in the Bible God gives to us a glimpse of the future, here’s the future 00:31:38.400 –> 00:31:45.000 Jesus Christ will return in power and glory you will see his glory and his 00:31:45.000 –> 00:31:56.439 glory will be seen in you that’s the future and he died and rose to secure it 00:31:56.439 –> 00:32:03.380 so you can be supremely confident that it is not therefore in doubt Christian 00:32:03.380 –> 00:32:09.260 faith is confidence in this person Jesus Christ now let’s put together what the 00:32:09.260 –> 00:32:16.040 Apostle is saying here to nervous Timothy in difficult days Timothy I am 00:32:16.040 –> 00:32:25.079 not ashamed and you need to know why it is because I know whom I have believed 00:32:25.079 –> 00:32:29.780 and I think that some of us might be sitting here right now and saying oh 00:32:29.979 –> 00:32:31.979 and that’s great for Paul but I don’t 00:32:31.979 –> 00:32:40.280 have that kind of faith listen what you have is that kind of Savior you have the 00:32:40.280 –> 00:32:47.319 same Savior he did and there is no reason in the world why you cannot place 00:32:47.319 –> 00:32:52.920 confidence in the same Lord Jesus Christ whatever you are facing in your life 00:32:52.920 –> 00:33:01.260 right now he is supremely competent and his ability is as great for you as it 00:33:01.260 –> 00:33:05.939 ever was for the Apostle Paul let me make this personal in these last moments 00:33:05.939 –> 00:33:17.500 I may be speaking to someone today and all you have ever known in relationships 00:33:17.979 –> 00:33:27.660 is your trust being broken your hopes being disappointed 00:33:27.660 –> 00:33:32.859 and quite honestly coming from that background it doesn’t help you much if 00:33:32.859 –> 00:33:37.859 the preacher says put your trust in Jesus because you ain’t got much trust 00:33:37.859 –> 00:33:42.239 left to put, if you see what I mean 00:33:42.819 –> 00:33:47.599 So here’s the good news the message of the gospel is not put your faith in 00:33:47.599 –> 00:33:56.140 Jesus. The good news is that there is someone who is altogether trustworthy 00:33:56.140 –> 00:34:03.500 that’s good news for you, good news for every human person. And that person who 00:34:03.500 –> 00:34:07.459 is altogether trustworthy is on the throne of the universe and more than 00:34:07.579 –> 00:34:17.260 that, he is for you. And the Bible makes this plain to us that those who trust in 00:34:17.260 –> 00:34:24.020 themselves will finally be disappointed but those who place their trust in him 00:34:24.020 –> 00:34:32.360 will never be put to shame. How are you going to live in this uncertain world? 00:34:32.919 –> 00:34:43.860 Here’s how. I know whom I have believed. 00:34:44.600 –> 00:34:50.000 Let’s bow in God’s presence in prayer together. 00:34:53.020 –> 00:34:59.179 Almighty God from the depth of our being we bless you today that Christian faith 00:34:59.600 –> 00:35:01.500 is focused on a person. 00:35:03.899 –> 00:35:06.879 If it was just a way of life where would we be, 00:35:08.659 –> 00:35:12.340 we don’t have strength in ourselves for the way of life. 00:35:14.199 –> 00:35:18.699 So thank you for the one who comes to us in life whatever it may be, 00:35:20.860 –> 00:35:25.080 walks with us in life through death and into eternity. 00:35:25.939 –> 00:35:36.060 Thank you for the joy of knowing him, our Saviour Jesus Christ. 00:35:40.080 –> 00:35:44.000 Thank you that he is supremely competent, 00:35:45.780 –> 00:35:50.719 altogether worthy of the fullness of our trust 00:35:51.719 –> 00:35:54.080 in every circumstance of life. 00:35:56.399 –> 00:36:03.520 Grant today that we might find the same kind of strength as the Apostle Paul in him. 00:36:05.360 –> 00:36:10.639 That we may be those in the very different circumstances of our lives who are able to say, 00:36:12.159 –> 00:36:14.399 I know whom I have believed. 00:36:16.459 –> 00:36:19.800 May that be true not only of us personally, 00:36:20.780 –> 00:36:23.659 but of us as a body in these days, 00:36:25.199 –> 00:36:31.139 for these things we ask together in the strong name of Jesus. 00:36:32.639 –> 00:36:34.080 Amen. 00:36:34.679 –> 00:36:38.719 You’ve been listening to a sermon with Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 00:36:38.719 –> 00:36:43.800 To contact us, call us at 1-877-OPEN365 00:36:44.040 –> 00:36:47.540 or visit our website, OpentheBible.org