What is Truth?

Transcript

well Hallelujah x because you don't realize how a big a x step that is just in itself they get to x this point where I can share that with x you but thank you very much so welcome x everybody to our class tonight entitled x what is truth x if I uh may just preface the beginning x of my class with a couple remarks I'd x like to thank our brother Jim boyko for x organizing these classes and for x everyone over the past year who's x contributed class uh you know subject x matter or participating in the class x uh Bonnie and I and her mother Ellie was x just about a year ago that we started x joining these classes and we found them x very beneficial the quality and x diversity of the classes has been very x impressive and x and uh I believe you've created x something quite unique so I do apologize x for the times when I get a little overly x enthused and talkative but tonight I am x humbled to cast in my two mites into the x treasury so x uh as we begin I do want to acknowledge x a young man by the name of Nick Marin x Nick has become a friend of the family x he helped me build this PowerPoint x presentation x he's attending URI to get his MBA and x he's a very impressive young man he's x not a full-fledged believer yet but I x think God's word is working on him and x I'd love nothing better to someday be x able to call him brother x all right so on to the subject matter x before us what is truth okay as you can x see that question was taken from uh x pilate's response to Jesus in John 18 x 38. x uh what you have pictured before you is x a portrait of William Tyndale and as you x can see William Tyndale was born in 1494 x in Gloucester Shire England x William Tyndale was first to translate x the original Hebrew and Greek text into x English x and he is ranked the 26th of Britain's x top 100 most influential people of all x time x and when you think of the extent of the x long history of the nation of England x that's a lot of people so he is x certainly a very uh notable person in x among the Brits x he was famously known for what he wrote x here in italics x if God spare my life here many years I x will cause a boy who drives the plow to x know more than the scriptures more x scriptures than you do and again that x was directed to the Pope x I thought to begin this with William x Tyndale to add a little levity to the x beginning of the class because here we x have x 487 years later the plowboy and x ironically Gloucester Rhode Island x shown here outstanding in his field and x tonight we'll see if in fact the plowboy x has come to learn anything of scripture x and to give a little equal time to x sister Bonnie this is also a picture of x Bonnie she's outstanding in her field as x well x and of course the family portrait x wouldn't be complete without the x Fearless x Watchdogs Max and bear also shown here x now I originally thought to add this x photo for a little levity until I read x further that William Tyndale was x actually executed by strangulation at x age 42. x and his body then burned at the stake by x order of the Pope and the Catholic x Church x for bringing us this work that we hold x in our hands tonight x and that just provides us just some idea x of the power of this book we hold in our x hands and the threat that it posed to x the powers that would be x foreign x what is truth now some may be offended x by pilate's question and certainly that x is x not my intent to offend anyone x pilate seems to suggest that all truth x is relative given one's personal x perspective and that no truth is x absolute x as we can see here from James 1 and 17 x that that's quite the opposite position x of scripture x every good gift and every perfect gift x is from above and cometh down from the x Father of Lights with whom is no x variables nor shadow of turning x and so that is the x perspective of scripture that uh that x there it is not a matter of one's x perspective x so I thought that we would begin with a x simple exercise x and if you have a pen and paper with you x you could write this down but this is x for your eyes only x if you would begin by first give me some x thought to how you would answer for x yourself tonight's question what is x truth if x someone would ask you if your neighbor x were to ask you well what is truth x uh x if uh if you don't have favor if you x would at least make a mental note of x your answer and if it would be a x scriptural answer you know a particular x verse if you could think of a particular x verse that you might use to answer that x what is truth x the purpose of this simple exercise is x to see if our answer evolves over the x course of tonight's class I know mine x did as I was putting the class together x so x the idea for the class in choosing this x subject came from Psalm 51 x where David says behold thou desirest x truth in the inward pots x and in the hidden pot Thou shalt make me x to know wisdom x so what truth does God want us to x internalize x in what wisdom did David plead to come x to know x whenever x given thought to the truth x And discussing that matter we should x begin with Peter's words in First Peter x 5 and verse 2. x feed the flock of God which is among you x taking the oversight thereof not by x constraint but willingly not for a x filthy Luca but of a ready mind x neither as being Lords over God's x Heritage but being examples to a flock x so we're not to Lord over the truth or x one another but we ought lead by x example x and the psalmist tells us x that thy testimonies have I taken as a x Heritage forever x for they are the rejoicing of my heart x so his word is our heritage not one x another x so we had a lead in that Lord and God's x word is our heritage to which we must x answer not to one another x so I'll put you at ease and put your x fears to one side that far be it from me x to try and tell you tonight what truth x you are to internalize x I think we can all agree that defining x God's truth could be a wide-ranging x subject x so I thought perhaps the simplest x approach may be to Simply follow the x definition of the word truth rendered x for us in the English x as well as the Hebrew and then the Greek x and to contrast these definitions one to x another to see if a message emerges x as to what truth does God want us to x internalize x and at the end of each definition we x will have a little time for a discussion x if there's a question or perhaps x excitation x so beginning with Webster's Dictionary x definition x truth is a verified indisputable fact x or quite the contrary of what Pilot's x position was truth is a fundamental x reality separate and apart from x transcending perceived reality x okay and so that is the English x definition x of truth x now I believe if we were to pull 100 x brothers and sisters asking the question x what is truth and a verse I suspect the x number one verse to be quoted would be x John 17 17. that's at least what came to x my mind x sanctify them through thy truth Thy word x is truth x but as you can see I left myself a x little cautionary note down the bottom x to remind me to bring up the fact that x well most of our audience as we know x tonight primarily speak English x and if not entirely x and it is only natural when reading of x God's truth in English x to think of God's word in terms of x Webster's definition as either factually x true or incorrect x or x actually false and erroneous x but coming back to the source of the x tonight's class that God desires its x truth in the Inwood pots okay and for us x to know in the hidden pots wisdom x so is this West's definition of x indisputable facts x is that what God desires us to x internalize and to fill the household x with is is this x indisputable facts the wisdom that David x is pleading here in Psalm 51 to know x Webster's definition of Truth is x accurate but but very narrow x so it brings us to uh first pause okay x and a brief excitation uh brother John x balello in his class mentioned that any x good study class has some excitation in x it x and I do want to preface this by saying x that I for those what know that I am x preaching to the choir okay I understand x that I think most of us will hold the x same viewpoint on this but we also know x that there are others that don't x and if nothing else I would hope to x stimulate some discussion x but I thought to use the unoccupied x house the parable of the unoccupied x house as a little expectation on x the subject of Truth okay this Parable x is known by x two separate titles the parable of the x unclean Spirit or as we see here the x parable of the unoccupied house because x the parable contains two separate x lessons x earlier this year our brother John perks x gave a class we focus our attention upon x this Parable and spoke of the unclean x Spirit the Pharisees were trying to cast x out x tonight as it pertains to tonight's x subject what is truth I would like to x briefly touch on the lesson of the Void x left in the unoccupied house x So reading the parable when the unclean x spirit is going out of a man he walketh x through Dry places seeking rest and x findeth none x then he saith I will return into my x house from Once I came out and when he x has come he findeth it's empty swept and x garnished x then go with him and take it with x himself seven other Spirits more wicked x than himself x and they enter in and dwell there and x the last state of that man is worse than x the first x even so shall it be also unto this x wicked generation x in other words teaching and defending x what the truth isn't x is not equivalent or the same as x identifying and teaching what the truth x is x making it the entire focus of our x ministry to constantly go back and sweep x the household clean over and over again x of incorrect or false facts of Doctrine x is not equivalent to filling the x household with what is the actual x message of God's truth that he desires x us to know and internalize x and not filling this void with what the x truth is can lead to bigger problems x than the problem we are trying to x eliminate such as false teaching x this is the second part of the two-part x message of Jesus x and I believe the root of the problem x that has gotten us to where we are today x leaving x Having divisions known as amended x unamended Bahrain Central Fellowship x Church of the abrahamic faith x these are just some of the labels that x were placed upon those attending the x recent Eastern Christian alfian Bible x School x and and don't get me wrong brothers and x sisters I x was very happy to see all those x different x uh folks coming from different ecclesias x and denominations attending the Bible x school I x nearly jump off my chair when brother x Peter Clausen x mentioned that he met with the Church of x the American abrahamic Faith because x I was a little familiar with the Church x of the abrahamic faith simply that it x was founded by a man named Benjamin x Wilson x uh who wrote the Diagon x and reading the preface to the diet a x lot I learned that Benjamin Wilson was x contemporary with Brother John Thomas x and they were very friendly and often x she had a great deal of their material x and their learning and it was actually x thought x at one time that brother John Thomas x baptized Benjamin Wilson which I think x later was disproven but x does reading God's word of Truth as x defined by Webster lead us to think x simply in terms of facts that we must x all be in complete agreement upon as the x basis of our fellowship x in other words that two cannot walk x together unless they agree upon all the x facts x is this the truth David sought to x internalize x in fact I find it might be interesting x to know that do they experience this x problem in the Brotherhood in other x cultures and languages as we've recently x been exposed to x many Brethren coming from Africa and do x they do they see this type of separation x and Division x so I thought we'd begin there with a x little excitation and Jason if anyone x has a comment uh we I did build in a few x minutes okay at the end of each x definition to discuss this and then x trying to leave some time at the end for x the discussion as well but x if that's caused anyone to jump off x their seat and they feel they'd like to x say something I'll take a moment here x well if not then we're going to continue x on x so contrasting Webster's definition with x the broader biblical perspective of x Truth x now with complete respect for our x brother David Levin's recent class on x the dangers of translating Hebrew and x Greek into English x let me say the purpose here is to Simply x contrast the Hebrew idea of Truth to x Webster's narrow English definition of x truth x and not to improve or correct or expand x upon Strong's definition x or on the Bible translators x definition of the word truth okay so x with that we're simply going to try and x contrast okay first Deuteronomy 32 and x 4. x he is the rock his work is perfect for x all his ways uh judgment a god of Truth x and without iniquity just and right is x he x and Psalm 33 and 3 x and verse 4 for the word of the Lord is x right and all his works are done in x truth x here the Hebrew x word for truth is uh Hebrew is uh x Strong's good coins 530 and this word is x most often rendered as faithful x so the idea of Truth as in faithful x this word 530 also appears in Exodus 17 x and there it is translated as steady x and in first Chronicles 9 22 this word x 530 is translated as set x so the idea of Truth in this Hebrew word x is one of a steady reliable x established as faithful x and as unwavering as we read with James x chapter one earlier okay that he used x the idea of unwavering and this is x consistent with the Hebrew 5 30. x Hebrew 571 is also very much akin to 5 x 30. it appears in Exodus 34 as truth the x Lord the Lord God merciful and gracious x long-suffering and abundant and goodness x and Truth x and in Psalm 119 Thy word is true from x the beginning and every one of thy x righteous judgments endureth forever x this word 571 x is most often rendered as truth truly or x true x it also comes from the root which gives x the idea of stability as in a Shaw x Foundation to build upon x so as we read earlier in John 1 17 for x the law was given by Moses but Grace and x Truth came by Jesus Christ x the law x the teaching of the Torah x given by Moses x first establish God's word as one x unwavering consistent steady faithful x that's the word 5 30. x and true message x that we can build on x 571 as one continuous thread seamlessly x woven throughout scripture from x beginning to end x only a Remnant held this understanding x so we'll pause again now at the end of x the Hebrew x definition of truth x just to say that the importance of the x Torah having established the word of God x As One continuous steady and faithful x seamless message x woven from beginning to end that we can x build upon x and not and end in of itself which was x the error and mistake of the Pharisees x or not merely a collection of individual x facts that we collect in statements of x Faith which is something that we must x warn against x the importance of establishing this x prior to coming to the New Testament x cannot be over emphasized x all pretty well summarize this in the x very familiar verse Galatians 3 24 x wherefore the law was our school Master x to bring us unto Christ that we might be x justified by faith x the importance of this understanding x okay before coming to the New Testament x New Testament cannot be over emphasized x for the law was given by Moses but Grace x and Truth came by Jesus Christ x no man hath seen God at any time they x only begotten son which is in the bosom x of the father he hath declare them x because when we come to truth as x rendered in the Greek newtense New x Testament x it is the word elithir Strong's 225 x having the meaning of revealing or x uncovering something no longer conceals x quite a different meaning than Webster's x definition of Simply factually true okay x but that aletheer is conveying the idea x that x something is being revealed or uncovered x that was one time concealed x as compared to the Greek x New Testament 3483 x and she said truth Lord yet the dogs eat x of the crumbs which fall from their x masters table x here the word means simply yes in the x sense of a strong affirmation yes the x law yes Lord yet the dogs eat of the x crumbs and this only appears once this x word 3483 is only translated as truth x once x and the New Testament Strong's 3689 x and thus the secrets of his heart made x manifest and so falling down on his face x he will worship God and report that God x is in you of a truth which means really x or truly x and that might be more closely aligned x with Webster's ideas true in fact okay x in every other instance when you're x reading the English word truth as x rendered in the King James version x you're reading from the Greek either 225 x a lethier 227 Elite these or 230 alethos x and I'm going to go back to our former x screen for just a moment x to see again the idea here is not simply x that God's word is inspired as we know x it is not simply that God's word is x factually true x but aletheer is about revealing or x uncovering something no longer concealed x to this end said Jesus was I born and x for this cause came I enter the world x that I should be a witness unto this a x lethier the revealing of this truth x this message x and everyone that is of Truth here with x my voice it is to this that pilate x answered x what is truth x okay so by the grace of God x Jesus was sent to declare this message x now I I had Nick highlight grace truth x and declare it the only word here that x is alethia is truth okay I just wanted x to emphasize by the grace of God x Jesus Christ was sent to reveal this x message that was established by Moses x was seamlessly woven throughout the x Torah x but was not openly displayed and and x that is what the word declared means it x means to make known x uh to manifest so Jesus manifested this x hidden message x in his life his life was x a revealing of this hidden message x from the written from the very beginning x to this idea that the Torah and the Old x Testament held a hidden consistent x steady unwavering message to be more x fully uh unwavering message that we can x build upon by the way okay to be more x fully revealed at a future date the x prophets the law and the New Testament x agreed so that when we look at words x such as light x revealed x hidden x Secret x veiled x we will see their connections and x they're more fully being manifested in x the New Testament there are connections x between the Old Testament and the New x Testament so we have here in Isaiah 9 2 x the people that walked in darkness have x seen a great light they that dwell in x the land of the shadow of death upon x them hath the light shine and this is x Isaiah prophesying that this light x would first be comprehended by the x Gentiles x Isaiah 48 and 6 now is heard see all x this and will not ye declare it I have x showed thee new things from this time x even hidden things x and thou does not know them x then shall they late Break Forth as the x morning and thine health health shall x spring forth speedling and thy x righteousness shall go before Thee the x glory of the Lord shall be thy reward x and coming forward to the New Testament x then speak Jesus again until I'm saying x I am the light of the world he that x followeth me shall not walk in darkness x but shall have the light of life x the word reveal in the Old Testament who x hath believed our report to whom is the x arm of the Lord revealed x Jesus would say all things are delivered x unto me of my father no man knoweth the x son but the father neither knoweth any x man the father save the son x and to whomsoever the son will reveal x him x that is what Jesus came to do x was to reveal this woven message from x the Torah x and the glory of the Lord shall be x revealed and All Flesh shall see it x together for the mouth of the Lord hath x spoken it x in the New Testament Galatians 3 but x before Faith came we were kept on the x law shut up unto the faith which should x afterwards be revealed x to this the Lord the prophets of the New x Testament agree the word veiled x and he will destroy in this mountain the x face of a covering cast over all people x and the veil let us spread over all x nations x the New Testament but even unto this day x when Moses is read the veil is upon x their heart nevertheless when it shall x turn to the Lord the veil shall be taken x away x to this the prophets in the New x Testament agree Secret x for the frod is abomination to the Lord x but his secret is with the righteous x love not sleep lest Thou come to poverty x open thine eyes and thou shall be x satisfied with bread x and Jesus said unto them I am the bread x of life x Jesus came to open our eyes x to the realization of this powerful x message of a lethier x hidden x and in the hidden pot Thou shalt make me x to no wisdom x I have not hid thy righteousness within x my heart I have declared thy x faithfulness and thy salvation I have x not concealed thy loving kindness and x thy truth from the great congregation x I will sing of thy Mercies x excuse me I will sing in the mercies of x the Lord forever with my mouth will I x make known Thy Faithfulness to all x generations x for I have said Mercy shall be built up x forever x Thy Faithfulness shall thou establish in x the very heavens x just as a side note it wasn't something x I prepared to bring up in the class but x in selecting this verse we actually have x here in Psalm 89 verses 1 and 2. x the definitions okay of Truth in the x Torah x Mercy shall be built up that is one of x the ideas of Truth x in the Torah x the truth in the Torah is faithfulness x his word has been established so we see x these ideas Mercy shall be built up thy x faithfulness shall thou establish in the x very heavens x and coming forward to the New Testament x now to him that is of power to establish x you according to my gospel and the x preaching of Jesus Christ according to x the revelation of the mystery which was x Kept Secret since the world began x alethia is that revelation of the x mystery x alethia fulfills the law brings to light x the teachings of the Torah in the life x of Jesus Christ x so x our definition of Truth has evolved over x the course of night from Webster's truth x as simply factually true x to the torah's definition as truth as x one steady consistent message that we x can build upon x to coming forward to the idea in the x Greek truth as a leap year x revealing this hidden message woven x throughout the scripture the Torah x together x so this changes the Dynamics of x tonight's question what is truth x what is a lethia what is the true x message the gospel is bringing to light x that's simply that God's word is true x not simply that God's word is inspired x but what is the true message x or as we will see this message has power x by Mercy and Truth iniquity is purged x and by the fear of the Lord men Depot x from evil x for I am not ashamed of the gospel of x Christ for it is the power of God unto x salvation x to everyone that believeth x but be transformed by the renewing of x your minds says Paul transform x metamorphosis to be changed x and in Colossians who have delivered us x from the power of darkness and hath x translated us x metamorphosis again unto the kingdom of x his dear son x so a lethia has translated us unto the x light of the kingdom of God x and Proverbs 23 by the truth and sell it x not x the idea of buying the truth reminds us x of the buried treasure in the field and x the merchant man seeking good pearls x or the young man who could not sell all x that he had and by the truth or follow x Jesus x the to Noah lethier x not has the power to change us x and we see this in the idea to know x David pleaded to make me no wisdom x for Hosea 6 and 6 a very familiar verse x for I desired mercy and not sacrifice x but we often stop there or we lose the x import x and I desire the knowledge of God more x than burnt offerings x and by his knowledge shall my righteous x servant justify many for he shall bear x their iniquities x and as Jesus said but if you had known x what this meaneth I will have mercy x and not sacrifice you would have not x condemned the Guiltless x and this is life eternal that they may x Know Thee the only true God in Jesus x Christ whom thou has sent x so to know alethier the truth has power x to change us x this x process the changes is an effectual x process of coming unto x Timothy says Paul writing to Timothy x says who will have all men to be saved x and to come unto the knowledge of the x truth x and Jesus said unto us come unto me all x ye that labor x learn of me x and in Revelations the spirit said unto x the in the bride say come x and let him that heareth say come x and let him that is a theorist come x and whosoever will let him take the x Water of Life freely x so alethea is an effectual process of x realization x of coming unto x until the day Dawn and the day star x arise in your hearts x Paul exhorts us to press toward the mark x for the prize of the High Calling of God x in Christ Jesus x let us therefore as many as be perfect x be thus minded and if anything else be x otherwise minded God shall reveal even x this unto you x and hath given us everlasting x consolation and Good Hope through Grace x sanctify them through thy truth x Thy word is truth x so we come full circle x Thy word is truth a lethier x Thy word is revealing a powerful message x which has been woven through scripture x seamlessly from beginning to end x and revealed in the life of Jesus Christ x and that message has power x to change us to set us apart and to x sanctify us x and we are all a work in progress coming x onto this realization x is why we ought lead one another and x not Lord and this can sometimes be x where the friction and rub takes place x as x we try to transform or translate one x another to where we are in this process x of realization where it's a process that x we all must take in a journey that we x must all travel at different times and x at different rates x so x I had promised you that I would not be x so bold as to try and tell you what x truth you should internalize or realize x and I'm going to hold true to that x but our brother Steve Davis who x unfortunately is not with us tonight has x often said x on many of these classes x what do we want to take away from this x class x and I thought x again that it would not be so bold as to x try and tell you what you should believe x to be truth a lethier x most of you are much more x experienced and learned than myself x but I did want to leave you with this x visual the seamless undergarment of x priesthood x as it is recorded in John 19 23 x John writes then the soldiers when they x had crucified Jesus took his garments x and made four pots to every Soldier x apart and also his coat x now the coat was without seeing woven x from the top throughout x and the soldiers said let us not Rend it x but cast lots for it x now there's great symbolism here x and you could think that perhaps John x was just waxing poetic x or he wanted to add color to the x narrative x but I think we can all agree we know x scripture well enough x that that is not the case as our beloved x brother x kitson x uh recently was instructing us we x shouldn't read three verses and ask why x so we should ask ourselves why did John x record this this is the only gospel that x records the fact that Jesus War a x seamless woven undergarment x the word x John uses the Greek word that John uses x for this underground comment is kitan x okay so the word quote or tunic it's the x undergarment x John uses the Greek word keton I believe x is how it's pronounced x and it's thought that this word Greek x word Ketone is derived directly from the x Hebrew word kitane x Kitana in the Hebrew is first mentioned x in Genesis 3 21. x as the coats of skin from the lamb slain x to cover the nakedness of x Adam and Eve x this word Katana is also used to x describe Joseph's coat x in Genesis 37 x in Exodus 28 verse 4 the Priestly x undergarment x was a katana x and Josephus tells us that only the x Priestly undergarments x were woven seamlessly from top to bottom x okay Without End x the illustration you have in front of x you of a keton x a tunic or undergarment this is a common x person's x undergarment x which simply consisted of two pieces of x linen cloth x with some type of x satchel or attachment holding it x together on the shoulders and that's x what you see trying to be depicted here x in this illustration along the shoulders x hem you'll see some type of attachment x holding the two pieces of linen together x Jesus is undergarment x was not such it was a very precious x very valuable x keton woven seamlessly x someone went to Great Lengths x to give this key time unto Jesus to x distinguish him in his priesthood x it is thought that perhaps it was John x the Baptist's Mother Elizabeth x knowing the Prophecies of Jesus that x perhaps she went to the Great x time and effort to create a seamless x undergarment x in John 13 x it is said that at the Last Supper x that Jesus removed his garments and gird x a towel about him x but he wouldn't have been completely x naked he would have had this Ketone on x his undergarment x as he washed the x disciples feet x to provide them x a Priestly example that he was trying to x pass on to them x and he would have been wearing this x Ketone as he was trying to pass this x along this message along to them x so there's great symbolism here x and the takeaway from tonight's class x that I would like to leave with you x about a lethier x is that we not rendered x Jesus fulfilled a lethier the truth x revealing more perfectly as one x Continuum waving powerful message x seamlessly woven from beginning to end x from top to bottom x from Heaven to Earth x as the Alpha and the me the Omega x woven throughout the Torah and revealed x more fully in his life x to provide us a Priestly garment to x cover our nakedness x and let us remember it as such x and not rendered into little pieces x of fibers of facts x elevating certain individual fibers of x Doctrine x to the exclusion is a structure of the x whole message x of the Garment itself of the whole x message of Truth x Solomon tells us there's nothing new x Under the Sun x and this idea of straining at gnats x while swallowing camels x of elevating x lesser x fibers of facts to the exclusion of the x entire message x is nothing new x Jesus said ye blind guides which strain x it on that and swallow a camel x and I let's say brothers and sisters x that while putting the class together I x thought to myself how do we reconcile x these disagreements and which end up x sometimes being more than just x disagreements and how do we reconcile x that with Lord's Sermon on the Mount x and I thought of rocker and the seamless x garment x and as you recall the Sermon on the x Mount Jesus is basically exhorting us x that our righteousness must exceed that x of the Pharisees x and he uses the examples of x adultery that x the Torah said that if you look upon if x you commit adultery that you shall not x commit adultery and Jesus went further x to say but I suggest you go further than x the Torah x and that if you even look upon a woman x you've committed adultery already with x your in your mind x in the case of murder Jesus said the x Torah says thou shall commit no murder x and then he goes on to say but I say x unto you that whosoever is angry with x his brother without a cause shall be in x danger of the judgment x and so whoever shall say to his brother x raqqa shall be in danger of the council x but whosoever shall say thou fall shall x be in the danger of Hell Fire x because Jesus x is sharing with us the three stages of x anger that lead to murder x anger of inner thought x anger expressed in scorn x anger culminating in action in our case x not necessarily murder but separation x rocker is an Aramaic expression of x worthlessness rendering something or x someone as worthless x but I was surprised to find that as a x verb it means to tear apart x in other words to render something x worthless by tearing it apart x and that is x well let's first we'll look at the x fruits of raqqa x the idea of fruits for a good tree x bringeth forth not uh bringeth not for x corrupt fruit neither doth a corrupt x tree bring forth good fruit x my thinking of fruits is that if you x extrapolate out an idea x or an action x and you extrapolate that action out what x is its result what does it bear x and when we think of these different x groupings x amended on amended Berean Church of x abrahamic faith x we've got x to believe that our lord Jesus x William Tyndale and so many others x did not die to bring us this work x that this would be the fruits that we x bear x so the visual takeaways that I would x like to leave you with x if we would look at the truth x not as simply God's inspired word which x it is x not simply factually true which it is x but rather a precious seamless garment x to cover our nakedness x and that we look at the whole of the x Garment and the whole of the message of x the Gospel not tearing it apart x into individual pieces to argue about x keeping in mind that there are seven x spirits more evil x I'd like to leave you with the image of x herding cats I was baptized in 1986 and x almost shortly thereafter and ever since x I've heard of the on and off occasional x attempts to unite the different x uh denominations x uh and it can very much be like herding x cats uh and so perhaps all we can do is x lead by example x and to keep in mind these visual x takeaways x uh and so we will leave you with the x very familiar scripture x but let it not be contemptuous to us x First Corinthians 13. x Love Never Ends x but as for prophecies they will come to x an end x as for tongues they will cease x as for knowledge it will come to an end x for we know only in pot x and we prophesy only in pot x but when the complete comes the partial x will come to an end x so it is about 23 or four past we can x open up the discussion x I x do want to share with you that this is a x very important subject to me I want to x thank you for your time and attention uh x it's always been a particular interest x to me this Sunday because as you can see x how narrowly we Define truth x determines how narrowly we Define who is x my brother x if I Fellowship in truth is based on x Webster's narrow definition of Truth as x simply factually true then two cannot x walk together unless they are in x complete agreement on all the facts x known as statements of faith x however if our fellowship is based on a x lethier x the message manifested in the life of x Jesus x and our fellowship is broader based on x the gospel message x hey x subject again is of particular x importance to me it took me 30 years to x emerge from Webster's very narrow x definition x and we'll just leave you with x the idea that x Cain was famously known for his x response when asked x where his brother was he famously said x am I My Brother's Keeper x and I just find it discouraging that two x thousand years later x after a lethier x that we are groping x to determine x who is my brother x let alone am I My Brother's Keeper so