Understanding Our Existence: Created by God's Desire

But my question, "Why are you here?" really has little to do with the fact that you're sitting here today. My bigger question why you're here, "Why are you here?" is why are you here on earth, why do you exist? Now, I'm sure many of you have thought about that question, you've considered it, you've asked that question of yourself, you've asked it of God, you've asked it maybe of a friend or of a professor, of a mom or a dad, "Why am I here?" [00:01:47]

God made you, and you're here because God wanted you. Now the reality of it is, when it comes to creation, our being made in the image of God, we understand that when we look in the mirror, when we look at another human being, we can't help but believe that there is a Creator. We understand just naturally, and I don't mean just us as Christians, because I realize there are probably some among you that are skeptical and cynical about Christianity and the faith and the Bible. [00:03:00]

Everyone knows that God exists, because God has put it in our hearts to know He exists. You see, here's the harsh reality for those who claim to be atheists. Atheists don't exist. The good news is, is that God believes they exist. But atheists, in reality, know that God exists. But what they do is they try to pretend He doesn't exist and try to convince others that He doesn't exist, and you know why? [00:03:59]

For although they knew God, they did not honor him or give thanks to him as God, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." They exchanged, they suppressed, they denied, and their foolish hearts were darkened. [00:06:15]

Too often, Christians are pointing their fingers in people's faces rather than putting their arms around their shoulders, pointing them to Jesus Christ. So, we talk about those who believe in God and those who claim to be atheists or agnostics and those who are questioning the existence of God. The reality of it is that at the end of the day, we can do a lot of work, we can show lots of evidences, lots of proofs. [00:08:08]

But at the end of the day, believing in God doesn't get anyone to heaven. I mean, how many times do you meet people who say, "Well, I believe in God." "You know, I am a spiritual person," great! Everyone is a spiritual person. The demons are spiritual beings, they know that God is One and they are fearful, they shudder, they tremble with fear. Everyone believes in God. I could put the question to all of you here today, "Do you believe in God?" [00:08:50]

Here's why you can trust the New Testament. It is an historically scrutinized and proven collection of historical documents written down and recorded by witnesses. The New Testament historical writers recorded the teaching of Jesus and the miraculous events that took place in fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies, some of which have been attested to by ancient and extra biblical historians and antagonists of Christianity. [00:17:40]

The probability that New Testament manuscripts reflect the original text is so overwhelmingly strong that the manuscript copies about ninety percent of the time are identical to the original New Testament. That's amazing! Any of the textual differences in manuscripts that do not exist, do not in any way, they don't in any way, whatsoever, affect any Christian doctrine or core belief. [00:23:03]

And here's the reason, spiritual things are spiritually discerned. The natural man, as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians, cannot understand spiritual things. So, at the end of the day, why do you trust the Bible? Why do you believe the Bible? Why do you read it? Why do you study it? It's because you've been given a new heart and a new mind. And as Jonathan Edwards spoke of this, he said, "You also have been given a new sense, a new taste." [00:29:31]

But the more you grow, the more you mature, the more you have a taste, that sense, that palate will mature, and the more you look to the Word of God not just because your parents are reading it to you, not just because you're hearing it from your pastor, but because you want to go there yourself. Because you know that in the Word of God, though it's sometimes hard to read, because when you read the Word of God it's reading you and investigating you, and that's hard, because it convicts you, it pricks your conscience, it shows you what's wrong with you. [00:32:44]

And when they see us, not perfect, not pretending to be perfect, not just a bunch of happy hypocrites walking around like we're just the perfect bunch of people. No, just being real people. But when they see us, they say, you know, there's something about her, there's something about him. Because when the trials and the hurt comes and the pain comes and the misery comes, there's something in them that still honors the Lord Jesus Christ in their lives. [00:33:14]

And we should be ready, be ready to tell them about that hope. It's not within, it's something above. That we've been born from above, and it's Jesus Christ that is the reason for the hope that is within us. And the reason we have hope within us is because of Him, because of the Holy Spirit in us that gives us hope. That's why that hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us. [00:34:06]