The Claim: Evil exists therefore, God does not exist.
An all-powerful (omnipotent) God can do anything.
An all-good(omnibenevolent) God doesn't stop evil and suffering.
Evil and suffering exist; therefore, God does not exist.
Evil is only possible where there is human freedom. Romans 5:12 (NLT) When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.
Truth: Evil exists
Evil is not a thing; it's the absence of a thing.
A hole is not a thing. It's the absence of a thing.
Evil is the absence of Good.
Truth: Objective Morality Exist
What makes Mother Teresa a better person than Hitler
Conclusion: In order for the absence of Moral goodness to exist, Good must exist. There must be a source of that moral goodness..
Truth: God cannot do anything. Omnipotence doesn't mean that God can do anything. Omnipotence has to do with power, not ability. God can do anything that power can do.
God cannot create free moral agents that are not morally free. God is not obsessed with control; He is not a cosmic dictator.
The problem of evil isn't God's problem. Yet, he solves it. Romans 5:17 (NIV) For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
God provides solutions. God is not the problem, he is the solution.
Where do you get your information about God? Colossians 2:8 (NIV) See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
John 14:5–9 (NIV) 5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." 8 Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." 9 Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
Jesus reveals the way of the Father, the truth about the Father and the life in the Father.
Hebrews 1:3 (NIV) The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being…
Colossians 1:15 (NLT) Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation.
God doesn't create problems; He provides solutions.
John 3:16–21 (NIV) 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
God provides a purpose in the pain.
God makes sure that no pain is wasted.
Pain serves us, we don't serve pain. Romans 8:28 (NIV) 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Scars in the Kingdom - Scars take us from pain to power
Scars speak louder of the win than the wound
Wounds speak of death scars speak of the resurrection
Faith will be tested. “The test won't pass; you have to pass the test."
James 1:2–4 (NIV) 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 1. Testing grows us 2. Testing is a revealer 3. In testing, the Devil tempts us. James 1:13(NIV) When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.
The devils desire is to….
Disengage from your community and connection to Jesus
Disappoint your desires.
Discourage you and rob you of hope.
Distract from your purpose.
Disrupt the refining process.
Dismantle your identity.
4. Testing proves us James 1:12–15 (NIV) 12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
"A faith that is tested is a faith that can be trusted."
Passing the test: Genesis 22:1(NLT) Some time later, God tested Abraham's faith. "Abraham!" God called. "Abraham!" God called. "Yes," he replied. "Here I am." 2 "Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you." 3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about.
1. Hope up
God's promise is always the greater reality!
1 Peter 1:3–4 (NLT) …It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance…
Genesis 22(NLT) 4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 "Stay here with the donkey," Abraham told the servants. "The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back." 6 So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac's shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, 7 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "We have the fire and the wood," the boy said, "but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?" 8 "God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son," Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.
2. Speak Up John 16:33 (NIV) In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. 1 John 5:5 (NIV) Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Romans 8:31 (NIV) What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:35 (NIV) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Romans 8:37 (NIV) We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Genesis 22(NLT) 9 When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. 11 At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Yes," Abraham replied. "Here I am!" 12 "Don't lay a hand on the boy!" the angel said. "Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son." 13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means "the Lord will provide").
3. Look up Hebrews 10:23 (NIV) Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Psalm 121:1–8 (NLT) 1 I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! 3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. 5 The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. 6 The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. 7 The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. 8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.
Mark 1:14–15 (NIV) 14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Repent: Metanoia- to change one’s mind or purpose
Believe: Actively trust. Acts 20:21 (NIV) 21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to Godin repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
“Believing Jesus requires a changed mind and direction.”
Matthew 3:8 (NIV)8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
Romans 12:1–2 (NIV) 12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Believing in the wrong things will transform you into the wrong thing.
Only the renewed mind can know and understand the will of God.
How do we have a renewed mind? 1. Thinking differently. - Repentance. -Filling our mind. A renewed mind is a well informed, and well equipped mind.
John 17:17 (NIV) Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
2. Walking in the Spirit Romans 8:5–8 (NIV) 5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
The result of walking in the Spirit is life and peace.
A. Aware B. Yielded “His primary role is not feelings but leadership.”
You cant trust Jesus without removing trust in yourself.
Yielding our thoughts…. 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV) We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Psalms 46:10(NIV) “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations…
Exodus 14:10–16 (NIV) 10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” 13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” 15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.
Faith that works James 2:14–19 (NIV) 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
Faith that works is the only faith that works.
James 2:20–24 (NIV) 20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous*by what they do and not by faith alone.
*NLT Shown to be right with God
1. Faith connects
“Faith without works is dead, and works without faith are dead.”
John 15:5 (NIV) “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Your beliefs determine your behaviors. We begin and end in faith.
“You cannot be made righteous by doing anything but by trusting someone.”
In Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone.
“We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone” -Martin Luther.
Luke 6:43–45 (NIV) 43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
“When we sow the seed of faith, we produce the fruit of faithfulness.”
2. Faith walks 2 Corinthians 5:7(NIV) We live by faith, not by sight.
-Faith lives with conviction -Faith lives with meaning and intentionality. -Faith walks in dominion. -Faith walks in Obedience to Jesus
Obedience is the active part of Trust!
James 1:22 (NLT) Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
3. Faith Talks 2 Corinthians 4:13 (NIV)It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak. -Talking the talk is part of the walk.
Romans 10:9(NLT) For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.
Our declaration determines our direction.
Faith spreads the gospel. Romans 10:14 (NLT) How can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?
John 6:22–31 (NIV) 22 The next daythe crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” 28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” 29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” 30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” 35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.
1. The crowd was asking for a sign, yet he already provided signs.
2. The crowd was asking about the works(plural) God required; Jesus gives them the work (singular)God requires.
‣Believing is the work God requires.
What does believing mean?
πιστεύω Pisteuō; (verb) to believe, entrust.
A. To be convinced.
“If you are not convinced, you won’t live with conviction.” "Biblical Believing is the act of trusting based on the basis of its truthfulness and reliability."
B. To place ones trust in. Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 1. Faith is substantive. 2. Faith is evidential.
To believe is to actively trust.
1. Believing is the beginning. You have to believe Jesus to receive Jesus. Believing is how we are reborn Genesis 15:6 / Rom 14:3(NIV) Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Romans 4:18 (NIV) Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed… Acts 16:31 (NIV)“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.
Ephesians 2:8 (NIV) For it is by grace you have been saved,through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
John 3:14–15 (NIV) 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
John 3:16–18 (NIV) 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
2. Belief empowers life in the Spirit. John 7:37–39 (NIV) “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.
Isaiah 40:31 (NIV) Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
John 6:22–31 (NIV) 22 The next daythe crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” 28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” 29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” 30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” 35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.
1. The crowd was asking for a sign, yet he already provided signs.
2. The crowd was asking about the works(plural) God required; Jesus gives them the work (singular)God requires.
‣Believing is the work God requires.
What does believing mean?
πιστεύω Pisteuō; (verb) to believe, entrust.
A. To be convinced.
“If you are not convinced, you won’t live with conviction.” "Biblical Believing is the act of trusting based on the basis of its truthfulness and reliability."
B. To place ones trust in. Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 1. Faith is substantive. 2. Faith is evidential.
To believe is to actively trust.
1. Believing is the beginning. You have to believe Jesus to receive Jesus. Believing is how we are reborn Genesis 15:6 / Rom 14:3(NIV) Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Romans 4:18 (NIV) Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed… Acts 16:31 (NIV)“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.
Ephesians 2:8 (NIV) For it is by grace you have been saved,through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
John 3:14–15 (NIV) 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
John 3:16–18 (NIV) 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
2. Belief empowers life in the Spirit. John 7:37–39 (NIV) “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.
Isaiah 40:31 (NIV) Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. .
