I want to begin this morning by reading you a quote from a man some believe to be one of the most brilliant scientific minds of our day. You may have heard of him, his name is Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist whose greatest ambition in life seems to be to prove that God does not exist, and that Christians who have faith in God are emotionally weak and intellectually naïve.
This quote is from his book, Is Science a Religion?
“Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence…. Faith, being belief that isn’t based on evidence, is the principal vice of any religion.”
As I read these words, I couldn’t help but to think that Mr. Dawkins, whether he would admit it or not, actually has more faith than most professed Christians;—and I say that because he bases his worldview on what he calls science and yet it can never be proven by the very science he professes to follow …and for that reason, I would say yes, his science is in fact a faith-based religion; obviously his faith is not in God, but rather in his own intellectual prowess and is spawned by and anchored in self-pride.
He actually believes that in his brief time on this earth, studying the work of other scientists, and doing his own research, that he has somehow discovered enough “scientific evidence” to prove that God doesn’t exist; which means by default, that this entire universe, including Richard Dawkins, wasn’t created by an intelligent designer but that it created itself—from nothing. Talk about faith!
But just for the sake of argument, let’s pretend he’s right in his God-denying theory; can you imagine a world without God? Think about it. Imagine a world without people who have faith in God.. What I’m asking you is, to imagine where this world would be without the influence and work of Christians......
It’s impossible to overstate just how much our world has benefited from people whose worldview, lifestyle and morality was shaped by their faith in God.
Consider for a moment all of the hospitals, schools and universities, humanitarian organizations, vital community services, and the very laws of most countries that help safeguard and encourage morality, wellbeing and peace in humanity; most of them are taken from and based on the moral principles in the Word of God. Personally, I’m convinced that, were it not for the millions of Christians—people of faith, that God used to restrain the tide of evil, were it not for their work and influence throughout the history of humanity , we would have destroyed ourselves thousands of years ago.
Again, Mr. Dawkins says, “Faith, being belief that isn’t based on evidence, is the principal vice of any religion.” (he’s calling faith a “weakness” or fracture in religion that causes it to collapse in upon itself.. I would suggest to you that genuine Christian faith is far from weakness; it is without a doubt our greatest strength.
Hebrews 11:1,2 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
Dawkins says we have no evidence for our faith... Really?? I would argue that we have two of the greatest books ever written that comprise the bedrock of our faith: the Bible—the written word of God, miraculously composed and preserved, gives us a rich and honest history of our world. It also contains an abundance of prophecies—all of which have been fulfilled, which is a testament to its divine origin.
And then we have the book of nature, with its incredible beauty, complexity, diversity and interdependence that virtually screams to humanity that there most definitely is an intelligent Designer and Creator behind it; and if we exercise that measure of faith we’re all given, and if we really listen, we can hear this same creation singing its Creator’s praises everywhere we look.
Romans 1:18-25
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
Psalm 19:1-4 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2Day after day they pour forth speech night after night they display knowledge. 3There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.4their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
The famous astronaut, John Glenn, speaking about his view from the space shuttle Discovery on his first day in orbit said this, “To look out the window... as I did that first day....to look out at this creation and not believe in God is, to me, impossible.”
God doesn’t expect us, and I don’t think He wants us, to believe in Him without significant evidence....
Despite what most nonbelievers think, it’s not blind faith we have in God, but faith based on an incredible abundance of evidence we see all around us, that is, if we’ll only look. And once you do see this creation for what it is, the handiwork of an all-powerful, loving Creator God, you begin to see it everywhere, to the point that it can be overwhelming!
This is why I think David wrote in Psalm 14:1, “The fool says in his heart, ‘there is no God.’” It is April Fools day…
Right now, Satan, through this world he has so effectively deceived, is doing everything in his power to cause you and I to neglect or even abandon our faith. But today, I want to briefly share with you five main reasons to, not only keep the faith, but also to diligently nurture, exercise and grow it.
1) It is only through faith that we have access to God’s saving grace. Ephesians 2:8,9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life..
This important aspect of faith is repeated many times throughout Scripture, and most Christians understand that. But sadly, too many are content with claiming only this first attribute of faith, and never realize the immense power that could be theirs if only they would tap into it.
A robust and growing faith is much more than just a ticket to heaven.
2) Faith is our shield. Ephesians 6:16 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. These could be flaming arrows of temptation, adversity, doubt, etc.
3) Faith gives us the ability to see beyond our physical temporal realm to the Spiritual realm. Hebrews 11:27 By faith he (Moses) left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.” Faith gives us the ability to know God is with us, even when our physical eyes can’t see Him... (Amazing Grace—I once was blind but now I see.” Elisha’s servant saw the angel army sent from God surrounding him and his master, after Elijah prayed for him.. We need to be like the two blind men when Jesus asked them what they wanted him to do for them; they said, “Lord we want to see!”
2 Corinthians 5:7 says that We live by faith and not by sight. We should be praying daily that God will help us to see the world as He sees it..
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. (Revelation 3 Jesus counsels us to buy from Him eye salve so that we can truly see..”)
4) Faith is the key that unlocks unlimited power of prayer. In Matthew 9 Jesus told that woman who was subject to bleeding for 12 years, “take heart daughter, your faith has healed you.” He said the same thing to the man He healed of blindness; in fact, though he may not have spoken these exact words to everyone He healed, faith was instrumental in healing them all.
And there are examples in Scripture where the faith that accesses the divine intervention actually comes from someone other than the receiver of that intervention or healing. The faith of the four friends of the paralytic was acknowledged and honored by Jesus. “When He saw their faith…He said to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven…. Get up, pick up your bed and go home.”
5) Faith can give us peace, even in the midst of the most violent storm; You see, faith, like love, drives out fear
Matthew 11:28-30 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You.”
John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”
Illustration
A house caught fire late one night. Mom, dad and the little girl barely made it out before the house was totally engulfed in flames. But 6 year old Johnny didn’t make it out with the rest of them, his room was on the second floor. He had climbed out the window to escape the flames and was holding onto the widow frame screaming for his father. The father ran and stood underneath the window and called out to Johnny telling him to jump. But Johnny looked down and saw nothing but smoke and cried out, “I can’t see you!” to which his dad replied, “But I can see you, and that’s all that matters!” (briefly discuss how this story so beautifully and accurately depicts God and our relationship and the critical role faith plays in our jumping from a planet destined to burn into the arms of our loving heavenly Father.)
Appeal
