God Made the World and Everything In It - Life of Paul Part 49

We bought one this morning. Let's open it to the book of acts chapter 17 to be continuing in our study of the life of a great man.

The apostle Paul. And when we left Paul. The last time the apostle Paul was in Athens if you remember up on top of all a place we call Mooresville looks just like this is just below the Parthenon on the top of Mooresville.

He was preaching to the intellectual elite. Not just inactive but therefore in the whole world of his day. You remember we looked at that sermon and we said that the apostle Paul in the Mooresville sermon tried so hard to repackage the message of Christ, so that it made sense to these intellectual philosophers that he ended up robbing it of all of its power. Now it would be easy. As a result of that is to say, well there's not much here then. So let's just go but that's not true. In spite of that strategic mistake that he made which by the way, he learned from there's still an enormous amount of veritable truth in this sermon, and so we want to do rather than fly over it and keep going. I want to camp out hover above Mars Hill sermon for couple weeks let's really pull some spiritual truth out of this sermon that Paul put him that's what were going to start by doing today. So let's look at verse 22 chapter 17 Paul says Bible says and Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus at this Council of intellectuals and he said men of Athens. I see that in every way.

You are very religious for as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship. I even found an altar with this inscription to an unknown God.

Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you, Paul.

So I walked around the city.

I see you guys got idols coming out to walk through in this city and I'm here to proclaim to you the true God the living God, the real God of the universe and so he begins verse 24, the God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth. I would stop right there. Paul says the real God is the God who made the world and everything in it, and it's obvious from what he says here that the apostle Paul believed the Bible's account of how the world and how the universe came into being that the Lord God of the universe made it all and we want to stop right here for today and this is what I want to talk to you about. I want to talk to you about the biblical account of creation what the Bible says about how the universe and how the cosmos came into being and let me tell you why this is so important. It's important because many of us here been raised in the public education system of America. Most of the people in this town of been raised in the public education system of America. We've been taught the evolutionary model of the universe ever since we were in elementary school and for many people, some of you even here today. This is a huge impediment and an enormous obstacle in the way of your making a decision for Christ. You can't get past the discrepancy between what scientists say and what the Bible says about creation that were to be successful in reaching secularized people who were raised in the American public education system in order to reach those goals.

We have to be able to demonstrate that the Bible's account of creation is at least possible that it is at least reasonable and plausible now cannot today prove to you that what the Bible says about the creation is correct in some empirical way like we can prove it.

2+2 = 4, no, I can't do that. Nobody can do that. Nobody was there when it happened. May I remind you, nobody can do that and prove that to you about the evolutionary model of the universe either.

What I want to do today is to give us enough information to convince us that the Bible's claims about how the universe came into being, or at least possible that the Bible's claims are not as far-fetched. Not as nonsensical not as cockeyed and unscientific as your high school biology teacher or your college biology professor want you to believe what I really want to show you that in fact the Bible's explanation makes a lot more sense than the evolutionary model makes when you just look at it on a scientific basis. Is it will wait if we start this question. How mean it's wrong, but what gives you the credentials to talk about something like this to us.

I mean no offense but you're just a preacher you know I'm saying. Well friends. No offense taken. Let me just tell you that when I went on to graduate school.

I didn't train as a preacher when I went to the University North Carolina Chapel Hill I trained as a chemist.

I have a bachelors degree in chemistry. I took over 60 hours of college chemistry. I took over 30 hours of college math and physics and all I've not won a Nobel Prize that's true, but I feel I can talk to you with some level of intelligence on these topics and so that's what I want to do today so let's begin by asking the question will exactly what does the Bible say about how the universe began what you brought your Bible you want to you can turn back with me to Genesis chapter 1 and by the way that's on page 1 are good now.

One of the Bible say well on page 1 of the Bible in the very first verse it says in the beginning God stopped there a minute. The Bible doesn't say in the beginning may doesn't say in the beginning, protoplasm, or in the beginning.

Amoebas are in the beginning primeval sludge. It doesn't say in the beginning, hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and lightning. It says in the beginning God when there was nothing else and no one else here there was God and what did this God do in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and the Hebrew word here for create is the word baccarat in the Hebrew Bible biz verb form is never used with anyone else as its subject other than God. In other words, only God can baccarat people never baccarat so I'm really glad you told me that because I always wanted to know if I could baccarat. I now I know why cancel thank you for telling me that know this is important because baccarat means to create something from nothing in the Bible is telling us that God when it comes to everything we see in the universe around us that God took nothing, and he made it into everything that exists into everything that you and I see into everything the Hubble telescope is taking pictures of God made all that out of nothing that you and I can't do that is human being. We can take something and make something out of some thing but we cannot take nothing and make something out of nothing, yet you follow that right.

Okay good. And yet the Bible declares that God is so awesome God is so majestic God is so unlimited in his power that he didn't baccarat that he can baccarat that he took nothing and made it into the stars the galaxies the nebula the planet this earth and everything we see on this earth by his own divine power, or as the apostle Paul put it on Mars Hill.

God made the world and everything in its time magazine in an article entitled unraveling the universe. At this, and I quote the experts don't know for sure how old or how big the universe is they don't know what most of it is made of. They don't know. In any detail how it began or how it will end and beyond our local cosmic neighbors.

They don't know much about what it looks like things that will live on in light of the fact of how much these experts don't know. It would seem that at least they would give the Bible's explanation a serious chance that the belief that, given a hearing. Why don't they will. That's a great question and let me tell you the answer and print the answer has nothing to do with science. You see, if a person admits that the world was created, then ipso facto, there's gonna be a create tour and the creators gotta be a lot more powerful than you and maybe can create everything we see out there now. If there is a create tour like this that you and I is human being should be subject to you and I should seek his will for our lives.

You and I should run our lives by his word. You and I should run our society by his rules and this is an act of capitulation. This is an act of surrender that these scientists in these so-called experts are simply not prepared to make and what that means is their only choice is to come up with an alternate theory of how the universe happen. A theory that can be naughty and crazy and and have all the probabilities against it, so long as there is no creator because were not surrendering to a creator were not going to be subjected to a creator so we don't care how crazy the theory is, or just got to be no creator in if you think this is all about science, my friend, you're wrong.

You think the scientists don't have personal lifestyle issues and how they interpret the information you wrong. This is a lot about the fact I'm not accepting a creator so I got up on another explanation for the universe.

What is God say about all of this will listen to since all 19 one the heavens declare the glory of God and the skies proclaim his handiwork creation's voice rings out to the whole earth. There is no culture or language were creations voice is not heard, and what his creations voice yelling to the whole universe there is a God who made all of this is what creation is yelling.

Psalm 14 says the full has said in his heart there is no God. God says anybody looks around the creation and denies I exist there, a fool, not the serious thing to have the God of the universe call you a fool and yet he says if you can see me from everything that surrounds you.

You are a fool soaking on okay with women. I hear what you're saying but there are still some big questions you have an answer. There are some big what about that are still bothering me okay will have to walk a will is my personal long. What about the fact that almost no scientists think that the Bible's account of creation can possibly be right. What about that what friends actually that's not true. Actually there a lot more scientists than most of us realize who either totally reject the evolutionary model of the universe or they have serious reservations about the evolutionary model of the universe and there are not believers and they're not followers of Christ are just good scientists, for example, sign Scott just said and I quote scientists to utterly reject evolution. Maybe one of the fastest-growing minorities.

Many of these scientists hold impressive credentials in science. Dr. William the Hamilton Oxford University biologist not a believer says and I quote the theological possibility.

Another words the account how the world happened at the Bible gives is still certainly alive.

Dr. Henry Morgan, now Yale University physicist said this, there is only one convincing answer for the intricate laws in the natural world that exists in the natural world creation by an omnipotent, all wise God."

This guy does not teach for Jerry Falwell and say what I'm saying. God teaches at Yale University and this is what he said. Dr. Paul Davies, a physicist not a believer, and I quote the very fact that the universe is creative and that it has permitted complex structures to emerge and develop to the point of consciousness. In other words, the fact that the universe has organized its own self-awareness is for me powerful evidence that there is something going on behind it all. The impression of design is overwhelming."

Finally, Dr. Ronald numbers University of Wisconsin. He is not a believer. He's not even a scientist. He is a historian, but he keeps track of the debate between creationists and evolutionists.

And here's what he said and I quote, published scientists with creationists beliefs are not uncommon friends. The truth is you and I've been duped into thinking that every scientist in the world that's worth his salt has bought into the evolutionary model 100% that is not true, you and I've been duped into believing that every scientist worth his salt agrees with the evolutionary model hundred percent. That is simply not true.

There is a large percentage of people in the scientific community who expressed serious doubts about the evolutionary model and many of them are not believers in the Lord Jesus Zardari I got another one about okay what's up what about the age of the universe want. I mean, the Bible presents a picture of very young earth. And yet, scientists keep telling us that the universe is billions billions of years old friend Carl Sagan was dead. Now he knows the truth, but we will… Anyway. Anyway, what about all this is why important tears. I will be earth is very important to let me tell you why B). The odds of life developing on this earth by evolution are so infinitesimally small that the only way that there is any chance that happened is by giving evolution, billions and billions of years to try.

If the earth is young and it's not billions and billions of years old and friends. Biblical creation becomes the only way it could have happen.

There's no other way. Mathematically it's even possible.

This is important what you date the age of the universe, whether two primary ways of doing it. The first is carbon-14 dating a radioactive dating and were given the idea rather than measuring. This is easy, that decay rates of of radioactive isotopes are very constant and this is a very scientifically demonstrable and dependable thing well. But listen to Dr. Frederick, Juno menus and evolutionists is not a believer.

He said this and I quote the age of our globe is presently thought to be some 4.5 billion years based on radio dictate rates of uranium and thorium. There has been in recent years, however the horrible realization that radio dictate rates are not as constant as previously thought, nor are they immune to environmental influences. This could mean that the atomic clocks were reset during some global disaster and that the events that brought the Mesozoic the dinosaur age to a close, may not be 65 million years ago, but rather within the age and the memory of man." Now, do we have any such global disasters on record that might have reset those atomic clocks at when I got one about the 2 x 2 x 2 going on the little bottle. You know that one in the Bible yeah you know the Bible says all that water for Noah's flood didn't come by rain. It couldn't rain that much. The Bible check out Genesis 7 says that the crust of the earth was split open the fountains of the deep poured up from below the earth full of radioactive material. Magma all kinds of soft and that every artifact on the face of the earth today soaked in that stove for one full year.

If that's true radioactive dating is completely bogus. It is completely unreliable because the atomic clocks were reset during that year when everything soaked in this radioactive slaughter water that was on the earth's appointment. The log is another way to date the earth and the universe. And that's through the expanding universe.

Well, that's true, and again were given the impression that this is a very finely tuned scientific exercise that the results are airtight, time magazine said listen, astronomers of notes and troubles a day.

In the 1920s times is that you only need two pieces of information to deduce the age of the universe.

Number one how fast the galaxies applied apart and number two. How far away they are. You then take those two things, plug them into a formula and you know the age of your however University of Oklahoma astrophysicist David branch notes that there are two loopholes in this whole thing go Paul number one is what's right in essence and loophole number two was what's the right speed. These two loopholes are taken off to drive the starship enterprise through" what this means is if you think measuring the age of the universe like this is a precise science. You all. In fact, there is a lot of evidence emerging that indicates the earth is actually quite young. Dr. John Baumgardner geophysicist at the Los Alamos National laboratories presented evidence of the 1994 geophysics conference and he said and I quote that the slipsliding of the geological plates would cover the earth might once have moved thousands of times faster than they do today, which if true means that the earth is actually very young friends of the earth is wrong than the evolutionary model is impossible. It is mathematically impossible is a way to Milan. I got one more. What about okay what what about the Big Bang wanting everybody seems to agree with The Big Bang Theory, so why don't we just say The Big Bang Theory is how it happened and that doesn't go along with the Bible at all.

Hello women, you see, The Big Bang Theory does seem to explain things with The Big Bang Theory is a tremendous problem for scientists.

Let me tell you why The Big Bang Theory postulates an absolute beginning to the universe, which is exactly what the Bible says that there was an absolute beginning. Dr. Robert Castro was an astronomer and a confirmed agnostic and listen to what he said and I quote he said astronomers now find that they have painted themselves into a corner because they have proven by their own methods that the world began abrupt early in an act of creation to which you can trace the seeds of every store, every planet every living thing in the cosmos and on earth. He continues the scientists pursuit of the past and in a moment of creation.

Very interesting. This fancy says is an exceedingly strange development, unexpected by everybody except theologians. He concluded by saying what we see is that the evidence from astronomy leads to a biblical view of the origin of the world now repeat that what we see is that the evidence from astronomy leads to a biblical view of the origin of the world. The details differ, but the essential elements in the astronomy model and the biblical account of Genesis 2 are the same not have what about the throwback and you and that is number four. And finally, what about all the precision that we see in our universe. What about the precision with which we see the universe calibrated. How can we explain the precision apart from a creative designer time magazine in an article science God and man said and I quote one intriguing observation that is bubbled up from physics is that the universe seems calibrated for life's existence. If the force of gravity were pushed upward of BIP stores would burn out faster, leaving little time for life to evolve on the planet circling them of the relative masses of protons and neutrons were changed by air stars might never be born since the hydrogen they eat wouldn't exist if it the Big Bang some basic numbers had been jiggled matter and energy would never have coagulated in the galaxy, stars, planet, or any other platform stable enough for life as we know it, and so on. The truth is that our universe has been precisely tweaked to support life here on earth, and Dr. Hugh Ross, a world-renowned geophysicist and by the way, he is a believer, came up with a list of the hundred and 65 physical characteristics of this earth and of the universe.

If you want to see him. There is the website you go check out the website and you can see all hundred and 65 of them and he says in this list and shows how with any one of these were just slightly different in one direction or the other direction any of the 165 life on this planet would be impossible and he tells you why he calculates the probability of this all 110 65 of these happening on the same planet in the same universe, the probability is 1×10 with all hundred and 82 zeros after it. That is one chance in all hundred trillion trillion trillion trillion and 15: the fate of all, I gotta tell you something. It takes faith to believe either model but a lot of those numbers.

I do not have enough faith to be an atheist. I'm sorry 15 trillion to be an atheist would number like that against me. Listen to Dr. Robert Castro as we close our agnostic astronomer, and here's what he says.

In closing he says for the astronomer who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream he had scaled the mountains of ignorance is about to conquer the highest peak and as he pulled himself over the final rock he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries, saying in the beginning God created the heavens and they are now here here today and this is been a hangup in your life in terms of considering the claims of Jesus Christ, may I say to you, be no more we can take this now and say you know what if a person looks at this without bias. If they don't have an anti-creator bias. Lots of scientists who are Christians or even saying that the model of creation.

The Bible presents is at least possible, maybe even more reasonable. So friends we can put that aside now and say let's consider Jesus Christ on his own merit. 20 say is it Milan you know what, I'm already a believer in Jesus already except all of this morning with you on all of this. I mean, you know, this is Greg cannot give the state to my friend what they or our question of the morning which we can't open it and everybody knows what it is all still awake. This is kind of like science class. He Also Way, God right here we go. 123 right salon given his tape away to my friends what differences make them talk about that for just a moment that I have left you know friends get the Bible's account of creation is right and if there is a creator God, like the Bible presents running this universe and that has enormous implications for your life in my life as followers of Christ. What that means is that there is a God was fully and utterly in control of what's happening here on this earth and is not just in control of the grand events of the universe like Neptune not bumping into Pluto, but is also the Bible says in control even the tiniest details that happen right here. The Bible says a sparrow doesn't even fall to the ground without God knowing it and ordaining it and in the same way the Bible says that God is in charge of your life in my life and for followers of Christ listen to Jeremiah 2911 for I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for good and not for evil to give you a future and a hope and what God is telling us here that as followers of Christ our life has a plan God has a design is a design for good. If the design the prosperous and that we are not the victims of random saying we are not the victim of senseless events. The world is not out of control but that there is a supernatural God running your life in my life and he will make mistakes, friends, he never goes… God than do not gotta tell you this truth for me is not just some, theological nicety that I can bout around a little bit in my head because you see 10 years ago almost 11 God sent a little girl in my life named you a girl with severe disabilities to this day. She can't speak she can dress herself. She's not potty trained. She can feed herself to go outside and freeze to death and never even known up to get a code all when she thinks the covers off at night. She lays there and shivers and doesn't even own pulling back over her anymore and when God sent this little girl in my life almost 11 years ago I had a crisis I had to decide. Okay, so what is this all about and why the victim it is my family. The victim of a random piece of genetics are we the victim of some senseless event or is there really a God who's running my life and who is designed this little girl for me and me for this little girl, and that this is all part of a plan that I may not understand, but it's a good plan. I decision. Let me tell you it was hard because that decision was full of pain and was full of heartache and it was full of disappointment and grief.

My wife and I made a decision that we were going to believe God wouldn't understand it.

God made us a promise all things work together for good. We in our wildest dreams.

Romans 828 could never see how that could ever happen, but we said you know what we only have two choices. We can doubt God, we can believe God is only two choices and we decided to believe God now that we've had good days we had bad days but we believe God and I have to tell you something almost 11 years later God was right. God was right. We seen how God has use that little girl to change our lives change our marriage for the better change our family for the better. We got a ministry here to 700 families with special needs children call access were building a center that's going to be copied all over the United States of America.

That's been pointed to by Health and Human Services of the press pack a best practice model and none of that would exist without little jewel because I never would have a clue what families dealing with disabilities were going to see God knew what he was talking about God's right, and I'm sure if I live 10 more years I'll see new ways in which God friends.

I'm here to tell you, God's right with you to. You may have a chill in your life. I may not be a child with disabilities may get something else but whatever it is you can understand if you can't make sense out of it. You can't see a way in the world could ever turn out for good. I'm here to tell you only have two choices. You can trust God you can doubt God's holy choices you got and if God is who he says he is if he is, Paul said made this world and everything in it. Then friend got plenty big enough he can keep his promises to you got plenty big enough he can turn this into good in ways you may not understand right now but don't forget what God says his ways are above your way.

His thoughts are above your thoughts. Isaiah 55 God and ask you to understand nor me God just said he trust me I know what I'm doing and if I made the world. I'm big enough to handle your problem. So just trust me when friends I hope you walk outta here today as followers of Jesus, confident that you're not living in a random world? You living in a world it's being run by a sovereign creator God who loves you because you're part of his family in Jesus Christ and was a plan for your life.

Even if you don't understand if you trusting there will never be a time that you will look back and say you know what Lord you knew what you do. I hope you do this for Jesus. Thanks for reminding us today that you made the world and everything in it that the biblical account of creation is not naughty is not crazy is not unscientific if people approach it without a bias and father encourage our faith with that knowledge today and for people who are here that that's been an enormous hindrance and then coming to Christ. I pray that you would help them to get over that today for those of us here who know you remind us that you didn't just create the world but you're in charge of the world that you never gave that up in every detail of our lives as part of your perfect plan. Whether we understand how or not. God grant us the ability to rise above our emotions or feelings of disappointment are hurts and our heartaches and to walk by faith, to embrace the promises of God and believe what you tell us not because it makes sense to us, but because we know who you are. You are the creator God of the universe, and you have the power to make every promise she made us come true. So encourage our faith and change our lives because we were here today and we pray these things in Jesus a man