Have you ever driven in a fog that was so thick you couldn’t see the car in front of you? It was entirely too dangerous to drive:
Some People see scripture in this manner, with a mind full of fog.

Thomas Aquinas wrote: “There is within every soul a thirst for happiness and meaning

” Who Am I? Why am I here? Where am I going?

The objective of apologetic is not to convince a man unwittingly, or contrary to his will, to become a Christian.
“The objective, Clark Pinnock puts it, “strives at laying the evidence for the Christian Gospel before men in an intelligent fashion, so that they can make a meaningful commitment under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. The heart cannot delight in what the mind rejects as false.” (Pinnock, SFYC,3)

We are not trying to win an argument – our goal is to glorify and magnify Jesus Christ – Not to “prove” God but provide a basis for Faith… Plowing the field making ready for the seed. Apologetic should never be used as a substitute for sharing the word but used in conjunction it is also a sign post or guide helping direct people back to the word of God

Statement by Josh McDowell:  “You may think it was the irrefutable evidence that brought me to Christ no, the evidence was only God’s way of getting his foot in the door of my life. What brought me to Christ was the realization that He loved me enough to die for me.
Page XXV (He Changed my Life)

The basic Apologetic thesis of these notes is: There is an infinite, all wise, all powerful, all loving God who has revealed Himself by means of the natural, the super natural in creation; in the nature of man, in the history of Israel and the church, in the pages of Holy Scripture, in the incarnation of God in Christ, and in the heart of the believer by the gospel”  (Ramm, PCE, 33)

J.N.D. Anderson records D.E. Jenkins remark “Christianity is based on indisputable facts (Anderson, WH, 10) “the facts backing the Christian claim are not a special kind of religious fact. They are the cognitive, informational facts upon which all historical, legal, and ordinary decisions are based.” (Pinnock, SFYC, 6,7)

Misconceptions: Blind Faith

Blind faith: One doesn’t have to commit intellectual suicide
to become a Christian.  “my heart cannot rejoice in what my mind rejects.” My heart and head were created to work and believe together in Harmony. Christ commanded us to “love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37)

When Jesus Christ and the apostles called upon a person to exercise faith, it was not a “blind faith” but rather and “intelligent faith.”
The apostle Paul said, “I know whom I have believed” (2Tim. 1:12)

(a personal observation: when a first century Jew used the word “know” it would have been Yeda, you’ve heard the expression Yeda, Yeda, Yeda. Well, that word is much deeper than our word know, you could not use that word unless you truly “knew” something, had experienced it personally. The example I like to give is this: I know in the English concept what a father is, but in the Jewish concept I do not know, because I didn’t have one [for the most part of my life]. So when Paul I know, he meant, he had experienced, had a “hands on” experience.)

“Faith in Christianity,” Paul Little justifiably writes, “is based on evidence. It is reasonable faith. Faith in the Christian sense goes beyond reason but not against it.” (Little, KWhyYB,30) Faith is the assurance of the heart in the adequacy of the evidence.

Often the Christian is accused of taking a blind “leap into the dark.” This idea often finds itself rooted in Kierkegaard.

For me, Christianity was not a “leap into the dark,” but rather “a step into the light.” I took the evidence that I could gather and place it on the scales. The scales tipped in favor of Christ as the Son of God, resurrected from the idea. The evidence so over-overwhelmingly leans toward Christ that when I became a Christian, I was “stepping into the light” rather than “leaping into the darkness.”

If I had been exercising “blind faith,” I would have rejected Jesus Christ and turned my back on all the evidence.

Be Careful. I am not saying that I proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is the Son of God, What I did was investigate the evidence and weigh the pros and cons. The results showed that Christ mut be who He claimed to be, and I had to make a decision, which I did. the immediate reaction of many is, “You found what you wanted to find.” this is not the case. I confirmed through investigation what I wanted to refute. i set out to disprove Christianity. I had biases and prejudices not for Christ but contrary to Him.

Hume would say historical evidence is invalid because one cannot establish “absolute truth.” I was not looking for absolute truth but rather for “historical probability.”

“Without an objective criterion,” says John W. Montgomery, “one is at a loss to make a meaningful choice among a prioris. The resurrection provides a basis in historical probability for trying the Christian faith. Granted, the basis is only one of probability, not of certainty, but probability is the sole ground on which finite human beings can make any decisions. Only deductive logic and pure mathematics provide ‘apodictic certainty,’ and they do so because they stem from self-evident formal axioms (e.g., the tautology, if A then A) involving no matter of fact. the moment we enter the realm of fact, we must depend on probability; this may be unfortunate, but it is unavoidable.” (Montgomery, SP, 141)

At the conclusion of his four articles in His magazine, John W. Montgomery writes, concerning history and Christianity, that he has “tried to show that the weight of historical probability lies on the side of the validity of Jesus’ claim to be God incarnate, the Savior of man, and the coming Judge of the world. If probability does in fact support these claims (and can we really deny it, having studied the evidence?),  then we must act in behalf of them.” (Montgomery, HC, 19)

Misconception #2 “Just Be Sincere”

The Christian faith is an objective faith: therefore, it must have an object. The Christian concept of “saving” faith is a faith that establishes one’s relationship with Jesus Christ (the object), and is diametrically opposed to the average “philosophical” use of the term faith in the classroom today. We do not accept the cliche, “It doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you believe it enough.”

(Allow me to add: Many a Christian today is operating on a “Subjective” faith. When asked why the believe they will answer “I know Jesus exists because I feel it/ Him in my heart.” We even sing a song about it, I serve a risen Savior!  We of course we should have the joy of salvation in our heart, but it is not an argument for our belief, for this can be used to argue any position from Atheist to Buddhist. Our faith is based upon solid historical facts, and that is an objective faith.  by the way I hope you enjoy this beautiful rendition of “I serve a risen Savior.” )

It’s not what we believe, it is in whom we believe.  The value of Christian faith is not in the one believing, but in the one who is believed in, it’s object.”

Josh is reminded of a Muslim who came to him and said very sincerely, ” I know many Muslims who have more faith in Mohammed than some Christians have in Christ.” He answered “That may well be true, but the Christian is “saved.” You see, it doesn’t matter how much faith you have, but rather who is the object of your faith; that is important from the Christian perspective of faith.”

https://youtu.be/Gr8Az3QQZdI

Sermon for Dick Conner’s Correctional Center July 24th 2016

I stand before you today by the blessing and grace of God, to speak to you about the necessity of teaching Christian apologetics as a part of evangelism to all people, especially to our children.

As you all know I focus mostly on Christian Apologetics, and but for the last few months the Lord has led me in different directions, but tonight I feel led back to apologetics so we are going to “re-look” at the necessity of apologetics as part of our evangelistic efforts.

I would like to state, and hopefully you will keep this in mind as we go through this lesson; our faith is well grounded in historical documentation, scientific facts, and mathematical probability.

The scripture is absolutely provable. Yes, we can prove there is a creator by His creation. We can prove the New Testament is the exact same New Testament they had 1900 years ago, the Old Testament is the same as it was thousands of year ago.

We can prove through the cosmos that Earth could not have just hit it lucky. We can prove that evolution is impossible through just luck with certain chemicals that happened to run into each other. We can prove that independent life forms that depend on each other disprove evolution.

And when we look at these facts it’s fun, it feels good to see absolute undeniable facts that support our faith.

I can stand here and talk to you for a fairly long period of time about how we can prove there is only one possible explanation for our existence, and that is through creation by a higher power, which we call God.

But that’s not my purpose here tonight; the purpose here tonight is to show you the need for you, and every other Christian to learn these facts and how to defend their faith, and to teach it to others.

I am here with one purpose and that is for all of you to become Christian apologists, and well trained ones at that.

According to the Pew Research Center, among people born from 1928 – 1945 the percentage of Claimed Christians is 85% however, among those born from 1990 to 1996 dropped to 56%.

Folks, we are losing our youth! And our Nation!

 

We have a great commission in Scripture,   Matthew 28: 18 – 20 ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

And we have a command to accompany that commission:  1 Peter 3:15   But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

There you have it; it is our commission to take the word to the world, and we are commanded to be ready defend the word.

And I want to share another verse with you to reinforce what I am telling you about the command of 1 Peter 3:15 and that is

2 Timothy 4:14 -16   Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: 15: Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words. 16:  At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge..

This indicates that if you do not defend the word as stated in 1 Peter 3:15 you could stand in judgment.  Let’s take a minute and examine that verse, Alexander did Paul much evil; how? By greatly withstanding their words, much like people will do today, who very aggressively argue in favor of the fallacy of evolution, and as you know they teach it as a science, and reject all teaching of creation.

So he, Alexander,  was powerful in his resistance of the truth of Christ, as are many today, and Paul simply says, may God deal with him accordingly, which of course means condemnation to a hell without reprieve. But he goes further, those men who were supposed to stand with him ran from the battle, and Paul prays God will not hold them accountable. We must be able to stand just as powerfully as those who attack us, only politely, with respect.

It’s time to define the words answer and defend used in 1 Peter 3:15 and 2 Timothy 4:14 -16; you will find the word “defend/ or answer” is apology in Greek, and means “to give a logical or legal defense of your position”.

So in short we must be able to stand strong, meekly, and with respect and resist all who declare the scripture to be false teaching, and we must be able to do it in an accurate and logical manner, but there is more to it, than just the defense part, we must become aggressive on the offensive side as well… teaching people scripture, and the defense of it as a normal part of education.

As it stands, most people will not listen to us, they will not pay heed to our evangelist efforts.

So why won’t they listen to us?  And why are our evangelistic efforts failing?

As with everything else the scripture gives us the answer.

1 Corinthians 1: 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,

When speaking to the Jews, they found it as a stumbling block to their beliefs, the Jews understood what they were talking about, they had a background in the Old Testament, they knew what sin was, they knew how the world began, they knew Adam and Eve had fallen in the Garden of Eden and sin overtook the world. They knew they were sinners. And they knew a messiah was to come and deliver them.

However, the Greeks who were into wisdom, we’ve all heard of the great Greek philosophers such as Socrates, found it foolishness, why? Because they didn’t have a background in the Old Testament, they knew nothing about sin, fallen man, the garden, and the creation of the world, let alone a promised Messiah. They had to be educated, given background information, before they could accept the scripture, and understand it was the true wisdom.

In Acts 17:23 this is exactly what Paul did:  Acts 17: 22 Then Paul stood up before the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with the inscription: To an unknown God. Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.…

You see they were polytheist, believing in many gods, which is the same thing as atheism.

We have all been hearing how those in Washington will not use the term Islamic Terrorists, now most of us do not know why, but that’s the way it is at this time.

The opponents to this rightfully state, to fight an enemy you must identify them, and to take it a step further, you better know where the battle field is; for instance if we were invaded by a foreign power and they were attacking New York, and we sent our troops to Boston, it certainly wouldn’t do those folks in New York much good would it?

We now have several generations of men and women who are “Greeks” in America. We as a country put a lot of value on Education and “Wisdom”, and yet so many people have not had bible training as early America did, so when seeking wisdom, they see the bible and Christians as foolish and consider it intellectual suicide to believe in something they think of as foolishness.

By the way I refer to anyone without basic biblical knowledge as a Greek, and not in a derogatory way, but simply as a means of identification.

So when they now say they do not want us to speak about salvation, nor teach it to their children it is not that they are mean, or evil, in fact most are very nice compassionate people, they are concerned with what their children are being taught, and in their minds we are attempting to poison their young minds with legends and fairy tells.

So when we start speaking of the grace of the cross to Greeks it is the same as sending our troops to Boston to fight the invasion occurring in New York.

So we must identify the battle and the enemy, the enemy is the ignorance of both basic bible instruction and it’s defense. This didn’t occur when our country was young, all education of children was based upon scripture through the text book all children were taught from, the McGuffy reader, which was all based upon scripture. For instance, when teaching the alphabet it went something like this A is for Adam the first Man, B is for the blood of Christ, and C is for Christ who shed is blood for thee, and D is for the deity of Christ and so on.

So I think we have identified the battle ground, and that is in education of all Americans, Christian and non Christian alike.

And the enemy is ignorance of the truth.

So the enemy is ignorance and we must defeat this enemy through education.

The answer is learning the truth and how to defend it and then teaching it.

Let’s look at two more verses: 2 Thessalonians 2:10  and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them. 11 For this reason, God will send them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie, 12 in order that judgment will come upon all who have disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness

Matthew 24:24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

So there will be a powerful delusion which will come upon the world, and false teaching and teachers will rise up that even deceive the elect if possible.

Has there been any greater delusion that has come upon the entire world than evolution? Has any other delusion even been worldwide? Has there been any other delusion brought upon the world that caused a general decay in morals as evolution has?

I would think most of you would want to know how to help stop this great disease of the mind, this great delusion.

So let’s make a quick point here:

Let’s get back to evangelism; for that is what our entire goal is to honor the great commission isn’t it.

If  all you teach is Christ was crucified for your sins you will lose your Greek listener almost immediately, now don’t get me wrong, we have to get there, it just can’t be the first thing out of your mouths for they have no background knowledge to understand what you are talking about.

 

We must attempt to reach out to all people; we still have the great commission, and the command to obey. We must reach the Christian community and convince them to learn Christian defenses; it is our obligation as competent evangelists.

So the question becomes, how do we enter the battle, with any expectation of winning the battle when we come across so much resistance?

When you go onto the battlefield empty handed you will be defeated, you must be well equipped for the battle.

Knowledge of truth is the weapon we must use to confront the Greek mind.

How do we use this tool?

Again, where do we find the answer? Yep, in the bible.

Let’s look at a few more verses:

Matthew 13:1  That day Jesus left the house and sat down beside the sea. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, while the entire crowd stood on the shore. 3 Then he began to tell them many things in parables. He said, “Listen! A farmer went out to sow. 4 As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, and birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on stony ground, where they did not have a lot of soil. They sprouted at once because the soil wasn’t deep. 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched. Since they did not have any roots, they dried up. 7 Other seeds fell among thorn bushes, and the thorn bushes grew higher and choked them out. 8 But other seeds fell on good soil and produced a crop, some 100, some 60, and some 30 times what was sown. 9 Let the person who has ears listen!”

Go Back, hear that:   Let the person who has ears listen….   Listen…

It would be a pretty poor farmer who just threw his valuable precious seeds just anywhere, no, the wise farmer prepares the ground… first.

Apologetics is much like the farmer. He begins by preparing his field. Often he may have to prepare a field by removing all the barriers of planting seed, such as removing rocks, or tree stumps, or even trees. And he does that one tree stump or rock at a time, doesn’t he; using the proper equipment.

Once he has the field cleared, then he plows the field so he can plant the seed. Once this is accomplished he proceeds to plant the seeds.

That is the purpose of apologetics… preparing the field of the mind to receive the seed of evangelism.

Now, right here I want to add again that the source of all these obstacles is hidden in modern education.  Teaching things like evolution and calling it science, and in addition to that teaching postmodernism ideas as “keeping an open mind” when in fact it is closing their minds to the absolute truth to life.  Some of these educators hide their true agenda which comes from their father the devil, masked by educating them in mathematics, sciences, and other skills needed to compete in a very competitive world, but most are just Greeks, untrained in the reality of creationism, and Christianity, both do equal harm, but only the Greek member of this group can be changed.

Just think about it, a baby is born with a clear mind, and the only way obstacles can get in there is through what it is taught as a child, by a misinformed parent who him/ herself was misinformed as a child, or simply do not know how to teach scripture and the defenses of it, and then the evil of public schools.

Think how much more valuable land is that has no obstacles to planting compared to a field full of stumps and rocks. Yet, even that rocky field has value, it’s worth the work of clearing to plant the seed for a good crop.

Before we can plant the seeds in the good ground of a prepared mind, we must clear that mind of the obstacles Satan has placed there, such as belief in today’s greatest lie; evolution. We must prepare the listeners mind by preparing his mental field for the planting of the seed that will lead to eternal life in a place too wonderful for the human mind to perceive.

WHAT ARE THE OBSTACLES THAT MUST BE REMOVED

 

1. Evolution
2. Post modernism philosophy
3. False religions
4. False Christian doctrines

 

I am going to wrap this up this evening with a story, I know we are out of time, but just bare with me a few more minutes.

I want to share with you again, many of you have heard me tell it before, an article titled “Buckethead and Bubba, which appeared in the Christian magazine “The Rock”  and was written  by Russell L. Ford who was a frequent contributor to “The Rock”. Russell has been an inmate for many years, and spent many of those years as an apologetics Evangelist

He wrote about his apologetics experiences in prison, and his articles appeared in the magazine between 1994 and 1998. This article was the cover story for the November 1992 issue of This Rock.

And to summarize the story he tells how his original idea of apologetics was physical, being a big man over 6 feet tall and 225 lbs, when someone criticized the scripture he would simply tell them to “shut yer face while you still got one” and that would put an end to the discussion. However, he didn’t convert many people like that, so he learned a better way.

He learned how to present the truth in a logical / provable way that didn’t offend, and he made the following accurate observation:

He stated: I finally realized I had to become a competent apologist or we would never see Christ’s most forsaken children come to the warm embrace of his Church.

We must return to Evangelism, and do it correctly. That means we must become Christian Apologists.

Teach Christian doctrine supported by strong apologetic arguments to the educators in both public, and private Christian schools, to Sunday school teachers, to our children, our grandchildren, our neighbors, and to anyone who will listen.

When you take time to learn how to defend the word of God to all who question our faith you embark upon an amazing journey, a journey that will leave you with a faith that is unshakeable, the kind of faith we are told we must have to be heard by God, the kind of faith that empowered the apostles to go to horrible deaths, praising and singing on their way to their execution.

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6  But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7  That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.…

And I would like to add, unless we become competent apologists we will never see most of our children come to the warm embrace of the Church, nor will we turn America from its present evil until we take the education of all children from the people who are propagating this evil, and return it to the church where it began, and still belongs. Thank you for your time.

 

 

 

 

 

According to Carl Sagan, the universe (cosmos) “is all that is or ever was or ever will be.” However, the idea that the universe is all is not a scientific fact, but an assumption based upon materialistic naturalism. Since Carl Sagan’s death in 1996, new discoveries in physics and cosmology bring into questions Sagan’s assumption about the universe. Evidence shows that the constants of physics have been finely tuned to a degree not possible through human engineering. Five of the more finely tuned numbers are included in the table below.

Fine Tuning of the Physical Constants of the Universe
Parameter	Max. Deviation
Ratio of Electrons:Protons	1:1037
Ratio of Electromagnetic Force:Gravity	1:1040
Expansion Rate of Universe	1:1055
Mass Density of Universe1	1:1059
Cosmological Constant	1:10120
These numbers represent the maximum deviation from the accepted values, that would either prevent the universe from existing now, not having matter, or be unsuitable for any form of life.

 

 

Degree of fine tuning

Recent Studies have confirmed the fine tuning of the cosmological constant (also known as “dark energy”). This cosmological constant is a force that increases with the increasing size of the universe. First hypothesized by Albert Einstein, the cosmological constant was rejected by him, because of lack of real world data. However, recent supernova 1A data demonstrated the existence of a cosmological constant that probably made up for the lack of light and dark matter in the universe.2 However, the data was tentative, since there was some variability among observations. Recent cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurement not only demonstrate the existence of the cosmological constant, but the value of the constant. It turns out that the value of the cosmological constant exactly makes up for the lack of matter in the universe.3

 

The degree of fine-tuning is difficult to imagine. Dr. Hugh Ross gives an example of the least fine-tuned of the above four examples in his book, The Creator and the Cosmos, which is reproduced here:

 

One part in 1037 is such an incredibly sensitive balance that it is hard to visualize. The following analogy might help: Cover the entire North American continent in dimes all the way up to the moon, a height of about 239,000 miles (In comparison, the money to pay for the U.S. federal government debt would cover one square mile less than two feet deep with dimes.). Next, pile dimes from here to the moon on a billion other continents the same size as North America. Paint one dime red and mix it into the billions of piles of dimes. Blindfold a friend and ask him to pick out one dime. The odds that he will pick the red dime are one in 1037. (p. 115)

 

Journey Toward Creation DVDThe ripples in the universe from the original Big Bang event are detectable at one part in 100,000. If this factor were slightly smaller, the universe would exist only as a collection of gas – no planets, no life. If this factor were slightly larger, the universe would consist only of large black holes. Obviously, no life would be possible in such a universe.

 

Another finely tuned constant is the strong nuclear force (the force that holds atoms together). The Sun “burns” by fusing hydrogen (and higher elements) together. When the two hydrogen atoms fuse, 0.7% of the mass of the hydrogen is converted into energy. If the amount of matter converted were slightly smaller—0.6% instead of 0.7%— a proton could not bond to a neutron, and the universe would consist only of hydrogen. With no heavy elements, there would be no rocky planets and no life. If the amount of matter converted were slightly larger—0.8%, fusion would happen so readily and rapidly that no hydrogen would have survived from the Big Bang. Again, there would be no solar systems and no life. The number must lie exactly between 0.6% and 0.8% (Martin Rees, Just Six Numbers).

Fine Tuning Parameters for the Universe

1. strong nuclear force constant
   if larger: no hydrogen would form; atomic nuclei for most life-essential elements would be unstable; thus, no life chemistry
   if smaller: no elements heavier than hydrogen would form: again, no life chemistry
2. weak nuclear force constant
   if larger: too much hydrogen would convert to helium in big bang; hence, stars would convert too much matter into heavy elements making life chemistry impossible
   if smaller: too little helium would be produced from big bang; hence, stars would convert too little matter into heavy elements making life chemistry impossible
3. gravitational force constant
   if larger: stars would be too hot and would burn too rapidly and too unevenly for life chemistry
   if smaller: stars would be too cool to ignite nuclear fusion; thus, many of the elements needed for life chemistry would never form
4. electromagnetic force constant
   if greater: chemical bonding would be disrupted; elements more massive than boron would be unstable to fission
   if lesser: chemical bonding would be insufficient for life chemistry
5. ratio of electromagnetic force constant to gravitational force constant
   if larger: all stars would be at least 40% more massive than the sun; hence, stellar burning would be too brief and too uneven for life support
   if smaller: all stars would be at least 20% less massive than the sun, thus incapable of producing heavy elements
6. ratio of electron to proton mass
   if larger: chemical bonding would be insufficient for life chemistry
   if smaller: same as above
7. ratio of number of protons to number of electrons
   if larger: electromagnetism would dominate gravity, preventing galaxy, star, and planet formation
   if smaller: same as above
8. expansion rate of the universe
   if larger: no galaxies would form
   if smaller: universe would collapse, even before stars formed
9. entropy level of the universe
   if larger: stars would not form within proto-galaxies
   if smaller: no proto-galaxies would form
10. mass density of the universe
    if larger: overabundance of deuterium from big bang would cause stars to burn rapidly, too rapidly for life to form
    if smaller: insufficient helium from big bang would result in a shortage of heavy elements
11. velocity of light
    if faster: stars would be too luminous for life support if slower: stars would be insufficiently luminous for life support
12. age of the universe
    if older: no solar-type stars in a stable burning phase would exist in the right (for life) part of the galaxy
    if younger: solar-type stars in a stable burning phase would not yet have formed
13. initial uniformity of radiation
    if more uniform: stars, star clusters, and galaxies would not have formed
    if less uniform: universe by now would be mostly black holes and empty space
14. average distance between galaxies
    if larger: star formation late enough in the history of the universe would be hampered by lack of material
    if smaller: gravitational tug-of-wars would destabilize the sun’s orbit
15. density of galaxy cluster
    if denser: galaxy collisions and mergers would disrupt the sun’s orbit
    if less dense: star formation late enough in the history of the universe would be hampered by lack of material
16. average distance between stars
    if larger: heavy element density would be too sparse for rocky planets to form
    if smaller: planetary orbits would be too unstable for life
17. fine structure constant (describing the fine-structure splitting of spectral lines) if larger: all stars would be at least 30% less massive than the sun
    if larger than 0.06: matter would be unstable in large magnetic fields
    if smaller: all stars would be at least 80% more massive than the sun
18. decay rate of protons
    if greater: life would be exterminated by the release of radiation
    if smaller: universe would contain insufficient matter for life
19. 12C to 16O nuclear energy level ratio
    if larger: universe would contain insufficient oxygen for life
    if smaller: universe would contain insufficient carbon for life
20. ground state energy level for 4He
    if larger: universe would contain insufficient carbon and oxygen for life
    if smaller: same as above
21. decay rate of 8Be
    if slower: heavy element fusion would generate catastrophic explosions in all the stars
    if faster: no element heavier than beryllium would form; thus, no life chemistry
22. ratio of neutron mass to proton mass
    if higher: neutron decay would yield too few neutrons for the formation of many life-essential elements
    if lower: neutron decay would produce so many neutrons as to collapse all stars into neutron stars or black holes
23. initial excess of nucleons over anti-nucleons
    if greater: radiation would prohibit planet formation
    if lesser: matter would be insufficient for galaxy or star formation
24. polarity of the water molecule
    if greater: heat of fusion and vaporization would be too high for life
    if smaller: heat of fusion and vaporization would be too low for life; liquid water would not work as a solvent for life chemistry; ice would not float, and a runaway freeze-up would result
25. supernovae eruptions
    if too close, too frequent, or too late: radiation would exterminate life on the planet
    if too distant, too infrequent, or too soon: heavy elements would be too sparse for rocky planets to form
26. white dwarf binaries
    if too few: insufficient fluorine would exist for life chemistry
    if too many: planetary orbits would be too unstable for life
    if formed too soon: insufficient fluorine production
    if formed too late: fluorine would arrive too late for life chemistry
27. ratio of exotic matter mass to ordinary matter mass
    if larger: universe would collapse before solar-type stars could form
    if smaller: no galaxies would form
28. number of effective dimensions in the early universe
    if larger: quantum mechanics, gravity, and relativity could not coexist; thus, life would be impossible
    if smaller: same result
29. number of effective dimensions in the present universe
    if smaller: electron, planet, and star orbits would become unstable
    if larger: same result
30. mass of the neutrino
    if smaller: galaxy clusters, galaxies, and stars would not form
    if larger: galaxy clusters and galaxies would be too dense
31. big bang ripples
    if smaller: galaxies would not form; universe would expand too rapidly
    if larger: galaxies/galaxy clusters would be too dense for life; black holes would dominate; universe would collapse before life-site could form
32. size of the relativistic dilation factor
    if smaller: certain life-essential chemical reactions will not function properly
    if larger: same result
33. uncertainty magnitude in the Heisenberg uncertainty principle
    if smaller: oxygen transport to body cells would be too small and certain life-essential elements would be unstable
    if larger: oxygen transport to body cells would be too great and certain life-essential elements would be unstable
34. cosmological constant
    if larger: universe would expand too quickly to form solar-type stars

 

Jody and I sell real estate, and we advise buyers on how to choose a home, mostly of course according to location, how it fits into their lifestyle, and according to their budget, and future plans.

We advise sellers on how to prepare their home to sell, what it’s value is, and what it should sell for, and how much it should be listed for, and all three could be different figures.

It’s the same with our final, eternal home. How do we choose which home would be best for us, how does it fit into our lifestyle, and what are we doing to prepare for that big day.

One of the major things in purchasing real estate is the advice I give them in observing the potential neighborhood. A potential buyer should visit the neighbors, deciding where the best neighborhood is according to the current residents.

I advise them to visit at various times of the day and night, who knows maybe the people right next door party loud and long every night, and that is something that could ruin your life.

If you choose the wrong place for your eternal life, that will definitely ruin your life, your eternal life, so we need to choose very carefully which place we really want to move on to when this life is over.

The other, and most important part of our advice giving, is the preparation given to become a homeowner vs a renter, In fact I have automatic emails that go to people we are trying to help that cover a period of three years. It can take that long to prepare for the purchase of a home, getting financing ready, and learning how to make the right choice.

Everyone here tonight knows how to choose where we are going for eternity, and we do the choosing, not God.

Heaven; you might be surprised who lives there, remember the thief on the cross? At the very last moment of his life he chose paradise. There is another famous person who apparently chose paradise at the last moment; Jeffery Dahmer.

Apparently, he had been raised as a Christian, obviously fell away, but when in prison, he repented and returned to his Christian faith, so it’s very possible you will have him for a neighbor if you choose heaven, and on the other hand, if you choose hell, again, he may be your neighbor because his repentance may not have been a true repentance but you won’t know it, you will be alone in the dark, in pain, regretting that decision for all eternity. The point is, we can’t choose by who our neighbors will be, remember the verses:

Matthew 7:22 – 23 ” Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23″And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

Matthew 25:40 – 41…  40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ 41″Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;…

So again we choose heaven or hell, not by our neighbors, not by our preferences, but by our lifestyle and choices we make.

How do we choose Heaven?

 

Matthew 4:10

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'”

I really could stop here, there is only one way and that is to serve God

 

The Greek word here is λατρεύω (latreuō ) to serve, especially for hire, but also of service with or without pay. To render service to God, especially with reference to sacrifice; hence, to worship

Want to go to heaven? Let’s make one thing perfectly clear, we cannot earn our way into heaven, it is a free gift from God, through the work of the cross, if we accept it by the evidence of our actions.

I think grandma Bond said it best, and I loosely quote “Do not to pay any attention to what a person says, but to his actions, which speaks volumes”.

But does scripture confirm that?

Ephesians 2:8-10

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

However, listen to this final verse:

10  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

James 2:17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

1 John 2:4   He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Matthew 28: 18 – 20  Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

Serve God, and that means follow His commands, know His word, Share His word, and Defend His Word.

We do it voluntarily, with or without pay, we do it with a true heart and true desire to serve Him, and Him only …  EVEN if it means living in rags, earthly comfort has no meaning, no importance, where we serve also has no meaning nor importance, as long as we choose to serve God, whether it be in Nirvana or Nineveh.

Nirvana is a place of Bliss, joy, pleasure, such as a paradise, however Nineveh the place Jonah was commanded by God to go was the place of a horrible people known as the Assyrians:

We go where we are called, not because it looks like a nice save vacation spot, nor because we might make money, we go, do, and say what God instructs us to do, and don’t worry, He will direct your paths if you allow Him to do so.

2 Timothy 1:     

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  

8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

9 Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

 

And continuing in 2 Timothy 1

12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

13 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.

 

Mark 9:43

If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.

 

How do we choose Hell?

 

Revelation 21:8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Matthew 7:23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Matt 25:41 – 46

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:       

42 For I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.      

44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.,

 

Romans 1: 19 – 25

19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them.

20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 

21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.       

23 And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves:  

25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:             

27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.        

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

30  Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31 Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

So we choose heaven or hell by our actions and lifestyle, and with that understood, and understanding how we make the choice, exactly what is the choice?

The descriptions of heaven and hell in the bible are symbols, or symbolic of a thing greater than we can imagine.

Now let me offer one example of a symbol, this ring I wear on my finger represents a commitment of loyalty to my wife, but it also is symbolic of my love for her, but it is nowhere near the reality of the truth.

So when we read of heaven, these are symbols to help us understand it is a desirable place, but nowhere begins to describe the reality of heaven, it is beyond our ability to imagine it. And it is the same with the symbolic references to hell, we cannot imagine, it is humanly impossible to imagine it’s genuine horror.  Just the idea alone that we would know for eternity, a conscience thought for eternity, that we are there by choice, we made the decision, we had the information available to us, but chose to ignore it, and this decision would haunt us every moment without cease for all eternity. No wonder there is great weeping and biting of nails. No sleep from it, no rest from those thoughts, just on going forever and forever and forever.

 

HEAVEN

 

Heaven is a real place where the people of God will live one day. In fact, heaven is where God and the angels live. John 14:1-3 even says that Jesus is in heaven preparing us a place to live.

Let me just describe it by reading from scripture:

Revelation 21: 1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia  in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17 The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick. 18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

 

Footnotes:

 

Revelation 21:1 Isaiah 65:17

Revelation 21:4 Isaiah 25:8

Revelation 21:16 That is, about 1,400 miles or about 2,200 kilometers

Revelation 21:17 That is, about 200 feet or about 65 meters

Revelation 21:17 Or high

Revelation 21:20 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain

 

HELL

Luke 16:24

So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

 

 

What is Hell?

 

Matthew 25: 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:    

Revelation 21:8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

2 Thessalonians 1:9  Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

Matthew 13:50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

SO WHAT IS HELL LIKE?

 

There are two descriptions of hell in the Bible. One is of a burning fire. Jesus often used the word GEHENNA to describe hell. Gehenna was the dump outside Jerusalem that was always on fire. Jesus said hell was a place of worms, maggots, fire, and trouble. From that we get the image of a lake of fire and the concept of perpetual burning. The evil ones there are full of remorse and torment (see Mark 9:43-48).

Jesus also said that hell would be “outer darkness.” He said that some in His day “will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12, see also Matthew 22:13). Here the image is one of terrible loneliness. There will be separation from God and man. Those who are consigned to hell will be put out into the inky blackness of eternity, with nobody to turn to, nobody to talk to, and they will be constantly alone. They will suffer the remorse of knowing they had the opportunity to come into heaven with God but turned it down.

The Bible speaks of a lake of fire reserved for the devil and his angels (see Matthew 25:41). Human beings were never intended to go into hell. But the ones who choose to reject God will one day follow Satan right into hell.

There will be no exit from hell, no way out, no second chance. That is why it is so important in this life to receive the pardon that God extends to all men through the cross of Jesus Christ.

So those are our choices

 

There are only two, the path to each are very clear, and laid out for us, we choose each and every moment of our lives which path we will continue on…

Think long and hard…no more pain, no more tears, no more growing old, walking on streets of pure Gold…  or…

Eternal shame and regret in pure blackness and in pure misery, and pain, forever, and ever and ever

As the song says; what will you choose?

You are very blessed, for you have heard the truth, you know the way, and the ultimate reward or punishment of your choice, and if  you aren’t on the right path, you can get on it right now, you can start tonight, if you haven’t already made the correct choice, you can come forward and we will pray with you if you’re unsure.

 

 

 

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