160710 The God Who Is There

Genesis 1:1-2 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

I find it very hard to comprehend how people of apparent high intelligence can rule out the existence of God. That is an entirely unprovable position. In order to rule out the existence of God one would have to know everything there is to know. No one can say that they have enough knowledge to be positive that God does not exist outside their level of knowledge. One only has to look at the created order to recognize that there is a design and where there is a design there must be a designer. Let’s look at some of the evidences that proclaim God’s existence.

Let me begin by saying that everyone, everywhere, have a deep inner sense that God exists, that they are His creation, and that He is the Creator. In the first chapter of the book of Romans we are told that even the Gentile unbelievers knew God because what could be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. (Romans 1:19-23)

The Bible tells us that it is the “fool” who says in his heart “there is no God” (Psalm 14:1; 53:1). It is the wicked person who first curses and renounces the Lord and repeatedly thinks “there is no God” (Psalm 10:3-4). Since we don’t want to be considered fools or wicked people. Let’s look at some of the things that encourage us to believe that God exists. First of all…

The created universe screams of God’s existence. Let me read Psalm 19:1-3. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. ² Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. ³ There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.

I recently found a website that gave a lot of comprehensive material on the evidence for God. That website is www.everystudent.com and it contains several blogs. The one I looked at asks “Is there a God?”

I will be taking several things from that website and would like to give them the recognition they deserve.

Examples of God’s design probably are inexhaustible. Let’s look at the earth. The earth’s size and gravity is absolutely perfect for holding a thin layer of nitrogen and oxygen. If the earth were smaller it would be like the planet Mercury with no atmosphere. If the earth were larger its atmosphere would contain free hydrogen, like Jupiter, and be impossible to live on. Earth is the only known planet equipped with an atmosphere of the right mixture of gases to sustain plant, animal and human life.

The earth is located the right distance from the sun so that we do not freeze or melt! The rotation speed of the earth allows its entire surface to be properly warmed and cooled every day.

Our moon is the perfect size and distance from the earth. It causes ocean tides and stimulates the circulation of ocean water so that it will not become stagnant. Most of the surface of the earth is covered with water. No living thing that we know of can live without it. In fact, about two thirds of the human body is water. Water freezes from the top down and floats so that life can exist in the winter. Our earth has a system that causes water to evaporate, leaving the minerals behind, and forms clouds that move by the wind to spread water over the land. It is a system of purification and supply that maintains life on this planet.

The human brain processes an amazing amount of information. Your brain processes more than 1 million messages a second and makes all kinds of decisions without getting your permission. Such as when to breathe and when to blink. The human brain protects the eye. The eye can distinguish 7 million colors. It has automatic focusing and simultaneously handles 1.5 million messages.

Evolution, focusing on mutation and change cannot fully explain the source of the eye or the brain. Especially when you have to start with nonliving matter that then produces living organisms. Another evidence for the existence of God is…

The created universe had a beginning.

For a long time the universe was considered eternal. In recent years, scientists have come to the conclusion that our universe began with a Big Bang. At some time in the past, billions of years ago, the scientific conclusion is that “something” came into being from “nothing”. First of all, let me say, “something” never comes from “nothing”. At least not without a Creator! When asked, scientists usually admit that there is no explanation for the sudden explosion of light and the resulting production of matter. The Bible keeps it simple, look at Genesis 1:3. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. “God said” and “there was light”!

Again and again, in the first verses of the Bible we find the phrase, “And God said”! When God spoke, the next thing in creation appeared and it was good.

Not only did the universe have a beginning it also had a “Beginner”! Another evidence of the existence of a Creator. Is the fact that…

The created universe follows certain laws of order. Let’s look at the Bible again in Genesis 8:22. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.

God ordained that there would be a certainty in life. Day after day gravity remains consistent, the earth rotates at the same speed all the time. The speed of light never changes whether on earth or in the galaxies far from us. Why is the universe orderly and reliable?

"The greatest scientists have been struck by how strange this is. There is no logical necessity for a universe that obeys rules, let alone one that abides by the rules of mathematics. This astonishment springs from the recognition that the universe doesn't have to behave this way. It is easy to imagine a universe in which conditions change unpredictably from instant to instant, or even a universe in which things pop in and out of existence.” Dinesh D'Souza, What's So Great about Christianity: Regnery Publishing, Inc, 2007, chapter 11

No one can explain why nature follows consistent mathematical patterns. These rules that remain always the same are in themselves a kind of miracle. Also…

DNA is a program that calls for a programmer. In every cell of our bodies there exists a very detailed instruction code that tells the cell how to act. A computer program is made up of 1’s and zeros. The DNA code is made up of four chemicals that scientists abbreviate as A, T, G, and C. There are 3 billion of these letters in every human cell!

DNA tells the cell what to do in the same way that your programming tells your computer what to do or tells your telephone how to ring. Each cell in your body has an instruction manual that is passed on from generation to generation. This is so amazing because these are not just chemicals. These are chemicals that give instruction. Chemicals that provide a detailed code showing exactly how the person’s body should develop.

There is no natural or biological explanation for how this happened apart from a Creator. In order for DNA to exist there had to be someone who intentionally constructed it. Now let’s look at the fact that…

God constantly reaches out to His people. Listen while I read Psalm 53:2. God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.

The Bible everywhere assumes that God exists. From the first verse of the Bible, “in the beginning, God” to the end of the book of Revelation, “Surely I am coming soon.” The existence of God is everywhere proclaimed in His Word.

The world around us gives an abundant evidence of God’s existence. In Romans 1:19-20 we find, “ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

“Nevertheless, it is man himself, created in the image of God, who most abundantly bears witness to the existence of God: whenever we meet another human being, we should (if our minds are thinking correctly) realize that such an incredibly intricate, skillful, communicative living creature could only have been created by an infinite, all-wise Creator…

“in one sense everything that exists gives evidence of God’s existence. For those who have eyes to see and evaluate the evidence, every leaf on every tree, every blade of grass, every star in the sky, and every other part of creation all cry out continuously, “God made me! God made me! God made me!” Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology p. 142. God has surrounded us with the evidence of His existence. And, He is constantly reaching out to touch us and bring us to Himself.

On the sixth day of creation God created man in His own image. God created male and female and after that God looked at all of His creation and said that it was very good. We don’t know how long Adam and Eve walked and talked with God in the garden. We do know that some time passed. Days, weeks, years! We just don’t know how long! What we do know is that God spent time with these amazing creations of His. But one day, when He came into the Garden, Adam and Eve were not eager to see Him because they had violated the one rule that God had given them. All their unborn children died when they ate that fruit in the garden. God had every right at that point to simply wipe them out and start over again. However, God already had a plan that included how He would rescue His people. And…

Jesus is the highest evidence of God’s existence. Listen while I read John 1:1-4. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

When I began this message I wondered which passage of Scripture I should use to talk about Jesus. Finally, I settled on John 1:1-4. The entire Bible talks about Jesus. We know this because, when He was walking along the road to Emmaus “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. (Luke 24:27) All the Scriptures speak of Jesus.

Jesus is different from all the other religious leaders the world has produced. None of them ever claimed to be equal to God. Without hesitation Jesus did so identify Himself!

He said God exists and you’re looking at Him! When Jesus spoke to His Father in heaven He was not sending some long-distance message He was speaking from a position of very close unity. He claimed attributes belonging only to God. He forgave people of their sins, which only God can do. He freed people from the habits connected to their sin, which only God can do. Jesus did not say follow my teaching and you’ll be okay. He said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

God does not force us to believe in him, though he could. Instead, he has provided sufficient proof of His existence for us to willingly respond to him. The earth's perfect distance from the sun, the unique chemical properties of water, the human brain, DNA, the number of people who attest to knowing God, the hunger in our hearts and minds to determine if God is there, the willingness for God to be known through Jesus Christ. All of these things tell us that God exists and is a rewarder of those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6) Have you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ? The greatest proof that God exists is the love of God in Christ Jesus.

All scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.