WHY I KNOW GOD EXISTS ¡ ¡ JoLynn ¡Gower ¡ JoLynn ¡Gower ¡ 493-‑6151 ¡ jgower@guardingthetruth.org ¡ 1 ¡
VERSE FOR THE JOURNEY • Colossians 1:16-17 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. • Hebrews 1:1-3 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. 2 ¡
RIGHT THINKING • Scientific concepts exist in the minds of men. Behind these concepts lies the reality which is being revealed to us, but only by the grace of God. Wernher von Braun • LOOKING AT ALL SIDES OF AN ISSUE • Ephesians 4:17-18 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; • Ignorance: agnoia: lack of understanding or proof of the essentials • 2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 3 ¡
REFUSING TO TURN ON THE LIGHT • The story of Essie • Luke 11:35-36 "Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness. If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays." • Daniel 12:3-4 "Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase." • Back and forth: shut: to go here and there; a mariner; a rower; by extension a traveler Increase: rabah: abound; be considerable 4 ¡
THEY BELIEVED WHAT??? • 1500 BC: the earth was riding on a large animal or a giant • Job 26:7 "He stretches out the north over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.” • Isaiah 40:22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. • It wasn’t until about 1650 that scientists began to understand that the earth could be spherical, rotate, and people wouldn’t fly off • Aristotle (On the Heavens) had suggested that the earth might be a sphere as early as 350 BC but no one could figure out how this might work 5 ¡
SAILORS AND CURRENTS • I am a most noteworthy sinner, but I have cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy, and they have covered me completely. I have found the sweetest consolation since I made it my whole purpose to enjoy His marvelous Presence. Christopher Columbus Columbus, as did many sailors, believed that the earth was round; he had no fear of sailing off of it • There is a river in the ocean. In the severest droughts it never fails and in the mightiest floods it never overflows. Its banks and its bottom are of cold water while its current is of warm. The Gulf of Mexico is its fountain, and its mouth is in the Arctic Sea. It is the Gulf Stream. Matthew Fontaine Maury Maury, father of oceanography, read Psalm 8:8: The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea; Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. 6 ¡
SEEN AND UNSEEN • The existence of the atom had been theorized for a long time; in the late 1800’s it was finally proven; scientists also discovered that atoms had parts • Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. • The Second Law of Thermodynamics says that things tend toward entropy • Isaiah 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the sky, then look to the earth beneath; For the sky will vanish like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment. • Psalm 102:25-26 "Of old You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You endure; and all of them will wear out like a garment; like clothing You will change them and they will be changed.” “7 ¡ •
CYCLES OF WATER • The Mississippi river empties 518 billion gallons of water into the Gulf of Mexico every day • Ecclesiastes 1:7 All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, there they flow again. • Amos 9:6 The One who builds His upper chambers in the heavens and has founded His vaulted dome over the earth, He who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth, the LORD is His name. • The Coriolis Effect causes winds to go clockwise around high pressure and counter-clockwise around low pressure in the northern hemisphere; reversed in the southern • Ecclesiastes 1:6 Blowing toward the south, then turning toward the north, the wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the a ¡ 8 ¡ wind returns.
THE LOCK AND KEY • In antiquity and in what is called the Dark Ages, men did not know what they now know about humanity and the cosmos. They did not know the lock, but they possessed the key, which is God. Now many have excellent descriptions of the lock, but they have lost the key. The proper solution is union between religion and science. We should be owners of the lock and the key. Richard Wurmbrand • Isaiah 22:22 "Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, when he opens no one will shut, when he shuts no one will open.” • Luke 11:52 "Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering." 9 ¡
KINGDOM KEYS • Matthew 16:13-19 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” • And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven” WE ACT IN RESPONSE TO HEAVEN 10 ¡
BONDAGE vs LIGHT • Acts 8:13 Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed. Acts 8:18-23 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, "Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity." 11 ¡
BOOK OF THE WEEK 12 ¡
Recommend
More recommend
