The title of message: Rumor #1: Jesus isn\u2019t real
(Mark 8:27-29)\xa0\nJesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea\nPhilippi. On the way he asked them, \u201cWho do people say I am?\u201d\xa0 They\nreplied, \u201cSome say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still\nothers, one of the prophets.\u201d\xa0 \u201cBut what about you?\u201d he asked. \u201cWho do\nyou say I am?\u201d\xa0 Peter answered, \u201cYou are the Christ.\u201d
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(Proverbs 4:23 GN)\xa0 \u201cBe careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.\u201d
(Prov 19:9) \u201c..the person who spreads rumors is ruined.\u201d
Rumors come from:
1. Tradition
(Matthew\n15:7-9)\xa0 \u201cYou hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about\nyou: \u2018These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far\nfrom me.\xa0 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught\nby men.\u2019 \u201d
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(Matthew 7:22-23) (NIV) \u201cMany will say to me on that day, 'Lord,\nLord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out\ndemons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I\nnever knew you.\u201d
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(2 Timothy 4:3-4 LB)\xa0 \u201cThere is going to come a time when people\nwon\u2019t listen to the truth but will go around looking for teachers who\nwill tell them just what they want to hear.\xa0 They won\u2019t listen to what\nthe Bible says but will blithely follow their own misguided ideas.\u201d
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2. Intellect
(1 Corinthians 2:4-5)\xa0 \u201cMy message and my\npreaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a\ndemonstration of the Spirit\u2019s power, so that your faith might not rest\non men\u2019s wisdom, but on God\u2019s power.\u201d
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3. A personal encounter
(John\n9:17, 25)\xa0 Finally they turned again to the blind man, \u201cWhat have you\nto say about him?\u201d\xa0 He replied, \u201cWhether he is a sinner or not, I don\u2019t\nknow. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!\u201d
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(2 Timothy 1:12)\xa0 \u201c\u2026I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able\u2026\u201d
(2 Corinthians 5:17)\xa0 \u201cTherefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!\u201d
\n(Job 42:5-6)(Msg) \u201cI admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it\nall firsthand\u2014from my own eyes and ears! I'm sorry\u2014forgive me. I'll\nnever do that again, I promise! I'll never again live on crusts of\nhearsay, crumbs of rumor."
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