[0:01] Good morning. I'd like you to turn to the second book of Acts, or pardon me, I was going to say the second book of Luke, but I told you what it was. Please turn to Acts.
[0:18] In the first chapter, and this morning we'll be taking a look at the first three verses in chapter 1 in Acts.
[0:38] The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after he had, by the Holy Spirit, given orders to the apostles whom he had chosen.
[1:11] To these he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
[1:41] Thank you, Gary. As I promised you last week, this morning we will finish the message that we were unable to complete on Resurrection Sunday, and it has to do primarily with the many convincing proofs of which Dr. Luke speaks in Acts chapter 1.
[2:05] We noted from some other translations that these many convincing proofs are, by the King James Version, translated many infallible proofs.
[2:17] Montgomery renders it many convincing manifestations. Weymouth renders it many sure proofs. And here in our new American standard, it is many convincing proofs.
[2:33] And we pointed out to you, by way of brief review, that these proofs or evidences were presented to Christ's contemporaries with the intent that their testimony as eyewitnesses would be conveyed to generations to follow.
[2:54] That includes us.
[3:24] It is important. In fact, it is imperative to remember that all historical events are subject to the eyewitnesses then present to accurately record and relate them to the generations that follow, simply because they, or we, in a generation that follows, cannot experience those historical events that transpired earlier.
[3:53] There is no way we can repeat them. Of course, we know with modern technology, films can be made of these things, and then films can be shown subsequently.
[4:03] But 2,000 years ago, this technology, of course, simply did not exist. So, people were limited to what those who were alive at the time and witnessed the events firsthand had to say about them, and whether or not these were credible witnesses.
[4:26] Considering also the possibility, maybe they were mistaken. Maybe they were duped and fooled. Maybe they were people lacking integrity, and maybe they were liars.
[4:38] Maybe they made all this stuff up. All of those possibilities need to be considered. Everything depends upon those who did experience those events being able to properly interpret them and accurately record them.
[4:59] The integrity of the transmitters and their transmission becomes very, very critical. And this is part and parcel of why we insist upon an infallible, inerrant revelation of Scripture.
[5:17] Because if this book is to be disbelieved anywhere, it is subject to being disbelieved everywhere.
[5:29] The whole thing comes crashing down. If there are parts of the divine record that are not reliable, you have the responsibility of identifying those parts.
[5:42] And if you are able to identify those parts, how is it that other parts are equally unreliable? So, the book and its authority stands or falls altogether.
[5:57] It cannot be challenged piecemeal and take out part and leave in part because none of us has the wisdom to know which those parts are.
[6:09] So, we return once again to that biblical maxim that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
[6:22] To the end that the man or the woman of God might be mature, fully equipped, outfitted, developed, prepared, made ready for life and all that follows and for godly living.
[6:38] So, the question with which we must contend is, did these witnesses, Peter, James, John, the remainder of the twelve, Paul the apostle, five hundred brethren who saw him at once, did those witnesses actually experience what they thought they did?
[7:02] Were they somehow deluded? Were they without integrity and merely made up this story of Christ being alive? And if they did that, why?
[7:15] What was their motive? And could it be a fabrication for which so many would be willing to die for what they knew to be a lie?
[7:29] And what were their convincing proofs or their many infallible evidences? And briefly, we enumerated those.
[7:41] First of all, the fact of his death, you cannot have a properly legitimate resurrection if you don't have an actual death. And we noted particulars surrounding the death of Christ.
[7:54] And if there could be any doubt at all, the Roman soldiers should have removed that with the spear lunge into the chest cavity of our Lord. And forthwith there came out blood and water.
[8:08] That is convincing medical testimony to anyone who is somewhat knowledgeable of the subject that death had occurred and the serum had separated and the blood.
[8:20] And you could clearly distinguish the two kinds of liquid, the red and the white or the yellowish serum in the cardiac area.
[8:31] So his death was incontrovertibly presented. And secondly, there were those numerous appearances to individuals and groups over the span of 40 days, nearly six weeks.
[8:49] Why so long? Why so many appearances? I think it is because our Lord wanted to make absolutely certain that he had instilled in the minds and hearts of these eyewitnesses something which they themselves would not be able to doubt in the future.
[9:14] And we are capable of that. But our minds can be very unreliable. And sometimes we may experience a certain phenomena only to ask ourselves days later, Did I really see what I thought I saw?
[9:32] Was that real? Was that true? Am I sure I wasn't dreaming? Or hallucinating? And did anybody else see it who can attest to it?
[9:44] We all know that sometimes the mind can play tricks on us. I saw a fascinating thing on 60 Minutes a few weeks ago. I don't know if you happened to see it or not.
[9:54] But it was very, very telling about this precise thing. It had to do with a woman who had been raped. Brutally, criminally raped.
[10:06] And she was provided with a list of suspects. And she had to pick him out of a lineup and pick his picture out of a list of photographs.
[10:23] And she spotted him. And she said, This is the man. I know it was the man. How can you forget the face of a man who does something like that to you?
[10:36] In fact, while the crime was even taking place, as I lay there forced to subject myself to his demands, I vowed to myself, If I survive this, if I get out of this alive, I'm going to be able to identify this man because I'm going to note every little feature of his face and remember it.
[11:11] Just in the event I might have opportunity to identify him. Well, she did. And out of a half dozen or so suspects, she nailed him.
[11:24] That's the man. Are you sure? That's the man. All right. Pick him up. He was tried.
[11:35] He had alibis. But they didn't hold up. He was convicted. Sent to prison. Served several years until he was acquitted by the conclusive evidence of DNA.
[11:54] He was not the man. And the man who was guilty looked enough like him to be a twin brother.
[12:07] And he was in prison at the same time and the same prison as the innocent man. The woman was mortified. She had positively ID'd a man as the rapist and saw to it that he spent years of his life in prison and he was an utterly innocent man the whole time.
[12:32] Well, she felt terrible. She felt pain and guilt and remorse and sorrow and everything you could imagine.
[12:42] How could she have been so wrong? She was so sure he was the right one. But sometimes our minds aren't as reliable as we would like to think.
[12:55] And when you put pictures of these two individuals side by side you can easily understand how one could be mistaken for the other. And she did.
[13:08] But she was so sure. Has a happy ending. The woman and her family got together with the innocent man and his family and they had a wonderful time of healing of apology and forgiveness and tears were shed and this is a white family and a black family and they have bonded.
[13:47] Those families have become dear friends and they have gone about in several locations most of them churches together as two families telling the story of what happened and how God's grace was able to overpower what would have been bitterness and anger and recrimination and all the rest.
[14:15] It's an amazing account of God's grace and of the forgiveness that God empowers us to extend one to another. So I point that out in light of the fact maybe maybe these apostles got it wrong too.
[14:34] Maybe they didn't see what they thought they really saw. After all this woman didn't see what she thought she really saw. Well 40 days.
[14:48] One would think that if they were mistaken they would have had ample time for correction wouldn't they? 40 days being wrong about this person having come back from the dead being wrong 40 days and multiple times with multiple appearances and on many occasions Jesus actually invites them reach hither your hand into my side and examine the wound and put your fingers in the wounds in my hand examine my hands it is I myself for a spirit hath not flesh and bone as you see me have.
[15:34] Here fellows step up examine feel go over me satisfy your own curiosity be convinced and all the while I am satisfied that in the back of the mind of our Lord he is saying you need to be convinced totally convinced absolutely convinced beyond a doubt because the time is coming when your life is going to be on the line and you're going to have an opportunity to deny that you ever saw me and I want you to be unable to do that so he fortified them he built them up he convinced them so that I don't care what you threaten with me I don't care what you throw at me I don't care how you try to intimidate me
[16:34] I cannot deny what I know to be true kill me if you must I know what I know I am not going to divorce my mind from reality and say what I saw I didn't see what I experienced I didn't experience I cannot deny the reality of it that kind of rock solid information and confidence was built into the lives and hearts of these apostles and not just them but multitudes others as well and then his continued teaching to them during the forty days regarding the kingdom of God now that's an interesting expression and we've spent a great deal of time in times past in fact over the last thirty five years we've spent a lot of time exploring the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven what that means and what it doesn't mean and
[17:35] I didn't realize this until I was preparing for this message but this is remarkable because Jesus Christ as the Messiah Yeshua Hamashiach came to fulfill the promises that God made through Moses and the prophets that he would send a Messiah he came to fulfill that John the baptizer announced it when he came and the message was to Israel repent get ready you people better get your act together that's what John was saying in today's vernacular you better straighten up because the Messiah is right around the corner and he is not going to be pleased to find things the way they are so prepare ye the way of the Lord make his path straight straighten up your lives and these people started getting serious in the river Jordan in anticipation of the coming of this Messiah and this this John's baptism was a baptism of purification baptism unto the repentance and remission of sin very very important concept and if
[18:48] Jesus came to bring this kingdom provide this kingdom where was it what happened to it interestingly in verse three here of chapter one he spends forty days teaching them concerning the things of the kingdom of heaven and you know what their logical question was in the midst of all of this of course was Lord is it now after your death burial and resurrection now are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel and they were speaking in very literal terms because Israel's kingdom that is that realm of Israel over which a descendant of king David ruled and reigned had not been in place for hundreds of years the
[19:51] Davidic kingdom had been short circuited and cut off and there wasn't a descendant of David the king to sit on the throne of Israel for a long time hundreds of years they were dominated and ruled by the Greeks by the Egyptians and now by the Romans and frankly they were tired of it they were under this bondage always under a yoke always under the heel of some foreign oppressor now it is Rome and all of their pagan gods and pagan deities and it is more than we can tolerate are you going to get us out from under this drive out the Romans and reestablish the glorious throne of our father king David are you going to do that now very legitimate question and Jesus simply said it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the father after that the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be witnesses unto me in
[20:52] Jerusalem Judea Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth so in short he said no the kingdom is not going to be established now the father has his own time frame but there is a program for the interregnum there is a program for you to carry out and this is what it consists you are to be witnesses of me in Jerusalem that's where I want you to start and then in Judea the circle enlarges and then into Samaria the circle enlarges and then into the uttermost parts of the earth that's the largest circle you can get all of which is to be witnesses of me and do you know as the book of Acts closes I won't take you there now but trust me unless you want to turn there you're welcome to do so
[21:57] Acts chapter 28 Paul has a group of Jews fellow countrymen who are in Rome and the only reason Paul is in Rome is because he appealed to Caesar and he has sent to Caesar for trial and the reason he could appeal to Caesar was because the apostle Paul enjoyed the unique and rare privilege of being a Roman citizen and that automatically gave him appeal to the court of Caesar so they had to take him to Caesar to stand trial before him that's why Paul was in Rome and as the letter closes out or as the document that Dr.
[22:48] Luke has closed out in the book of Acts we are told that Paul the apostle had called local Jews there in Rome to come to him in his hired villa Paul was living in a condo he was a prisoner but he wasn't in prison he was under house arrest he was paying for the house that he was renting it was like a condo and there were Roman guards there with him probably chained to him 24 hours of the day and they would change guards and a new guard would come on I'm sure there was some fascinating conversations between Paul and these Roman guards so all of these local Jews are able to come to him and about Yeshua whether Jesus of Nazareth was really the Messiah they were anticipating and awaiting or whether he was not and of course he had rather convincing evidence that he was and the text goes on to say that
[23:57] Paul continued reasoning and talking with the Jews about the kingdom of God the book of Acts opens that way and the book of Acts closes that way and the kingdom of God is the subject because that is the overall arching subject of the plan and program of God and the church does not belong in or fit in the kingdom of God anywhere because we are a mystery we are not part of the revelation that God has given in prophecy so we are kind of inserted in there as as those who do not even exist in the Old Testament we are body days and just as he predicted ten days later the
[25:15] Holy Spirit arrived in dramatic fashion and everyone was told of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead everyone there heard the news in their own language question was everyone convinced no I have often told you I do not know how many people were there on the day of Pentecost I do know that physically speaking the area to which they were assigned could accommodate without any problem at all 30 40 thousand people this is a massive piece of real estate that we are talking about many times the 3,000 who believe could have been present and probably were present there were 3,000 who were convinced we do not know how many remained unconvinced we are not told but
[26:22] I have another question for you under these unique circumstances why would anyone remain unconvinced why doesn't Dr.
[26:34] Luke say and Peter preached this message repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus of Nazareth and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and why can't Dr.
[26:45] Luke go on and say and guess what everyone there did but he doesn't say that he says 3,000 believed most of us are really wowed by that number I've never had the privilege to speak to 3,000 people with any kind of results nothing like this but I cannot help but ask how many were still not convinced and how could they not be convinced these were well known people who were telling them this there was the dramatic miraculous speaking in languages they had never heard or learned so everyone was able to hear in their own tongue that would be miracle enough to make somebody sit up and say whoa what is this how can this be yet we may be sure there were great numbers who were not convinced and
[28:00] I think the reason when you stop to think about it is very simple they were not convinced for the same reason Thomas wasn't convinced I hear what you say but I need to see that for myself I haven't seen it with my eyes I haven't handled with my hands so excuse me if I'm just not buying it and there were many doubting Thomases just as there are many doubting Thomases today who feel that they have a right to remain unconvinced because they haven't seen with their eyes why should I be willing to take the word of anyone else well good question really a good question after all the implications of believing or not believing are sufficiently significant so that you want to be right about this you don't want to be a sucker you don't want to be duped you don't want to be fooled maybe maybe all of these people are just really smooth religious con men okay what's the con what are they getting out of it how are they profiting from this if it is all a fabrication and it is all an elaborate my just a gigantic hoops what do they gain doesn't put any money in their pocket seems to do nothing for them but get them in all kinds of trouble if it were a lie and the authorities began putting the heat on them as they do in
[30:01] Acts chapter 4 and 5 some of these people took some brutal beatings and why I'll tell you I can speak for myself if I looked at that cat o' nine tails with the bone and the steel embedded in each of those strands of leather that was going to come across my back and my front and rip threads of flesh out of my body as they pulled that thing across I don't think I would have any trouble saying hold it right there fellas you got me all wrong I'm sorry you know this whole thing was just a joke I just made it all up and and I retracted all and no I didn't see Jesus of course he's still dead somewhere we don't know where the body is but we made all of that up we just thought it was a slow day and we wanted a little excitement so we just contrived the whole thing and
[31:05] I'm sorry if I caused any inconvenience can I go now please there wasn't any of that well there ought to have been but there wasn't people died they died rather than deny that they saw him that they handled him they died and they only had one life for dying that was it if you are going to be willing to die to give up your life your whole future dreams hopes and everything you better make really rock certain sure that it's something worth dying for can't be any question can't be any doubt you've got to be sure well they were sure and
[32:19] Jesus gave them forty days to confirm and reconfirm and re reconfirm that this was no dream and it certainly was no hoax for those who say I just cannot imagine how people how anyone could deny in the face of these kind of eyewitnesses and these many eyewitnesses it completely escapes me how anyone could deny that well it shouldn't it shouldn't escape you at all and I'll tell you why we have an event that is even more powerfully attested to than that by a whole great host of people much greater than this 500 at once and there are yet deniers that it ever took place all around the world and I'm talking about an event that happened only a few decades ago the
[33:37] Holocaust you any idea how many Holocaust deniers there are in the USA when Dwight Eisenhower went in to I don't know if it was Buchenwald or Auschwitz but it was one of those prominent crematoriums that Hitler had established for the final solution to the Jewish problem and General Eisenhower was there visibly shaken by what he saw emaciated skin and bone bodies all over the place piles and piles of corpses skeletal remains the furnaces still warm and he was properly sickened and you know what he did he commanded his troops he said
[34:49] I want you to go into the nearby town just a couple of miles away and I want you to forcefully bodily bring all of those German citizens that are there bring them here and bring them in that gate and make them walk around here and look at what we're looking at and make them handle those bodies and dispose of those bodies because the time is going to come when some SOB is going to say this never happened and I think that's an accurate quote of General Eisenhower and guess what there are millions of people millions of people throughout the world today who say six million
[35:54] Jews Buchenwald Auschwitz never happened never happened that's all a Jewish fabrication designed to evoke sympathy for the Jewish people never happened maybe maybe six thousand Jews maybe sixty thousand but six million nothing like that listen do the math and you'll find a six million is a conservative estimate not an exaggeration how could anybody possibly listen folks we're talking during my lifetime now I know it's a pretty extended lifetime but anyway really my lifetime we're not talking about history two thousand years ago we're talking sixty years ago and there are people who deny it some of them would probably say well I didn't see it and I don't believe it and I don't think those witnesses were credible so there are some people there are some people who are not looking for evidence they are looking for justification for their unbelief they are looking for reasons that will make them feel good for not believing evidence has nothing to do with it because the posture of their heart is one of unbelief they desire not to believe and I left you with the question how much evidence is really required remember the answer that
[37:37] Bertrand Russell gave Bertrand Russell probably one of the 20th century's most brilliant individuals genuine intellectual man very very intelligent very astute very knowledgeable possibly possibly ranking up there with Einstein as one of the most brilliant individuals of the century when interviewed said suppose you are all wrong about your position of atheism and your denial of the existence of God suppose you've got it all wrong Mr.
[38:18] Russell and you stand one day before your maker and he wants to know why you didn't believe and what will you tell him and his famous answer was I will tell him he didn't give me enough evidence just as if to say well some of us are so utterly brilliant and so terribly smart that we just require a whole lot more convincing than the average person Romans 1 makes it very clear however that God is the judge of what constitutes sufficient evidence and that text tells us that man is without excuse that includes Dr.
[39:09] Russell so that leads us though to another question if God is so concerned intent desirous that everybody believe and come to faith why doesn't God reveal himself in such a way that there just won't be any argument just think of it all of the world's atheists would simply disappear at least their atheism would just disappear and they would all become convinced believers why doesn't he do that if he is so concerned that people believe why doesn't he do that well let me tell you that is precisely what he has in mind and that is precisely what he is going to do our difficulty is he will not do it in a time frame that we want which is now but if you look at
[40:33] Matthew's gospel chapter 24 Matthew chapter 24 and verse 29 this is precisely what he is going to do this is during the time of great tribulation Israel has their back to the wall the antichrist is having his way with them nations of the earth have gathered at armageddon and they have descended on Jerusalem down south Christ has come from the mount of olives which he promised to return and he is meeting them for the great conflagration that will be the conclusion of this final battle of Armageddon and we are told in verse 29 of Matthew 24 immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from the sky this is going to be cataclysmic can't imagine anything like this and the powers of the heavens will be shaken and then the sign of the son of man will appear in the sky and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory and every eye will see him there will not be any deniers here there will not be anyone here who says
[42:15] I'm not convinced won't be anyone here who will say I haven't had sufficient evidence won't be anyone able to say that because they're all going to see him now that's all well and good for them but what about now why hasn't God more convincingly revealed himself than what he has even apart from an incredible on-site visit like this why hasn't he just given more and more and more evidence and the reason is because more and more and more evidence is not the problem the problem is the nature of the heart and God tells us in Romans 1 and in several other places that the evidence he has given is adequate the problem lies in what man does with the evidence if you do not want to be convinced you aren't going to be simple as that you cannot be convinced against your will you're not going to be convinced and anybody who is trying to convince you is wasting their time you may be thought of as naive if you want to believe or you're looking for reasons to believe and maybe you are just naive maybe you are easily sold a bill of goods and you want to buy anything that has some hope and some promise to it and this thing called
[43:48] Christianity and life evermore that looks good I think I'll go with that that that's a peculiar kind of shallowness but there's a lot of people who operate that way but if you are of this opinion look I don't know whether this stuff is true or not but I can tell you this I want to know I want to know I don't want to be naive I don't want to be conned I don't want to be sold a bill of goods but neither do I want to disbelieve if I ought to believe and if there is sufficient evidence there what I'm looking for is what is true that's what I want to believe because what is true is that which corresponds to reality that's what I want to believe that's what I want to identify with and we are told throughout scripture that
[44:50] God has given more than ample evidence so until the time comes when he reveals himself in an undeniable way so your eyes and everyone else's will see him there he is here he comes what in the meanwhile what's the basis of operation until that time comes you know seeing is believing but what do we do when we can't see well we believe without seeing why should we do that brings us right back to the book again the testimony of credible evidences and witnesses multiplied over time and other evidences such as creation itself that he is and he who would come to
[45:56] God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him and without faith it is impossible to please him and that that is what we use in the meanwhile it is called the law of faith that's the modus operandi for today no we can't believe because we see we believe because we have not seen that is called faith but understand it is not faith built on fluff it is faith built on sufficient evidence that makes all the difference in the world we are not saved by faith in faith we are saved by faith in an object and the object is Jesus Christ and it works on the basis of the law of faith as mentioned in
[46:56] Romans chapter 3 and I want to close with this portion it's not going to surprise you once again that we did not finish with today's message so we will continue on but in Romans chapter 3 remarkable passage just a little phrase here that is often overlooked and I'm talking about Romans 3 and verse 27 Paul is making the case for being justified on the basis of faith and not of works we are justified apart from the law that is apart from the law of Moses and he says that in verse 27 where then is boasting it is excluded in other words if man is not brought into a right relationship with God on the basis of what he does his works his effort if he is brought into a right relationship with
[47:58] God solely on the basis of God's grace and not his human desert or effort or trying harder or praying more or anything else if that's true then Paul asks the question well where then does that put the whole idea of human boasting of a human being getting the credit for being rightly related to God where does it put boasting Paul says it puts it where it belongs right out the window boasting is excluded because man has nothing about which he can boast he cannot say I'm in a right relationship with God because I'm such a nice guy or because I did this or because I joined that church and because I gave this money or because I tried harder and because I never committed murder never stole and never you know whatever smoked drank or two dance or go with girls who do and all of that stuff and that's why
[49:07] I'm in a right relationship all boasting all grounds for boasting is gone dismissed you don't have anything you can brag of you've got more than you can imagine to be grateful for but nothing to brag about because it's all of him boasting is excluded there's no room for boasting it is by grace through faith not of works lest any man should boast and he says boasting is excluded by what kind of law of works no but by a law of faith you've heard that before the law of faith what does that mean it means God's whole modus operandi for coming into a right relation with him is based solely on faith that's trust that's confidence that's reliance that's dependence on him and nothing else that's the law of faith we read as far back as
[50:28] Genesis 15 and verse 6 that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness folks that is an incredible statement let me put it this way God is absolutely righteous perfectly holy perfectly just and we aren't that's the problem how can we who are not righteous be brought into a compatible relationship and accepted by one who is righteous is God going to lower his standard no he doesn't lower his standard but God has created a substitute for righteousness our faith is counted for righteousness that means
[51:34] God accepts our faith our trust our reliance in him he accepts that as a substitute for the righteousness that he requires he says that's good I'll take that I'll accept that but it is faith that is reposed in his designated person so when we place faith and trust in Jesus Christ God accepts that instead of our righteousness that is our substitute and he imputes to us then the righteousness of Christ on the basis of just believing that's it that is amazing that is grace that is the principle the modus operandi of faith that listen that is what has been in vogue in the plan and program of
[52:39] God all the way from Genesis 3 clear up until the time when man sees him because when we see him faith disappears faith is no longer the coin of the realm faith will be defunct faith will be unnecessary faith will be out of the job because the object of our faith will have been realized and faith will be no more that's why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13 now there abides faith hope and love the greatest of these is love because the time is coming when faith no longer necessary hope no longer necessary because hope has been realized fulfilled no longer need it no longer need faith love will always be in order so we operate on the basis of faith that's the way it works and God has provided us with sufficient evidence to be able to place our faith in what he has revealed and he accepts that as sufficient that is amazing he gave us the substance of our faith and all he asks of us is to believe it he that believes not the record that
[54:08] God gave of his son has made him a liar and God really doesn't appreciate a puny human being calling him a liar isn't that something that's the law of faith this requires some expansion and elaboration and I am absolute folks I've been studying this for 50 years and there are aspects of it that I'm just beginning to get a handle on and I find it absolutely thrilling can't wait to share more of it with you but now is there a roving microphone out there for Q&A I would appreciate it if you'd make that available we've got a few minutes and I'm sure there are some questions don't be reluctant to ask them this Romans 4 upcoming is just absolutely magnificent in exploring the issue of faith and it is all part and parcel of what we've been doing with the salvation
[55:21] Petrine epistles who has a question or comment anyone I know I haven't been that clear I must have been so confusing you can't ask a question anybody or comment doesn't have to be a question could be a comment you may very well have something valuable to add to what has been said feel free to do so well okay now listen if I let you go ten minutes early you are going to keep this to yourself right we don't want any nasty habits getting started so thank you for your kind attention and let's stand we'll be dismissed father father we have barely scratched the surface of this incredible theme that is presented here in the scripture about the law of faith and how and why it operates as it does why you've instituted it and what is required of man in order to implement it and it is so simple and so easy and yet some of our greatest intellects never see it we pray that here in this group of people more than anything else there may be a mind and heart that wants to be surrendered to the discovery of truth and an unwillingness to settle for anything less thank you for how this has been manifested in this congregation over the years thank you for a teachable spirit but not a gullible spirit thank you for more than ample evidence that you have provided for us many many infallible proofs we bless you for each and every one of them and we take them to heart and we take them to mind and we are so comforted and blessed by them we pray that as we go forth from here you will use this material to stimulate us and excite us to further study and investigation so that our
[57:44] God may grow greater and greater in our eyes we bless you for it in Christ's wonderful name amen amen you you you