Participants: C. A. Murray
Series Code: 17SCM
Program Code: 17SCM000003A
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00:14 Welcome to 3ABN's Spring Camp Meeting 2017:
00:24 Well, this Camp Meeting has started off stupendously 00:28 don't you agree? Amen! 00:29 That was a great sermon by Nathan Renner! 00:32 And we've got an exciting hour for you just now. 00:35 We want to welcome all of you who are here 00:38 but we especially want to welcome those who are watching 00:41 us live from Thompsonville, Illinois. 00:44 This is our 2017 Camp Meeting 00:49 and the title, the overarching theme is 00:52 Exposing The Counterfeit. 00:54 You know, there are many people who sincerely believe 00:58 that the only logical explanation for life 01:03 is evolution. 01:05 Many people believe that. 01:08 But something exciting is happening. 01:11 In microbiology and many of the other scientific disciplines 01:16 there are new discoveries being made 01:20 that have started a new scientific trend 01:24 of Darwin-doubting scientists. 01:28 Many scientists now are saying 01:31 "Evolution isn't possible. " 01:34 So it's an exciting time to be a Christian 01:37 because science is about to prove that there had to be 01:42 a Creator God. And that is... Our topic of the hour 01:47 is going to be: Can Evolution Be Proven? 01:50 And Pastor C.A. Murray is going to deliver that 01:54 message for us. I know that many of you are familiar with 01:58 C.A. He's not only a speaker. 02:01 He is the general manager of our Proclaim! channel. 02:06 He is the producer of 3ABN Today. 02:09 He's an anointed pastor and speaker. 02:12 He's been an ordained minister for over 27 years. 02:16 He sings. 02:18 He even roller skates... did you know that? 02:22 He came out here on stage once on roller skates. 02:25 But I know one thing about C.A.: 02:28 he's a dear friend, and God gives him great insight 02:32 into the scripture, so I believe this is going to be 02:34 a wonderful hour. But before C.A. comes 02:37 to speak to us, another precious friend of mine, 02:40 a very godly woman and somebody I love dearly 02:43 as my sister Yvonne Lewis. Yvonne, come on out. 02:46 She is going to sing one of my favorite songs 02:50 from her new CD project titled... Magnify Him 02:54 is the project name. 02:55 And that CD is going to be available here, right? 02:58 Yes! It's available. And she is going to sing 03:01 with that beautiful talent God has given her 03:05 Your Grace Still Amazes Me. 03:27 My faithful Father, 03:35 enduring Friend, 03:40 Your tender mercy's 03:43 like a river 03:47 with no end. 03:50 It overwhelms me... 03:58 covers my sin. 04:03 Each time I come 04:06 into Your presence 04:10 I stand in wonder 04:14 once again! 04:19 Your grace 04:23 still amazes me; 04:27 Your love 04:30 is still a mystery. 04:34 Each day 04:38 I fall on my knees 04:43 'cause Your grace 04:46 still amazes me... 04:51 Oh, Your grace 04:54 amazes me. 05:12 Oh patient Savior, 05:19 You make me whole. 05:25 You are the author 05:28 and the healer 05:32 of my soul. 05:35 What can I give You, Lord? 05:41 Oh, what can I say? 05:47 I know there's no way 05:51 to repay You... 05:55 only to offer You 05:59 my praise. 06:05 Your grace 06:08 still amazes me. 06:12 Your love 06:15 is such a mystery. 06:19 Each day 06:23 I fall on my knees 06:29 'cause Your grace 06:31 still amazes me... 06:36 Your grace 06:39 amazes me! 06:42 It's deeper; 06:45 it's wider; 06:49 it's stronger; 06:53 it's higher; 06:57 it's deeper; 07:01 so much wider; 07:05 it's stronger 07:09 and higher 07:11 than anything 07:15 my eyes can see! 07:18 Oh, Your grace... 07:22 it still amazes me. 07:26 Your love 07:29 is such a mystery. 07:34 Each day 07:37 I fall on my knees 07:43 'cause Your grace 07:45 still amazes me... 07:50 Oh, Your grace 07:53 amazes me! 07:59 Your grace 08:02 still amazes 08:07 me... 08:15 Oh, oh, oh. 08:29 Amen! 08:35 Amen and amen! 08:38 Grace is so very very amazing. 08:41 I'm going to ask you to turn with me to the very first book 08:44 of the Bible, the very first chapter, the very first verse. 08:52 Genesis chapter 1 verse 1. 09:02 Shall we pray? Father God, 09:05 be pleased now to teach us. 09:08 Teach us Your Word; show us Your will. 09:12 Help us to understand what truth is 09:16 and to walk in the way of truth. 09:19 In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen! 09:24 The Bible says, Genesis 1:1. I like to read it. 09:28 I like to be seen reading it. 09:32 The Bible says: "In the beginning God created 09:36 the heavens and the earth. " 09:42 I read a couple of books 09:46 to prepare for this message. 09:50 The first one I bought in 2011. Read it several years ago. 09:54 It's called Science Discovers God: 09:57 seven convincing lines of evidence for His existence. 10:02 So I used just a little bit of this. 10:05 Then... I'm reading now 10:08 I Don't Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist. 10:14 It's a real good book! 10:16 And I like this book because it confirms a lot of 10:19 the things I've been preaching almost all of my ministry 10:21 or life so I read a lot of this. 10:23 So what we're going to talk about tonight is an amalgamation 10:27 of this book, this book, THE BOOK, 10:30 and some of my own homespun. 10:35 I should like to introduce you to and refer you to 10:38 Dr. Michael Denton. 10:40 You may know the name. 10:41 He is a M.D., a Ph.D., and a biologist. 10:46 I hasten to add that Michael Denton 10:49 is not a believer. 10:51 He is a self-proclaimed atheist 10:56 which he interprets as meaning 11:00 he does not know God 11:03 and he as a Ph.D., M.D., biologist 11:07 does not know if God can be known. 11:13 Michael Denton says he is not sure 11:17 that God exists. 11:20 He doesn't know... but what he DOES know 11:26 as a Ph.D. doctor biologist 11:32 is that natural selection 11:36 evolution over creation 11:39 has some issues. 11:43 His thinking is that he is an evolutionist 11:48 who doesn't buy evolution. 11:54 He doesn't accept it yet he claims himself 11:57 to be an evolutionist. 12:00 What... what a conundrum. 12:03 What an apocalyptic conundrum 12:07 to be so smart, to be so brilliant 12:11 and yet be so confused. 12:15 I mean, he knows that evolution is fake news. 12:27 Amen! I said "Amen! " Amen! 12:33 Yet he is not sure about God. 12:38 What a position to find yourself in! 12:43 But Michael Denton attests in his writings 12:47 that before Charles Darwin died 12:52 he didn't believe in evolution either. 12:58 By the time the third edition of Origin of the Species 13:02 was published Charles Darwin - 13:05 the father of evolution - 13:08 didn't believe in his own theory. 13:12 He disavowed the baby that he gave birth to. 13:19 So before we address and/or redress 13:23 evolution and try to prove if it is provable 13:28 I want to talk to you about truth. 13:31 Can I do that? Amen. 13:33 I want to talk about truth 13:36 and I want to use a football analogy. 13:42 Let's erect now some immovable goalposts. 13:47 You know what goalposts are? 13:48 Those are those things at the end of the football field, 13:50 those uprights. They never move! 13:54 My thesis is that there are some realities 13:59 in life, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, 14:02 that either are or they are not. 14:07 Amen. Amen! 14:09 You will forgive my pejorative English: 14:11 they either is or they ain't. 14:16 There are some realities in life: they either are 14:19 or they are not. No vacillation; no hesitation; 14:22 no equivocation; no reproachment; 14:24 no detente; no propitiation. 14:27 They either straight-up IS 14:29 or they AIN'T. 14:36 Either God did it or He didn't do it. 14:40 Amen? Amen. 14:43 Either He did it or He didn't. 14:45 Game, set, match... close quotes, end of story, 14:49 hallelujah! Amen. 14:51 Amen! 14:53 Someone said to me recently 14:56 "C.A." and they were very serious, 15:01 "everybody can't be wrong. " 15:05 And I thought about that. 15:07 And the truth is... I believe that's true. 15:14 Everybody can't be wrong, but I told him 15:18 in response: "I also believe 15:22 everybody can't be right. " 15:28 Um-hmm. 15:30 Everybody can't be right. 15:32 You've got 4,200 different religious classifications. 15:38 Of those religious classifications you've got 15:41 tens of thousands of religious belief systems. 15:45 You've got 2.1 billion Christians. 15:49 You've got 30,000 Christian denominations. 15:53 In the Muslim faith you've got Sunnis, Shias, and Sufis 15:58 and 9,000 sub-classifications. 16:02 You mean to tell me everybody's right? 16:08 It is true that everybody can't be wrong 16:12 but there... you will forgive my pejorative English... 16:15 ain't no way everybody is right! 16:19 Amen? Amen. 16:22 They cannot all be correct and that, too, is true. 16:27 Now I want you to stick with me 'cause I'm goin' somewhere 16:29 and when I get there I want you to be right by my side. 16:31 All right? Here's something else that is true. 16:35 Spiritually the majority have never been right. 16:40 Amen. Amen! God's not looking for a majority. 16:43 So if you're looking at the history of the world 16:45 the majority spiritually has never been right. 16:49 They weren't right in Noah's day 16:52 and I suspect they aren't right today. 16:57 The Bible is unapologetically apologetic on this point. 17:02 Genesis 1:1: "Bereshit Elohim bara" 17:08 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. " 17:12 True or false? True! 17:14 Say it again. True! Say it to my face. 17:17 True! Say it with my back turned. True! 17:22 John chapter 1 verse 3: 17:25 "All things were made through Him 17:27 and without Him nothing was made that was made. " 17:31 True or false? True! True! True! Amen! 17:36 Colossians chapter 1 verse 16: 17:38 "For by Him all things were created 17:40 that are in heaven and that are on the earth 17:45 visible and invisible. " True or false? 17:48 True! Say it again. True! 17:50 One more time. True! Amen. 17:53 It's like that movie that came out several years ago: 17:56 A Few Good Men. Some people can't handle the truth. 18:01 Truth has nothing to do with you 18:06 ontologically. "Now what do you mean? " 18:09 I mean truth is discovered not invented. 18:17 Um-hmm. 18:19 God made man... man didn't make God. 18:25 True or false? True! God knew who you were 18:29 before you knew who He was. 18:32 True or false? True! Um-hmm. 18:35 In fact, God knew who you were 18:39 before you knew who you were. 18:41 True or false? True! Um-hmm. 18:44 And the truth about God is that everything that is true 18:49 about God existed long before we came 18:55 into existence. God said: "Let Us make man 18:59 in Our image. " We are made in the image of God; 19:05 God is not made in the image of man. 19:10 So when you came to the age of reason 19:12 you didn't invent God... you discovered Him! 19:17 Amen? Amen! Yeah, you didn't invent God. 19:20 God was already there... you discovered Him. 19:22 Sometimes you hear people say: "I found the Lord. " 19:25 Well that's just jargon. 19:27 You didn't find the Lord 'cause the Lord wasn't lost... 19:30 you were! 19:37 So you stepped into a conscious- ness that has always existed. 19:42 You discovered God... you found Him. 19:46 YOU were lost... not God. 19:49 Now hold on a while because I want to give you some truth 19:51 about truth. 19:53 Here's the truth about truth. 19:55 All that is true about God has always been true. 20:00 Amen. Amen! Everything that is true about God 20:03 tonight has always been true about God. 20:05 There's nothing new about God. God came complete 20:08 in the beginning. Since He has no beginning 20:11 He's always been complete! Amen! 20:13 So everything that's true about God tonight 20:15 has ALWAYS been true about God. 20:18 That's the truth! 20:20 Amen! 20:24 Seven quick facets of truth: 20:27 1. All truth excludes the opposite. 20:32 If it's true, can't have the opposite. 20:35 "C.A. has a lot of hair. " 20:39 That ain't true! 20:43 So truth excludes the opposite. 20:46 If this is true, that cannot be true. 20:48 Amen? You cannot have parallel truth. 20:51 It's either true or it's not true. 20:55 "C.A. HAD a lot of hair. " 20:59 That's true! 21:01 2. Truth is discovered not invented. 21:05 I said that before. 21:06 You discover truth you don't invent truth. 21:09 Truth is separate from you. 21:11 3. Truth is transcultural. 21:15 What's true in America is true in China 21:19 is true in Japan is true in Africa. 21:22 All real truth is transcultural. 21:27 God made the heavens and the earth. 21:30 He made you and me. 21:32 He made those who believe in Him. 21:34 He also made those who don't believe in Him. 21:38 Amen? Amen! 21:40 So truth transcends culture. 21:44 4. Truth is unchanging. 21:48 Now what we think about truth may change. 21:50 There was a time when folk believed the world was flat. 21:53 Was it flat? NO! The truth was it was round. 21:57 So our belief system had to change. 22:00 But the truth was the truth then 22:03 is the truth now. Amen? 22:05 Amen! So truth is unchanging. 22:08 5. A fact is not changed by your belief. 22:14 Just because you believe something doesn't make it fact. 22:17 And a fact isn't changed because you believe it. 22:20 A guy called me the other day, told me how much 22:23 he used to hate God 22:25 because his wife died and his then-pastor told him 22:29 that his wife was burning in hell. 22:31 He said: "I stopped going to church; 22:33 I was DONE with God 22:35 because I thought God was a mean God. " 22:38 Now was that the truth? 22:40 No... but that's what he believed. 22:44 Then he happened to watch Proclaim! and he heard a sermon 22:46 that I preached on the state of the dead. 22:50 And he realized that his wife was NOT burning in hell. 22:54 And he said it was like the clouds just "rolled away. " 22:58 Amen! He said: "For the first time I could look at God 23:02 as a loving God. So when you got to the Sabbath" 23:05 he said "that was no problem because I knew God loved me 23:08 so I was ready to give up Sunday and keep Sabbath. " 23:11 Upshot: he said: "Now I'm a baptized SDA church. " 23:14 Amen! So now he's in love with a loving God. 23:18 But when he hated God 23:20 God was still a... loving God. 23:24 So your belief cannot, does not change truth. 23:31 6. Truth is not affected by the attitude 23:35 of the one professing it. 23:37 Truth is still truth whether you've got a good attitude 23:40 or a bad attitude. 23:42 But it does have an effect on how it is received. 23:47 In other words, a loving Christian person 23:52 is a better witness to a loving God 23:56 than a mean person. 24:00 Amen! Now God is still loving 24:03 in the mouth of that loving person and in the mouth of that 24:06 mean person. The truth is that the mean person 24:11 is just a bad witness... 24:15 but it doesn't change the truth about God. 24:18 But it CAN change how the truth is received. 24:23 7. All truth is absolute truth. 24:28 There's no half truth or 3/4 truth. 24:32 All truth is absolute truth. 24:35 You can have contrary beliefs 24:37 but you can't have contrary facts. 24:40 Amen. Amen! Facts are facts. 24:44 Now if you're thinking... If you're a thinking 24:46 one of those proactive persons who examines sermons and tends 24:49 to break them down and you kind of think ahead, 24:51 you've already hatched two lines of reasoning 24:54 that you probably think can refute what I've just told you. 24:57 And I'm ready for that. 24:59 In fact, the first one I'm not going to even bother telling you 25:02 because I don't want to jaundice your pure minds. 25:06 But the second one I want to spend a little time on 25:09 because I've heard it and you may have heard it 25:13 and I want you to be prepared the next time you hear it. 25:16 I want to give you some ammunition to fight back with. 25:19 Let's talk about self-defeating statements. What did I say? 25:23 Self-defeating statements. Amen! 25:26 We're going to deal with self-defeating statements. 25:30 A... these are... well let me give you an example. 25:36 A self-defeating statement is: "There's no such thing 25:40 as truth. " Anybody ever heard that before? 25:44 Folks kind of lay it on you: "Oh, there's no such thing as 25:46 truth. " It is a self-defeating statement 25:52 because it fails to meet its own standard. 25:57 A self-defeating statement is a statement that fails to meet 26:00 its own standard. If a person says 26:04 there's no such thing as truth 26:08 rather than try to prove that there IS such a thing as truth, 26:13 what you need to do is ask them: "Do you believe 26:18 that that statement is true? " 26:25 Um-hmm. Amen! 26:27 Yeah, that statement is self- defeating because it defeats... 26:31 it fails to meet its own standard. 26:34 If you believe that there's no such thing as truth, 26:40 you're believing a lie. 26:42 And you cannot believe that because your statement 26:47 by your own words cannot be true. 26:52 That make sense? So if you say "there no such thing as 26:56 truth, " you are saying something that you yourself 26:59 don't believe in. So I don't have to prove 27:02 to you that there is truth 27:05 because you've uttered a self-defeating statement 27:09 that shoots itself in the foot. 27:15 It cannot be true. 27:17 Now here are some other self-defeating statements. 27:20 "All truth is relative. " 27:22 You've heard that before. 27:24 Relative to what? 27:27 Relative to truth? 27:29 The statement makes no sense... it's self-defeating. 27:32 "There are no absolutes. " 27:35 Are you absolutely sure? 27:42 "That's true for you but it's not true for me. " 27:47 Now try telling that to the policeman the next time 27:49 you're caught doing 80 in a 50. 27:53 "That's true for you... that's not true for me. " 27:56 Try that and see what happens to you. 28:00 When you wrestle with evolution 28:03 it becomes easier if you believe in absolute truth. 28:09 I believe in absolute truth. 28:11 I believe there is absolute unmovable, unshakeable truth 28:16 to be found in this world. 28:19 If you don't believe in an all-wise, all-knowing, 28:24 all-powerful God - 28:25 that is to say an omnipresent, omniscient, 28:29 omnipotent Creator - 28:31 then let me say this kindly: "You have got a problem. " 28:37 Amen. You see, I have no problem with evolution 28:41 because it's not a fact. 28:45 Hello? 28:48 Now some scientists try to say that it is so. 28:50 But this scientist - Ph.D. - Ariel Roth says 28:55 "most scientists have to admit it's not a fact. " 29:02 That's why in lay terms it's hard to prove 29:06 something like that. 29:08 Now what does it mean to prove? 29:10 We'll do this quickly. 29:12 1. To prove something means to establish the truth 29:15 or genuineness by evidence or argument. 29:19 2. To establish authenticity and/or validity. 29:25 3. To subject to a test, experiment, comparison, 29:30 analysis or the like 29:32 to determine the quality or amount or acceptability, 29:36 characteristics, etc. 29:39 The problem with evolution is 29:42 all of those scientific prerequisites 29:46 go out the window 29:49 because evolution doesn't meet 29:52 any scientific prerequisites. 29:56 So scientifically to prove something as fact 30:00 it has to be subject to impirical observation. 30:03 In other words, you've got to see it and examine it 30:06 for yourself. 30:08 In short, you've got to test it. 30:10 That means you've got to subject it to experimentation, 30:14 comparison, analysis, 30:17 and those tests must be repeatable. 30:22 You can't say: "It happened once it'll never happen again. " 30:26 You've gotta do it again and again to make sure it is fact. 30:30 Now here's the theological and philosophical challenge 30:34 that evolution at the start poses. 30:38 It wasn't observed. Amen. 30:43 Nobody took a "selfie. " 30:51 There's no video. 30:53 You cannot compare it to anything 30:56 because even the evolutionists say it only happened once. 31:02 It has not been repeated. 31:06 It is not being repeated. 31:09 It only happened once and nobody recorded it. 31:16 It cannot be analyzed. 31:18 It cannot be authenticated. 31:21 It has never been repeated. 31:23 But creation, brothers and sisters, praise God! 31:26 is different. That event was witnessed 31:31 and documented by not one, not two, 31:36 but three individuals. Amen! Amen! 31:41 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 31:46 AND they left a record! Amen! 31:51 Do you see why it says: "I don't have enough faith 31:55 to be an atheist? " 31:56 It takes much more faith not to believe in God 31:59 than it does to believe in Him. 32:01 Amen? Amen. 32:04 So scientists say: "We've got a theory" 32:08 and the Christians say: "Keep your theory; we've got God. " 32:12 Amen! 32:15 We believe God created the world in six literal days. 32:20 Six literal morning/evening days. 32:24 If you believe that, say Amen. 32:26 Amen. Now, He created in six days 32:29 by fiat. Not the little car 32:32 but by the word of His mouth. 32:34 F- I-A-T... that means by decree. 32:38 Amen? Amen! Psalm chapter 33 verse 9: 32:41 King James: "For He spoke and it was done; 32:46 He commanded and it stood fast. " 32:49 That's fiat. He spoke the world into existence 32:53 by the word of His mouth. 32:56 So our faith, ladies and gentlemen, is based on 32:59 and anchored in two realities. 33:02 Who created us 33:04 and how we were created. 33:06 And they both go together. 33:09 If He - God - created any other way 33:13 than by fiat, He could not be Almighty God. 33:19 So that not only rules out evolution 33:22 but all the hybrid things also 33:25 like deism or theistic evolution. 33:29 Theistic evolution also called orthogenesis 33:33 or nomogenesis or emergent evolution 33:37 or creative evolution. 33:39 They came from the mind of a Jesuit paleontologist 33:43 Pierre Teilhard de Chardin 33:45 who proposed that God directed evolution. 33:49 It was evolution... but God just directed it. 33:52 Came up with that in the late 1800's, and then 33:54 George Frederick Wright spoke of Christian Darwinism. 34:01 These were attempts to harmonize and synchronize 34:05 Bible belief with what they thought was science. 34:10 Let me go back to the Anglican priest and botanist 34:13 John Ray. These men, I assume, 34:18 were honest, but they were certainly misguided 34:22 in their attempts to harmonize God and science. 34:26 But also they tried to make God subject 34:31 or the servant of science. 34:36 Now here's the truth: God uses science. 34:41 Amen. Amen. God created science 34:46 but God is above science. Amen! 34:53 God is not subject to science; science is subject to God. 34:59 And when God chooses - glory to God - He can throw 35:04 science out the window! Amen! 35:08 Do you know what it's called when God throws science 35:10 out the window? I heard somebody say it. 35:15 It's called a miracle. Amen! 35:19 Sometimes God just says: "I don't want to be held hostage 35:22 to science. I want to do this. And though it doesn't make sense 35:24 to the scientists it makes sense to Me. " 35:27 So He throws science out the window! 35:29 And you go to the doctor and he says: "Yesterday that was 35:32 cancer; today it's gone! " Amen! 35:36 It's called a miracle. 35:38 God didn't need millennia to make you and me. 35:41 He commanded it! 35:44 You see, if God can't create by fiat 35:47 then ladies and gentlemen He can't save by fiat. 35:52 If God can't call you into existence, 35:55 He can't save you by the word of His mouth. 35:57 So that means justification - which is a declaration that 36:00 you are righteous - is out the window. 36:03 That means the thief on the cross, Christ can't say to him 36:06 "I say unto you right now - today - you're going to be 36:09 with Me in paradise. " 36:10 That was done by the word of Jesus. 36:14 Justification is by fiat... Christ declares you righteous. 36:18 So if He can't create you by the word He cannot recreate you 36:22 by the word. Are you getting this? Amen! 36:24 So that means when the thief said, when the thief said 36:27 "Uh, umm... remember me" 36:31 Christ would have to say: "OK, you need to hang out 36:34 on this cross for a couple million years 36:36 while I do My evolution thing 36:40 and I'll get back to you. " 36:43 So if God can't create by fiat He cannot recreate by fiat 36:47 He cannot save by fiat. So we serve, then, 36:51 a powerless God. 36:59 So... how long does it take to re-create you? 37:06 So the next time someone goes to a doctor 37:11 with some mysterious syndrome 37:15 and the specialist says: "We don't know 37:20 what that is let alone how to treat it 37:25 and we don't know how to cure it" 37:29 do you think God has to say: "Well... 37:34 science has no cure. Nothin' I can do? " 37:43 Since when is the Creator 37:47 subject to science? 37:53 Now let's look at the eschaton and work our way back. 37:56 Time's gettin' away from me. Let's look at the 37:58 eschatological point and then work our way back. 38:00 I Corinthians chapter 15 verse 52. 38:03 I Corinthians 15:52. 38:05 The Bible says: "We shall all be changed 38:09 in a moment... in the twinkling of an eye. " 38:14 The Amplified Bible says this: 38:17 "We shall be completely changed and wondrously transformed; 38:23 the perishable becomes the imperishable. " 38:27 Now how long does it take 38:29 for God to give you a brand new body? 38:36 "In a moment! In the twinkling of an eye! " 38:41 So God is going to do it at the end in a moment. 38:46 Now how is He able to do it at the end in a moment? 38:50 Well hello! Because He did it at the beginning 38:56 in a moment! Amen! 38:58 He's got practice! 39:00 He's done it already and He's done it many times. 39:04 He created the world and Adam and Eve 39:10 by fiat. And in a moment these old bodies 39:15 are going to be made brand new 39:18 instantaneously! AMEN! 39:24 Re-creation is no problem for the God of creation. 39:31 God creates through the power of His word. 39:35 I believe in the power of the word of God. Don't you? 39:38 Amen! Psalm chapter 138 verse 2: 39:41 "God honors His word above His name. " 39:45 The Greek tells us the position that God believes 39:49 and that He puts His word in. So the word of God 39:52 is live and living and it gives us power. 39:56 Now let me promenade down the corridors of your imagination 39:59 for just a moment. The gospel of John 40:01 we call - well, I call - a touchless gospel. 40:06 I've talked about this before. 40:07 Here's what you find in the gospel of John. 40:10 All of the miracles in the gospel of John 40:14 are by "remote control. " 40:18 Um-hmm. Every one of them. 40:20 There is no touching in the gospel of John. 40:24 Look it up for yourself! 40:26 They're all remote miracles... it is a touchless gospel. 40:30 There's no putting on of hands, 40:32 there's no laying on of hands. There no touching in the gos... 40:34 All the miracles are touchless. 40:36 Check it out! It's true. 40:39 They are remote miracles. No laying on of hands. 40:43 All of the miracles are done by the word! 40:50 That's why John starts out by saying: "In the beginning 40:53 was the Word; the Word was with God; the Word WAS God. 40:54 The same was in the beginning with God. " 40:56 And then he goes on to recount a series of miracles 40:59 all done by the word. 41:01 Now I know, you're thinking: "OK well what about John chapter 9 41:04 where Christ made saliva into mud and put it on 41:07 the person's eyes? " Well the miracle didn't take place then. 41:10 The miracle took place when Christ said: "Go and wash. " 41:14 And so the miracle took place out of Jesus' sight. 41:17 Same remote miracle. Amen. 41:20 No touching... it's a remote gospel. 41:23 Now why did He do that? 41:25 He did it for this reason: 41:27 because by the time John wrote 41:29 Christ had been dead and resurrected 60+ years. 41:31 John wrote in the late 90's just before 100 AD. 41:35 Everybody that walked with Christ... 41:36 remember, John was the youngest of the disciples. 41:39 Everybody that walked with Christ had already died 41:42 and those who they knew had already died. 41:46 John's audience - the only audience that he had, 41:50 the only connection that they had - 41:51 with Jesus was through the Word. 41:55 They didn't see Him; they didn't touch Him; 41:58 they didn't know anybody who saw Him or touched Him. 42:01 The disciples were all dead. 42:02 So their connection to Jesus was the same as your connection 42:08 to Jesus. Amen? So John didn't just write 42:12 for them... John wrote for you. 42:17 Amen? Amen! So John talks about "The Word. " 42:20 And John's message is this: 42:24 even though you have not seen Him, 42:27 even though you have not handled Him, 42:30 even though you have not touched Him 42:33 when you got the Word 42:36 you got all power and you've got all you need. Amen! 42:41 That's the message for us this very night. 42:43 So when you've got the Word 42:45 you've got all you need of Jesus. 42:47 And you latch onto that Word through faith. 42:50 So John's message is when you've got the Word 42:54 you've got what you need. 42:57 So: theistic evolution no deism, 43:03 which says that God got it started and just let it run 43:07 no interference like the Sadducees believed. 43:10 John is saying that Christ is present 43:14 and active in your life today 43:17 re-creating just like He created the heavens and the earth. 43:22 Amen? Amen. 43:23 Philippians chapter 2 verse 10. 43:27 That I may know Him. 43:30 Lastly, if God didn't create mankind 43:37 then 43:40 the heart of our faith is ripped out. 43:45 We struggled in the early 1860's. 43:49 And on May 1, I think it was, 1863 43:52 God was pleased to give us the title Seventh-day Adventists. 43:57 There were a lot of conflicting titles. In fact, James White 44:00 wanted us to be called the Church of God. 44:02 And Ellen White said: "No... I don't think so. " 44:06 She said: "That name hides as much as it reveals. 44:10 We need something a little closer to the truth. " 44:12 And so God gave us Seventh-day Adventist. 44:17 If God didn't create us 44:23 in six literal days, 44:27 then the seventh day is out the window. 44:31 That make sense? 44:33 Yeah. What is the Sabbath a memorial of? 44:36 Creation. Um-hmm. 44:39 Yeah, it is. 44:41 So if God didn't create us 44:43 then the Sabbath is a lie. 44:46 And if God didn't create us in 7 literal 24-hour periods 44:53 then what is the Sabbath? 44:58 Is the Sabbath millions of years? 45:01 Does that make sense? 45:03 Does God have to go through death to create life? 45:08 Every time you keep the Sabbath 45:11 you are reaffirming that God made us in several... 45:15 seven literal days. Can you say amen? Amen! 45:20 Yeah! That's what the Sabbath re-affirms: 45:22 that I came from the hand of God. 45:25 Now if you came from God, 45:27 then you've got an assurance when you die 45:30 that you're going back to God. 45:33 Um-hmm. But if you don't know where you came from, 45:38 if you came from "I don't know, " 45:41 when you die where'ya goin'? 45:43 "I don't know. " 45:51 See, the only chance we have of believing in a future life 45:55 is the fact that we came from God. 45:57 If we came from God, then I know I'm going back to God. 46:00 To believe otherwise you've gotta believe that 46:03 Daddy was a gorilla, Mama was a chimpanzee. 46:05 I don't buy that. 46:14 The Bible says in Exodus... let's see, 46:19 13:31. Nope, it's Exodus 31:13... 46:24 that we are sanctified through the keeping of the Sabbath. 46:28 That every time we keep the Sabbath it is a sign that 46:31 we are sanctified by God. 46:34 It is a re-affirmation 46:37 that we came from the hand of God. 46:39 You know, if everybody kept the Sabbath 46:41 there would be no atheists in this world. 46:43 Amen! 46:45 You can't keep the Sabbath and worship on the Sabbath Day 46:47 and then go out and say that we came from a... 46:50 something crawled out of the ocean and became a fish 46:53 and became a man and became a this and became a that. 46:54 Became a that and then one day it walked up and stood 46:56 upon its feet. Makes no sense. 47:00 Now in New York some of the scientists say that 47:02 SUPER roach is part of the evolutionary process. 47:08 SUPER roach is this roach that they have in New York City 47:11 that is DDT resistant. 47:15 Now that's not evolution... that's adaptation. 47:18 You spray enough DDT around 47:20 after a while the roach gets tired of that. 47:23 Tell you the truth. One day I was visiting an apartment 47:26 and SUPER roach was crawling up the wall. 47:29 And the lady in the apartment 47:33 threw her shoe and hit the roach. 47:36 And the roach said: "Phew! " 47:49 So SUPER roach is not evolution. 47:52 It's adaptation. Amen! 47:56 There is no evolution. 48:01 And every time we keep the Sabbath 48:04 we re-affirm 48:07 that we came from the hand of God. 48:11 In three places: Matthew chapter 12, 48:15 Mark chapter 2, 48:18 and in Luke... I think it's chapter 18? 48:22 Is it chapter 6? Yes. It's 6. OK... 6:5. 48:27 Mark 2:27-28, 48:29 Matthew 12:8. 48:32 All of them say the same thing: 48:34 Jesus Christ is Lord of the Sabbath. 48:38 They all say the same thing. 48:40 He is Lord of the Sabbath and He's Lord of our lives. 48:44 And every time we surrender to the Lord of the Sabbath 48:46 we are saying that we came from the hand of the Lord. Amen? 48:50 Amen! So these words are full of instruction and comfort. 48:54 Because the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath 48:57 it belongs to Christ... WE belong to Christ. 49:01 "For all things were made by Him and without Him 49:04 was not anything made that was made. " 49:08 Since He made all things, 49:11 since He made the Sabbath, 49:14 since He set it apart as a a memorial of the work and week 49:18 of creation then we are - by keeping the Sabbath - 49:23 making a statement to the world 49:26 that we came from the hand of a loving God. 49:30 It points us back to God 49:34 as Creator and Sanctifier. 49:38 And every Friday evening when you bring in the Sabbath 49:42 you are re-affirming not only that God 49:47 made you but that that same hand 49:52 is now active in re-creating you 49:58 and that you are a new and again 50:01 a child of the Most High God. 50:05 You are re-affirming the power of God. 50:07 Twice created by God, and ready to be created a third time 50:12 on our way to the kingdom. 50:16 That will be the final creation. 50:19 Now let's answer the question that is part of this sermon. 50:24 I need to say this. 50:25 All of this that we've been talking about is just preamble. 50:28 This is not the sermon. 50:30 The sermon is coming right now. 50:36 This is just ecclesiological obenedictum. 50:40 Just eschatological gastroenteritis. 50:42 I'm sneezing in your faces hoping you pick up the... 50:45 the virus. 50:47 Here is the sermon: 50:53 Can the theory of evolution be proven 51:01 which some scientists call fact? 51:07 Here then is my apologetic... 51:12 unvarnished, perhaps unscientific 51:16 and maybe even lacking in sophistication. 51:22 Certainly devoid of hubris or hyperbole. 51:27 If it could have been proven 51:32 it would have been proven 51:37 and perhaps should have been proven. 51:43 But it hasn't been proven 51:46 because it can't be proven. 51:52 So really... the sermon is very short 52:03 because the answer to the question 52:07 as asked is NO! 52:14 Amen. Amen! 52:16 Say it one more time. Amen! 52:19 Um-hmm. One last text. 52:23 Well... two last texts. Romans chapter 1 verse 20. 52:27 Romans chapter 1 verse 20. Have you ever asked yourself 52:30 "Why is there animosity from the non-religious community 52:36 to those of us who believe that we came from the hand of God? " 52:39 Why is there such hate? I was listening to a British 52:42 scientist, an eminent eminent... he's got a long list of letters 52:45 behind his name... and he said: "You know, creation is so 52:48 boring. So boring to think that God made us and just 52:53 spoke us into existence. That's so boring. " 52:56 Any my question is... Irma and I were sitting on the couch... 52:59 what's boring about knowing the truth? 53:03 What's boring about knowing things as they are? 53:07 How is that boring? 53:09 How is it more exciting to know that you came from 53:11 an ape than it is to know that you came from the hand of God? 53:17 What's boring about that? 53:22 Roman chapter 1, I'm reading verse 20 53:25 and I'm almost done. 53:27 Romans 1:20. "For since the creation of the world... " 53:31 For since the what? Creation. The what? 53:34 "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes 53:39 are clearly seen, being understood 53:43 by the things that are made. " So the Bible is saying 53:47 we can tell a lot about the invisible God 53:49 by looking at the stuff He made. Amen? 53:52 When you look at the beauty of the flowers and you look at 53:54 the diversity of... You know, I like the fact you've got 53:58 white, you've got black, you've got brown, you've got red 54:04 and all kinds of colors in between. 54:07 You know, our family... I married into Irma's family. 54:12 She had two children. I am black, they are white. 54:16 But our grandsons 54:20 are blonde head, blue eyes. 54:22 And I love to go out with those little grandboys 54:24 and just blow everybody's mind. 54:30 "What? You don't see the resemblance? " 54:44 So you can tell a lot about who God is and what God is 54:47 by looking at what He's made 54:49 and the way He treats what is made. 54:51 So... the Bible says: "His invisible attributes 54:55 are clearly seen, being understood 54:58 by the things that are made. Even His eternal power 55:02 and Godhead so that they are without excuse. " 55:05 Amen? So you don't have any excuse 55:09 for rejecting God because if you open your eyes 55:13 "the heavens declare the glory of God 55:17 and the earth shows forth His handiwork. " 55:21 Just look around! 55:24 It didn't come by accident. 55:28 Why is it that we've got two eyes in the front 55:30 and two ears on the side 55:32 and one mouth by the way? 55:41 Think about it. 55:46 Came from the hand of God. That was design, 55:49 and design presupposes a Designer. Amen? 55:55 Amen! You've got design because somebody designed us. 56:00 Now we don't look as good as we one day will look 56:04 but we're doin' all right. 56:12 The Bible says: "Because that when they knew God 56:14 they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful 56:17 but became vain in their imagination 56:19 and their foolish heart was darkened, professing themselves 56:23 to be wise they became fools. " 56:27 And "the fool has said in his heart 56:31 there is no God. " 56:35 See, it's not just a scientific thing... 56:38 it's a spiritual battle. 56:41 It's a battle between darkness and light, 56:44 error and truth. 56:46 It is Satan's design and desire 56:49 to erase God from the minds and memories 56:54 and hearts of those that Christ came to save. 56:59 Amen! 57:03 I end with the very same text 57:08 with which I began. 57:12 Genesis chapter 1 verse 1. 57:18 And if you don't believe this 57:21 then you might as well close the book 57:24 because everything else is based on the fact 57:27 that "In the beginning God 57:30 created the heavens and the earth. " 57:34 Amen. |
Revised 2023-04-13