Greetings to those who have not learned that God exists. I am here today to tell you the good news that He does, and He stands ready to bring you into His beautiful Kingdom if you have faith in Him.
You may say, ‘God does not exist,’ or ‘God never existed,’ because you only believe what you see, hear and touch. You may be convinced that things happen in accordance with the natural order of things, that is, they can be explained empirically or logically. In your world, there is no room for things that happen that are beyond reasoning. You believe that to everything there is a reason, and a time and place that can be explained under the clouds, in terms of what we can sense. Fair enough. I’m here to tell you that there are things which cannot be explained, but that can only be accepted without explanation. This is where faith comes in. As is written in Hebrews 11:1 of God’s Scriptures, “…faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
You may have heard mention of God, but you do not believe He exists. You never saw Him, He never spoke to you, you never touched Him. On that basis, you could deny that President Trump exists if you haven’t saw or heard him in person. Yes, you may have seen or heard him on TV, but that’s not the same as in person, yet you would never say that Trump is a figment of our imagination since, after all, you’ve seen him on TV at least.
But you are sure that Abraham Lincoln and George Washington existed, yet you’ve never seen them or heard from them in person. You believe they existed from the history books you’ve read and from people who spoke about them. Well, if you believe the history books and what people say about Lincoln and Washington, you shouldn’t find it hard to believe that God exists from people who speak about Him, and directly from a history book known as the Scriptures, also known as the Bible.
You may believe that the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Why? Because the history books say so. You never met one of those Pilgrims, but you base your belief that they existed because of what other people said and wrote. You may not have met the people who wrote in history books about the existence of the Pilgrims, yet you may believe they existed. Why? Because people you have met, such as your teachers in school, told you about the Pilgrims, so what people said and wrote about them must be true, right?
So. You may not have met me except here, perhaps, but according to the Scriptures, which other people have spoken about, God exists at least on the basis that, according to the Scriptures He has spoken to man and He gave him a mission. Genesis 17:5 is one instance in the Scriptures in which God speaks to man, in this case, Abraham. There He says, “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.” That’s what it says in the Scriptures. You may not have been there when God spoke to Abraham, but do you not believe that another Abraham, Abraham Lincoln, gave the Gettysburg Address even though you weren’t there to hear it? After all, that’s what your teachers said and that’s what’s written in the history books. So, considering that what you know has come from your teachers and from the history books, why do you question what you may have heard from others, and what is in the Scriptures? You think the Scriptures is some kind of a gag? If so, you would have to believe that the history books are a gag as well.
You may by now accept that God existed in the time in history that is written about in the Scriptures. So, you may ask, ‘How do we know that God exists today?’ This is where faith comes in, that conviction of things not seen. For when something can’t be explained empirically or by some logical explanation, yet it happens, then something is amiss. What is it? Things do not just happen, do they? Based on the Scriptures, things which cannot be explained or shown, is due to an act of God. But you might still ask how we know that God exists?
In the Scriptures, Moses says in Deuteronomy 7: 9 says “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations…” Well, if we can accept for the moment that a generation is 20 years, then 1,000 X 20=20,000 years! Considering that Moses existed almost 5,000 years ago, there is still plenty of time for God to exist! But since the Scriptures, also known as the Bible, speaks to anyone who reads it, and anyone who reads it sees that much of the Bible is written in the present tense, it’s not hard to accept that whoever reads Deuteronomy 7: 9 must count one thousand generations from that point in time of whoever reads it. So, God will never die. You may at this point ask, ‘What if people stop reading the Bible? Would God’s time be up in a thousand years?’ I tell you that God will always exist, but continue reading below…
Now you might say, ‘The Bible was written for those who existed at the time it was written.’ Let me ask you something…Did you ever read a recipe in a cookbook? Does it matter to you when the cookbook was written? For the cookbook may have been written hundreds of years ago, but the recipes are still good. They didn’t expire when those who wrote the cookbook and those who first read the cookbook passed away, did they? So, in that sense, the Bible, like the cookbook, speaks for all time.
So, the Bible says to have faith in God. Proverbs 3:5 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” How would that come in today? It would compel us to believe that whatever happens that can’t be explained otherwise, is because of God. When I was young, my grandmother had a heart attack and she was admitted into the hospital. The doctors there said she wouldn’t last the night. They’re doctors, so they must know something about the human body, right? Turns out she not only recovered, she lived for the next ten years, and with all her facilities she had before she had the attack. How to explain that? Proverbs 3:5 says that to the extent something cannot be explained, trust that God had a hand in it. It’s what people who believe in God refer to as a miracle from God.
Maybe in the future there may be an explanation for her living another ten years, but in trusting in God now, under the same Proverbs 3:5, we should trust that God, who created the universe and of whom the heavens declare his glory, who parted the Red Sea for Moses, who destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, who, according to Jeremiah 29:11 has plans for all of us, and who still exists now and forever, because it is written in the Bible, felt it wasn’t time for us to have the explanation now. I know, for those who up until this time did not believe that God exists may still find it a little harder to grasp. But that’s where the scriptures come in. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” Except for the “righteousness” part, which belongs to God, the same could be said about a cookbook, could it not?
As Paul said to the Romans in 8:28, in the Scriptures, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
You may say, ‘God does not exist,’ or ‘God never existed,’ because you only believe what you see, hear and touch. You may be convinced that things happen in accordance with the natural order of things, that is, they can be explained empirically or logically. In your world, there is no room for things that happen that are beyond reasoning. You believe that to everything there is a reason, and a time and place that can be explained under the clouds, in terms of what we can sense. Fair enough. I’m here to tell you that there are things which cannot be explained, but that can only be accepted without explanation. This is where faith comes in. As is written in Hebrews 11:1 of God’s Scriptures, “…faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
You may have heard mention of God, but you do not believe He exists. You never saw Him, He never spoke to you, you never touched Him. On that basis, you could deny that President Trump exists if you haven’t saw or heard him in person. Yes, you may have seen or heard him on TV, but that’s not the same as in person, yet you would never say that Trump is a figment of our imagination since, after all, you’ve seen him on TV at least.
But you are sure that Abraham Lincoln and George Washington existed, yet you’ve never seen them or heard from them in person. You believe they existed from the history books you’ve read and from people who spoke about them. Well, if you believe the history books and what people say about Lincoln and Washington, you shouldn’t find it hard to believe that God exists from people who speak about Him, and directly from a history book known as the Scriptures, also known as the Bible.
You may believe that the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Why? Because the history books say so. You never met one of those Pilgrims, but you base your belief that they existed because of what other people said and wrote. You may not have met the people who wrote in history books about the existence of the Pilgrims, yet you may believe they existed. Why? Because people you have met, such as your teachers in school, told you about the Pilgrims, so what people said and wrote about them must be true, right?
So. You may not have met me except here, perhaps, but according to the Scriptures, which other people have spoken about, God exists at least on the basis that, according to the Scriptures He has spoken to man and He gave him a mission. Genesis 17:5 is one instance in the Scriptures in which God speaks to man, in this case, Abraham. There He says, “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.” That’s what it says in the Scriptures. You may not have been there when God spoke to Abraham, but do you not believe that another Abraham, Abraham Lincoln, gave the Gettysburg Address even though you weren’t there to hear it? After all, that’s what your teachers said and that’s what’s written in the history books. So, considering that what you know has come from your teachers and from the history books, why do you question what you may have heard from others, and what is in the Scriptures? You think the Scriptures is some kind of a gag? If so, you would have to believe that the history books are a gag as well.
You may by now accept that God existed in the time in history that is written about in the Scriptures. So, you may ask, ‘How do we know that God exists today?’ This is where faith comes in, that conviction of things not seen. For when something can’t be explained empirically or by some logical explanation, yet it happens, then something is amiss. What is it? Things do not just happen, do they? Based on the Scriptures, things which cannot be explained or shown, is due to an act of God. But you might still ask how we know that God exists?
In the Scriptures, Moses says in Deuteronomy 7: 9 says “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations…” Well, if we can accept for the moment that a generation is 20 years, then 1,000 X 20=20,000 years! Considering that Moses existed almost 5,000 years ago, there is still plenty of time for God to exist! But since the Scriptures, also known as the Bible, speaks to anyone who reads it, and anyone who reads it sees that much of the Bible is written in the present tense, it’s not hard to accept that whoever reads Deuteronomy 7: 9 must count one thousand generations from that point in time of whoever reads it. So, God will never die. You may at this point ask, ‘What if people stop reading the Bible? Would God’s time be up in a thousand years?’ I tell you that God will always exist, but continue reading below…
Now you might say, ‘The Bible was written for those who existed at the time it was written.’ Let me ask you something…Did you ever read a recipe in a cookbook? Does it matter to you when the cookbook was written? For the cookbook may have been written hundreds of years ago, but the recipes are still good. They didn’t expire when those who wrote the cookbook and those who first read the cookbook passed away, did they? So, in that sense, the Bible, like the cookbook, speaks for all time.
So, the Bible says to have faith in God. Proverbs 3:5 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” How would that come in today? It would compel us to believe that whatever happens that can’t be explained otherwise, is because of God. When I was young, my grandmother had a heart attack and she was admitted into the hospital. The doctors there said she wouldn’t last the night. They’re doctors, so they must know something about the human body, right? Turns out she not only recovered, she lived for the next ten years, and with all her facilities she had before she had the attack. How to explain that? Proverbs 3:5 says that to the extent something cannot be explained, trust that God had a hand in it. It’s what people who believe in God refer to as a miracle from God.
Maybe in the future there may be an explanation for her living another ten years, but in trusting in God now, under the same Proverbs 3:5, we should trust that God, who created the universe and of whom the heavens declare his glory, who parted the Red Sea for Moses, who destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, who, according to Jeremiah 29:11 has plans for all of us, and who still exists now and forever, because it is written in the Bible, felt it wasn’t time for us to have the explanation now. I know, for those who up until this time did not believe that God exists may still find it a little harder to grasp. But that’s where the scriptures come in. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” Except for the “righteousness” part, which belongs to God, the same could be said about a cookbook, could it not?
As Paul said to the Romans in 8:28, in the Scriptures, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”