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FAITH FACT:
One of the alleged “proofs” that humans evolved from lower life forms is the existence of what are often called “vestigial organs.” They are organs and structures that once were vital for survival but have since become unimportant or useless. Examples such as the appendix and wisdom teeth are often cited. Another is the tailbone, or coccyx. Darwinists say this is the remnant of the tails we had as monkeys and apes. It shrank to the useless nub that remains on our bodies today. Medical science has found that it actually serves a vital function in humans today, however. It is an anchor point for lower abdominal muscles as well as the entire pelvic diaphragm. Evolutionists concede by saying that what they initially called “useless” has instead a “modified” function from its original purpose. This is nothing more than a guess (and a biased one at that). We see how the evidence changes the tune from one of certainty over the tailbone’s uselessness to, “Well, it was just modified then.” I would suggest a different interpretation. I would argue that the tailbone has not been modified at all but is still performing the important function that God designed it to in the very first human being—Adam. Only the Bible tells us the real and true story of man’s origin.

Sunday AM 7/4/10
Road to Sanctification Part 2:
Freed From the Law (Rom. 8:2)

Intro: We are no longer condemned, but free from what hinders us
I. Freed From the Law of Moses
A. The Old Testament was “nailed to the cross”
B. We died to the Law so we could be “married”
    to the New Testament
C. Jesus brought our two natures (flesh/spirit) together
II. Freed From the Law of Sin and Death
A. Adam and Eve spiritually “died” from sin
B. Law only brought  knowledge of sin (Rom. 3:20)
1. Paul was once alive before he knew of sin
2. Once we understand sin, we die spiritually from it
C. We will still experience sin and physical death
D. Death has lost its sting (1 Cor. 15:54)
III. Freed By the Law of the Spirit
A. The Spirit of life (Gen. 2:7)
B. Freedom from OT, but still under a law system
C. The gospel (good news) is our freedom from sin
1. The gospel contains commands to be obeyed
2. Salvation is a free gift; we haven’t earned it

God is a God of law; sin will be punished,
but forgiveness WILL be provided too!
Sunday PM 7/4/10
Road to Sanctification Part 3:
Walking According to the Spirit (Rom. 8:3-8)

Intro: If you don’t know the way, you must follow a guide

I. What the Law Couldn’t Do
A. Couldn’t make us righteous
B. Couldn’t forgive; only condemn
C. The Law was not flawed, WE were!
II. What God Did
A. Had a plan (Eph. 3:11)
B. Sent Jesus (John 3:16)
C. Kept His word
1. He paid the price the Law required
2. Kept His promise to Eve (Gen. 3:15)
III. What We Must Do
A. Not walk according to the flesh
1. We are more than meat
2. The fleshly person rebels against God’s law
B. Walk according to the Spirit (Follow Jesus!)
C. Sanctification means staying on the trail

The Old Testament proved we could not be saved by our righteous works; we must follow Jesus’ perfect path!

FAITH FACT:
In The Creator and the Cosmos1 Hugh Ross advances the concept of the Drake Equation to include a total of 128 identified factors for habitable planets. He also calculated the probability estimate for each particular factor to be within an acceptable range to support life. Combining all probabilities (and compensating for dependencies) Ross calculates a probability for occurrence of all 128 factors to be a chance of 10-166. So even with a total number of planets in the range of 1022, the chance is less than 1 in 10144 (one in one thousand trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion) that any such planet in the entire universe exists.
Numbers like 1022 planets and chances of 1 in 10144 are beyond our comprehension. We can write the numbers and count the zeroes, but they do not mean much. Therefore we need an illustration to understand these chances better:
-Imagine the total land surface of the USA , including Hawaii and Alaska , a total of three and a  
  half million square miles.
-Also imagine one silver dollar. A silver dollar is about the size of a square inch.
-Now cover all the land surface of the USA with silver dollars.
-And start adding new layers of silver dollars to cover the surface again and again until a height
  is reached of 10 miles everywhere.
-Now all the land surface of the USA is covered with silver dollars 10 miles high everywhere.
-Next, imagine a single silver dollar marked with an X placed at random in this mass.
-Finally, blindfold a volunteer, drop him anywhere, send him to wander about until he chooses a
  point to dig into the 10-mile high pile, and grab only one coin.
-The chance of that person picking the silver dollar with the X is about 1 in 1025!
-Therefore, a change of 1 in 10144 is like repeating this experiment six times in a row, and each
  time selecting the X marked silver dollar – a virtual impossibility.

1Hugh Ross , The Creator and the Cosmos  (2001 revised edition), chapter 16: Earth: a Place for Life.


Sunday AM 7/11/10
Road to Sanctification Part 4:
Help of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9-11)

Intro: How does the Holy Spirit guide us on the path to heaven?

I. He Dwells In Us
A. He is our houseguest
B. We are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19)
C. We belong to God
II. He Helped Us Before
A. In providing the gospel (1 Pet. 1:10-12)
B. In guiding us to salvation (John 3:5)
C. In giving new, spiritual life (Rom. 8:11)
III. He Continues to Help Us
A. Work of the Holy Sprit in trials and temptations
(1 Cor. 10:13; Eph. 3:16)
B. Work of the Holy Spirit in the final resurrection
1. 1 Thess. 4:14ff Jesus will return to gather His own
2. The Holy Spirit is the seal of our resurrection
3. Those who have the Holy Spirit indwelling them will be
        raised to eternal life at the judgment

We should be confident we will arrive at our destination
if we will allow ourselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit!

FAITH FACT:
The story is told of Benjamin Franklin entertaining an atheist friend one day in his office. His friend noticed an elaborate model of the solar system called an orrery. It was made of copper, wire, and gears which worked to spin the planets around the model of the sun. The friend was amazed by the fine craftsmanship, intricate detail, and precise function of the model. When he asked Franklin who made it, he mischievously replied, “Nobody. It made itself. It just happened.”  His friend exclaimed, “You must be joking!” To which Franklin replied, “So is the man who says the universe just happened.”  We can look at the incredible design and function of a laptop computer, or even a single microchip, and be amazed at it. We would never consider the possibility that the microchip formed itself and imprinted upon itself gigabytes of information. Yet, some believe in an even greater magic trick. That the universe formed itself out of random chaos. Edward Tryon, physics professor, author, and cosmologist, once famously said, “the universe is simply one of those things which happens from time to time.” Gospel preacher Roy Lanier addressed the apparent foolishness of the Big Bang theory as-- “Nothing got busy and became something.” Rom. 1:20 indicates the evidence for God, the Grand Designer, is in every molecule of His creation.
Tryon, Edward P. "Is the Universe a Vacuum Fluctuation," in Nature, 246(1973), pp. 396-397.

Sunday AM 7/18/10
Road to Sanctification Part 5:
Sons, Not Slaves (Rom. 8:12-17)

Intro: We must have a higher motivation that not getting caught

I. We Are Debtors
A. We owe nothing to the flesh
B. We  owe everything to God
II. We Are Alive
A. If we can keep sin from killing us
B. Death means spiritual separation
III. We Are Free to Choose
A. Free will is a sign of God’s love
B. Free will is proof of God’s humility
IV. We Are Sons of God
A. Adults, not babies
B. We share the status of Jesus (Heb. 3:5-6)
C. The Holy Spirit testifies that we are sons
V. We Are Heirs
A. Along with Christ
B. We must follow His example
C. To share His glory, we must share in His suffering

Let’s stay on the right path for the right reasons!

Sunday PM 7/18/10
Road to Sanctification Part 6:
The Winner’s Circle (Rom. 8:18-30)

Intro: Seeing the finish line helps us stay on track and keep running

I. We Will Be Glorified
A. Heaven will be more than worth the effort
B. We will be revealed as sons of God
II. The World Waits Eagerly
A. It’s counting on us to make it to the finish line
B. It waits for its deliverance and a new beginning
1. Before sin the garden was perfect
2. The old earth is “pregnant” with the new one
III. We Hope Eagerly
A. For our own deliverance
B. For the reward just beyond our sight
IV. The Holy Spirit Assists Us
A. He knows us like a coach
B. He knows what we need to hear
V. Conformed to Jesus
A. Lifelong process of growing more Christ-like
B. Standing in the winner’s circle with Jesus
C. New birth followed by growth to adulthood

Victory is assured if we just keep running!
FAITH FACT:
Prof. Gershon Galil of the Univ. of Haifa in Israel deciphered an inscription on a piece of pottery which has been carbon dated to the 10th century BC. This would be during the reign of King David. This makes it the earliest known Hebrew writing, almost a thousand years older than the Dead Sea Scrolls. The inscription refers to how to treat weaker members of society (slaves, widows, infants, poor). It is not Scripture but shares similar concepts and mentions worshiping the Lord. The current theory is that the Bible could not have been written before the 6th century BC (around the Babylonian captivity) because Hebrew writing did not exist until then. So when Moses said he recorded the words of the Lord in a book in Dt. 31:24, he must have been lying by inspiration. Didn’t he know writing didn’t exist way back then in 1500 BC?  But the Code of Hammurabi, the Ebla tablets, and other archaeological discoveries prove that codified writing and Biblical names critics allow for. Again, we see the evidence continually pushes the dates back and brings them in harmony with the Bible.
Physorg.com “Most ancient Hebrew biblical inscription deciphered” in Archaeology & Fossils 1/7/2010
FoxNews.com 1/12/10 “When Was the Bible Really Written?”

Sunday AM 7/25/10
Road to Sanctification Part 7:
More Than Conquerors (Rom. 8:31-39)

Intro: What do we say about “these things?”
I. If God Is For Us….
A. “Do not fear” (Num. 14:8-9; 2 Kings 6:16)
B. God laughs at enemy plans (Psa. 2:4)
II. If God Did Not Spare His Own Son....
A. (John 3:16) What more could He give?
B. (Heb. 10:26) Nothing more He can offer us
III. Who Shall Bring Charge Against Us?
A. Zech. 3:1-4 Joshua the High Priest next to Satan
B. Rev. 12:10 No more accusations to bring
IV. Who Shall Condemn Us?
A. Acts 10:42 God appointed Jesus as Judge
B. Our Judge has become our Savior
V. Who Shall Separate Us?
A. Not even death itself
B. Only we can
C. Things in 8:35 can separate us from God if we let them

The hopeless struggle of the sinful man is contrasted
with the guaranteed victory of the saved man!

Sunday PM 7/25/10
The Testimony of the Transfiguration (2 Pet. 1:16-19)

Intro: Can we really trust the Bible?
I. Five Facts About the Transfiguration
A. An obvious act of God
B. Bright cloud of God’s presence
C. Moses and Elijah’s miraculous presence
1. Their appearance verified life beyond the grave
2. Their disappearance proved superiority of Jesus
D. Apostles wanted to build three tabernacles
E. “Hear Him!” distinguishes Christ from OT
II. “Make your calling and election sure” (1:10)
A. How are we called? By the gospel (2 Thes. 2:14)
B. How do we “make it sure?”
1. Be convinced of it
2. Keep obeying, growing, studying
C. Why the reminder?
1. Peter was about to die
2. Gnostics would continue to cast doubt
3. Peter wants them to pay attention to the Word
        instead of the false teachings

Become sanctified by trusting and living the Word made sure!