There is No God – Lies of the Enemy #3 – Purity 1015

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's photo of a lush springtime plateau in the shadow of the Catskill Mountains under blue skies and cumulus clouds comes to us from an unnamed Facebook friend who shared this photo on social media back on or around April 21st, 2021. I suspect I know the identity of our Springtime Photographer of 2021, but didn't have the time to go back 2 years through their Facebook posts to find the evidence to convict them. So if that's you and you want the credit, uh, you are due, let me know and I'll update the blog after the fact. I have 2 suspects, uh, who live in Greene County that have been known to hike the Catskills and share their adventures on social media, but I would rather not say what I'm thinking and be later proven wrong rather than assigning the credit to the wrong individual. Besides, many of my friends share the views from their lives, and any one of them could have captured and shared the simple beauty they encountered while walking through life that we see today. Just like my friends who share the beautiful scenes they see in the world, I have discovered the beauty and majesty that are encountered when one puts their faith in Christ and, and decides to follow him in spirit and truth. So this whole blog and podcast is provided to encourage all who hear or see its message to pursue a life of faith. The reason for my zeal is that unfortunately it always— it wasn't always this way. I lived most of my life without a true understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and spent a great deal of it seeking meaning and happiness in all the wrong things, materialism, drugs, alcohol, and other indulgences of the flesh. None of those things provide an adequate meaning for my life or lasting satisfaction, although I quote-unquote faithfully pursued them. Part of the reason why I couldn't find satisfaction for a good portion of my life was because I was operating under an assumption that was false, that there was no God. I viewed life as a physical and mental exercise and had decided that the spiritual was nonexistent. I had an atheist worldview, and the resultant nihilism of such a philosophy brought me to despair and gave me the conviction that I am better enjoy myself and live it up because life was meaningless. And so we continue with our current series, Lies of the Enemy, the beliefs that I or others have believed that caused them to doubt the existence of God or kept us from from following him with the way we live our lives. So today's big lie is number 3, lie number 3, although maybe it's lie number 1, that there is no God. For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple apologetic will provide, I offer apologist Frank Turek's website, crossexamined.org. Frank wrote, I don't have enough faith to be an Atheists with the late Norman Geisler, and it is packed with convincing evidence for God and Christianity. So if you aren't satisfied with what I write about today, I encourage you to seek the Lord and suggest, uh, Frank Turek's work as a place to find evidence that demonstrates that faith in God isn't irrational or unreasonable. Well, my simple apologetic, which borrows from Christian apologists that have gone before me, comes from the need to be clear, to be clear and concise, to present the evidence for God with a captive audience that may not have had much to be happy about. Years ago, I did jail ministry at the Columbia County Jail, and when you are behind bars, you don't want to waste any time in your presentation of the, of the evidence for God and the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So I developed a simple 3-point apologetic to try to express some simple evidence for the Lord's existence and his presence in the world of the living. I still use this 3-point presentation today and encourage you to know it and to share it with those who find faith hard to swallow. Um, and so we begin. Number 1: Creation proves that there is a God. The first verse of the Bible tells us this. Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Where did all this come from? Everything we know and experience comes from God. He is the Creator. He made everything. More learned theologians and philosophers than me state that the fact of existence, you know, that there is something itself, logically requires a self-existent being over and above time and space. We see design in the universe that indicates a designer. We, we see cause and effect relationships that indicate that there was this self-existent Creator God, this unmoved mover, uh, that set creation into being. That's God. Number 2: Our innate sense of right and wrong proves that there is a God. Romans 2:14-15 says, even Gentiles who do not have God's written law show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God's law is written in their hearts, for their own conscious— conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. God's law is written on our hearts. Our sense of right and wrong, what C.S. Lewis describes as that sense of oughtness that we have, comes from God. We do, uh, how do we know right from wrong. God put that in us. And while we can overcome what God has written, uh, written by hardening our hearts and choosing to do what is wrong, we instinctively know we are not doing right. That sense of right and wrong, missing the mark, sin and guilt proves there is a God. And number 3, changed lives proves the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true and God is alive. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. All things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. When we— while we will struggle with the witness of supposed Christians who seem to claim faith but whose lives don't demonstrate much evidence for it, there are those who have come to faith in Jesus Christ and whose lives have been completely transformed by the new life they have in Christ. The difference between these two? Those transformed have believed in Christ and made the decision to let him live through them. Not, not— now, what I've written here is a lot more verbose than what I would preach on the fly in jail. When I got to point 3 in the presentation, I would point to myself and say something like That's why I have come to jail on a Saturday, because the Lord has opened my eyes to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and has caused me to share it wherever I can. And through following Jesus, I have overcome my past addictions and wrong living and stand here to tell you that God is real. Jesus is who he said he was, and you can know a life of pure peace by putting your faith in him and making the daily decision to surrender to his will for your life. It might sound prideful to point to myself, but changed lives are compelling evidence. This person was once like this, and now they are completely different. They once lived a life of darkness, and now they live in the light and genuinely seem filled with peace and joy. So if you encounter someone proclaiming today's lie of the enemy that there is no God, don't try to prove it. Give your 3 points and challenge them to look at the evidence and to seek the Lord for themselves. We can't believe for people, and quite frankly, it's usually a matter of the heart more than reasons in the head that people choose not to believe. They are usually prideful, rebellious, or have sin that they just won't give up. So, what you need to say— so say what you need to say, but make sure that your personal witness, the way you live your life and convey a peace that goes beyond understanding, shows that you are a living and breathing example of the evidence for God and the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Uh, today's Bible verse, as we move right along, today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verse is 1 Samuel 16:7, and the word of God says, but the Lord said to Samuel, don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Today's verse reminds us that God does not only look at the outward appearances, but that he looks at the heart. While our faith is outwardly demonstrated by our habits, attitudes, and good works, some will discover later, uh, that their convincing performance didn't fool God because he, he knows when someone is going through the motions and when someone truly has faith in Jesus. Two of the scariest passage— passages in the Bible can be found in Matthew 7:21-23 and Luke 13:23-28, and they testify to the dreadful fact that some will point to the works they have done in your name, or— and others will point to their loose associations with Jesus and discover that the Lord never knew them. Our faith is not about performance or attendance. You You can sit in a church building and not be part of the church. If you don't believe in your heart, you can do all kinds of good works that you can claim were for God, but while the works themselves may be good, the Lord will reveal that you never really believed. We should not judge a book by its cover. Some who don't look like Christians, quote unquote, may have a heart of faith. Some who look like they are on fire for God will be exposed as being worshipers of themselves. And have dark intentions, if not dark habits. So as the word indicates, we should work out our salvation with fear and trembling because we can't fool God. We have to be real Christians in our hearts and seek to love the Lord as our first commandment. God is good and lovable, so open your heart and mind to all that he is and all that he has done and put your faith in Jesus and love him for the way he made a way for you to know him. As always, I invite all to go to mtforchrist.org, where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from A.W. Pink's The Sovereignty of God, and we're in the conclusion, and it's a long conclusion, so we're sharing a second passage from that, and there's more to it to share tomorrow. So if you want to see how A.W. Pink wraps up his book on the sovereignty of God, you can read another passage of it from today. So, and as always, we encourage an authentic life of faith, you know, by knowing who you are in Christ and by knowing what the word of God says and by you know, trying to align your life to do God's will, which is your sanctification, and, you know, to do the good works that he prefers, you know, that he prepares for us to walk into. If you don't know what that's like or anything, we try to offer our assistance here with the blog and the podcast, basically by providing our teachings that we've done for Victory Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, and Freedom in Christ. Uh, they're all on the podcast and, uh, they're all on the MT for Christ 247 YouTube channel as well. There's playlists basically with both of those on the YouTube channel. They might be a little more difficult to locate on, uh, the podcast because we posted those quite a while ago, but there are playlists for them on YouTube. And I'm happy to say that people have found these teachings and they've read the, the last few things that are written on my blog that says that I offer to provide the materials that I handed out in class to anyone who asks for them via email. So email me at mtforchrist247@gmail.com to receive those Word documents, basically to help you with the study. Um, you know, um, I'm, I'm happy to say that people from all over the world have contacted me to receive those messages. Not a lot, but, you know, some, and we'll take it. You know, the latest, the latest was a woman in Poland of all places. My Polish ancestors would be proud. So I'm not pointing to myself except for to say that I do have a changed life because of Christ, but I'm pointing like Jesus Christ is the one who created us and gives us the, you know, the the power to change and live a life of abundance and joy that he, he has for us when we, when we decide to follow him, you know. And it's good, and don't get me wrong, it's not a parade of jumping around happy all the time, but the peace that we have with God will carry us through the darkest days of our lives and still give us peace and the joy despite bad circumstances. And when things are good, they're really good. When things are bad, they're still good because we have God. So we want to share that, share that. There were so many lies of the enemy that I believe that we've actually are doing a study on it. And, you know, it's anything that would draw us away from the Lord or from living, actually trying to live by the faith that we say we have. You know, let's be authentic, let's be real. And that's what the purpose of this, uh, this podcast and blog is all about, to encourage people to do that. And so we encourage people to study the Bible. The way we do it on the blog and podcast is we do a Bible study with our friend Arthur Scotty and his wife Susanna each weekend, where Arthur makes a study, a topical study, and we, you know, discuss it. We discuss the things of the Lord and encourage each other in our faith, and we hope it encourages you. Because we really, you know, if you want to be transformed, why haven't you been transformed? Well, you know, Romans 12 indicates that you're transformed by the renewing of your mind, and that's with the word of God. So you need to read the Bible. If you know the difference between the people have been changed lives and didn't, I, I would imagine some— the second category of people with the changed lives are the ones who actually read the word and started to live according to it. Uh, that might be the big difference maker. You'll have to ask the people whose lives are transformed to find out, um, and they'll tell you. They'll tell you. And it could have— and don't get me wrong, it could just be simple faith in the gospel message they heard when they first believed. That can be enough to carry you through life. The fact that you're, you know, saved from eternal damnation and, you know, given a hope and a future in the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit That's enough hope to carry you forever. So we just have to stand in that. Unfortunately, we're just— we're people and we forget things, and so we have to remind ourselves. And that's why we recommend a lifestyle of faith that begins with prayer and Bible study every morning to— and thanksgiving to keep us grounded in who we are. So we recommend that., and then we live our normal lives. So it's off to work, uh, for another day. Uh, we're at the midway point, uh, for me actually. It's, it's Friday. What? Um, yeah, it's Wednesday, but, uh, because of shift scheduling at my work, I work on, uh, I work on Saturday. Yeah, I work on Saturday the 15th, which is Tax Day apparently. Heads up. Um, as I look at my calendar, um, and tomorrow apparently Passover ends, and that's the day I'll have off. So we'll have to do something ultra spiritual, um, tomorrow, um, with the time that we have off. I forget, I think I have something on this, on the schedule for something. Oh yeah, I have a prayer ministry school every Thursday night. I forget. Whoa. Anyway, We encourage a lifestyle of faith, and if you're seeking your entertainment and things other than things of the Lord, you know, grow in your capacity. You'll discover that the things of this world are, you know, unfortunately somewhat worthless in terms of, you know, giving us peace and a hope. They usually draw us to distraction or into sin or despair, you know, when you look at all the things other people have and you don't have, or things other people have that you want you know, it can draw you and draw you away from the Lord. So focus on him and you'll have peace. As I knock over something on my, uh, my table, um, let's finish with prayer. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you so much for all that you've done for us in Christ. Lord, we thank you for this latest, uh, crew of men that I led through the Freedom in Christ course as, uh, they've they are going to be that third evidence of transformed lives by the material they've learned and the work that you did in their lives through resolving their personal spiritual conflicts. So I pray a prayer of blessing on all those men who might be listening to the podcast, that they may be blessed and they keep walking and talking with God the rest of their lives. And anyone else who's listening who wasn't in the course who's listening today, I pray for you. I pray for the Lord to come beside you in your prayer request and to encourage you in your lifestyle of faith. Um, keep going, keep talking, and keep walking with the Lord all the days of your life, and you won't regret it. And Lord, we pray for you to go before all of us today, um, to show us the things you want us to see and to, um, encourage us in the way we should go. Because Lord, all we want to do is represent your kingdom and point people to find the peace and joy that's found when they put their faith in Jesus. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.