Is There A Higher Power?" Series

"Knock knock.

Who’s there?

God.

God who?

That’s the big question, isn’t it?"

We are in a new series, “The Big Questions of faith” and today we ask, “Is there a Higher Power?”

“Let’s explore who God is, and whether He really knocks on the door of our lives.”

Introduction

Many people ask, “Does God exist?”

Some claim there is no evidence, but the Bible teaches that God’s existence is clearly revealed.

It depends on how you look for God, and

what you are looking for.

I mean, Does AIR exist?

Because, if you use sight and touch – you won’t find air – so “air doesn’t exist?”

Does love exist?

If you go looking for love with your eyes, your taste, your touch – you won’t find it right?

You could conclude that love doesn’t exist!

But air and love do exist!

Neither are physical objects to see, touch, or taste.

We have to discover love and air in other ways.

If God is really God, you aren’t going to see him on a street corner, or shake His hands.

Today, we will explore key ways our God makes Himself known: creation, conscience, and His Word.

Think for a moment about the vastness of the night sky.

Billions upon billions of stars, swirling galaxies, at distances that our minds can barely grasp.

Or consider the intricate dance of life within a single cell, the delicate balance of an ecosystem, the sheer wonder of human consciousness.

Haven't you ever felt, in moments like these, that there's more to it all?

That there's a whisper of something beyond the tangible, - a hint of a grander design?

Today, we're tackling one of the most fundamental questions of faith:

How do we know there is a higher power?

It's a question that has echoed through human history, pondered by philosophers, scientists, and everyday people alike.

So many use science to prove or disprove things.

Let’s be clear about science:

a. Science cannot prove everything. and

b. Science changes opinion over time.

What scientist “know” and prove today could well change in the next ten years.

It happens a lot.

Science can only use what it already knows.

All the rest is theory.

Let's explore some of the ways we can discover God, keeping in mind that these are not airtight arguments, but rather compelling observations and experiences:

1. The Argument from Design: The Intricacy of Creation

The universe is like a painting.

You might not see the artist, but the brushstrokes are everywhere.

But look around at the natural world.

• The complexity of the human eye,

• The mutual relationships between species,

• The precise laws of physics that govern the universe – these often evoke a sense of intentionality.

•

Think of the intricate engineering of a spider's web, perfectly designed to catch its prey.

Or the delicate balance of the Earth's atmosphere, sustaining life.

Trying to understand the universe without acknowledging a creator can leave you feeling a little lost in space.

This perspective suggests that such intricate order and functionality are unlikely to have arisen purely by random chance.

Just as a complex machine implies a designer, so too, the complexity of the universe and life on Earth can point towards an intelligent creator.

Imagine walking on a beach and finding a message written in the sand: "Welcome to the beach."

Would you assume the waves randomly formed those simple words?

No—you would recognize intelligence behind them.

Likewise, the universe carries God's signature.

2. Cause and purpose.

One of the first words a child uses, once s/he start to think/reason is . . . . “WHY?”

We crave purpose,

o What can I do?

o What can I achieve?

o Why am I here?

To find answers to their purpose, people often go to the things they can see, touch, taste — material things.

But most of us know that material things don’t fully satisfy. They don’t last.

Much of our life is seeking answers to –

Why am I here?

What is my purpose – right?

If we’re just random accidents of evolution, why do we feel that life *should* have meaning?

Everything we know has a cause.

• A book is written by an author,

• a house is built by a builder.

This chain of cause and effect seems fundamental to our understanding of reality.

If everything has a cause, what caused the very first thing?

This line of reasoning suggests that there must be an uncaused cause, a first mover that initiated everything else.

This first cause, by its very nature, would be beyond the limitations of the created world – a higher power.

Illustration: Think of a row of dominoes falling.

Each domino falls because the one before it pushed it.

But what started the chain reaction?