This is a summary of Andy Stanley’s message “Unexplainable vs. Undeniable”
Andy Stanley
I can’t explain God. But I serve a God that is greater than what I can fit in my little bitty box … or your box … or our boxes combined! But, I do know what’s undeniable: Do you know what’s undeniable?
1. We’re here! Undeniable is that you and I are alive today and the only thing that we humans can come up with to explain it besides “Creationism” is that something came from nothing. That’s the explanation! But, undeniable = we are here and alive! Take God out of the picture and all we have is, once there was nothing and now there is something and it evolved into intelligent human beings…
2. Undeniable = there is creation. This earth and all that is in it shout with their beauty that this must not be an accident, but a Divine plan… There must be a God who is my starting point.
3. Undeniable = 2,000 years ago a Jewish carpenter from Nazareth (who should have come and gone like everyone else from that era) began teaching strange things (many did that) and began to do miracles and people started writing the stories down because they had to share it with their descendents! This man died on a Roman cross (know that from Roman history) and our stories tell us that Jesus rose from the dead! Who could possibly believe that a man could rise from the dead? But, those people believed it so much that they started sharing with everyone about Jesus and many of them gave up their lives … not because Jesus’ teachings or miracles, but because they believed that a dead man rose from the dead!
4. Undeniable = Those stories spread throughout all the world through history and today (don’t miss this), today 1/3 of the world’s population believes that a Jewish carpenter rose from the dead and the reason they believe it is that at some point in their life they put their trust in Jesus’ death on a cross as their key to salvation and eternal life and they were changed from the inside out!
5. You can go to any continent on this earth and you will hear the same stories… in their own language people will tell you that something was missing and they needed forgiveness and when they put their trust in Jesus and the cross that took their sins away, something happened on the inside of them that revolutionized the way they live this life and that that “Truth” set them free like they never expected. I have peace, joy, my fears are going away. Pick a continent! Undeniable!
6. Undeniable? We know more about Jesus, who Rome tried to destroy and the Jewish religious system tried to destroy and many other cultures have tried/still try to destroy, than any other ancient figure who ever lived. We shouldn’t even know that carpenter’s name, but people gave their lives so that we would never forget that He gave his life for you and me and that he rose from the dead.
7. Do you know what else is undeniable? I hear the stories here. There are people sitting right near you who have told me, essentially, “Once I was blind, now I see…” My life has changed from the inside out. I have new life because I met Jesus Christ and chose to surrender and give my life to him and do life His way!
8. Many of you have got to the point in life where life was not what you expected or it was getting out of control or their was a tragedy and in desperation you turned to Jesus and Jesus came through for you… undeniable! Don’t ask them to explain it, because that’s very hard to do, but there is a new joy and hope and strength through Jesus Christ!
9. Undeniable = God exists and sent His Son to die on a cross and offer us forgiveness and millions have taken Jesus up on that offer and have not been disappointed! It’s happened all over the world throughout the last 2,000 years and it’s undeniable! And we still celebrate it today!!
10. Do you know what else is undeniable? There is a thirst in every person in this world that cannot be quenched by the stuff (relationships, money, clothes, status, success, popularity, etc.) of this world. We try and we try and we try to find a way to quench this thirst and we can’t. Then we look over at our Labrador retriever and that dog is happy as can be with absolutely no purpose in life and we wonder … why is it not okay with me?
11. The dog can be happy eating and sleeping, but there is something in us that desires more than that out of life. Every single human being feels like something is missing until, and we hear this again and again, until I gave my life over to God’s Only Son Jesus Christ and I gave up living by MY PLAN… THEN, I felt like life was complete.
12. When we finally understand that we don’t have to understand everything to believe in something … over time, some of the questions we have start to get answered … not before you give your life to Jesus Christ, but after! That’s why it’s called the Christian FAITH!
13. You do not have to understand everything, to believe in something. There will always be mystery with God. We cannot contain The Almighty Creator God in a box. God will always be at least one step ahead of you.
14. The wise woman, man, student, child, etc. is the one who shifts their focus from The Unexplainable to The Undeniable…
15. Here is my suggestion for today … If you are a Christian and you have doubts, welcome to the faith! Please stay focused on the undeniable until the unexplainable gets clearer. If you have been coming and this is your hang-up. If you feel like you could trust in Jesus if you could just get all your questions answered … it will never happen. You are not smart enough, you do not have enough insight; you are not infinite enough to be in the same league with God. Please hear the undeniable and realize that faith comes before all the questions are answered.
16. Please be like the blind beggar who said, “I don’t need answers to my questions, the evidence that you are God is undeniable!” Stop circling the runway and land this thing! It might not be pretty, but Jesus will take care of it once you make your decision…
If we can learn to shift our focus from what is unexplainable to what is undeniable, our faith will be unexplainable and undeniable too!
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