Excerpted from the Message; “Why I know there is a God” by B.R. Lakin in a return visit to his former pastorate at Cadle Tabernacle in Indianapolis, Indiana. Circa 1962
Wherefore remember, that ye being In time past Gentiles In the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which Is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world,. But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. (Eph. 2.11-13)
We ordinarily use the word “hope” in a very careless way. God always uses it with the greatest of care. No matter how strong, desire is not hope. Mere expectation is not hope. Hope in the Bible is a well-founded expectation for the future. Those who doubt or deny the existence of God stand without hope.
I know there is a God is because of fulfilled prophecy. Every religion has its bible, but this Bible is the only one that has a word of prophecy in it. Why? Because the authors of all those other books knew that if they inserted a word of prophecy and it failed, their book would be discredited. But God’s Word, with daring boldness, tells us what will happen upon this earth to men, nations, and individuals, sometimes thousands of years in the future.
Who could write a Book like that? Only God. I can take the prophecies concerning Jesus Christ alone and prove to any thinking man that there must be a God. First of all He said He shall be born in Bethlehem of Judea. Not just in Bethlehem, not just in Judea, but Bethlehem of Judea, and thank God He was. He said He shall be born of a virgin. Thank God He was.
He said they would gamble upon His garments. They did. He said they would pluck out His beard. They did. He said they would crucify Him and they did. He said He would make His death with the wicked and His burial with the rich. He died between two thieves and He was buried in Joseph’s new tomb. He said you’ll put Me to death but I’ll rise again. That’s right. You can’t kill Me but I’ll give up My life anyway and I’ll rise again on the third day. Don’t let anybody fool you. This is the Book that will stand the test.
There is one final reason I know there is a God. All of man’s rational thinking and philosophy will never give him a foundation on which he can stand and provide a reason for having any hope. The only foundation is the revelation God gives of Himself in this Book. It alone stands against the winds of criticism. The man that does not confess the Christ that this Bible presents stands without any hope.
Why do I believe there is a God, my friend? Because only He makes any sense out of this old world. Only He brings meaning to living, the hope of pardon, and a place in heaven.
Words of Grace for Strength
In the day in which we now live, there seems to be very little hope in the world. On every continent man is faced with new and terrible diseases which seem to be inherently resistant to any antibiotics or other form of treatment. There is growing evidence and concern that because of various biological, environmental, and weather-related events we may be soon facing worldwide famine. Man’s inhumanity to man has reached epidemic proportions on nearly every continent, whether it be based on differences in politics, religion or ethnicity.
War has engulfed the Middle East, stands on the brink in Eastern Europe and the Far East, as borders seem to be erased and redrawn on nearly a daily basis. Criminal enterprise which feeds off of the base desires of humanity for illicit sex, drugs, and wealth now reaches through every level of society and in the halls of education, government, and justice. And, there doesn’t seem to be one nation in the world which can honestly be said to be on firm economic standing. For mankind, hope is fleeting because for generations man has rejected the one True God of the universe, choosing instead to worship false gods, nature, man himself, or to deny the existence of God entirely.
Dr. Lakin rightly states that the evidence of fulfilled prophecy in God’s Holy Word is enough to convince anyone who gives it an honest examination, that not only is He the one True God, but also that the only hope that exists in the world is that which is provided through His Son Jesus Christ, who made Himself a substitutionary sacrifice for all mankind through His shed blood on the cross at Calvary. Unfortunately, even among those who claim to be Christians, less than 10% spend any time on a regular basis reading the Word of God, let alone studying it, and an even smaller number believe it is literal Truth.
Jesus Christ is the Word of God. In John’s Gospel he wrote; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” John 1:1-5
Shortly before His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus Himself told His disciples; “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:25-27
The things which Jesus spoke to His disciples, which His Holy Spirit brought to their remembrance and taught them from, were the very Word of God breathed into them by the Holy Spirit, which they wrote down so that today we might know the mind of Christ, if we will only apply ourselves to its study.
The Bible, which is the Word of God, is the only hope for mankind. Without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ having accepted him as Lord and Savior, man condemns himself to an eternity in hell. Know Jesus and be eternally secure, say No to Jesus and you will be eternally lost. Having said yes to Jesus, we have the hope of Jesus within us. And as we watch the world slide further away from Him, as we watch a world grow increasingly defiant to a loving, but just God, that hope can only grow.
Because those of us who study the Word, and do so in the full faith and trust in Jesus as Savior, know that which must happen before He returns first for His Church, and then to judge and rule the world. We know it has to get that bad before it can get that good. That is our hope, and for those who do not know Jesus, that is incomprehensible, that is foolishness.
The evidence of the fulfillment of Biblical Prophecy is crystal clear in the world today to those who are diligently studying the Word. Jesus Christ will soon rapture those who He has called out of the world, His Church,. And, the world is hurtling towards a time of tribulation and judgment which will culminate in His physical return to the earth to set up His Kingdom. The Scripture is clear; Jesus is Coming Soon!
EvenSoCome
Dr. Tuck Whitaker and Andy Coticchio
Rafter Cross Ministries
Jesusplus0@gmail.com