WEBVTT 00:00:00.529 --> 00:00:02.920 For a long time in open-air preaching 00:00:02.920 --> 00:00:04.788 I used a lot of apologetics 00:00:04.788 --> 00:00:07.276 in order to build a crowd and keep a crowd 00:00:07.276 --> 00:00:09.713 where I'd answer question on things like 00:00:09.713 --> 00:00:11.279 proof of the Bible, 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:13.817 creation, evolution. 00:00:13.817 --> 00:00:16.308 Now, I did start with what's called 00:00:16.308 --> 00:00:18.131 a presuppositional approach, 00:00:18.131 --> 00:00:20.287 believing that each person really knows 00:00:20.287 --> 00:00:21.596 God is true, 00:00:21.596 --> 00:00:23.491 and I was just really playing with them 00:00:23.491 --> 00:00:25.089 so to speak to build a crowd 00:00:25.089 --> 00:00:26.888 and to keep a crowd 00:00:26.888 --> 00:00:29.238 and maybe answer some genuine questions, 00:00:29.238 --> 00:00:32.079 but I've since found 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:34.342 that those things are not profitable. 00:00:34.342 --> 00:00:35.945 I actually heard a sermon 00:00:35.945 --> 00:00:38.413 by Curt Daniel on defending the faith, 00:00:38.413 --> 00:00:39.754 and in there he pointed out 00:00:39.754 --> 00:00:43.481 that the biblical approach to apologetics 00:00:43.481 --> 00:00:48.210 is simply saying, like Jesus did, 00:00:48.210 --> 00:00:49.401 "have you never read?" 00:00:49.401 --> 00:00:50.481 "Have you never read?" 00:00:50.481 --> 00:00:52.487 Basically saying, "the Bible says this..." 00:00:52.487 --> 00:00:54.145 "The Bible says this..." 00:00:54.145 --> 00:00:57.328 And what you find is when you simply 00:00:57.328 --> 00:00:59.878 declare what Jesus said 00:00:59.878 --> 00:01:01.493 and what the Bible says, 00:01:01.493 --> 00:01:03.887 then people will eventually stop asking 00:01:03.887 --> 00:01:07.558 such stupid questions on many occasions. 00:01:07.558 --> 00:01:10.239 You see, many will send you up, 00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:11.892 or try to send you up 00:01:11.892 --> 00:01:13.303 all these rabbit trails 00:01:13.303 --> 00:01:16.065 talking about creation, evolution, 00:01:16.065 --> 00:01:17.546 manuscripts. 00:01:17.546 --> 00:01:23.136 When you think about it, 00:01:23.136 --> 00:01:25.501 you know, the Bible is 00:01:25.501 --> 00:01:28.136 the sword of the Spirit. 00:01:28.136 --> 00:01:31.690 But so often, someone will say, 00:01:31.690 --> 00:01:33.755 "Oh, it's no good quoting the Bible to me. 00:01:33.755 --> 00:01:35.339 I don't believe the Bible." 00:01:35.339 --> 00:01:37.255 So the Christian will then put the sword 00:01:37.255 --> 00:01:39.040 of the Word of God back in its sheath 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:42.034 and then try to prove the Bible for the next hour. 00:01:42.034 --> 00:01:43.480 And that's ridiculous. 00:01:43.480 --> 00:01:46.950 I mean, we serve the King of the universe. 00:01:46.950 --> 00:01:50.114 Could you imagine in a much lesser court, 00:01:50.114 --> 00:01:52.685 the judge - an earthly court - 00:01:52.685 --> 00:01:55.515 and someone coming before the judge 00:01:55.515 --> 00:01:57.036 and the judge saying, 00:01:57.036 --> 00:01:58.735 "how do you plead?" 00:01:58.735 --> 00:02:00.021 And then the person saying, 00:02:00.021 --> 00:02:02.549 "Well, I don't believe in judges. 00:02:02.549 --> 00:02:04.497 I don't believe in law." 00:02:04.497 --> 00:02:06.489 Could you imagine there the judge saying, 00:02:06.489 --> 00:02:08.138 "Oh, hang on a minute, 00:02:08.138 --> 00:02:11.647 we best stop the proceedings 00:02:11.647 --> 00:02:15.305 and prove that law and order and judges exist 00:02:15.305 --> 00:02:17.209 before we go any further." 00:02:17.209 --> 00:02:19.421 No, of course, that is ridiculous. 00:02:19.421 --> 00:02:21.773 But that is like the Christian approach 00:02:21.773 --> 00:02:23.362 of trying to prove the Bible 00:02:23.362 --> 00:02:25.075 before we witness to someone. 00:02:25.075 --> 00:02:28.562 You know, it's the foolishness of preaching that God uses. 00:02:28.562 --> 00:02:32.304 The Gospel is the power of God to salvation, 00:02:32.304 --> 00:02:35.376 not our clever arguments. 00:02:35.376 --> 00:02:36.949 And I'll tell you this, 00:02:36.949 --> 00:02:39.161 for a long time open-air preaching, 00:02:39.161 --> 00:02:41.020 we preached to large crowds, 00:02:41.020 --> 00:02:43.955 and we never saw any real converts. 00:02:43.955 --> 00:02:46.770 In fact, from the first day we went out 00:02:46.770 --> 00:02:48.109 and used what I call 00:02:48.109 --> 00:02:50.941 the zero apologetics approach, 00:02:50.941 --> 00:02:54.396 although it's really a more biblical apologetics approach 00:02:54.396 --> 00:02:57.155 where we don't do this man-centered fashion, 00:02:57.155 --> 00:03:00.251 we just simply declare what the Bible says. 00:03:00.251 --> 00:03:02.104 This is what God says. 00:03:02.104 --> 00:03:03.953 I'm here to declare what God says. 00:03:03.953 --> 00:03:07.285 We started to see people converted. 00:03:07.285 --> 00:03:09.016 You know, one after another, 00:03:09.016 --> 00:03:11.111 not merely in the open air, 00:03:11.111 --> 00:03:14.278 but they'd come to the church from it 00:03:14.278 --> 00:03:15.713 and then they'd be converted. 00:03:15.713 --> 00:03:18.622 We started to see these conversions 00:03:18.622 --> 00:03:22.864 when we simply declared the Word of God. 00:03:22.864 --> 00:03:25.094 And the other thing is though 00:03:25.094 --> 00:03:27.134 the crowds are just as big. 00:03:27.134 --> 00:03:29.062 It still draws as many people. 00:03:29.062 --> 00:03:30.507 You see, the name of Christ 00:03:30.507 --> 00:03:31.946 is the central point. 00:03:31.946 --> 00:03:34.409 That should be the focus of our preaching. 00:03:34.409 --> 00:03:36.958 And people will still come to debate and listen 00:03:36.958 --> 00:03:40.912 about the person of Jesus Christ anyway. 00:03:40.912 --> 00:03:42.570 But if your ground there, 00:03:42.570 --> 00:03:46.371 if your footing is on Scripture, 00:03:46.371 --> 00:03:47.681 then it's much better, 00:03:47.681 --> 00:03:49.260 because you're declaring 00:03:49.260 --> 00:03:51.629 as God as the authority, 00:03:51.629 --> 00:03:55.172 rather than our silly little arguments. 00:03:55.172 --> 00:03:56.938 And there's always a temptation, 00:03:56.938 --> 00:03:59.964 because having a background in apologetics, 00:03:59.964 --> 00:04:04.032 I know some good answers to people 00:04:04.032 --> 00:04:05.803 when they bring in questions 00:04:05.803 --> 00:04:08.350 about creation, evolution, 00:04:08.350 --> 00:04:11.133 or Bible manuscripts and things like that, 00:04:11.133 --> 00:04:13.999 proof of the existence of God. 00:04:13.999 --> 00:04:16.236 But you see, for me to answer those things 00:04:16.236 --> 00:04:21.214 is a false assumption that that person 00:04:21.214 --> 00:04:22.889 is really listening and really 00:04:22.889 --> 00:04:24.746 does not have a depraved mind. 00:04:24.746 --> 00:04:27.693 You see, the unbeliever present 00:04:27.693 --> 00:04:31.065 doesn't normally bother that his view 00:04:31.065 --> 00:04:33.612 contradicts himself left, right, and center. 00:04:33.612 --> 00:04:34.805 He's not really bothered. 00:04:34.805 --> 00:04:37.219 He's just looking for something to argue against 00:04:37.219 --> 00:04:39.542 and to get into the way of the Gospel, 00:04:39.542 --> 00:04:42.107 so every time someone asks me a question, 00:04:42.107 --> 00:04:45.351 I will simply tell them what the Bible says, 00:04:45.351 --> 00:04:46.611 even if it sounds foolish. 00:04:46.611 --> 00:04:48.512 You see, I'm not here to declare 00:04:48.512 --> 00:04:49.740 my own opinions. 00:04:49.740 --> 00:04:52.371 I'm here to declare the Word of God, 00:04:52.371 --> 00:04:54.343 what He says. 00:04:54.343 --> 00:04:55.752 And people can see this 00:04:55.752 --> 00:04:58.165 because it's like, 00:04:58.165 --> 00:05:00.344 rather than speaking to a man, 00:05:00.344 --> 00:05:02.835 they're speaking to this big, infinite God 00:05:02.835 --> 00:05:05.383 and I think this really does 00:05:05.383 --> 00:05:07.340 hold a weight on people 00:05:07.340 --> 00:05:09.905 when you do this.