All right, hello everybody. Welcome to Verity Baptist Church to our second service. Turn
to number 188 in your hymnal, The Love of God. Song number 188, The Love of God. 188 in your
hymnal. 188, The Love of God. On the first. The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen
can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest door and reaches to the lowest hell. The guilty bear
bowed down with care. God gave his son to win. His erring child he reconciled and pardoned from
his sin. Oh love of God, how rich and pure, how measureless and strong. It shall forevermore
endure the saints an angel's song. When all rage time shall pass away in earthly thrones and
kingdoms fall. Women who here refuse to pray are rocks and hills and mountains fall. God's love so
sure, selves will endure all measureless and strong. Redeeming grace to Adam's race, the
saints an angel's song. Oh love of God, how rich and pure, how measureless and strong. It shall
forevermore endure the saints an angel's song. Could we with ink the ocean fill and were the
skies a parchment made? Were every stock on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade? To write
the love of God above would drain the ocean dry. Or could the scroll contain the whole,
the stretch from sky to sky. Oh love of God, how rich and pure, how measureless and strong. It
shall forevermore endure the saints an angel's song. Let's open a word of prayer. Your heavenly
Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today. I ask that you bless this entire service
from the preaching of your word, singing praises, scripture reading, and the entire service we just
praise in Jesus name. And turn in your hymnal to song number 30. Turn in your hymnal to song
number 30. Song number 30 in your hymnal, nothing but the blood. Song number 30. Song number 30 in
your hymnal, nothing but the blood. On the first, what can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood
of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow
that makes me white as snow. No other founts I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. For my
pardon, this I see. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. For my cleansing, this my plea. Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. No other founts I know.
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Nothing can force in a tone. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Not
of good that I have done. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me
white as snow. No other founts I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my hope and
peace. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my righteousness. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. No other founts I know. Nothing but the
blood of Jesus. All right. Well, we don't have a lot of announcements. Let me just quickly mention,
you know, we're going to have so many around 2 p.m. here today, depending on when lunch ends
and everybody is ready, but just continue to be in prayer for the restrictions in our country.
Obviously, we have, you know, multiple ministries, multiple churches that we're dealing with. One
thing to me is as easy as possible and the restrictions on travel will be very much loosened
and, you know, there's always a lot going on, so just be in prayer for that. And with that,
just take out your hymnal. We'll sing another song and actually take out your other hymnal. Song
number 17, the Bible stands in our backup hymnal. Song number 17, the Bible stands. Song number 17,
the Bible stands. Song number 17, the Bible stands and on the first, the Bible stands like a rock
undone amid the raging storms of time. Its pages burn with the truth eternal and they glow with the
light sublime. The Bible stands though the hills may tumble, it will firmly stand when the earth
shall crumble then. Plan my feet on its firm foundation for the Bible stands. The Bible stands
like a mountain towering far above the works of men. Its truth by none ever was refuted and
destroy it. They never can. The Bible stands though the hills may tumble, it will firmly stand
when the earth shall crumble. I will plan my feet on its firm foundation for the Bible stands. The
Bible stands and it will forever when the world has passed away. My inspiration has been given
all this precepts I will obey. The Bible stands though the hills may tumble, it will firmly stand
when the earth shall crumble. I will plan my feet on its firm foundation for the Bible stands. The
Bible stands. Every test we give it for its author is divine. By grace alone I expect to live it and
approve it and make it mine. The Bible stands though the hills may tumble, it will firmly stand
when the earth shall crumble. I will plan my feet on its firm foundation for the King James Bible
stands. All right take out your Bible and turn to Acts chapter 6. Acts chapter 6 in your Bible.
Acts chapter 6 and we will read the entire chapter for this sermon. Acts chapter 6 and starting in
verse number 1 the Bible reads Acts chapter 6 verse 1. In those days when the number of the
disciples was multiplied by their rows of murmuring of the creations against the Hebrews because the
winners were neglected in the daily ministration. In the 12th call the multitude of the disciples
on them who said it is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Wherefore
brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom
whom we may appoint over this business. We will give ourselves continually to prayer and the
ministry of the word. And the same please the whole multitude and they chose sleep in a man full
of faith and of the Holy Ghost and Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and
Nicolai and Proselyte of Antioch. When they sat before the Apostles and when they had prayed they
laid their hands on them. The word of God increased and the number of the disciples multiplied in
Jerusalem greatly and a great number of the priests, great company of the priests were
obedient to the faith. And Stephen full of faith and power did great wonders and miracles among
the people. Then there arose certain of the synagogue which is called the synagogue of the
Laputites and Cyrenians and Alexandrians and of them of Cilicia and of Asia disputing with Stephen.
They were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit of which he stayed. Then they suborned men
who said we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God. They stirred the
people and the elders and the scribes and came upon him and caught him and brought him to the
council and set up false witnesses which said this man seeth not to speak blasphemous words
against his holy place in the law. We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy
this place and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. And all that sat in the council
looking steadfastly on him saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. So let's open a word
of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today. I ask that I give you
a boldness and clarity to deliver a message about the attempts of your word here today and learn
something. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen. And the last sermon I talked about basically the
precedent for having a perfect Bible and it wasn't specifically about the King James Bible but I
showed how the Word of God has existed outside of languages from the very beginning before all these
languages existed outside of any specific language before the Tower of Battle and you know throughout
the Bible we see this indication of the necessity of having a perfect Word of God. Now I don't
believe that English is the only language that has a perfect Word of God. Of course I believe the New
Testament was written in Greek so they have a perfect Bible that has preserved and stood the
test of time but I do believe that in the English language we have a perfect Bible. Now there could
be a perfect Bible in other languages. You know I'm not an expert at all of these languages. I
certainly believe that in other languages there are these portions of the Bible in many of these
languages that are perfect in terms of you know small books like John have been translated to
other languages and Romans which either could be perfect or very close. People may be getting saved
from other languages around the world as soul owners have translated from one language to the
next and to use the gospel and just preach the gospel in that specific language but in the
English language I do believe God has given us a perfect book and I believe that is the King James
Bible and when you look at all these other versions they are a joke compared to the King
James. Now there were versions that came before the King James and as we talked about those ones
were very close to the King James, very similar, very solid translations, very minor stuff that
needed to be purified but the modern ones that have come after the King James are basically a
mockery of God's Word and it's just the devil trying to confuse people and so I've got four
points for you in the sermon and we're talking about being King James only. Why the King James
Bible? Number one there is a precedence found in the Word of God for being King James only right.
Now when it comes to the King James Bible you know we talk about the manuscripts in which the King
James Bible is translated from and the origin is mainly from Antioch. Antioch is the location
which was a city in Greece and this is where the manuscripts come from but we're talking about the
modern versions they're known as Codex Alexandria because they spent a long time in Alexandria
at Egypt. What we're going to see here today is that Antioch is a very godly area. Alexandria is
obviously an ungodly area in Egypt and you have the names Sinaiticus and Vaticanus. Vaticanus for
the Vatican and basically these manuscripts that were in Alexandria for a long time all of a sudden
you see this popping up in the Vatican so basically these were discarded scriptures in the Vatican in
the Catholic Church's home area that they pulled up and they said well the King James Bible has
problems because you know at the Vatican at the Catholic Church we dug up these manuscripts that
disprove the King James Bible even though the King James Bible have been used for hundreds of years
and so we see that where the King James Bible comes from is a very godly source and these modern
versions a very ungodly source. Now I'm not saying this is the number one reason why we're King James
only I'm just giving you a background here for one of the points. One of the reasons why we pick
the King James Bible is the precedents found within the Word of God that the source of the
King James Bible is a good source and the source of these modern versions is a bad source. In Acts
chapter 6 notice what it says in verse 3, wherefore brethren look ye out among these seven men of
Oxford court full of the Holy Ghost in wisdom whom we may appoint over this business. So the
spiritual leaders were too busy praising the Word of God getting people saved they were too busy to
deal with everything that was going on and look at church, church is always busy. If your church is
going out and winning souls of the Lord getting new ministry started spending time preaching the
sermons you know what you're going to be busy and you're going to meet people that are going to be
able to help you out and this church was exploding in growth and that's a good problem to have but
what takes place is some things end up just not getting done that need to get done. So they hired
men who were Godly men. Verse 4, but we will give ourselves continually a prayer in the ministry of
the Word and the same please the whole multitude and they chose notice these people Stephen a man
full of faith and of the Holy Ghost and Philip and Propress and Nicodor and Timon and Timon and
Parmeneus and notice this in Nicholas a proselyte of Antioch. Do you notice when they named Nicholas
they make it a point to say that he's from Antioch you say why is that well I believe that the
Bible is trying to show you that Antioch was a godly location. It doesn't tell you about the
other six people but with Nicholas it makes a point to say from Antioch. Antioch is a very
godly area in the Bible. What's interesting is that later on in this chapter it's going to mention
Alexandria. It says going down to verse number 9, then there arose certain of the synagogue which
is called the synagogue of the Libertines and Cyrenians and Alexandrians and of them of Cilicia
and of Asia disputed with Stephen and they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by
which he's fake. So one of these people that I believe is a deacon of this early church is
coming from Antioch and then you look at you know the enemies and some of those enemies are coming
from Alexandria. What are you seeing? Antioch is a godly area where the King James Bible comes from
the manuscripts. Alexandria is an ungodly area and I believe specifically the Bible is mentioning
Antioch and Alexandria in this same chapter because God knew that one day we would have a
perfect English Bible the King James Bible and he's shown that the manuscripts that created the
King James Bible come from a good source and the manuscripts that created these modern versions
Alexandria the Vaticanus from a bad source an ungodly source and it says they were not able to
resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he's fake because Stephen was preaching the word of God and
see the word of God has power which we're going to talk about later on in this sermon and they
were listening and they couldn't resist the words and they ended up putting him to death because
they're so angry at the message of God's word because God's word has power. Go to Acts chapter 11.
Acts 11. All I'm showing you in this first point is that Antioch is a godly area, Alexandria is an
ungodly area and this is what I would say is circumstantial evidence. I do believe it's in
the Bible for a reason. I do think it's significant. It's not the only reason why we picked the King
James Bible. I wouldn't even say it's the number one reason but it is a reason. We're seeing the
precedence of the King James Bible being created. It says in Acts 11 verse 25, then departed
Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Saul and when he had found them he brought it on to Antioch and it
came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves in the church and taught much people
and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. The location where we got the names
Christian was at Antioch and that was basically used as a derogatory term but basically people
that hated Jesus Christ, hated Christianity looked at these Christ followers in Antioch and they said
they're serving God, they're doing what's right, these are Christians and it was meant as basically
a derogatory term, derogatory form like an insult but it was at Antioch where great works were being
done. It's not shocking that they had good Bibles in that location where they're getting people
saved. That's where we were first called Christians in Antioch. Go to Acts chapter 18. Acts 18. Acts
chapter 18. And in verse 24, and a certain Jew named Apollos born in Alexandria an eloquent man
and mighty in the scriptures came to Ephesus. So this sounds good so far. Here's a man in
Alexandria. He's eloquent and he's mighty in the scriptures and he came to Ephesus. Now let me just
say this that when it comes to you know people being saved, there are people saved all over the
world. Even the most ungodly countries or the most hardcore Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist or
whatever countries, there are saved people and there are people in those countries that love God.
Here's a man in Alexandria. Here's a man in Apollos in Alexandria and I believe this is a man who's
saved and I'll show you why here in a second and so far it says good things about him but it says
in verse 25, this man was instructed in the way of the Lord and made fervent in the Spirit. He
spake and talked diligently to thanks the Lord knowing only the baptism of John. Now when he
says the baptism of John, I don't believe he's talking about knowing only that John was baptizing
people because at the beginning of Acts 19 he talks about the baptism of repentance that John
preached and what the baptism of repentance was was teaching people that they should believe on
Jesus Christ. They should repent or change their mind about what they believe and believe on Jesus.
So when he's saying he knows only the baptism of John, I believe what the Bible is saying is he was
saved but he wasn't taught anything else by anybody. Basically he gets saved and he's not
grouped together with local believers. Hearing the word of God in creation, he's kind of on
his own. Now look, a lot of people when they first get saved have a zeal to try to reach people with
the gospel. Now I preached the gospel to family members within two days after I got saved and I
was excited to see what my family was saying and to give them a chance. I told my roommate in
college, hey, you got to listen to this guy preach the gospel. He told me how to get to heaven. I was
trying to bring somebody to the person who had led me to the Lord. I was bringing my friend in order
for him to hear the gospel and I was zealous but I only knew the baptism of John. I was excited but
I only knew the baptism of John but this is a man who's basically on his own for a long time. He gets
saved but he doesn't have anybody to help teach him and the reality is that all of us learn from
other people. Look, if you're going to be a pastor one day, you're going to learn from somebody else.
You're going to be part of a like-minded church where you get chances to preach, you get chances
to be involved in ministries and you learn lessons from situations that happen and once you learn
those lessons, you're prepared, you're ready, you become a pastor and one day you're going to have
other people in your church hopefully that will become pastors too but what about if you get saved
and you don't have like-minded people to fellowship with and do so many with? You know, you could be
very excited for the things of God but you're not going to accomplish that much because you have
zeal but it's not directed in the right way, right? And so it says here in verse number 26,
and he began to speak boldly in the synagogue who when Aquila and Priscilla heard, they took
them onto them and expounded onto the way of God more perfectly. When he was disposed and passed
into a kayak, the brethren wrote exhorting the disciples to receive him who when he was come,
helped them much and should believe through grace. For he mightily convince the Jews and
that publicly shown by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ. So Aquila and Priscilla hear this
person preaching the gospel and they're like, this person's excited. This person's a good person but
they have very limited knowledge and they basically take this person under their wing and they're
teaching him the things of the Bible and he's growing and he's learning, right? Here's a humble
man because he's only very zealous but then all of a sudden you realize that somebody knows more
than him and he's willing to learn from these people. And so, but what I want you to see in
this passage is that this man somehow hears the gospel, he gets saved but he's in Alexandria which
is the area where these manuscripts from these modern versions were for a long time and look,
you're not going to be basically able to be trained and be prepared and learn and grow that
much in a wicked area. You say, why? Because there's nobody in mind in church there. And see,
what we're seeing is that in Antioch, that's where they're first called Christians, Christianity was
booming, getting lots of people saved, doing great works but a saved person in Alexandria,
he's not going to be able to do that much for God. You need to be part of a good church. You know,
sometimes we can just go through our life and we can forget about the importance of having a great
church but imagine if you were saved and you had no church to fellowship with. Imagine being saved
and having no like-minded church. How much are you really going to grow, right? It's going to be
very difficult to serve God in those situations. Now, turn in your Bible to Hebrews 4. Hebrews 4.
Hebrews 4. Say brother, why are we King James only? Why not NIV only? Why not New King James only?
Why not ESV only? Well, number one, because there's a precedence for the King James Bible.
The source from the King James Bible is a good source. The source for these modern versions is
a bad source, okay? I just gave you a quick overview of that. You can go in a great more
detail about that. I don't think you'd be an expert in terms of all of that information but
the source of the King James is good. The source of the modern versions is not good. That's point
number one, the precedence. But point number two is the power. There is power in the Word of God
and there's not power in these modern versions. Now, some people would mock at this and say,
well, that's just your opinion and you know what? It is my opinion but as a saved person,
it's very obvious that there's power in this book and not power in the other versions.
It says in Hebrews 4 verse 12, for the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing even to the divided asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints
and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. This Word of God has
power to get you on the inside and to pierce you. It's a powerful book. It's a spiritual book. These
other versions, they're not powerful. They're not going to pierce you on the inside. There is
a clear difference between the King James and these modern versions in the English language.
And look, as a saved person, it's very obvious. There's no question about it. Go to John chapter
8. John 8. John 8. John chapter 8. And look, you know, unsaved people or other Christians might
mock at what I'm saying, but let me just say this, I'm preaching to saved people. And saved
people, if you see these verses and these other versions, you understand what I'm talking about.
It's laughable what we have in the NIV and the New King James and the ESV and the New Living
Translation, right? All of those Bibles are laughable compared to the King James Bible. With
the King James Bible, you can tell that there's power in. Is it a shock that all the churches
that are going out soul-willing and preaching hard and doing mighty works, is it a shock that
they're all King James? Have you noticed that? You're not going to find churches that are using
the NIV that are doing mighty works for God. The soul-willing churches, the churches getting other
churches started and being zealous for preaching the word of God, they are using the King James
Bible, right? It's not a coincidence. John 8, verse 46. Which of you convinces me of sin? If I say
the truth, why do you not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's words, ye therefore hear
them not because you're not of God. The Bible says that if you are of God, you hear God's words. And
if you cannot hear God's words, it's because you're not of God. I got saved when I was 18
years old, just I think five days before I turned 19. I got saved around midnight, so it's hard to
tell whether it was five days or four days from before my birthday, before I turned 19. But I got
saved around October 9th, 2003. And when I got saved as a freshman in college, I didn't know
much about the Bible. I had a Bible, and the Bible I had was the NRSV, the New Revised Standard
Version. And I started to become zealous on the things of God, but I only knew the baptism of
John. I only knew about salvation. And so I had an NRSV, and my friend got me saved. I believe he
gave me a King James Bible. But I had my NRSV, and I just decided to read my NRSV. And I would just
read a little bit here and there. And I started to memorize the Bible, and I memorized some verses
in the NRSV. But then I stopped after a few weeks and just started memorizing in the King James,
because it just didn't fit. There's just something off about it. I just liked the way it sounded
better in the King James. And as a saved person, that's the way you're going to feel, because he
says, oh God, here are God's words. I didn't understand why I liked it in the King James better.
I just thought it had more power. It was more poetic. It was more elegant. I just decided to
memorize the King James. I stopped with the NRSV. Well, I started reading the Bible during the
summertime. I had an internship as a mechanical engineer. And at my job, you know what, I didn't
really have a whole lot to do. It was an internship where basically they want you to intern every year
so that when you graduate, you're ready to be hired on by the company. And so they wanted to
have interns at their company, but they had nothing for us to do. So every day, we're playing solitaire
and minesweeper on the computer. And it was just like the biggest waste of time. It was so boring.
There's nothing to do. And so I don't remember if I asked my boss if I could or whether or not I just
started doing it, because most days, there's really nothing for us to do. Maybe just mail
something out for just me and this one other guy. Just mail something out every once in a while.
But literally, seven out of eight hours, nothing to do. So I started reading the Bible. I started
reading the NRSV. And you know what, I started by reading about three hours a day or four hours a
day. And eventually, I just read from when I first got to work to the end, except when I had
something to do. And you know what, as I started reading the NRSV, I switched over to the King
James after like a week or something like that, just because I liked the way the King James
sounded. And so I sort of finished the Bible in 23 days the first time I read it, because all I
was doing for six, seven, eight hours a day was reading the Bible. But part of it was in the NRSV,
so I guess I didn't technically read it in 23 days. I just read part of it. But what I'm trying
to show you is I started memorizing and reading the Bible in another version. And I switched over
even before I was King James only, because it was just obvious to me something was different.
John chapter 10, verse 1. John 10, verse 1. Very barely I say to you, he that enterth not by the
door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same as the thief and robber. But he
that enterth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep
hears voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. When he putteth forth his
own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. We know the
voice of God. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the
voice of strangers. And see, the Bible says that as a saved person, you're not going to follow the
voice of the stranger. Now, I'm not sitting here saying that every saved person, I'm not saying
that every saved person is King James only, but I am saying as you start serving God, you know what,
God is going to reveal to you what the truth is, okay? Go to Psalm 25 real quick today. I just
memorized this recently, and there's a verse that stood out to me I want to mention that goes along
with this. Because as I started to try to serve God, God redirected my zeal in the right way. Just
like Apollos in Acts 18, just like me memorizing the Bible in the wrong version, reading the Bible
in the wrong version, and God took that and redirected my zeal. Many of you were saved
people in Baptist churches that weren't the greatest, and God redirected that zeal and
brought you to our church because you can serve God better at our church. You're hearing preaching
that is morbidly correct, that we're doing a lot of soul winning and things such as that,
and God took your zeal and directed it in the right way. It says in Psalm 25 verse 12,
what man is he that fearth the Lord? Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. See,
if you fear the Lord, God is going to teach you in the way that he chooses for you. So you think
of Cornelius in Acts 10 and wasn't even saved, but he feared God, the Bible says. And the Bible says
that God actually sent someone to preach the gospel to him. Why? Because he feared the Lord,
but in the wrong way, and God picked the way that he shall choose. You start getting zeal for the
things of God, and you're reading from the wrong version. I believe God's going to take your zeal
if you have the right heart and you actually want to serve God, and he's going to redirect that zeal
in the right way. I know that's what he did with me. The Bible says you're not going to follow the
voice of someone who is false. And so I don't believe that every saved person is King James
only. I don't believe that every saved person is reading the King James, but I would say this,
that if somebody starts as a saved person to read from a false version, and you know what,
they're zealously trying to read, I believe that their zeal is going to be redirected.
And the bottom line is that when it comes to popular Bible versions that are sold,
the King James is around the same level as some other ones. I think the NIV is actually
sold more than the King James. But no question that King James is read more than any other version,
right? Because it's people that are King James only and use the King James that actually read
their Bibles. And as a saved person, you can read this book and you can tell it's the word of God.
Okay, go to Acts 26. Acts 26. Acts 26. You say, Brother Stuckey, an unsafe person or someone who's
a Christian who's not King James only, they won't understand that. Well, I'm preaching to save
people. And as a saved person, you can understand what I'm saying by saying the word of God is
powerful. I'm trying to show you some reasons, some compelling reasons why we choose the King
James. I'm not saying this is the reason you're going to try to convince somebody else,
but as a saved person, people want to get it, right? You can read the word of God and you can
tell there's power in this book, but there's not power in other books. I'm going to give you an
example in the Bible of a passage that's very powerful in the King James. It's very weak in
modern versions. Acts 26 is this famous passage where Paul is preaching the Gospel and he's mainly
preaching to Agrippa, but others are listening and Festus is the mocker, okay? And in Acts 26,
verse 24, and as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art
beside thyself. Much learning, God make thee mad. Now, we've experienced this at soul winners,
where someone that hears the Gospel as we're preaching is mocking us while we're trying to
preach to somebody else. And Festus says, you're crazy, Paul. You're beside yourself. You're mad,
like the mad hatter. But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak forth the words of
truth and soberness, for the King knoweth of these things before whom also I speak freely,
for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from me, for this thing was not done in a
corner. King Agrippa, believeest thou of the prophets. I know that thou believeth. Now, look,
when it comes to preaching the word of God and preaching the Gospel, you can tell when you're
preaching the Gospel whether or not people are understanding and believing or not. And sometimes
you can tell they're for sure believing, sometimes for sure they're not believing,
and sometimes you're hopeful. And he says, King Agrippa, believeest thou of the prophets? Do you
believe? I know that you believe. And look, I've done so many where I'm preaching the Gospel,
even just on Tuesday, less than a week ago, I was preaching to these two girls. And you know what,
I'm going through it, and they're thinking about it, but something wasn't clicking. But you know
what? Here with Paul preaching the Gospel, he comes to this moment where he's preaching,
he's like, I know that you believe. But notice the response of Agrippa. Then Agrippa said to Paul,
Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Almost thou persuadest me. It's like, I'm very
close. It's really compelling what she said. I was thinking about it. Almost thou persuadest me.
We have a song in our hymnal that's called Almost Persuadest. It's like,
Almost persuadest, now to believe. Almost persuaded, Christ to receive. And what's
referring to is this story where someone is very close to getting saved but doesn't quite get
there. And as soul winners, we've experienced this moment. It's a very sad moment, but we've
had moments like this where they almost get saved, but they're just not quite sure, right?
Verse 29, Then Paul said, I will be a god, that not only thou, but also all that hear me to stay,
were both almost and altogether, such as I am, except these bonds. So Paul basically says,
I want you to not just be close to being saved, I want you to be saved, except these bonds,
meaning I hope you get saved, but you're not in prison like I am, okay?
Now this makes sense. As a soul winner, we've experienced this, where we're preaching the
gospel, and some people are close to getting saved, and we think they might get it, and we're
hopeful, but they don't get it. But see, in the NIV, this is what it says in verse 28 in the NIV,
Then in Griffith said to Paul, Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a
Christian? I mean, this is absurd, right? In the Bible, in the King James Bible, Paul preaches the
gospel, and he knows Agrippa is close to getting it, and he's hopeful, and Agrippa is like,
Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. But see, in the NIV, Paul preaches the gospel,
and Paul must have no perception at all. Paul must be an idiot, because he thinks Agrippa might get
it, and Agrippa is like, Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a
Christian? He's like, I don't believe anything you're saying, Paul. Are you foolish? Do you
actually believe that? And look, that makes, you know, Paul an idiot in the NIV, because as
soul owners, you can tell whether or not people are getting it, or whether or not they're not
getting it, whether or not they're thinking about it, and it makes sense in the King James,
but not only does it not make sense in the NIV, but there's no power, right? Almost thou persuadest
me to be a Christian. I mean, it's worded so eloquently, amazingly, you could not write that
any better, but in the NIV, do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a
Christian? And look, other people might not understand that explanation, or might disagree,
and say, Well, how do you know which one's right? But as the same person, you can tell which one
has power. It's very obvious. Almost persuade is, that makes sense. Almost thou persuadest me to be
a Christian. It has power in it. Turn to Revelation 22. Revelation 22. Revelation 22. Point number one,
the precedence of the King James came from good source, modern versions, bad source. Number two,
power in the King James Bible. When you're reading the King James Bible, you can tell it has power.
I mean, you read so many things in the Bible, and you think you could never word this any
differently. It's perfect. It's amazing the way that God has written this book. There's no power
in the other versions. And that leads to point number three, problems in other versions. Not
only is there no power in other versions, not only do they have a bad source where they get
their information, but there's just problems. There's errors in other versions of the Bible.
Now, in Revelation 22, verse 16, this is what it says. Revelation chapter 22, verse 16,
let me turn to myself. Revelation 22, verse 16. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify
unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David and the
bright and morning star. Jesus says he's the bright and morning star. What is the morning
star? It's the sun. The sun rises in the morning. It's the bright and morning star. That's the
terminology for Jesus Christ that he says about himself. And there's many, much symbolism with
the sun. You know, S-U-N, not S-O-N. In terms of the sun sets and rises, kind of like the burial
and resurrection, and there's a lot of symbolism that you can find in the Bible, and maybe that's
a sermon for another day or whatever, but Jesus is the bright and morning star. Now,
the other versions agree with that. They say that Jesus is the bright and morning star,
or they'll say the bright and morning star, or the day star, or something like that. But as far
as I know, all the versions agree he's the bright and morning star, at least all the popular ones.
Well, go to Isaiah 14. Isaiah 14. Isaiah 14. Isaiah chapter 14. And here's what it said about
the devil in Isaiah 14, verse 12. It says, How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,
son of the morning? How art thou cut down to the ground which didst weaken the nations? For thou
said thine heart. I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the search of God. I
will ascend also from the mountain of congregation to the sides of the north. I will ascend above the
heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high, yet thou shalt be brought down to hell to
the sides of the pit. So it says in Isaiah 14, verse 12, about Lucifer the devil. This is the
only verse in the Bible that has the word Lucifer, by the way. But it calls him the sun of the
morning. No problem with that. The morning star is different than the sun of the morning.
And this is referring to Lucifer. Well, here's the problem, though. In the modern versions,
it does not say sun of the morning. What it says in Isaiah 14, verse 12 of the NIV,
how you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn, you have been cast down to the
earth, you who once lay built the nations. So in Isaiah 14, verse 12, it calls the devil the
morning star. And here's the thing, it doesn't even say Lucifer in the NIV in Isaiah 14, verse 12.
So look, if you're reading the NIV, and in Revelation 22, verse 16, Jesus says,
hey, I am the bright morning star, or in the NIV it says I am the bright morning star. So
in Revelation 22, verse 16 in the NIV, Jesus is the morning star. And then you come to Isaiah 14,
it doesn't mention Lucifer, it doesn't mention Satan, it doesn't mention the devil. It just
mentions being cast out of heaven, and it calls this person, it calls them the morning star.
What would you think if you're reading the Bible? Well, you would think that Jesus got cast out of
heaven. You would think that Jesus is the devil, because it says Jesus is the morning star, and in
Isaiah 14, the devil is the morning star, and you would come to no other conclusion than the fact
that Jesus got cast out of heaven. Now, the only reason why people don't believe that they're
reading the NIV is because they say, well, you know, we know that this was the devil. But wait
a minute, it calls him the morning star, and it doesn't say the devil in the NIV, and Jesus is
the morning star, so the NIV is teaching that Jesus got cast out of heaven for wanting to be
like the most high. Jesus is the most high. Jesus is God, and yet in the NIV, he gets cast out of
heaven for wanting to be God, right? It says in Isaiah 14, verse 12, in the NLT, the New Living
Translation, or the New Lucifer Translation, as I like to say, how you are fallen from heaven,
O day star, son of dawn, and how are you cut down on the ground, you who laid the nation's low. So
in the NLT, it calls him the day star. And I'm looking at the NIV, the NLT, because along with
the New King James and ESV, those are the most popular versions, the most sold versions. And so
also in the NLT, Jesus is the devil, basically, or Jesus got cast out of heaven for wanting to be
like God. But see, and the King James is very clear because it says Lucifer, and it says son
of the morning, so this is not Jesus Christ, okay? Because Jesus is the bright and morning star. So
one major problem with these other versions is that Jesus is the devil in other versions. That's
a pretty big problem. Jesus is not God in these other versions when you look at Isaiah 14. He got
cast out of heaven for wanting to be like God. Well, that's a problem, right? It's not just a
minor, small little issue. That's a major, major, major problem in those modern versions. Go to Micah
chapter 5. Micah 5. Micah chapter 5. Micah 5. Micah 5. People try to tell you, well, these changes
are only minor. They're not a big deal. They don't change much doctrine. Well, that changes quite a
bit of doctrine. You're saying that Jesus got cast out of heaven for wanting to be like God. That's
sort of like the Mormons teach where the devil wants to be like the Most High, and, you know,
he gets cast out. And, I mean, in their story of, have you ever seen that cartoon with Mormonism
where he has his plan and God rejects it and he gets cast out? But, you know, then Jesus gets
selected. They're spirit brothers in Mormonism. Jesus and the devil are brothers, and God just
chose Jesus, right? But see, the Bible says that the devil is going to be cast out of heaven for
wanting to be like the Most High, and he wanted to be as powerful as him, and he gets cast out of
heaven. But see, Jesus is God, okay? He wouldn't be cast out for wanting to be like the Most High
because he actually is God, okay? Micah 5 verse 2. It says in Micah 5 verse 2,
But thou Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou be little among thousands of Judah,
yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler of Israel, whose goings forth have
been from of old from everlasting. So this is referring to Jesus Christ, and it says his goings
forth in the past have been from of old from everlasting. So if you're looking at the origin
of Jesus Christ, there is no origin. It's everlasting, meaning Jesus was not created. His goings forth
have been from everlasting, right? We would ask people, when were you born? And I'd say, well,
in October of 1984, okay? But see, with Jesus Christ, he didn't have a beginning. He's always
existed because in the beginning was the Word, okay? He wasn't created by God. His goings forth
are from everlasting. But see, in the other versions, it doesn't say that. In the NIV,
what it says is, whose origins are from of old from ancient times. Now, ancient times leads a
long time ago, but that's not the same as everlasting. What that's indicating is Jesus
was created by God the Father. That's what the NIV is teaching. And the ESP, whose coming forth
is from of old from ancient days. Once again, not from everlasting, but from ancient days. It says
in the NLT, whose origins are in the distant past will come from you on my behalf. So the distant
past is not everlasting. See, in these modern versions, Jesus is basically the devil or his
cast out of heaven for wanting to be like God. And Jesus had a creation, he had a beginning. Now,
people say, well, these are minor differences. You're getting too specific with the wording.
That's what it says in these versions, okay? Turn to 1 John 5. 1 John 5. 1 John chapter 5. 1 John 5.
See, when we're saying we're King James only, it's not just a preference where we like the King
James the most. I mean, King James is the word of God, and these other versions are false. They're
phony. They're fake. They're frauds. They're not the word of God. It says in 1 John 5, verses 7 and
8, for there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, the Holy Ghost, and these
three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water,
and the blood, and these three agree to one. So verse 7 is a great Trinity verse, the three
in one, the Trinity, as we believe, right? One God who exists eternally and always will in three
verses, okay? For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy
Ghost, and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit,
and the water, and the blood, and these three agree to one. Here's what the ESV says in verses
7 and 8. Verse 7 in the ESV, for there are three that testify. Verse 7, for there are three that
testify. You say, what happened to the rest of verse 7? Well, they just removed verse 7. What
they did is they took verse 8, and instead of saying, and there are three that bear witness
in earth, it says, for there are three that testify. Verse 8, the Spirit, and the water,
and the blood, and these three agree. So what they do in the ESV is they remove verse 7,
and they take verse 8, and they basically divide verse 8 into 7 and 8. So they remove verse 7 from
the Bible, but they're being tricky about it because in most of these versions, it will look
like they haven't removed anything, but they did. Now, they're going to claim, wow, this was not in
the original manuscripts. That's why we don't have it. Now, let me explain something to you that I
should have explained earlier. I forgot. But when we're talking about these various versions,
people will say, well, we should go with Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, the Alexandria text,
because they're older. Whereas the manuscripts from the King James Bible are newer, indicating
that they were created afterwards. Well, that's fully logical. And let me explain you this. If
you look at this Bible, this Bible is a relatively new Bible. I've had this less than a year. I got
this in 2021, and this Bible is in pretty good shape. It's not in bad shape yet, but you know
what? In a couple of years, this Bible is going to start to wear away because as you open it and
you use it, you end up having problems, and eventually it's going to wear out. As soul
leaders, isn't it true that your Bible wears out at Romans 6 and John 3 and Acts chapter 16? That's
where my Bibles are always tearing, and I'm having these problems because I'm using them for soul
eating and I'm turning to those passages. And so look, if your Bible is wearing out at Acts 2
verse 38, well, then we've got a big problem on our hands. But my Bible always wears out at like
Romans 6, Romans 10, John 3, Ephesians 2, Ephesians 2, 8, and 9. Acts 16, they wear out at these
common places, Revelation 21 and these various different famous passages for soul eating. And
what happens is eventually as you use your Bible, it's going to wear out, and eventually you're
going to have to get a new Bible. I've had many Bibles in my life, and it's not because I had a
problem with the Bible I had before, it's because my Bible wore out and I needed to get a new Bible
because it was falling apart, pages were out, and I had to get a new one. So my Bible is not that
old. But you know, there's many Baptists who have a Bible that's 40 years old because they never
use it, and they hardly use it at church. So they have no need to get a new Bible because it never
wears out. Well, what I'm trying to tell you is this, that the manuscripts for the King James are
the actual correct ones, and people were using the Word of God, it was wearing out, so they had to
rewrite it again, and they didn't have the modern-day conveniences that would make it a lot
easier to write the Bible. And so they're writing it by hand and they're making, you know, verses
and just putting the exact same words of the good manuscripts, the good text, and rewriting it, and
guess what? It's newer than the ones that came out of the Vatican. Why? The ones that came out of the
Vatican nobody used because they're garbage, just like nobody uses the NIV or NLT or ESV. They buy
it and then they never use it. But if you have a King James Bible and you're reading it and you're
going sowing, it wears out, okay? So then the Bible you have might only be two years old or one year
old. Mine is less than one year old. You say, why is that? Because your Bibles wear out when you use
them. You're not going to have a Bible last for 20 years. It's going to wear out eventually if
you're using it. So it doesn't matter that the manuscripts are older, it's because they were bad
manuscripts and nobody used them. Because if they were good, then they would get worn out and then
have to rewrite them and they'd have ones that would not be dated as far back, if that makes
sense, okay? But it says in the ESV with 1 John 5, so therefore there are three that testify. The
same thing in the NIV, for there are three that testify, the spirit, the water, and the blood,
and these three are in agreement. In the NLT, so we have these three witnesses, the spirit,
the water, and the blood, and all three agree. Isn't it interesting how the best verse on the
Trinity and the Bible, a core important doctrine, the best verse they'll say is modern versions,
well that was not in the original manuscripts. That's because you had bad manuscripts. That's
because you're trusting Alexandria, Egypt, and the Vatican to give you your Bible doctrine,
and you know what? It wasn't in the false manuscripts, and so they just were moving
from the Bible. They don't believe it's supposed to be in the Bible. It's interesting how these
modern versions are attacking the Word of God. Go to 1 Corinthians 1, 1 Corinthians 1,
1 Corinthians chapter 1. I don't think it's an accident, and it makes sense because the
devil cannot get rid of the Word of God, but in Genesis chapter 3 he tries to cast doubt on the
Word of God to be. He can't remove the Word of God, but he can attack the Word of God,
and since he can't remove the Word of God like we saw in the last sermon with Jeremiah 36 and
just the promises of the preservation of God's Word standing, what he can do though is create
a bunch of false versions and trick people into not reading the real one, and when he does that,
his job is done. He can't get rid of the King James, but he can create false versions to confuse
the issue. Now, I didn't mention the New King James yet, but let me give you a couple comparisons
of the King James and the New King James. In 1 Corinthians 1 verse 18, it says,
For the preaching of the cross is in them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved,
it is the power of God. So in 1 Corinthians 1 verse 18, the preaching of God's Word and the
preaching of the gospel to those that are unsaved, to those that perish, is foolishness, but to us
which are saved, it's the power of God. We hear in the gospel that Jesus died and paid for all
of our sins, was buried, and rose again, and it makes sense to us. It's powerful. Amen. I believe
it. It makes perfect sense, but to the unsaved, they mock it. They think it's foolish. They don't
believe it. Saved versus lost is a comparison, right? Unto us which are saved, meaning we're
already saved. When you believed on Jesus, you are saved, and you are always saved, right?
Let's see, in the New King James, it says, For the message of the cross is foolishness to those
who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. Now, it says in the New
King James, to us who are being saved, that makes salvation a process. What that's basically saying
is, well, you've got to repent of your sins, and live a good life, and keep the sacraments,
and keep the commandments, and ask for forgiveness, and get baptized, and it's this
process of being saved, but yet, actually, the Bible teaches salvation happens in a moment.
I'm not being saved. I've done been saved a long time ago, right? When you believe on Jesus,
you are saved. It's not a process of being saved. You're saved already, okay? And so,
what is the New King James doing? It's making salvation into a process. Go to 2 Corinthians
chapter 2, 2 Corinthians 2. You say, Brother Stuckey, is that that big of a deal? It's only
a small change. Instead of which are saved, it says are being saved. Yeah, that's a big change.
That one word makes salvation a process. 2 Corinthians 2 verse 15, 2 Corinthians 2 verse 15,
it says, For we are unto God, a sweet Savior of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that
perish. So the saved versus the lost, in them that are saved and in them that perish. But in
the New King James, it says, For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved
and among those who are perishing. So it makes salvation a process. It says they're being saved.
It's a process rather than just immediately you are saved, okay? Now, go to Mark chapter 16,
Mark 16, Mark 16. All in all these modern versions, they were moved by the 16 verses
listed here. They were moved to hell, the word hell many times. They make a multitude of changes.
I'm just kind of covering some of the big ones, some of the basic ones, but they make a lot of
changes. Another big change they make is in Mark 16, and actually turn to Mark 1, Mark 1, Mark 1.
So in the book of Mark, there's going to be footnotes to these modern versions that are
going to tell you that verses 9 through 20 are not supposed to be part of the Bible,
that they were added. Now, if you're reading Mark 16 and you don't have those last 12 verses of 9
through 20, you know, it doesn't make sense. It just ends and there's no finality in the story.
It makes no sense whatsoever. It's obvious that verses 9 through 20 need to be there,
but in these modern versions, they say these were added. They should not be here.
Now, just to give you a couple math lessons here, verses 9 through 20, 9 to 20 is not 11
verses. It's 12 verses. I know 20 minus 9 is 11. It's got to add 1 to that. So those are 12 verses,
verses 9 through 20. And in the modern versions, they say those 12 verses should not be in the
Bible. Of course, we have them in our Bible and we have some powerful scriptures there like,
preach the gospel to every creature. Sounds like a pretty important scripture
that you don't want to leave out. But why is it that they say 12 verses? What's the point?
Well, let me just go through a bit of a math lesson here. Go to chapter 1 of Mark, chapter 1,
and in Mark chapter 1, there's 45 verses. Mark chapter 2, there's 28 verses. So what's
45 plus 28? 73, right? 73 verses. Go to Mark chapter 3, where it's 73 verses. We're going
to add up all of these verses, okay? 73, 35 verses in chapter 3, 73 plus 35 is 108,
100 names. Chapter 4, go to chapter 4. How many verses in chapter 4? 41 verses. So 108 plus 41
gives us 149 verses. Go to chapter 5, chapter 5. We're at 149 verses, and in chapter 5,
we've got 43 verses, okay? So 149 plus 43 is 192. 192, and in chapter 6, what do we have?
We have 56 verses. 192, we're looking at plus 56. We're looking at 248, right? 248, 248 verses that
we have. Go to chapter 7, 248, and we have 37 verses in chapter 7. 248 plus 37, 278, 285. 285
verses in the first seven chapters. Go to chapter 8. We're at 285, and add 38, and we get to 323.
323 verses through the first eight chapters, okay? Go to chapter 9. 323, we see 50 verses.
323 plus 50, 373. Chapter 10. 373 verses, chapter 10, there's 52 verses. 373 plus 52, 425 verses in
the first 10 chapters, right? 425, and then chapter 11, 33, that gives us 458. 425 plus 33
is 458, right? 458, 458. Then in chapter 12, we have 44 verses. 458 plus 44 verses in chapter 12
gives us 502, okay? Chapter 13, we have 37 verses. 502 plus 37, 539. 539, 539. Chapter 14,
we have 72 verses. 539 plus 72 is 611. We have 611 verses through the first 14 chapters, okay?
Chapter 15, 611, and we have 47 verses. So 611 in the first 14 plus 47 in chapter 15 gives us 658.
658 verses in the first 15 chapters. Chapter 16, 20 verses. 658 plus 20, 678 verses in the book of
Mark. 678, right? I mean, praise the Lord. 678 great verses, Word of God, perfect. 678 verses.
You say, Brother Stuckey, what's your point? One of the modern versions, they tell us to remove
the last 12 verses of the book of Mark. What is 678 minus 12? 666, the number of the beast,
the mark of the beast. Oh, that's just a coincidence, Brother Stuckey. I think you're a
fool if you think it's a coincidence. I don't think it's a coincidence. The devil doesn't really
hide what he does. Isn't it interesting how they pick 12? Why not 9? Why not 10? Why not 11? Why
not 13? Why do they want to remove the last 12 verses? And if you remove 12 verses, you go from
678 to 666 verses. You say, what has that shown us? It's shown these modern versions were created
by the devil to confuse people. The King James Bible is what has power. You say,
Brother Stuckey, sometimes these versions are easier for me to understand. You're reading
a commentary at best from these modern versions, if not that in many places there's these terrible
errors that are throughout these versions. At best case, you're getting a weak commentary
rather than seeing what God's action says. Instead of looking at these other verses,
just read what God actually says in the King James Bible. And there's 678 verses in Mark,
but in these modern versions, yeah, let's just make it 666. Just a coincidence, right?
Go to Ephesians chapter 6, Ephesians 6. We've got a couple more verses before we close off,
Ephesians 6. And I've heard whole sermons on the problems in other versions. I've heard comparisons,
you know, the King James, the NIV, and various things like that. And in the future,
we'll probably use sermons like that. You know, I've never preached a whole sermon on this King
James issue, really. I'm sure I will in the future. There's just many things to preach on.
But point number one, we see the precedents of a perfect Bible. Point two, we see the power
in the King James Bible, the precedents in the King James Bible, the power of the King James
Bible. We see the problems in other versions. But let's also look at the preservation of the
King James Bible, the preservation of the King James Bible. The Bible says in Ephesians 6 verse
17, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
The Bible refers to the Word of God as the sword of the Spirit. Why does the Bible refer to the
Word of God as the sword? Well, part of that is because a sword is going to pierce somebody.
But the Bible indicates that the Word of God has a way to pierce even on the inside. In fact,
go to Hebrews 4. We're going to close up here. Hebrews 4. Hebrews 4.
Hebrews 4 verse 12. It says, for the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing even in the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and the joints and
marrow and is the discernment of the gods at the tips of the heart. So the Word of God is
sharper than any two-edged sword. Okay? The Word of God is powerful. It's like a sword,
the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. You say, what are you trying to say,
Brother Specky? Here's what I'm saying. Swords don't really get old. All swords need to do
is be sharpened as they're getting dull, and they're still usable. They don't really break
down like other things break down. In fact, I have this article on swords, and it was hard for
me to find articles about this. And I've heard this preached before, but I was trying to find
an article from a non-Bible-related source just talking about swords and how they're made.
And this is what it says, it may shock you to know that there has not been a sufficient
level of research into sword breaks to precisely identify their failure pattern.
But based on engineering intuition, parentheses, not just me, I talk to other people too,
it is far more likely to fit into the non-age-related failure pattern.
And so it says that swords don't break down because they basically get too old. See,
all objects eventually get old, they wear away. But when they study swords, they say that doesn't
really have a hold there. Something might go wrong with the sword, but the actual piercing
part doesn't really get old. You just sharpen it. It's not really like other things. It says
it may surprise you. It may shock you to know that there's not been a sufficient level of research
into sword breaks to precisely identify their failure pattern. Meaning that when they fail,
they haven't pinned it down to the fact it just got old and said it doesn't really indicate that
it ever really gets old. Right? You say, what are you trying to say? Well, the word of God is
like a sword. It never gets old. It's always powerful. It always lasts. But what I want you
to understand is the King James Bible has been around for 400 years. It's like a sword that
never goes dull. It still works. It's still good. It's still strong and powerful. But these modern
versions, they haven't been around for 400 years. I mean, the King James Bible started in 1604. It's
been around since 1611. That's called a journey. And in the NIV, though, it's been around since
1973. Less than 50 years. Less than 50 years from the NIV. And how many versions of the NIV have
they had? I mean, the New International Version has 20 titles of the NIV. Right? And it's been
around for less than 50 years. The Living Bible was created in 1971 and then wore out in 1996.
And the Living Bible was replaced with the New Living Translation. The New Living Translation
is only since 1996. 25 years. And they've had versions, I believe, also of the New Living
Translation. It hasn't just stayed the same. The New King James has been around since 1982.
Less than 40 years. All these versions are new ones. The ESV, the English Standard Version,
has been around since 2001. That's 20 years. You say, by the way, does that mean this is just a
modern thing and all these new versions coming up? No, no, no, no, no. They've had all these
versions that have been coming up for a long time, but they always wear away after a couple
of years, and they're gotten rid of. And nobody reads them. Nobody buys them. And then they make
new versions that last for 15 years, and they replace it. This has been going on for a long
time. And you have all these Bibles that have come up, and they're like, this Bible is just as good
as the King James. This is the modern English. This is the one you should use. Lasts for 15
years, it's gone. But the King James Bible is like a sword. It never grows old. And the fact
that this has lasted for 400 years shows that the proof's in the pudding. Now, the versions
before the King James were solid versions, but they weren't used forever. They were replaced.
The Matthew Bible, the Bishop's Bible, the Great Bible, all those Bibles that existed beforehand.
Very similar to the King James. Most of it was exactly like the King James. But eventually,
you know, it just kind of wore out. It wasn't used anymore. You can find it online somewhere,
but it's not something anyone buys or uses. Because everyone just agreed, hey, the King James,
right? This is the word of God in the English language. And the fact that it stood the test
of time, we're seeing the preservation of the King James, that proves that it is the word of God.
So what did we look at here today? Four reasons why we're King James here. Number one, the
precedents. The source of the King James Bible is a good source. Almanium. The source of the
other versions of that source. The power in the King James. You can read the word of God
until it has power. The problems in the other versions. There are a lot of problems in other
versions. Many problems. You could preach a sermon series on all the problems. You know,
I'm not sure if it would be edifying for me to do that week after week after week,
but maybe in the future we will. Or at least we'll probably preach a sermon or two
in the future comparing other versions. There's a lot of problems in other versions.
And lastly, we see the preservation of the King James. It's like a sword
that has stood the test of time. Our Bible stands, the King James Bible stands. Let's
close with a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and
getting to see your word and help us understand what we have in our hands, the importance of the
King James Bible, and help us realize this is perfect. We can trust it. It's 100% accurate.
There's nothing wrong with the King James. It's 100% perfect. And we are blessed to have a perfect
Bible. We just pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Take out your hymnal and let's close with song
number 187. 187. 187. Jesus loves me. 187. Jesus loves me. 187 in your hymnal. 187. Jesus loves me.
187. On the first. Jesus loves me. This I know. For the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him
belong. They are weak, but he is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so. Jesus loves me, he who died. Heaven's gate to open wide.
He will wash away my sin. Let his little child come in. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so. Jesus loves me, he will stay.
Close beside me all the way. Thou has fled and died for me. I will henceforth live for thee.
Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.
Let's close in a word of prayer. Your heavenly father, thank you for not being here and getting
to hear your word preached and help us to apply this to our lives, God. Help us as a church to have
good fellowship later today and bring soul in. Continue to bless us. We also ask for restrictions
of the government to be calmed down here soon so we can just freely as a church, as churches,
and as ministries that we have here in the Philippines have nothing preventing us from
preaching the gospel, God. We just pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
you