https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Does-It-Matter-What-I-Believe.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: I Kings 18:25-40<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. When Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal in I Kings 18<\/p>\n
A. It wasn’t that the false prophets were insincere or had no belief at all<\/p>\n
B. They cut themselves, danced in a frenzy, and spent a day calling on their god.<\/p>\n C. If all you needed was sincerity and faith, they had it. But their faith was in\nsomething that did not exist.\n
II. Truth is knowable<\/p>\n
A. Truth is what actually exists – John 8:31-32<\/p>\n B. If you claim that truth doesn’t exist, then you are claiming to know a truth – but\nyou said it doesn’t exist. Claiming there is no truth is self-contradictory and\ntherefore false.\n
C. Thus, truth is attainable<\/p>\n
1. Jesus said that God’s word is truth – John 17:17<\/p>\n
2. David said that God can teach the truth to men – Psalms 25:5,8-9<\/p>\n
3. Paul said that by reading we can understand – Ephesians 3:4<\/p>\n
4. In fact, we are commanded to understand God’s will – Ephesians 5:17<\/p>\n
III. Truth is narrow<\/p>\n
A. The road to heaven is narrow – Matthew 7:13-14<\/p>\n
B. Truth is limited to reality, so there can only be one truth – John 14:6<\/p>\n
C. Truth is not subjective to the person, but is objective<\/p>\n
1. Otherwise there would be many truths<\/p>\n
D. Truth doesn’t change with time. What was true in the past remains true.<\/p>\n
1. Again, otherwise there would be many truths<\/p>\n
IV. Truth must be loved<\/p>\n A. Some don’t have a love for truth, so they don’t recognize it – II Thessalonians\n2:11-12\n
B. We have to seek truth – Proverbs 3:13-15<\/p>\n
C. With such a desire for truth, …<\/p>\n
1. We won’t attempt to change it – Proverbs 30:5-6<\/p>\n
2. We will handle it properly – II Timothy 2:15<\/p>\n
3. We will rejoice in truth – I Corinthians 13:6<\/p>\n
4. We will speak truth – Ephesians 4:24<\/p>\n
5. We will think on truth – Philippians 4:8<\/p>\n
6. We will keep truth with us – Proverbs 3:3<\/p>\n
V. Truth is binding<\/p>\n A. If we love the truth, then we will change ourselves to keep ourselves in line with\nthe truth\n B. At times I hear people who say they don’t believe everything that their church\nteaches, but they continue to attend anyway.\n
1. There will always be variances because we all are constantly learning.<\/p>\n 2. But if there are major differences between what a church teaches and what\nthe truth says, then the person is not being honest with the truth\n
C. II John 9-11 – Without the truth, you do not have God<\/p>\n
D. The truth will judge us – John 12:48<\/p>\n
E. We don’t want to be among the condemned – II Thessalonians 2:11-12<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Kings 18:25-40 I. When Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal in I Kings 18 A. It wasn’t that the false prophets were insincere or had no belief at all B. They cut themselves, danced in a frenzy, and spent a day calling on their god. C. If all you needed was sincerity…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[441],"class_list":["post-23699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-truth"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12932,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-canon-of-the-old-testament-part-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":23699,"position":0},"title":"The Canon of the Old Testament \u2013 Part 2","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 12, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In our prior lesson, we established the acceptance of the writings of Moses by a large number of people over a wide range of history. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The writings were not accepted because of some decree or because the documents were old, but because they were recognized as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52586,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jehoshaphats-peace\/","url_meta":{"origin":23699,"position":1},"title":"Jehoshaphat’s Peace","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Kings 9:16-26 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0King Jehoshaphat, in general, was a good king - I Kings 22:42-43a \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0To be said by God that he did right is a high complement \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But, like most men, Jehoshaphat had some character flaws - I Kings 22:43b \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0His father, Asa,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67217,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-god-responsible-for-ahab-doing-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":23699,"position":2},"title":"Is God Responsible for Ahab Doing Wrong?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 27, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Tommy Peeler Is God responsible for Ahab doing the wrong thing? Ahab is ready to go to war without inquiring of God (I Kings 22:4-5). When 400 prophets tell him that he will take Ramoth-Gilead, Ahab is content, but Jehoshaphat wants to inquire of a prophet of the LORD\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41151,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/elijah\/","url_meta":{"origin":23699,"position":3},"title":"Elijah","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 9, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 17:1-13 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Bible is filled with memorable characters. Among the prophets, Elijah stands out. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We don\u2019t know much about his background. He just suddenly appears on the scene forecasting doom to Ahab - I Kings 17:1 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0His name means \u201cYahweh is my God\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53036,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jehus-reformations\/","url_meta":{"origin":23699,"position":4},"title":"Jehu’s Reformations","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Kings 12:25-33 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0After the northern tribes separated from Judah, the kingdom they established was never ruled by a good king. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The very first king, Jeroboam, sought to stabilize his country by establishing his own religion - I Kings 12:25-33 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He feared defection if the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54196,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/nameless\/","url_meta":{"origin":23699,"position":5},"title":"Nameless","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Kings 13:1-10 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This is a story about two men, who remain nameless. One young and another old. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Both are prophets. One is a good man and the other is a liar. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One was selected to carry a message and the other was not.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23699\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}