Evidence

[0:00] The Bible reading is from Romans chapter 1 starting from verse 16 and it reads,! For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto the salvation! Of everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein, is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has showed it unto them. 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.

[1:04] Amen. Thanks brother. We'll be going to Romans 1 largely in this message, but starting at 2 Timothy 3.

[1:23] Picture it, if you can, that today we are in a courtroom setting, a scene of judgment. And we must hear from some witnesses and we must examine some evidence. We have evidence here about who God is and our responsibility towards him. We must face up to it. The evidence, the evidence.

[1:49] And the Bible itself, the Bible is evidence. It tells us that it bears testimony. We see that in 2 Timothy 3 verse 16, that familiar one where it says, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. It's interesting, this word reproof, could be put proof. This scripture is given by inspiration of God, it's profitable for reproof, for proof or for evidence as the same word is elsewhere translated in our King James Bible.

[2:37] The Bible is profitable for evidence, for that weight of conviction that it brings. It's profitable for us. In other words, it is proof. There's proof here that God is. It's able to convince. This evidence, it's able to convince. It's the same word as we say, translated as evidence in Hebrews 11.1.

[2:59] Another familiar passage where it says, now faith is the evidence of, sorry, I didn't do that quite correctly. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. Then it says, then it is the evidence of things not seen.

[3:15] It's saying here that the Bible is evidence and faith is evidence. We're going to look at some evidence this morning. A human soul is faced with reckoning here with a most vital decision to make, a verdict to make.

[3:30] If you can imagine me donning a judge's wig and with a gavel here and saying, the court is called to order.

[3:42] We're going to examine some evidence here. We're going to interview some witnesses. We're going to have a look at what the evidence is. And then we're going to make a verdict, a verdict. Every one of us is faced with making a verdict, coming to that vital verdict. What to believe and who to believe. And with that then, what then? The impact on us. We must all come to a verdict for ourselves about these two things, the existence of God and our accountability to Him. Hebrews 11.6 is another familiar scripture that we'll get to shortly as well. So just to recap real briefly here, the Bible itself is evidence. It's given to us for reproof, for proof, for evidence. And faith is the evidence of things not seen. And then we see again, there's another familiar one. It says in Hebrews 11.6, but without faith, it is impossible to please God. For he that comes to God must, number one, believe that he is. And number two, that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Two things. Believe that he is. Believe he's a rewarder. Everyone will get a reward. Everyone on planet earth will get a reward.

[5:06] They will be sent somewhere. One or the other place. There's a reward. There's an outcome. Believe that he is. And he will be a rewarder of you that diligently seek him. We all will face his judgment.

[5:29] Some struggle to get to the point of believing. Even though we tell them time after time, they, struggle with that decision. Yes, I believe. And I present to you today evidence that demands a verdict. There's a book with that title. And evidence that demands a verdict. That's a book of apologetics. It outlines the reasons to believe. Yet some struggle. But if we would look at the evidence, we're faced with really two choices. Believe or try and make excuses for your unbelief. It's one or the other. I urge you to believe that he is. And then it follows on. If you believe that he is, what are you going to do about it? It's like there's a crossroads here.

[6:21] Everyone of us is faced with two world views. You know, I came across this book, two worlds. Two worlds. There's only two. There's the view that is biblical. And there's a view that is anti-biblical. And it's interesting, really interesting book about really, it just boils it down. There's two choices. Really, there's only two ways of looking at life, of looking at everything that is around us.

[6:51] In a way, there's only two gods who you can worship. You can choose one who is really a pretender. He's a god with a small g, the god of this world. You can worship him, or you can know the real god, the one who's worthy of your worship. There's two choices only. Either you believe, or you disbelieve. Which way are you going to go? The Bible says there is no excuse to anyone to not believe. It depends how we look at things, really. If I had some glasses to put on here, those glasses make a difference with what I see. Now, some of you look like grey blobs at the moment.

[7:35] But if I put on some glasses, oh, I can see you're smiling at me. You know, there's a sense where we all have eyes, but not everyone can see. Isn't that true?

[7:46] Depends on the lens that we look through life at. We look through the world at. It dictates what we can see. If we look at the evidence through a biblical lens, then we can see, clearly see.

[7:58] If we can't see, the problem is actually with our glasses. You know, get the hanky out and give them, give them a bit of a wipe. Or we need to change our glasses. The point I'm saying here is really, there's different worldviews. It's how they term it. The worldview of the atheist, or the worldview of a believer. You know, the secular humanists, the godless, they'll seek to redefine truth. But that doesn't change what the truth is. They can call it something else. They can deny it.

[8:30] They can disregard it. They can oppose it. But it doesn't oppose, it doesn't change the fact that it is the truth. And the truth is, friends, today, this world we're living in, it's right for the judgment of God. It's right for the judgment of God. And I want to call to you, as it were, as I've got my judges wig on today. And as I'm saying, I call the court to all that, that there's going to be some witnesses called down. Most everyone has the sense of right and wrong, or some moral code. The court is in session. Call the first witness to the stand.

[9:10] And conscious. Open your eyes. Really open them and you will see a number of things. Imagine the scene of a courtroom. You know, I've had my day in court. I was in the jury, thankfully. That was hard enough. But I can imagine standing in the place of the accused. There's evidence here, we've got to look at it in the setting of judgment and of justice. And I put forward to you some evidences here that are for God's existence. And it follows on, if there is a God, we have to consider evidences that are against man's sin as well, of guilt, of judgment. And then, thankfully, of pardon.

[9:59] God's wrath is revealed. God is, and we have an accountability to him. We read here, Romans 1, we will spend some time. Verse 18, it says, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. One day we will witness the heavenly courtroom.

[10:25] One day the heavenly court will be in session, and every one of us will have our day in court. Order. Order. The court is in session. It says we will have our time in court, and we must all, it says, give an account of ourselves to God. Fasten your seatbelt. Judgment time is coming. It's not far away. The Bible says God's judgment looms. And the wrath of God, it says, is revealed from heaven.

[11:02] This one with whom we have to deal, he has rightful wrath, righteous anger against us. The wrath of God, it's revealed from heaven. And it says that ungodliness and unrighteousness will bear fruit.

[11:16] And you won't like what that fruit tastes like. You know, it might look nice and shining, just like the fruit in Adam and Eve's day. That forbidden fruit that they put silk off.

[11:30] What did it taste like? You wonder. I have to ask Adam and Eve one day. What did that forbidden fruit taste like? We can only imagine. But I put to you really surely, it left a bitter aftertaste.

[11:46] A bitter aftertaste, didn't it? A bitter aftertaste. And we're still tasting it. Friends, the Bible says that the wages of sin is dead. And payday is fast approaching.

[12:00] We're all earning the wages of sin, it's dead. Payday is fast approaching. Thankfully, someone else can pay your payment. We do well to have a healthy appreciation of the wrath of God, don't we? The wrath of God. We'll all have to give account. That's a solemn thought. Where do we stand before him when that day comes? The day. The day of judgment. God is angry with the wicked every day.

[12:27] If you're outside of Christ, you're under wrath. The wrath of God. Yet, for those who trust him, his wrath is tampered with grace. Because at the cross, Christ bore the very wrath of God against our very sin. Our own punishment was paid for he that will receive. There is a revelation from heaven. The revelation from heaven. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven. This is a solemn thought.

[12:59] But some, in the face of this, will still deny God. They will deny that there even is a God. They'll mock the idea of God, or they'll deny their accountability. They'll make some excuse. They do not believe that he is. They are in denial. It's been said, you know, the old light bulb jokes.

[13:23] How many people in denial does it take to change a light bulb? How many people does it take? They will say there's nothing wrong with the light bulb.

[13:33] It's the same with people today, isn't it? They deny God, even though he is, in the face of who he is, in the face of their accountability to him, they'll deny that he even is.

[13:48] You can deny God all you like and justify your sin, but it doesn't stop the fact that God is. God is. They deny the truth. They deny the voice of their own conscience. Friends, God is, and God hates sin.

[14:03] And he must judge it, because he's a righteous judge. And we all have conscience. That's witness number one. We all have a conscience, a sense of right and wrong. It tells of even the Gentiles that they have this law written in their hearts. It's their conscience. A law is written in the hearts of all. Their conscience, and it's bearing witness, it says, their thoughts accusing or excusing. One day it says that God will judge the secrets of men's hearts by the gospel. Friends, conscience is evidence number one. It's written in the hearts of every man. It's the sense of law, of right, of wrong, of guilt, of punishment. It's a witness. It's a witness against you, against me. It's evidence. Judgment day is coming, surely.

[14:59] One day God will judge the secrets of men's hearts, and nothing will be hidden. Nothing. It'll all be exposed. It'll be on the front page, as it were. Politicians can hide things only so much, and then it all comes out the dirt. And you can't hide from God. Judgment is coming, and the secrets of men's hearts will be laid wide open. Nothing will be hidden. In chapter one, we read on the evidence of number two. Evidence number two. I call it to the stand witness number two. Creation. Creation is a witness. It's a witness. It's a testimony. It's evidence. Creation is a witness to man.

[15:47] Written in the hearts of men is the law, the conscience, the witness against us. Number two is creation. God is hidden for now, but he has clearly shown himself. He has made himself known through his works, his creation, the astounding wonder of it. And don't we see it? We ought to see it more clearly than in Paul's day. The works of God is clearly seen. We can see it now through the Hubble Space Telescope. We can see it through the electron microscope. The macro, the micro, creation and design that's all around us. Don't have no idea about DNA. It's astounding. It boggles the mind, the billions of stars. Creation reveals the creator. Only a fool would deny him. Creation is a witness to man. It tells us that here in Romans 1 19. Because that which is maybe known of God is manifest in them. For God hath showed it unto them. He showed it in technicolor. He showed it to man. This world, the space, the very cells, one cell of your body is witness enough that God is.

[17:06] Verse 24, the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen. Put those specks on again. Get the lens focus right. The invisible things from the creation of the world are clearly seen. Being understood by the things that are made. Even in his eternal power and Godhead.

[17:27] So that they are without excuse. There's no excuse for unbelief. God has revealed his truth. He's revealed truth about himself. The witness is clearly seen. The wonders of plant and animal life. The billions of stars in the universe and the universes. Design is everywhere. When we truly see what has been made, we will be a fool to not confess as a maker of it all.

[17:58] And we can find further evidence as I put to you in this courtroom, in this time of judgment, of deliberation, of reasoning, reasons for faith in the very hearts of men. We see the bitter fruit of sin as it continues its damaging work. Look, the greatest threat to mankind is not climate change. The greatest threat to mankind is not the coronavirus. The greatest threat to humanity is the sin contagion. That sin virus that is transmitted from generation to generation. And man stands guilty as charged without excuse. Notice how the word of God puts it as we read on further. The way that sin and unbelief warps man and corrupts him. And he goes from one level to another level, the sinful man. God's creation has been blighted by sin. And there's this gradual progression of sin. As we read on, how darkness fills men's hearts. This is step number one. As we read on in Romans 1, 21.

[19:18] 21. Because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God. Neither were thankful. But they became vain in their imaginations. And their foolish heart was darkened. Paul tells of darkness here. He says, sin is darkness. Unbelief is darkness. Darkness fills men's hearts and minds. It hardens them.

[19:40] They rebel in vanity and pride. They follow the ultimate rebel, the first rebel, Satan. They glorify not God. They bring shame upon themselves. It tells further that in Ephesians 4, 18 of some, that they have their understanding darkened. There's this blackness, this darkness that shrouds their thinking, their mind, their reasoning. They're alienated, it says, from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart. God help you if you've got blindness of heart today.

[20:15] A blindness can overtake man such that they are blinded. They are astray from God and under the subjection to the dominion of Satan, to the philosophies of his ways. Ephesians 2, 2 tells of him, the prince of the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience.

[20:39] Friends, Satan is a spirit. Now don't you catch on sometimes and I know sometimes when you're witnessing you get people say, oh I'm a spiritual person. You know they've got their Buddha statue in the front porch and they've got their incense burning inside the lounge room and they've got their yoga exercises and their mantras that they'll say and they've got holy books. They've got books of philosophy, of empty philosophies of men and all kinds of theology and thinking of the lost.

[21:14] They're spiritual. Satan loves that. Satan wants you to be spiritual, to follow his spirit. And for some, Satan is quite happy for people to be so spiritual, just so long as they don't get saved.

[21:32] It says of the lost that Satan has blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the the glorious gospel of the Christ, who is the image of God, should shine onto them. So we see this darkness, it fills men's hearts. Sinful man shuns the light. They don't want to see the light. They run like a cockroach into the shadows. It's evidence of man's waywardness without God. Satan governs the unsaved. He rules over them without them maybe even knowing it. And he might give them plenty of pleasures and fun for a season. But they're in darkness. Thankfully though, rescue is possible. Praise God.

[22:16] We can be set free. It says delivered from the power of darkness. Translated, we have a change of address into the very kingdom of the Son of God. Deliverance is possible. But look further as we look at this evidence of sin. Sin is a slippery slope. As man wanders on blindly in unbelief, this darkness overtakes him. There's an escalation. As darkness fills men's hearts, it follows on that foolishness fills men's hearts. They go from darkness to foolishness. Verse 22 of Romans 1, it says, professing themselves to be wise, they become fools. Change the glory of the invisible God, the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. These men are so puffed up, they go from darkness to their ignorance and they are qualified fools. They've got a PhD in philology. They are so learned, such learned men. And yet they never come to the knowledge of the truth. How sad it would be to be such a professor of worldly wisdom and to miss the real truth. They shun God's glory. They prefer darkness rather than light. They reject their creator, shaking their fist at him as he reaches out to them. Their minds are confused. They reject their creator and love rather material things. They even start fashioning and then worshiping their own idols. What a fool that would be. You could go to your tool shed and get a piece of wood and chisel it with a chisel and a hammer and maybe paint it or decorate it with pearls and then place it on the altar and then bow down and worship it.

[24:14] What you have made. That's the picture, isn't it? Of the foolishness. That they make an idol and they bow down to it. It's been said that many missionaries have found that, I'm going to quote partly here, that heathen know more than we think.

[24:31] That even the heathen know there is a God of sorts. It's been said, I'm quoting here, there's no atheist among heathen tribes in the sense that they have some kind of God. Some kind of God. Some worship. Some system of worship. Of course, we know they're not saved.

[24:47] But there's this sense of worship. This sense of reverencing something above. This heathen, also they seem to know that sins will be punished and they're afraid of death.

[24:59] It's inbuilt. It's conscience. It's inbuilt in us. Paul says that, yeah, the heathen will go into darkness and into foolishness.

[25:11] And it tells us of the cross to the world, it's foolishness. In 1 Corinthians, it tells how the world would call the cross foolishness. And so they reject God in the spirit of rebellion.

[25:24] Friends, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven. We have to deal with a holy and just God. We must meet our maker. And we must bear his due punishment.

[25:36] Unless we've received pardon, we are foolish to ignore the peril that we face. To reject God in truth is foolish.

[25:50] It's foolish, friends. It's foolish as we know the machinations of today. This ludicrous idea of denying there's a term such as mother.

[26:01] Or a term such as father. Of wife, of husband. Of such things. That a man can actually say, I am a man. A woman can say, I am a woman. And yet, the world would turn our minds to foolishness.

[26:19] And then to devalue life. Such that they could call a little child, just days before being born, something that is just an inconvenience to be dispatched.

[26:36] Friends, that's foolishness. To devalue life. It's foolishness to disregard sin. And we've seen this bitter harvest we're reaping. Friends, the ultimate definition of a fool is an atheist.

[26:48] Yes. The fool says in his heart, there is no God. Friends, sin will take you downwards. In this spiral, another stage is uncleanness.

[27:01] We've seen darkness. We've seen foolishness. Now we see uncleanness. It goes on. Verse 24. Tells how God gave them up to uncleanness. Through the lust of their own hearts.

[27:15] To dishonor their own bodics between themselves. To change the truth of God into a lie. And worshipped and served the creature. More than the creator who is blessed forever.

[27:28] Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections. For even the women to change the natural use into that which is against nature. And then it says, men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust, one toward another.

[27:46] Men with men working that which is unseemly. Receiving in themselves that recompense of their error. Which is mean. Another thing that's meant to elaborate.

[28:00] Uncleanness. Sin is unclean. It's the very foulest thing, isn't it? Sin is unclean and it leads to more uncleanness. We're not talking about hand sanitizers here.

[28:12] We're talking about the heart. We're talking about the core issue of man's heart. It's sin. Sin is uncleanness. It fouls the mind. The life. The lips. It drags people down to the very gutter.

[28:26] God help us. Friends. That's where sin will take us. As we deny God, we'll make up our own rules. We'll pervert the very meaning of life. The very fundamentals of male and female.

[28:38] That which is designed, we'll try to pervert and twist it and make it something else by cutting bits off and moving things around. We cannot change what God has made.

[28:49] That's foolishness. They follow lies instead of the truth. They even believe their own lie. And their very affections become vile. Even that which is, you would think something good about them.

[29:00] Their affections. Their affections. Their very affections become vile. And they love their sin. Even though it's the death of them. How sad to be in such a state. Friends, that's sin.

[29:11] It's an evidence. It's an evidence of our need of a God. It's an evidence of our need of a saviour. It's the spiral of sin. It's downward, ever downward. And it's evidence that we need a saviour.

[29:21] Sin fills men's hearts. It fills men's hearts with darkness. It fills men's hearts with foolishness. It fills men's hearts with uncleanness. And it fills men's hearts with an emptiness. Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind.

[29:39] To do those things which are not convenient. A reprobate mind, it's a hardened mind. It's a mind that says, I don't want God. Or anything to do with God. It's hateful towards the Almighty.

[29:51] The God deniers will refuse to acknowledge Him. They've shut God out of their lives, out of their thinking. And it shows. But they can only do that for so long. Friends, we all will face our day in court.

[30:03] Order. The court is called to order. One day we'll stand. As the wrath of God is revealed from heaven.

[30:14] We will face our maker. And friends, there's no toying around. There's no pussyfooting around then. The truth is the truth. And we must have the truth. But some fill their minds with that which is emptiness.

[30:27] They're filled. We read on. How it says they're filled. They're filled with all unrighteousness. Fornication. Wickedness. Covetousness. Maliciousness. They're filled.

[30:37] Fought envy. Murder. Debate. Deceit. Belignity. Whisperers. They're filled. They're filled. They're backbites. And then we go as the ultimate downward step.

[30:50] They become haters of God. They're spiteful. Proud. Boasters. Inventors of evil things. Disobedient to parents. Without understanding.

[31:00] Without understanding. Covenant breakers. Without natural affection. Implacable and merciful. And it goes here. Just to wrap that section up there.

[31:10] It says they know the judgment of God. They know the wrath of God is revealed from heaven. They know the judgment of God is sure as eggs. But they commit that which is worthy of death.

[31:21] And not only do they commit their sin. But they have pleasure in them that do the same. So deep down in every man. The judgment of God is a factor. It is at hand.

[31:32] The judgment of God. Our conscience bears witness. We will have our day in court. But these ones continue on. In the sinful way. Their lives filled. Yes filled.

[31:44] But empty. An emptiness of their soul. Deep, deep down they are emptying. And they are following as it were. The high pipers. So they follow these ones. Who are leading them in sin.

[31:56] The superstars of the world. You know. Read the papers. And it almost glorifies them. This tennis star. And his girlfriend.

[32:06] And what they are up to. And you think. The world follows them. Now I'm not against tennis. But some of these ones. They glorify as the tennis stars.

[32:19] They're nothing. They're no hero in the face of God. The devils. Some of them. But they will follow.

[32:30] They'll follow the Pied Piper's tune. As he plays his marrying tune. They'll follow just like the Pied Piper. Of story time. They'll follow the Pied Piper.

[32:41] Enchanted by the devil's tune. They'll follow him down. Down the same pathway to hell. Friends. That's singing. It fills us. It darkens us. It messes us.

[32:52] And it takes us to hell. And these vanities. Obsess such people. That they will follow them. Oh. That music sounds good. These superstars. A stage.

[33:03] A screen. This worldly ones. A sport. Of movies. They'll follow these sinful heroes. And they will account at the gossip magazines. Saying what foul lives they live.

[33:14] Who they're jumping into times with. And going on from one to the other. And the next. And the next. And glorifying their sinful exploits. And they'll have pleasure in the same.

[33:29] As they follow these ones. They'll follow them to hell. Friends. Judgment and death is soon. To be upon. Many.

[33:40] Who disregard the only hope. They have. And not only are they guilty themselves. But as I say. As that verse says. They've got pleasure in them. That do the same. Friends. Look out. Who you're following.

[33:52] Who are you following? Who are you marching after? Who do you want to copy? Who do you want to have a poster of? In your room. Young people. You know. Or to have some kind of. A love for them.

[34:02] And. I think of my. My sisters. That. Have the Bay City Rollers. Posters on there. That anyone could want. Such a thing as that. Mostly.

[34:13] Probably too. Too young. To think of the Bay City Rollers. But. How could anyone want to follow? Such foolishness. Such wickedness. Such a. God help us.

[34:24] Friends. That's what the world wants to follow. They'll follow them. All the way to hell. They don't care. That they. Are guilty of sin. And they'll make them their heroes. Friends.

[34:35] Man's sinfulness is a damning witness. Is it not? It's a damning witness against us. It's evidence. God is. And we will answer to him. Friends.

[34:45] It says. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven. The almighty judge must pronounce his verdict. His dread verdict. Against us. There's no escaping.

[34:56] No excusing it. The verdict against us. Against me. It's clear. Guilty. Guilty. Man stands guilty.

[35:07] As charged. I'm guilty. Friends. The lost have a pleasure. But yet it is fleeting. They've got pleasures. But it's seasonal. It's going to finish. Finish forever.

[35:18] Yet there is hope. Friends. If you're one of God's people. You can know this in your heart. In your mind. Your soul. Thankfully. I'd like to leave you on a brighter note.

[35:30] As I talked about the wrath of God. Is revealed from heaven. I'd like to leave you with a brighter note this morning. There is pardon. There is pardon. As we hear in the news lately.

[35:42] There's a lot of talk about some pardons. Isn't there? Some pardoned people. Donald Trump. Has issued some unconditional pardons. And he used the authority of his office. To issue pardon.

[35:54] From punishment. Just like a president. Or a king. Or a queen. Can issue a pardon. Friends. God. Offers pardon. Amen. Isn't that good news? Praise God.

[36:05] This judge. Can offer a pardon. This one. Can offer a complete pardon. From all of your guilt. We can receive God's pardon. And it's unconditional. It is complete.

[36:15] But a pardon can be refused. You hear back in history. Some. They cherish their prison chains and bars. They like their prison food too much.

[36:27] That they won't take the pardon. And escape their prison cell. Friends. Some will refuse God's pardon. How sad. That would be.

[36:38] Isn't it? The wrath of God. Is revealed from heaven. Will you receive God's pardon? Thankfully the grace of God. Is revealed from heaven. Amen. The wrath of God.

[36:49] Is revealed from heaven. But the grace of God. Is revealed from heaven. Because that's where. Came. Our saviour. From. Someone has said.

[37:00] If our greatest need. Had been information. God would have sent us. An educator. If our greatest need. Had been technology. God would have sent us. A scientist. If our greatest need.

[37:10] Had been money. God would have sent us. An economist. If our greatest need. Had been pleasure. God would have sent us. An entertainer. But our greatest need. Was forgiveness. So God sent us.

[37:22] A saviour. A saviour. We have considered. Reasons to believe. We've heard from witnesses. That have given us. Some clear testimony.

[37:32] Some evidence. Evidence that God is. He is. Creation. How can you deny. This. Wonderful. Well. Yourself.

[37:45] The universe. That has been made. God is. Our maker. How can you deny. That impact. Of that sense of conscience. That we all have this. Inbuilt in us.

[37:56] We have to answer to him. We have evidence. Also. As we've covered. Of the evidence. That man. Is in. A desperate state. In need of saving.

[38:07] From. His fate. Of rightful judgment. Against his sin. Men's hearts are filled. Filled with darkness. Filled with foolishness.

[38:17] Filled with uncleanness. Filled with emptiness. What will you do. With the evidence today. Some would reject. The evidence. They would deny God. They would even go to. Defy God.

[38:28] To become a God hater. The ultimate pathway. Of sin. Not caring. The judgment looms. Wanting to follow. Their master Satan. As the first rebel. We've considered.

[38:40] Two witnesses thus far. We've considered. Creation. We've considered. Conscience. I appeal to you. To hear the evidence. In the question. Of who to believe. How to believe.

[38:50] There's another vital. Piece of evidence. Number three. The vital piece. Of evidence. I appeal to understand. The fear. And fear of witness. The cross.

[39:05] The cross. The cross is the final. Witness. It's the final. Testimony. It's the final. Piece of evidence.

[39:17] That God is. It's the cross. He offers pardon. At the cross. But you must take it.

[39:28] He wants to set you free. From your prison cell. But you must take the pardon. You must receive. His. Pardon. The cross.

[39:40] It's the final witness. On the stand today. And it tells us this. Of the gospel message. Of the cross. Paul says. For I'm not ashamed. Of the gospel. Of Christ. For it is. The power.

[39:51] Of God. Unto salvation. To everyone. That believer. To the Jew. First. And also. To the Greek. What is the gospel? That Christ died. For our sins.

[40:02] That Christ died. And he was buried. That he rose again. Our wonderful savior. It's in the gospel. It says that. God's righteousness. Is revealed. The wrath of God.

[40:13] Is revealed. From heaven. Thank God. The righteousness of God. Is revealed. From heaven. The grace of God. Is revealed. From heaven. The pardon of God. The creation. The creator.

[40:24] Can clothe you. With his own righteousness. As we close this time. The only one. We can commend to you.

[40:36] Is the Christ. Your maker. He wants to be your master. And this master. Is loving. And gracious. To his servants. And makes us.

[40:46] What's more. He makes us his very sons. Friends. The evidence is clear. To all who are truly seen. It just depends.

[40:57] What glasses you've got on. Get the right glasses on. Look through the biblical lens. Look at the evidence. Hear the witnesses. The witness of creation. The grandness of it.

[41:08] The testimony. That it bears. To your creator. I can't. Even. Scratch the surface. On. The many testimonies. Of creation.

[41:19] You know. That would take. Probably a week. Of. A seminar. To talk about creation. And the testimony. Of creation. We have the witness. Of your own conscience. That inbuilt sense.

[41:30] There's something right. And there's something wrong. There's guilt. There's need of grace. You know. Even. Dan Andrews. Has got conscience. It says it's. It says it's a horrible thing.

[41:41] To. To. Say something critical. About certain people. There's a sense of right and wrong. Even in the atheist. Even in the God deniers. Even those who've got no idea. About the Bible.

[41:51] And about truth. They've got some sense. To some measure. Of right and wrong. But in his case. This measure is wrong. Amen. The Bible says what's right. That's the only measure.

[42:03] Friends. Our conscience bears witness. There's evidence. The word of God itself. It's reproof. It's proof. It's the thing. It's evidence. Of things not seen.

[42:14] Friends. The Bible says that they are without excuse. There's all these testimonies. There's all these witnesses. What are you going to do with the Lord of glory? What will you do? When it's judgment time.

[42:25] Calling it to order. And the judge is going to say. Guilty. Guilty. Or he'll say. Guilty. But you've received. My pardon.

[42:37] You're free to go. You're free to go. You've received my pardon. You've received Christ's payment. In your part. And you are free to go. To glory. Free.

[42:48] To enter the gates. Friends. Many would hear the evidence. Yet they would still offer excuses. Why not to believe. Despite all the evidence. I heard a story of a preacher one day.

[42:58] He was talking to a 95 year old woman. He said. As he was witnessing to her. This 95 year old woman says. Oh. I'm just not ready. But I'm going to accept the Lord someday.

[43:14] She died a couple of days later. Friends. What a tragic thing. It would be. To hear the evidence. To make excuses. To put it off. I've tendered the evidence for you here today.

[43:26] There's evidence here. Numbers of witnesses. Many items and pieces of evidence that I've tendered. You could say. What is your verdict?

[43:37] How say you? Do you believe? God is. And what's more? God is my saviour. God is. He is the rewarder. I diligently seek him. I trust him.

[43:48] I know him. Come to him. By the way of the cross. You can trust God with your life. Friends. The Bible says. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven. One day soon.

[44:02] The wrath of God will be revealed. But. The good news is. The grace of God is also revealed from heaven. Grace came down. Clothed in human skin. The God manifest in the flesh.

[44:14] That he would take our place. Our shame. Our penalty. The grace of God is revealed from heaven. And you can know him. Hands to know. It's life eternal. But if you are not under grace.

[44:25] Then you are under wrath. It's one or the other. You've got to choose which umbrella are you going to stand under. The wrath of God. Or the grace of God. You know. Where will you stand?

[44:36] We've tended some evidence today. The evidence of God's existence. It's manifest in the witness of every man's conscience. It's clearly seen. Go and look at the sky at night.

[44:46] And see the wonders of your creator. We've tended evidence that the very hearts of men are soiled by sin. Man, God's highest creation. Is unworthy of him.

[44:57] He's fatally flawed. He's been right back from the garden. He's fatally flawed by his own willfulness. And we've got that inherited virus of sin.

[45:12] And the dread wrath of God is revealed from heaven. But friends. The great grace of God is revealed. And that's the cross. Friends. I urge you to come to Christ. To trust him.

[45:23] And know. Though the wrath of God is against us. The grace of God is for us. The grace of God is for us. And you can trust him. And to follow on from Brother Peter's exhortation.

[45:36] Don't forget God. Let's be reminded of him. Let's remember him. Let's not forget his goodness to us. Let's trust him today. Let's pray. Our God and King.

[45:47] We thank you for your grace. That is revealed from heaven. We know the wrath is going to fall. But we that are sheltered. Under the grace that you've granted.

[45:58] We that have received the pardon. And the feeling that you've offered. Can know that saving. And that assurance. That at the heavenly court. We will know we are not subject to wrath.

[46:12] In fact we won't enter that final great white throne judgment. Against the sinners. But we will be spared. Even that time.

[46:22] But yet we will have that day. Where we must all give account of ourselves to you. At the judgment seat of Christ. Every believer will face that time. Lord we pray we'll have our hearts ready.

[46:35] That will know you. That will walk in your grace. Lord steal our hearts for what might face us. That we might be strong. And not afraid. That we will not forget you.

[46:46] But we will remember you. And we will follow you dearly. Lord steer us away from following the Pied Pipers. That will take us away from you. Help us to follow you. Dearly.

[46:57] And closely. We pray for every believer. Every family here this morning. Lord every heart. Every home. Represents it. Dear God. And those watching. Lord that you would do a work in us.

[47:09] In each one. Until we meet again. For your glory we pray. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. All creatures of our world