Pastor Goes Toe-to-Toe With Atheist

The Atheist’s Objections to Creation, Science, and Providence

Yeah, yeah for sure. Yeah, pretty cool. And in the Bible though.

Like there's so that was that was one objection. Let's try another one. They just say they just say.

I'm listening. No, they just say land creatures. Yeah, you'd be a fucking lizard man. Lizards dogs wolves bears.

Cats. Dinosaurs, which don't I am centipedes. I mean dinosaur. Yeah, seriously dinosaurs are fairly. It's a fairly recent name, but in history like the BC era before Christ. You've got accounts of whole villages having to fight the village Dragon which was just a dinosaur because they were living with humans like the Bible says.

Yeah, I read that right. So can I just suggest one thing to you? What's your name by the way? I'm Jeff. Steve just one suggestion Josh one suggestion. I think. And you can tell me what you think about this.

Okay, I think that deep down, you know. You know who Jesus is. You know the God that I'm talking about and that you don't want to turn to him because what it would mean for your life. But you know who he is.

That's the truth. I believe in science. So do I.

Can I ask you one question? Yeah as an atheist? I actually I'm curious what you would say to this. As an atheist who said you say that you believe that your ancestors were fish that evolved into you, right?

And there's a purposeless universe that came about by chance. All of this is randomness happening around us because there's no God. Why would you believe in science if you believe your ancestors are fish and all of this is random unguided stuff.

How do you do science in that world? How do you do science in that world? Sure, yeah, but see what I'm saying is this. And maybe you'll follow me in this. Science depends upon a universe that's governed.

That has uniformity. Science depends on truth.

Really ours is gonna stop. At some point in time.

Well, okay so that it's speculation to say like what will be in the future right. But like example like right now watch. You're standing here. You're standing right here. Did you believe in any moment?

Yeah, did you believe in any moment? You were gonna float away?

Do you have you believed in any moment, what do you think I'm wearing my shorts? Yeah.

Did you believe every day gravity is gonna hold you down, right? But if you believe in atheism, there's no reason to believe that gravity is gonna hold you down the next five seconds.

Yes, I do. Why do you believe that the orbital system?

Freaking. Earth is turning. It's uniform, isn't it? Yeah, it's it's functioning like a machine, right? Yeah, that doesn't sound like chaos or randomness like you believe. No.

See, it's the chaos and randomness that made earth special.

Well, so let me ask you this if it's chaos and randomness. How do you know bro that in ten minutes gravity is gonna hold you down and that science is possible. Hey in ten minutes. North Greek Obama's true.

Ten minutes. True, which was weird last week when it weird, but it was crazy I was here. It was crazy. Or there could be a tsunami. That's right. That's true. Yes, right. Earthquake. That's right.

Big island erupting right up and over here. It's right, right. Who's the safe?

Those are anomalies that we cannot. We can we can gauge him though because because of science because it's not right. But if you live in in the world that you say is the world atheism where everything is chaos and random constantly.

We can't do science. Because we don't know that we need to be truthful about our conclusions. We don't know. The next ten minutes is gonna be like the past. Sounds like you live by faith.

You trust that the future is gonna be like the past was. No, I trust that I'm gonna make my own future. Ah, there it is, and that's where I go.

Can't just share one thing with you. You don't don't get mad at me or think I'm not trying to jab you. I mean, I mean, it's good. I care about you. Everything you've been saying your dependence upon science and all these different things and you're you show that you really do know God.

But what's wrong is that you don't want them in your life. And can I just tell you the good news here? This is the good news, bro. Is that there's no difference between you and I were both sinners. We're both rebels.

I used to be a drug addict and a drunk and The good news is that God came to save sinners like you and me. People that don't deserve them people that reject him and suppress the truth about him. Jesus is God who was perfect and he died and he rose again.

If you trust in him, he'll save you.

So if he died, how did he save you from your alcoholism and your drug addiction? That's a good question. So.

He rose again, he didn't just die. It was promised that he was gonna die and he was gonna rise again. So that he would take care of our sins and he would be alive and that through faith in him We would be reconciled to God.

So let me tell you the truth. I used to be addicted to ecstasy to cocaine to marijuana to alcohol. I did it constantly. I disappeared from my family for days at a time. Yeah, I mean, I mean I'm talking about like I wasn't doing medicinal marijuana or recreational marijuana.

I was getting I was getting blasted. I was I was disappearing from my family for days. It was horrible. So but my heart changed. My heart changed when I turned to Christ and I was forgiven and I knew him.

My heart changed. I no longer wanted to go chase the bottle because it never satisfied me. Anyways, when I went to the bottle I was trying to get joy. I was trying to feel peace. I was trying to run away from my past and wash it away, but it never worked.

It was a really bad Savior. Alcohol is a bad Savior. But I was going to it as my Savior and it never. And it never helped me. But when God saved me in Christ, and I knew him my heart changed.

So when you asked me like how did I at what point in time? Did you reconcile that like what I like? Yeah, did you feel it?

Well, yeah, so it's a good question. So I used to do like five tabs of ecstasy a day and chase it down with like a bottle of vodka. It tears your mind up big-time so I still take like five tabs of ecstasy with a whole bottle of vodka or rum throughout the night and.

When I my life was destroyed through my using I got before that book. And I read the message of Jesus and his calls to come to him for forgiveness and life and I realized. That though I had heard the message of Jesus and I had been around Christians I never actually understood what he was saying that he comes to save me from my sins to know him now.

And when I turned away from my sin to just put my faith in him to save me my heart did change. Now I didn't want to go leave my wife to go chase ecstasy and my alcohol. I wanted him and he began to change me from the inside now.

I didn't want to go get lost in a bottle now. I wanted to now. I wanted to know him and I wanted to grow in him and walk with him so.

I've got another chain. Okay, so. And again. No, I won't. So you got yourself into such a predicament. Again I'm sorry. No, no, no feel free such a piece of shit that you put yourself into like so many predicaments of.

Something. Yep, and you needed to get out or die. Oh I was on my way to dying. Yeah. Yeah, you need to get out or die. Yep, and I loved it. You needed an excuse to get out and you used Lord's Christ and name for an excuse.

Which worked for you which comes down to what I said, there's so many people in the world that need that.

Except their life. Except it was one flaw on what you're saying because it's actually a good speculation. One flaw and that's this. I loved it.

Loved my loved my addiction. It was a crackhead loved it. I didn't want to stop map like crazy and I Didn't want to. I pounded him down. And He knew just for me he was like, okay, I gotta stop yeah, he's my older brother five years older.

Yeah, and you stop. Yeah because of me and he also is an idiot. Well stop because of me and he just started hating it. Well, let me ask you that go you're gonna start hating this shit. I'm gonna start force-feeding it to you and he's like what?

I'm gonna force feed it to you until you overdose you and then you're gonna be done and he's like, oh Cuz I never touched the stuff myself I was literally gonna start force-feeding it to him until he overdosed.

Like yeah now you hate it now you fucking gotta stop, okay, you know, what's amazing but I just said and I stopped him.

He was totally clean. He hasn't touched it ever. Said, you know, it's amazing about you just said. You just acted like your brother. It's beautiful. You acted like your brother isn't a cosmic accident.

You acted like he's valuable and meaningful and had dignity. But that contradicts your atheism. You acted like love is a thing.

Not an atheism, okay, so I'm not a true atheist. There you go. I've known it all along. But hey, I do love and I know I know you do I'm sure they do because we're sinners no matter what's going on. I mean like I Can go jump in the ocean?

Shine again last weekend when it was fucking waves are crazy. That would have been me. I wouldn't have been blaming it on God because those waves are like 40 foot fucking tall. Yeah. I would have been getting pounded and smashed if I made it out.

It would be because of me not because anybody else unless a dolphin came up and grabbed me by the freaking shoulder and like Drug me to shore or a monk seal or something. Then I would be like, oh. And then you know what?

I would say I wouldn't say things. Nope.

Cuz you won't I was as long as you don't as long as you don't know him. You're right. You won't as long as you don't know. You know, I leave you. I believe. I believe in God. If anything, I know you do all of us do all of us do before Jesus saves us.

We believe we make all kinds of gods for ourselves. I think I hope that. I hope you wake up tomorrow. And you remember my face. My name is Jeff. I live in Phoenix. You live in Phoenix? Where do you live?

In Mesa in Arizona. Yeah. What the fuck? Yeah, we're just visiting. Oh, yeah.

Yeah, I live right over across the street in L .A. L .A.

Okay. Okay. Well you're from here. I was gonna say Yeah, I'll probably see you around. I come back a lot. Well, just just do this if you remember me tomorrow. Read the gospel of John. Okay, cuz you've been told all kinds of stuff about Jesus probably your whole life.

Oh, I've read the Bible. I want to encourage, well there you go. I want to encourage you to read John. And don't read John to finish it read John to listen. Just see just see what he's saying. Okay. Because deep down man deep down you don't look like an atheist.

You know the God that I'm talking about, you know I know. Yeah, so I want you to hear the good news is that if you turn to him in faith You'll be forgiven and you'll know God. That's what I want you to know.

Cool read John. All right. All right. All right, man. God bless you. Yeah, she was just here man, I'm sorry she came back like she came back like ten times man, I'm sorry I catch ya. She's around here somewhere.

The Gospel of John and the Call to Repentance and Faith

That last part, you know the God. Huh? That was amazing. Oh. Okay, we're like live live. Okay. All right. Sorry. I'm getting wet. Is the mic okay right now? Okay. Sorry, I didn't know that was live. Hey Zach.

Hey, what's up? You're talking to Mormon missionaries. Just walk right by me I'm really wet right now. So. Yeah, I know did you hear the last part of that there I heard none of it so he's obviously drunk so you only you can only do so much with someone who's drunk, but.

So as the conversation is progressing, he's like I'm an atheist and he's like no God is there. No, I'm an atheist and I just was like Roman, you know Romans one. We all know God for suppressing truth about him.

So the last part of the conversation there I was like look just go home tomorrow if you remember me because he's drunk I was like if you remember me read the Gospel of John he's like, okay, and I was like deep down.

You know that God exists. You know the God that I'm talking about and he was like I know. And I was like and I want you to turn to Christ and trust him. That's awesome. It was a beautiful thing. So. Yeah, so we're in Hanapepe right now home of Lilo and stitch.

Is it really? Yeah.

There's a mural over there in the wall. It says welcome to Hanapepe at home of Lilo and stitch.

It has her like surf on there. Oh, that's sweet. I didn't know that so this is. This is Hanapepe, it's like every Friday is like Community gathering and there's like market stuff and food and it's like an art walk.

Evangelism in Kauai’s Cultural Crossroads

More missionaries come down this way people who are spiritual and new age and I Don't know just tell everyone about it. Like what's what's it? What do you think about the opportunity in Kauai like the stuff that we see dude?

It's just a cultural melting pot.

Yeah, I mean there's so much going on in one place. And you never know. Honestly, I didn't even expect anything to happen, but that's usually when God brings someone right in front of you. Yeah, so I don't.

It's just encouraging to see the absence of witness here, I guess. Yeah. Encouraged by the stirring up of brothers Hawaiian brothers on the island to do this same type of Evangelistic work that we do back home all the time.

Talk about that though.

Because that I think what people won't understand. People used to ask me when I first came out and you were aware of this. We talked about people. You say things like well Why Kauai? Yeah, I mean like why Kauai.

And what I would try to express is that when you come here Here's this little island in the middle of the ocean with 70 ,000 permanent residents that used to be a whole Hawaii used to be a Christian kingdom.

But now this island is like filled with the cults and the new age and Buddhism. And the one thing you hear from Christians that Are on this island is like no one's doing any like in the community outreach like it's just not what we do here.

No confrontation. And so when you see this amazing opportunity with this tight-knit community This one this one place You just got this one spot to reach that's filled with the cults and and and just such an opportunity to reach them.

So I guess you had to talk about it. Cuz like I just think that's what people don't really understand. Being back on the mainland is there's just this overall. New here of just don't upset me right don't you know don't upset my vibe.

You have your thing going on over here. I have my thing going on over here, but we're all good right. You know there's no. There's no such thing as confrontation. There's no such thing as bringing.

Truth into conflict right with other people's perspectives, so I think Hawaii. It's like a no-no no I mean.

Yeah, it's just it's crazy to you know to be a part of it to see but at the same time. It's so easy to get into conversations with people right. I think that's another thing like back on the mainland.

It's just not this easy to fall into a conversation with someone. Yeah, and I think that. Touching on the point of the absence of Christian witness here. There really isn't an excuse the opportunities are here right?

But it's just missing. I think right and you have something like this. Where you have so many different kinds of people you have this one huge event you have the platform a small place over here to do.

It right and the community from all over the island is coming here.

They're all coming to this one spot. Yeah, so so one of the things that is the place to meet them. Just like I mean you have the Apostle Paul yeah. Going to the marketplaces proclaiming Jesus going to these the cultural epicenter right of the city, right?

That's where the truth needs to go right and you mentioned. It's been overrun with cults. Yes, the Bible tells us in Isaiah 59 Justice no longer goes forth because truth has stumbled in the public square ah.

Yes has fallen it's it's nowhere to be found because it's not being brought into the public yeah. Christianity has been pushed to the outskirts right and so. This is what happens. That's why Christians especially here though the need is real.

Yeah, the need is very real on the island. It's not about paradise. It's not about those types of things. It's about the Christians on the island that are here bringing Jesus into conflict with these other worldviews.

And they need to do it. It's it's a need yeah, because this island really is overrun with.

Colts New Age, it's just everywhere right and it's in clusters, right? Yeah. Yeah, they're like right next to each other. It's cluster Roman Catholic sharing with like a parking lot with the Mormon Church.

Across the street from a glazing and Christo like you know all that. Yeah, right? So yeah, so we're at the tail end of our two-week mission Church planning mission in Kauai our first worship service is this Sunday.

It's a kapaa public library, so if you guys are in Kauai, and you want to come worship. It's a kapaa public library east side of the island. 6 p .m.. This Sunday first public worship service of apology of Kauai so praise God.

What we've been doing for the last two weeks is inviting people to dinner. We've been feeding the community. We've been engaging with the cults. We're obviously came out here to publicly proclaim the gospel.

So apology at church is already beginning. What what we're doing, and that's bringing the gospel into conflict with everything. Right right and we obviously want to do it love and grace and respect and and all of that.

But the gospel is not supposed to hide in in a little room in a Bible study in a basement. The gospel is supposed to go forth into the communities sometimes. It's uncomfortable. Sometimes it rubs people the wrong way sometimes people don't want to hear it.

But sometimes people are in shock. People are in shock that it's happening. Right they had no idea.

Yeah, I've never read the verses. I was quoting I'd never heard it.

So I want to say if anybody's watching right now. You're like why does apology at church do this kind of stuff the answer is? It's not just my own personal preferences that I'm like putting on to apology at church like guys.

This is a lot of fun. Give it a shot. Sometimes it's not fun at all. The answer is the book of Acts we believe gives us the model of ministry that we ought to be doing and what you do. Is you see the Apostles and the early Christians and especially leadership in the church getting into conflict with the world?

Going to the town square going to the marketplace. Going to the tough spots of philosophical debate and discussion and going to bring the gospel in the conflict with it. And that's what we believe we ought to be doing in every area of life, and yes.

We believe that Jesus is Lord over everything so we believe that Jesus someday if Hanapepe is still around 5 ,000 years from now if the Lord tarry's that long Hanapepe will be under the rule of Jesus and.

And so will all of Kauai and so will Oahu and so will Maui and so will Hawaii the island and all of North America everything is going under the feet of Jesus, and we're Christ's vice regents His ambassadors that go into the world to make that happen, and there's only one way it happens.

It's through the proclamation of the gospel. So you got to kind of get yourself dirty and sometimes what you get kind of wet like right now I'm standing in rain right now talking to you. We're wet. It's uncomfortable.

It's it's not easy, but I'll tell you what praise God because God is Glorified and the world has changed when his truth is proclaimed. That's what happens. That's right, so that's that Conover. He's uh he's kind of a big deal with an abortion now.

I also got my guys you can't see right now Marcus is in the back right now. He's been here for two weeks. I also got Zack Morgan who is an amazing man of God who's causing problems here in Kauai? Since he got here.

And he also got Josh. Who's in the back and Matt is sick in the car right now my daughter and Zoe or somewhere around here? Oh, they're right there, so we have the whole team here guys pray for us because we only have two days left here and Yeah, we have still work to do and We're just humbled to be a part of this so praise God.

Thank you for watching. Please share it and Hey, yeah, I forgot to say and abortion now calm. You should go and sign up with your church. And you should get started because I want to say something special this year will mark a very big year for us.

And we want to teach you and your local church how to start your own media ministry. That's our big focus this year, so when we get back to town We're going to talk a lot about that. We're going to help you do that so get started the end abortion now calm.

Get out there. Proclaiming the gospel the abortion mills help us to establish justice for the pre-born. And then we're going to help you this year to help us change the conversation through media sweet.

Yeah, all right. Let's get let's get dry.