March 7, 2004 Hebrews 11:1,6
“God, are you there?”
INTRODUCTION
Two young brothers had terrorized their neighborhood with their pranks and thefts. The parents didn’t know what to do. They finally decided to bring the boys to their pastor, one at a time, and see if he could help straighten them out.
The younger brother, Billy, arrived and was ushered into the church office where he was offered a very large chair in front of the desk. The minister then sat down opposite the lad. He folded his hands in front of him and stared at the boy a few seconds then said, “Where is God?” Billy wasn’t sure what the question meant, so he just sat there quietly. The minister leaned over his desk, locked eyes and said in a much stronger voice, “Where…is…God?” Billy started to squirm. He had no idea why he was here and the minister kept asking the same question. The poor boy was really getting scared and snuggled back into the full chair. The minister, meanwhile, moved from behind his desk to stand directly in front of Billy and raised one hand upward to Heaven. “WHERE…IS…GOD?” he bellowed at the lad.
Poor Billy lost it. What could he do? Here was a man of God asking questions he didn’t understand and he was scared. So he jumped up out of the chair, ran from the office, down the church aisle, out onto the sidewalk, up the street into his house. Then he raced up the stairs and into his bedroom. “What’s wrong Billy?” his brother asked. “Oh, Johnny,” he said. “We’re in BIG trouble this time. God’s missing and they think we took Him.”
Was Billy right? Is God missing? Just watching the evening news any day of the week and seeing what is happening in the world can make a person question whether or not God is there any more or even if He was ever there to begin with. For some of you, you don’t need the evening news to prompt questions about God’s existence. You’ve got plenty of pain in your own life to cause you to shout, “God, are you there?”
Over the next six weeks, we are going to ask and do our best to answer some controversial and potentially life-altering questions – questions about the existence of God, the reliability of the Bible and the goodness of God in a world where there is suffering and evil. To some of you, these questions may seem unnecessary since you already believe that God exists and that the Bible is true. But we have a responsibility to be prepared to answer the questions that other people bring to us (1 Peter 3:15), and we also need to know why we believe what we believe. To others of you here, these are questions that you have been wrestling with. You want to know the truth, but you’re just not sure what the truth is. Christians tell you that you should believe in God and accept the Bible as truth, but you need reasons to believe. After all, “it is possible for any of us to believe error; it is also possible for us to resist truth.” – p. 5
Whenever there are conflicting stories about what the truth is, the people involved will often go to court to try and discover the truth. Such is the case with Martha Stewart, Kobe Bryant and Scott Peterson. My task over the next six weeks will be the same as the task of the lawyers in each of those cases – to bring witnesses to the stand so that they can present evidence concerning the truth of our claims. “[I] believe there are satisfying, reasonable answers to the hard questions about which we all wonder”, and I will do my best to present those answers. (p. 7) “...your task will be [that of the jury -] to weigh the evidence so you can begin to draw a more informed conclusion...” As much as is possible, I am asking that you come into this courtroom without having already made up your minds so that you can judge the evidence fairly.
Our courtroom here is both like and dislike the other court cases that I spoke of a moment ago. It is like these court cases in the sense that not all the mysteries of life will become clear in the short time frame that we have. Not every question will be answered to your complete satisfaction. That is because “Seeking truth is a way of life, not a season of life.” Instead of seeing this series as the end of your journey in finding the truth, see it as one more step toward discovering the truth about God. By being here, you have chosen to take a step in the right direction. – p. 10 Our courtroom is different from those on the news, because the normal jury has no stake in the outcome of the trial. You do. Our goal here is to either solidify the truth that you already believe or to change your mind and bring you to what we believe the Bible teaches as the truth.
In order to present our case in an orderly fashion, we will present the questions in the same order that the Bible deals with them in Hebrews 11:6. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists – that’s the question “Is God there?” – and that he rewards – “Is God good?” – those who earnestly seek him – “What am I supposed to do about it?” or “How does it affect me?”
1. Is God there? “...must believe that He exists...”
As you are the jury, I need to find out some information from you so that I can know what kind of jury I have to work with. In your bulletin, there is a card that you should have filled out by now. Find that card, and take a look at it. Let’s see how you did. [The following information was put on a card and placed in each bulletin for people to draw a line between the different positions about God’s existence and the statement that matches that position. They were then asked to circle the position that best represents where they are.] “The atheist says no god or gods exists at all. ... The agnostic says it is not possible to know if there is a god or not. ... The deist says God created the universe but has left it alone ever since. ... The theist says God exists and is involved with creation. ... The polytheist says many gods exist. ... The pantheist says that God exists in and through everything in the universe, and is one with the universe. [The practical atheist says how I live my life is none of God’s business]” – p. 13
Where you fit on that scale of belief will determine the difficulty of my task of convincing you of God’s existence. My job would be easy if I could put God on display for you to examine with your five senses. If you could see Him, touch Him and hear Him speak, you would be far more likely to believe in His existence. But just because you can’t perceive God with your senses does not give you permission to discount His existence.
An elementary school teacher had a Christian student who was very outspoken about his faith. To prove a point, the teacher took this student to the classroom window, pointed to the sky and said, “Look up into the sky. Can you see God up there?” “No.” the student replied. “That’s because there is no God,” smirked the teacher. “Oh.” The student said as he returned to his desk. As the teacher was making his way back up to the front of the classroom, the student turned to a classmate and said, “Look at the teacher’s head. Do you see a brain up there?” The classmate said, “Nope.” “That’s because there is no brain up there!”
There are many things in our world right now that are real but cannot be perceived with the senses. “Microwaves cannot be seen, but they cook our food. Television and radio waves likewise cannot be perceived without specialized receivers. Even something as basic as love is impossible to touch, taste, see, smell, or hear – but who denies love exists or that it is necessary to human survival? [There are] other ways to perceive what is real [beyond our natural senses]. – p. 18
The tool that you need in order to be able to believe in and perceive God is faith.
(Heb 11:1 NIV) Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
As the lawyer in this courtroom, I wish that I could prove to you beyond a shadow of a doubt that God exists. But I cannot. No one can. The Bible doesn’t even lay out a defense of God’s existence. The Bible assumes God’s existence. Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning, God...” It would be great to know for sure that God exists, but God didn’t set things up that way. He planned things in such a way that it would require faith from us to be able to accept what He says as truth. Remember the verse that we started out with today – “Without faith, it is impossible to please God...” (Heb. 11:6)
Is it too much of me to ask you to exercise faith? It shouldn’t be. You exercised faith on your way here this morning. Every time that you came to a stop sign, you placed your faith in your brakes to stop the car when you stepped on the brake pedal. Some of you will be boarding a plane this week. You place your faith in a pilot that you do not know to fly the plane safely; you place your faith in air that you cannot see to hold the plane in the sky; you place your faith in mechanics whose training you have no information about. Is that blind faith? No, it’s faith that’s based on evidence. The company has a good reputation, the employees are friendly and have a good appearance, you’ve watched planes fly through invisible air before and you know people who have successfully flown with this airline. All of these factors are evidence that support your faith. There is evidence to support faith in God’s existence as well.
Arguments FOR the existence of God. – p. 20-21
Cause and effect – I have two children. Every now and then, I will hear my children crying. When I hear them crying, I investigate to find out why they are crying. Something had to cause it. They don’t just start crying for no reason. And the louder the crying is, the bigger the event or person that caused their crying unless of course they are crying harder thinking that the louder they cry, the more sister or brother will be in trouble. It’s the law of cause and effect. For every effect – crying – there has to be a cause – brother hit me. The universe is here. It is an effect, and it is big. Something – and something bigger than it – had to cause it. You tell me; what is bigger than the universe?
(Romans 1:20 NIV) “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.”
Order – I used to be an avid jigsaw puzzle enthusiast. The harder they were, the better I liked it. I put together scores of puzzles in my childhood. In all the times that I dumped puzzle pieces out of a box, never once did they fall into place for me. I had to work hours to put those things together. In the same way, “The complex nature of the universe implies that there must have been a designer behind its structure. If you have a watch, there has to be a watchmaker.” – p. 21
(Psalm 19:1-4 NIV) “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands...”
Moral – “All people seem to have a conscience that sends a signal of right and wrong. The exact standard may vary from culture to culture, but generalizations can be made that transcend all cultures. A moral creator, who put this standard in all humans best explains the universality of this trait.”
(Romans 1:19; 2:14-15 NIV) “ ... what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ...Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts...”
Experience – “Lots of otherwise rational, reasonable people believe in God, and claim He answers their prayers, guides them, and comforts them in times of need. They claim He has changed their lives, given them hope, made a difference in their values, and radically altered their behavior toward fellow human beings.”
(2 Cor. 5:17 NIV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
Experience, whether it be yours or someone else’s is the weakest argument alone (it could be used for virtually any system of beliefs) but with the others as its foundation, it becomes the strongest one. Someone else’s experience has the greatest potential for changing my beliefs and actions.
These pieces of evidence that I have given you may not be enough to convince you of the existence of God especially if you were already convinced that He does NOT exist. But they should be enough to at least cause you to open your mind to further evidence. For some people, no matter how much evidence they are presented with, they will never believe. That is because they don’t want to believe.
Do you think that overwhelming evidence would definitely change your beliefs or actions? One day, not long before His death, Jesus raised one of his friends from the dead. There was a large crowd there that had witnessed Lazarus’ death and could testify to it. This same crowd now watched as Lazarus came out of the grave at the command of Jesus. The people in that crowd, faced with overwhelming evidence that Jesus was God just as He claimed, responded in different ways. Some of them placed their faith in Him. Others went away angry and began to plot how they were going to get rid of Jesus. When someone has already made up his mind about what he wants to believe, he will come up with all kinds of explanations for how something could have happened. In our day, man would rather believe evolution than creation. There’s an old fairy tale that says: Frog + Princess = Handsome prince. Today there’s a new fairy tale going under the guise of science that says: Frog + 10 billion years = Handsome prince. Some people will believe in spite of the evidence because they want to. (i.e. Bigfoot, UFO’s, etc.) Some people refuse to believe in spite of overwhelming evidence because they don’t want to. Pharaoh saw the parted waters and the plagues but refused to believe. Scripture says that he had hardened his heart. Do you have a hardened heart? The fact is that the evidence fits the conclusion that God does indeed exist.
Would you be willing to do this? Would you be willing to “Ask God to make Himself real to you. Ask Him to show you, in ways that will be meaningful to you, that He can be relied upon. Ask also that He will help you not overlook evidence He has given already – if you refuse to see what He has provided, He’s not obligated to give you any more.” – p. 24
TRAN: Would you say that most people who doubt the existence of God have a problem with Him intellectually or emotionally? Most people, when they are trying to answer the question of whether or not God exists, don’t deal with the kind of intellectual arguments that we have discussed. They want a system of beliefs that works – something that answers their questions, helps them make sense of and deal with life, and meets their basic needs. They want to get an answer to the question: “Does God care?”
2. Does God care? “...and that He rewards...”
If you are asking this question, you certainly would not be the first to ask it.
(Psa 8:3,4 NIV) When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
He’s asking, “God, you’ve done so much, and you are so big. Why would something so small as a man – me – even draw any consideration or one thought from your mind? Why would we be important enough to you for you to care about us?” It’s a valid question. Think about who God is as the Bible presents Him.
God is omnipresent. That means that God is present everywhere even in this room right now. God is all-powerful. He has the power to accomplish anything He wants. God is all-knowing. He knows what you are thinking right now. He knows what you will do tomorrow. He knows what you did yesterday. He knows that secret that you will not share with anyone. He is eternal – no beginning and no end. He is holy – totally without sin or wrong doing. He is wise, merciful, good and just. And He is loving. It is this last characteristic that causes Him to enter into our world, our concerns and our hurts and actually care about insignificant creatures like us. He cares so much in fact that God came to earth in the form of a man to die for us.
By now, many of you have seen “The Passion of the Christ”. This movie powerfully portrays what Jesus endured for you and for me in order to prove once and for all how much God cares for us. He entered into our world. He entered into our pain. He even entered into our questions. At the end of the movie, even as it is recorded in the Bible, Jesus asks the question: “My God, my God; why have you forsaken me?” He’s asking, “God, do you care about the suffering that I am going through?” It is suffering in our lives that often causes us to doubt both God’s existence and His love.
As much as you have heard about Mel Gibson’s latest movie, you may not be as familiar with his last one. It’s called “Signs”. In that movie, Mel plays a Catholic priest who has lost his faith in both the existence of God and the goodness of God because of the death of his wife. In one scene, the family is sitting down to what they believe will be their last meal because of the attack of an enemy on the earth. The family has not prayed over a meal in months, but because of the crisis situation, the children ask their dad if they can say a blessing on the meal. The father refuses. He is totally convinced that there is no God, or even if there is, he is so mad at that God that he refuses to acknowledge His existence. That may be where some of you are right now. You’re mad at God for leaving you all alone in the middle of your pain. Friend, you may feel alone, but you are not alone. God sees, and God cares.
(John 3:16 NIV) "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Why would God care enough about us to give up His Son for us?
We are His creation
(Isa 40:26 NIV) Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
“...if God knows the names of 200 billion stars, he hasn’t forgotten your name. What matters to you, matters to him. What concerns you, concerns him. What troubles you, troubles him. The Creator of the Universe is not too big, too removed, too powerful to know your name, to care for you, and to guide your life. The stars shout out "God cares. He’s interested in people. He knows our names.’” – Randy Croft
It’s in His nature to care
In Luke 15, Jesus tells three stories – one about a lost sheep, one about a lost coin, and one about a lost son. In each story, the person who lost these things has more of the same still at home. But that doesn’t satisfy them. They search and pray until the one that they lost is finally back with them. Jesus told those stories to illustrate how God feels about you. He cares about you. He is searching for you. He wants to enter into a relationship with you.
TRAN: So far, we have presented evidence that God exists and that He cares. Is that enough? Is it enough for people to believe in the existence of God or even that God is good? NO!
(James 2:19 NIV) You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.
“There is a difference between concluding God exists (which is an intellectual matter) and getting to know Him personally (which goes beyond mere knowledge)” – leader guide, p. 17 There’s a difference between admiring a girl from across the dance floor and going up to her to ask her to dance with you. I don’t get to enjoy the pleasure of her company and all that she has to offer unless I enter into a relationship with her. The same is true of God. That leads us to our final question.
3. What does God expect from me? “...those who earnestly seek Him.”
There are some beliefs that I hold that have virtually no impact on my life. I believe that Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, but I don’t have to do anything about it. I believe that it is cold at the North Pole, but that doesn’t mean that I have to go buy a new parka. A belief in the God of the Bible does impact my life. It requires me to make a response. God has made it very clear that He wants a relationship with me.
(Rev 3:20 NIV) Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
One possible response to my belief in the existence of God is that I look into the Bible and try to keep all the rules that I find there. But a relationship with God is not about keeping rules. I keep the rules that the gov’t sets up, but I have no relationship with the authorities. My children have a relationship with me, so they (hopefully) desire to please me by keeping the rules (John 14:15). My response to Him is not simply to keep the rules. That would be the right response if God was only holy and just. But He is also loving. He wants a relationship not just a rule-keeper. He wants someone who knows Him not just someone who knows about Him.
As much as God desires a relationship with you, there is a problem. It’s called sin.
(Isa 59:1,2 NIV) ...your iniquities [or sins] have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
If nothing is done to get rid of the sin, then you will be separated from God forever and never be able to enter into a relationship with Him.
(Rom 6:23 NIV) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(John 17:3 NIV) Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
All of us are going to live forever. Some who refuse to believe that God exists or allow Him to enter into their lives will dwell forever in a place called hell. C.S. Lewis told about a tombstone that read, “Here lies an atheist—all dressed up and no place to go.” He commented, “I bet he wishes that were so.” Others who accept Jesus as their Savior will enjoy full life on earth and eternal joy in heaven.
We sang a song this morning that talks about the fact that one day, every person will see God. Then, they will know for sure that He does exist. But then, it will be too late to change their mind about how they want to respond to the fact that God exists and that He is good. Now is your chance to enter into that relationship.
CONCLUSION
I’ll admit it. It would be easier to believe in God if we could see Him and touch Him. And it would be easier to believe that He cares if we could see Him meeting needs and healing diseases. But wait a minute. Isn’t that why Jesus came – to make the invisible God visible?
(John 1:14 NIV) The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
And didn’t Jesus prove that God cares by meeting needs, healing diseases and then finally to pay for the sins of mankind? All the evidence you need is there. The only question is how you are going to respond to it. If you choose to reject it, then the Bible says this about you:
(Psa 14:1 NIV) ... The fool says in his heart, "There is no God...
And the only logical reaction that you can give to the existence of God is the same reaction that the devil has: FEAR. You will stand before Him and face His judgment one day if you refuse to accept His forgiveness this day.
Maybe there is no one here who would claim to be an intellectual atheist. But some of you all the time, and many of you much of the time, and all of us some of the time are practical atheists. We act as if God doesn’t exist. Whenever we make choices without consulting Him first, we are acting as if He does not exist. Whenever we respond in disobedience to one of His commands, we are acting as He does not exist. Whenever we put our will ahead of His, we are acting as if He does not exist. Whenever we worry about the needs of life, we are acting as if He does not exist or at least, as if He does not care. “Casting all your cares on Him, for He cares for you.”
"Mommy, what does God look like?" asked 5-year-old Timmy. He put down his peanut butter sandwich & took a big swallow of milk. "Well, God is a Spirit & we can’t see Him in the same way that we see people," his mother began, not knowing quite where to go from there. "But if we can’t see Him, how do we know what He’s like?" he persisted. "Well, suppose you were blind," she suggested to Timmy. "Would you be able to see Daddy, for instance?" He shook his head. "But would you know what Daddy is like?" He thought for a moment, then vigorously nodded his head. "You’d know what Daddy is like by the things he says, wouldn’t you?" He nodded again. "And we know what God is like, too, by the things He says in His Word. And you’d know that Daddy loves you, because he would tell you so & do everything he could for you. That’s how we know God loves us, too. He tells us so, & He has given us so much to help us have a wonderful life. But most of all, He gave us Jesus to take away our sins & to show us what God is really like. And even though you couldn’t see Daddy - if you were blind - you could hear his voice & feel when he is near. And in the same way, through Jesus we can hear God’s voice & feel Him near, too. That’s why, even though we can’t see God, we can be very certain what He is like."
Little Timmy picked up his sandwich. "I know," he exclaimed, "We don’t see God outside. We see Him inside." Timmy’s right, isn’t he?
No wonder Jesus said that all who come to Him must come to Him as a little child.
NOTE: All quotes, unless otherwise noted are from either the student guide or leader guide of the Tough Questions small group material authored by Garry Poole and Judson Poling and put out by Zondervan
