Bible Study Time Introduction (8-7-11) (Introduction to a radio Bible study.)

Welcome to Bible Study Time. We come to you each Sunday morning on behalf of the Peace Church, and we want to invite you to join us for any of our services. We’re located 8 miles south and a half a mile west of Indiahoma, and we’re just 12 miles east of Manitou right on the Baseline Road. If you’d like more information about the Peace Church, you can find that on our website, which is www.ok-peacechurch.org

In Deuteronomy, Chapter 31, the Lord spoke through Moses as Moses pronounced God's blessing upon Joshua as the next leader of the nation of Israel. God said: Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you. (Deuteronomy 31:23NKJV).

Now, it's very interesting and comforting to see that after Moses died, the Lord Himself came to Joshua and personally confirmed that message. In fact, that's what God really meant when He said, I will be with you. He really meant that He would be available to Joshua to talk to him and encourage him and give him specific instructions. The older I get and the more I grow in the Lord, the more I love the word confirmation, because it is more and more obvious to me that God loves to confirm the things that are true.

When Peter spoke to the children of Israel after the resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus, he was able to speak to them about the fact that God had confirmed to them over and over again that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Peter said: Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know — Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. (Acts 2:22-24 NKJV).

So God was more than willing to confirm the fact that Jesus was the Messiah, and this confirmation came through the miracles, wonders and signs that Jesus did. Have you ever thought about the fact that nobody ever questioned the miracles of the Lord Jesus? Even the religious leaders who hated Jesus, they would investigate the miracles, trying to find some evidence that Jesus was a fraud, but they found instead that the miracles were real. When they said that Jesus did the miracles through the power of Satan, they were confirming that the miracles were real. God loves to confirm the things that are true.

When I ask older people if they know any atheists, most of us don't, but when I ask teenagers, they all know at least one. Our society is growing farther and farther from God every day, and I used to think that we have no room for discussion with atheists. I mean, if they don’t believe that God exists, and if they don't believe the Bible, what basis is there for a conversation?

But today, I know better. Praise the Lord, we still believe in a God who is more than willing to prove to people that He exists and that His love is real, and that He is the only one who has the power to straighten out our lives. That He is the only one who can make our lives meaningful, and significant and blessed with love and peace and joy. God is still in the business of confirming the truth about Himself, every day, to people all over the world.

I hear a lot of talk on the radio and TV about the power of God, but you know, you can hear lots of things in the media. But I personally talk to lots of people every day who have fantastic testimonies about how God became real to them. And do you know what? One of the things that confirms the fact that these testimonies are true is that every testimony is different. God doesn't follow any prescribed formula. One person will say, it happened when I got baptized. Another will say, it happened while I was driving down the road. Another person will say, it happened just as I was about to blow my brains out in a hotel room. Every person has a different story because God is real, and He works in His own way in His own time.

But there is one thing that I know and that is that prayer is the key. Jesus said, if you ask, you will receive. James said, you have not because you ask not. You see, God doesn't force Himself on anyone. He's just standing at the door knocking, and if anyone opens the door even just a little bit, the power of the Holy Spirit will come pouring in, like a mighty rushing wind. And that person will know beyond any shadow of a doubt that God is real. That God's love is real, and that Jesus Christ is the one person who is able to give us access to our heavenly Father.

We'll see more about God confirmation to Joshua in this morning's Journey Through the Scripture. Now here's Pastor James Roberts.