Participants: David Asscherick
Series Code: EHE
Program Code: EHE000001
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00:18 Welcome to Battle Creek, where we are ready to
00:21 bring to you the first installment of the 00:24 "Eleventh hour Evidence." My name is Pastor Jason 00:27 Seiber. I'll be your host, I'm not your 00:30 speaker. Your speaker tonight will be 00:31 David Asscherick. We are so excited about 00:33 having him here with us tonight, ready to bring 00:36 us the Gospel. Have you ever had a 00:38 friend and you wondered exactly what you could 00:40 say to that person to convince them that 00:42 Jesus Christ is alive and well and reigning in 00:46 heaven. Tonight, if you'll listen carefully 00:49 David is going to have answers for you. 00:51 So make sure that you pull up your chair, 00:54 get out your pencil, find a notepad and put 00:58 it in front of you. Put on your thinking 00:59 cap and get ready, because this is going to 01:03 be exciting. You have my word on 01:04 that. But before we go to David, I would like 01:06 to just take a moment to introduce to you our 01:08 musical guest tonight, Buddy Houghtaling 01:11 who is going to be talking about the 01:13 one we are all interested in, 01:14 "the Miracle Man." Buddy. 01:16 Is there anybody here that loves my Jesus. 01:24 Anybody here that loves my Lord. 01:30 Oh! I want to know, yes, I want to know. 01:37 Do you love, do you love my Lord. 01:44 Did you see the man in the sea, everybody is 01:51 talking of, telling everyone that he is 01:56 God's son and proving it with love. 01:59 Did you see the man in the sea. 02:03 doing things that nobody can, Everybody is 02:08 calling it something different. 02:10 I just say, he is a Miracle man. 02:20 Did you see the man in the temple with the 02:24 scribes and Pharisees there saying that the 02:28 guy that we all fear it's his dad and he 02:32 really cares. Cured a man by the 02:36 poolside, now tell me that he got 02:39 up and ran, nobody is sure where we found 02:43 his cure all you're saying it was a miracle man. 02:54 There are those not sure of what he is about 02:57 Some take him in; some cast him out but 03:01 in my heart, can there be a doubt you see 03:07 Though, he didn't change his toast to bread, 03:10 Changed my heart of stone instead with the 03:14 way he lived and died, the miracle man, 03:19 the miracle man. Is there anybody here 03:26 that loves my Jesus, Anybody here that 03:34 loves my Lord, Oh! I want to know, 03:39 yes I want to know, do you love, 03:45 do you love, do you love my Lord. 03:58 Do you love my Lord. 04:08 Thanks Buddy, that's was just beautiful. 04:09 You know it wasn't so long ago when I was a 04:12 Godless young man in Journalism School 04:14 learning how to do television, excited about 04:17 my career and completely without God, not only did 04:20 did I not believe in God, but I considered myself 04:23 his enemy. I had a praying mother however, 04:25 and a praying grandmother who lifted my name up to 04:28 Jesus Christ three times a day, and God send 04:30 someone really special in my life. A man named 04:33 Dr. Clayton Ford, a Baptist Minister. 04:36 He had a really simple message, just this, 04:38 "Jesus Christ is alive." He convinced me to 04:44 believe that Jesus Christ is alive and with that my 04:48 entire life changed. The Bible says in Romans 04:51 chapter 1, verse 16;" For I am not ashamed 04:54 of the gospel, for it is the power of God for 04:57 salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first 05:01 and also to the Greek." And tonight I can tell 05:03 you the power of the gospel has transformed my 05:06 life. It can transform your life. 05:09 And tonight the evidence you're going to hear can 05:12 transform the lives of the people you know need 05:14 Jesus and if you don't know Jesus and if you 05:17 listen carefully it will transform your life too. 05:20 I would like to introduce to you tonight, 05:22 our guest host David Asscherick. 05:25 Glad you're here this evening David. 05:26 Alright, Good evening. Good evening everyone. 05:29 Good evening. Are you glad to be 05:31 here this evening? Yes. 05:32 Wasn't that a beautiful song? I had never heard 05:36 that song before. Thank you Buddy. 05:37 That was beautiful. Well, it's cold outside, 05:40 but is it warm inside? Yes. 05:42 Amen. A great privilege be here. 05:44 You know I just flew in yesterday from 05:46 California, and so it would be easier to go 05:49 through the now ubiquitous metal 05:51 detectors. I thought it would be wise for me 05:53 to wear my flip flops. So I put my flip flops 05:57 on in California, and as I arrived in 05:59 Michigan in 24 degree weather I realized that, 06:02 that was not such a good plan. 06:03 And my wife is still in California. Her sister 06:07 is giving birth right at this very moment, 06:09 and she wants to be there with her. 06:12 So I flew back here. And it is a privilege to 06:14 here in cold but beautiful Michigan, 06:17 Amen. Amen. 06:19 Well, I want to tell you a little bit about the 06:21 series. This is a brand new series that we have 06:25 put together. And the title of the 06:27 series is "Eleventh hour Evidence," 06:29 Eleventh hour Evidence. Now you will notice that 06:34 in that title, there is the juxtaposition of 06:36 two themes, two major themes. 06:38 The first is, Eleventh hour and the second 06:42 is evidence. Eleventh hour Evidence. 06:45 Now before we get into the message proper this 06:48 evening. I would like to sort of walk you through 06:49 the significance of that title, Eleventh hour 06:52 Evidence. Let's begin with the term 06:54 "Eleventh Hour" if you have your Bibles, 06:56 just go with me quickly to, pardon me, Romans 06:58 chapter 13. Now we will begin the 07:02 message proper in a few moments, but just a few 07:04 preliminary remarks. Romans chapter 13, 07:07 Romans what chapter are we going to everyone? 07:08 Thirteen. Romans chapter 13, 07:11 and here in verse 11, the Apostle Paul makes a 07:14 remarkable statement. Romans chapter 13, and 07:17 I'm beginning in verse 11, the Apostle Paul says 07:20 this, and do this knowing the what? Time. 07:24 Knowing the time, that now it is high time 07:25 that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, 07:29 for now our salvation is nearer than when we 07:33 first believed. That is a power packed 07:36 verse of scripture, friends. 07:38 He says two things in there. The first thing he 07:41 says is we should know the time. 07:43 Now if I ask you what time it was, you might 07:45 look at your watch and say Pastor Asscherick, 07:46 it's 7:06, that is not what the Apostle Paul 07:49 is talking about. The Apostle Paul is 07:52 talking about in the big scheme of things, 07:53 in the grand scheme of the universal conflict. 07:56 The great cosmic controversy between good 07:59 and evil, and light and darkness. 08:00 He is saying, you should know the time and then 08:03 he says that second theme, he says, 08:05 it is high time. It is what everyone? 08:08 High time. High time to do what? 08:10 To awake out. To awake out of sleep. 08:12 What is the Apostle Paul saying here, among 08:15 other things what he saying is, is that we're 08:18 living closer to the second coming of Jesus 08:20 then when we first believed. 08:22 Now friends that is good news. At the end of this 08:27 message tonight we will be 50 minutes closer to 08:30 the second coming of Jesus. Now when I make 08:33 the statement that we are living in the eleventh 08:35 hour then I believe we're living in the very 08:38 closing moments, the very closing seconds 08:40 of earth's history. That is not just a 08:43 fantastical religious wild-eyed statement. 08:46 I believe that is a calm, reasoned, intelligent 08:50 statement, and this introduces the second 08:52 element. Eleventh hour, we're living in the last 08:54 days, but what's that next world "Evidence," 08:57 and so you have the juxtaposition of these 08:59 two themes. For somebody to stand 09:01 on a busy street corner with a placard that says 09:03 the end is near. This may or may not be 09:06 particularly convincing evidence that we are 09:08 living in the last moments. The goal of the 09:10 next fourteen messages will be to demonstrate to 09:14 you, not only are we actually living in those 09:17 days immediately perceiving the second 09:19 coming of Jesus, that is to say the very last days 09:22 earth's history. But we will do our very best by 09:26 the grace of God to give you evidence to that of 09:29 fact. To give you what everyone? 09:31 Evidence. Evidence. So that's sort 09:32 of the title you have a feel for it now. This 09:35 seminar is going to be very different then other 09:37 seminars that we've had on 3ABN. 09:38 This will be designed to demonstrate that there is 09:42 actual, empirical, knowable, testable proof. 09:46 What word did I say? Proof. 09:48 Proof. Sometimes we think of the whole realm 09:51 of religion as being in the realm of the atrium, 09:54 that which really can't be known and if you 09:56 feel that it's true and if you don't feel it, 10:00 it's not true. We are going to take a very 10:01 different kind of stand in this seminar. 10:02 We are going to try and demonstrate with proof. 10:05 With what word again? Proof. 10:08 Proof and evidence that we are in fact living in 10:10 the very last days and so that sort of introduces 10:13 you to the title "Eleventh hour Evidence." 10:16 Now let's look at one more passage of 10:19 scripture, then I want to go to the screen briefly. 10:20 The second passage I want to show you is in 10:23 First Peter chapter 3. First Peter, and what 10:26 chapter are we going to? Three. 10:28 First Peter chapter 3, the Apostle Peter said 10:32 something remarkable here and I would like you 10:34 to see that, First Peter chapter 3, and notice 10:38 with me verse 15. First Peter chapter 3 and 10:41 actually to set the context, we'll look at 10:42 verse 14. First Peter chapter 3 and verse 14, 10:44 he says, "But even if you should suffer for 10:47 righteousness' sake, you are blessed and do not 10:50 be afraid of their threats, nor be 10:52 troubled." Now hone in on verse 10:53 15, set your cross ears on verse 15. 10:56 The Apostle Peter says, but sanctify the Lord God 10:59 in your heart. The word sanctify means set aside 11:02 for a holy purpose. Sanctify the Lord God in 11:05 your hearts and always be ready to give a, I am 11:09 reading from the New King James, it says a 11:10 defense. If you're reading in the Old King James, it 11:13 says but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts 11:15 and be ready always to give an? 11:17 Answer. Answer, and notice what 11:19 it goes on to say here, to give an answer or a 11:21 defense to everyone that asks you a reason for the 11:25 hope that is in you with meekness and fear. 11:26 Now let's think about that for just a moment. 11:30 Peter here is encouraging. He is 11:32 admonishing Christians to be able to give an answer 11:34 to how many? To how many? 11:37 To all of us. To every man that ask of 11:40 you a reason of the hope that is in you, but what 11:42 were those last two words there with? 11:44 Meekness and fear. In another words when 11:46 we give an answer, it should not be a proud 11:48 answer or a boastful answer. It should be a 11:51 meek answer, friends. So what kind of answer? 11:53 A meek answer. A meek answer. Now 11:55 notice this, he actually is urging us here to be 11:57 able to give an answer. Now an adequate answer 12:00 is implied. In other words, simply saying, 12:03 well, that's what I believe is not an 12:06 adequate answer. If somebody were to say 12:08 to you, well, why do you believe the Jesus is 12:09 coming soon. Do you actually believe we're 12:11 living in last hours of earth's history and you 12:12 said, well, that's what my Pastor says, so that's 12:15 what I believe. Is that an adequate 12:16 answer? I read a book that said 12:19 that that's what was going to take place. 12:20 Is that an adequate answer? What Peter is 12:23 encouraging us here is to be able to give an 12:25 adequate, compelling, convincing, persuasive 12:28 answer for the reasons that you believe, what it 12:31 is that you believe, Amen. Amen. 12:34 And my Pastor said or a book said or somebody 12:36 said or my parents believe is not an 12:39 adequate, compelling, convincing answer. 12:41 Now interestingly here the word that is 12:44 translated to give an answer or to give a 12:47 defense, that's how we rendered it in English. 12:48 The word that is there rendered thusly, in the 12:51 Greek language is the word "apologia," 12:53 "apologia." Now if you soften 12:56 the "G" sound there what does that sound like? 12:58 Apology. Sounds like apology. 13:00 But the world here is not apologize in the sense 13:03 that "You and I" in our modern vernacular think 13:05 of apologize. The Greek word "apologia" means to 13:08 able to give an answer, to give a reason or to 13:11 give a defense and the very purpose of the next 13:14 fourteen nights of our being together. 13:15 We'll be able to give a compelling, rational, 13:18 reasonable and yet thoroughly biblical 13:22 answer as to why we believe what we believe. 13:24 Now can you say, Amen, to that. 13:26 Amen. Now I would like to 13:29 invite you to go to the screen with me and 13:30 consider something. Our messages entitled, 13:32 Pascal's Wager: You Bet Your Life! Pascal's 13:36 Wager: You Bet Your Life. Now we'll be there 13:38 in just a moment, but notice this. In the title, 13:42 we have this phrase, "Eleventh Hour 13:44 Evidence" and for many people the putting 13:46 together of these two concepts, these two ideas, 13:49 eleventh hour and evidence or faith and 13:52 evidence is not really consistent. Some people 13:55 have this idea that faith is over here in the realm 13:58 what is sort of ethereal and ambiguous and this 14:02 kind of a thing and evidence is in the realm 14:05 of empiricism, it's what we know, it's what 14:08 science teaches us. And somehow that faith 14:10 and evidence are not complimentary, but 14:14 contradictory. Now notice this 14:16 incredible quotation here on the screen. 14:18 It's actually the classical biblical 14:20 formulation of faith. It's says, now faith is 14:23 the substance of things hoped for, the, what's 14:27 next word there? The evidence of things 14:29 what everyone? Substance. 14:31 Now notice this in the classical formulation of 14:33 what faith is. Hebrews 11 in verse 1, 14:36 faith and evidence are not said as contradictory 14:39 or as standing in contradistinction, they 14:42 they are given to us as complimentary. 14:43 Faith is the substance of things hoped for, it is 14:47 the what? The evidence of things 14:50 not seen. Now notice this, the next slide I 14:54 would like to show you, is actually from an 14:56 incredible book, an incredible book, one of 14:57 the most translated books in all of the world 15:01 really. It's a book titled Steps to Christ. 15:03 This is taken from page 105. Notice the sublimity 15:05 of this thought. It says, God never asks us to 15:10 believe without giving sufficient, what's the 15:12 next word? Evidence. 15:13 Evidence upon which to base our faith. 15:15 He never asks us to believe without giving a 15:19 sufficient. Evidence. 15:20 Evidence. Now notice the next line here, it 15:23 continues. His existence, that's what we'll talk 15:27 about tonight and in the coming nights. 15:28 His character, also. The truthfulness of his 15:32 word are all established by testimony that appeals 15:34 to our reason, and this testimony is abundant. 15:38 Our faith must rest upon, what everyone? 15:41 Evidence. Evidence. And notice 15:43 again, those who wish to doubt, will have 15:46 opportunity; while those who really desire to know 15:49 the truth, will find plenty of evidence on which to 15:53 rest their faith. Now if you were counting 15:55 you would have noticed that that word evidence 15:56 occurred three times there in a few sentences. 15:59 In another words the author that is writing 16:02 here, just like the author of Hebrews is 16:03 trying to tell us that faith and evidence are 16:07 not antithetical concepts. Faith and 16:09 evidence are not inimical to one another. 16:11 They are complementary. In fact, I would go so far 16:14 as to say that all faith is based on evidence. 16:18 Faith is not a leap into the unknown, but a step 16:21 into the light, not a leap in the darkness, 16:25 but a step into the light. And so friends 16:28 tonight we are going to hear what I consider to 16:30 be one of the single most compelling evidences that 16:34 God exist, yet beyond this. One of the single 16:37 most compelling evidences that I know 16:39 that you should follow God, that you should love 16:43 him with all of your heart. And you should 16:44 make him the chief priority of your life, 16:47 your goals, your aspirations and your 16:50 aims. Our message tonight is entitled 16:52 Pascal's Wager. Following these 16:54 introductory remarks we are now ready to launch 16:56 into this message and I think that you will be 16:59 challenged. You will have your intellect peaked and 17:05 you will be forced to think. You will be 17:08 forced to what did I say everyone? 17:09 Think. We hear far too many 17:10 sermons in this day and age, and far too many 17:13 messages whether through the media or some 17:15 other medium that do not require us to think. 17:18 You will be required to think this evening. 17:20 One of my favorite quotations is from Will 17:22 Durant. Will Durant, the great historian of 17:25 modernity said these words. He said, if you 17:28 make people think they're thinking, they will love 17:30 you. But if you make them think, they will 17:33 hate you. Friends our goal this 17:35 evening is not just to think we're thinking. 17:38 But to actually be thinking candidly and 17:41 transparently about the greatest most sublimest 17:44 incredible thoughts in all the universe, namely 17:47 existence of God, his character, his nature. 17:50 And this will be the purpose of this entire 17:52 series. Does that sound good to you? 17:54 Yes. Well, I suppose that's why you're here. 17:56 We are so glad that you're all here with us 17:58 today and also our television audience who 18:00 is looking in. Let us begin as we 18:02 will always begin with a word of prayer. 18:11 Father in heaven, we're humbled to call you 18:15 Father, and yet this is how Jesus taught us to 18:19 pray, our Father which art in heaven. 18:21 And so Father we are coming to you this 18:23 evening asking that you will please come down 18:25 and be our teacher. Father, we need more 18:28 than the teachings of a man. We need the 18:30 teachings of your spirit. You've promised to give 18:33 this. We think of John chapter 16, in verse 13; 18:37 that says the spirit of truth will come and lead 18:39 us, guide us into not some truth, not most 18:42 truth, but all truth. And Father as we begin 18:46 now this inaugural session. We pray that 18:49 your spirit will come and meet with us, spend time 18:52 with us. And Father teach us. Lord, you've been 18:57 with us hither too. We've been blessed by 19:00 We've been blessed by the beautiful song, by 19:02 the introduction. And now as we launch 19:04 into a study of your word, we pray that you 19:07 will be right near us, for we ask it in Jesus 19:10 name. Everyone can say. Amen. 19:13 Amen. Our message is entitled, 19:16 Pascal's Wager. With a showing of hands I am 19:19 wondering how many people here this evening 19:20 know the name Blaise Pascal. That name means 19:23 something to you. Go ahead and raise your 19:24 hand. Okay, good. Just of few. 19:26 Well let me try to introduced to you a man 19:29 by the name of Blaise Pascal. Blaise Pascal was 19:31 a French mathematician and scientist. 19:33 He was born in 1623 and died at the age of 39 in 19:38 1662. At the age of 31 he experienced a conversion 19:42 to Christianity, and he began to write out his 19:46 thoughts, his ideas and his apologetic, his 19:50 defense of the Christian faith. Mr. Pascal had 19:53 planned to write an exhaustive defense of the 19:56 Christian faith in which he would give all of the 19:58 evidences that he had come to believe for the 20:00 Christian faith yet he died prematurely. 20:02 And all of his thoughts now have been put 20:05 together in a compendium that is simply titled the 20:07 Pensees, and that word means to think or to 20:10 deliberate. Blaise Pascal was as we have said a 20:13 scientist, a mathematician, in 20:15 addition to that he was very respected in his day 20:18 and age. As a scientist, as a mathematician and 20:22 as a philosopher and theologian. Now in the 20:26 middle of that little volume Pensees, one of 20:28 Blaise Pascal's most famous writings, arguably 20:31 his most famous writing has come to be handed 20:34 down to us, and is simply known as the Wager, as 20:38 the Wager. And in common parlance we 20:40 refer to it as Pascal's Wager. Now before I 20:44 actually read you a summery of the Wager, 20:45 let me try to set the stage for you here just 20:47 briefly. Remember that Blaise Pascal was a 20:50 mathematician. He was a what everyone? 20:52 Mathematician. And this raises a 20:54 legitimate question. How would it be that a 20:56 very intelligent, erudite man would come to be 20:59 a Christian. You will be surprised to learn 21:01 tonight perhaps that it was actually mathematics 21:04 that led him to a saving relationship with the 21:06 Lord Jesus Christ. You know we are living 21:09 in a day and age in which science is being set over 21:11 here and religion over here. And we are being 21:14 told that in order to be an intelligent person you 21:17 must put your faith on the shelf and believe 21:19 what science has handed down. We will be taking 21:21 about that in great detail during the series. 21:23 I want you to know that history bears out and 21:27 there even many contemporary individuals 21:28 that would bear out that you can still be a very 21:30 intelligent individual and have a rock solid 21:34 faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You don't have to 21:37 put your intelligence on yourself. You don't have 21:39 to put your thinking machine on the shelf in 21:42 order to be a Christian. Can you say, Amen. 21:43 Amen. In fact Jesus didn't come 21:45 to disable men's minds. Jesus came to enable and 21:49 to set free the mind's of men and women. 21:50 Can you say, Amen. Amen. 21:51 So this idea that somehow Christianity is inimical or 21:54 antithetical to thinking is absolutely without 21:58 ground. So then what about Blaise Pascal? 22:00 What was his wager, that little writing of 22:03 two or three pages originally written in the 22:04 French and now translated into the 22:06 English. I wish I had time to read it to you 22:08 this evening. But let me just give you 22:09 a synopsis of Pascal's Wager and then we will 22:12 begin to unpack the significance of this 22:15 Wager. Here it is, this is what Blaise 22:17 Pascal said, "God either exists or he doesn't." 22:23 Based on the testimony of both general revelation, 22:28 that is nature the creative works and 22:31 special revelation that is the scriptures. 22:33 Blaise Pascal said, it is safe to assume that God 22:38 does in fact exist. It is, he surmise, 22:42 abundantly fair to conceive that there is at 22:45 least a 50% chance that the Christian Creator God 22:49 exists. He said, therefore, since we 22:51 stand to gain eternity, and thus infinity, 22:56 the wise or safe choice is to live as though he 23:01 does exist. If we are right, we gain 23:05 everything, and lose how much, nothing. 23:08 If we are wrong, we lose nothing and we gain 23:12 nothing. Therefore, based on simple mathematics, 23:15 Pascal reasoned that only the fool would 23:19 choose to live the Godless life. This is a 23:22 simplified version of the Wager. Now do you 23:25 understand the larger premise, yes or no? 23:27 God either exists or he doesn't. And if there is, 23:30 let's say Pascal was abundantly fair to the 23:33 skeptic and to the infidel. He said let's 23:34 just say there is only a 50% chance that the 23:36 Christian Creator God exists, since we stand to 23:39 gain everything if that's true and lose nothing. 23:41 And if it's not true we lose nothing and still 23:43 gain nothing. He said only the fool 23:45 would choose to live the Godless life. 23:47 Now I just finished reading a remarkable 23:50 book entitled Fermat's Enigma written by Simon 23:53 Singh. And in this book he talks a little bit 23:55 about Blaise Pascal. I want to just read 23:57 this to you because I think you'll find it 23:59 very fascinating. It says, Pascal founded 24:02 the essential rules that govern all games of 24:04 chance and that can be used by gamblers to 24:07 define perfect playing and betting strategies. 24:10 Furthermore these laws of probability have found 24:13 applications in a whole series of situations 24:16 ranging from speculating on the stock market, to 24:19 estimating the probabilityof a nuclear 24:20 accident. Pascal was even convinced that he could 24:24 use his theories to justify an intelligent 24:28 belief in God. He stated, quoting Pascal 24:33 now, "the excitement that a gambler feels when 24:36 making a bet is equal to the amount he might win 24:39 multiplied by the probability of wining 24:42 it." He then argued that the possible prize of 24:45 eternal happiness has an infinite value and 24:48 that the probability of entering heaven by 24:50 leading a virtuous life, no matter how small is 24:53 certainly finite. Therefore, according to 24:55 Pascal's definition, religion was a game of 24:58 infinite excitement and one worth playing 25:00 because multiplying an infinite prize by a 25:03 finite probability results in infinity. 25:06 Now do you follow that, yes or no? It's basically 25:09 a distillation of his Wager saying, it's better to be 25:13 safe and err on the side of intelligence then 25:16 then sorry and err on the side of ignorance. 25:18 Now has anybody in this room, all of you pious 25:22 saints, I'm looking at very pious. Has anybody 25:25 in this room ever gambled, ever bet on 25:29 something, raise your hands if you've ever bet 25:30 on something, you know, I asked that question one 25:32 time in South Africa. I am going to myself 25:33 in trouble with all the South Africans. 25:34 I was speaking to a congregation of probably 25:36 five or six thousand and I asked the question, 25:40 has anybody in this congregation ever bet, 25:42 and can you believe the hands were just 25:43 like this? Nobody willing to admit 25:47 that they had ever wagered a wager or bet a 25:49 bet. The truth of the matter is, as we have 25:51 sometimes rather innocuous kinds of bets 25:53 or I'll say maybe when I was young I would have 25:55 said to my brother, I will bet you a nickel 25:57 I could jump over that puddle. You know that's 26:00 the harmless bet and then there are more advanced 26:02 kinds of bets. Now the point tonight 26:05 is not to talk about the merits and demerits of 26:07 gambling because I think there really are not 26:08 merits. But listen very carefully there is one 26:11 gamble that everybody in this room, in fact 26:13 everybody in the world is going to make and that is 26:16 the gamble of your life. That is why this message 26:19 entitled Pascal's Wager. You bet your life. 26:23 Now when you make a gamble or a wager you 26:26 consider three factors. How many factors 26:30 everyone? Three. 26:31 Three factors and let's go over these very 26:33 carefully, so we understand each of 26:34 them. We want to set the parameters for this. 26:36 And then we are going to go directly to an 26:39 incredible story right in the gospel of Mark that 26:42 will unpacked this for us in an incredibly profound 26:44 way. When you go to bet or when you go to think 26:48 about a wager or when people who do wager in 26:50 those kinds of things. When they think about 26:52 this there are three factors that affect 26:54 whether or not that is an intelligent wager or a 26:57 wager that is probably not best to enter into. 26:59 The first is the size of the prize. 27:02 The size of the what everyone? 27:04 Prize. Size of the prize. 27:06 The second is the size of the risk. 27:08 The size of the what? Risk. 27:11 Risk. And the third is the chances or the 27:13 probability of actually winning. So you have 27:16 the size of the prize. The size of the risk 27:18 and the chances of winning. The size of the 27:20 prize, the size of the risk and the chances 27:22 of winning. Now let's just take 27:24 a modern common contemporary gambling 27:27 situation, the lottery, and let's plug the 27:31 lottery into our little three tiered equation and 27:33 let's see if we can think why some people, 27:36 let's see if we can try to get our fingers 27:37 wrapped around. Why it might be that 27:39 some people would spend their money on a lottery 27:41 ticket. Let's begin with the first one. 27:43 The size of the prize to gained. Is that a 27:47 large prize or a small prize. 27:49 Large. Usually very large. 27:51 Several millions dollars in some cases, and 27:53 probably for most of us in this room that 27:55 would be very nice to have. So the size of the 27:59 prize is very large. Now the second is, 28:02 what's the size of the risk. Now I don't 28:03 know because I don't lottery tickets, but I'll 28:05 bet you there are just a couple dollars or two. 28:08 So what's the size of the risk involved if 28:11 a lottery ticket cost just a dollar. 28:13 Is it a large risk or a small risk? 28:14 Small. Small risk. So notice 28:16 what we have so far. We have a large prize, 28:19 several million dollars. We have a small risk, 28:21 and so everybody is thinking it's time to run 28:23 out and buy lottery tickets. But the third 28:26 element is where the rub takes place. Isn't it? 28:29 What are the chances of actually wining the 28:32 promised prize. In the lottery are they 28:34 what? Small or are they large? Small. 28:37 Very small. They say that the chances of 28:39 of getting struck by lighting twice is greater 28:42 than the chances of winning the New York 28:43 lottery. Now why would somebody purchase a 28:47 lottery ticket knowing that the chances of 28:49 winning are so infinitesimally small. 28:51 Chiefly because of this. The size of the prize is 28:55 so large that it motivates. The size of 28:57 the risk is so small even though they know their 29:00 chances are very small that they will win, 29:01 we can at least understand somewhat the 29:04 begins of the rationale as to why somebody 29:07 would enter into that kind of wager. 29:08 Now I don't recommend that. I don't think 29:10 that's a principle of being a good steward 29:12 and I certainly don't. But we can at least 29:14 enter into the mindset of somebody who would 29:16 buy a lottery ticket. The size of the prize 29:19 is large. The size of the risk is miniscule, 29:21 chances of winning are sure they're 29:23 infinitesimally small, because the risk is so 29:26 small what do they really lose. 29:27 Now the same principle applies to those slot 29:30 machine in Las Vegas, you know, you put a 29:32 quarter in or a nickel in, I actually read 29:35 an article one time on the plane in which 29:36 there is a slot machine at a particular casino 29:39 in Las Vegas. I don't know where you walk 29:41 up to the teller and you hand them one thousand 29:43 dollars in cash and they give you a little token, 29:47 a little coin and you walk over to this slot 29:50 machine, very tall, may be 10 or 15 feet tall, 29:52 and you put that into that slot machine and 29:55 then you pull it down. Now you just put a 29:57 $1000 coin into that machine friends. 30:00 Now think about this, you think the size of 30:02 the prize is large. It better be, but what's 30:07 the size of the risk involved. Way too 30:10 much for you and I, Amen. 30:11 Amen. Hey, listen, if a dollar is 30:13 too much, a $1000 is out of the question. 30:15 But we can begin to understand why it 30:18 might be that somebody would put a nickel into a 30:21 slot machine or a quarter into a slot machine. 30:22 And again we don't recommend this. 30:24 But the concept is at least easy to 30:26 understand. The size of the prize is very large 30:29 compared to the amount of risk that is involved. 30:31 Chances of winning are low sure, but the risk is 30:35 so small. Now I have given this message, 30:38 a few times, at Christian academies and even 30:41 it at Christian universities, and I love 30:44 to put it this way. Let's change things 30:46 around a little bit. And let's see if we can 30:48 make a wager that might be attractive to some and 30:51 unattractive to others. Consider with me that 30:54 we are going to flip a coin. We are going to 30:57 flip of coin. Now what are the chances 30:58 that it'll come up heads? 50 percent. 30:59 50 percent. And let's say that the parameters of 31:02 this wager are simply this. We are going to 31:04 flip coin and if you call it heads and it is 31:07 heads, you instantaneously win 31:09 say $10 million, no taxes. It's yours. 31:13 It's in the bank account, $10 million. 31:15 Large sum of money. Yes. 31:17 Significantly large. Now let's say that if you 31:20 lose, you call heads and it comes up tails. 31:22 You spend the next five years of your life 31:25 in prison, right. Now, when I ask this at 31:31 academies, it is remarkable in Christian 31:34 institutions, it is remarkable that there are 31:36 always a few people interested in taking 31:38 that wager. Now I am looking out 31:40 and I can tell that this is a very bright group 31:42 in here, and my hunch is there are a very few 31:45 if any who be willing to take that wager. 31:47 Now let's think about this for just a moment. 31:48 What's the size of the prize in this factitious 31:51 wager. Is it large? Yes. 31:53 It's quite large, isn't it But here is the rub, 31:55 what's the size of the risk involved. 31:57 It could be potentially be very large, 32:00 isn't it? I mean to spend five years of your life 32:03 in prison. It's very large. But what makes 32:06 the wager potentially attractive. 32:07 What are the chances of actually winning the 32:09 promised prize? 50 percent. In fact 32:12 I was just recently at a Christian institution, 32:14 a medical school, and I delivered this 32:16 very lecture. There were several 32:17 hundred lecture. There were several 32:19 hundred people there, and I said them, 32:20 I said, now how many of you will be willing to 32:22 accept this wager, and very few hands 32:24 went up. Maybe 20 or 30. And I thought what? 32:26 You're at medical school here. You are already 32:29 giving five years of your life to prison and I 32:30 figured every hand would go up. 32:32 Everybody was laughing, but the professors. 32:39 Friends, we can begin to take any wager, 32:41 any gamble, any bet, and if you just plug it 32:45 into this three tiered equation. The size of the 32:48 prize, the size of the risk and the chances of 32:50 actually winning, you can begin to realize whether 32:52 or not, this is an intelligent rational 32:54 wager or a wager that you shouldn't spend time or 32:56 money on. Now, go with me in your Bibles to John 33:01 chapter 3 in verse 16. John chapter 3 in verse 33:05 16, And you are saying John 3:16, what does this 33:08 text have to do with a wager? What does this 33:12 text have to do with a gamble? John chapter 3 33:15 in verse 16, probably the very best known passage 33:18 of scripture in all of the Holy Bible, 33:21 John chapter 3 in verse 16, Jesus here 33:23 is having that clandestine conversation 33:25 with the wise man Nicodemus. 33:27 In the midst of that conversation, as it sort 33:30 of draws to a climax, Jesus says in John 33:32 chapter3 in verse 16, you can repeat it with 33:34 me. He said listen Nicodemus, 33:35 "For God so loved the world that he gave his 33:40 only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in 33:44 him should not perish but have everlasting life." 33:50 Now let's just for a moment. Let's enter into 33:55 the mind of a skeptic. Let's enter into the mind 33:59 of somebody like who I was 8 years ago or who 34:02 Jason was you know, 8 to 10 years ago. 34:04 Somebody who has not yet made the decision to 34:07 follow Jesus and Jesus here makes this 34:09 remarkable claim to Nicodemus. 34:12 Jesus here says, God so loved the world, 34:14 Nicodemus, that he gave his only begotten son, 34:16 that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 34:18 size of the risk, but have everlasting life. 34:24 Now friends what does the word everlasting 34:27 mean? It means it lasts for how long? 34:30 Forever. Forever like the great 34:32 song, 'Amazing Grace' says, when we've been 34:33 there ten thousand years we've no less ways to 34:35 sing his praise then when we first begun. 34:37 So after we've spent the first billion years 34:40 heaven, we would still have only the opening 34:43 seconds of eternity behind us. 34:45 Are you with me now, yes or no. 34:46 In other words it's a very long time. 34:49 So the size of the prize, now remember here 34:54 entering into the mind of a skeptic. 34:55 We're trying to understand how would 34:58 we explain to somebody who is not yet made this 35:00 decision, why they should consider making this very 35:03 decision. Now if we accept John 3:16 on its 35:08 own terms. If we accept the words of Jesus as 35:12 valid and as legitimate, let's now plug this 35:15 Gospel wager into our three tiered equation. 35:18 Are you ready to do that? No.1, what is the size of 35:22 the prize to be potentially gained, if we 35:25 accept the Gospel wager on its own terms. 35:27 What's the size of the prize? 35:28 Huge. Huge, I like that. Yeah, 35:32 huge would be an under statement. It would be 35:34 infinitely large. Is that true, yes or no? 35:37 It would be a true mathematical infinity. 35:40 When we've been there a billion years we still 35:43 have a billion, billion, billion, billion more 35:45 years to be there, after all it's 35:47 everlasting life. So the size of the prize 35:50 infinitely large. Now what's the size of 35:52 the risk? Let's accept this. I like what I heard 35:58 somebody say, no risk. Let's skip this one for 36:00 for just a moment. Let's come back to the 36:01 size of the risk, and let's ask the 36:03 second question. What according to this 36:06 wager are the chances of actually winning. 36:09 Now, if we accept it on it's own terms, 36:13 for God so loved the world that he gave his 36:14 only begotten son that, what's that next word 36:16 everyone? Whosoever. How many would that 36:18 include? That would mean everybody, 36:20 that's another of saying everybody. 36:22 So then according to Jesus how many could 36:26 actually win the promised prize, and what would be 36:29 your chances of winning. A 100 percent. 36:32 Now we've answered two of the three questions. 36:34 The size of the prize is infinitely large. 36:37 The chances of wining is what? 100 percent. 36:39 If we accept the Gospel claim on it own terms. 36:41 Now we only need answer that second 36:43 question. What is the size of the risk involved 36:45 to submit your whole life, your whole goal, 36:48 your aspirations, everything that you are 36:51 about to the Lord Jesus Christ? Go with me to the 36:55 Gospel of Mark. Mark chapter 10, Mark, 36:58 what chapter we are going to everyone. 36:59 10. Mark chapter 10. 37:04 Mark chapter 10, here we find the story of the 37:06 young, you know it. Ruler. 37:09 The rich young ruler, the rich young ruler has 37:10 approached Jesus and said, in essence good 37:12 master, I would like to go to heaven. 37:13 What do I do? He said keep the 37:14 commandments. He said, I've done. Wonderful. 37:16 You only lack one thing. Sell all that you have 37:18 and give to the poor. The Bible says he went 37:19 away very sorrowful, because he was very rich. 37:23 Now this turned the disciples' world upside 37:25 down. Here was not only a Jew, but here he was a 37:29 wealthy Jew and in the disciples paradigm, 37:32 in thedisciples' world if you are Jew you are 37:35 surely in, and if you were a rich Jew, this was 37:37 a sure indication of the favor of God. 37:39 And so you are in twice over and yet Jesus said 37:42 something very remarkable when the rich 37:43 young ruler walks away. He says, it is difficult 37:45 a rich man to be saved. Now on context of this, 37:50 the disciples are beside themselves. 37:51 They protested, who then can be saved. 37:54 And that's sets the context now for our 37:56 story. We're in Mark chapter 10, and notice 37:59 with me here beginning in verse 26 and they were 38:04 greatly astonished saying among themselves who 38:06 then can be saved. Verse 27, Jesus looked at 38:09 them and said with men it is impossible, 38:10 but not with God. For with God how many 38:13 things are possible? All. 38:14 All things are possible. Then Peter began to say 38:17 to him, see we have left all and followed you. 38:22 Now Peter said something here that is 38:23 very interesting and let's, let's see what is 38:26 the statement behind the statement that Peter is 38:29 making. Peter says there in verse 28, see, 38:32 in other words look. We have left how much. 38:37 All. All and followed you. 38:38 Now what, what had Jesus said to the rich 38:40 young ruler? Sell how much? 38:41 All. All that you have and he 38:43 had gone away very sorrowful. Now, 38:45 Peter here does something that's very 38:47 intuitive. He has seen that the rich young ruler 38:50 was willing to give up all. Now surely the 38:52 rich young ruler had more in terms of material 38:53 possessions than Peter. Yet, Peter here ventures, 38:56 he has the guts, he has the temerity to look to 38:59 Jesus and say, but Jesus we have left all and 39:02 followed you now what's implied in what Peter is 39:04 saying. What did yousay? That's exactly right. 39:08 What's in it for us? You had just said to the 39:11 rich young ruler that if he would leave all and 39:13 follow you, you would give him riches in heaven 39:15 that he would have eternal life and Peter 39:17 now looks at the rest of the disciples and he says 39:19 we have left all and followed you and in that 39:22 statement is a question and that question, 39:24 the implied question is what's in it for us. 39:28 Now, I want you to notice something here. 39:30 Jesus gives Peter a remarkable answer and 39:34 that answer has two elements, two tears. 39:37 How many elements everyone? 39:39 Two. Two. Now notice Jesus 39:42 answer. Notice Jesus answer. Verse 29, 39:45 Jesus speaking, assuredly I say to you. 39:49 You can have confidence in this assuredly. 39:51 The root word there is sure, confidence. 39:54 Assuredly, I say to you there is no one who has 39:58 left house or brothers or sisters or father or 40:01 mother or wife or children or lands for my 40:04 sake and the Gospels. Verse 30, who shall not 40:08 receive a 100 fold, notice the next four 40:10 words. Now in this time. Say those four words 40:15 with me. Now in this time. How much fold? 40:21 How much fold? 100. A 100 fold and 40:25 what are those four words. Now in this time, 40:28 houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and 40:30 children and lands with persecution he had and 40:33 notice the next five words 40:34 "in the age to come," eternal life. 40:41 Now do you see the two phrases here of Jesus 40:44 answer, yes or no. Remember what was the, 40:47 what was the implied question in Peter's 40:48 statement. See Lord, we have left all and 40:51 followed you and the implication is what's in 40:53 it for us and Jesus does not here rebuke Peter. 40:55 Jesus doesn't rebuke Peter and say, Oh! You're 40:58 just doing it for selfish motivations. 41:00 Jesus understands that sometimes our 41:02 motivations are not as pure as they could and 41:04 should be. Amen. Amen. 41:06 What Jesus does is he encourages Peter by 41:09 saying to him Peter, I'm gonna give you a 41:11 two-tiered response and the first part is he says 41:15 I'll give you a 100 fold better, more satisfying, 41:18 more exhilarating, more fulfilling life now in 41:23 this time and in the age to come, five words, 41:27 eternal life. Notice the remarkable claim here of 41:31 Jesus. Friends this is a testable claim that Jesus 41:35 has made. Jesus has just said to Peter that if you 41:38 follow me I will give you what everyone, a 100 fold 41:42 better life in the here and now. In other words 41:46 according to Jesus following him and being 41:50 a disciple of his is not just high in the sky by 41:53 it is a better more fuller, more filling and 41:57 exhilarating satisfactory life in the here and now. 42:00 Now can somebody say, Amen. 42:01 Amen. Now, if that's true and 42:05 friends I want to testify tonight that it is true. 42:07 Amen. But if it's true let's enter back into 42:09 the mind of the skeptic. Remember the three 42:12 questions. The size of the prize. 42:13 How large is the prize? Infinitely large, 42:16 the size of the risk. If Jesus claim is true 42:19 that the life of the Christian, the life of 42:21 the disciple is 100 fold better in the here and 42:24 now, then the size of the risk is non-existent. 42:28 In fact, there is actually a positive 42:30 benefit to be gained by entering into the wager. 42:33 Amen. Do you understand that? 42:36 Yes or no. Now friends that's either true or 42:38 false. That is a testable hypothesis. 42:40 The Bible says taste and see that the Lord 42:44 is good. You could become a follower of Jesus, 42:47 you could look back after 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 years 42:51 and you could evaluate transparently, candidly 42:54 and even empirically, you could evaluate has 42:57 my life been better, fuller and more 42:59 satisfying since I became a Christian. 43:01 I want to testify tonight that if I could exchange 43:04 the first 23 years of my non-Christian life for 43:08 the last month of my Christian life, 43:10 I would not make that exchange because one 43:12 month with Christ, one day with Christ, 43:14 one minute with Christ is better than a lifetime 43:17 without him. Amen. 43:18 Now think about that for just a moment. 43:20 We can begin to understand why Blaise 43:23 Pascal said only the fool would choose to live the 43:25 Godless life, because the size of the prize is 43:27 infinitely large. The size of the risk is 43:29 non-existent. In fact, there is a positive 43:30 benefits be gained by entering into the wager 43:32 and number 3 the chances of winning are what 43:34 everyone, 100 percent. Now I'm beginning to 43:39 like the sound of this Gospel wager. 43:42 Amen. Amen. 43:44 Jesus gives two, two phases, two spheres to 43:49 that answer. He says number one, 43:51 I will give you a better life in the here and now, 43:54 a 100 fold better life in the here and now. 43:58 Now Jesus adds an important phrase that 44:00 Iwant you to just look at for a moment. 44:01 He said with persecutions, with 44:05 persecutions, what did he mean by that, 44:08 chiefly this. When we surrender our whole 44:12 heart, our whole life and everything to Jesus, 44:15 there is somebody on the other side of this 44:17 equation that is not pleased with that 44:20 decision. His name is Satan or Satan. 44:23 The word means adversary or enemy. 44:25 And friends when you make a decision to follow 44:28 the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart you 44:30 can just guarantee that there will be troubles, 44:32 there will be difficulties. But I 44:35 repeat for you a beautiful sublime line 44:37 that I saw in a poem several years ago it 44:39 said, Jesus never promised smooth sailing, 44:42 but he did promise a safe landing. 44:45 Amen. Friends there may come 44:48 at times persecutions, there may come at times 44:51 tribulations, vicissitudes and 44:53 difficulties, but I want you to know persecution 44:55 with the assurance of eternal life. 44:58 Tribulation with the assurance of Jesus at 45:01 your right hand is far better than a life of 45:04 pleasure, leisure, luxury and ease, without the 45:07 confidence that Jesus is with you. Amen. 45:08 Amen. Friends there is reasons, 45:11 there are reasons that some of the superstar 45:14 elite, whether they be sport stars, rock stars 45:17 or music stars. There is a reason that 45:20 many of these people end up ending their own 45:22 lives. Now think about that for just a moment. 45:26 In, in our world, in our society, in our little 45:29 sphere they have arrived, and yet friends 45:32 remarkably what do we learn? 45:34 That having fame, fortune, money and all of 45:37 of the amenities that come with that life 45:39 cannot satisfy the deepest longings of the 45:43 soul. Persecutions, even persecutions with 45:47 Lord Jesus is far better than leisure and luxury 45:51 without the Lord Jesus Christ. 45:53 Amen. Let me share with you a 45:55 remarkable statistic. A little factoid that 46:00 you'll probably find very interesting. 46:01 How many of you remember several years 46:03 ago, I believe it was 1997, a man by the name 46:06 of Marshall Applewhite led 39 people to commit a 46:09 large mass suicide. Remember the Heaven's 46:11 Gate cult and they were going to go sailing there 46:14 in a comet or in a spaceship behind the 46:17 comet Hale-Bopp and they committed mass 46:18 suicide there. How many of you remember that? 46:20 Okay, terrible, it's tragic is it not? 46:22 Now, the city that that took place in is a city 46:26 in California called Rancho Santa Fe. Rancho 46:30 Santa Fe. Now you will be very interested to 46:34 know that for the last decade most of those 46:38 years in the last 10 years Rancho Santa Fe has been 46:42 the wealthiest per capita town in the entire United 46:47 States. The wealthiest town in the wealthiest 46:50 country and remarkably coincidentally or is it 46:53 coincidence that same town is the sight of the 46:57 largest mass suicide on United States soil. 47:00 Friends what message does this send to you 47:03 and I? Simply this, money, 47:05 fame, prestige, wealth and all of the 47:09 ccoutrements that come with that kind of a life 47:11 cannot satisfy the deepest longings and 47:14 the human heart. Amen. 47:16 Jesus said a 100 fold better life in the here 47:19 and now, will there be persecutions at times? 47:21 Sure. Will there be difficulties at times, 47:25 tribulations? Sure. In fact many times when 47:28 people first begin to follow the Lord, 47:30 they find that there is a resistance. But friends 47:32 listen, if there is a resistance it is probably 47:35 a very good indicator that you're on the 47:39 right path. Now in closing, 47:41 I like for you to see something. 47:42 In First Timothy Chapter 4, go with me to our last 47:46 verse. First Timothy Chapter 4, toward the end 47:51 of the New Testament written by the Apostle 47:53 Paul to the young man Timothy. 47:54 First Timothy Chapter 4, now I site this verse for 47:56 you as somebody who is very interested in 47:59 exercise. Anybody else here interested in 48:02 exercise, staying in good shape physically. 48:04 Oh! Come on every hand should be going up. 48:06 We'll put the camera on you and have all of your 48:09 relatives see this person is not interested. 48:11 This is why his size, the size of his pants is 48:14 always going up. Now in First Timothy 48:17 Chapter 4:8, the Apostle Paul is writing 48:20 to young Timothy and I want you to notice what 48:22 he says here very quickly. The Apostle Paul 48:24 bodily exercise profits are little. 48:27 In other words it's alright. You wanna go 48:29 do your push ups, your sit ups, 48:30 your running, he says fine. 48:31 Bodily exercise is good for you, but notice what 48:34 he says in the rest of verse 8. But godliness, 48:37 but what word is that everyone. 48:38 Godliness. Godliness is profitable 48:40 all things and notice again the two phases or 48:44 the two tears of what he says here. 48:45 Godliness is profitable for all things, 48:47 having promise of the life that now is end of 48:53 that which what everyone, is to come. 48:56 Do you see what the Apostle Paul is saying? 48:58 He is saying, hey look you want to get some 48:59 exercise fine, you want to stay in good shape 49:01 fine. That's good for you in the here and now. 49:03 He says but far better to have Godliness. 49:06 Now I believe it's far better to have both. 49:08 Amen. Amen. 49:10 A little exercise, a little Godliness, 49:11 throw in both. Better life in the here 49:12 and now. But notice what he says Godliness is 49:14 profitable for all things. Having two promises 49:17 friends, the promise of the life that now is and 49:21 of the life to come. That's exactly like Jesus 49:25 answer to Peter. A 100 fold better life, 49:28 four words, now in this time and he said in the 49:32 life to come, in the age to come, eternal life. 49:35 Both Jesus and Paul agree that for the Christian, 49:38 life is better, more satisfying, more fuller 49:41 and more glorious in the here and now. 49:44 Can somebody say Amen. Amen. 49:46 Now, if we plug that into our three-tiered equation 49:47 what have we learned. Size of the prize, 49:49 infinitely large. Size of the risk is 49:52 non-existent. And more than 49:56 non-existent, there is a positive 49:57 benefit to be gained by entering into the wager. 49:59 Amen. Amen. 50:01 In fact friends, if you've come to end your 50:03 life and you have lived a Godly life. 50:05 You have been kind and gracious and you've, 50:07 you have lived by the great golden rule. 50:09 You've served the Lord Jesus Christ with all of 50:11 your heart and in the, in the unlikely highly 50:14 unusual absurd event that God is not real and 50:18 he really doesn't exist you have lost nothing. 50:21 And yet friends, I report to you tonight as a 50:26 minister of the Gospel that God is real. 50:28 He is on the throne. If you choose to serve 50:32 the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart, 50:33 mind and soul, when you come to that day you'll 50:36 be looking forward to an eternity of joys and 50:40 blisses and glories in the celestial kingdom. 50:42 Friend don't you want to be there. 50:44 Can you imagine anything better than being 50:47 in that glorious celestial kingdom? 50:49 Let me tell you a story. It was Oak, I was in 50:52 Oakland, California, itwas probably six 50:54 and a half years ago. I have been a Christian 50:56 for just about a year and a friend of mine and 50:59 actually there were several of us. 51:00 We were called to go to Oakland, California. 51:02 We were ministering there as Bible workers 51:04 in one of the most impoverished areas 51:06 in that little area. And we got a call from 51:09 a good friend of ours, his name is Will. 51:11 And Will went to school at the University of 51:14 California at Berkeley. And he was the President 51:16 of the University of California Berkeley 51:18 Seventh-Day Adventist Student Association. 51:20 That's a number of syllables, isn't it? 51:22 And he said look, we're going to be giving out 51:24 some literature and we would like you and your 51:26 friends to come over and to give us some 51:28 literature, handout some literature with us. 51:30 And so we decided we would do that and we, 51:33 we asked and we went and the day had come. 51:35 Now, this wasn't just any ordinary day, 51:37 this was a special day. And there was a student 51:39 fair that day and every group that you can 51:42 imagine was assembled together. 51:43 Not only the religious groups, the Presbyterians 51:46 were there, the Methodists, the 51:47 Wesleyans, the Catholics, all kinds of providence 51:49 groups were there. Also all the governmental 51:52 groups were there, the anarchists, 51:53 the communist or the democrats, 51:55 the republicans, all of them were there as well. 51:57 So here you have all of these different student 52:00 groups there. People for the ethical treatment of 52:02 animals and the students against racism all of 52:04 these different groups were assembled together 52:06 and here we were with our humble little booth. 52:08 It was just a wooden table with a vinyl banner 52:10 over the top and it said University of California 52:12 Berkeley Seventh-Day Adventist Student 52:14 Association. We had a few books there, 52:16 some pamphlets, some literature and some 52:18 things that we are talking about what would 52:20 going on that year in the association. 52:21 Well, we were having a great time going here and 52:24 going there and visiting with this group and 52:26 visiting with this group doing our best to handout 52:27 literature. As the day was kind of drawing to an 52:30 end, I had gone back to the table and I was 52:32 sitting there sort of by myself and there was may 52:34 be an hour or two left in the student fair. 52:36 A nice looking gentleman, maybe in his 52:38 late 40s or early 50s came and he sat down 52:40 across the booth there from, from the table from 52:43 me and he asked me a very interesting question 52:45 and he sent to me this. He said do you believe 52:48 in God. And I responded in the affirmative, 52:50 I said yes, I believe in God. He then asked 52:53 me is your God omnibenevolent, 52:55 omnipotent and all knowing. And I said 52:58 yes, he is. He is all of those things. 52:59 He then asked me a question that might 53:01 sound kind of curious to you. 53:02 He said to me do you believe in the 53:05 philosophical law of non-contradiction. 53:07 I repeat do you believe in the philosophical law 53:11 of non-contradiction. I said to him of course, 53:13 I affirm the philosophical law of 53:15 non-contradiction for what is the basis of all 53:17 rationality and reason. He was a little taken 53:20 back by that response as you can imagine. 53:21 He said to me if you affirm the philosophical 53:24 law of non-contradiction which basically says that 53:26 the same thing cannot be true and false in the 53:28 same way at the same time. 53:29 He said do you believe that your omnipotent, 53:32 omnibenevolent God could create a square 53:34 circle. And I said he wouldn't. Now think 53:37 about that for just a moment. 53:38 A square circle in euclidean geometry is an 53:41 impossibility. There are two mutually exclusive 53:44 geometrical figures. A square, four right 53:46 angles, four sides each equal. 53:48 And a circle you have an epicenter and each 53:51 point on the geometric figure is equidistant 53:54 the center and so these are two mutually 53:56 exclusive figures. He was asking could my 53:59 omnipotent, omnibenevolent God, 54:01 the God of the Bible make a square circle or a 54:04 squircle. I responded by saying he wouldn't. 54:06 He said you're avoiding the question. 54:08 I said he wouldn't. You're avoiding the 54:10 question, he wouldn't, you're avoiding the 54:11 question, this went on for sometime. 54:12 He then took a different approach and he said 54:14 what about your God, could he make a 54:16 mountain so big that he himself couldn't move it. 54:18 And I said he couldn't, he wouldn't. 54:20 You're avoiding the question, he wouldn't, 54:22 you're avoiding the question, and on and on. 54:23 Well, what ended up happening friends as this 54:25 very intelligent rather erudite man and I were 54:27 discussing. Back and forth and back and forth 54:30 you might, if you had been a bystander that day 54:33 you might have listened to my argumentation and 54:35 my reasons, his argumentation and his 54:36 reasons. And I wanted to just add here that the, 54:38 the discussion was done in a very good spirit. 54:40 And you might have said something like this well, 54:42 50 percent for this side, 50 percent for this side. 54:45 Yet as this was drawing to a close I didn't want 54:48 this just to be an intellectual discussion 54:50 and so I was thinking what can I say to really 54:52 bring the truth of the gospel home to this man's 54:54 heart. And I said something that was very 54:56 pointed. I said friend when this conversation is 54:58 done I'm going to be victorious. Now, that was 55:01 very much unlike the rest of the tenure of our 55:03 conversation and he said what do you mean you're 55:05 going to be victorious. I said friend I'm going 55:07 to be victorious and he said what do you mean? 55:08 He was little put off by that. I said because I 55:10 have an ace up my sleeve. He said what is that ace? 55:12 I said the ace in my sleeve is the question of 55:15 ultimate reality. And friends that is 55:18 philosophical speak for what happens when you 55:19 die. The very moment that I said that he said 55:23 that's not fair. In other words friend 55:27 what I was saying to that man is. 55:28 If you hold your beliefs, when you come to the 55:30 end of your life, if you're right you gain 55:33 nothing. If you're wrong, you lose everything but 55:36 unlike me. If I come to the end of my beliefs and 55:40 I, I have correctly affirmed that God exists 55:43 I will gain everything and yet I will lose 55:45 nothing. And that he walked away and we 55:47 collected our goods and ended for the day and I 55:50 recommend to you today Pascal's wager. 55:52 It was exactly what I used to bring, to bring 55:55 sort of affirmation of the intelligence and the 55:58 reasonableness of the Christian message and I 56:00 recommend it to you today. The size of the 56:02 prize infinitely large, the size of the risk 56:04 non-existent, and friends listen to me carefully, 56:07 the chances that you can win yes you. 56:09 That you can win eternal life through accepting 56:12 Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior. 56:14 The chances are 100 percent. 56:16 Friends, I invite you to make that decision today. 56:19 I invite you to seriously consider making Jesus 56:22 Christ your savior, your friend. 56:24 Why don't you do that just now. |
Revised 2014-12-17