3/4/18 “GOD – FAIRYTALE OR FACT?” – Pastor Shane Idleman

God – Fairy tale or Fact?

THEOLOGY ON FIRE Series #2

Intro. Theology On Fire: The goal is too spark hunger /  Last week: The Bible – truth or…

GOD – Fairytale or Fact: The existence and knowability of God.

1. God in creation: A creation cannot create itself.

Gen. 2:7 [AMP], “Then the Lord God formed [that is, created the body of] man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being [an individual complete in body and spirit].”

https://answersingenesis.org/human-body/from-dust-to-dust/: The earth’s crust contains most of the mineral nutrients our body requires. Oxygen is the most abundant element in both the human body and the earth’s crust. The human body is made up almost entirely of 13 elements. Oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen make up 96% of our body’s mass. The other 4% of body weight is composed almost entirely of sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, and iodine.

• It’s so obvious that people have to say we came from stardust with a straight face.

• Pic. of a stained glass at Saint Peter’s Church in York and the Double Helix of the DNA.

Fairy tale or Fact?

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2. The fact that we see amazing creations all around us points to a Creator: from pollination by bees to the placement of the sun and moon – to the human body, DNA, and the birth of a child.

Romans 1:20 (NKJV), “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse…

Logic – Unity – Consistency – Beauty – Purpose –

• We see that a cataclysmic event occurred where things died rapidly [Flood].

• Why are seashells found in the Himalayas and the Grand Canyon [Flood].

• The Grand Canyon’s limestone layer contains tens of millions of fossils with nearly one in seven fossilized standing vertically!

• Soft tissue found in dinosaur bones.

Obviously, Someone created all this – There is no excuse.

Our Conscience is also a witness! (Rom. 2).

God’s eternal power is evident – nothing is now being created out of nothing: matter and energy are recycled.

The sheer mass of the Universe illustrates His eternal power.

I’m a Biblical Creationist

1. I can’t stretch the six days of Genesis into millions and billions of years. The literal interpretation denotes actual days.

GENESIS 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

6 Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.

2. The ways we measure can be flawed – the speed of light [no one understands it], carbon dating, the rate at which the universe is accelerating.

RADIOMETRIC DATING: We don’t know how much radioactivity was in a rock when it is first formed. Additionally, there are many instances of very young rocks being dated very old. One example is a volcano in Alaska – a rock that was 100 years old was dated at 5.5 million years old.

• Did the Earth look smooth and soft like a baby on day 1

RECENT ARTICLES: 1] New Rate Data Support a Young World by Russell Humphreys, Ph.D. 2] Carbon Dating Undercuts Evolution’s Long Ages by John Baumgardner, Ph.D. 3] Nuclear Decay: Evidence For A Young World by Russell Humphreys, Ph.D.

• Sciencedaily said this about the SPEED OF LIGHT – “Theory that challenges Einstein’s physics could soon be put to the test: The idea that the speed of light could be variable…”

Fairy tale or Fact?

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3. The knowability of God via a relationship: God’s sovereignty or man’s responsibility?

Rom. 1:21…because, although they knew God [they see the evidence], they did not glorify Him as God [rejected the evidence], nor were thankful, but became futile [unproductive] in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools.”

Luke 17:20-21 When Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

KINGDOM: Not a territory under the rule of a king; it’s royal power, and dominion.

• “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). “We have this treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

• 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19, “…Do not quench the Spirit.” Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Repentance, Faith, and Belief open the door to the kingdom within…TO THE RELATIONSHIP – God’s Spirit resides in us:

• We “are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Fairy tale or Fact?

THE KNOWABILITY OF GOD: Do you have this relationship? Do you have the peace that surpases all understanding? What about unspeakable joy?

• Or are you a believer caught in sin?

• Or is bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness hindering your relationship with God?

Communion: Tozer said, “In earlier Christian times, believers called the Communion ‘the medicine of immortality,’ and God gave them the desire to pray this, “Be known to us in breaking bread, but do not then depart; Savior, abide with us and spread Thy table in our heart.”

• A reminder of why we are here – a reminder of what Christ has done.

John 6:48-51, “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

The Doctrine of Communion: transubstantiation [the elements become Christ], consubstantiation [elements do not change, but He is present with the elements], Reformed [present spiritually], and memorial.