From His Heart

Speaker 1

Today on From His Heart, Pastor Jeff Shreve begins to answer life's big questions.

Speaker 2

You know, for thousands of years, people have been asking big questions concerning origins, concerning meaning, concerning the whys and wherefores of life and the very beginning of it all.

The question of all questions, the fundamental question is, does God exist? And those who get the answer to the question, does God exist? When they get the answer wrong, it skews their view of life.

It turns them cynical, and it causes them to see no sense in all of life.

Speaker 1

Welcome to From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve. Thank you for joining us today. Pastor Jeff is beginning a series that will touch on many answers to life's big questions.

Today he begins with what is surely the biggest question of them all: Does God really exist? How can we be absolutely, positively, and irrefutably sure of the existence of God? And how are believers to handle the arguments of the inevitable skeptics? Let's find out today.

Remember, you can get the entire series at From His Heart. For a gift of any amount this month, just go to fromhisheart.org.

Open your Bible now to the book of Genesis, where we'll begin to answer this question: Does God really exist?

Speaker 2

Little Johnny asked his dad one day. He said, "Dad." He said, "Where did I come from?" Dad said, "What was that?" He said, "Daddy, where did I come from?" The dad started thinking. He thought, "Wow, man, I wasn't planning to give you the facts of life today." He's thinking this in his head, but you're asking me the question. And so maybe it's time. Maybe you're old enough. And so he said, "Well, son, this is how it works." He said, "A husband loves his wife, and they come together. And God made a woman a certain way, and God made a man a certain way. And there's fertilization, and then there's gestation, and then there's the baby that's formed and then the baby that comes." Little Johnny's eyes are getting wider and wider and wider. And the father finishes and he says, "Wow, Dad, that's so neat. That's so different than what Billy said. He said he came from Philadelphia."

Starting a new series today entitled "Life's Big Questions." You know, for thousands of years, people have been asking questions, big questions concerning origins, concerning purpose, concerning meaning, concerning the whys and wherefores of life. And God's word gives us answers to the big, big questions. Now, to kick off this series, we want to start, as Julie Andrews would say, at the very beginning, because that's a very good place to start and the very beginning of it all. The question of all questions, the foundational question, the fundamental question is, does God exist? I mean, people have been asking that question: is there really a God? When I pray, is there really somebody who hears me, or am I just praying into thin air?

Another way to word that would be, did God create man, or was man created in the image of God, or was God created in the imagination of man? Is God just something that man cooked up, schemed up, because it made him feel better? It made him seem like there was purpose or meaning? Or is the scripture true when it tells us that God is real? When it tells us, as it does in Genesis, chapter one, verse one, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." You know, it's such a critical question: does God exist? Because if you get that question wrong, it's like buttoning your shirt and missing the first button. If you get that question wrong concerning God's existence, God's reality, then I don't care what you do with the rest of it, your life's going to be off. The answer to that question will greatly affect your life in the here and now. It'll greatly affect your life in the hereafter.

And those who get the answer to the question, "Does God exist?" When they get the answer wrong, it skews their view of life. It scars their view of life. It turns them sour, it turns them cynical, and it causes them to see no sense in all of life. You know, you adopt, if you reject the idea of God, you no doubt adopt the idea that Shakespeare presented in the play Macbeth. Shakespeare said, "This life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." Hey, if God doesn't exist, then I think we would have to say that is true. It's a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury. But it signifies nothing because life has no meaning. Life has no purpose. Life doesn't go anywhere. And then we should all just develop a hedonistic lifestyle that says, "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow."

So we want to tackle this great question because it's such a fundamental question, such a foundational question: does God really exist? Genesis is the book of beginnings. It tells us in the very first verse of the very first chapter of the very first book of the Bible. It tells us about God in the beginning, Genesis 1:1. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Now, I want you to notice with me three discoveries concerning the question, does God really exist?

Discovery number one: The Bible doesn't try to prove God; it simply presents God. Simply presents God. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Now the Scripture doesn't try and argue for God's existence. Scripture doesn't try and defend God's existence. It doesn't try to explain God's existence. It just presents God. In the beginning, God. In the beginning, Elohim created the heavens and the earth. Now I think if you'll take note as you read the Bible, you'll see that the Bible writers never try to prove God. And you know why that is? It's because really when you think about it, it's impossible to prove God, just as it is impossible to disprove God.

Because man is finite and God is infinite. And the finite can never prove or disprove that which is infinite. I mean, we're on a different playing field. We're in a different realm of the infinite because we are finite in this material universe. So the Bible doesn't try and prove God; it just presents God, and the Bible presents him right off the bat as a God who is eternal. In the beginning, God, you travel back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back in time. You keep going back and back and back and back and back and through all the ages. And you come to the beginning before anything was created. And what do you find at the very beginning? God. God, he has always existed. He's the eternal God. That's how he's presented.

In the beginning, there was already God because God is eternal. Moses put it this way. In Psalm 92, Moses, the one God used to write Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, the first five books of the Bible were written by Moses. He said this: "Before the mountains were born or you gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God." In the beginning, God, he is presented as the eternal God. And then he's also presented as...

Speaker 1

The.

Speaker 2

All powerful creator in the beginning God. Elohim, that's the word that's used for God created the heavens and the earth. Elohim is a name of God that speaks of his power. And obviously it's his creative power. Because Elohim, the powerful God created the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. The Scriptures tell us over and over again about the God who created everything. And how did he create everything? He spoke. He spoke everything into existence. The Bible says in Psalm 33, by the word of the Lord, the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their hosts. For he spoke and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. You have to have a tremendous amount of power, an unfathomable amount of power to step into nothing and speak everything into existence just through the power of your word. That's how God did it. He said, let there be light. And there was light. Everything obeys God because God is the all-powerful creator. And that's how the Bible presents him. It doesn't prove him, just presents him in the beginning, God.

Now, second discovery, not only does the Bible not try to prove God, it just simply presents God. But secondly, the Bible gives evidence for the existence of God. You know, you can't really prove God, but you can look at the evidence and determine with a rational mind whether there is a God or not, whether God exists or not, depending upon the evidence. You know, science, they go into the laboratory and they try and prove, did God really exist? Did God really create? And we know from our universities that so many of those in the scientific community, they say, well, we don't believe in God. We believe in evolution. We believe in a big bang. We believe that it all just happened. Now, they don't say this, but what they believe is this: that nobody times nothing equals everything. Which is ridiculous. Try that in any math class. 0 times 0 equals everything. No, it doesn't work that way.

But here's the problem they run into when they try and look scientifically to see, did God create this world? First of all, so many of them, they've already discounted that as even an option. But they look and they say, well, you know, the earth is 14 billion years old and you know, we're going back and carbon dating and doing this and doing that. Hey, that has to have a lot of presuppositions in order to work. Because here's the problem with creation. They weren't there. You weren't there. I wasn't there. And God says to Job, when Job was having all his trouble and didn't understand and he began to call out to God, I need you to come and explain things to me. And God answers Job and he asks this question, where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Where were you, pal? I wasn't there, Lord. I wasn't created yet, Lord. No one was there. So all we can do is read about what happened. We can study what has been made. But nobody was there. Nobody can be an eyewitness, say, well, I saw God speaking into existence. No, God just tells us that he did that.

Many of you will remember during World War II, that there was a specific little symbol that our servicemen used to give courage and strength and support to their fellow comrades in arms. And the little symbol was Kilroy was here. You remember that Kilroy had a big nose, more hair than Pastor Jeff. But Kilroy, you would see that all over in Europe when they would come and they would fight and somebody had been there before and they drew that picture and they said Kilroy was here. They would put it on some kind of wall or put it on a bombed-out truck or something, some surface. They would write it in chalk, they'd write it in paint, they'd write it in pencil. Whatever they could write it in, they'd put it there. And it gave courage to the troops. Because they say, hey, our guys have already been here once before.

God, when he created this world, he left behind lots of clues. He left behind lots of evidence that said Kilroy was here. This was created by God. Romans chapter one talks about the evidence and it says this in verse 18 and following. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness. They hold back the truth and unrighteousness. Why? Because that which is known about God is evident within them. For God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen being understood through what has been made. So that they are without excuse.

I want you to underline in your notes there, the word evident. That which is known about God is evident within them because God made it evident to them. That word evidently means apparent. It means manifest, it means known, it means obvious, it means plainly recognized. That which is known about God is plainly recognized. It is obvious. And God, in the verses that we read in Romans, he's given two voices that cannot be discounted that show the world Kilroy was here, that show every single man, woman, boy, or girl that God is real, that God really exists. The first voice is the voice of creation. And the voice of creation clearly tells us there's a creator. I mean, God says that he made it evident to them, clearly visible to them that it's understood through what has been made. So that they are without excuse.

Now you just go outside and you look at what has been made and you see trees and you see grass and you see a sky and you go out at night and you see stars and you see the moon and during the day and you see the sun, and you see the mountains and you see the lake, and you say, well, where did all that come from? It came from a creator. See, every creation has a creator. We know that. And the Bible says in Psalm 19 that the heavens are telling of the glory of God and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands. Day to day pours forth speech and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are their words. Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth and their utterances to the end of the world.

Well, God is saying here, hey, just look in the heavens. The heavens are telling of my glory and they're telling of my handiwork. And there are books in brooks and sermons in sunsets. Now, they don't have a voice that you can hear with your ears. Their voice is not heard, but their voice is strong and it goes out. And it's a revelation of the fact that the creation has a creator. During the French Revolution at the end of the 1700s, the revolutionaries were attacking the churches and tearing down the churches and pulling down the crosses. And one revolutionary said to a Christian, we are going to destroy everything that reminds you of your so-called God. And that Christian pointed to the stars and he said, well, then I suggest you start tearing those down because the heavens declare the glory of God.

Hey, I have in my pocket my iPhone. I got five messages too. I gotta look at those, so I'll look at that later. My iPhone. This iPhone is really complex. We'd all agree the smartphone was made by smart people. Steve Jobs is a smart dad now, but he was a smart guy. The people that work at Apple, smart people, smart people make smartphones. This to run across this phone and say, hmm, I bet that thing just kind of made itself. I bet it just kind of popped out of nowhere, out of nothing. I bet nobody times nothing equals an iPhone. Well, we know that's stupid, right? It doesn't work like that.

You know, there are thousands of parts in an iPhone and they have to be put together just so. And it's very meticulous to get this down to this little box so that it can do what it does. Hey, did you know in the human body there, it is made up of cells? This iPhone is made up of thousands of parts. Your human body is made up of roughly 37 trillion cells. 37 trillion cells. And every single one of your cells is more complicated than the whole transit system in New York City. And God put 37 trillion of them together in such a specific way with all sorts of information in that one little cell. You go on YouTube and you look into the microbiology, they have some pretty cool videos of all that happens in your cells.

I was talking to my friend Dr. Mayo, Russell Mayo, and I was saying, is it fair to say that a cell is more complicated than New York City? He said, yeah, I can get around New York City. He said, to understand, he said, we in the medical community, we don't understand everything about the cell. You have also that do different things. I mean, the complexity of the human body is mind-boggling. It doesn't make one bit of sense to me how any medical doctor could say he doesn't believe in God. It's just ridiculous. How could all of this be so complex if you didn't have a creator?

Speaker 1

What a decisive question, and a question that the skeptics really have a hard time answering. Today, Pastor Jeff Shreve is beginning his series, Life's Big Questions, a six-lesson series that addresses the most profound questions we could possibly ask. Today, he began examining the first question, the fundamental question: Does God really exist?

Listen, knowing the answers to these big questions in life that we'll address this month has great benefits for us in many, many ways. Because for many, when we don't know the answer or get the answer we want, sometimes it can become a hurdle we simply cannot get over. Do you ask questions about God but haven't gotten what you think is a sufficient answer? An answer that really resonates with logic, your faith, and life's practical realities? If so, it can become an impediment to your growing faith.

To help you find the answers that will bring knowledge to your mind and peace to your heart, Pastor Jeff Shreve is offering two special resources this month for your gift to From His Heart of any amount. The first is his six-message series, Life's Big Questions, that provides answers to the most foundational and sometimes controversial questions that we have about God. The second resource is a bonus booklet entitled The ABCs of the Christian Life, both for your gift today of any amount to From His Heart.

The series is available in the format of your choice on a USB flash drive, CDs, DVDs, or an immediate MP3 download. To get yours, make your gift when you call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or go online to FromHisHeart.org and request Life's Big Questions. The series and the new booklet, The ABCs of the Christian Life, will be clear online, so you don't have to remember those titles.

Your support allows From His Heart to be here and on over 850 radio stations in the United States, as well as around the world. So thank you for helping us change the world and join in this mission to share the truth of the Word of God and the true existence of God.

There's much more for you on the website, where you can download an MP3 version of any broadcast and discover other free resources. Just go to FromHisHeart.org and click the resources link. Also, when you do visit our website, we hope you'll sign up for Pastor Jeff's weekly Real Hope email encouragement letter, which you'll receive in your inbox every Friday morning. It's a wonderful, warm devotional that you'll enjoy.

The web address again is FromHisHeart.org. That's it. Today on From His Heart, I'm Larry Nobles, trusting you'll be here tomorrow for part two of the first message in the series, Life's Big Questions, with part two of Does God Really Exist? That's on Thursday, right here on From His Heart.

Speaker 3

There is treasure, there is bless, There is hope that you always dream Love he can heal every scar Real truth, Real love, Real Hope.

Speaker 1

From His Heart is the listener-supported broadcast ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve, speaking the truth in love to a lost and hurting world.

Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.

Find out more about that. Go to fromisheart.org.