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Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000616A
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00:03 Sermon #B616 - Why God?
00:11 (Breath of Life Theme Music) 00:19 PB: Our text of Scripture is very easy today; 00:22 very easy. It's Genesis 1:1. Heh heh heh. 00:29 Genesis 1:1, let's say it together. 00:31 "In the"--what, everybody? 00:32 Aud.: Beginning.PB: Come on, talk to me. 00:34 In the what, everybody? Aud.: Beginning. 00:36 PB: "God created the heavens and the"--what? 00:38 Aud.: Earth. PB: "In the beginning, 00:40 God created the heavens and the earth." 00:47 "In the beginning, God." Now, this Sabbath 00:52 and next Sabbath, I'm gonna preach a two-part series on 00:55 "Why." Everybody say "why." 00:57 Aud.: Why. PB: Come on, say it like you mean it. Say "why." 01:01 Aud.: Why. PB: All right, now. Today, 01:02 my question I ask you is why God? 01:09 Why God? Now, we're living in a post-Christian society. 01:17 Which means, we're living in a world where the 01:21 influence of Christianity is declining by the minute. 01:26 "Post-Christian" means we're living in a world 01:30 where people say there are no moral absolutes. 01:35 There are no ethical givens. 01:38 No absolute truth; no outright truth. 01:41 Your truth is your truth; my truth is my truth. 01:44 It used to be that if even people didn't practice 01:48 Christianity or practice the things of God, 01:52 they did still believe there was a God. 01:55 But friends of mine, in this world, 01:57 it is not automatic anymore that people believe in God, 02:02 the existence of God, or the things of God. 02:08 So while we're discussing what kind of music 02:12 we should sing at church; 02:15 while we're having vote after vote and debate after debate 02:19 on women's ordination; while we're discussing 02:23 and trying to figureout whether or not the angels 02:26 left the front doors at the movie theater; 02:30 while we're debating the relevancy of Ellen White. 02:34 While we're talking about hair color, 02:38 jewelry, tattoos, wedding bands, 02:44 and veganism or not, the world is asking, "Why God?" 02:51 Is there a God? Does God even exist? 03:00 Let me tell you something. And some may get mad-- 03:02 that's all right. 03:04 I love you anyhow. We've got bigger issues than gospel music; 03:10 bigger issues than should drums be played; 03:15 bigger issues that women's ordinations, going to the movies, 03:20 wedding bands, or whether or not you eat cheese or not. 03:25 Y'all don't misunderstand me. 03:26 I'm not disparaging this study or the discussion of these subjects. 03:29 We need to study them. But what I am saying is, 03:32 if people don't even believe in God, 03:35 then we can't even begin to talk about these other things. 03:38 You can't get to second base if you don't first get to first base. 03:43 [Aud. reaction] 03:45 PB: Now, according to ABC News and the Washington Post, 03:50 between the years 2003 and 2017, 03:53 the percentage of adult Americans professing no religion 03:57 has grown from 12 to 21 percent. 04:01 Among younger people the trends are even more pronounced. 04:04 In 2003, 19 percent of people under 04:08 the age of 30 professed no religion. 04:10 But by 2017, this group had grown to 35 percent. 04:16 But not only do we see decline in those who profess no religion, 04:19 but the number of atheists, 04:21 those people who don't even believe in the existence of God, 04:26 they're on the rise. According to the Pew Research Center, 04:29 the number of atheists in the United States doubled 04:31 from 2007 to 2014 and the median age for atheists 04:36 in the United States is 34, which means most people 04:40 who don't believe God are young people. 04:44 In fact, 25 percent of Americans born after 2000, 04:49 that's this group we call "Millennials," 04:52 they aren't even religious and they're asking Why God? 04:59 Post-Christians, they aren't into organized religion anymore. 05:05 Post-Christians are people who have never seen Christianity, 05:08 who have seen Christianity rather, in some way in their life, 05:11 and they've decided they're not interested anymore. 05:14 A Post-Christian is somebody who attended church 05:17 but witnessed hypocritical Christians 05:20 who said one thing but did another. Aud.: Amen. 05:22 PB: A Post-Christian considers Christians legalistic 05:26 or untrustworthy, and they ask Why God? 05:31 Somebody's still not getting it, 05:32 so let me try it this way. 05:34 When 1,000 children in the state of Pennsylvania 05:38 alone are molested by priests, 05:43 supposedly men of God, somebody's asking Why God? 05:48 When 72 people are shot in one weekend 05:52 two weeks ago in Chicago, Illinois, 05:54 with 13 of these people being killed, 05:56 somebody's asking Why God? 05:59 When 1620 people die from cancer every day 06:03 right here in the U.S., the most advanced nation 06:06 in the world with the best resources 06:08 and technology on the planet, 06:09 people are asking Why God? When the devil keeps 06:13 messing with you, keeps beating you up, 06:18 when you feel in life you can't win for losing, 06:23 you're asking Why God? Is there a God? 06:29 Does God even exist? Why God? 06:36 But today my job is to let somebody know 06:40 that the devil is alive. 06:44 MY job today is to tell somebody, 06:47 don't you let the devil get your mind. There is a God! 06:53 [Aud. reaction] 06:54 PB: If you're having questions; if you're having doubts; 06:58 if you're wondering in your mind, know this: There IS a God! 07:06 He still sits high, but He still looks low. 07:12 He that watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. 07:16 He can still do things I can't do; 07:19 reach things I can't reach; see things I can't see. 07:25 There IS a God! [Aud. reaction] 07:28 PB: Now, the existence of God is the most 07:32 important concept of our faith. 07:36 If you read the Bible carefully, 07:38 you'll notice that the Bible doesn't begin with 07:41 an argument for the existence of God. 07:44 Now, the Bible says, in Psalm 14:1 that 07:46 the fool in his heart knows that there is, says, 07:51 that there is no--what? God. 07:53 But the Bible doesn't begin with Psalm 14:1; 07:56 the Bible begins with Genesis 1:1. 07:58 The Bible begins with a simple yet powerful 08:00 sentence that lets us know God is. 08:04 Genesis 1:1: "In the"--what, everybody? 08:06 Aud.: Beginning. PB: Go on, in the what, everybody? 08:08 Aud.: Beginning. PB: "In the beginning, God." 08:10 This is a declaration, not an argument. "In the beginning, God." 08:17 This is a pronouncement, not a dispute. "In the beginning, God." 08:23 Somebody's still not getting this. Let me help 'em right now. 08:26 What God is saying in Genesis 1:1 is: I am the beginning. 08:34 I never had a mama. I never had a daddy. Nobody made me. 08:39 Nobody voted me in my position. 08:42 I can't show you my beginning because I am the beginning. 08:46 I am God. In the beginning, God. Before there was an angel. 08:51 Before there was an Adam. Before there was an alligator, 08:55 amphibian or ape, there was God. Before there was sun, 09:00 before there were moon and stars. In the beginning, God. 09:05 Before a man, a woman, a whale, water or wind. 09:08 In the beginning, God. Before there was a day, 09:12 a week, a month, a year. God. 09:14 Before there was anybody to sing Him a song; 09:17 say to Him a prayer; or give Him a praise, God. 09:20 God is timeless. God exists out of time. Outside of time. 09:27 God made time for you and me so we could number our days. 09:31 But God existed before the evening 09:33 and the morning were the first day. 09:35 In the beginning, God. God is the beginner of the beginning. 09:39 God is the beginner in Whom the beginning began. 09:42 God is the beginning before the beginning was begun. 09:44 God is the beginning Who did not begin to be. 09:47 God was always here; has always been here; 09:50 always will be here. In the beginning, God! 09:55 [Aud. reaction]PB: But remember now, 09:57 you can't get to second base without getting to first base. 10:01 God's Word says, "In the beginning, God." 10:07 But how can somebody believe in God's Word 10:10 if they don't first believe in God? 10:15 So Why God? How do I know God is real? 10:19 How do I know God exists? Two reasons and I'ma sit down 10:23 because we are strategic about getting you out early. 10:26 Come on, say amen. [Aud. reaction] 10:29 PB: On time is early at Oakwood. Come on, say amen. 10:32 [Aud. reaction] PB: All right. Number one, 10:36 how do I know God is God? Creation. 10:39 [Aud. reaction] PB: Creation testifies to the fact, 10:42 the existence of God. Now remember, the Bible says in Psalm 19:1 10:47 that the heavens declare the glory of God, 10:50 and the firmament showeth his handiwork, 10:52 which means that God has not left us any room to doubt. 10:56 The heavens preach a sermon about the wonders of our great God. 11:01 The sun shines, the rain falls, the wind blows, 11:06 the leaves fall, grass grows. 11:09 The heavens declare the glory of God, 11:12 and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Why God? Creation. 11:16 Let's look at creation. I'm gonna give you a few examples. 11:18 I'm not going to be exhaustive. 11:20 But let's think about the earth. Everybody say "the earth." 11:22 Aud.: The earth. 11:23 PB: Come on, say "the earth." Aud.: The earth. 11:24 PB: All right, its size is perfect. The earth's size 11:28 and its corresponding gravity holds 11:29 a thin layer of primarily nitrogen and oxygen gasses, 11:33 extending about 50 miles above the earth's surface. 11:36 Because of this, any scientist will let you know that 11:39 if the earth were just a little smaller than it is now, 11:42 then our livable, breathable atmosphere would be impossible 11:45 and earth would be like the planet Mercury. If the earth, 11:50 on the other hand, were a little larger than what it is, 11:52 it would contain free hydrogen, like Jupiter, 11:55 and we would still not be able to breathe properly. 11:57 So earth, then, would be unlivable if it were just 12:00 a little little or a little smaller, 12:02 or a little larger than what it is. Only a precise, 12:08 specific Creator could ensure the right size of the earth. 12:13 [Aud. reaction] PB: But not only that, the earth's 12:15 distance to the sun is very precise. 12:19 Now, our temperatures on planet Earth fluctuate between 12:22 negative 30 degrees below zero or 120 degrees above zero. 12:28 If the earth were any further from the sun, 12:31 we would all freeze. 12:32 But if the earth were closer to the sun, we'd all burn up. 12:36 Only a precise, specific Creator could ensure this. 12:42 The earth is tilted on its axis. If this were not so, 12:47 there would be no such thing as changing of seasons. 12:50 There would be no spring, summer, winter or fall. 12:55 Only a precise, specific Creator could ensure this. 13:00 But not only the earth. Let's talk about water. 13:02 Water is colorless. Water is odorless. Water is without taste, 13:08 but yet no living thing can survive without water. 13:12 Water allows us to live in an environment of fluctuating 13:14 temperature change while keeping our bodies 13:17 at a steady 98.6 degrees. Water is chemically neutral, 13:22 without affecting the makeup of the sustenance it carries, 13:24 water enables food, medicines and minerals to be absorbed 13:28 and used by our bodies. Only a precise Creator could ensure this. 13:37 But then the crowning act of creation, man. The human body. 13:45 You can't find anything more complicated than the human body. 13:49 Let's take our brains. Your brain takes in all the colors 13:53 and objects you see. It takes in the temperature around you, 13:55 the pressure of your feet against the floor. 13:57 The sounds around you, even the dryness of your mouth. 14:01 Your brain holds and processes all of your emotions, 14:05 thoughts, memories, while at the same time keeping track 14:08 of the ongoing functions of your body, 14:10 like your breathing patterns, eyelid movements, 14:13 and the movement of the muscles in your hands. 14:16 [Aud. reaction] PB: There is intelligence to your brain. 14:19 The ability to reason, to produce things, to dream, to plan, 14:22 to take action, to relate to other people. Only a precise, 14:27 specific Creator could ensure this. 14:31 But not only your brain, your eyes. [Aud. reaction] 14:33 PB: The human eye can distinguish 7 million different colors. 14:37 It has automatic focusing and handles 1.5 million messages 14:41 all at the same time. Only a precise, 14:45 specific Creator could ensure that. 14:50 It's amazing how all of this: the earth, the sun, 14:53 water, the brain, your eyes. 14:56 It's amazing how all of these things work and there's 14:59 no way all of this happens by accident. 15:03 [Aud. reaction] PB: Only a precise, 15:06 specific Creator could ensure that. 15:11 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 15:19 Man didn't come from monkey. Man came from God. 15:25 Man didn't come from a big bang theory. Man came from God. 15:31 [Aud. reaction] PB: But then, my final response. 15:34 The second answer to the question "Why God?" "Does God exist?" 15:41 The answer is found in the Person of Jesus Christ. 15:46 Study all the world religions you want and you'll find that 15:50 Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius, 15:54 all identify themselves as teachers or prophets. 15:59 But none of them ever claimed to be God. But Jesus did, 16:04 and Jesus was God. In the beginning, 16:11 God created the heavens and the earth, and God said, 16:17 "Let us make man in our own image. After our own likeness." 16:23 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 16:28 and the Word was God. 16:29 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. 16:33 "Jesus said that anyone who has ever seen Him, 16:36 you've seen the Father. He said, anyone who's believed in Him, 16:39 you've believed the Father. 16:41 Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the light. 16:44 And no one comes to the Father but by me. 16:46 This is what sets Jesus apart from everybody else. 16:50 He said, God exists and you're looking at Him. 16:54 [Aud. reaction] PB: So if you want to look at God, 16:57 look at Jesus. If you want to know God, know Jesus. 17:02 If you want to love God, love Jesus. 17:05 If you want the blessings of God, 17:08 tell Jesus. If you want the salvation of God, trust Jesus. 17:13 And if you want to live eternally with God, live in Jesus. 17:18 [Aud. reaction] PB: Jesus existed before time and His birth. 17:21 Before the world even existed, He existed. You see, 17:24 the life of Christ did not begin in the manger 17:26 nor did it end at the cross. 17:29 Jesus has always been here. Christ spoke of His preexistence 17:33 when He prayed to His Father 17:34 and asked Him in John 17:5, "Glorify me with the glory 17:37 that I had before the world was. 17:40 "Jesus, even speaking to the Jews, 17:42 talked about His preexistence when He told them 17:45 that His preexistence and presence went further 17:47 back than Abraham's past. 17:50 For even, He says, before Abraham was, I am. 17:55 What do we have here? 17:57 Jesus, who was born 2,000 years after Abraham, 18:01 yet He said He was before Abraham. Jesus, who was David's son, 18:06 was also David's Lord. Jesus, who was Abraham's seed, 18:11 was also Abraham's Savior. 18:13 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, 18:17 that whosoever believeth in him should not perish 18:19 but have everlasting life. 18:20 So then, God the Son became incarnate in Jesus Christ. 18:27 The Father sent Jesus to the earth in the form of a baby, 18:31 conceived through a miracle by the Holy Ghost, born in Bethlehem, 18:37 rocked in a cow's eating trough, wrapped in swaddling clothes, 18:43 worked in His father's carpenter shop, baptized in the muddy Jordan, 18:50 preached a gospel message, healed the sick, raised the dead, 18:56 5,000 hungry souls He fed, misunderstood by His own family, 19:02 rejected by His own people, 19:05 condemned by the government, put out of the organized church. 19:11 [Aud. reaction] PB: Crucified on trumped-up charges. 19:13 Died on a cruel cross, but on the third-- 19:19 [Aud. reaction] PB: Appointed day. [Aud. reaction] 19:22 PB: He rose from the grave. Ascended back to the Father, 19:31 and one day soon He's coming back. 19:35 I wish I had a witness in this place. 19:37 [Aud. reaction] PB: If you go to Buddha's tomb, 19:40 his remains are still there. 19:43 If you go to Muhammad's tomb, his remains are still there. 19:47 If you go to Confucius's tomb, his remains are still there. 19:52 But if you go to Jesus' tomb, He's not there! He is risen! Why God? 20:04 Because Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. 20:10 [Aud. reaction] PB: Only God can create food out of thin air. 20:17 Only God could walk on water. Only a God could turn water 20:23 into wedding punch. 20:25 Gotta say "wedding punch" 20:26 'cause some of y'all looking for license to drink wine. 20:28 [Aud. reaction] PB: Only God could spit on the ground, 20:33 make mud, put mud on a blind man's eyes, 20:39 and then the blind man is able to see. 20:42 Only God could have more medicine in the hem of His garment 20:46 than any doctors anywhere. 20:49 Only God could command a raging storm to stop. 20:53 Only God could hurl demons into the sea. Why God? 20:59 Because of His miracles. There is a God because nothing 21:04 in the universe makes sense without Him. 21:08 [Aud. reaction] PB: There is a God because 21:10 He revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. 21:12 There is a God because Jesus died and rose again. 21:17 Only God could do that. 21:20 Scientists can't explain that. Atheists can't explain that. 21:25 Agnostics can't explain that. 21:28 Post-Christians can't explain that. 21:31 There is a God! [Aud. reaction] 21:37 PB: Let's be real. How will something made out of nothing; 21:45 how do you explain a worldwide flood? How does a donkey talk? 21:52 How does a sun stand still? 21:55 How do you make an axe head float? 21:59 How does a Red Sea become a dry highway? 22:02 How do lions lie down like house dogs? 22:06 How do three men stand in fire and they don't get burned? 22:09 [Aud. reaction] PB: How does a man lay down his life 22:12 but then take it up again? [Aud. reaction] 22:15 PB: How do you and I go to bed every night 22:18 at different times and we wake up every morning? 22:21 There is a God! 22:26 [Aud. reaction] PB: Over the years, 22:29 people have tried to say that there is no God. 22:33 They've tried to tell us that religion is a deception, 22:36 that our theology is a lie. In the year 1859, 22:41 a man by the name of Charles Darwin 22:44 published a book on the origin of species. 22:46 In that book, Darwin said that man 22:50 had not been specifically created by God 22:52 but was in fact the product of biological evolution. 22:56 He said that man descended from a hairy animal, 23:01 furnished with a tail and with pointed ears. 23:04 He said that man was the descendant of an ape, 23:07 which was a descendant of nothing in particular. 23:10 He tried to say that we weren't created; 23:13 that we simply evolved over billions of years. 23:17 He tried to convince us that random, 23:20 accidental atomic collisions resulted in the 23:22 formation of some simple form of life, 23:25 which eventually became us. 23:27 He said there were no six days of creation. 23:31 He said there was no Creator. 23:34 That all of this just happened. 23:37 But none of that makes sense. 23:42 How can people look at creation 23:45 and claim there was no Creator? 23:48 Now, it's interesting, because people don't 23:52 ever question whether or not a computer came 23:55 into being by the design of an intelligent programmer. 24:00 People don't look at a car or a jet 24:02 and think it just happened. 24:04 So how can people look at other people 24:07 and think about wondering if there were a creator or not? 24:12 God is the Creator and sustainer of all things. 24:18 He alone is God. There is none other. 24:25 Before time began, He was. When time, 24:30 as we know it stops, He will still be. 24:34 He has always been, and He will always be God. 24:40 And so I'm getting ready to take my seat, 24:43 but may I remind you of that little story 24:45 where the little boy went off to college. 24:49 And he studied all the basic sciences of life, 24:52 and he came home from school the first semester, 24:55 and that little boy, that young man, knew everything. 24:58 It's Friday night, preparation day. 25:02 Time to go to church on the Sabbath, the next day. 25:05 Mama says, "Son, what are you wearing to church tomorrow?" 25:09 "I'm not going, Mama." "What do you mean, you're not going? 25:13 You're in my house! And when I leave my house, 25:16 everybody goes to church." "Mama, I'm not going." 25:20 "Mama, I've been to school now. I study the sciences. 25:26 I don't believe, Mama, all that God stuff. 25:30 I don't believe all that Jesus stuff." 25:34 The mama left her son alone and started going to her room, 25:37 singing "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound. 25:40 "Later on that night, 25:41 Mama heard a moan coming from her son's room. 25:45 Mama got up and she went to her son's room 25:48 and said, "Son, what's the problem?" 25:51 The young man was holding his jaw, said, "Mama, 25:54 I've got a terrible toothache. 25:56 "Mama used this as a time to witness to her son. 25:59 Mama said, "Son, you've been studying all that science. 26:04 You've been studying all that biology. 26:06 You've been studying all that chemistry. 26:08 And you said that if God defiles your five senses. 26:12 You can't see Him. You can't smell Him. 26:15 You can't hear Him. You can't touch Hm. 26:18 And you can't sure can't taste Him. 26:20 But now, this toothache. Can you see it?" "No." 26:29 "Can you smell it?" "No." 26:34 "Can you taste it?" "No, but I can feel it all over me." 26:43 The mama said, "Son, that's what I've been 26:46 trying to tell you about my Jesus. 26:49 I can't see Him; I can't touch Him; I can't taste Him. 26:56 I can't smell Him, But every now and then, 27:00 I can feel Him all over me." 27:05 And that's what I came to tell somebody. 27:08 I can't feel Him; I can't touch Him; 27:12 I can't taste Him; I can't smell Him, 27:16 but I can feel Him all over me! 27:23 Bless the Lord, O my soul, 27:27 and all that is within me bless His holy name. 27:32 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands. 27:36 Serve the Lord with gladness! 27:42 >: Thank you very much for tuning into 27:44 this week's Breath of Life broadcast. 27:46 We hope and pray that you've been blessed 27:48 by Dr. Byrd's inspirational message. 27:51 If you would like to hear this sermon in its entirety, 27:53 bless feel free to visit us at www.breathoflife.tv. 27:59 Or call us at 256-929-6460. 28:05 [END] |
Revised 2018-08-27