Welcome back to this journey to discover how you can face death with joyful hope, like me. I’m really looking forward to a wonderful future after death and I want you to be able to do the same!

 

 

I’d like us to look at this particular question right now,
“Is science the only source of truth?”

These days there’s a lot of people that may claim that we can only know things for sure that come from practical science, and so if it’s not scientific, you can’t really know anything in practice.

But really, is science the ONLY source of truth?

In a previous podcast I talked about Doctor Semmelweiss’ great discovery, how that by washing his hands in bleach solution after handling dead bodies, there was a vastly reduced death rate in the pregnant ladies in the maternity unit that he went to.

Now we know this as basic hygiene, but when Semmelweiss did that, it was brand new; and it saved many lives.

And of course this basic hygiene didn’t just apply to pregnant ladies, it applied to many, many situations such as we know now.

The problem was that many medical people, prominent people did not believe him and they didn’t follow his ideas because they believed a pack of lies, and, because they believed in those lies, many people died.

In the same way, if I just tell you the plain truth, you likely won’t believe me because you are being told things which are not true, and I want to hit one of those lies towards the end of this podcast. When we get to that lie, you might well say:

“Oh, stupid old geezer!” and just turn me off and not listen anymore because of a huge lie which you’ve been taught and many, many, many people across the world believe.

And you’d miss the chance to hear about how you can face death with joyful hope, so I hope you’ll stick with me. I really do!

In the last podcast we also found that there were some people who were following good hygiene rules 500 years before Semmelweis discovered them!  And they came through an epidemic much better than the rest of the population.

They were also avoiding, eating animals like bats and dogs that could cause major epidemics by virus transfer from animals to humans.

I asked you to decide if these rules came from someone who knows how germs cause disease and how to prevent the spread.

How could these rules be found in existing documents which were written 2000 years ago, long before it came to the light of science?

How could that be?  Can there be another source of knowledge which is not from experimental science?

And I asked you to think about it.

Well, have you thought about it?

My personal conclusion is that there has to be another source of knowledge which is not just from experimental science. Otherwise those people would never have known about it.

Here are some more rules from all those centuries ago.

• When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof.

“You think of this as Middle Eastern flat topped roofs – “Make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house, if someone falls from the roof.”

Well, these days we would think of that as sort of very, very basic health and safety. “Well, of course, if you’ve got a flat roof, you‘ve got to put something around it so people don’t fall off!”

But a lot of people don’t think like that.

 

• Here in this country, if somebody steals something they may get a gaol term or something.

But this was the rule at that time:
“Whoever steals an ox or sheep and slaughters it or sells it must pay back five head of cattle for the ox, or four sheep for the sheep.”

So this was practical justice. There wasn’t sitting in a gaol for ages, but a requirement to pay it back, and a lot more.

Well that was a good deterrent, wasn’t it?  And also it meant that the person who was stolen from was not out of pocket.

• Another rule: “Remember to take one day in seven off work. You need it; others need it.”

 

• And a rule about contentment! This may seem strange, but it
  goes right to the heart of why we do things.  It said,
  “Don’t yearn for things which belong to other people.”
  In other words,
  “Be content with what you have, not wanting something owned by someone else, because that leads to stealing.”  Now, if you can improve your situation, fine, but not by taking someone else’s goods.
• Caring for others. Here is a very profound rule.
  “Care about other people as much as you care about yourself.”
  Now, most societies have rules about how you have to look after your family, or your group, but this rule wasn’t just about the family or the in-group. This included foreigners and strangers!  Very strange idea, but actually a better idea.

Now that’s just a tiny selection that I’ve made of a whole variety of rules about how to live responsibly and safely.  There are good rules for a positive, caring society.

What was the source of these rules? How could they know these things? Where does this information come from?

It HAS to come from an intelligent source, a source more intelligent and more knowledgeable than human beings.  Each of us could be experts in certain areas, but not in the wide range of areas that were included in these rules.

This intelligence reveals his greatness in the things that he’s made, so that you can get some glimpse of his greatness!

 

The story of how these rules were received was reported in writing. And yes, people could write 3500 years ago.

It was a mighty, loving Creator who told his human representative what to write down as the rules to live by for their own good; that is where these rules came from.  And those rules would be passed on to everyone else.

He also told him about how he’d made the universe, including all the amazing variety of life.

You might say,

“Oh!  Don’t give me any crap about a God who created everything!  Evolution has proved that there is no God. Evolution made everything!

So are you beginning to laugh at me like the people laughed at Semmelweis?

We can come to the scientific evidence later, but I want to tell you right now, as a scientist myself, I can show you that there is a huge amount of evidence that there is indeed an incredibly intelligent being who we call the Lord God, who designed everything that exists with such ingenuity, including you!

You know, he made you and he loves you.

I want to say that again: “He made you, and he loves you, and he is the very one who wants to give you, as a free gift, such an amazingly happy life after death, that you can be filled with joyful hope right now!

Now, if you’re tempted to turn me off right now because you think I’m talking a load of rubbish, then you are doing exactly the same as the people who didn’t listen to Semmelweis!  You’ve been educated to believe some lies, and you’ve accepted them. That’s why you want to laugh at me!

So I want to encourage you to stay a little bit longer, because if you would like to be able to look forward to death with joyful hope, (which you can,) the next few minutes could well be the key that will unlock that for you. You don’t want to miss it, do you?

This great creator, the Lord God… Do you know what He’s doing right now?  Do you know?

He’s looking at you right now as you listen to me.  And he’s smiling at you!

Smiling, yes!  He’s not frowning at you. He’s smiling at you!

If you could see his face right now, you’d see the biggest welcoming smile that you have ever seen!  You would see his arms outstretched to you In love, longing to give you the biggest hug that you have ever had!

And he says, “Turn to me, I love you.  I really do, with your faults and failures!  I love you SO much!”

“I know that deep down you’re longing for someone who will love you just as you are.  And that’s me!  That’s exactly the sort of Love that I want to give you.

“I knew you before you were ever born.  I looked forward to your birth.  I looked forward to seeing you grow up.  I looked forward to enjoying your company as my own unique child.

“And I’m longing right now that you will turn to me, so that I can guide you throughout your life, so that I can bring you great joy and satisfaction in your life day by day, and forever — yes, after you die too. I want you to join me after you die so that we can be together and enjoy each other’s company.”

Well, how do I know that? Because the Lord God has told us this.

And I’m simply passing it on to you today.  He’s given this message to human beings to pass it on to other human beings like you.

Well, you might be wondering, is there really someone somewhere who cares about me?

Yes there is.  The Lord God is longing to give you LIFE!  Now, today, through the rest of your life.

Look, this is sort of a picture of how God thinks of you. If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it — yours!

If God had a wallet, your picture would be in it.  That’s how he thinks about you.

But he doesn’t need any photos ’cause he’s watching you all the time!  24/7

Here’s a picture which I think is very precious.

I remember riding on a bus one day, and a young mother comes in with a tiny baby in a car seat.

She places the car seat on the floor in front of her. She takes a book out of the bag.  Looks down at the baby.  Baby’s OK?  And she starts to read.

Ten seconds later she looks down at the baby.  Baby’s OK?  So she starts to read again.

Ten seconds later, she looked down at the baby. The baby is OK, so she starts to read again.

10 seconds later, she looks down at the baby. The baby is OK, and she starts to read again…

All the time, she did this.

Why?  Because she loved her baby, she cared for her baby, she wanted to know that her baby was OK.

Then this is a picture of how God sees you.  But even more so, because he knows our very thoughts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One writer who had a close relationship with God described it like this.  He said,

“O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.

You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.

You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.

You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.

You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.

“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!

I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!

If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.

If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.”

And so, just thinking, perhaps for us that… we might think that’s a bit scary, having someone that would be around us all the time and could see exactly what we are doing!

And he goes on…

“I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—

    but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.”

And thinking back into his own history, his own formation, he says.

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvellous—how well I know it!

You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!

I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!

And when I wake up,
you are still with me! “
                 ~~~
And this same one who knows you so incredibly well, better than anyone else in this world, He is longing for you to open yourself up to a living relationship with him. That is what real life is all about — a relationship with him, even right now here on this earth!

He’s the one who wants to bring us light in our darkness!

He wants to bring us joy in our sadness and hope in our despair!

He wants to bring his direction in our confusion and peace in our troubles, companionship in our loneliness!

Millions of people across the world are experiencing the presence of God with them right now, and that includes me!

And if you DO turn to God in this life, and you have a living relationship with him here on this earth, then he will welcome you to join him in his amazing home after you die; a place where everyone loves you, where everyone is happy, where everyone is at peace with everyone else.  There will be no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain… just unending happiness!

And all sorts of things that will bring us delight, like wonderful food and delicious drinks in a world of harmony and joy.

You might ask, well, won’t that be boring?

Boring?!?!?   NEVER!!!

It’s written,
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

And by the way, that’s not a sort of existing as spirits, but in real bodies, something like what we’ve got now, but much better!

Now, what do you think?  With all that up ahead, no wonder I’m looking forward to it, and I hope that you will open your heart to receive it too, because the Lord God wants to give you this as a free gift because He loves you so much!

And you too will be able to face death with joyful hope!

This is a free gift for you, yes, YOU!!!

Of course, the process of dying may be a really horrible experience, and I’m not looking forward to that at all.  But that is only temporary, and God promises that I will not walk that alone but with him?

It’s what’s on the other side of death, which will be absolutely marvellous!  And I’m longing that you will be willing to accept it, and that is why I’m passing on this invitation.

And by the way, besides that wonderful future after you die, the Lord God has designed you as a unique person to fulfil a unique purpose in this life, one that only you can carry out, one that you were designed for!

~~~

But you might say to me,
“Goh!  But I don’t believe in a God like that. I’m a scientist. I believe in hard facts.”

Well, I’m a scientist.  I believe in hard facts. But unfortunately, just like the people who laughed at Semmelweis, you have probably been fed a lot of lies which are not hard facts, but they’ve been cleverly disguised as if they were facts.

Now I do plan to follow up the science side in the upcoming podcasts, and not just myself, but I’ll point you on to other people who are declaring…  who are showing the truth as well.

There are many honest scientists in the world who believe what I’ve just said, and they find that it’s perfectly consistent with the scientific evidence, just like I do.

But the thing is that you’ve probably not come across them, and one day you’ll understand why.

So in this series of talks, I want to help you by pointing out how you can receive this great hope and at the same time help you to discover that it is perfectly consistent with the scientific evidence.

This is an important subject, and I want to point you to the scientific evidence in a way so that you can work it out for yourself, so that you’ll be able to say,
“Ahaah, I never saw that before! Oh, now it’s beginning to make sense!”

You can make your own decision about what’s true when you see the actual evidence.

But I can just about hear you saying this:
“Aah, but this “God thing” you know… I’ve never experienced it before, I’ve no evidence for it.”

Well, maybe you’re like my mobile phone!

!

My mobile phone barely knows that the Internet exists, even though it was designed to work with the Internet.  It’s a Samsung Galaxy over 8 years old. It’s a smartphone. You can connect to the Internet, but it almost never does.

• My phone has never sent or received an email.
• I’ve never watched a YouTube video on it.
• I’ve never done an Internet search or anything like that on it.
• I’ve never listened to music on it.
• I’ve never looked at a social media page on it.
• And I don’t use it for a Sat-Nav.

So perhaps you are now wondering what on earth do I use it for?

Well, it’s a phone, isn’t it?

• I phone people
• They phone me.
• I text people.
• They text me.
• I use it as an alarm clock
• For reminders
• Or as a timer
• I take photos with it.
• Occasionally I might take a short video with it.

That’s about it.

It does go on Wi-Fi to connect to Internet occasionally because sometimes I take a photo, and I want to upload it to Dropbox so I can transfer it to my computer. Well, once it’s done that, I switch the Wi-Fi off again.  That’s it!

“Well,” you might ask. “Well then, why is it so limited?”

Well, ’cause soon after I bought the phone, I switched off my mobile data connection.  I decided that I would do all the Internet things only on my computer.

One reason was I didn’t want to be continually interrupted like I see happening to my friends…
Ping!  This message.

Ping!  That message.
Ping!  Another message!

I can’t live like that. I am on my computer for hours a day and I am able to control that.  On a mobile phone?  No.

It’s not on the Internet.  I use none of my data allowance on my phone.

“Well,” you might think,  “That is a bit of a waste of a complex phone, isn’t it?”

Well, yes, I agree with you. It is a bit of a waste. It was designed to do so much more than it does, but it can’t because I switched the data connection off.  And that was my decision.

I think that most people are like that in their lives.

They could do far, far, more than they do, but they’ve switched off their connection with the Lord God, so they can’t.

All these other functions, they don’t work because they’ve switched off their connection with God.

They were designed to do so much more than they actually end up doing!  They have huge potential for amazing lives, but it never happens because they do not use their connection with God.

Now, I want to ask you, “Is your connection with the Lord God switched off?”

Some people switch it off because they think that God wants to spoil their lives.
WHAT???  Spoil their lives!!!???  Of course not!!!  That’s one of the biggest lies ever told, and people have been fooled by it for thousands of years.

What a load of rubbish!  Of course not! God does not want to spoil your life!

I tell you this from the bottom of my heart: more than anyone else, God is the one who has your best interests at heart!

He wants to give you a real life, real life full of meaning, abundant life, a fulfilling life!  That might be a difficult life in lots of ways, but a deep life of satisfaction, and connected with Him all the way… Connected with him both during our lifetime here on Earth, and through the process of dying, and for ever afterwards.

Is your “God connection” switched off?

If it is, and it stays off, then you can never know the joyful hope that I’ve been speaking about; you will never know the potential for what you were designed for in this life.

But if you switch it on – Wow! what a difference it will make!  And I’m telling you that God longs for you to know him and receive joy from him, and he is longing, just longing for a relationship with you. That’s why he made you in the first place!

Do you ever see parents enjoying their children? Do you ever see grandparents enjoying their grandchildren? God wants to enjoy you just like that, but at a much deeper level altogether.

And I want to offer you a challenge right now; I want to challenge you to turn your “God connection” on!

How?  I want to invite you to speak out to the Lord God from your heart, even if you think that he doesn’t really exist, and say something like this:

“God, if you’re there, and you love me, then somehow show me that you’re real!”

If you do that and you mean it, that will open up your “God connection”” so that He can speak into your heart!

From the next step, could I encourage you to visit our website so that you can choose the direction that you want to investigate next:

• If you want to look into the science, you can choose that and I can guide you in that.
• If you want to know more about this “connection with God thing”, you can choose that.
• Or maybe it is another subject even that you find more pressing at the moment – you might find that listed.

~~~~~

Well, I’m an old man now and I have had a joyful and meaningful life walking with God since I was a teenager and I’m really looking forward to life after death. It’s going to be amazing!

But I just can’t sit back and enjoy a lazy life now, so that’s why I’m recording these talks ’cause I want you to know that you too can have a life of joy and peace on this earth before you die, and still face death with joyful hope because of the promise of this marvellous future after death, when you enter the land of life, the land that has been promised to those who trust!