Andy Stanley - Miracles: Then and Now (Part 1)

April 19, 2025 | 28:29

Andy Stanley explores the topic of miracles in his new series, "Miracles: Then and Now." He addresses the common experience of asking for a miracle and not receiving it, which can leave people questioning if God still performs miracles. Stanley discusses the definition of a miracle as an interruption or suspension of the laws of nature, and shows how the birth of the universe and the resurrection of Jesus are the two essential miracles that Christians must believe in. By exploring these miracles, Stanley aims to help viewers understand the role of miracles in Christianity.

#Faith #Purpose #Prayer #Religion #WordofGod #Miracles #Resurrection #AndyStanley #Heaven #Foundation

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Your Move with Andy Stanley | Andy Stanley - Miracles: Then and Now (Part 1) | April 19, 2025

Andy stanley: hi, everybody, welcome to "your move," where we
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Help you make better decisions and live with fewer regrets.
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I'm andy stanley, and i'll be your guide.
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So, have you ever needed a miracle, asked god for a
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Miracle, and nothing?
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And did it leave you wondering if god even still
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Performs miracles?
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And if so, why didn't you get yours?
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Maybe you were asking wrong or maybe you were praying wrong or
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Were you believing wrong or maybe just not believing enough?
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If that has been your experience or the experience of someone
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Close to you, stick around because today we are tackling
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The big questions about miracles right here on "your move."
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♪♪♪
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Andy: so today we are beginning a brand-new series, entitled
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"miracles: then and now."
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And here's how i'd like for us to start.
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I want to start by asking you a question in a second, and i'm
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Gonna ask you to raise your hand, but don't raise your hand
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Till i give you the cue because i just kinda wanna tease out the
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Question a little bit to make sure everybody knows where
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We're going.
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If you have ever, and wait till i cue, if you have ever asked
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God for, or even if you're not even sure about god, if you've
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Ever wished for or hoped for, or felt like you needed a miracle,
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In about 15 seconds i'm gonna ask you to raise your hand, but
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I wanna tease this out a little bit.
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I mean, going all the way back to high school, because you're
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Driving home and you're way after a curfew, and you're
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Saying--you're bargaining with god.
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"god, i need my parents to be asleep.
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I know they're not asleep, but if you could just make them pass
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Out and go to sleep, you know, all the way."
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Or maybe it was more serious than that.
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Maybe in high school you were praying that god would get your
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Parents back together.
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"please bring my mama home, bring my dad home."
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Maybe you just, "god, you know what, please put my family
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Back together."
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Maybe you're--you prayed for a miracle because you prayed that
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The diagnosis that you feared wouldn't be the diagnosis you're
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About to get, and everything just looked bleak, bleak, bleak.
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And the next day or the next week you were gonna find out and
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You're like, "god, please not that."
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Or maybe you prayed for a miracle, not for you, but for
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Somebody you love, maybe a younger brother or younger
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Sister, maybe a parent or grandparent.
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So if at any point in your life, even if it was back when you
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Were more of a believer than you are now, but you're like, yeah,
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Back then, or maybe it could be current, if you've ever asked
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God for a miracle or just hoped for a miracle, even if you
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Weren't sure there was a miracle worker, would you be so bold to
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Just raise your hand?
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My mind's up, yeah.
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Look around, yeah.
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It's amazing, isn't it?
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It's what we have in common.
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Here's something else we have in common.
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This is part of why we're doing this series.
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Many of us, most of us, didn't get the miracle we asked for.
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And in some cases, it was for the best, you know?
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I mean, it's true that one of god's greatest gifts to us is
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Unanswered prayer because some time went by and it was like, oh
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Yeah, mm.
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Glad that didn't work out.
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Thank you, god, for ignoring that.
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That was--yeah, this is better, you know?
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But for most of us it was devastating.
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It was devastating because you couldn't figure out, god, if you
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Did this for them and you did that for them and you did things
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In the past and you believe the--you know, you were raised
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With the bible and, god, you can do this.
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And i'm not asking, you know, for you to part the seas.
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I just need this one little thing and--or she just needs
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This one little thing, or my dad needs this one thing, or my
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Older brother, whoever it was.
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And not getting your miracle was devastating.
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In fact, it was devastating to your faith.
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Maybe you clawed your way back and eventually regained your
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Bearings with faith, but perhaps you didn't.
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Perhaps your faith didn't survive, and as a result your
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Disappointment with god in that season of life, you were in
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College or maybe it was a few years ago or in that first
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Marriage, your disappointment with god has left you navigating
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Life without god.
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And maybe kind of, you know, poking around a little bit,
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Maybe religious people like me get on your nerves because you
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Did it all right and you prayed it all right and god didn't come
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Through for you, and you kinda consider people like me naive
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And you consider religious people naive.
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That makes perfect sense.
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If we'd had your experience, maybe that's where we would be
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As well.
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Or maybe it's the opposite, and maybe you wouldn't use this
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Word, so i'm not trying to read your mail, but maybe there's
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Something in you that kind of envies people that have faith
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Because you used to have faith, you used to be a person of
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Faith, and god didn't come through for you and you lost
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Your faith and you kinda miss it.
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You kinda--you listen to the songs and it kinda stirs
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Something inside of you and you remember when you'd go to bed at
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Night and pray, and every once in a while you catch yourself
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Praying, and you're like, "what am i doing?
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I don't even believe in that stuff anymore."
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But you kind of wish that you could, but you're honest, you're
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Honest with yourself, and you're not gonna pretend, and you're
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Kind of stuck.
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If that's you, part three of this series is for you, so i
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Hope you'll stick with us through this whole series.
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But today, as we launch this series, i wanna back up and, you
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Know, this is gonna be a bit of a lighter note message.
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In fact, it's gonna be a bit academic.
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And if it's your first time with us, just so you know, sometimes
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When i launch a series, there's not a lot of scripture because
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I'm introducing a topic, and today's one of those.
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And if you're like, "oh my goodness, i don't even have to
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Open my bible," show up next.
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We'll be back there.
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So i just want to introduce the topic, and it's such an
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Important topic, i want to get us all on the same page.
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So i want to begin the series and the message today by
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Answering a couple of basic questions as it relates to
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Miracles so when i say the word "miracle," we're all thinking
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About the same thing.
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So i wanna answer a couple of questions.
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One, i wanna answer the question, "what makes a miracle
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A miracle?"
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And then we wanna talk about what's the relationship between
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Miracles and christianity because christians always
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Believe in miracles and it's like, "do you have to believe
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In, you know, miracles to be a christian in order"--in fact,
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That's one of the questions i wanna answer today, is, do you
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Have to believe in miracles to be a christian?
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And do you have to believe all those miracle stories in the
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Bible in order to be a christian?
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I mean, is that absolutely necessary?
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And so, if you're not a christian, or you used to be, or
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You're reconsidering faith, or you're considering faith for the
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First time, i wanna actually, it's kind of a strange place to
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Start a series.
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I wanna begin with this question.
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I wanna answer this one now.
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Do you have to believe in miracles to be a christian?
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And the answer is yes, but you only have to believe in two
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Miracles to be a christian.
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So i wanna talk about those two, and there's a reason for that,
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And that's gonna become clear over the course of the next
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Few minutes.
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And the interesting thing about these two miracles that you have
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To believe in to be a christian is most of you, and most people
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In the world, actually, already believe in one of them.
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And if you accept the second miracle that you have to believe
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To be a christian, if you accept the second one, it opens the
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Door to making the other miracles more acceptable.
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So, hang with me for just a minute.
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Now the reason i say you probably already believe in the
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First miracle has to do with our answer to the first question.
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And the first question i put up here was, "what makes a miracle
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A miracle?"
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So i wanna begin or continue by giving you a textbook definition
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For what is a miracle, again, so when we say a miracle, we all
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Are talking about the same thing.
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This is very academic, okay?
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You don't need to memorize this.
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This came from a professor i had almost 40 years ago in graduate
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School named norman geisler in his little book, "miracles and
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Modern man."
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And here's how he defined--"miracles and modern
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Thoughts," excuse me, "miracles and modern thought."
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Here's how he defines a miracle.
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A miracle is a divine intervention, so there's--god is
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Behind a miracle, divine intervention into, or an
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Interruption of, the regular course of the world, like that
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Could not have happened.
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I can't believe that happened.
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That would not have happened without divine intervention.
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That produces a purposeful but unusual event that would not, or
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Could not, have occurred otherwise.
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So that's kind of the academic definition of a miracle.
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Here's a simple and, admittedly, simplistic definition of a
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Miracle that i made up, okay?
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This one's better, i'll just say that up front, but just to kind
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Of get us on the same page, here's what we're talking about
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When we're talking about a miracle.
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A miracle is the temporary, it's never permanent, suspension or
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Reversal of the laws of nature.
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We'll just simplify it, that a miracle is the temporary, it's
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Not permanent, okay?
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It's just this, like, this--it's sort of an interruption of the
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Normal things, the suspension or the reversal of the laws
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Of nature.
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Now regarding the laws of nature, here's specifically what
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We're talking about.
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We're talking about the laws of physics, the laws of chemistry.
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We're talking about what makes the world work or what makes the
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World predictable and observable.
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This is what makes science possible.
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And a miracle is an aberration or temporary suspension or
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Reversal of the laws of nature.
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Let me tell you something interesting about that, and you
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Can check this out if you don't believe it, and you may not.
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Did you know that christians actually launched the modern
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Science movement?
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So these things work in tandem, and science explains to us how
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God did it.
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But a miracle is an interruption in the ways that god normally
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Behaves and the way that god designed things to happen.
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So for example, if a tree in your front of your yard, if you
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Own a home, or if you're parked out in your apartment complex,
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And there's a tree, if a tree falls and misses your car by
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Inches, i mean, it is a big tree, it falls, and you walk out
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There and your car is undamaged and you can't even get in the
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Driver's side because that tree fell so close.
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If a tree falls and and it's that close to your car, that's
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Amazing, but it's not a miracle because no natural law
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Was violated.
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There was no suspension or interruption of natural laws,
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Rather, but the laws of nature.
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And if you walked out and saw that, if you're a theist or a
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Christian, you would be like, thank god.
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I mean, you'd give god credit, right?
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But if you walk out and a tree is suspended in the midair,
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Root, ball, and all over your car and you get in your car and
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Move your car, and the tree comes crashing down where your
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Car was, i want you to call me, okay, because that is a
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Verifiable miracle because it conflicted with or worked
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Outside the laws of nature.
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Okay, so my--the point is simply this.
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The formation of a baby in a womb, wondrous, wondrous.
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That the fact that we are currently spinning through space
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In the goldilocks zone, you know, not too hot, not too cold,
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Just right, amazing.
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But those things aren't miraculous.
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They are explainable according to the way that the universe
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Works according to the laws of nature, which leads me, at last,
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To the miracle that pretty much everybody believes in, whether
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You consider it a miracle or not.
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And the reason this is important is if you believe the miracle
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I'm about to describe or if you believe what i'm about to
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Describe, and if i can convince you it is a miracle, then here's
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What it means for you, and for most of us sitting--this isn't a
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Big deal, but this may be a huge first step for somebody.
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Then if you believe what i'm about to describe as a miracle,
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Then that means you believe in miracles, you at least believe
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Miracles are possible.
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And that's a huge step, that's a huge step of faith.
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And maybe it's a huge step back to faith for you, because the
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Most widely attested to miracle, the most widely attested to
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Miracle, is the birth of the universe.
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And here's why i say that's a miracle.
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The beginning of the universe constitutes a miracle because
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The birth of the universe, that singularity, as stephen hawking,
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You know, i think he's the one that came up with that, that
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Idea, that singularity, we would call it that big bang,
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You're--we're tempted to say "that moment in time," but it
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Wasn't even a moment in time because there wasn't any time
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And there weren't any moments.
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But that thing, that singularity, where the universe
00:11:36.614 --> 00:11:39.984
Came into being and all that energy just unfolded and
00:11:39.984 --> 00:11:43.988
Continues to unravel and--not unravel, but continues to
00:11:43.988 --> 00:11:47.758
Unfold, that happened outside of and, in fact, in spite of what
00:11:47.758 --> 00:11:54.665
We would consider the laws of nature because the laws of
00:11:54.665 --> 00:11:58.502
Nature didn't exist.
00:11:58.502 --> 00:11:59.870
In fact, the birth of the universe coincided with the
00:11:59.870 --> 00:12:03.240
Birth of the laws of nature.
00:12:03.240 --> 00:12:06.177
So it is not an exaggeration, in fact, it's accurate, to say that
00:12:06.177 --> 00:12:09.980
The beginning of the universe, the beginning of the universe,
00:12:09.980 --> 00:12:12.416
Because it happened outside the laws of nature, in conflict with
00:12:12.416 --> 00:12:15.753
The laws of nature, superseded the laws of nature, that the
00:12:15.753 --> 00:12:19.256
Birth of the universe was actually a supranatural, we
00:12:19.256 --> 00:12:23.828
Don't have any other word for it, event.
00:12:23.828 --> 00:12:26.330
"supra" means above and beyond, above and beyond.
00:12:26.330 --> 00:12:29.099
It was above and beyond nature as we know it, nature as we are
00:12:29.099 --> 00:12:32.970
Confined to inside our universe.
00:12:32.970 --> 00:12:36.473
It wasn't caused by nature because there was no nature or
00:12:36.473 --> 00:12:39.643
Laws of nature to cause it.
00:12:39.643 --> 00:12:41.011
So the point being, the birth of the universe was by definition a
00:12:41.011 --> 00:12:45.883
Super or above natural event.
00:12:45.883 --> 00:12:50.354
Again, event doesn't describe it exactly, but it's the only word
00:12:50.354 --> 00:12:53.224
We have.
00:12:53.224 --> 00:12:54.558
It was a supranatural event.
00:12:54.558 --> 00:12:55.926
Now, don't rush ahead.
00:12:55.926 --> 00:12:57.261
I'm not saying god did it.
00:12:57.261 --> 00:12:58.629
I'm gonna get there in a second.
00:12:58.629 --> 00:12:59.964
I'm just saying it's almost undeniable that the birth of the
00:12:59.964 --> 00:13:03.734
Universe, since it happened outside of nature, was outside
00:13:03.734 --> 00:13:07.905
The bounds and the laws of nature, so it was supranatural.
00:13:07.905 --> 00:13:11.909
It was supranatural.
00:13:11.909 --> 00:13:13.844
It was supernatural.
00:13:13.844 --> 00:13:16.513
However, this is important.
00:13:16.513 --> 00:13:18.916
And if you're like, "i'm not so sure about that," you can talk
00:13:18.916 --> 00:13:20.951
About it over lunch or think about it later, or look it
00:13:20.951 --> 00:13:22.753
Up later.
00:13:22.753 --> 00:13:24.121
Here's--this is important.
00:13:24.121 --> 00:13:25.456
However, everything that has a beginning, everything that has a
00:13:25.456 --> 00:13:28.926
Beginning, has a cause.
00:13:28.926 --> 00:13:30.594
Everything that has a beginning has a cause.
00:13:30.594 --> 00:13:32.396
The universe and the laws of nature all had a beginning.
00:13:32.396 --> 00:13:38.135
Nobody even argues with that.
00:13:38.135 --> 00:13:39.470
The universe and the laws of nature had a beginning, which
00:13:39.470 --> 00:13:42.239
Means the universe and the laws of nature had a cause, something
00:13:42.239 --> 00:13:45.743
Caused that beginning.
00:13:45.743 --> 00:13:47.077
And of course, most people believe the cause of the
00:13:47.077 --> 00:13:49.813
Universe and the cause of the laws of nature, most modern
00:13:49.813 --> 00:13:52.383
People believe that that was actually god.
00:13:52.383 --> 00:13:56.854
And if you don't believe it's god, that's okay, but listen,
00:13:56.854 --> 00:13:59.323
This is what's so fascinating.
00:13:59.323 --> 00:14:02.059
If you don't acknowledge that god was the cause of the
00:14:02.059 --> 00:14:05.296
Universe, which, again, is fine, you certainly wouldn't argue
00:14:05.296 --> 00:14:10.067
That the universe caused itself.
00:14:10.067 --> 00:14:12.069
Nobody acknowledges that.
00:14:12.069 --> 00:14:14.271
The best we can do is to say something caused the universe,
00:14:14.271 --> 00:14:17.241
Because everything that has a beginning has a cause, and the
00:14:17.241 --> 00:14:18.909
Universe had a beginning, because according to the laws of
00:14:18.909 --> 00:14:21.445
Nature, something can't precede itself.
00:14:21.445 --> 00:14:23.981
So if it created itself, it preceded itself, that's
00:14:23.981 --> 00:14:26.617
A miracle.
00:14:26.617 --> 00:14:27.952
If something preceded itself and caused itself, that's a miracle,
00:14:27.952 --> 00:14:30.054
Too, because that's outside of the bounds of the laws of nature
00:14:30.054 --> 00:14:32.656
And what we experience and how our world works.
00:14:32.656 --> 00:14:35.225
So the point is i'm not--this isn't like a gotcha thing.
00:14:35.225 --> 00:14:37.761
I just want you to think.
00:14:37.761 --> 00:14:39.296
So either way, we all pretty much believe that miracles are
00:14:39.296 --> 00:14:42.466
Possible because we believe at least one happened.
00:14:42.466 --> 00:14:44.668
And the nature of that miracle, the birth of the universe,
00:14:44.668 --> 00:14:48.372
Required something above and beyond nature.
00:14:48.372 --> 00:14:52.209
It required something supra nature, supranatural, or we
00:14:52.209 --> 00:14:55.846
Would just say supernatural, something above and beyond.
00:14:55.846 --> 00:14:59.083
Now christians believe, this is where we're kind of coming back
00:14:59.083 --> 00:15:01.652
To this first miracle we've all got to embrace, christians
00:15:01.652 --> 00:15:04.088
Believe that the cause, of course, or the causer or the
00:15:04.088 --> 00:15:08.625
Beginner, the one who began it all, began the universe, of
00:15:08.625 --> 00:15:11.662
Course, was god.
00:15:11.662 --> 00:15:13.397
And god had no beginning, which means god didn't require
00:15:13.397 --> 00:15:18.135
A cause.
00:15:18.135 --> 00:15:19.503
He is the uncaused beginner.
00:15:19.503 --> 00:15:21.672
He is the beginner who had no beginning.
00:15:21.672 --> 00:15:25.275
So we don't have to say, "well, who caused god?"
00:15:25.275 --> 00:15:26.877
And keep going backwards forever.
00:15:26.877 --> 00:15:28.312
You can't have an actual infinite backwards or we never
00:15:28.312 --> 00:15:30.314
Get to this moment in time, which is a wonderful thought you
00:15:30.314 --> 00:15:32.716
Can think about later.
00:15:32.716 --> 00:15:34.051
So the birth, or the--the birth of the universe is the first of
00:15:34.051 --> 00:15:37.388
Two miracles that you have to believe in in order to be
00:15:37.388 --> 00:15:39.790
A christian.
00:15:39.790 --> 00:15:41.125
Christians believe that god created the universe, and
00:15:41.125 --> 00:15:43.660
Everybody agrees the universe had a beginning.
00:15:43.660 --> 00:15:45.262
It's just a matter of who began it or what began it.
00:15:45.262 --> 00:15:47.631
And if you believe nothing caused something, that's
00:15:47.631 --> 00:15:49.600
A miracle.
00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:50.934
And if you believe we don't know, but whatever caused the
00:15:50.934 --> 00:15:53.370
Universe was outside the laws of nature, that's a miracle too.
00:15:53.370 --> 00:15:56.874
So if a miracle is kind of the way we define it or the way it's
00:15:56.874 --> 00:15:59.610
Traditionally defined, almost everybody would agree, okay, if
00:15:59.610 --> 00:16:03.247
That's what a miracle is, something above and beyond
00:16:03.247 --> 00:16:05.215
Nature that is an interruption or suspends the laws of nature,
00:16:05.215 --> 00:16:09.620
The beginning of the universe was a miracle.
00:16:09.620 --> 00:16:12.256
Now one more thing about that.
00:16:12.256 --> 00:16:14.258
I did a series years ago.
00:16:14.258 --> 00:16:15.626
It's my favorite sermon series.
00:16:15.626 --> 00:16:16.960
It's called "the bible for grown-ups," and in that sermon,
00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:20.664
One of those messages, i go--kind of do a deep dive into
00:16:20.664 --> 00:16:23.067
This, so i just wanna mention it real quick because this is
00:16:23.067 --> 00:16:25.069
So important.
00:16:25.069 --> 00:16:26.403
Okay, the point of the genesis account of creation, since we're
00:16:26.403 --> 00:16:30.374
Talking about the beginning, the point of the genesis account of
00:16:30.374 --> 00:16:32.443
Creation, "in the beginning, god created the heaven and the
00:16:32.443 --> 00:16:34.344
Earth," the point of the genesis account of creation is not how
00:16:34.344 --> 00:16:40.084
God created the heavens and the earth, is not how he did it.
00:16:40.084 --> 00:16:43.687
The point of the genesis account is that god created the heavens
00:16:43.687 --> 00:16:47.024
And the earth.
00:16:47.024 --> 00:16:48.392
God, yahweh, the jewish god, who is the christian god, that
00:16:48.392 --> 00:16:52.362
Yahweh created the heavens and the earth, not the menagerie and
00:16:52.362 --> 00:16:56.433
Not the pantheon of pagan gods that the pagans believe somehow
00:16:56.433 --> 00:17:01.038
Put together the universe.
00:17:01.038 --> 00:17:02.406
So when this was written, there was a sumerian creation myth,
00:17:02.406 --> 00:17:05.409
There was an egyptian creation myth, there's all these
00:17:05.409 --> 00:17:07.611
Creation myths.
00:17:07.611 --> 00:17:08.946
And the jews came along and said, "no, you have it wrong."
00:17:08.946 --> 00:17:11.348
That this is the--it's not this gathering of gods whose bodies
00:17:11.348 --> 00:17:16.186
Split apart to create the earth and the sea and all this stuff
00:17:16.186 --> 00:17:19.089
Due to this intergalactic conflict between the gods.
00:17:19.089 --> 00:17:21.458
They're like, "that's not how it happened.
00:17:21.458 --> 00:17:23.360
There is one god.
00:17:23.360 --> 00:17:24.862
He is the uncaused causer.
00:17:24.862 --> 00:17:26.463
He's the beginner who had no beginning.
00:17:26.463 --> 00:17:28.565
He's the eternal god, and he, in and of himself, created the
00:17:28.565 --> 00:17:31.802
Heavens and earth."
00:17:31.802 --> 00:17:33.170
That's the point of the genesis account, not how god did it.
00:17:33.170 --> 00:17:36.073
So the point is, the point is, that christians take the genesis
00:17:36.073 --> 00:17:40.210
Account seriously because the point of the genesis creation
00:17:40.210 --> 00:17:42.746
Account is that god did it and he created from nothing, and
00:17:42.746 --> 00:17:48.385
That's a miracle.
00:17:48.385 --> 00:17:49.720
So anyway, that's the first miracle that in the beginning
00:17:49.720 --> 00:17:52.723
The uncreated creator created everything.
00:17:52.723 --> 00:17:54.525
Now to introduce the second miracle you have to believe in
00:17:54.525 --> 00:17:57.761
Order to be a christian, i want to go back to something else i
00:17:57.761 --> 00:18:00.397
Learned from dr. norman geisler, almost, i hate to say it, 40
00:18:00.397 --> 00:18:03.367
Years ago.
00:18:03.367 --> 00:18:04.701
He taught us in class, i had a semester--the whole semester was
00:18:04.701 --> 00:18:06.970
Built around what i'm about to share.
00:18:06.970 --> 00:18:09.006
He taught us what is commonly referred to as the classical
00:18:09.006 --> 00:18:11.742
Apologetic method.
00:18:11.742 --> 00:18:13.143
And the classical apologetic method is essentially, there's
00:18:13.143 --> 00:18:16.180
Several versions of this, but the version he taught us,
00:18:16.180 --> 00:18:18.849
There's five statements that serve as the foundation of the
00:18:18.849 --> 00:18:22.986
Entire christian faith, five statements that serve as the
00:18:22.986 --> 00:18:26.990
Foundation of the christian faith.
00:18:26.990 --> 00:18:28.358
And in these five statements we bump into the second miracle
00:18:28.358 --> 00:18:31.395
That everybody has to believe it if you're gonna follow jesus.
00:18:31.395 --> 00:18:34.198
Now, he spent an entire semester building these five statements.
00:18:34.198 --> 00:18:39.670
I'm gonna do it in about eight minutes, okay?
00:18:39.670 --> 00:18:43.140
So we're gonna go really fast, but again, i just want you to
00:18:43.140 --> 00:18:46.109
See the context for why this second miracle is so important.
00:18:46.109 --> 00:18:49.813
But more importantly, why you can believe it happened.
00:18:49.813 --> 00:18:53.483
So here they are, these five statements.
00:18:53.483 --> 00:18:55.786
I'm gonna give you the first two together because they
00:18:55.786 --> 00:18:57.955
Go together.
00:18:57.955 --> 00:18:59.289
Numbers one statement is god exists, which means miracles
00:18:59.289 --> 00:19:01.191
Are possible.
00:19:01.191 --> 00:19:02.526
So we spent several weeks talking about all the arguments
00:19:02.526 --> 00:19:05.195
For the existence of god, and then we spent about a week
00:19:05.195 --> 00:19:08.031
Talking about if god exists, and god is outside time and space,
00:19:08.031 --> 00:19:10.867
And god created nature, that god then controls nature, and
00:19:10.867 --> 00:19:14.371
Consequently he can intervene when he wants to, so therefore
00:19:14.371 --> 00:19:16.740
Miracles are possible.
00:19:16.740 --> 00:19:18.575
The third statement is a hard right turn, okay?
00:19:18.575 --> 00:19:23.146
This is so important, and this explains one of the things i've
00:19:23.146 --> 00:19:26.350
Come back to over and over and over with you over the past
00:19:26.350 --> 00:19:30.254
Several years.
00:19:30.254 --> 00:19:31.622
The third statement is this: the gospels are reliable accounts of
00:19:31.622 --> 00:19:35.826
Actual events.
00:19:35.826 --> 00:19:37.194
The gospels are reliable accounts of actual events.
00:19:37.194 --> 00:19:40.764
Not every book in the bible, that's not part of this, we'll
00:19:40.764 --> 00:19:42.933
Get there in a minute.
00:19:42.933 --> 00:19:44.268
The gospels, matthew, mark, luke, and john, are reliable
00:19:44.268 --> 00:19:47.537
Accounts of actual events.
00:19:47.537 --> 00:19:48.872
So we spent several weeks asking the question, "why should we
00:19:48.872 --> 00:19:52.209
Trust that what the gospel says is true?"
00:19:52.209 --> 00:19:54.478
We weren't arguing for the inspiration of the gospels.
00:19:54.478 --> 00:19:57.781
We were just asking the question, "are these four
00:19:57.781 --> 00:20:00.317
Accounts of the life of jesus reliable based on when they were
00:20:00.317 --> 00:20:04.621
Written, who wrote them, and what they say about jesus, and
00:20:04.621 --> 00:20:08.358
How they lined up with the current events in the
00:20:08.358 --> 00:20:10.661
1st century?"
00:20:10.661 --> 00:20:12.062
So again, i'm not gonna try to convince you that they are
00:20:12.062 --> 00:20:14.131
Reliable accounts of actual events, but the point is, in
00:20:14.131 --> 00:20:16.300
Terms of the christian faith, that it's built on that.
00:20:16.300 --> 00:20:18.568
Well, the reason that's important is that all four
00:20:18.568 --> 00:20:21.371
Accounts of the life of jesus, matthew, mark, luke, and john,
00:20:21.371 --> 00:20:24.474
All attest to one very important event in the life of jesus, and
00:20:24.474 --> 00:20:28.445
That is that jesus rose from the dead.
00:20:28.445 --> 00:20:32.149
And that is the second essential miracle you have to embrace in
00:20:32.149 --> 00:20:36.953
Order to follow jesus.
00:20:36.953 --> 00:20:39.189
But if jesus rose from the dead, this leads to the last one,
00:20:39.189 --> 00:20:42.693
Jesus is who he claimed to be and what he said can be trusted.
00:20:42.693 --> 00:20:48.165
If jesus rose from the dead, if jesus explained his own death
00:20:48.165 --> 00:20:51.468
And resurrection and pulled it off, then what he said can be
00:20:51.468 --> 00:20:54.638
Trusted and what he said about himself can be taken seriously
00:20:54.638 --> 00:20:58.642
Because the resurrection of jesus is the foundation of
00:20:58.642 --> 00:21:01.712
Our faith.
00:21:01.712 --> 00:21:03.046
It's the event that launched the movement, the resurrection
00:21:03.046 --> 00:21:06.083
Launched the movement, the church, and the church
00:21:06.083 --> 00:21:08.719
Eventually assembled and published our bibles.
00:21:08.719 --> 00:21:12.422
But the bible--if there was no resurrection, there's no bible.
00:21:12.422 --> 00:21:15.192
If there's no resurrection, there's no christianity.
00:21:15.192 --> 00:21:17.394
If there's no resurrection, there's no matthew, mark, luke,
00:21:17.394 --> 00:21:19.830
Or john because jesus's life was not worth documenting.
00:21:19.830 --> 00:21:23.367
He was just another wannabe messiah that rome crucified, end
00:21:23.367 --> 00:21:26.837
Of the story.
00:21:26.837 --> 00:21:28.205
There were a bunch of those.
00:21:28.205 --> 00:21:29.539
What makes the story stand out, what--the reason we're
00:21:29.539 --> 00:21:32.509
Christians is because jesus rose from the dead.
00:21:32.509 --> 00:21:35.112
It's why i constantly say to you, in fact, i think i'll say
00:21:35.112 --> 00:21:37.814
It now.
00:21:37.814 --> 00:21:39.216
If someone predicts their own death and resurrection and pulls
00:21:39.216 --> 00:21:42.786
It off, you should, or we should, lean into whatever that
00:21:42.786 --> 00:21:46.390
Person says.
00:21:46.390 --> 00:21:47.724
This is your one sentence apologetic--or your one sentence
00:21:47.724 --> 00:21:52.462
Statement as to why you're a christian.
00:21:52.462 --> 00:21:54.297
Why are you a christian?
00:21:54.297 --> 00:21:55.665
Why do you believe that?
00:21:55.665 --> 00:21:57.000
I'm a simple man.
00:21:57.000 --> 00:21:58.635
If someone can predict their own death and resurrection and pull
00:21:58.635 --> 00:22:02.539
It off, i just lean into whatever that person says.
00:22:02.539 --> 00:22:05.609
"yeah, but what about all this"--i'm a simple man.
00:22:05.609 --> 00:22:08.311
I can't explain everything in the bible.
00:22:08.311 --> 00:22:10.213
I don't understand the book of revelation necessarily.
00:22:10.213 --> 00:22:12.949
There's some things that i'm sure smart people can make sense
00:22:12.949 --> 00:22:15.218
Of, but i'm a simple man.
00:22:15.218 --> 00:22:16.586
If somebody can predict their own death and resurrection and
00:22:16.586 --> 00:22:18.755
Pull it off, we should lean into whatever that person says.
00:22:18.755 --> 00:22:21.224
That is the foundation of your faith.
00:22:21.224 --> 00:22:23.427
That is the anchor.
00:22:23.427 --> 00:22:24.795
It is the second miracle.
00:22:24.795 --> 00:22:26.163
And if you acknowledge that one, when we acknowledge that one, we
00:22:26.163 --> 00:22:30.133
Are on our way.
00:22:30.133 --> 00:22:33.003
But there's more.
00:22:33.003 --> 00:22:35.906
If jesus is who he says he is and if what jesus taught and
00:22:35.906 --> 00:22:40.844
What jesus said can be trusted, then what jesus said about the
00:22:40.844 --> 00:22:45.315
Law and the prophets can be trusted as well.
00:22:45.315 --> 00:22:47.884
Now what's the law and the prophets?
00:22:47.884 --> 00:22:49.219
In the old--in the 1st century, they didn't refer to the hebrew
00:22:49.219 --> 00:22:52.055
Scripture as the old testament.
00:22:52.055 --> 00:22:54.024
There was nothing old about it.
00:22:54.024 --> 00:22:55.358
It was their bible, the hebrew scripture or the jewish
00:22:55.358 --> 00:22:57.961
Scripture, the hebrew scripture.
00:22:57.961 --> 00:22:59.329
You can refer to it either way.
00:22:59.329 --> 00:23:00.664
They had their own words for that.
00:23:00.664 --> 00:23:02.032
So when jesus was alive, when he referred to his bible, the bible
00:23:02.032 --> 00:23:05.635
Of what--who would--we would call the jews, they referred to
00:23:05.635 --> 00:23:09.072
It as the law and the prophets, or sometimes the law and the
00:23:09.072 --> 00:23:12.042
Prophets and the psalms, referring to what we would call
00:23:12.042 --> 00:23:15.445
The old testament.
00:23:15.445 --> 00:23:16.813
So if what jesus said it can be relied upon, if jesus said--what
00:23:16.813 --> 00:23:20.717
Jesus said is true based on the fact that he rose from the dead,
00:23:20.717 --> 00:23:22.919
It underscores who he claimed to be and it underscores everything
00:23:22.919 --> 00:23:25.589
He said, then what jesus said about, what we would call the
00:23:25.589 --> 00:23:28.425
Old testament, what jesus said about the old testament can be
00:23:28.425 --> 00:23:31.194
Trusted as well.
00:23:31.194 --> 00:23:33.463
So even though the old testament is at the front of our book,
00:23:33.463 --> 00:23:36.166
It's at the back of our apologetics, so we can update
00:23:36.166 --> 00:23:38.802
Our list.
00:23:38.802 --> 00:23:40.136
What jesus said about the hebrew scripture can be trusted
00:23:40.136 --> 00:23:43.773
As well.
00:23:43.773 --> 00:23:45.108
Another little sidebar comment and i'll wrap this up.
00:23:45.108 --> 00:23:48.144
This is so important.
00:23:48.144 --> 00:23:49.813
The reason christians take the old testament seriously is not
00:23:49.813 --> 00:23:56.486
Because it got bound in a piece of leather or a piece of
00:23:56.486 --> 00:23:59.356
Cardboard with the new testament.
00:23:59.356 --> 00:24:01.157
The reason we take it seriously is because jesus took
00:24:01.157 --> 00:24:05.529
It seriously.
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In fact, before jesus, gentiles had very little interest and
00:24:06.930 --> 00:24:12.269
Almost no access to the hebrew scripture.
00:24:12.269 --> 00:24:15.639
And then suddenly in the 1st century, this is one of the
00:24:15.639 --> 00:24:17.874
Evidences for the spread of the church, the evidence for the
00:24:17.874 --> 00:24:19.643
Resurrection of jesus, suddenly in the 1st century all these
00:24:19.643 --> 00:24:22.812
Gentiles, they just can't get enough of what the jewish or the
00:24:22.812 --> 00:24:25.916
Hebrew bible says.
00:24:25.916 --> 00:24:27.284
Why?
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Because of jesus, because the jewish scriptures, our old
00:24:28.618 --> 00:24:32.789
Testament, what we call the old testament, prophesied that god
00:24:32.789 --> 00:24:35.926
Is gonna send a messiah.
00:24:35.926 --> 00:24:38.562
And the gentile believers were like, "oh my gosh, god kept his
00:24:38.562 --> 00:24:41.998
Promise to his people."
00:24:41.998 --> 00:24:43.733
And god kept his promise to his people by sending a messiah that
00:24:43.733 --> 00:24:46.903
Came to bless the entire world, god's final king.
00:24:46.903 --> 00:24:55.879
So god exists, miracles are possible.
00:24:55.879 --> 00:24:59.950
God--the gospels are reliable.
00:24:59.950 --> 00:25:01.284
This is miracle number one, that god created heavens and the
00:25:01.284 --> 00:25:03.954
Earth, so miracles are possible.
00:25:03.954 --> 00:25:05.755
The gospels are reliable accounts of actual events.
00:25:05.755 --> 00:25:08.024
If that's true, then jesus rose from the dead because all four
00:25:08.024 --> 00:25:10.260
Attest to it, so did peter, paul, and james.
00:25:10.260 --> 00:25:12.462
If he rose from the dead, then what he said about the hebrew
00:25:12.462 --> 00:25:14.397
Scriptures, what he said about anything he said anything about,
00:25:14.397 --> 00:25:16.466
What he said about you, what he said about your sin, what he
00:25:16.466 --> 00:25:20.236
Said about your future, what he said about heaven, what he said
00:25:20.236 --> 00:25:22.939
About the eternal kingdom of god, all of that, can
00:25:22.939 --> 00:25:26.776
Be trusted.
00:25:26.776 --> 00:25:28.111
This is a big deal and it all hinges on believing in
00:25:28.111 --> 00:25:31.881
Two miracles.
00:25:31.881 --> 00:25:33.216
So, summing up.
00:25:33.216 --> 00:25:34.584
The possibility and the reality of miracles is fundamental
00:25:34.584 --> 00:25:39.456
To christianity.
00:25:39.456 --> 00:25:41.057
And to sum it up, let me just give you these two statements.
00:25:41.057 --> 00:25:43.593
The miracle of the universe, or the birth of the universe, the
00:25:43.593 --> 00:25:46.229
Miracle of the universe is the foundation of our faith in god.
00:25:46.229 --> 00:25:49.065
We believe that god is the uncaused causer, he's the
00:25:49.065 --> 00:25:52.369
Eternal god.
00:25:52.369 --> 00:25:53.737
That he brought from nothing everything, including the laws
00:25:53.737 --> 00:25:57.040
Of nature that allows us to have science to make our world
00:25:57.040 --> 00:26:00.510
Observable, to make things observable and repeatable.
00:26:00.510 --> 00:26:03.246
It's like, it's amazing.
00:26:03.246 --> 00:26:04.714
It's god unleashed the human mind and said, "it's gonna roll
00:26:04.714 --> 00:26:09.252
Out into the future just like the universe rolls out and
00:26:09.252 --> 00:26:12.989
You're gonna--you're--i'm gonna give you this gift of
00:26:12.989 --> 00:26:15.458
Accumulated knowledge, accumulated knowledge.
00:26:15.458 --> 00:26:18.862
That every generations humans accumulate more and more
00:26:18.862 --> 00:26:21.831
Knowledge and more and more insight and more and more
00:26:21.831 --> 00:26:24.534
Opportunities to go, 'so that's how we did it.'"
00:26:24.534 --> 00:26:27.971
This is why when you come to faith in jesus, this is why when
00:26:27.971 --> 00:26:32.909
You, you know, are overwhelmed at some point in your life with
00:26:32.909 --> 00:26:36.579
The reality of all this, that our only option, our only
00:26:36.579 --> 00:26:40.550
Option, even when you don't get an answer to prayer, even when
00:26:40.550 --> 00:26:42.252
You don't get your miracle, our only option is to fall down on
00:26:42.252 --> 00:26:45.588
Our knees and to pray with jesus, "our father in heaven,
00:26:45.588 --> 00:26:50.860
Great is your name.
00:26:50.860 --> 00:26:53.296
Your kingdom come.
00:26:53.296 --> 00:26:55.432
Your will be done on earth, on my earth, as it is in heaven.
00:26:55.432 --> 00:27:00.336
And i'm dependent on you for my daily bread.
00:27:00.336 --> 00:27:02.238
I'm dependent on you to avoid temptation.
00:27:02.238 --> 00:27:04.941
Yours is the kingdom and the power."
00:27:04.941 --> 00:27:06.309
I mean, sometimes things work out, sometimes they don't, but
00:27:06.309 --> 00:27:09.279
Goodness, the context of my life is you, the glory of god.
00:27:09.279 --> 00:27:16.753
In the second statement, the miracle of the resurrection is
00:27:16.753 --> 00:27:19.956
The foundation of our faith in jesus.
00:27:19.956 --> 00:27:22.459
So if you're looking for, and i know you're not, but you know,
00:27:22.459 --> 00:27:25.061
If you're looking for the irreducible minimum number of
00:27:25.061 --> 00:27:27.163
Miracles you have to believe in order to be a christian, if
00:27:27.163 --> 00:27:29.399
You're considering christianity, like, "do i have to believe a
00:27:29.399 --> 00:27:32.135
Guy put everybody on a boat, really?"
00:27:32.135 --> 00:27:36.172
You just start here.
00:27:36.172 --> 00:27:37.607
The foundation--the miracle of the universe, foundation of
00:27:37.607 --> 00:27:39.743
Faith in god; miracle of resurrection, foundation of our
00:27:39.743 --> 00:27:41.911
Faith in jesus.
00:27:41.911 --> 00:27:43.279
But once you accept this miracle, you will find many of
00:27:43.279 --> 00:27:46.149
Those other miracles far more acceptable.
00:27:46.149 --> 00:27:50.086
Andy: hey, everybody. thank you so much for tuning in.
00:27:50.153 --> 00:27:52.856
If you'd like to watch this episode again or share it with a
00:27:52.856 --> 00:27:55.024
Friend, head on over to the website at the bottom of
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The screen.
00:27:57.160 --> 00:27:58.495
The website is the best place for you to find other
00:27:58.495 --> 00:28:00.663
"your move" episodes, access additional resources, and learn
00:28:00.663 --> 00:28:03.933
More about our mission to engage culture with the teaching of
00:28:03.933 --> 00:28:07.103
Jesus, because we're convinced following jesus will make your
00:28:07.103 --> 00:28:10.206
Life better and make the world a better place.
00:28:10.206 --> 00:28:13.009
And now, it's your move.
00:28:13.009 --> 00:28:14.577
♪♪♪
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...
00:28:26.055 --> 00:28:29.010

Andy Stanley - Miracles: Then and Now (Part 1)

April 19, 2025 | 28:29

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