His righteousness, and wonders
of His love, and wonders of His love, and wonders, wonders of
His love. Now, we read in the Scripture
a few moments ago from Psalm 14, where the fool has said in
his heart, there is no God. But I saw something new on television
recently. I couldn't believe what I saw.
In New York, a bus was driving down the street. on the side
of that bus with a great big sign, a group of young people
were smiling and they had four words, No God, No Problem. Have you all seen that lately?
I've seen it several times. No God, No Problem. I'm going to preach on that tonight.
No God, but there is a problem. When the skeptics and agnostics
and infidels say all that they can say, and this is what they
say, there is no God. But there are three awesome problems. No God, no problem. No, there's
three awesome problems which the skeptics, agnostics, infidels
cannot ever answer, honestly deal with, three plain facts,
three simple facts, three impossible facts, impossible to ignore. I'm going to talk about them
tonight, these three facts. The first one is this. This is
the first major problem. Who is Jesus Christ? There is
no God, then who is Jesus Christ? If Christianity is just an invention
of man, as some people say, if Christianity is, as one atheist
declared, an opium for the people, if Christianity is only a foolish
desire for heavenly paradise or happy hunting ground, How
can you explain Jesus Christ? Tell me, how can you explain
Jesus Christ? His existence in history, nobody
can deny. He was on this earth. Two thousand
years ago, He walked this earth. And time, even time, is designated
by His birth. Did you know that? That's right. Talk about 200 years B.C. Who's B.C.? Before Christ. He was born. And after He was
born, time was designated by 2009 A.D. What does A.D. mean? Anno Domini in the year of our
Lord. So time itself, everybody that
uses the time has got to deal with Jesus Christ. That's right. He was on this earth. He was
born in Bethlehem of Judea. He walked this earth. He died
on a Roman cross and He rose again. And he appeared to his
disciples. Five hundred brethren at once.
And nobody ever recanted. Nobody ever denied the fact that
he lives. Jesus Christ was called a carpenter. He worked in a carpenter's shop.
He was born in a manger. He worked in his father's carpenter's
shop. His earthly father, not the Lord
God. And listen to this. Somebody
said, without force or bribery, without military might or money,
without position or possession, a man who lived in Israel, a
hated nation, a despised people, slaves of Rome, and yet he left
a mark on this world. like nobody ever has before. That's true. There have been
a whole lot of messiahs, but none like this one. There's been
a whole lot of prophets and a whole lot of Mohammeds and a whole
lot of popes and a whole lot of reformers, but none like this
man. Let me give you twelve characteristics
and marks of this man. Listen to him. All other Messiahs
came to earth to live. He came to die. He said, for
this cause came I into the world. He came to die. All other Messiahs
leave monuments and memorials Nobody can authentically find
his birthplace, or his death site, or his grave. They go over yonder to the Holy
Land, but none of those things are real. They're put on. You can visit the graves of Mohammed,
but not the grave of Christ. He arose. All other messiahs
write books. They write proverbs. They write
memoirs. He never wrote a book. But he
wrote on the sand and the wind blew it away. You can't find
any book that he personally wrote. The disciples wrote them. The
prophets wrote them. But he didn't. All of the Reformers,
all of the Messiahs choose their followers, their disciples from
the rich, from the powerful, from the popular. He chose us,
the foolish things of the world. He chose the weak things of the
world. He chose the base things of the
world. He chose the things that are
not to bring to naught the things that are that no flesh can glory
in his presence. Something else, listen. All Reformers
and all Messiahs and all Prophets seek people whom they can help.
He sought those whom he could help, who really needed help. All Messiahs hold their disciples
with fear, with rewards and threats. He turned to him and said, would
you go away? Would you go away? All preachers,
reformers, messiahs, and Mohammeds lived in mansions. The son of
man has not where to lay his head. In 1968, I went to Spain to preach. And when I went to a little town
called Tarragona, The man with me said, you see that house right
there? See that house that's been there
2,000 years? Pontius Pilate lived there. Got
a sign, Pontius Pilate's home. Before he left Spain and went
to Rome, try our Lord. Our Lord Jesus Christ never had
a house. Had no place to lay his head.
That's right. All reformers, And all of these
Mohammeds and all these other people, they promised their followers
titles. They promised their followers
recognition. They promised them honors. But
our Lord said, he that would be great among you, let him be
your servant. All the farmers say, follow me. I'll show you the way. Our Lord
said, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. All reformers
and prophets and Mohammeds and Messiahs, they say we are messengers
sent of God. He didn't say that. He said,
I am God. I am God. I am God. All Messiahs die and they stay
there. But He arose. The songwriter
said, He arose up from the grave. He arose a mighty victor over
His foes. He arose a victor over the dark
domain and He lives forever with His saints to reign. What do
you think of this man? You've got a problem. Everybody
on this earth, they say, no God. Say what you want to, but don't
say no problem. You've got a problem. Turn to
Proverbs chapter 8, just a moment. Proverbs chapter 8, and listen
to what the Lord said about this problem. He said in Proverbs
chapter 8, verse 34, Proverbs 8, verse 34, Blessed
is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, verse 34,
waiting at the post of my doors. Whoso findeth me findeth life,
and shall obtain favour of the Lord. But he that sinneth against
me He wrongeth his own soul, and all that hate me love death."
That's a problem, isn't it? Not for me or you. I love Him. You love Him. I don't know what
I could do to give Him more glory and honor, but I sure like to
do it, because He is our Lord. Now here's the second problem.
They say, no God, no problem. You may say no God, but you got
a problem. Here's the second problem. This book. The pastor does this
quite often. This book right here. This book. This problem which men cannot
honestly deal with. And that's the Bible. It's the
word of God. This Bible, first of all, it was started by Moses
or Job. I don't know which one, Paul.
Moses or Job wrote first. But I know this, 3,500 years
ago, Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. And this
book was written by 40 men. 40 different men. 40 different men. Inspired by the Holy Spirit of
God. And the last entry was 2,000
years ago. Where are the books of men that
are even 500 years ago? 3,500 years ago. There were 39 books
in the Old Testament, 27 books in the New. These men now, 40
men, without consultation, they didn't know each other, many
of them. Moses never did see Paul, never did know Paul. These
men, without consultation and without collaboration, lived
decades apart. Most of them never saw or met
one another, but this Bible presents one story. One story about one
man. Moses wrote of me. And John on
the Isle of Patmos gave the revelation of Jesus Christ. Job wrote, I
know my Redeemer living. David wrote, the Lord is my shepherd.
Isaiah wrote, He was wounded for our transgressions. He was
bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon Him by His stripes. Whose stripes? Christ's stripes
were healed. And Christ said this to his disciples. Beginning at Moses and all the
prophets, he expounded to them in all scripture the things concerning
himself. That's what it's all about. Himself. And these men were not authors.
They were not writers. They were not literary giants.
They were shepherds. They were fishermen. They were
men that God raised up and taught them the Word of God, taught
them the Scripture. And this is what they said. That
which we've heard and seen and bear witness and declare unto
you and show unto you, that eternal life which was with the Father
and was manifested unto us. And that's what we're writing
about. That's what Brother Paul and I are preaching about. The
same story. It never gets old. This book
was written in Hebrew and Latin. Dead languages. Nobody speaks
Hebrew. Nobody speaks Latin anymore.
Long since dead, these languages are. But now, the Word of God
is translated into hundreds of languages around the world. Do
you know? And on the last report of our
website that Tom Harding sends out, 50 countries have downloaded my
messages in English. 50 foreign countries have downloaded
the message, the gospel. Because this book passes every
test. It passes the test of time. Where
are the books written 500 years ago? It passes the test of customs. People of all nations. That's
what I'm talking about. All nations. Read the Bible. Read the Bible. Here men preach
the gospel. Men, learned and ignorant, love
the gospel. Men, old and young, little children,
love the gospel. Men rich or poor, a lot of them
love the gospel. Lawyers and laborers love the
gospel. Black, white, red, yellow, Jew
or Gentile love this book. Not all of them, but some of
them do. This Bible tells the truth about God. It's the only
book that tells the absolute Undarnished truth about God. No other book can make that claim. Not even the ones I've written.
I can't tell all the truth about God because I don't know all
the truth. He does. And His Word tells the absolute
truth about God. And His Word also tells the absolute
truth about you and me. That's undeniable. It tells the
truth about me. This book, the Word of God, it's
so deep and yet it's so simple. It really is when you believe
in it. When God's revealed it to you, it's simple. This book
is so mysterious, yet it's so plain. Those things we read a
moment ago, that's so plain. People say, I don't understand
the Bible. You don't believe it. That's
the reason you don't understand it. This Bible is a mystery to
natural men, but this Bible is an open revelation to all who
love it. Isaac Watts wrote this, Thy word,
O God, is everlasting truth. How pure. on every page. This holy book shall guide our
youth and well support us in our old age. It's like the sun,
the heaven of light, that guides us all the day, and through the
dangers of the night, this book is a lamp to light our way. Now the third problem. The third
problem. The skeptics and agnostics can't
handle Jesus Christ. They use His name as a curse
word, but they don't know Him. And this Bible, this is God's
Word. It's a problem. No problem for
me or you, is it? We believe it. No problem. And then the third is this. The
third awesome problems which skeptics, agnostics, Doubters
can never honestly deal with it. You know what it is? It's
the new birth. We sang about it a while ago.
Born from above. The new birth. God said, except
a man is born again, he can't see the Kingdom of God. He can't
understand it. Except a man is born again, he
cannot enter the Kingdom of God. And that which is born of the
flesh is flesh. It's tasteless. It'll never be
anything worthless. But that which is born of God
is spirit. It's spirit. It's a new creature
in Christ. It's a new birth. They make fun
of it, the people do. We know what new birth is. We
have experienced it. New creature in Christ Jesus.
Now, if Christianity and salvation It's only the invention of men.
If Christianity and salvation has no power except through the
resolve, determination, decision of men, if Christianity has no
life except a decision, a profession, a dogma, a duty, a doctrine,
then how do you explain four things? Won't you listen to this?
How do you explain the difference? The difference in conditions,
in lifestyle, in values, in honesty, in integrity, which prevails
where the true gospel is preached, where Jesus Christ is known,
where the name of Christ is loved, and in other places where he's
not known, and not loved, and not praised. There's a difference.
There's a whale of a difference in these countries. Now, here's
what I'm talking about. I'm talking about countries. I'm talking about cities and
communities. I'm talking about family circles.
I'm talking about individuals. I want you to compare. Now, first
of all, let's compare countries. I spent three months in Japan
when World War II was over. And we occupied Japan. I stayed there three months.
I saw what went on in Japan. I preached twice in 1990 and
1995 in Russia when they opened the Iron Curtain. I went over there and preached
a week in both times. I preached in Africa. I preached
in Spain. I preached in France. I preached
in Mexico. I preached in Panama and the
West Indies. And those countries are different.
Where the gospel is not preached, where Christ is not known, conditions
are different. And I'll tell you what the conditions
are. Individual freedom. Individual freedom is recognized
where Christ is known. Not where He's unknown. Human
life. is highly regarded in this country
where Christ is preached, where there's a Bible in nearly every
home, where there's a Bible even in the motels. But the influence of that Bible
and the influence of that preaching, the influence of that person,
makes human life to be honored, recognized. Human rights. In those countries where I preach,
they don't have human rights. Not in Russia. Not in Africa. Not in a lot of them. Also, laws
governing morality. Laws governing honesty. Laws governing human righteousness
and honesty and morality are recognized where Christ is preached. And governments. Governments
where Christ is preached are subject to people. But where
he's not praised, the people are subjects of the government.
It's just so. Compare those countries, and
you'll see where the Bible, France, John Calvin was there, England,
Charles Spurgeon, all those fellows, America, brought the word of
God here. We're blessed. We're slipping
away, but we're blessed by the word of God. Compare cities. and communities where the Word
of God is loved and respected and preached and where Christ
is known. I grew up, 80 years ago, I was
born and raised in a little town in Alabama. And this is just
80 years ago. Just like this town here. People
walk the streets at night without fear. There were no gangs threatening
people's lives. Children walked to school. I
walked a mile to school and back home again. And I didn't have
a bodyguard. Nobody bothered children. Not
in that town. Bible. Word of God. People left home without setting
an alarm. or even locking the doors. That's
right. Not now. People also in places
of authority were honest. That's right. People in authority
like schools and churches and the sheriff's departments, they
were men of honesty and integrity where the gospel is believed
in love. Peace, liberty and authority
were honest and true. Homosexuality, we didn't even
know about those things. We didn't know about those things.
Not at all. Abortion. Child abuse. Those things didn't
go on in those little towns where the Gospels preached. We had
a drug store in that little town. I forget the man's name that
ran it, but I remember that he used to take his papers and put
them outside on the table, not down the sidewalk, put all of
his newspapers out on the morning paper, and he had a sign there,
and this is what the sign said, drop in a dime or make your own
change. He told me, he told my dad when
I, he said, I've never lost a penny, not a nickel. Why is that? It's right here. People love
the Word. People preach the Word in those
days. Now compare countries, compare
cities, towns, and compare families. Families where God is love, where
the Gospel is love, where they meet together on the Lord's day
and worship God. They're different. They're different. What makes it different? Christ,
his word, his gospel. That's what makes it different.
There are three essentials. Three essentials. Life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness. And our Bill of Rights and Constitution
suggest that. But the Lord Jesus guarantees
it. He guarantees life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness to all who know Him, all who
love Him, all who trust Him. I don't want to labor this part,
but I tell you, family, family worship, families that know God,
knows the gospel, love each other, they love each other. That's
right. And you have dozens of them right
here. What's made the difference? Christ, the Bible, the Word of
God, that's what made the difference. Husbands, love your wives as
Christ loved the church. And they do. Wives, submit yourselves
to your own husband in the Lord. And they do. Children, obey your
parents in the Lord. And they knew, because of this,
this gospel, our Lord. I was glad when they said to
me, let's go to the house of the Lord. I see these little
girls and boys coming up the steps. I'm so happy to be here
with you all. You're so happy. It's a family. It's a family. It makes a difference. Makes
a difference. Those three things. Christ, the
Word of God, and the new birth. The new birth. Old John Newton
said one time, I'm not what I ought to be. I'm not what I expect
to be. But I'm not what I used to be. Why? Born again. Born again. Now let's consider
this. Communities, families, individuals. Individuals. Any man, woman,
or young person who has heard this gospel. He's heard this
gospel. He's heard it not just here,
but here. He's heard this gospel. Everyone
that's been quickened by the Spirit of God. You have been
quickened who were dead in trespasses and sin. Every person who has
been chosen of God, called by the Spirit, believed on Christ,
received Him, you'll find that person to be a new creature. Born again. That's just so. It's just so. It ain't deep. It's just so. Old things are
passed away and all things are become new. It's called the new
birth. Not long time ago, about 40 years
ago now, Paul and I went to Mexico. First time, 1970. You and I went
to Mexico to visit the missionary. We had to have three things to
get in. We didn't have passports. Paul
and I didn't own a passport, but we had to have a birth certificate. You had to prove you were born.
And that's what God's done for us. We got a birth certificate.
We're born again. That's right. We're children
of God. We're new creatures in Christ.
Secondly, Paul, you remember we had to have a visa. They wrote
us out a permit, a visa, that let us abide in their country. And we have a righteousness.
We're regenerated. We have a righteousness that
allows us to walk with God, to walk with His people. But thirdly,
when we walked through the gates, we had to go single file, and
there was a desk there and a man, a big ugly man, and he said,
what's your name? We gave him our visa, you know.
He started thumbing through a book. What was he looking for? He was looking to see if we had
a record. You remember that? He looked to see if we had a
record. If we had a charge against us
in another country, we couldn't come in. Had to go back on the
planes. But my name wasn't there. That's right. I got no record.
I'm regenerated. Born again. I have a visa of
righteousness. Christ Jesus the Lord gave it
to me. And I have no record. No criminal
record. They looked, but they couldn't
find my name. And they're not going to find
your name either. No God? Well, they say that. No problem? Oh yeah, they got
a problem. Three big ones. Who is Christ? This book and that new birth,
explain that new birth. Explain that new birth. Only
one way. You can see it, you can hear
it in those that have it. The pastor asked me to have you
stand and we'll be dismissed in prayer. Our Father, we're so grateful. You've given to us life, freedom,
liberty, and the blessed pursuit of happiness in our Lord Jesus
Christ. We're so thankful. We thank You
for Your Word that we've been taught and we love and we love
to preach. We thank You for our Lord Jesus
Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us. We thank you
for our wives and husbands and children. Thank you for the family
we have here in our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you that you've
made us new creatures in Christ. And our prayer is, Lord, all
that we are, our sin, our guilt, our death in sin was all our
own. Now, all that we are, We owe
to Thee, our gracious Lord, alone. And all that we are, even here
on earth, and all that we hope to be, when our Lord Jesus comes
and glory dawns, we owe it, Lord. Our dear Lord, we owe it to Thee. And in Thy name we give thanks.
Amen.