
Hosted by Mike Miller · EN

What does it really mean to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? The key word that runs through this chapter is believe — used seven times — because believing is the key that connects every promise Jesus makes to us. Now, believing isn't just accepting the historical facts about Jesus; it's a change that takes place in the deepest part of you, where Christ becomes what your life is about and makes you into a new creature. That comes about through the new birth. Jesus said, "...he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also..." — and that word is shall, not will — meaning it's not optional or something you decide to do after you're saved; it's what becomes your nature when Christ is in you. He also promised that even after going to the Father, he would still be present with us, still working, and that "...if ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it." But that promise is conditioned on our walking in his steps, keeping his commandments out of love, and living as his representatives in this world. The only way to really know what Jesus is like and examine whether you're truly like him, is to read and study the Word of God — particularly the Gospels — and let the Spirit of God bear witness with your spirit that you are truly his - or not.

Jesus teaches us clearly in John 14:9–14 that the works of God are a proper foundation for belief, and are the proper subject of a believer's testimony. Any of those who witnessed Jesus, or anyone who has read the Gospels, cannot help but recognize the Father working through Him. As believers today, we are largely failing to do what Jesus, Paul, Daniel, the Psalmist, and the crowds at Pentecost all did naturally, which is to openly declare what God has specifically wrought in our own lives. This silence is both a sin of omission and a primary reason for the spiritual deadness, lack of true worship, and children leaving the faith — because if the people around us cannot observe a genuine, ongoing work of God in our lives, we give them little reason to believe in God. We need to start forming habits of publicly giving thanks for God's specific dealings in our lives, and God will be glorified through His people.

The biggest struggle of every life is the fight to hold onto hope. Satan's greatest weapon against us is to deceive us into thinking that all hope is gone. He wears us down until discouragement and despair overwhelm us. Expectation is the object of hope, and when our expectations become unreachable, or even seem to, we quickly fall into despair. Earthly hopes in people, family, church, or circumstances often disappoint, but the believer's true hope must be anchored in God, not in this world. We have many good examples to look to from the Word of God to help us in this struggle to hold onto hope. Faith in God and love for others restores hope, while self-pity and despair come from looking too low, and forgetting about God. Then we also have the "blessed hope" of Christ's presence, His coming again, and the certainty that God will always make a way.

Understanding the history behind the King James Bible requires patience, humility, an honest heart, and a broad view of God's work through time. The Scripture makes it clear that God is sovereign over rulers and nations, and often accomplishes His purposes through imperfect people, so the value of the King James Bible does not depend on King James, or any of the other men involved in it's development, being flawless men. Instead, the focus of our study should be on the remarkable providence of God in raising up a learned, capable king in a very turbulent time who desired to give his people the Word of God. If we desire to get at the truth, especially in this matter of the Scriptures, we must avoid the slander, the revision of history and oversimplified criticism, and instead recognize the King James Bible as a lasting gift of God's providence that has been changing the world for centuries.

The deepest need of every human heart is to truly know God the Father, and that this is only possible through Jesus Christ. Beneath all unbelief, rebellion, and false religion is an inescapable longing for God. Christ came to open the way through "the veil" so people can truly come to know the Heavenly Father, know He hears them, and live with peace and assurance in their hearts that all is well between them and the God who created them. Seek God sincerely through Christ, turn from your sin, and be born again. Then you can enter into a real relationship with Him before it is too late.

This a study of the history the English Bible from Tyndale through the Geneva Bible, and leading up to the King James Bible. It shows that this line of Scriptures came from the preserved "received text" rather than the corrupt Alexandrian tradition. The promise in Isaiah 55 that God's Word will prosper applies very well to the Reformation, because we can see that the spread of faithful Bible translations brought spiritual light, freedom, and revival, while the opposing line produced corruption and darkness. The true history of the Bible reveals it's divine preservation and spiritual authority. It is a great help to believers in understanding why they can trust the King James Bible they hold in their hand, and to be prepared to defend it.

It is clear from the Scripture that God has provided the means through the local church for believers to grow spiritually, gain wisdom, and avoid living a vain, regret-filled life marked by poor decisions and worldly influence. The goal of the Christian life is to mature and grow into the likeness of Christ through sound teaching, unity in faith, and consistent exposure to God's Word, which equips people to navigate relationships, and hardships properly. The end of a life lived this way does not end in vanity and confusion, but in peace and joy and love. Proverbs 4:18 says, "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."

We are studying the history of the Scriptures, tracing the history of the Bible to show that the King James Bible is the preserved Word of God, contrasting it with modern translations that come from a different line of manuscripts. We look at how early Greek manuscripts from Antioch (the Textus Receptus) were brought to western Europe after the fall of Constantinople and helped spark the Reformation, especially through figures like Erasmus and William Tyndale, and others, who translated and spread the Scriptures despite severe persecution. The message emphasizes the cost and sacrifice behind preserving and translating the Bible, highlights doctrinal differences between the Roman Church and Bible-believers (such as "repentance" versus "penance") and emphasizes that the issue is about final authority—whether people will submit to a preserved, unchanging Word of God or treat Scripture as something flexible and subject to personal choice.

In Genesis 6, the rapid moral collapse before the flood began when the "sons of God" (God's people) compromised and united with the ungodly world, breaking down moral boundaries and unleashing widespread evil. Abandoning God's moral law, which always begins with sexual purity, leads quickly to a society filled with violence, hatred, and disorder, much like today. Evil is the natural result of sin, and multiplies once restraint is removed. But the Scripture also points to hope in the example of Noah, who found grace in the eyes of the Lord by separating from the world around him and living faithfully and righteously before God. Believers now need to do what true believers have always done in times of apostasy - guard their minds, and live righteously, and stand firm in a corrupt world as the time of God's judgment approaches.

The "Dark Ages" was 1000 years of widespread spiritual darkness that resulted from the suppression of the Scriptures by the Roman Catholic Church, which restricted ordinary people from reading the Bible and enforced its authority through brutal persecution. This message traces how groups such as the Albigensians and Waldensians, along with reformers like John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, and Martin Luther, and many others challenged church authority by teaching that the Bible—not church leaders—was the final authority. These faithful men and their followers were persecuted or killed, mostly by being burned at the stake, yet their efforts to translate and spread the Scriptures in the English language eventually helped spark the Protestant Reformation, aided by the printing press of Johannes Gutenberg. Bible-believers who know the truth of history are overwhelmed with gratitude and thankfulness for the sacrifices made by earlier generations who suffered and died so that later Christians could freely possess and read the Word of God.