Friday, July 29, 2016


Word of God
But he answering, said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
The Gospel According to Matthew 4:4

Psalm 18:35
Prefaced & Edited by Doktor Riktor Von Zhades

Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation, and thy right hand hath stayed me, and thy loving kindness hath caused me to increase.
Geneva Bible Translation - 1599

Thou hast also given me Thy shield of salvation, and Thy right hand hath holden me up; and Thy condescension* hath made me great
JPS Translation - 1917

Brethren:

We are reminded here of Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians**, wherein he writes of taking on the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation. In either case, both speak of being armored against attacks by the enemy, that is to say Satan and his minions. However, David goes on to write and speak about the loving kindness, or as the JPS translations says “condescension”, meaning gentleness or in the objective form as noted below in Strong’s clemency, that is to say mercy and grace, and how it upholds him and has lifted his horn from humble shepherd, to become a great king.
Dr. Riktor Von Zhades - Devoted servant of our Redeemer Christ Jesus.

Meaning either temporal salvation, which was a shield to him when he had no outward one, as when he fought with Goliath; and was what preserved him in all his battles at other times: or spiritual salvation, which is of the Lord, of his contriving, effecting:, and applying, and in which his glory is concerned; interest in which is a free gift of his, as are the knowledge, application, and possession of it; and this is as a shield, which saves from sin, from all sin, and the damning power of it; keeps off the curses of the law, secures from wrath to come, and repels Satan's temptations; the words may be applied to Christ, who, though he was not saved from dying, yet was preserved in the day of salvation, and was not suffered to see corruption in the grave, and was quickly delivered from the power and dominion of it

Christ; the right hand of God, being as dear to him as his right hand; and being exalted at it; and because by him he communicates all good things to his people, and with him upholds and sustains them; or else it designs the mighty power of God, which is often signified by it, (Read Psalms 20:6, 44:3, 118:15-16); and may be understood of the sustentation of David, both in a providential way, with respect to his being, the preservation of it, the supplies of life, and support in times of trouble and distress; and in a spiritual sense, maintaining the principle of grace in him, furnishing him with fresh supplies of grace, and bearing him up under and through every temptation and exercise; so upholding him that he stood firm in the true grace of God, in the exercise of it implanted, and in the doctrine of grace, so as to go forward in the ways of God, and follow hard after him, and so as not to fall and utterly perish; and which is true of all the saints. (Read Psalm 63:8, 37:24). The words [are likewise] to be interpreted of Christ, who, as man and Mediator, as God's righteous servant, was upheld by him, so that he failed not, nor was he discouraged; the hand of the Lord was established with him, and his arm also strengthened him ( Read Isaiah 42:1,4; Psalm 89:21 )” - John Gill - 17th Century Theologian

* 6038 `anavah an-aw-vaw - condescension, human and subjective (modesty), or divine and objective (clemency):--gentleness, humility, meekness - Source - Strong’s Concordance
**
11 Clothe you with the armour of God, that ye be able to stand against the ambushings [or the assailings,] of the devil. 12 For striving, or battle, is not to us against flesh and blood, but against [the] princes and potentates, against governors of the world of these darknesses, against spiritual things of wickedness, in heavenly things 13 Therefore take ye the armour of God, that ye be able to against-stand in the evil day; and in all things stand perfect. 14 Therefore stand ye, and be girded about your loins in soothfastness, and clothed with the habergeon of rightwiseness, 15 and your feet shod in making ready of the gospel of peace. 16 In all things take ye the shield of faith, in which ye be able to quench all the fiery darts of him that is most wicked. 17 And take ye the helmet of health, and the sword of the Ghost, that is, the word of God. - Ephesians 6:11-17 - Wycliffe Bible translation circa 1382-1395
Also note - 17. He wears righteousness like a breastplate, and the helmet of salvation is upon His head, and He wears the garments of recompense - Isaiah 59:17 - Aramaic Translation

Thursday, July 28, 2016


Word of God
But he answering, said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
The Gospel According to Matthew 4:4

Psalm 18:32
Prefaced & Edited by Doktor Riktor Von Zhades

God girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way upright.

Brethren:

Who but our Creator makes the weak strong, the fearful courageous? Likewise He guides us in His ways, walking along the paths of His righteousness. Consider also today in your meditations Psalm 89:21; Psalm 91:2 - Dr. Riktor Von Zhades

“Perfect - Perfectly plain and smooth, and clear from impediments.” - John Wesley

What service God designs men for he will be sure to fit them for.” - Matthew Henry

For battle, [along] with strength of body and fortitude of mind; both which are from the Lord, and were in David; and were acknowledged by him as bestowed on him by the Lord; and which confirms what he had before said of him: or with spiritual strength, with strength in his soul, against sin, Satan, and the world; and to do the will and work of God: saints are girt by the Lord with the whole armour of God, and among the rest with the girdle of truth; and are prepared and ready to every good work; see (Read 1 Samuel 2:4 ) . Hannah's song is again referred to: in (Read 2 Samuel 22:33 ) , the words are, "God is my strength [and] power"; they are true of Christ, the man of God's right hand, whom he promised to strengthen, and whom he has made strong for himself. God removed every impediment and obstacle out of his way, and made it plain and easy, as Jarchi observes; and succeeded him, and gave him victory over his enemies; this has been verified in Christ, who has conquered sin, Satan, the world, death, and the grave: for this is not to be understood of the way and course of David's life and conversation, which was not perfect and unspotted, but had many blemishes and imperfections in it, which he often owns, confesses, and bewails.” - John Gill


Wednesday, July 27, 2016


Word of God
But he answering, said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
The Gospel According to Matthew 4:4

Psalm 18:30-31
Prefaced & Edited by Doktor Riktor Von Zhades

30 The way of God is uncorrupt: the word* of the Lord is tried in the fire: he is a shield to all that trust in him. 31 For who is God besides the Lord? and who is mighty save our God

Brethren:

For some time now, we have been stressing the promises of our Creator. One of which is to protect us from the world. In fact this is a constant theme throughout the Psalms, (and to a lesser extent the Proverbs), that God is willing and most able to defend those that honestly and humbly seek Him and His Word. It behooves us however, to remember that His timetable is not our own. So let us also consider that factor in the equation. Man’s wisdom is naught compared to it, as it (man’s) cannot save, nor create righteousness from within.

Yet His arm is not shortened, nor hindered by the ways of this world that it cannot save even the most vilest of persons. (Read Numbers 11;23; Isaiah 50:2; 59:1) For it is His most fervent desire that all mankind should come to repentance and be saved. (Read Ezekiel 33:7-19) Therefore friends, let us be quick to seek forgiveness when we fall, and likewise be quick to forgive others as well. For again God it is only by that grace, and mercy that we are forgiven. It is the most mightiest of attributes of His character.

Or without spot, as the Septuagint render the word; without any just charge of inequality, or unrighteousness; such is God's way of providence, though sometimes his methods of providence are cavilled at by wicked men, and murmured at by his own people: they are at a loss, at times, to reconcile promises and providences together, and to account for the justice and equity of them; these ways of his are unsearchable, and not to be traced out by them; but when his judgments will be made manifest, the wisdom, goodness, and righteousness of them will be clearly discerned, and they will be admired; for they are all of a piece, and perfectly consistent with the attributes of God: and such also is his way of grace, and method of salvation; it is agreeable to all his perfections, and according to his purposes, counsel, and covenant; this being resolved on in his breast, contrived by his wisdom, and concluded on in the covenant, has been effected and finished by his son; and his inward way of working upon the heart, though at present imperfect, will be completed; he is a rock, and his work is perfect, and all his ways are judgment: whatever way or method he contrives and enters upon, whether in providence or grace, he pursues and brings to an issue; for he is an omnipotent, omniscient, and unchangeable Being, and neither frustrates, nor is he frustrated; nor is there any insincerity, unrighteousness, and unfaithfulness in him; nor can he act contrary to himself, and the perfections of his nature: the way also which he prescribes to others is perfect and plain, whether the path of doctrine or of duty; the path of truth is plain to the enlightened understanding, and the way of holiness is such, in which men, though fools, shall not err; (Read Proverbs 8::8-9; Isaiah 35:8 ).

The word of the Lord is tried; as silver in a furnace, and is clear of all dross, of error, and falsehood; is free from human mixtures, and without any impurity and unholiness; nor is God's word of promise chargeable with unfaithfulness; all his promises being yea and amen in Christ, and have been tried and proved by the saints in all ages; and have been found true, faithful, constant, and invariable.

He [is likewise] a buckler to all those that trust in him; not in man, nor in themselves; in their own righteousness, or in any creature or creature enjoyment or performance; but in the providence and power of God, in his grace and mercy, in his word, and especially in his Son; in his person, blood, and righteousness; to such he is a buckler or shield: his power is all around them, his favour encompasses them, and his truth, or faithfulness in his word, is their shield and buckler: and so is his Son, who is both a sun and shield to them; and such are his precious blood, his spotless righteousness, and stoning sacrifice; which, being held up by faith, repel the fiery darts of Satan. (Read Ephesians 6:16)”
John Gill 17th Century Theologian

*Be the dangers never so many or great, yet God’s promise must take effect. - GNV footnotes circa 1599

Monday, July 25, 2016


Word of God
But he answering, said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
The Gospel According to Matthew 4:4

Psalm 18:28
Prefaced & Edited by Doktor Riktor Von Zhades

Surely thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will lighten my darkness.

Brethren:

The light of God’s mercy and grace will shine through all darkness. The light of the Gospel will allow all mankind to see the truth of His word. It will open the eyes of the blind so that they may see all things clearly. This writer has oft times said there is no darkness so bleak, so impenetrable, that the light of His word, and that of the Gospel of Christ cannot illuminate. In fact even more so than that, but utterly push the darkness backwards so that it will no long be seen by anyone. So this evening friends, consider this in your hearts, as you meditate upon His words before retiring for the night; His light shines brightly for all men in the belief that It will draw you nearer to Him.
Also for study: 1 Kings 15:4; Job 18:6; Psalm 119:105
Doktor Riktor Von Zhades - Servant of Christ.

“‘Thou [art] my lamp, O Lord"’; which may either design outward prosperity, and the flourishing condition of David's kingdom; or internal spiritual light, and an increase of it, by giving fresh supplies of the oil of grace, to cause the lamp to burn more clearly; or rather the prosperous estate of Christ's kingdom; and may be the same with the lamp ordained for the Messiah, (Read Psalms 132:17 ) [He shall] ‘"cause light to shine in my darkness"'. That is, bring me out of darkness into light; either out of adversity to prosperity, or from walking in darkness to the enjoyment of the light of his countenance; and is true of Christ, not only of the prosperity of his kingdom and interest, but of him personally; who though, when on the cross, was in darkness of soul, being forsaken by his God; yet, when raised from the dead, he was received up to heaven, and set down at the right hand of God, and was made full of joy with his countenance, ( Read Acts 2:28 ).” - John Gill 17th Century Theologian

Sunday, July 24, 2016


THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS
by G.W. Ridout (1870-1959)
Edited by Doktor Riktor Von Zhades

The beauties of the earth and sky may change, the highest, sweetest forms of beauty in the human face divine, may turn to the dust and ashes of the sepulcher; but Holiness abides forever. No fires can burn it, no floods can whelm it, no age bring wrinkles on its brow or carve deep lines into its face. Rev. L. R. Dunn It has been well said of Holiness that it resembles the light of the sun at noonday with its brightness, beauty, illumination and warmth; and the air redolent of sweets, and flowers. Holiness should bring sunshine, not gloom; happiness, not heaviness; gladness, not depression.

The Beauty of Holiness adorns the soul with certain qualities which bring praise and glory to the God of all grace (Read Ephesians 1:6). A certain writer asks what is sanctified grace, and the answer is: It is that grace by which the soul comes into possession of faith like Abraham, patience like Job, hope like Moses, perseverance like Noah, meekness like David, temperance like Daniel, prayerfulness like Elijah, unworldliness like James, holiness like Peter, love like John, guilelessness like Nathanael, devotion to God and to Jesus like Paul. It is that grace which will let you sing in trial like Paul and Silas, help you to pray out of prison like Peter, keep you in the hottest fire of affliction like the three Hebrew children. Sanctification is supernatural grace because it takes supernatural power to arrest, to control, to destroy.

Sanctification is an habitual grace. Holiness becomes a habit on earth; here the saints do on earth as they do in Heaven.

Holiness imparts sovereign and moral beauty to the soul so that according to Thomas Aquinas, that which is in God substantially by His essence is accidentally in the soul by divine participation. It is such beauty God Himself is captivated with it. Thou art all beautiful; there is no spot in thee.It reflects the beauty of the face of God. Oh, the face of God! Did you ever see a soul lit up by divine glory? That is but the reflection of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Holiness is a participation of the divine nature, a seed of divinity. His seed remaineth in him. It partakes of the divine nature in the sense the iron partakes of the fire; the rough, rude iron put into the fire becomes radiant, brilliant and the fire may say to it: I have imparted that to thee. So God may say to the soul, impart to thee the glow and beauty and heat of my nature the soul is bathed in God.

Sanctifying grace assures eternal salvation, conditioned of course upon its continuance in the soul by a living faith and obedience. Possessed with this no soul can be lost.

Holiness is susceptible of constant increase, and like other riches can be added onto. This is increased by divine bestowments, also by fuller acquirements by exercise and practice. Sanctifying grace gives cause for God’s complacency with His saints. God delights in His saints and takes pleasure in them. Sanctifying grace is that by which the soul enjoys God, abounds in His love and becomes more and more like Him-like Him in love, in humility, in sinlessness, in purity, in holiness. We shall be like Him.

Friday, July 22, 2016


Word of God
But he answering, said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
The Gospel According to Matthew 4:4

Psalm 18:25
Prefaced & Edited by Doktor Riktor Von Zhades

With the godly thou wilt show thyself godly: with the upright man thou wilt show thyself upright.

Brethren:

To whom shall God show Himself to be as God? To the man that follows and imitates the ways of God. Likewise He will show Himself to righteous and of great morality. Justice and mercy are His bywords, and He will impart them upon those that will do likewise. Consider also then this evening in your meditations; 1 Kings 8:32, Psalm 62:7; Matthew 5:7
Dr. Riktor Von Zhades - Servant of Christ

Those that show mercy to others (even they need mercy, and cannot depend upon the merit, no, not of their works of mercy) shall find mercy with God. Those that are faithful to their covenants with God, and the relations wherein they stand to him, shall find him all that to them which he has promised to be. Wherever God finds an upright man, he will be found an upright God. Those that serve God with a pure conscience shall find that the words of the Lord are pure words, very sure to be depended on and very sweet to be delight in.” Matthew Henry – 17th Century Theologian

Thursday, July 21, 2016



Word of God
But he answering, said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
The Gospel According to Matthew 4:4

Psalm 18:20-24
Prefaced & Edited by Doktor Riktor Von Zhades

20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the pureness of mine hand he recompensed me: 21 Because I kept the ways of the Lord, and did not wickedly against my God. 22 For all his laws were before me, and I did not cast away his commandments from me. 23 I was upright also with him, and have kept me from my wickedness.

Brethren:

It is understood that we cannot obtain salvation through our own works. However it does not mean that would should discard walking in the righteous ways of our Redeemer. The best ways are to do good to all men, live peaceably as the Apostle Paul wrote, (Read Romans 12:18), keep the Word of God ever before you in your daily studies, (Read Psalm 119:2), and in your daily routines. (Read Psalm 61:8; Hebrews 11:6) Seek no retribution against others, (Read Romans 12:17; 1 Peter 3:11 ).
Dr. Riktor Von Zhades - Humble servant of Christ our Redeemer.

Here, David reflects with comfort upon his own integrity, and rejoices in the testimony of his conscience that he had had his conversation in godly sincerity and not with fleshly wisdom, (Read 2 Corinthians 1:12). His deliverances were an evidence of this, and this was the great comfort of his deliverances. His enemies had misrepresented him, and perhaps, when his troubles continued long, he began to suspect himself; but, when God visibly took his part, he had both the credit and the comfort of his righteousness.
He had kept firmly to his duty, and had not departed, not wickedly, not wilfully departed, from his God. Those that forsake the ways of the Lord do, in effect, depart from their God, and it is a wicked thing to do so. But though we are conscious to ourselves of many a stumble, and many a false step taken, yet if we recover ourselves by repentance, and go on in the way of our duty, it shall not be construed into a departure, for it is not a wicked departure, from our God. That he had kept his eye upon the rule of God’s commands, and had a respect to them all, despised none as little, disliked none as hard, but made it my care and business to conform to them all. His statutes I did not put away from me, out of my sight, out of my mind, but kept my eye always upon them, and did not as those who, because they would quit the ways of the Lord, desire not the knowledge of those ways.That he had kept himself from his iniquity, and thereby had approved himself upright before God. Constant care to abstain from that sin, whatever it be, which most easily besets us, and to mortify the habit of it, will be a good evidence for us that we are upright before God. As David’s deliverances cleared his integrity, so did the exaltation of Christ clear his, and for ever roll away the reproach that was cast upon him; and therefore he is said to be justified in the Spirit. (Read 1 Tim. 3:16). Matthew Henry 17th Century Theologian


Monday, July 18, 2016


Word of God
But he answering, said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
The Gospel According to Matthew 4:4

Psalm 18:16, 19
Prefaced & Edited by Doktor Riktor Von Zhades

16 He hath sent down from above and taken me: he hath drawn me out of many waters. 19 He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me because he favored me.

Brethren:

Today consider also today in your studies Psalm 144:7, Psalm 4:1, Psalm 31:8, Psalm 18:5
Dr. Riktor Von Zhades - Servant of Christ

By these "many waters" may be meant the many afflictions, sorrows, and sufferings from which Christ was freed, when raised from the dead, and highly exalted and crowned with glory and honour; and the torrent of sins which flowed in upon him at the time he was made sin for his people, from which he was justified when risen; and so will appear a second time without sin unto salvation; and the wrath of God, the waves and billows of which went over him, and compassed him about as water, at the time of his sufferings; from which he was delivered when he was shown the path of life, and entered into the presence of God, and sat at his right hand, where are joys and pleasures for evermore; and also his grand enemy Satan, with his principalities and powers, who came in like a flood upon him; but he destroyed him and spoiled them; and particularly the floods of ungodly men.

Into heaven, a place of the glorious liberty of Christ, after his captivity to death and the grave, whither he ascended leading captivity captive, and of the children of God; and a spacious place, where there is room enough for Christ and all his people; here he now is, and will remain till his second coming, and from hence we expect him; see (Read John 14:2 John 14:3)

God delivered David from all his enemies, because he was a man after his own heart, in whom he delighted; not for any merit and worthiness in him, but of his good will and pleasure: he delivered Christ because he was his elect, in whom his soul delighted; and who was daily his delight, rejoicing in his presence before the world was: and he delivers his church and people, because they are his Hephzibah*, in whom is his delight, (Read Isaiah 62:4 ) ; the Father delighted in them, and therefore chose them to salvation; the Son delighted in them, and gave himself for them, and ransomed them out of the hands of him that is stronger than they; the Holy Spirit delighted in them, and therefore regenerates, renews, and sanctifies them, and seals them up unto the day of redemption.”

*Translated from the original Hebrew, Hephzibah literally means, “My delight is in her. However The more enigmatic use of the term can be found in Isaiah 62:4: “No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married.” In this passage, God is speaking to the nation of Israel, who had turned from a monotheistic worship of the one, true God to a mishmash of idolatry, including worship of the Baals and Ashtoreth, in combination with worship of God. Because of this “adultery,” God turned from Israel, and the Northern Kingdom was invaded by the Assyrians in 732 BC, which resulted in the loss of the northern territory surrounding the Sea of Galilee. In 722 BC, the Samarian area fell to Assyria, resulting in the deportation of vast numbers of the Israelites to other parts of the Assyrian Empire.


Word of God
But he answering, said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
The Gospel According to Matthew 4:4

Psalm 18:6
Prefaced & Edited by Doktor Riktor Von Zhades

But in my trouble did I call upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his Temple, and my cry did come before him, even into his ears.

Brethren:

A few studies ago we touched upon the fact that God hears our prayers, and petitions unto Him. Often times we read how David prayed unto our Creator and how He was certain that not only would they be heard, but also answered.

Friends, we too are like David, in so far as our prayers being heard and acted upon we can rest assured that such will be done according to His will. He does not change, nor does he waver like the wind, or shift like the currents of the oceans. He is the same as He was then, as He is now, and as He will be in the future. (Read Hebrews 13:8)
Dr. Riktor Von Zhades - Servant of Christ

The great Jehovah, the everlasting I AM, who is the most High in all the earth, and who is able to save, (Read Hebrews 5:7 ), as Jesus did, (Read Matthew 27:46 ) ; so the members of Christ, when in distress, as they often are, through sin and Satan, through the hidings of God's face, a variety of afflictions, and the persecutions of men, betake themselves to the Lord, and call upon their God: a time of distress is a time for prayer; and sometimes the end God has in suffering them to be in distress is to bring them to the throne of his grace; and a great privilege it is they have that they have such a throne to come to for grace and mercy to help them in time of need, and such a God to sympathize with them, and help them; and their encouragement to call upon him, and cry unto him, is, that he is Jehovah, omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent; who knows their wants, is able to help them, and is a God at hand to do it.”
John Gill 17th Century Theologian

Sunday, July 17, 2016




Why I Know There Is a God
by B.R. Lakin (1901-1984)
Edited by Doktor Riktor Von Zhades


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 convenants 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."
Ephesians 2:11-13

In these words to the Ephesian Christians are two of the most dreaded words-"no hope." A doctor stands beside the bed of a sick man. Anxiously the family awaits the verdict but he says, "There is no hope." Those are sad words when speaking of human circumstances. But they are darker still as they are used in this scriptural text. Far better for man to be without anything else in this world than to be without hope for a future life. Without hope, prosperity amounts to very little. Struggle has no meaning or purpose.

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. There are three types of people mentioned in the Bible who are without hope. First those who doubt or deny the existence of God stand without hope. Then those who deny the Bible as the Word of God stand without hope. And finally, those who reject Christ as the Son of God stand without any hope.*

The first one, the man who doubts or denies the existence of God, stands without any hope. Hope for a future life rests upon the existence of a beneficent, omnipotent God ruling in nature and in the affairs of men. Take that God out of the universe and man stands absolutely helpless and hopeless. There are not many who do not believe in the existence of God. Fifty years ago I met Charles Evan Smith, the president of the League of Atheism from New York City. When I asked him if he believed in theistic evolution, he said he didn't believe in God at all. I asked him how he accounted for everything that is, and he said everything that is just happened to be. He believed the sun, moon, stars, and all the rest of God's wonderful creation just fell in place. That would be as likely to happen as taking the intricate mechanisms of a watch, throwing them up in the air, and getting them to fall together in perfect working order. Without a watchmaker, the watch falling together in perfect order is as impossible as the universe falling together without a creator.

Then I asked him if he believed that an evolutionist could also be a Christian. He said it was absolutely impossible. That any man who is an evolutionist and stops short of Atheism is simply a dishonest thinker. I asked why he could not be a Christian. He answered that the Christian says man fell and needs a Saviour. The evolutionist says that he climbed down out of the trees and started to walk. He said if man did not fall, man does not need a Saviour. Did the monkey sin? Of course not. He reasoned, eliminate the Garden of Eden and there is no need for the cross of Christ.

So how do I know there is a God? Notice, I did not say I think. You see I'm not an educated man. Therefore I can say why I know. An educated man is not supposed to know anything. He's supposed to say "perhaps" or "it could have been." Somebody asked me if I could read Greek. I said, "Man, I can hardly read English let alone Greek." A fellow was trying to teach me some Greek about baptism. He said it's baptidzo and rantidzo. I said, "Yeah and its gravo, graveis and gravel, but it was just sop when I was a kid." Maybe we're not supposed to be dogmatic, but I'm going to say dogmatically that I know there is a God. I'm positive there is a God.

First of all I know it from the argument of creation. Look at all that you see now. From whence did it come? Life has never been generated from dead matter. From nothing, nothing can come. Suppose I take a bottle and pour out all the air and the water and the germs. I'd cork it up so nothing could get in it. From nothing, nothing could come. How would anything ever be in it? Since life has never been generated from dead matter we must explain from whence it all came.

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. I believe in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The Bible does not say, "In the beginning God." The Bible says, "In the beginning God created." Why? Because God didn't have any beginning. He was the beginning of beginnings. There was a time when God was alone. There were no trees, no grass, no water, no foliage, no nothing, just God. Just God. I believe only He knows what went on back there. He was there and had it put down in this book[that we now call the Bible]. Now a lot of these Atheists and so forth who weren't there are like the little boy who caught a bumblebee on his way to school. He put it in a bottle and stuffed it in his hip pocket. When he got to school he was wriggling around in his seat and the cork came out of the bottle. Then he really began to squirm about in his seat, and his teacher said, "Johnny, what are you doing?" He said, "There's something going on back there that you don't know about!" What I'm saying is, something went on back there that only God knows and only God could tell us.

Now secondly, I know there is a God because of imparted wisdom. The unbeliever doesn't call it imparted wisdom. He calls it inherited instinct. There is no such thing as instinct. In the fall of the year before the wind roars down over the Rockies and up around the Lakes, the geese and the ducks get together and form in companies. They fly south across Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, and drop into the warm waters of the Gulf to bathe their breasts in warm water until spring. Then they turn and come back again. Who told those geese to go south in the winter and come north in the summer? Who told them to do that? You say that's instinct. Where'd you get that instinct, old goosey? Those geese had never made that trip before. Yet they take leave from up yonder in Canada and fly all the way to Florida, never missing a feeding ground. Now where did they get their navigating ability?

In California there is a spider about the size of a shoe button. He builds his nest inside an empty clam shell or oyster shell. Before he does that he lifts that shell from 6 to 12 inches above the ground. For that little spider to lift that oyster shell which is many, many times his own weight requires an engineering feat equal to the building of the pyramids of Egypt. How does he do it? He goes up and puts on a thread, comes down and hooks it on the shell, goes up and hooks another, comes down and hooks it on the other side. That thread is moist and when it dries it contracts. And he keeps putting them on until he can finally lift it. Where did he learn how to do that? Some say that's instinct. He learned it from his mommy and poppy spider. Where did they learn it? Listen old smarty. The first spider that ever did that didn't have to sit down and figure it out for himself. It's imparted wisdom. That's the reason I know that there is a God.

My niece came home from college one day and said to me, "My professor said that Jesus couldn't have been born of a human mother without a human father. That was a biological impossibility." I said, "Let me tell you what to do. You tell your little possum-headed professor that your uncle said the first man that ever got in this world got here without either father or mother. If God wanted to send His Son born of a human mother without a human father He could and did do it." The next day she came back to explain how the first germ came from another planet. I asked, "Where did the germ come from?" Life has never been generated from dead matter. Her professor claimed that the first germ came on a meteor. I said, "Honey, don't you know a meteor is a blazing ball of fire? How would a germ live in that?" But she said, "The theory of evolution is the only sane explanation." That's the most insane thing I've ever heard! To be an evolutionist you'd have to switch your brain out of reason and throw it into neutral.

Listen to what they say. Way back yonder sometime, somewhere, somehow, nobody knows when, how, where, or why, nothing got in nothing and nothing formed a some thing. A germ got in the water somehow. Then the water developed it into a tadpole and one day the tadpole swam to another bank and got stuck in the mud and dried there. Wriggling around in the mud, he formed warts on his belly that later became legs. After he developed legs he was climbing through the trees one day when his foot slipped. As he fell he wrapped his tail around a limb. The jar of it broke off his tail. He hit the ground, stood up on his hind feet, walked across the street, bought him a suit of clothes, went to teaching in the university and said, "Thank God I'm a man at last!" They can cram that down the neck of some kids, but let them try the old man once. Everything that is, had to have a beginning, except God, and He is the beginning of beginnings. (Read Revelations 1:8, 11; 21:16; 22:13)

The third reason 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.(Read Psalm 22) 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. (Read Matthew 17:23; Acts 3:26) Don't let anybody fool you. This is the Book that will stand the test.

There's another reason I know there is a God. That is, He answers prayer. Have you ever gone into an automaton? That's a restaurant that looks like a post office. You don't see waitresses or cooks or anything. One day I went in one in New York. You drop in a quarter-out comes a cup of coffee, or mashed potatoes and gravy. I didn't see a soul around, but I had sense enough to know that there was somebody back there passing that stuff out. For 60 years I've walked up to the open windows of heaven and I've asked for things and I've had them passed out to me as real as mashed potatoes and gravy. I know there is a God because He answers prayer. "The fool has said in his heart, There is no God" (Read Psalm14:1). I'm asking God to let me live a few more years because I believe I have a message for the people who do not believe there is a God.

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.

A fellow said, "I don't know whether to believe Christ was God, because He went to sleep on a boat, like a man would sleep." Was He merely human because He wept, because He got hungry, because He died? Listen, if He was just human that night out yonder on that little boat when He went to sleep, He was God when He stilled the waves.(Read Mark 4:39) If He was human when He got hungry, He was God when He took a little boy's lunch and fed 5,000 people (Read Mark 8:16-22) with it. If He was human when He wept, He was God when he burst the grave of Lazarus open like a chestnut burr and caused him to come out alive. (Read John 11:35, 43) If He was human when He died upon a cross, He was declared to be the Son of God (Read Matthew 16:16) with power, by His Resurrection from the dead. You can trust Him, my friend.

My dad and mother pillowed their heads upon that hope and passed peacefully into another world. The man who denies it stands with out any hope in this world and in the world to come. He has no hope of meeting with his loved ones who have gone or who may go. Buried out yonder lies my boy on a little hillside in West Virginia, in a grave, waiting for the resurrection. One day I believe he will come forth from the grave and I'll see him again. Don't take that hope away from me, Mr. Modernist or Mr. Evolutionist. God hangs a rainbow of hope around the shimmering shoulders of the storm of my bereavement. He is that hope and without Him there is no hope of pardon in the eternal world.

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.

* It would be most likely that of all these three types, many are indeed all three rolled into to one. For if one cannot believe that the that the Bible is God’s word, then it follows that one denies His existence and therefore would reject the need for Christ, thus denying Him.