Sharing Your Story - Daring to Know the Unknown God

Click Here to Listen to the Sunday, June 12, 2011 Sermon by Pastor Rodger S. Loar



Click Here to Download the Four Neighbors Activity


Scripture Reference:  Acts 17:16-34

“I believe in God, I just don’t need to go to church.  You see, God and I have got this agreement: I don’t bother him and he don’t bother me.”

This quote sums up the opinion of many people.  They believe in some vague notion of a god who is out there, but not one that actually affects their life or might actually require something of them.  It’s a nice neat way to box up the spiritual portion of your life and put it away and it’s a nice way to dodge conversation that might be a little uncomfortable or make you think.  It works great, all the way up to the point where you have to deal with hard times, the death of a loved one, or your own impending death.  Then the discussion about God gets personal.

The truth is, the idea behind this quote is pretty silly.  If you really believed that there was a being who was powerful enough to create and destroy the very universe, then it would probably be pretty urgent to discover who that being is and, more importantly, discover if that being expects anything out of you.

As Christians, we are called to bring hope to the world, to share the truth about a Messiah who came through our Creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  We can do this by challenging our friends to consider the vague god that they believe in, and wonder who that god might be.

Blaise Pascal, a physicist and philosopher suggested we consider belief in God as a wager.  He proposed it is better to bet on the existence of God and be wrong than to bet against there being a God and be wrong.  That is, it is in our best interest to look into belief in God, because, if we are wrong, then it is no big deal.  We’ve lost nothing.  But, if we bet against the existence of God and we are wrong, the consequences could be drastic.

Now, I don’t believe that Pascal’s Wager (as it is formally called) is a good enough reason by itself to believe in Jesus; there is much more evidence and understanding of history and prophecy needed before you arrive at that destination.  But, I do believe it is an excellent evangelism tool to challenge someone to consider whether or not there really is a God and then to challenge them to the importance of further consideration of who that God may be. 

Because, if there is a god, any god, then the consequences of non-belief could be dire and must affect how we live:

• If god is Kali of the Hindu pantheon then we may be required to perform self-mutilation as a form of worship.
• If god is Gaia then we must revere nature above all things and prepare our lives for a constant battle of kill or be killed. 
• If god is Allah of Islam, then we would be required to extreme submission and obedience or face total annihilation.
• If there is not God at all, then we are wasting our time being ‘good’ and should logically take whatever we can get, from whoever we can take it from, and in whatever way we can get it, so that we might live as comfortable as possible in our short brutal lives.
• And, if God is YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and He is the God that sent a promised Messiah to redeem the world from sin; then we should recognize him and joyfully share the love and hope that he promises.  (and this is obviously what I believe based on the evidence that I have found).

It really is OK to talk about ideas, to challenge people to think about spiritual things, and even to be challenged yourself in your thinking on these things.

As followers of Jesus, we Christians have received the most amazing free gift in the world and have the added bonus of being able to share that gift with others.

Won’t you encounter the people you care about and challenge them to consider Pascal’s Wager? 

Won’t you take the time to listen to their story and share your own?

Won’t you care enough to share the hope of Christ with them?

Won’t you dare them to know the unknown God?