There is No God – Lies of
the Enemy #3 – Purity 1015
Purity 1015 04/12/2023 Purity 10015 Podcast
Purity 1015 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of a lush springtime plateau in the shadow
of the Catskill Mountains, under blue skies and cumulus clouds, comes to us
from an unnamed FB friend who shared this photo on social media back on or
around April 21, 2021. I suspect I know
the identity of our springtime photographer of 2021 but didn’t have the time to
go back 2 years through their FB posts to find the evidence to convict
them. So if that’s you and you want the
credit, you are due, let me know and I will update the blog after the
fact.
I have 2 suspects who live in Greene county that have
been known to hike the Catskills and share their adventures on social media but
I would rather not say what I’m thinking and be later proven wrong rather than
assigning the credit to the wrong individual. Besides, many of my friends share
the “views” from their lives and any one of them could have captured and shared
the simple beauty they encountered while walking through life.
Just like my friends who would share the beautiful
scenes they see in the world, I have discovered the beauty and majesty that are
encounter when one puts their faith in Christ and decides to follow Him in spirit
and in truth. So this whole blog and
podcast is provided to encourage all who hear or see its message to pursue a
life of faith.
The reason for my zeal is that, unfortunately, it
wasn’t always this way. I lived most of my life without a true understanding of
the gospel of Jesus Christ and spent a great deal of it seeking meaning and
happiness in all the wrong things: materialism, drugs, alcohol, and other
indulgences of the flesh. None of those
things provided an adequate meaning for my life or lasting satisfaction,
although I “faithfully” pursued them.
Part of the reason why I couldn’t find satisfaction
for a good portion of my life was because I was operating under an assumption
that was false: that there was NO God. I
viewed life as a physical and mental exercise and had decided that “the
spiritual” was non-existent. I had an atheist worldview and the resultant nihilism
of such a philosophy brought me to despair and gave me the conviction that I
better enjoy myself and live it up because life was meaningless.
And so, we continue with our current series, Lies of
the Enemy, the beliefs that I or others have believed that caused them to doubt
the existence of God or kept us from following Him with the way we live our
lives.
So today’s big lie is:
Lie # 3: There is No God.
For those who want more evidence for Christianity
than my simple apologetic will provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s
website, https://crossexamined.org/ . Turek wrote “I Don’t have enough Faith to
be an Atheist” with the late Norman Geisler, and it is packed with convincing
evidence for God and Christianity. So if you aren’t satisfied with what I write
about today, I encourage you to seek the Lord and suggest Turek’s work as a
place to find evidence that demonstrates that faith in God isn’t irrational or
unreasonable.
Well, my simple apologetic – which borrows from
Christian apologists that have gone before me, comes from the need to be clear
and concise to present the evidence for God with a captive audience that may
not have had much to be happy about.
Years ago, I did jail ministry at the Columbia
County jail and when you are behind bars you don’t want to waste any time in
your presentation of the evidence for God and the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
so I developed a simple 3 point apologetic to try to express some simple
evidence for the Lord’s existence and His presence in the world of the
living. I still use this 3 point
presentation today and encourage you to know it and to share it with those who
find faith hard to swallow.
1. 1. Creation proves that there is a God.
The first verse of the Bible tells us this!
Genesis 1:1 (NLT2)
1 In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth.
Where did all of this come from? Everything we know and experience comes from God. He is the Creator. He made everything. More learned theologian and philosophers state that the fact of existence itself logically requires a “Self Existent” being over and above time and space. We see design in the universe that indicates a designer. We see cause and effect relationships that indicate that there was This self existent – Creator God – this unmoved mover – that set creation into being. That’s God!
2. 2. Our innate sense of right and wrong proves that there is a God.
Romans
2:14-15 (NLT2)
14 Even Gentiles, who do not
have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively
obey it, even without having heard it.
15 They demonstrate that
God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts
either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.
God’s law is written on our hearts. Our sense of wrong and right – what C.S. Lewis described as that sense of “oughtness” that we have- comes from God. How do we know right from wrong? God put that in us. And while we can overcome what God has “written” by hardening our hearts and choosing to do what is wrong, we instinctively know when we are not doing right. That sense of right and wrong, missing the mark – sin and guilt – proves there is a God.
3. 3. Changed lives prove the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and God is alive.
2
Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
17 Therefore, if anyone is
in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold,
all things have become new.
While we will struggle with the witness of supposed “Christians”
who seem to claim faith but whose lives don’t demonstrate much evidence for it,
there are those who have come to faith in Jesus Christ and whose lives have
been completely transformed by the new life they have in Christ. The difference between these two? Those transformed have believed in Christ and
made the decision to let Him live through them.
Not what I have written here is a lot more verbose
that what I would preach on the fly in jail.
When I got to point three in the presentation, I would point to myself
and say something like:
“That’s why I have come to jail on a Saturday.
Because the Lord has opened my eyes to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and
has caused me to share it where ever I can.
And through following Jesus, I have overcome my past of addiction and wrong
living and stand here to tell you that God is real, Jesus is who He said He
was, and you can know a life of pure peace by putting your faith in Him and
making the daily decision to surrender to His will for your life.”
It might sound prideful to point to myself, but
changed lives are compelling evidence. This person was once like “this” and now
they are completely different. They once lived a life of darkness and now they
live in the light and genuinely filled with peace and joy.
So, if you encounter someone proclaim today’s Lie of
the Enemy – that there is no God. Don’t try
prove it. Give your three points and challenge them to look at the evidence and
to seek the Lord for themselves. We believe for people and quite frankly its
usually a matter of the heart more than reasons in the head that people choose
not to believe. They are usually prideful,
rebellious or have sin that just don’t want to give up.
So say what you need to say, but make sure that your
personal witness – the way your live your life and convey a peace that goes
beyond understanding – shows that you are a living and breathing example of the
evidence for God and the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Today’s
Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.
This
morning’s meditation verse is:
1 Samuel 16:7 (NLT2)
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his
appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge
by outward appearance, but the LORD
looks at the heart.”
Today’s verse reminds us that God does not only look at the outward appearances but that He looks at the heart.
While our faith is outwardly demonstrated by our habits, attitudes, and good works, some will discover later that their convincing performance didn’t fool God because He knows when some one is going through the motions and when someone truly has faith in Jesus.
Two of the scariest passages in the Bible can be found in Matthew 7:21-23 and Luke 13:23-28 and they testify to the dreadful fact that some will point to the works they have done “in your name” and others will point to their “loose associations” with Jesus and discover that the Lord never knew them.
Our faith is not about performance or attendance. You can sit in a church building and not be a part of the church. If you don’t believe in your heart, you can do all kinds of good works that you can claim were for God but while the works themselves may be good, the Lord will reveal that you never really believed.
We should not judge a book by its cover. Some who don’t “look like Christians” may have a heart of faith. Some who look like they are “on fire” for God will be exposed as being worshippers of themselves and having dark intentions if not dark habits.
So as the word indicates we should work out our salvation with fear and trembling because we can’t fool God. We have to “real” Christians in our hearts and seek to love the Lord as our first commandment.
God is good and loveable
so open your heart and mind to all that He is and all that He has done and put
your in Jesus and love Him for the way He made a way for you to know Him.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from A.W. Pink’s “The
Sovereignty of God.”
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage all to purchase A.W. Pink’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available on
many websites for less than $20.00.
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
By
ARTHUR W. PINK
CONCLUSION
continues
In the foregoing
pages we have sought to repudiate such paganistic views as the above-mentioned,
and have endeavored to show from Scripture that God is God, on the Throne, and that so far from the recent war being an
evidence that the helm had slipped out of His hand it was a sure proof that He
still lives and reigns, and is now bringing to pass that which He had
foredetermined and foreannounced (Matt. 24:6–8 etc.). That the carnal mind is
enmity against God, that the unregenerate man is a rebel against the Divine
government, that the sinner has no concern for the glory of his Maker, and
little or no respect for His revealed will, is freely granted. But,
nevertheless, behind the scenes God is ruling and over-ruling, fulfilling His
eternal purpose, not only in spite of but also by means of those who are His
enemies.
How earnestly are the
claims of man contended for against the claims of God! Has not man power and
knowledge, but what of it? Has God no will, or power, or knowledge? Suppose
man’s will conflicts with God’s, then what? Turn to the Scripture of Truth for
answer. Men had a will on the plains of Shinar and determined to build a tower
whose top should reach unto heaven, but what came of their purpose? Pharaoh had a will when he hardened his heart and
refused to allow Jehovah’s people to go and worship Him in the wilderness, but
what came of his rebellion? Balak had a will when he hired Balaam to come and
curse the Hebrews, but of what avail was it? The Canaanites had a will when
they determined to prevent Israel occupying the land of Canaan, but how far did
they succeed? Saul had a will when he hurled his javelin at David, but it
entered the wall instead! Jonah had a will when he refused to go and preach to
the Ninevites, but what came of it? Nebuchadnezzar had a will when he thought
to destroy the three Hebrew children, but God had a will too, and the fire did
not harm them. Herod had a will when he sought to slay the Child Jesus, and had
there been no living, reigning God, his evil desire would have been effected:
but in daring to pit his puny will against the irresistible will of the
Almighty his efforts came to nought. Yes, my reader, and you, too, had a will
when you formed your plans without
first seeking counsel of the Lord, therefore did He overturn them! “There are many devices in a man’s heart: nevertheless the counsel of Lord, that
shall stand” (Prov. 19:21).
What a demonstration
of the irresistible sovereignty of God is furnished by that wonderful statement
found in Rev. 17:17: “For God hath put in
their hearts to fulfill His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto
the Beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.” The fulfillment of any
single prophecy is but the sovereignty of God in operation. It is the
demonstration that what He has decreed He is able also to perform. It is proof
that none can withstand the execution of His counsel or prevent the
accomplishment of His pleasure. It is evidence that God inclines men to fulfill that which He has ordained and perform that
which He has foredetermined. If God were not absolute Sovereign then Divine
prophecy would be valueless, for in such case no guarantee would be left that
what He had predicted would surely
come to pass.
“For
God hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will, and to agree, and give
their kingdom unto the Beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.” (Rev.
17:17). We can not do better than quote here the excellent comments of our
esteemed friend, Mr. Walter Scott, upon this verse upon this verse—“God works
unseen, but not the less truly, in all the political changes of the day. The
astute statesman, the clever diplomatist, is simply an agent in the Lord’s
hands. He knows it not. Self-will and motives of policy may influence to
action, but God is steadily working toward an end—to exhibit the heavenly and
earthly glories of His Son. Thus, instead of kings and statesmen thwarting
God’s purpose, they unconsciously forward it. God is not indifferent, but is
behind the scenes of human action. The doings of the future ten kings in
relation to Babylon and the Beast—the ecclesiastical and secular powers—are not
only under the direct control of God, but all is done in fulfillment of His
words.”
Closely connected
with Rev. 17:17 is that which is brought before us in Micah 4:11, 12: “Now also
many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let
our eye look upon Zion. But they know not
the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they His counsel: for He shall gather them as sheaves into the
floor.” This is another remarkable statement, inspired of God, and three things
in it deserve special notice. First, a day is coming when “many nations” shall
“gather against” Israel with the express purpose of humiliating her. Second,
quite unconsciously to themselves—for they “understand not” His counsel—they are “gathered” together
by God, for “He shall gather them.”
Third, God gathers these “many nations” against Israel in order that the daughter
of Zion may “beat them in pieces” (v. 13). Here is then another instance which
demonstrates God’s absolute control of the nations, of His power to fulfill His
secret counsel or decrees through and by them, and of His inclining men to
perform His pleasure though it be performed blindly and unwittingly by them.[1]
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