FROM D. JAMES KENNEDY MINISTRIES
THIS IS KENNEDY CLASSICS
♪
WELCOME TO KENNEDY CLASSICS
HELLO, I'M FRANK WRIGHT, PRESIDENT OF
D. JAMES KENNEDY MINISTRIES WHERE WE ARE STANDING FOR
TRUTH AND DEFENDING YOUR FREEDOM.
WELCOME TO KENNEDY CLASSICS.
MAKE SURE TO DOWNLOAD OUR MINISTRY APP FOR YOUR
SMART PHONE, WHERE YOU CAN WATCH ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS
AND ACCESS ALL SORTS OF GREAT, BIBLICAL CONTENT.
JUST VISIT THE APP STORE FOR YOUR MOBILE DEVICE
AND SEARCH FOR D. JAMES KENNEDY MINISTRIES.
"HOW DO WE KNOW FOR CERTAIN..."
IS A QUESTION THAT MAN HAS ASKED FOR A MYRIAD OF
THINGS THROUGHOUT TIME.
"HOW DO I KNOW MY PURPOSE IN LIFE?"
OR "HOW DO I KNOW WHAT COMES AFTER DEATH?"
OR MOST IMPORTANTLY "HOW DO I KNOW THERE IS A GOD?"
A QUESTION LIKE THAT IS SO INTRICATE AND IN-DEPTH,
HOW DO YOU EVEN BEGIN TO ANSWER IT?
CS LEWIS COMMENTS ON THIS IMPORTANT QUESTION SAYING,
"MY ARGUMENT AGAINST GOD WAS THAT THE UNIVERSE
SEEMED SO CRUEL AND UNJUST.
BUT HOW HAD I GOT THIS IDEA OF JUST AND UNJUST?
A MAN DOES NOT CALL A LINE CROOKED UNLESS HE HAS SOME
IDEA OF A STRAIGHT LINE."
SIMPLY PUT, IF THERE WASN'T A GOD, THEN HOW
WOULD WE KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD
AND EVIL, RIGHT AND WRONG?
DR. KENNEDY POSES THIS VERY QUESTION AND ANSWERS
WITH STRONG REASONING IN HIS SERMON, "HOW I KNOW
THERE IS A GOD."
MAY WE HEAR NOW THE WORD OF GOD AS IT'S FOUND IN
THE 14TH PSALM.
PSALM 14, VERSE 1.
MAY WE HEAR THE INSPIRED WORD OF THE LIVING GOD.
AND MAY GOD SPEAK TO US TODAY THROUGH THIS PORTION
OF HIS HOLY WORD, AND MAY HIS NAME EVER BE PRAISED.
AMEN.
THERE IS NO MORE PROFOUND QUESTION THAT YOU CAN ASK
THAN THIS: IS THERE A GOD?
MORTIMER ADLER, THE FAMOUS SCHOLAR AND EDUCATOR,
EDITOR OF THE GREAT BOOKS OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION,
SAYS IN HIS GREAT IDEAS SYNTOPICON, WHICH IS THE
TOPICAL INDEX FOR THE GREAT BOOKS, HE SAYS THAT
ALMOST EVERY WRITER IN WESTERN CIVILIZATION HAS
WRITTEN ON THE SUBJECT OF GOD WITH THE EXCEPTION OF
A FEW PURE MATHEMATICIANS.
THE CHAPTER ON GOD IS THE LARGEST IN THESE VOLUMES.
"THE REASON FOR THAT," HE SAYS, "IS OBVIOUS."
THAT IS THAT MORE CONSEQUENCES FOR THOUGHT
AND ACTION RESULT FROM THE AFFIRMATION OR DENIAL OF
GOD THAN FROM ANY OTHER BASIC QUESTION."
INDEED, THE ENTIRE TENOR OF OUR LIVES WILL BE
COMPLETELY AFFECTED BY THE ANSWER THAT WE GIVE.
TODAY, I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOU ON WHAT MAY
SEEM TO SOME TO BE AN AUDACIOUS SUBJECT, AND
THAT IS, HOW I KNOW THAT THERE IS A GOD.
NOW, IN AN AGE WHEN MANY PEOPLE FEEL THAT YOU CAN'T
KNOW ANYTHING, TO SAY THAT I KNOW THAT THERE IS A
GOD, OF ALL THINGS, WOULD SEEM TO THEM TO BE UTTERLY
PREPOSTEROUS, BUT I BELIEVE THAT IT IS NOT.
I THINK THAT THE SCRIPTURE VERY CLEARLY TELLS US THAT
WE CAN KNOW GOD.
IN FACT, IT SAYS THIS IS ETERNAL LIFE THAT YOU MAY
KNOW GOD, THE ONLY TRUE GOD IN JESUS CHRIST WHOM
HE HATH SENT.
SO, HOW DO I KNOW THERE IS A GOD?
LET ME SET FORTH SEVERAL CLASSIC ARGUMENTS FOR THE
EXISTENCE OF GOD BROUGHT UP TO DATE IN LIGHT OF
SOME MODERN SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS THAT CERTAINLY
HAVE AN IMPACT UPON THEM.
ONE OF THE OLDEST, OF COURSE GOING ALL THE WAY
BACK TO ARISTOTLE, IS CALLED THE COSMOLOGICAL
ARGUMENT.
THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT IS BASICALLY AN ARGUMENT
THAT SAYS THAT FOR EVERY EFFECT THERE MUST BE AN
ADEQUATE CAUSE.
YOU CAN REMEMBER THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT IS
AN ARGUMENT FROM CAUSE.
IT MIGHT HELP YOU TO REMEMBER THAT THEY BOTH
BEGIN WITH "C"- CAUSE AND COSMOLOGICAL: COSMOLOGICAL
SIMPLY MEANS THE STUDY OF THE COSMOS, THE UNIVERSE.
IF WE ARE LOOKING FOR ARGUMENTS OR PROOFS FOR
THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, THEN WE DON'T HAVE TO LOOK
UNDER A TABLE OR IN A CORNER SOMEWHERE.
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LOOK ABOUT YOU.
THE UNIVERSE IS THE BIGGEST THING THAT THERE
IS, PHYSICALLY, AND IN ITSELF IS THE GREATEST
PROOF FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD.
THIS HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED FROM THE VERY BEGINNING
OF THINKING MEN.
THE UNIVERSE IS THE GREATEST, LARGEST ARGUMENT
FOR GOD.
NOTICE, IF THE UNIVERSE EXISTS, AND WE ALL AGREE
THAT IT DOES, THEN THERE ARE ONLY THREE
EXPLANATIONS FOR IT.
ONE, IT IS ETERNAL.
NOW, THERE WAS A TIME WHEN THERE WERE MEN THAT
BELIEVED THAT, BUT WITH MODERN SCIENTIFIC
DISCOVERIES, IT IS NO LONGER POSSIBLE TO BELIEVE
THAT.
SCIENTISTS, FOR THE LAST 150 YEARS HAVE BEEN
SCURRYING AROUND TRYING TO AVOID THE PLAIN
IMPLICATIONS OF THE MODERN LAWS THAT THEY HAVE
DISCOVERED THAT CLEARLY INDICATE THE UNIVERSE IS
NOT ETERNAL.
THE GREAT LAW, WHICH IS THE MOST THOROUGHLY
DOCUMENTED OF ALL OF THE LAWS OF SCIENCE,
THE SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS, THE LAW OF
ENTROPY, WHICH SAYS THAT EVERYTHING IS RUNNING
DOWN.
EVERYTHING IS LOSING ENERGY.
EVERYTHING IS WEARING OUT- GROWING OLD.
SO, IT IS VERY CLEAR THAT IF THE UNIVERSE WERE
ETERNAL, IT WOULD ALREADY HAVE RUN DOWN.
THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING HAS A TENDENCY
TO DISTRIBUTE ITS HEAT EQUALLY INTO ALL PARTS OF
THE UNIVERSE.
THE UNIVERSE RIGHT NOW IS TRYING TO MAKE EVERY
SQUARE FOOT OF THE UNIVERSE THE SAME
TEMPERATURE, SO THE SUNS ARE GETTING COOLER AND THE
SPACE IS GRADUALLY RECEIVING MORE AND MORE
ENERGY.
AS IF, IF YOU WERE TO SET A GLASS OF HOT WATER AND A
GLASS OF FREEZING COLD WATER DOWN ON A TABLE AND
COME BACK IN A DAY, YOU WOULD FIND THAT THEY WOULD
BOTH BE THE SAME TEMPERATURE.
AND SO IT WILL BE ULTIMATELY, IF THE
UNIVERSE CONTINUES LONG ENOUGH.
THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE WOULD BE THE SAME TEPID
TEMPERATURE.
THERE WOULD BE NO FREEZING SPACE, THERE WOULD BE NO
BLAZING SUN.
YET, THE UNIVERSE HAS NOT RUN DOWN, THEREFORE, IT IS
NOT ETERNAL.
EFFORTS RECENTLY TO HAVE AN OSCILLATING UNIVERSE TO
AVOID THIS HAVE ALL FALLEN AFOUL OF RECENT SCIENTIFIC
DISCOVERIES WHICH MAKE IT ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THAT
THE UNIVERSE CANNOT BE ETERNAL.
SECOND POSSIBILITY- IF IT'S NOT ETERNAL, MAYBE IT
IS SELF-CREATED- THAT IT CREATED ITSELF OUT OF
NOTHING.
WELL, THERE IS ANOTHER SCIENTIFIC LAW, SOMETIMES
EXPRESSED IN THIS WAY, "EX NIHILO, NIHIL FIT," WHICH
MEANS, "OUT OF NOTHING, NOTHING COMES."
NOTHING PRODUCES NOTHING, AND THE UNIVERSE CANNOT
HAVE PRODUCED ITSELF OUT OF NOTHING.
IN FACT, THAT FLIES INTO THE FACE OF THE FIRST LAW
OF THERMODYNAMICS WHICH SAYS PRECISELY THAT-
THAT NOTHING PRODUCES NOTHING.
A THIRD POSSIBILITY IS THAT IT WAS CREATED BY
SOMEONE WHO IS HIMSELF ETERNAL, AND THAT IS THE
FIRST STATEMENT OF THE BIBLE THAT "IN THE
BEGINNING, GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH."
THAT IS THE MOST SCIENTIFIC STATEMENT THAT
HAS EVER BEEN MADE ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE
UNIVERSE.
SO IN LIGHT OF ALL OF THE MODERN DISCOVERIES ABOUT
THE UNIVERSE, IT IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY
CLEAR THAT THE UNIVERSE ITSELF IS A GREAT ARGUMENT
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD.
EVEN DR. ROBERT JASTROW, ONE OF THE LEADING SPACE
SCIENTISTS IN THE WORLD, THE HEAD OF THE US
INSTITUTE FOR SPACE STUDIES, THE FOUNDER AND
HEAD OF THE GODDARD SPACE INSTITUTE FOR NASA, I HAVE
HAD DINNER WITH DR. JASTROW AND WE HAVE
DISCUSSED THESE THINGS, AND HE HAS SAID IN HIS
WRITINGS, THAT MODERN SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES
MAKE IT EASIER AND EASIER FOR THE SCIENTIST TO
BELIEVE THAT HERE IS A GOD- IN FACT, MAKE IT
HARDER AND HARDER FOR ANYONE TO BELIEVE THAT
THERE IS NOT.
SECONDLY, AND BEYOND THE UNIVERSE, THERE IS THE
PRESENCE OF LIFE ITSELF.
STILL, FROM A COSMOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE, AS THE CAUSE
OF LIFE, WHERE DID THIS LIFE COME FROM?
THE WORLD TEEMS WITH LIFE.
THIS SANCTUARY IS PACKED WITH LIVING CREATURES.
WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?
WELL, IT USED TO BE HELD THAT LIFE AROSE BY
SPONTANEOUS GENERATION- FLIES, MAGGOTS COMING INTO
EXISTENCE ON PUTRID MEAT, AND FROGS COMING OUT OF
THE SLIME OF BOGS.
WELL, THAT WAS PROVED TO BE FALSE BY PASTEUR AND
REDDI.
AND SO THAT WAS ABANDONED- THAT LIFE WAS NOT COMING
INTO EXISTENCE FROM NON-LIFE TODAY AND SO THEY
RETREATED TO THE DIM PAST.
AND THEY SAID THAT THOUGH LIFE IS NOT SPONTANEOUSLY
COMING INTO EXISTENCE TODAY, IT DID DO SO
MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO- IN FACT, 2 BILLION YEARS AGO,
THEY LIKE TO SAY.
VERY INTERESTINGLY, THE DISCOVERIES THAT HAVE
TAKEN PLACE IN THE LAST DECADE OR SO HAVE SHOWN
THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF THAT HAPPENING.
FOR EXAMPLE, PROTEIN WHICH NOT TOO MANY YEARS AGO WAS
THE MOST COMPLEX SUBSTANCE KNOWN TO MAN, PROTEIN
MOLECULES BY THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS GO TO MAKE UP
A CELL.
AND THEY THEMSELVES ARE SO COMPLEX- SO DIFFERENT FROM
THE WORLD OF CHARLES DARWIN, 150 YEARS 25 OR 30
YEARS AGO, WHO FREQUENTLY TALKED ABOUT A SIMPLE
SINGLE CELL.
WE KNOW NOW THAT THE COMPLEXITY OF THE PROTEIN
MOLECULE ITSELF IS SUCH THAT LECOMPTE DUNOUY, A
FRENCH NOBEL PRIZE WINNING MATHEMATICIAN AND ONE OF
THE WORLD'S GREAT EXPERTS IN PROBABILITY STUDIES,
SAID THAT THE PROBABILITIES OF EVEN ONE
PROTEIN MOLECULE, ONE OF THE THOUSANDS OF BUILDING
BLOCKS OF THE CELL COMING INTO EXISTENCE, IT WOULD
TAKE 10 TO THE 234 BILLION YEARS TO PRODUCE ONE
PROTEIN MOLECULE.
SOME OF YOU, I AM SURE, DON'T APPRECIATE WHAT THAT
MEANS.
PROBABILITY EXPERTS HAVE SAID THAT IF THE
PROBABILITIES OF ANYTHING COMING INTO EXISTENCE ARE
GREATER THAN 10 TO THE 50TH POWER, IT WILL NEVER
HAPPEN ANYWHERE IN THE UNIVERSE, REGARDLESS OF
HOW MUCH TIME IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE
UNIVERSE, 10 TO THE 50TH.
TO SIMPLY GET ONE PROTEIN MOLECULE, 10 TO THE 234TH
POWER- NOT 234 BILLION, BUT 234 ZEROS BILLIONS
OF YEARS.
WELL, THEN THEY DISCOVERED SOMETHING EVEN MORE
COMPLEX- DNA.
DRS. WATSON AND CRICK DISCOVERED THE KEY, THE
CENTRAL BRAIN OF LIFE IN THE NUCLEUS OF A CELL, THE
DNA MOLECULE.
EVERY NUCLEUS OF EVERY CELL HAS THIS COMPLEX
DOUBLE HELIX, DOUBLE CIRCULAR STAIR TYPE OF
MOLECULE WHICH IS FILLED WITH THE MOST COMPLEX
THINGS.
IT IS SO COMPLEX THAT IF YOU TOOK EACH ONE OF
THOSE DNA MOLECULES OUT OF YOUR CELL AND STRETCHED
THEM OUT AND LINKED THEM TOGETHER, YOUR BODY HAS
ENOUGH DNA TO REACH FROM HERE TO THE SUN AND BACK
400 TIMES.
THAT IS SO COMPLEX THAT FRANCIS CRICK, WHO
DISCOVERED IT AND WHO IS AN ATHEIST, SAID THERE IS
NO POSSIBLE WAY THAT EVEN THE DNA MOLECULE COULD
EVER HAVE ARISEN IN THIS WORLD BY CHANCE IN EVEN
5 BILLION YEARS.
SO, HE SAID, IT MUST HAVE COME FROM SOME ADVANCED
BEINGS LIVING IN SOME OTHER PART OF THE GALAXY.
WHERE THOSE BEINGS CAME FROM, HE DIDN'T SAY.
THAT'S SIMPLY EXTENDING THE SHADOW, AN INFINITE
REGRESS IN LOGIC WHICH WILL NOT WORK.
MEANWHILE, SIR FRED HOYLE, ONE OF THE WORLD'S TWO
GREATEST MATHEMATICIANS AND ASTRONOMERS FROM
CAMBRIDGE, MADE A STUDY OF THE POSSIBILITY OF A CELL
COMING INTO EXISTENCE ANYWHERE IN THE ENTIRE
UNIVERSE IN THE WHOLE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE,
AND HE DISCOVERED THAT THE CHANCES WERE ZILCH.
10 TO THE 40,000TH POWER YEARS TO PRODUCE A CELL.
TEN WITH 40,000 ZEROES AFTER IT- IT WOULD TAKE
THAT MANY YEARS TO PRODUCE ONE CELL.
CONCLUSION: SAID ATHEIST SIR FRED HOYLE, "THE ONLY
WAY THAT LIFE CAN POSSIBLY EXIST IS THAT IT WAS
CREATED BY AN INFINITE INTELLIGENCE WHOM YOU MAY
WISH TO CALL GOD."
SO ATHEIST FRED HOYLE WAS FORCED TO BECOME A
BELIEVER IN GOD BY THE CONTINUING ADVANCE OF
MODERN SCIENCE.
THIRDLY, LET ME MENTION WHAT IS CALLED
TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT.
TELOS IN GREEK MEANS "THE END."
THIS IS THE ARGUMENT FROM ENDS OR PURPOSES OR
DESIGN- THE ARGUMENT FROM DESIGN, WHICH SAYS THAT
ALL THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE WE SEE EVIDENCE
OF DESIGN.
YOU LOOK AT A COMPLEX MACHINE AND YOU CONCLUDE
THAT IT HAS A DESIGNER.
THAT IS THE OLD WATCHMAKER ARGUMENT BROUGHT UP TO DATE.
EVEN IN THE DAYS OF THE GREAT ASTRONOMER KEPLER,
WHO HAD AN ACQUAINTANCE WHO WAS AN ATHEIST WITH
WHOM HE HAD ARGUED MANY A TIME, AND KEPLER DECIDED
TO HAVE BUILT FOR HIMSELF A COMPLEX WORKING MODEL OF
THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
WHICH HAD THE SUN, ALL OF THE PLANETS ROTATING ABOUT
IT, WITH THE MOONS OR SATELLITES GOING AROUND
THE DIFFERENT PLANETS.
IT WAS A WONDER TO BEHOLD.
ONE DAY HIS ATHEIST FRIEND CAME INTO HIS STUDY, HE
SAID, "IT'S BEAUTIFUL! WHO MADE THIS?"
KEPLER SAID, "NO ONE.
IT JUST MADE ITSELF.
GATHER TOGETHER THE DUST AND THINGS FROM THIS END
OF THE STUDY- THERE MUST HAVE BEEN A DRAFT COMING
IN THE DOOR.
I JUST CAME IN ONE MORNING AND THERE IT WAS."
HIS FRIEND SAID "YOU DON'T EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT?"
HE SAID "NO, I DON'T, BUT YOU BELIEVE THAT THE REAL
SOLAR SYSTEM WHICH IS VASTLY MORE COMPLEX THAN
THIS SIMPLE MODEL JUST MADE ITSELF.
THAT IS EVEN MORE PALPABLY ABSURD."
WE SEE ALSO, IN THE SAME MANNER OF DESIGN IN
SOMETHING LIKE THE CELL, THAT THERE IS NO
POSSIBILITY THAT THIS JUST HAPPENED.
WHEN YOU STOP TO THINK THAT NOT ONLY IS A CELL
INCREDIBLY COMPLEX, BUT IT IS MORE COMPLEX THAN ANY
MACHINE THAT MAN HAS EVER MADE.
YOU TAKE THE LARGEST SUPER COMPUTER THAT EXISTS ON
THIS PLANET TODAY.
IT IS A VERITABLE TOY COMPARED TO THE ENORMOUS
COMPLEXITY OF EVERY ONE OF THE HUNDRED TRILLION CELLS
IN YOUR BODY, AND YET WOULD ANYONE BELIEVE THAT
THE LARGEST COMPUTER IN THE WORLD JUST HAPPENED
TO MAKE ITSELF BY CHANCE?
IN FACT, ONE SCIENTIST SAID THAT THE CELL IS MORE
COMPLEX THAN THE MOST COMPLEX COMPUTER EVER MADE
BY MAN, OR THE MOST COMPLEX MACHINE THAT HAS
EVER EVEN BEEN DREAMT OF BY MAN.
THE INCREDIBLE COMPLEXITY OF THE EYE GAVE DARWIN,
HE SAID, A HEADACHE.
AND WELL IT SHOULD HAVE WITH ITS 7 MILLION CONES
THAT SEE THE VARIOUS COLORS AND ITS 100 MILLION
RODS AND ALL OF THE INCREDIBLE COMPLEXITIES OF
THIS WONDERFUL CAMERA, AND YET DARWIN HIMSELF SAID
THAT TO BELIEVE THAT THIS HAPPENED MERELY BY NATURAL
SELECTION IS ABSURD IN THE HIGHEST DEGREE.
WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE FACT THAT THE CARE THAT HAS
BEEN SHOWN IN THE CREATION OF OUR HABITAT.
IF THE EARTH WERE 10% CLOSER TO THE SUN,
WE WOULD BURN UP.
10% FURTHER, ALL LIFE WOULD FREEZE AND DIE.
AND THEN THERE IS THE EVIDENCE OF CONVERSION-
THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE HUMAN SOUL WHICH IS SO
MONUMENTAL AS TO DEFY EXPLANATION.
THOUSANDS OF PAGES HAVE BEEN WRITTEN TRYING TO
EXPLAIN AWAY THE CONVERSION OF THE APOSTLE
PAUL ALONE.
WHAT TRANSFORMED THIS MAN FROM THE BITTER AND
HOSTILE CRITIC AND ADVERSARY OF CHRIST INTO
HIS MOST LOYAL DEVOTEE?
WHAT CHANGED THAT VOLATILE AND VACILLATING FISHERMAN
PETER INTO THE ROCK THAT GAVE GREAT STRENGTH TO THE
EARLY CHURCH?
WHAT CHANGED AUGUSTINE, THE GREATEST INTELLECT OF
THE FIRST 1,000 YEARS OF THIS AGE, FROM A
PROFLIGATE AND DISSOLUTE PHILOSOPHER INTO THE GREAT
INTELLECTUAL CHAMPION OF CHRISTIANITY?
JOHN CALVIN, PERHAPS THE GREATEST MIND OF THE LAST
THOUSAND YEARS, SAID, "I WAS SUDDENLY CONVERTED
UNTO GOD."
MARTIN LUTHER, WHO CHANGED THE FACE OF EUROPE, CAME
FACE TO FACE WITH THE GOD WHO CHANGED HIS LIFE.
JOHN BUNYAN, THAT SINFUL TINKER OF BEDFORD, WHO MET
THE LIVING GOD AND WAS CHANGED INTO A GREAT
PASTOR AND AUTHOR OF PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.
JOHN WESLEY, JOHN KNOX, OR MORE RECENTLY, CS LEWIS,
THE ATHEIST OF OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE, WHO WROTE HIS
TESTIMONY IN HIS BOOK SURPRISED BY JOY AS HE
CAME FACE TO FACE IN THE PRESENCE OF THAT ONE WHOSE
EXISTENCE HE HAD ALWAYS DENIED.
OR PERHAPS THE GREATEST LITERARY MAN OF THE 20TH
CENTURY, THE DOSTOYEVSKY OF OUR CENTURY IS NO DOUBT
THE GREAT ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN, WHO CAME TO
MEET GOD WHILE HE WAS IN THE RED BELLY OF THE
DRAGON IN THE GULAG ARCHIPELAGO.
A BILLY GRAHAM, WHO AS A YOUNG FRIVOLOUS TEENAGER,
MET THE LIVING GOD IN JESUS CHRIST.
HIS LIFE WAS TRANSFORMED AND TENS OF MILLIONS HAVE
BEEN CHANGED AS WELL.
WHO IS GOING TO EXPLAIN THESE AND HUNDREDS AND
HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF CONVERSIONS OF OTHERS WHO
HAVE LED THEM ACROSS THE WIDEST OCEANS, UP THE
HIGHEST MOUNTAINS, THROUGH THE DENSEST JUNGLES TO
PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST TO CANNIBALS,
AND HEADHUNTERS, AND TRIBESMEN OF EVERY SORT.
GOD HAS USED THEM AND THEIR SACRIFICES TO ATTEST
TO THE FACT THAT THERE IS A LIVING GOD WHO CHANGES
HUMAN SOULS AND MAKES THEM NEW CREATURES IN CHRIST.
BUT ALL OF THIS WILL STILL BE BUT THEORY UNTIL YOU
COME AT LAST TO THAT GREAT EXPERIMENT, WHERE IN THE
LABORATORY OF YOUR OWN SOUL, YOU MEET WITH THE
ULTIMATE PROOF.
HOW DO I ULTIMATELY KNOW THAT THERE IS A GOD?
BECAUSE, MY FRIENDS, ONE DAY 35 YEARS AGO I MET HIM
FACE TO FACE, PERSON TO PERSON, IN MY OWN
APARTMENT, WHEN HE CAME TO A YOUNG MAN WHO SOUGHT HIM
NOT AND LAID HIS HAND UPON MY SHOULDER AND TURNED ME
AROUND.
HE TRANSFORMED MY HEART, GAVE ME TOTALLY DIFFERENT
REASONS FOR LIVING AND FOR 35 YEARS HE HAS KEPT ME
GOING IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WAY.
I KNOW THERE IS A GOD, BECAUSE EVERY DAY I MEET
HIM AND TALK WITH HIM.
I KNOW THERE IS A GOD BECAUSE HE HAS CHANGED
MY LIFE.
AND HE CAN CHANGE YOURS, TOO.
WHEN YOU COME TO SEE HIM IN ALL OF HIS GRACE, WHEN
YOU COME TO SEE HIM IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST
HANGING UPON A CROSS, WHEN YOU SEE HIS WONDROUS LOVE
AS HE GAVE HIMSELF FOR US IN CHRIST, WHEN YOU SEE
HIS MATCHLESS GRACE, WHEN HE IS WILLING TO FORGIVE
YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SINS AND TO ACCEPT YOU JUST AS
YOU ARE AND FREELY FORGIVE YOU, AND GRATUITOUSLY
GRANT UNTO YOU THE GIFT OF EVERLASTING LIFE, WHEN
HE'S WILLING TO GIVE YOU THE GIFT OF HEAVEN, PAID
FOR BY HIM AT INFINITE COST, AT THE SWEAT AND
BLOOD AND AGONY OF THE CROSS, THE WRATH OF HIS
FATHER, THE PAYMENT OF HELL.
WHEN YOU COME TO SEE A LOVE LIKE THAT, THEN MY
FRIEND, YOU WILL KNOW THAT THERE IS A GOD- WHEN YOU
KNOW THAT GOD AS THE LORD AND SAVIOR OF YOUR HEART.
MAY WE PRAY: FATHER, THERE ARE SOME HERE THAT DO NOT
KNOW THEE, AND I WOULD ASK THAT RIGHT NOW YOUR SPIRIT
WILL REACH DOWN AND TOUCH THEIR LIVES.
OPEN THEIR BLIND EYES THAT THEY MAY SEE IN THE FACE
OF CHRIST, THE LIVING GOD, AND THEY MAY SURRENDER
THEIR LIVES TO HIM, REPENTING OF THEIR SINS
AND INVITING HIM TO TAKE HIS PLACE UPON THE THRONE
OF THEIR HEARTS, PLACING THEIR HOPES OF ETERNAL
LIFE IN HIS ATONING DEATH.
I PRAY IT IN HIS MOST MATCHLESS NAME.
AMEN.
IF YOU JUST PRAYED THAT PRAYER WITH DR. KENNEDY,
WE WANT TO SEND YOU BEGINNING AGAIN.
DR. KENNEDY WROTE THIS BOOK TO HELP NEW BELIEVERS
JUST LIKE YOU TO GROW IN THEIR NEW FAITH.
IT'S OUR GIFT TO YOU WHEN YOU WRITE TO OUR ADDRESS
OR CALL OUR TOLL FREE NUMBER.
JUST BE SURE AND ASK FOR BEGINNING AGAIN.
GOD BLESS YOU AS YOU DO.
ONE OF DR. KENNEDY'S TRADEMARKS WAS HELPING TO
ANSWER SOME OF THE TOUGHEST QUESTIONS PEOPLE
HAVE, SUCH AS, "HOW I KNOW THERE IS A GOD?"
GENERATIONS HAVE BENEFITED FROM THESE
MESSAGES, AND WE'VE NOW PUT A SERIES OF SOME OF
THE BEST IN THE BRAND-NEW KENNEDY COLLECTION
HARDCOVER BOOK, HOW I KNOW.
AMONG THE TOPICS DR. KENNEDY COVERS ARE,
HOW I KNOW THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD, HOW I
KNOW JESUS IS GOD, AND HOW I KNOW CHRIST ROSE FROM
THE DEAD.
AND WE WANT TO SEND YOU THIS IMPORTANT BOOK AS OUR
THANKS FOR YOUR GENEROUS DONATION TO THE ONGOING
WORK OF THIS MINISTRY.
SIMPLY WRITE TO US AT:
OR CALL TOLL FREE:
OR GO ONLINE TO:
EACH OF THESE MESSAGES IN THIS BOOK DEALS WITH A
SUBJECT THAT SHOULD BE ESSENTIAL BIBLICAL
KNOWLEDGE FOR THOSE WHO PROFESS TO LOVE THE LORD
JESUS CHRIST, AS WELL AS FOR THOSE WHO ARE SEEKING
TO KNOW HIM.
THIS SERIES OF MESSAGES IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON DVD OR
AUDIO CD, WHERE YOU CAN HEAR DR. KENNEDY DELIVER
THEM IN THE CLEAR, POWERFUL WAY HE SPOKE
FROM THE PULPIT FOR NEARLY 50 YEARS.
YOU HEARD ONE OF THESE MESSAGES, CALLED "HOW I
KNOW THERE IS A GOD," ON TODAY'S PROGRAM.
EXPERIENCE THE OTHER THREE FULL-LENGTH MESSAGES IN
THIS SPECIAL 4-DVD, OR 4-CD SET.
BE STRENGTHENED IN YOUR FAITH, AND HELP OTHERS TO
SEE THE FACTUAL, HISTORICAL, LOGICAL
BASIS FOR CHRISTIANITY.
WE'LL SEND YOU THE HARDCOVER BOOK AND THE
4-DVD OR 4-CD SET HOW I KNOW AS OUR THANKS FOR
YOUR GENEROUS DONATION OF $50 OR MORE.
SIMPLY WRITE TO US AT:
OR CALL TOLL FREE:
OR GO ONLINE TO:
AT D. JAMES KENNEDY MINISTRIES, WE ARE
STANDING FOR TRUTH AND DEFENDING YOUR FREEDOM.
I'M FRANK WRIGHT.
THANKS FOR JOINING US FOR THIS EDITION OF KENNEDY
CLASSICS.
WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME.
TODAY'S PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE ON DVD
OR AUDIO CD FOR YOUR GIFT TO THIS MINISTRY
OF ANY AMOUNT.
PLEASE CALL, WRITE, OR LOG ON TO OUR WEBSITE TODAY.
THIS HAS BEEN A PRODUCTION OF
D. JAMES KENNEDY MINISTRIES
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét