Participants:
Series Code: AU
Program Code: AU000083S
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00:01 - You know, there are some pretty bold skeptics out there
00:03 who just assume that nobody's going to question 00:06 their assertions about God. 00:09 They like to think they have impossible questions 00:12 about faith that can't be answered, so today I'm gonna 00:16 take a stab at answering some of those. 00:20 [upbeat ambient music] 00:40 The other day I was kind of mindlessly flipping through 00:42 some online videos, you know the dumb ones, 00:45 kids flipping water bottles and making 'em land on a table 00:48 or just getting out in public and doing something dumb. 00:51 And I was about to give up, but I suddenly came across 00:53 something that really kind of held my attention. 00:57 It was a young mother posting a response to a sermon 01:00 she heard where the preacher asked the audience what they 01:02 planned to say about unbelief when they finally met God 01:06 in the judgment. 01:08 I only heard a single sentence from the sermon itself, 01:10 so I don't really know if it was one of those 01:13 run of the mill turn burn kind of messages, 01:15 but she did list a number of questions that she would ask 01:19 God if He proved to be real. 01:22 And as I was watching her, it suddenly occurred to me 01:25 that she was asking questions that most people ask 01:28 at some point in their lives, which made me wonder 01:32 if I shouldn't dedicate a series of shows to answering 01:35 those questions, so here we are with show number one. 01:38 Now to be perfectly clear, there's nothing easy 01:42 about her questions, and I can't possibly pretend 01:45 that I'll be able to answer them 01:46 to everybody's satisfaction, at least not here 01:49 in a half hour show. 01:51 But I still thought it might be important to try, 01:53 because sometimes people ask these kinds of questions 01:57 as if they are delivering some kind of death blow to faith, 02:01 and they aren't. 02:04 Sometimes unfortunately, they're asking their questions 02:06 based on things they've heard Christians say. 02:09 And some of those things are not based on what the 02:13 scriptures say, they're just part of a longstanding 02:16 regrettable Christian folklore. 02:18 I think part of the problem is that too many Christians 02:21 haven't actually read the Bible for themselves, 02:24 and they're accustomed to just repeating what someone else 02:27 has told them and that has led to a bit of 02:30 a theological mess here in the 21st century. 02:34 Sadly, I'm starting to think that the vast majority 02:37 of modern Western Christians might be 02:39 well biblically illiterate, it's a sad state of affairs. 02:46 So today I'm gonna kick the ball down the field 02:48 by looking at the first two questions this lady said 02:51 she would ask God if she got the chance, 02:54 and those questions were, why did you stay hidden 02:58 and why did you stay silent? 03:00 Now those are fair questions, but I'm not convinced 03:04 they're entirely honest questions, at least not sometimes. 03:08 Let me see if I can explain. 03:11 [upbeat ambient music] 03:13 I don't know if this has ever happened to you, 03:15 but every once in a blue moon, my wife asks me 03:16 to do something and then later she discovers 03:20 I didn't actually do it. 03:21 And sometimes if she asks me, "Why didn't you put the trash 03:26 to the curb like I asked you to." I reply by saying, 03:29 "Well, I had no idea you wanted me to do that." 03:32 to which she will reply, "But I clearly asked you 03:36 to do it yesterday." 03:38 So in other words, the real problem with our communication 03:41 at that point is that Jean had been speaking, 03:44 but I wasn't listening. 03:47 I might've been hiding behind that cone of silence 03:49 that a lot of older guys build over time, 03:52 like your grandfather remember, who pretended not to be 03:55 in the room by hiding behind a newspaper or it might be 03:59 the case that I was too preoccupied with what I was doing 04:03 to hear what Jean was asking. 04:04 So I mindlessly said, "Okay." without actually 04:08 paying attention or maybe I did hear it, at least at first, 04:12 but I didn't make it a priority and so by the next day 04:16 it was just gone. 04:19 There are 1,000,001 reasons that we might not notice 04:22 the voice of God when He tries to get our attention, 04:25 including the fact that we sometimes tune out the things 04:28 we don't actually want to hear, but I think 04:32 one of the biggest problems we have is the way we write 04:34 this personal mental script about who God is 04:38 and what He's supposed to be like. 04:40 And then we dismiss the possibility of His existence, 04:44 because the God revealed in the Bible 04:47 doesn't match the caricature that we created in our minds, 04:51 we invent these ideas about what God should be like 04:54 and then we're angry when He doesn't happen to be that way. 04:58 But you know, if the creator of this universe 05:01 really is a personal God, a real being with feelings 05:05 and conscious thought, why in the world should He behave 05:08 the way we think He should? 05:11 I've seen this happen in people's marriages. 05:13 A couple will get hitched and both parties have this mental 05:16 idea of what spouses are supposed to be like, 05:19 and then they're completely devastated when real life 05:22 which involves real people proves to be somewhat different. 05:27 Real people it turns out, are nothing like 05:29 the fictitious characters we see in books and movies 05:32 where every problem gets solved in two hours or less 05:35 and everybody lives happily ever after, 05:38 real life is not like that. 05:41 [upbeat ambient music] 05:43 So what we have with God is a situation where an omniscient 05:45 being is relating to us a bunch of incredibly flawed people. 05:50 And in the same way that real interpersonal relationships 05:53 can be wonderfully messy, we've got to expect 05:56 that our broken nature might just make our interaction 05:59 with God less than predictable, not because of Him, 06:02 but because of us. 06:04 There's a famous story in the Old Testament 06:07 where a notable prophet goes through a moment 06:09 of pure exhilaration. 06:11 He challenges a bunch of idle worshiping priests who a 06:14 showdown on Mount Carmel and he wins impressively, 06:19 because God Himself sent fire from the sky. 06:22 But of course, that leaves a lot of people wondering 06:25 if that story was true. 06:27 And I believe it was, why doesn't God still do that 06:30 kind of thing right now? 06:32 I mean, wouldn't it just be easier to peel back the sky 06:35 and show Himself to the world than to do things the hard 06:38 and the vague way? 06:40 Wouldn't that be better than just asking us to exercise 06:43 faith? 06:44 But you know what some people never seem to read 06:47 is the story that comes right after this 06:50 in 1 Kings 19. 06:52 In that chapter, the wicked Queen Jezebel 06:55 is absolutely furious over the prophet Elijah's victory 07:00 and so the story continues like this. 07:02 It says, "Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying, 07:06 'So may the Gods do to me and more also 07:10 if I do not make your life as the life of one of them 07:13 by this time tomorrow.' 07:15 Then he was afraid and he arose and ran for his life 07:17 and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah 07:21 and left his servant there. But he himself went 07:23 a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down 07:26 under a broom tree. 07:29 He asked that he might die, saying, 'It is enough; now, 07:31 O LORD, take away my life for I am no better 07:34 than my father's.'" 07:37 Now if there was ever a time we might be tempted 07:40 to think that God owes somebody an answer, 07:43 well this would be it because Elijah's depressed 07:46 and he doesn't understand why his life has to be this hard 07:50 if he's one of God's prophets, and he wishes that God 07:53 would just let him die, because his stunning victory 07:57 on Carmel has been rewarded with a wanted poster, 08:00 a price on his head, so this is how God's gonna pay him back 08:04 for doing what he was told. 08:07 Then the story continues by telling us that God sent 08:09 an angel to help him get a little R&R, why? 08:13 So he could have the energy to disappear and go into hiding. 08:18 So instead of sending a thunderbolt to destroy 08:20 the wicked queen, which is what I would probably vote for, 08:24 God chooses instead to make His servant 08:26 live in the wilderness. 08:28 And the place God sends him, oddly enough is Mount Horeb, 08:31 which is Mount Sinai, the place where God revealed Himself 08:35 as a fiery presence that actually scorched 08:37 the top of the mountain. 08:38 So in other words, this is a place you might expect God 08:42 to do something spectacular, but then pay attention 08:45 to what happens next, starting in verse nine. 08:47 And I'm gonna read a fair bit of this because, 08:49 well, this is really important, "There he came to a cave 08:53 and lodged it. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him 08:56 and he said to him, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' 08:59 He said, 'I have been very jealous for the LORD, 09:02 the God of hosts. For the people of Israel 09:03 have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars 09:06 and killed your prophets with the sword and I, 09:09 even I only am left and they seek my life to take it away.' 09:13 And he said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain 09:15 before the LORD.' And behold, the LORD passed by 09:18 and a great and strong wind tore the mountains 09:20 and broke in pieces, the rocks before the LORD, 09:24 but the Lord was not in the wind. 09:26 And after the wind an earthquake, 09:27 but the Lord was not in the earthquake 09:29 and after the earthquake, a fire, but the LORD was not 09:32 in the fire." 09:34 Okay, it's time for a quick break, 09:36 but as soon as I come back, I'll show you why I think 09:38 this incident is one of the keys that my young skeptic needs 09:42 in order to answer her own questions 09:44 about the supposed silence of God. 09:47 [upbeat ambient music] I'll be right back. 09:52 - [Narrator] Dragons, beasts, cryptic statues. 09:56 Bible prophecy can be incredibly vivid and confusing. 10:00 If you've ever read Daniel a revelation 10:03 and come away scratching your head, you are not alone. 10:06 Our free focus on prophecy guides are designed to help you 10:09 unlock the mysteries of the Bible 10:11 and deepen your understanding of God's plan for you 10:14 and our world, study online or request them by mail 10:17 and start bringing prophecy into focus today. 10:22 - You know, sometimes God really does reveal Himself 10:24 in a very dramatic way, but historically speaking, 10:27 that's been the exception to the rule. 10:30 Over the course of the last three decades, 10:33 I can count on one hand the number of times 10:35 that God rattled my cage to get my attention. 10:38 For the most part, He hasn't really spoken 10:41 through earthquakes or storms, it's always been 10:44 well something else. 10:45 And immediately after God revealed Himself dramatically 10:48 on Mount Carmel, Elijah probably expected more of the same, 10:52 but it's not what happened. 10:54 The biblical record tells us that God was not in the wind, 10:57 He was not in the earthquake and He wasn't in the fire. 11:01 Instead, the Bible tells us in 1 Kings 19:12, 11:05 "And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. 11:08 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak 11:11 and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. 11:13 And behold, there came a voice to him and said, 11:16 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'" 11:19 It wasn't at all what Elijah expected, 11:22 and you and I also have false expectations. 11:25 We try to conjure up these pictures of what we think God 11:28 should be like and what He should do, 11:31 but then He doesn't answer to those expectations. 11:34 And I suspect that what's going on with a lot of skeptics 11:37 as they're busy demanding that God reveal Himself, 11:41 the reality is that God has already done it, 11:44 but He didn't do it the way they demanded, 11:46 I guess you could think about it as trying to recreate God 11:50 in their own image. 11:52 But let's just think about this logically. 11:54 God really did reveal Himself at the top of Carmel, 11:57 and He did it in a spectacular fashion, 12:00 but that did nothing to stop the prophet from going through 12:03 severe depression and wishing he could die, 12:06 a big miracle did nothing to prevent that. 12:09 So apparently, and we've talked about this 12:10 on other programs, apparently miracles are not 12:13 a great foundation for long-term faith. 12:16 God's trying to tell us something really important 12:19 in this story. 12:20 Maybe just maybe when you and I complain that God is silent, 12:24 maybe He's not, and maybe we're doing exactly 12:27 [upbeat ambient music] what Elijah you was doing, 12:28 expecting God in all the wrong ways 12:30 and in all the wrong places. 12:32 At the end of the day, a personal God, 12:34 a real God is not just some miracle worker, 12:37 some kind of cosmic stage magician 12:39 who puts His power on display to vanquish His enemies. 12:43 He's not one of the pagan gods from Mount Olympus, 12:46 He's something more than that, He's a deeply personal God. 12:50 Just like your parents were personal parents, real people. 12:54 I mean, occasionally they worked miracles to save you 12:57 when you were in some kind of trouble, but for the 12:59 most part they were just your parents, 13:01 people with whom you had an actual relationship. 13:05 So maybe God wants the same thing, 13:07 maybe He just doesn't want to be some kind of 13:09 cosmic vending machine that dispenses miracles 13:11 and favors whenever you demand it, 13:14 what He wants is a meaningful two-way relationship. 13:17 And so He doesn't always speak through fires 13:19 and earthquakes, but through whispers, 13:22 through an actual conversation of the heart. 13:25 And maybe that's at least part of the problem 13:27 when skeptics suggest that God is somehow silent, 13:31 they're simply refusing to notice the ways He does 13:33 communicate ways that are clearly explained 13:36 in the scriptures. 13:38 Instead, they're demanding something else 13:40 and really there's one inescapable fact, 13:43 God has not been silent. 13:45 I mean, here's a book that purports to be 1500 years 13:49 worth of eyewitness testimony from people who say 13:52 that God has spoken to this world. 13:55 We have hundreds upon hundreds of pages of biblical history 13:59 where people insist that God actually intervened 14:02 in our human affairs. 14:04 I'm suddenly reminded of the opening words 14:06 to the book of Hebrews, which go like this, 14:09 "Long ago at many times, and in many ways God spoke to 14:13 our fathers by the prophets. 14:15 But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, 14:18 whom he appointed the heir of all things, 14:21 through whom also He created the world." 14:24 If if there's one thing the Bible has made clear, 14:26 it's that God has been expending considerable energy 14:29 to make himself known to us. 14:31 Now, you might not believe that the people in this book were 14:33 telling the truth, but to say that God is somehow kept 14:37 to Himself is not at all what the Bible teaches. 14:40 Not only has He kept in regular contact, 14:43 but then He actually became one of us 14:45 in order to make himself even more understandable. 14:48 Jesus of Nazareth, the Bible teaches was God in human flesh. 14:54 So to suggest that God has been silent or that He has 14:56 kept Himself hidden it's ludicrous. 14:59 And when some people say that He is silent, 15:01 it might be the case that they've actually seen what God 15:04 has revealed of Himself and they don't like it, 15:07 because having a real God means that He would have 15:10 a claim on your life. 15:12 And here's what I find really interesting 15:14 about this young skeptic's complaints about God 15:17 immediately after telling us that God has been silent, 15:20 she goes on to list a bunch of stuff from the Bible 15:23 that she doesn't like. 15:24 So apparently she believes that some of what you find 15:27 in the Bible means God is a moral monster. 15:30 But let's be honest, you can't have it both ways. 15:32 You can't say that God is invisible and silent 15:35 and then complain about the stuff He does and says, 15:38 I mean, yes you, you might think this book is fiction, 15:41 but then you'd have to admit that this supposed fiction 15:43 doesn't exactly describe a silent God. 15:47 A little later on in the book of Hebrews, 15:49 we find this famous description of what the word of God 15:52 can do to our pride and I think this might be 15:55 a little of what's going on. 15:57 Here's what it says, "For the word of God is living 16:00 and active, sharper than any two edged sword, 16:03 piercing to the division of soul and spirit of joints 16:06 and marrow and discerning the thoughts and intentions 16:09 of the heart." 16:12 The the truth is the Bible is not a hallmark greeting card, 16:15 it's not a comfortable book. 16:17 It drags the truth about our broken human condition 16:20 out into the sunlight, it cuts through the careful facade 16:23 that most of us build and reveals us 16:25 for what we actually are. 16:27 And so when some people read this book, 16:29 it really hurts their pride and it makes them 16:32 want to push it away, it makes them wanna pretend 16:34 that God has not spoken when it's quite obvious that He has. 16:39 To say that God is silent, is simply untrue. 16:42 What's really going on is that you wanna reject what God has 16:46 already said, but then accuse Him of being silent 16:49 because he doesn't change about the stuff he has said. 16:52 [upbeat ambient music] 16:54 And then of course, we sometimes get mad 16:55 and accuse God of being some kind of tyrant who hates us 16:57 like a 13 year old telling his parents he hates them, 17:00 when he doesn't get his way. 17:02 But if God really hates us, why would He bother 17:05 with all these hundreds of pages, pages that beg us 17:08 to come back to Him? 17:10 I think the truth of the matter is we don't like the fact 17:12 that we have to admit that we're broken 17:14 in order to reconnect with God in a meaningful way, 17:17 and our pride is standing in the way. 17:20 It's a little like a cancer patient who refuses to accept 17:24 his diagnosis and there's nothing the doctor can do, 17:27 until he admits that he needs the kind of help 17:29 that the doctor can give, it's not pleasant. 17:32 Some of the treatments can be brutal, 17:34 but if he's going to live, one of the first things 17:37 he needs to do is admit there's a problem. 17:40 Yet instead, a lot of us just want to tell God He's wrong. 17:43 There is no illness, there is no moral tumor devouring 17:46 the human race, stripping away the vibrant life 17:49 God originally wanted us to have. 17:51 And then when God proves to be right, 17:53 we shake our fist at heaven and demand to know, 17:56 "Why didn't you tell us sooner?" 17:58 [upbeat ambient music] I'll be right back after this. 18:05 [upbeat ambient music] 18:07 - [Narrator] Are you searching for answers to life's 18:09 toughest questions like, where is God when we suffer? 18:11 Can I find real happiness? 18:13 Or is there any hope for our chaotic world? 18:16 The Discover Bible Guides will help you find the answers 18:19 you are looking for. 18:20 Visit us at BibleStudies.com or give us a call at 18:24 [888] 456-7933 18:28 for your free Discover Bible Guides, 18:30 study online on our secure website or have the free guides 18:34 mailed right to your home, there is never a cost 18:37 or obligation, the Discover Bible Guides 18:40 are our free gift to you. 18:41 Find answers and guides like, does my life really matter 18:45 to God? 18:46 And a second chance at life, you'll find answers 18:48 to the things that matter most to you in each 18:50 of the 26 Discover Bible guides, visit BibleStudies.com 18:54 and begin your journey today to discover answers 18:58 to life's deepest questions. 19:04 - Right before the break, we were talking about this TikTok 19:06 video I saw where a woman claimed that God 19:09 has hidden Himself and that He's silent 19:12 and we discovered the Bible says that's not true. 19:14 I think the problem that a lot of us have is we want God 19:18 to communicate with us on our terms the way we want, 19:21 we want Him to say what we want 'em to say. 19:24 But if there really is an omniscient God, a supreme being, 19:28 then why would we expect Him to do things our way? 19:31 I mean, what if there are circumstances 19:33 and situations where you and I are simply too myopic 19:36 to see that God knows better than we do? 19:39 [upbeat ambient music] 19:40 Let's consider the case of a crying baby. 19:42 Those of you who are parents will know that sometimes 19:44 when you put your baby to bed, they will cry 19:46 because they're hungry or because their diaper is dirty. 19:50 But then it doesn't usually take too long for most children 19:53 to realize that every time they cry, 19:55 somebody comes to get them, they get help, 19:57 they get some soothing baby talk 19:59 and an awful lot of attention. 20:01 So then comes the day when they're crying 20:03 just for attention, not because they have any 20:06 real physical need and nobody comes, why? 20:09 Because mom and dad have figured out that if they keep 20:11 jumping to the demands of the baby, he or she 20:14 is never going to learn to be self-sufficient 20:17 and sleep through the night, so they quit answering 20:19 the demand for the baby's own good. 20:23 So what's really happening is that mom and dad are preparing 20:26 their baby for the real world, for the reality 20:28 that generally speaking, the world does not jump 20:31 to answer your demands. 20:33 You've got to wonder if God doesn't do the same thing 20:35 with us, sometimes we demand that God needs to answer 20:39 our call and communicate with us the way we think is best 20:42 right now on our terms. 20:46 But what if that same God is just standing outside 20:48 the nursery door listening, helping us learn what's best 20:51 for us in the long run? 20:53 I mean, what if he's more interested in growing us 20:56 than coddling us? 20:57 Just think about some of the kids you've met who were always 21:00 the center of attention in their homes, 21:02 the kids whose parents jumped whenever they made 21:04 a demand and who seldom, if ever heard the word no. 21:10 They might've been cute when they were two, 21:12 but at eight or nine or 15, they become spoiled brats, 21:16 people who will struggle for the rest of their lives 21:18 to find meaningful relationships. 21:21 The God of the Bible is the ultimate parent. 21:25 I mean, He calls Himself Father, and He's far more 21:27 interested in watching you grow into something good 21:30 than He is at giving you whatever it is you think you need. 21:33 That's why it's often said that love is not a feeling, 21:37 it's actually a decision. 21:38 Listen to what it says over in the epistle of James because, 21:42 well, I think this makes a lot of good sense. 21:46 "Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 21:49 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, 21:52 coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is 21:55 no variation or shadow due to change of His own will 21:59 He brought us forth by the word of truth, 22:02 that we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures." 22:05 What it's telling us is that when it comes to you, 22:08 God has a definite idea of what you should be, 22:11 and that might not be the destination you have in mind. 22:15 All along the path of life, God is gonna be 22:17 perfectly consistent about the things that He does 22:19 with you and for you. 22:22 You know when I was seven, I wanted to be an astronaut 22:24 and I'm pretty sure all the kids in my class wanted 22:26 to be astronauts because, well, we were living out 22:29 our elementary school years in the wake of the 22:31 Apollo moon landings. 22:33 And when I was seven, there was no way I could picture this 22:36 a career in radio and television or a career in ministry. 22:39 Nobody's more surprised than me, why? 22:43 Because at seven I had a limited knowledge of the world 22:46 and a limited knowledge of what it took to be an astronaut. 22:50 I had no idea there could be something more meaningful, 22:53 more satisfying that I could do with my life. 22:57 Now, I wanna be careful that I'm not suggesting 22:59 that whatever mess you find yourself in at the present 23:02 was God's idea. 23:04 He may have chosen your current path, but then again, 23:07 that might all be you because well, God doesn't force people 23:10 to listen. 23:11 What I'm saying is that God knows the end from the beginning 23:15 and He knows his plans for your character 23:17 if you're willing to follow his lead. 23:20 The reason He might not give you what you're demanding 23:22 at the moment is that he loves you too much 23:25 to give you what you're asking for. 23:28 I mean, of course, a five-year-old boy can't understand 23:31 why he shouldn't own a shotgun and keep it 23:33 in his bedroom closet. 23:34 In fact, it makes perfect sense to him, 23:37 it seems like a lot of fun and how dare you suggest 23:40 that he's not yet a man? 23:41 He just doesn't know what he doesn't know 23:44 and the same thing holds true for you and me. 23:47 [upbeat ambient music] 23:48 We don't know what we don't know, 23:50 I'll be right back after this. 23:56 [upbeat ambient music] 23:59 - [Narrator] There is a place so still, 24:05 you can almost hear your imagination. 24:16 So free. 24:20 Your spirits can soar. 24:25 So vast, it needs to be explored. 24:39 So high, you can touch the clouds. 24:47 A place called Discovery Mountain. 25:05 - After the accusation that God is silent, 25:07 the skeptic I found online wanted to know why God 25:10 wants us to exercise faith instead of 25:13 providing hard evidence for his existence. 25:16 And I should probably tackle that on another show, 25:18 because I think there's plenty of evidence 25:21 for God's existence out there, not the least of which 25:24 is the eyewitness testimony of multiple people 25:26 spanning 1500 years, but to suggest there's no evidence. 25:33 That's a bit of a stretch, because that's just not true. 25:35 What a lot of people say they want 25:37 is the kind of irrefutable proof that comes from the lab, 25:41 they want a God who can be measured. 25:43 But then you've got to ask yourself, 25:44 why don't we demand that kind of proof 25:47 for all our other relationships? 25:49 [upbeat ambient music] 25:50 I mean, how much would you enjoy life if the people you love 25:53 demanded hard proof that you love them? 25:56 What if they demanded a specific quantity, 25:58 a certain number of love ounces or a certain number 26:01 of cubic feet of dedication? 26:04 Most of us would find that ridiculous, 26:05 because that's not how you measure love. 26:09 So what if an infinite God who is self existent 26:11 and does not depend on the space time He created 26:14 in order to sustain His own existence? 26:17 What if there's no such thing as scientific proof? 26:21 I mean, what if science is just the wrong category? 26:25 I know that some of you will find that answer evasive 26:27 as if I'm dodging the question with a divine mystery, 26:31 but what if it's true and to suggest that God has provided 26:34 nothing in the way of evidence? 26:36 Well, that's not exactly true either, 26:38 "For what can be known about God as plain to them." 26:42 Paul wrote, "Because God has shown it to them 26:44 for His invisible attributes, namely his eternal power 26:48 and divine nature have been clearly perceived, 26:51 ever since the creation of the world, 26:52 in the things that have been made." 26:56 It might just be that some people know there's evidence, 26:58 but if they admit it, it has implications for how 27:01 they're going to live. 27:02 To say there's no evidence that's not entirely honest 27:05 and even the more honest skeptics are going to say, 27:08 "It certainly looks like the appearance of life 27:11 in this universe was planned." so why does God 27:16 ask for faith? 27:17 It's really not that hard to figure out. 27:19 I've been married for three decades, 27:21 and I've got to tell you, it means a lot more to me 27:23 that my wife trusts me and believes in me 27:26 than it does to know that she thinks I exist 27:28 based on the fact that my cowboy boots are standing 27:31 by the front door, why? 27:33 Because that is a relationship and a relationship 27:38 is what a personal God is looking for. 27:41 Thanks for joining me again this week. 27:43 I'm Shawn Boonstra, and you've been watching Authentic. 27:47 [upbeat ambient music] |
Revised 2023-10-12