And it is shocking how often a Bible answer man like yourself who clearly has no problem with confidence and boldness, how often you will say, "I don't know." Right. Can you just talk about that?
Like just the some would be surprised by that, that boldness and then just the humility to admit the things I don't know and then be really passionate about the things that I do know. Just how did you start saying those three words? { I don't know} You throw them around a lot, you know, speak to that because I think it's refreshing to a lot of folks. When I ask somebody a question, I don't care what area it is, and they make up an answer, that's called a lie.
I don't like people lying to me and therefore I don't want to lie to other people. So when I'm asked a question and I don't have the foggiest idea how to answer it, I better not make up an answer. I better be honest enough and humble enough to say, ' I do not know. ' And that's why I like book of Mark chapter 9. A grief or torn dad who's got a boy, a son who's being torn apart by epilepsy, demon possession. He's a hurting pup. He comes up to Jesus and says, "Hey Jesus, your disciples, they tried to heal my boy, but they couldn't. If it is possible, would you please heal my boy?" And Jesus looks into the face of that grief or torn father and he says, "What do you mean if it is possible?" All things are possible for the one who believes. Now, the response of the father is incredible. The father looks at Jesus and says, "I believe. Help my unbelief."
In other words, Jesus, I've got some belief, but I got real doubts. But I've got to be honest, Jesus, my doubts haven't gotten me anywhere. And that's my point to agnostics. That's my point to people who say, " I'm just not convinced." Fine. Maybe you're not convinced. But if you're not convinced about Christ, you're convinced about someone or something else. You wouldn't be at Texas A&M, this fine university, if you weren't a highly motivated person. You didn't get here by accident, guys. Something's motivating you. You're living for something or someone. But the father was honest enough to admit, "I got doubts." But he was humble enough to admit, "My doubts haven't gotten me anywhere in life." That's why he blurts out, "Help my unbelief."
And Jesus doesn't condemn the guy. He performs a miracle and he heals the guy's son. You see, God is more than willing to reach out to honest, humble people. Not people who pretend. Not people who pretend, "Oh, I've got it all nailed down." No. Humble, honest people who say, "I got doubts, but my doubts haven't gotten me anywhere in life. Lord Jesus, please help me."
Logan's a really nice guy. Before we started that podcast, he turned to me and said, "Uh, I'm not a believer in God or Christ, but uh maybe at the end of this time I wil be." Wow. I thought, "Okay, I really appreciate his vulnerability, his honesty." And then we got into it and started talking about a lot of different issues. And he kept on coming back to, "I'm really offended by how you guys think Jesus is the only way to God." And I had to say, "Well, I didn't make that up. Christians didn't make that up. Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." And I don't like the way I answered him.
I stuck to Logan. Everybody believes in truth. If you believe every path leads to God, that's a truth claim. You believe half the paths, half the philosophies, half the religions lead to heaven or nana, that's a truth claim.
And Jesus is obviously making a truth claim when he says there's one way to heaven. It's through me. I wish I would have gone on and said, "Now, Logan, let's talk about why Jesus is so necessary."
Jesus is so necessary. Jesus is the truth. He's the way to heaven. And he's the way to God because he has a unique identity. He's God in human form. He's not just a good prophet. He's not just a good teacher. He has a unique identity that is totally different from all the rest of us. He's God in human form.
Secondly, he has a unique death. We're all going to die. The statistics on death are very impressive. One out of one die. Everybody who's born dies. And I'm a lot closer than any of you. Bar probably. I'm 71 and you guys are young bucks. I'm jealous of you. You got a great future. Jesus died on a cross for you, for me. And I can promise you if someone dies for me, I'm going to take what they say very seriously because it shows they really give a rip about me. The phrase "give a rip" is an idiomatic expression meaning to care or to attach importance to someone or something.
And the third thing about him is about Jesus is not just that he has unique identity, not just that he has a unique death, but he has a unique resurrection. Guys, I promise you, you die and rise from the dead, I will listen very carefully to everything you have to say because the evidence is you are in touch with reality in a way that I am not. And so I put my faith in Christ, not because I've been hoodwinked, deceived into believing in him, not because I've been manipulated, not because I just believe, believe. I believe in Christ because the evidence is he is more than a man. He lived a sinless life. I've tried to live like Jesus. I really have guys and I have failed. Every day I try and I fail.
But that's secondly why I need his death, his unique death to forgive me for the wrong that I've done. He takes the penalty for my sin.
And then thirdly, I got a brain. I'm not just going to blindly believe. It's his historical resurrection that convinces me this Jesus is the truth. So, do you get it, Logan?
Logan had a hard time with that one, as a lot of Americans do. Yeah. And I still think what you said to him is beautiful. Like I think just based off what he said beforehand and like the hunger there is obvious like the lean in like the and the asking the hard questions and the willingness to admit wrong and I think that such people are pretty darn close much closer to the kingdom than they realize. And I think that applies to you guys in the crowd. Like your presence here implies a level of hunger. Your willingness to engage with questions implies that. And I just wondered if you have had doubts or have doubts or there's way more times than you would like where you say, "I don't know." Uh, man, you might be closer to the kingdom than you think. So, those were some of the questions that came in. If the cross is the center point, it's also, man, it's a stumbling block to plenty of people. You know, an author who was very prominent a little while ago, doesn't get talked about much anymore, said the cross is divine child abuse. you know, like what would you say to those things? This is outdated. It's barbaric. Um, do we really have to talk about this? Um, what would you say to that?
A lot of people say that these days, a lot of people believe that, Brian, you're absolutely correct. But I can almost guarantee you that the vast majority of people who say that, if I say to them, if I whoop up on a little African-American kid, beat him to a pulp, and if the police come and say,"Cliff, what did you do?" And I said, "Well, I just beat up this little African-American kid." If the police officer looks at me and says, "Let's go to Starbucks." Every person who's upset with the sacrificial death of Christ on a cross to pay the penalty for our wrongdoing would be outraged.
They'd call that racism. They'd say that officer is a racist, Cliff, as well as you're a racist. Justice is a joke. He's making a mockery out of justice. And they'd be right. That police officer better do something to arrest me for beating up a little African-American kid. But the same people who understand that insist God cannot judge evil. God is lovey-dovey, which means he just loves everybody and it doesn't matter what they do. But what they're forgetting is the reason that God judges is for the same reason that the police officer judges. the little African-American kid should must matter to the police officer and that's why he's going to haul me into jail.
The same thing with God. The reason that God judges me for dehumanizing someone, for manipulating someone, for using someone, for degrading someone in my head or in my speech is because that person who I've degraded, who I've dehumanized, matters to God. Which means if God does not judge, you don't matter.
People can rip you off. They can cut you off at their knees. They can steal you blind. To steal you blind means to rob or cheat someone mercilessly, taking everything they own, often through deceitful or fraudulent means.They can stick it to you. The phrase "stick it to you" is an idiom meaning to treat someone harshly, unfairly, or to retaliate against them, often as an act of defiance or revenge. And if God doesn't judge them for treating you that way, let's be real honest. You don't matter to God. Now, what Jesus Christ points out is yes, you do matter to God. And because you matter to God, because he loves you more than anybody in the whole universe loves you, he must judge those who sexually attack you. Oh, no We don't want to talk about that, Cliff. Well, I'm sorry. We're going to talk about it. Cuz in a crowd this size, you know exactly what I'm talking about, ladies. Many of you, too many of you have been sexually attacked. That's evil. And if God just winks at that and overlooks that, ladies, you don't matter to God. He doesn't care. And that's false. The clear revelation of Jesus Christ is you do matter to God. And the guy who sexually attacked you is going to answer to God for that. And he's going to judge him. And the group of ISIS that slaughtered Caleb Mueller in 2015 after they had imprisoned her for a few years. They're going to answer to God as terrorists for slaughtering Caleb Mueller. and I'm going to be judged for the way I've dehumanized people. That is why I need Christ's death on the cross.
Because remember guys, forgiveness is never cheap and easy. When you forgive somebody, what you're saying is, I'm going to absorb the hurt that you put on me when you did this to me. And instead of seeking revenge, I'm going to absorb the hurt. Not insist that you give me a pound of your flesh because you ripped a pound of flesh out of me. I'm going to forgive you. I'm going to absorb the hurt. Do you understand? Forgiveness is never free and easy. It costs. It costs a lot. And that's why Christ died on a cross. To absorb the penalty that we deserve for our wrongdoing. God is a judge. Why? Because we matter to God. And God is merciful. He offers us forgiveness through the death of his only son, Christ, on a cross.
Wow. So, so in the cross, we don't just have the proof of his love for us and his willingness to take our place. We have the proof of his love for us that he will not let wrongs done against us go unpunished.
Wow. Wow. Um your passion in communicating the cross is inspiring to me and recently your passion towards something else was deeply inspiring to me and some people on my team actually also took notice of it. Any did anybody go to Passion Conference in January when it was here and these guys were there?
Incredible time and it was an honor to be there and one of the things that really stuck out to some people on our staff, Cliff, was the passion that came out when you were given the opportunity to speak about the importance of serving the poor and feeding the hungry. You're looking at me like you don't recall this. Okay, you do. All right. I was like, "Oh, boy."
Stuart, over to you. Um, no. Uh, this I don't know this unexpected, but I think it was a side that some that's not going to get 50 million views is that topic. And I think that might be part of the problem. Can you speak to this? I think that this is a generation that cares deeply about those things is man, how do we write wrongs and how do we help those in and how central is this to the Christian life? like how central is this topic, serving the poor, feeding the hungry, this concept to Christianity clearly matters to you.
Day before yesterday, as my wife and I were flying down here from New York City, I sat beside a little 8-year-old girl. Where are mom and dad?
Oh, dad lives in New York and mom lives in Houston. Um I'm looking at the stewardess and asking where is mom and dad? Where's a guardian? Oh, she has none. For four and a half hours, that little girl slept beside me, putting her head on my shoulder.
I'm sitting there thinking, "This 8-year-old girl has made this trip," she says about 50 times. "No mom, no dad. She does it alone as an 8-year-old girl flying from New York City to Houston, Texas."
Am I moved by that? Or am I going to sit here and say, "Oh, well, at least she's not starving." There better be something in my heart that is moved to help, to love, to serve that little girl. All right. Jesus says in Matthew 25, in the parable of the sheep and the goats, he says, "When the Son of Man returns in power and great glory, he's going to gather all the peoples of the nations together, and he's going to put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left, and he's going to turn to those on his right and say, "Enter the heaven that is prepared for you. For I was hungry, and you gave
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