The Existence And Presence Of Almighty God, Part 1

As the days draw nearer to the promised return of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-15), we are told in Scripture that humanity will not welcome Him with open arms, but will instead grow more hateful towards Him, doing everything possible to resist His arrival to the point of thinking they can get rid of Him as He arrives on the scene at the end of the Tribulation period to establish His rule and reign on this Earth (John 7:7, 15:25; Revelation 19:11-21). Over the centuries, this hatred for God has been directed at everyone who has put their faith in Him. True followers of Jesus Christ should never place any kind of "faith" in the world system (1 John 2:15-17). We should never approve of nor support anyone who promotes the idea that God does not exist (Psalm 14;1, 53:1). We will not bow to the whims of an impersonal ideology or the demands of fickle tyrants (Acts 4:19-20, 5:29). We are to stand firm and be prepared to give the reason why we follow Jesus (1 Peter 3:15), even if we are ridiculed or told that what we believe is foolishness (Acts 17:22-32; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25).

The increasing number of those who profess to have no faith at all should not frighten nor intimidate us if we are equipped to answer their objections with sound reasoning not only concerning the existence of God (Isaiah 1:18), but also of His mercy, grace, and forgiveness through the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 11:28-30; John 10:28-30, 14:6; Hebrews 13:5). Silence is not an option for us (Ezekiel 3:18, 18:23, 32). We live in such a state of biblical illiteracy that it is necessary to first discuss the issue of God's existence before there can be an understanding of God's power as written in the book of Genesis. The Bible says that the lack of knowledge is what destroys both people and nations (Isaiah 59:8; Jeremiah 5:4; Hosea 4:6; Romans 10:3; Ephesians 4:18). Willful ignorance is inexcusable, doing nothing except adding fuel to the fires of hell. If you read this message, yet refuse to swallow your pride, admit that God is real, and one day will demand an accounting of your life (John 5:28, 29; Hebrews 9:27), then you have closed your eyes to the obvious (Romans 1:18-20). Your unbelief and stubbornness will be part of the evidence that will condemn you to a very real and eternal hell, like it or not (Revelation 20:11-15). As a minister of the Gospel, I am obligated to tell you the truth about the God who is there and Who does care for you (1 Peter 5:7). How does God show Himself to us? Aside from Scripture, there are arguments (presentations) that Christian apologists will often use to prove the case for both God's existence and characteristic.

There is the cosmological argument, based on a common perception that everything we observe is dependent on something else that is its cause. Nothing just exists on its own. Things are caused to begin to exist, to continue existing, and to come to an end. They are born, and they die (Ecclesiastes 3:2). Common sense concludes that there has to be a First Cause, an Initiator Who brings everything into existence, a Creator whom the Bible refers to as God. Almost every culture, past and present has or had a creation story of one form or another. Regardless of how steeped in myth or fancy that story might be, there are some common bonds or components: (1) Things of our world have causes, and (2) There is a creating, initiating deity who brought it into being.

What can we conclude about this First Cause, or Creator? He is self-existent, timeless, nonspatial (no limit to His being), immaterial (not bound by time, space, or matter), and infinite. He is unimaginably powerful and personal, as He chose to bring a state of nothingness into being (space, time, and material) and shows involvement in all facets of the creative process. An impersonal force (a.k.a. "Star Wars") cannot make individual choices. What we have is a personal, compassionate, all-powerful Being who is not limited by what He has put into existence. He knows the beginning and the end of what He has put into existence. If this is true, then He has no beginning or end to confine or limit Him. Certainly, naturalistic or evolutionary thinking cannot and dare not place itself in such a category. How can we, in our finite minds conceive the foolish idea that nothing put something into existence? Perhaps it is best to come to the following conclusion:

"Oh, Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands have made; I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, how Great Thou Art, how great Thou art."

The other proofs of His existence will be presented in the next message.

donaldwhitchard@outlook.com

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