Its Not Blind Faith — Mark Cahill

All right, good evening. How's everybody? Okay, let's try that again. Good evening. How's everybody? How many of y 'all? Heard me last year when I was here speaking last year. Is the church here the youth group here that your bus broke down going home.

Are y 'all here by any chance. Is that you guys whose bus who broke down going home? There's a youth group last year when I was speaking here and we taught you how to share your faith in Jesus Christ their bus.

Broke down going home. So like pretty bad. So they pulled up on the side of the road and all the young people got out and we're sitting on the the curb of The street there. Well, then they all got back in the bus and I had written a book and all the kids had gotten a book and they came.

And they start reading this book on sharing your faith in Jesus Christ. They sat there for about 20 minutes got up went back in the bus put the books Back down got up got off the bus walked over to a Taco Bell.

Walked over to a KFC and shared Jesus Christ with every single person in both of those places. This one youth group did that the bus was so. The bus was really messed up bad and it wasn't going to go anywhere.

So they had someone come pick them up. They pulled their money together went back to the hotel. They were staying at all right and went up to the guy like this is all the money we got but we're in trouble.

So he gave him rooms for that within an hour. The youth pastor's wife got called down to the front desk and he said we've we've had a complaint. About some of your kids and she said well. What was the complaint that they're sharing Jesus with way too many people here at the hotel?

Okay, and.

What really happened was two young men got on the elevator at the hotel and they and they they rode the elevator for an hour. Okay, and what happened was every time someone got on the elevator. Hey, how you doing?

Where you from? Great. What room you or what floor you going to they press the button? Hey great. Hey, can we ask you a question bingo? They throw a question out there and begin to witness to every single person who rode the elevator for like an hour.

And that's what happened and that's why they got in trouble. But think about that what a great idea what boldness to do that. I also heard about the youth groups here that actually After I spoke left and went across the Walmart went witnessing that evening right there.

I've heard some of the stories that you've told. That you're witnessing that happened because you heard some truth and you walked out that door and gave some truth the way isn't that what We're here to do.

That's what we're here to do. It's one thing to stand up for Jesus Christ inside this room. But it's a whole nother ballgame to stand up for Jesus Christ outside this room. Is that correct? That's correct.

Evangelistic Boldness and Sharing the Gospel

And that's the difference Between the people I read about in the Bible and the people I see in most churches every single Sunday. Yes, I just said that and I meant that Promise keepers just said that 90 of all Christian men have never shared their faith one single time.

Does that sound like the does that sound Peter to you or Paul to you or I Andrew or Thomas to you? So we form this different type of Christianity today that did not exist 2 ,000 years ago. But what's it gonna take for us to get back there last night in Gatlinburg?

I was speaking over in Gatlinburg. We had over a hundred of the youth in this one small conference. I was doing hundred of these young kids walk in the streets last night of Gatlinburg not hanging out not going shopping.

Bringing eternal truth to people who desperately need that truth. Think about that those people wait in our lives of questions. Are we going to get out of our comfort zones and get into those conversations think about that?

But you know what it hit me as I was thinking one time and I was deciding what talk to give here tonight. You cannot give away what you don't have. Is that true? That's true. You cannot give away what you don't have this talk.

I'm gonna give you the first time I gave it I was I was in Santa Rosa, California when I gave it after I finished an 18 year ago came up afterwards and just told me. Afterwards he said you know what? I've been going to church my whole life.

I've listened to this one talk. I now know exactly what I believe about God and Jesus Christ. It took one talk to do that. Okay, all you young people sit up in your seats for me, please all you young people sit up in your seats.

Okay. It's not an option to pay attention to a band and not pay attention the words being preached to make sure you understand that okay that night a Bunch of people got saved that night the very next day I was speaking at a school and that was I was at that school a Mom came up to the school and said excuse me.

Were you the speaker last night at the event that happened here in town? I said yes I was she said well, I need to tell you something. I said yes, ma 'am. What was that said my son my 18 year old son got saved last night.

I said well, okay great. She said no. No, you don't understand. I Said what do you mean? He said that prayer before you know that prayer that's supposed to save you that prayer that you can sell to say 15 times and Still not be saved.

Is that correct? Is that correct? That's correct. That little prayer is not in the Bible anywhere, by the way. Okay, she said he said that prayer before but you don't understand last night He came home and there was this glow on his face.

You could see he had repented of his sin. He wanted to talk about the things of God. My son got saved last night. Mama was happy. Mama was real happy not even quite as happy as God was but mama was happy.

She looked at me and said, oh, by the way, I need to tell you something. I said, yes, ma 'am. What is that? She said I have been praying for the person who was going to lead my son to Jesus Christ now.

Every single day since he was born so for 18 years I have been praying for the night that he would come and hear you speak for the day He surrendered his heart to Jesus Christ. I Said ma 'am. I said that's very interesting because let me tell you something.

She said what I said, ma 'am. I said I only got saved 15 years ago. Do the math she was actually praying for me Before I was even saved and thank God I had four people at Auburn University that preached the truth to me that God drew me To his cross because of that and then 15 years after that I wind up in Santa Rosa, California Giving the truth to her son.

Only God can do something like that. Think about that for a second I just gave this talk over in Texas and in Texas that night a 41 year old gentleman stood up to get saved that night. He was just one of the workers with the youth.

He came but he finally realized his sin before God and he needed to repent of it. He came forward he walked back talk with one of the counselors and he got saved that night. Guess what? I got a phone call about three weeks later two weeks after I was there.

He went to the doctor. He was full-blown with cancer on the inside two months to live. And he told me said mark. He was part of the group to get me there. He said mark. I thought we brought you here.

Okay for the youth in our town, but we brought you here so I could specifically hear this true. So I could get saved before my time is running out. Do you see the great God that we serve? Okay. Before you walk out of here tonight, you're gonna know exactly what you believe.

You're gonna walk out those doors and you're either gonna serve God or you're gonna serve Satan one of the two. One of the two, okay, it's gonna be clear your choice what to do with that. Okay, the truth will be presented but then you must make a decision on that truth, right?

Right, right. Let's pray Heavenly Father. Thank you so much for a chance to be here and preach your word. Father God, I thank you for all the young people saved and lost and adults saved and lost you've drawn in here father God.

Now father asked one thing in particular glorify your name. Glorify your truth father God. Glorify your son glorify the cross and father God glorify the blood of your son Jesus Christ. The only thing that can wash us clean of all this sin.

Father God draw people to that and let tonight be a night. That's gonna change people's lives father. Not because I showed up with the microphone, but father God you showed up. You change some hearts.

You're gonna mold and shape those hearts and father God. You're gonna send us out here as men and women of God to stand for you and father I want to thank you for that and we do and we ask them the great great name of your son Jesus Christ.

Amen, okay I was I was doing a little bit of thinking a few years ago and I would see these Beautiful Sunsets and I began to wonder where did all this come from? Okay, this universe that we and I'd see the beautiful full moons out there and I just began to wonder Where is where did all this come from?

Where does this at? I see the beautiful lightning in the skies and stuff like that. Does that just happen or does that come from somewhere? I was in Kansas recently and I was they had a storm coming through and it was this Beautiful lightning this heat lightning that went across the sky.

It was beautiful people pulling on their cars off the side of the road and and looking at the night. So I pulled off on the side of the road to stand outside and look at the lightning. It was beautiful.

But then I realized I was in Kansas and in Kansas when a storm comes they start thinking what? Tornadoes. Yeah, so they're over there trying to watch to make sure there's no tornadoes. I'm outside now.

Look at the lightning man. This is beautiful and you know, I'm thinking about that, but I began to wonder where did all this come from? Okay, and I kept looking and there was you know, the beautiful snow like here in Gatlinburg today and Pigeon Forge.

We're just loaded with snow, but it is snow and I began to wonder okay. These beautiful mountains, where did all this come from? Did it just happen or did it come from somewhere beautiful beaches? Okay, where is all this and then how many of y 'all have ever been to?

If you've personally gone and seen the Grand Canyon raise your hand if you've ever been there before. Okay. All right hands that do me a favor before you die. Go see it. Absolute proof. There's a guy I was stunned when I looked at that Grand Canyon and I you could see the Fingerprints of God had to put that together.

It was so stunningly beautiful. There is no picture ever done justice to what I saw when I saw that one time. I was uh, I told you last year, but I played college basketball at Auburn University and Charles Barkley.

The famous basketball player was my roommate in college. We used to room together on road trips and things like that. We've been friends for about 20 years and stuff. But I was visiting him in Phoenix, Arizona one time and I just took off for a couple days and toured around, Arizona.

And I went to see the Grand Canyon when I drove back to Charles house. He wasn't there. So I left a note on his counter. And I said Charles Barkley if you can ever go see the Grand Canyon and tell me there's not a God you are more Of a man than I ever want to be in this lifetime.

I was stunned at how much that beautiful awesome creation caused me to begin to think but things began to happen. Okay, and as that began to happen, I was looking at these sunsets and something happened to me.

Creation, Design, and the Existence of God

And this is what happened on my journey. I had a choice here. Okay, this either happened by the hand of God or this happened by chance. It's one of the two that's the only options we have it was by the hand of God or by chance.

So watch this as I was thinking about this. This is what happened to me. I realized we had this beautiful creation. Okay, then we've got the beautiful design that's out there. Then we see the artwork and then we see the order that happens in our universe and my wheels began to spin.

I was speaking two years ago in New Jersey. And when I flew into New Jersey, it was one of those nights that they picked me up it was around dusk and at dusk. It was one of those beautiful sunsets, you know.

There's kind of those pink the purples and greens and all those colors mixed in together. It's one of those beautiful sunsets. And so as they drove me to this house, I was staying. I just began to pray father I want someone to look in the sky tonight.

No for a fact that you painted that on the sky. All right. Well the next day I was speaking at a Christian high school and at the high school. We taught them how to share their faith and whenever we do that We always give them a homework assignment to go ahead and share their faith.

Well that day was October 31st. What day is that? Halloween it's the easiest day of the year to share your faith in Jesus Christ. People knock on the door all night wanting to hear About Jesus Christ.

It's awesome. They knock on the door. Hey, how you doing? You throw a question out witness to him. Give him some candy. They leave someone else rings the bell they come up. You don't have to go anywhere.

You can stay there the whole night at your door and just witness the people all night long. I love Halloween every other day though. You got to go into the world. Isn't that what Jesus says go into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature?

Well I was staying at this really nice house like bordering on a mansion and I kind of like that and So I was staying at this house and so no one was coming there and whenever I give the assignment I like to give the other people I do the assignment also and so I was standing there and also the doorbell rang about 930 at night and so the lady of the house went over there to answer doors.

I kind of stuck my head around the corner. I looked and there were these two people there trick-or-treating, but they looked a little bit too old to be trick-or-treaters. So I said, well, I kind of need a butt in here.

So I walked up the front. Hey, how you doing? They said good. I said, excuse me. Yes. How old are you? She said 20. I said 20 they had faces painted like cats. I said, okay. I said, how old are you? She said 21.

I said 21 and you're trick-or-treating. We wanted some candy and I said, okay. I said, why'd you come to this house? It's really nice. That's well, it was it was a nice house. He wanted to take a look at it.

I said, okay. So I gave him a little tour and stuff brought him back to the front and then I began to witness to him. And so as I was talking with him when the girl said said you're well. You're wasting your time with us because we're atheists.

There's no way to prove that there's a God Interesting. So I asked them a very simple question a great question ask atheists. Well, what evidence have you found that proves to you? There's not a God Interesting.

Guess what? They didn't have an answer Interesting very few people ever do see we don't have to do all the proven. They can do some proving themselves. Okay, so I said hey, let me give you something to think about they said, okay I said every time you see a creation like this stage right back here, you know, there's a creator.

Every time you see design like a watch, you know, there's a what? designer every time you see Artwork and try to use things around you and point out every time you see artwork a sign or something. You know, there's an artist and every time you see order like 20 coke cups in a row, you know.

There's an orderer. All right, when you look around the universe, what do you see? Creation you see design you see art you see order if every other thing has a creator a designer an artist and order Behind it.

Why would you not think there's a creator a designer an artist and orderer behind the universe? Think about how simple that is all of a sudden one of the young ladies looking said, oh my goodness I said what she said yesterday.

I walked outside right about dusk. I Looked up in the what? Sky and I saw that beautiful what? Sunset and I wondered who painted that on the sky. The prayer we prayed the day before we got to meet at least one of the people that God answered that prayer with.

Think about that for a second. The two young ladies were art students at a local art college and art students know one thing when you see a beautiful painting There must be a what? Painter who did that painting they could not believe it.

They took the tracks of them. They were so thankful that someone shared that truth with them. Think about how simple that really is. I was in downtown Atlanta the other day. And I'd given this guy a track book as he walked past me and he read it and he took the track.

But he crunched it in his hand. Okay, don't mind if you throw it down. I'll just pick it up and reuse it. Don't mind if you hand it back don't crunch my track up. Okay, I did not like that. So he crunched it up and he started walking away.

And so I walked after him. I said, excuse me, sir. A question for you and I said when you die, I said, what do you think's on the other side? What do you think's out there? He said I'm an atheist. There's nothing out there when you die and he's began to speed up.

Well all of a sudden as he sped up there was you know. How on the streets there's those little boxes with the red man and the white man on it, you know. And so he got to the corner often that red man popped up and he had to stop on the corner.

So I pulled up there real quick and I stopped next to him. I said sir I said one thing before I go he said what's that and I pointed to this huge skyscraper in Atlanta, Georgia. And I pointed to it. I said sir, do me a favor.

I said prove to me. There's a builder of that building. He said that's easy. And you know what? It's very easy. What's the proof that there was a builder to the building? What's the proof? The building itself.

That's exactly right he said the buildings proof there's a builder because you don't lay down cement and Brick and lights and in glass and turn your back and there's a building the builders proof. There's a builder I said exactly watch what I did.

I said the Sun the moon the stars the ocean the sand. Your DNA three billion pieces different than mine. I said sir, if there was a builder to that building there had to be a builder to this universe.

Oh my goodness. If you could have seen his wheels begin to spin because he answered his own Question that he knew that there had to be a builder to this universe. So it was very simple to show that there was a creator but then it led me to another question and my question was this okay this either happened by Evolution which is what I got taught growing up or this happened by creation.

Evolution, Fossil Evidence, and Intelligent Design

It was there was the only two options on the table. So I had some questions to deal with did this this evolve and happen or was this from the hand of Almighty God? So I began to think about it. Young people adults watch how simple this is if you took a cup of dice.

With 20 dice in it, okay. And you rolled those dice out and they had letters on them a b c d e f and you wanted them to show up in The order a b c d e f. Okay, that number is 20 factorial 1 times 2 times 3 times 4.

That's what the number is. All right, that number multiplied out is 10 to the 347th power. Now, is that a big number? Yeah, a mathematician will tell you that anything over 10 to the 50th is absolutely impossible.

They will tell you that all right if this earth is 5 billion years gold if and it's not but if it is like they're trying To teach you. All right, that is only 10 to the 17th seconds in 5 billion years.

But I need 10 to the 347th for 20 things to come in order. Wait a minute if that's the time it takes for 20 things to come in order. Wait a minute. There's 206 bones to my body. How often would that have to take to come in order?

There's 3 billion pieces to your DNA. How much time would I need for that to happen by chance? It would have had to happen on the very first roll. But if it happens on the first roll does it speak of chance or does speak of a creator who made it see very simply.

I began to understand. I did not get taught truth as I was going through school. But I began to study some Charles Darwin where a part of where evolution came from actually, it's a lot older than him.

He said there's one way to prove this true. It's very simple when you read his book one simple way to prove it true when you look at the fossil record. You will find thousands upon thousands upon thousands of Transitional forms.

That's the way to prove it true. Do you know the funny thing when you study the fossil record the only thing that you don't find in the fossil record is what? Transitional forms they're not there. You find whole saber-toothed tigers.

Whole woolly mammoths whole Dinosaurs. You find them in completion. You never find them in transition. And that answered his question. Think about that for a second in your textbooks. They will show you ape.

They will show you man. And they will show you all the missing links. Piltdown man. Peking man, Nebraska man, they'll show you all the different ones. Do you know to this day that from ape to man all the missing links have been disproven scientifically?

Do you know that they still show up in your textbooks though, but you know, that's why they call them a what? Missing link because they're not there. They're completely missing. Nebraska man, they found a tooth in Nebraska one tooth and in there.

They drew out this entire missing link this entire man from one tooth. By the way, have you ever seen a skeleton that has skin or hair on it? No, so how did they do that? It's an artist who puts it in your book.

That's how they know. It's just artwork is all it is. They took this tooth made this missing link from it 40 years later. They found out was a tooth from an extinct pig had nothing at all to do with a missing link for man.

Think about this. I just spoke to 2 ,000 teenagers in Florida the other day. I made this statement right here. A 14 year old girl came up afterwards that I believed in evolution my entire life. Until you made this one simple statement watch what I said.

If you put a computer right there you put a robot right here. You put a 747 airplane right there and you put a worm right there. And you ask any scientist out of those four, which is the most intricately designed out of those four?

They will always tell you one of those four. Which one will they tell you? They will always tell you the one because when you study how an eye works or high digestive system work. The intricate detail is amazing.

Watch if the computer had a cranial designer if the robot had a cranial designer if the 747 had a cranial designer. Okay, but then the worm happened by luck and by chance over time. Didn't make sense watch this if they had a cranial designer for the computer if it had a cranial designer for the robot.

Which you know it does and I had a crater designer for the 747 not only would the worm have to have a cranial designer. But we have to have a much greater Grander crater designer than those three ever dreamed about having.

Is that not correct. That is correct. And I began to have some questions. Okay, who is that crater designer all right? Now young people in this room I need every single young person to sit up and I need heads off the back of your things.

I see some of you trying To sleep and I need you need to talk with the person next to you and make sure they're awake. I call people down in churches. I do not play when the words being preached. You need to understand that okay?

I've called adults down in churches before I don't play. If you can get all hyped up and be bouncing all around for a band and not want to listen the Word of God you got A serious problem in your life.

You teenagers being deceived by this untruth that Satan's throwing at you. I'd want to walk in this thing get all the truth I can and walk back to my schools and walk out and start making a difference for Jesus Christ.

Okay, because if you won't make a difference to him trust me. I will when I meet them on the streets of Atlanta, Georgia. But the sad thing is I went to a public high school for four years and not one time that I ever hear the gospel Of Jesus Christ.

One single time in four years at a public high school 17 years old head-on car accident ate a windshield should have died. And yet I have these Christian friends of mine that would keep going their youth groups all the time.

It wouldn't take any time to tell me about this Jesus Christ that was going to change my life. Just a few years later. Why didn't you want to tell me? Why didn't you want to tell me you want to know why simply because you wanted to be me?

I was the big man on campus. I was a straight-a student. I was the basketball star and me was going straight to hell and you just didn't care. Life isn't about just going to concerts and bouncing up and down.

Life is about glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ with every fiber in your being. That's what life's about. Don't be deceived. We can deceive you in the Christian community. Is that not true? Is that not true?

Resisting Cultural Distraction and Christian Apathy

Pizza yo-yos and six flags is killing y 'all killing you. Okay. Killing you. You adults who work with these young people watch this current studies today show that 50 of these young people when you walk off and go To college 50 of you will walk away from Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Savior by your fourth year of college.

I Just got an email from a kid. I worked with at camp that oh, he wrote me. I just sent him the book I wrote and he wrote me and he said oh man I was so excited to get your bookmark and I know we haven't talked.

You know in about six or seven years, but you know what? My beliefs have changed just a little bit since the last time you saw me. I'm not into that Christian God anymore. I'm not into the harsh God of Islam.

I'm just kind of you know, God is in you and God is in me. He's walked completely down the new age road. He was one of those bowed up Christian kids in high school. But all of a sudden he did not know what he did needed to know to stand up for that and Satan said thank you very Much.

Thank you for just giving these kids pizza and yo-yos and little music here and little music there. Thanks for not giving them truth. And he gave him untruth in college and all of a sudden began to walk away.

I thank God. There were four people at Auburn University that could give me truth. Okay, cuz this man was dying to hear some truth. Trust me people want to hear that truth that you've got. But if you don't know what it is, you will be roadkill very very soon in your life careful.

See it happen all the time. You want a tough question young people, can you guarantee me you're gonna wake up tomorrow morning, can you guarantee me? Can you any teenagers dying back where you're from?

I live in Atlanta, Georgia. We had 24 teenagers die in four months. 24 young people stood before the throne of Almighty God. I used to teach school. I walked into a bathroom after one of my 15 year old students put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

When you walk into a bathroom with a young boy laying in a pool of blood that looks like a scene from a Hollywood movie. Let me tell you something. You got some serious questions. You got some serious questions.

I had some serious questions. Okay, you're buying a lie. If you think what you're seeing on TV is more important what's being preached in this room. You're buying a lie. If you think that little NASCAR things more important than what's happening inside this room.

You're buying a lie. And I see too many young people buying it, but you know what adults we buy it too, don't we? We buy it too. How many of us are more concerned about some bowl game coming up in the next few days and we're concerned About where those head coach and those football players gonna spend eternity whether in heaven or hell.

Think about that for a second. I leave here tomorrow. I drive back to Atlanta. We got a few of us going out to a concert tomorrow to go witnessing. I'm gonna go back to my car then drive to the bar section of town of Atlanta go witnessing for a couple hours and come Home about two or three o 'clock in the morning.

Why. Because when Satan throws a party in our town we show up at it. I'm sick and tired of deception. You sick and tired of it yet. You're being deceived if you don't think if you think there's something more important the truth being preached in this room.

Think about that. Okay, so I had some questions. I knew there had to be a God. Okay, but my simple question was who was it? There's a lot of options out there. There's the God of Judaism. There's the Trinity of the New Testament.

Testing Religious Claims and the Authority of Scripture

Hinduism believes in 300 million gods a lot of Islam, which is the right one? So what I did was very simply all you have to do is study and search The book that they get their faith from and if you can find out that book is true.

Then you've got your answer watch how simple it was. But there was one book I kept studying that kept coming to the forefront the whole time. And it was a book called the Bible and there was something about this book that made me think as I was looking for this truth first thing that happened was it's the best-selling book in the history of the world now because it's the best-selling book in the History world.

Does that mean it's true? No, that just means the best-selling book. But since it is you ought to take a look at it since the since the Gutenberg press there have been four billion Bibles printed and sold any book even close to that.

Every single year the Bible sells a hundred and fifty million copies every single year any book even close to that Harry Potter. Mmm, don't think so. Harry's not even close. Okay, there's something about the book one lost guy told me they said Hey, wait a minute.

You guys got a good marketing plan. I said, wait a minute, dude. Someone's the last time you saw a billboard that said buy a Bible. I said don't even try it. Okay, there's something about that book as I began to search and I began to study second thing that got me.

Was it claims to be written by God now because it claims to be written by God. Does that mean it was written by God? No, actually not because see I could write you a letter and tell you hey God told me to tell you for you to give me all your money.

Love God. Okay, and it doesn't mean God wrote that okay, but because it claims to be written by God. Should we take a look at this book? Oh, yes, we should you ready for this over? 3 ,600 times your book that Bible says thus saith thee what?

Lord in no way shape or form is that book can't claim in a human authorship and I did not understand it till I began To study but watch what began to happen as the evidence began to pop up. Third thing was the historical evidence in that book.

Do you know they have yet to find one historical mistake anywhere in that book? You know what if man wrote that book there should be historical mistakes. But you know what not one in the book and my wheels began to spin.

All right. Next thing that hit me was the scientific evidence. All right, I Was amazed at the scientific evidence. Do you know science back in the day used to teach you that the earth is flat? But the Bible always said it was a sphere.

What do we know to be true today that the earth is what it's a sphere just like God said back in the day. They used to teach you in science that there were 1 ,100 stars in the sky. That's it 1 ,100. The Bible said it's innumerable.

You can't even count how many stars are out there and what do we know to be true today? You can't even count them just like God said do you what they used to teach in science book science books? You can actually see pictures of it.