In this sermon, the preacher discusses the importance of having faith in the Christian belief. He emphasizes that if Christ did not rise from the dead, then the faith of believers would be in vain. The preacher mentions that there are witnesses to the Christian faith, including the scriptures and the Holy Spirit. He also refers to the story of Lazarus being brought back to life by Jesus as an example of the power of God. The preacher encourages the congregation, especially the young people, to have an informed faith rather than blind faith.

Thank you so much. Again, it's a joy to be with you, and I praise the Lord Jesus for having this opportunity to share his word with you. On the table, we have some notes for the seventh witness, and if you're interested to take one, you can either take notes, or you can just keep the sheet, and yeah, okay. And then also, at the end, if you're interested, there is a revival newsletter that has a number of miracles of God in the newsletter that shows how God used other people to change my life, and what happened in those circumstances, so you're welcome to have a newsletter. I'd like to thank Pastor Mark and his dear wife, Virginia, for the kindness to host this church, and then to invite me, give me an opportunity to preach. Heavenly Father, we come again into your holy presence, in the name of your holy Son, Jesus Lord, we thank you for the living bread that you have given us, and you have broken it, and you have blessed it, and now, Father, help me to pass it out, and let there be leftovers, for we ask this in Christ's holy name, amen. We're going to talk today about our faith. At one time point, I wondered, is this Christian faith real? Is there any substance to it? The Apostle Paul said that if Christ did not rise from the dead, our faith is in vain. Do I have this faith, and do I need to have blind faith, or is it informed faith? Are there any witnesses to this Christian faith? And so, I'd like you to turn with me to John, the Gospel of John, chapter 5. We're going to read verse 18, and then we're going to read verses 31 to 39. And young people especially, I'd encourage you to follow what the Lord Jesus says about witnesses, because there are witnesses in place that prove that our Christian faith is real and has substance. So, we have this wonderful text now in John, chapter 5, and I'm going to read verse 18. And this is told us here in John, chapter 5, verse 18. And there's a passage in the Old Testament that tells us when there was a heretic, he was to be stoned to death. So, there were those people who felt that Jesus needed to be stoned to death. And we're now going to go on to verses 31 through to 39 in the same chapter, because the Lord Jesus Christ now answers their charges in verses 31 through to 39. And he says, if I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. A better word for not true means not accepted by you as true. So, here he gave his own witness that he is the Son, but that was not accepted as true by the Pharisees and by those that didn't believe. Then he goes on, there is another who bears witness. So, here he talks about a witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true. You have sent to John, this talks about John the Baptist, who was a forerunner of Christ, and he has borne witness. Again, he's called a witness here to the truth. We don't just have blind faith, we have informed faith, because Christ has given us witnesses in his scripture to show us that it is truth. And then in verse 34, yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. And he said, you don't want to just believe me, but I have to quote man here. I really don't need to quote man, but I'm doing it to help you understand, to help you find the truth, to know that there is truth. And then in verse 35, he talks about John the Baptist, and he said, he was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. And now he goes on to the second witness, and he says, but I have a greater witness than John's, for the works which the Father has given me to finish, the very works that I do bear witness of me that the Father has sent me. So here he talks about his miracles, he talks about what he did that proves that he is the Christ, that he is the Son of God, and these miracles bear witness of him. And then in verses 37 and 38, he talks about the third witness, and he says, and the Father himself, God the Father in heaven, who sent me has testified of me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form. By the way, at Jesus' baptism, and we'll cover that again a little later, there was a voice from heaven. Scripture doesn't say it was God's voice, it just says that there was a voice from heaven. So here Jesus says, you have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen him, but you do not have his word abiding in you, because whom he sent, him you do not believe. So he says here that they can't understand because they're not accepting the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's what we need to do to accept him so that we understand this Christian faith. And now he gives the fourth witness in scripture in verse 39. You search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and these are they which do what? Testify. Here's another testimony. Here's another witness. They testify of me. So here the Lord Jesus Christ gives us four witnesses, and I was speaking to a young lady the other day, and she said to me, oh, I don't believe this stuff, you know, religion is the opium of the masses. And she had quoted Karl Marx, by the way. That's what Karl Marx said, that religion is the opium of the masses. There's no substance to it. And I started to explain to her that God had proven through his son Jesus and sent him to forgive our sins and to give us this wonderful eternal life. And her response was, well, who asked God anyhow? Who asked God anyhow? And, you know, I was reflecting on that, and this young lady had absolutely no idea what Christianity was all about. She had no idea that God had wanted to save her through his son. And, you know, I was a little shocked and taken aback, but then I remembered that the Bible and prayer and God's commandments have been removed from schools in the United States. So there the young people grew up basically as heathens, you know. And in Canada, part of the Bible is now classified as hate literature. And the question is, will you or I stand up for this Jesus Christ, and can we be an effective witness? And I know many of you have witnessed already about your relationship with Jesus just in the preamble this morning, and what a wonderful joy that is. But young people, I needed more faith, and you need more faith to know that your faith is real. What happens if you talk with a Muslim person? What happens when you talk with a Buddhist? What happens when you talk with a Hindu person? They say, my faith is real. And so are there any witnesses in their faith that say that their faith is real? And compare that with the witnesses of Christianity, because those witnesses prove that your faith and my faith is real and that there is a wonderful God. So come back with me now into this passage of John chapter 5, 31 through to 35. And here in John chapter 5, 31 through to 35, in verse 32, he said, There is another who bears witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. So who is this witness? Is he a reliable witness? Who is he? And he is John the Baptist. And you know, John the Baptist, when I think of him as a witness, in a Christian sense, he comes across to me a little bit on the odd side. He lived in the desert, and he was wearing this furry stuff. And if he came into this assembly today, and he wore his fur coat and his leather belt, and he started to talk with us, what would I think about him? Would I judge him as to his clothes? You know, we are so easy to judge, and I would probably do that. I would probably judge him based on his clothes, you know. And then when he started speaking, and he would start talking about where he lived. Well, where is your home? Give me your home address. Which is your house? You know, what kind of friends do you have? And he would say, well, I live in the desert. I have no home. I have no mansion. Actually, this piece of fur I have on me keeps me warm at night, because the desert is hot during the daytime. It's very cold during the nighttime. And so, would I be able to believe this man? Would he be a witness? Would he be someone that I can trust with my Christian faith? And then I would look at his diet, and you know, he was eating grasshoppers. I used to eat in three-star Michelin restaurants, and now here I have this man who says he's a Christian, and he's following God, and he's pronouncing about the Lord Jesus Christ, and his diet is incorrect in my thinking. What would I think about this man? And you know, so then the Lord Jesus said to me, well, why don't you investigate about this John the Baptist and see what it says about him? And I found that John the Baptist was foretold by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 40, verses 3 to 5. And if you would like to turn to Isaiah chapter 40, verses 3 to 5, it tells us something about him here. Isaiah chapter 40, verses 3 to 5. And this talks about John the Baptist. Isaiah chapter 40, verses 3 to 5. And here, 800 years before the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, John the Baptist was foretold as coming to prepare the way of the Lord. And in those days, you know, and we're going back 2,000 years, not many people could read. Only a few people could read. There wasn't any television. There weren't any newspapers. There wasn't any radio. So when the king would come to town, he would always send someone ahead of him, and that person would come running, and he would stand in the middle square of town, and he would shout, the king is coming! The king is coming! Get ready for the king! And then as the king proceeded to come into the town, they would bow and they would worship their king as he would come and proceed into town. And that was the function of John the Baptist. And then it was, then it tells us in Luke chapter 1, verse 13. In Luke chapter 1, verse 13. Luke chapter 1, verse 13. It tells us here in the 13th verse. But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard, and your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And so here, John the Baptist's birth, just like the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, was announced by an angel. And this was right from God himself. And then in the same chapter, Luke 1, verse 15, it says. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his birth. So he was full with the Holy Spirit. And we had just read that the angel had talked to his dad. His dad was Zacharias, and Zacharias was a priest. So John had a right under Jewish law to become a priest. He was part of the priesthood of the Jewish race. And he could have been in the temple, in his priestly garments, worshiping God. And he elected not to do that. And that puzzled me. Why would he not do that? And I had a real tough time understanding why God would do this and allow him to do that. And then in verse 17 of Luke 1, verse 17, it says. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. So through his ministry, he would turn the hearts of many, many people. He became a mighty preacher. He became a mighty orator. He was full of the Holy Spirit. And so he preached on the River Jordan, and all of the people from Jerusalem would come and see him. And many got converted because they heard this testimony from this man. And then in Matthew chapter 11, 11, there's something said very, very unusual about him, because this man, John the Baptist, never did a miracle. There's no recorded miracle for him in Scripture. And so here in Matthew 11, 11, Jesus said something about John. And this refers to John. Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women, there has not risen one greater than John. Not one risen greater than John. Up to this point, this is the greatest person that was ever born, greater than Moses. Yes. Greater than King David. Yes. Greater than Solomon. Yes. Greater than the 12 apostles. Yes. Because he said he was the greatest born of women. So if he's such a great person, how can he walk around in dress like that? How can he eat like that? And you know, then the light started to come on. Then the light started to get through my head. Then I started to understand, because to him, nothing was important in this world. He was in total surrender. And the word surrender was mentioned by you this morning. He was in total submission to God. He had given his life fully. There was nothing important. He didn't need a mansion. He didn't need a Giorgio Armani suit. He didn't need a private airplane out in the desert. But God called him the greatest born of women, of men. What an incredible testimony this man has. And so here, Jesus names him as his first witness. So if he's a witness, obviously he saw something. Because what are some of the requirements of a witness? A witness is one who testifies. One who is present at a scene. One who is at an occasion or a transaction. One who has seen with his or her own eyes what has occurred. So what kind of a witness is he? And now let us go to the key verse for John the Baptist. And let us go to John chapter 1 verses 32, 33, and 34. John chapter 1 verses 32, 33, and 34. And John bore witness. Note here, he's called a witness. He's giving a testimony. He's testifying. And by the way, this is a written witness. A written witness is admissible in a court of law. So this written witness is a witness for my faith. I can depend on what is written here. I can depend on John the Baptist. I can depend to know that Jesus is the Christ. And so here it says, and John bore witness, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and he remained upon him. Now note what he's saying. I didn't know him, so he didn't know Jesus. Jesus turned up on the River Jordan and wanted to be baptized. And John the Baptist knew that this was the man. And he said, I'm not worthy to even carry his sandals. John the Baptist was humble. He humbled himself before the Lord. And he said, I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water. So who sent John the Baptist? He was sent by the Holy Spirit. He was sent by God Himself. And so God had told him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, Upon whom you see, whom you see with your own eyes, because you will be a witness to God. You have seen with your own eyes the Spirit descending and remaining on him. This is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And now note verse 34. And I have seen, and I testify, I'm a witness that this is the Son of God. And beloved, I ask you to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. He will forgive your sins and give you eternal life if you ask him. And now let us go on to the second witness. And the second witness was in John chapter 5, 36. And John chapter 5, 36 talks about Jesus' miracles. And he said, Jesus said to you, my miracles prove that I am the Son of God. I don't know which is your favorite miracle. There's the feeding of the 5,000. There is Jesus walking on the water. There's Jesus healing the blind. One of my favorite miracles is when the Lord Jesus Christ brought back Lazarus from death. And this miracle is talked about in John chapter 11, verse 39. We're still in the book of John 11, 39. And what had happened was that Jesus was friends with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. And Lazarus was ill. And so Mary and Martha sent for the Lord Jesus Christ and said, Lazarus is ill. Come and help us. And Jesus took extra time in Galilee, and he didn't answer right away. And I was wondering about that. And then I heard the discord between Martha and the Lord Jesus. And Martha said to him, if you had come, my brother would still be alive. If you had come, my brother would still be alive. And, you know, she was accusing Jesus, actually, and women do this indirectly, sometimes with men. Men are supposed to know what they're supposed to be doing, you know. And so she said, you should have known better. When I sent for you, you didn't come right away. And now my brother is dead, and it's your fault. And you see, the problem was that she had faith for Lazarus to be healed, but she didn't have faith for Lazarus to be raised from the dead. So let us read John 11, verse 39. Lazarus was dead for four days, buried in a tomb in a hot country. The breaking down of the body had commenced, and there was a stench of death. The scientific explanation is when our heart stops beating, blood drains from the capillaries and collects in lower surfaces. Cells cease aerobic respiration. Calcium ions leak into muscle cells, leading to rigor mortis. Cells die and can no longer fight bacteria. The cells' own enzymes and bacteria start to break down cells and tissue, causing the body to decompose. Brain cells will die after approximately three minutes when deprived of oxygens. Then there are death squads of beetles, flies, and worms, and they start to feed on you. So when you're dead for four days in a hot climate, you are dead indeed. So the process of decomposition is accelerated. You would need the Son of God to bring you back to life. And that is what Jesus did. He said, remove that stone. And then he cried out and he said, Lazarus, come forth. And Lazarus came forth. He was all bound up like a mummy. You've all seen these mummy movies. And he was coming out all bound up in this white cloth. And that white cloth had to be removed so that he would be recognized. And now come some of the witnesses. If you check John 11 verses 45 and 46. John 11, 45 and 46. Sorry, verse 44. And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave cloth. And his face was wrapped with the cloth. Jesus said to them, lose him and let him go. And then in verse 45, then many of the Jews who had come to Mary and had seen the things Jesus did believed in him. And the word Jews here means unbelievers. It means Pharisees. It means scribes. It means those that had not previously believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. And they became witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God. And again, I ask you to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. He will forgive your sins and give you eternal life if you ask him. And now the third witness was given to us in John chapter 5, verse 37. In John chapter 5, verse 37. And the Father himself who sent me has testified of me. So God the Father has testified. How did God the Father testify? You know, if you were to meet my daughters and my daughter said, well, my dad is Edgar Wright, you might believe them and you might not because it's their testimony. But if I introduce them to you and I say to you, this is my daughter, Angela, and this is my daughter, Suzanne, you would believe because there's confirmation. Isn't that right? So God the Father did this three times. He spoke via a voice from heaven. And the first time was at Jesus' baptism. And let us turn to Matthew chapter 3, verse 17. Matthew chapter 3, verse 17. And I'm having you look up all of these passages because I want you to believe the scriptures because the scriptures are your witness. The scriptures tell you what is truth. And you also need to check up on the preachers who tell you things so that you know that you're hearing the truth. And so Matthew chapter 3, verse 17. And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And here God spoke via a voice from heaven confirming that Jesus Christ is his son. So when you talk with a Muslim person and he says, no, no, Mohammed is the way, then you can say, but there is proof that God spoke from heaven. God spoke from heaven. And God said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Salvation comes not through Mohammed, but salvation comes through the living son of God. And then let's take a look at Matthew chapter 17, verse 5. Three times John spoke from heaven. Matthew, sorry, God the Father spoke three times from heaven via a voice. And this is the second time. And this is Matthew 17, verse 5. And here it says, while he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. And suddenly a voice came out of the cloud saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear him. And what had happened was that Peter and John and Andrew had gone to a mound with the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is called the mound of transfiguration. And all of a sudden, two others appeared with the Lord Jesus Christ. And then Peter was going to have a tabernacle or a church built for all three. And then came the voice from heaven. And God corrected Peter's thinking because Peter was impulsive. He thought maybe Moses and Elijah were the important people. And God said from heaven, this is my beloved son. Hear him. So again, we know that Christ is the living son of God. He is the one. And then the third time comes from John chapter 12, 27. By the way, this is one prayer where God didn't answer because it wasn't God's will. Even for the Lord Jesus Christ. So when we pray, we also need to pray in God's will, by the way. And this is what Jesus did here. And he said, now my soul is troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this purpose, I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. And the way God has glorified himself is because he gave us his son. His son was born for us. And now God will glorify his name again because he will offer his son as an offering for our sins to give us salvation. And that is how God will glorify his name through his son. And he answered a third time from heaven. And so I ask you to believe that Jesus is the son of God. He will forgive your sins and give you eternal life if you ask him. Now, we have come to the end of four witnesses that were given to us by the Lord Jesus. And the preacher has a request. Would you let me add three other witnesses to make it seven witnesses this morning? And I know it's almost lunchtime. Thank you. So may I present to you then the fourth witness? The fourth witness is the Holy Spirit himself. And I'd like you to refer to. Sorry, is that the fifth witness? Oh, sorry, that's the fifth witness. You're right. I'm getting excited here. I'm thinking about lunch. The fourth witness are scriptures themselves. The fourth witness were the scriptures that Jesus referred to in John chapter five, verse thirty nine. Now, which scriptures did the Jewish people and Jesus have in those days? Only the Old Testament, right? And the Old Testament, by the way, is contained in the Tanakh, the Jewish Bible. And then in the Jewish Torah, we have the books of Moses. We have the law. And, you know, many people say, well, scripture cannot be relied upon. And many of you young people, you hear from your friends that say scripture is not real. And I'm so glad. I'm so glad that you can invite them to go with you down to the Rome Museum, because at the Rome Museum at this time, what do they have? The Dead Sea Scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls. And what is the significance of that? And that was so, so wonderful for me when those scrolls were found, because the scrolls date back more than a thousand years before any of the other scriptures and the scrolls date back to before the birth of Christ, some of them. So there we have proof that the church could not have changed the writings. We have proof in the Old Testament that Christ is the Son of God. We have proof that the scriptures were not changed. We have proof that all of the arguments we hear that this is not of God, that it is wrong, because you see, the old prophets, they also had a problem, because when they prophesied and they were wrong, what happened to them? When they prophesied and let's say Jeannie Dixon was a prophetess and sometimes she was right and sometimes she was wrong. Now, when you were a Jewish prophet in the old days and you weren't right, you were killed. You were stoned to death. So they had to be right with their predictions for that time. They had to be right with their predictions for the future. So let us check in the Old Testament a little bit. And by the way, there were many, many scrolls found of the prophet Isaiah. There were 22 books or scrolls found about Isaiah. And when you go to the Rome, and I went to the Rome Museum to see the scrolls, they are not really scrolls. They only have fragments there. But some scrolls were found, but they might be in hands who will not release those scrolls. But even those texts that were found were such an encouragement to me to read a passage from Isaiah from before the birth of Christ. It was so incredible a feeling for me to see that my faith has substance. My faith is real. It is not blind faith, but it is faith that is based on the scriptures. And so let us check in Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14. Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14. Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14. And here it says, What sign will he give? That Jesus was born through the Virgin Mary. And what a wonderful, incredible thing that is. And then let us turn in Isaiah to chapter 53, verses 5 to 8. Isaiah 53, 5 to 8. Isaiah chapter 53, 5 to 8. If this talks about the Messiah, and you know, the Jewish people that do not believe only expected a reigning Messiah. They did not expect a suffering Messiah. But here are scriptures about 700 before Christ. Isaiah wrote, Yet he opened not his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent. So he opened not his mouth. In verse 8, he was taken from prison and from judgment. And who will declare his generation? And now comes the prophecy of Jesus death here in this passage in verse 8. For he was cut off from the land of the living. So the Messiah would be cut off. He would have to die. He was cut off from the land of the living for the transgression of my people. He was stricken for the transgressions of my people. He was stricken for which transgressions? My people. We are all of his people. And for our sins he was stricken and struck down. He would have to die. And here's the proof that we have a Messiah that had to go to the cross for our sins. And then I'd like you to turn to Micah chapter 5. To Micah is a minor prophet and he might be a little bit hard to find. He's sort of towards the end of the Old Testament. There's Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah. And then there's Nahum, Meggath. But in Micah chapter 5 verse 2, Micah chapter 5 verse 2, it says, But you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me, the one to be the ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting. And this is a prophecy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. And here the prophet Micah was told about 750 years before the birth of Christ that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. And now even a more incredible prophecy in Zechariah. And if you continue after Micah and you go on to Nahum and Habakkuk, then Zechariah comes. Zechariah 11 verse 12. Zechariah 11 verse 12. And then if you don't remember any of these passages, although Christ walked with the two brothers from Emmaus and He proved to them from the Old Testament, from Scripture, that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. That He was the Christ. And I'm sure He used some of these passages to prove to them that He was the Christ. And now let us refer to Psalm 22. If you remember no other psalm, if you remember none of the other scriptures, remember Psalm 22. Because it is a messianic psalm. It talks about the suffering Christ. It talks about the Christ being put on the cross for us with His hands pierced, with His feet pierced. And you can read the whole psalm at home, but I'm going to refer to Psalm 22. And we're going to go to verse 16. And starting at verse 16 through to 17 and 18. So here this talks about the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. He's being surrounded by wicked men. And then He says, They pierced my hands and my feet, which talks about the crucifixion. And this is about a thousand years before the birth of Christ because David wrote this psalm. And he wrote it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And it says, I can count all my bones. They look and they stare at me. By the way, none of his bones were broken. This is another prophecy here that none of his bones would be broken. What happened was when the people on the crosses didn't die soon enough, then the soldiers would come with a tuba before and hit it across the legs of those that were crucified so that their legs would be broken. So then they couldn't breathe anymore. And as soon as they lost their breath, they would die. But this never happened with Jesus. His legs were not broken. And this is a prophecy that he could count all his bones. They would not be broken. And then in verse 18, And they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. And when you read in the New Testament, the soldiers took his tunic, they took his clothing, and they gambled over his clothing. And this was here prophesied in the book of Psalms. And beloved, I ask you to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. He will forgive your sins and give you eternal life if you ask him. And I also like to, and I mentioned this, I think, a couple of weeks ago, but Jesus is not only the Son of God, but he's also God. Because in the prophet Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6, Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6, Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6, And here God called him names through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Chapter 9, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, that's the Lord Jesus Christ, the baby Jesus. And the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God. What? A baby called Mighty God? And then God the Father called him in the next part, this baby, he called him Everlasting Father. So Christ is also God, and on your sheet you have three things that you could possibly fill in. And Jesus is co-equal, and Jesus is co-eternal, and Jesus is co-ruling with God. Because we have a Mighty Savior, we have a Mighty God who's real. My God is real, I don't know about your God, but my God is alive. My God, I cannot see him with my physical eyes, but I can see him with my spiritual eyes. I cannot touch him with my physical hands, but I can touch him with my spiritual hands. And there are evidences in my life that this God is real. And so we have a wonderful faith, we have a faith that is alive. And so I ask you to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. He will forgive your sins and give you eternal life if you ask him. And then now let me add three witnesses. I jumped ahead a little bit before, but now let me present to you as the fifth witness, the Holy Spirit. And let us please turn to not the Gospel of John, but 1 John, which is sort of towards the end of the New Testament, the third book before Revelation. And we're going to read from 1 John, chapter 5, verses 6 and 7. 1 John, chapter 5, verses 6 and 7. 1 John, chapter 5, verse 6, it says, This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit, note here, here the Spirit becomes a witness. Even so, we cannot see the Spirit. And I'll explain in a minute how the Spirit can be a witness. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three who bear witness in heaven. Here are three witnesses, the Father, the Word, Jesus Christ is the living Word, and the Holy Spirit. And these three are one. And there are three that bear witnesses on earth, the Spirit, the water and the blood. And these three agree as one. So here we have the witness of the Holy Spirit. So how can the Holy Spirit witness to us? Well, I'd like you to get the answer from Romans, chapter 1, verses 19 and 20. Romans, chapter 1, verses 19 and 20. This is a wonderful passage, but it's also a very, very scary passage, because if we do not heed the Spirit in us, then we have a future that is horrible, a future that will end up in eternal death. And so, Romans, chapter 1, verses 19 and 20. And it says in verse 19, Because what may be known of God is manifest in them. What does that mean? What may be known of God is manifest in them. Yes, the Holy Spirit has already revealed in every person that will ever be born that there is a God, that there is a way to Him. And that Spirit is put into every person. And that knowledge exists in all of us. Now we can suppress it, we can reject it, and if we do, then we are lost forever. But here God says, Because that what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. So God has done it already. And when we go back to verse 18, let me read verse 18, because it talks about the people this verse is referring to. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Because what may be known of God is manifest in them. So these are evil people who are suppressing the truth. And God says the truth is already in you. It is there, you know in your heart. And by the way, all of you who hear me today, you know in your heart the Holy Spirit confirms that I'm telling you the truth. I'm not telling you lies. Because Christ is the way to God. Christ is the way, the answer. It is not the Muslim faith. It is not the Buddhist faith. It is not the Hindu faith. It is not that there is no God. So we have this wonderful faith. And then in verse 20, For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without what? Without excuse. So when all of mankind stands before God and says, I didn't know you, God, he will say, that's a lie, because I put the truth in you. You knew, and by the things I've made, you should have known. Now, I don't know if you people like National Geographic, and very often in the past they've shown tribes from the Amazon or from other part in the world. Now when they show these tribes, there's something that has really impressed me, and that is that they already knew that there is a God. How did they know? Nobody told them. So God had put it into their heart. And you know, there are many people who doubt, and one of these people is a person by the name of Dr. Francis Collins. Dr. Francis Collins was the person who had headed up the global DNA sequencing project, and he was an atheist. And he headed up this worldwide DNA sequencing project, and then he wrote a New York Times bestseller, which is called The Language of God. And I highly recommend to you, and especially young people and parents, if you want to give that book to your young people, it's called The Language of God, because Dr. Francis Collins, he could not scientifically explain the sequencing of 3.1 billion of four-letter DNA code that had to come together in sequence so that we can live, so that we can breathe. And if that code is out of whack, it's like a computer program. If you write a computer program and there's one false instruction, that program will not work. And it is the same with the DNA. 3.1 billion DNA code had to come together. And he said DNA could have never sequenced itself alone. And so I ask you to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He will forgive you your sins and give you eternal life if you ask him. And now I come to the sixth witness. And the sixth witness is really something that I needed very much, because the Apostle Paul said, our Christian faith is in vain. If Christ never rose, then our faith is in vain. And so I'd like you to turn to 1 Corinthians 15, verses 5 and 6. 1 Corinthians 15, 5 and 6. 1 Corinthians 15, 5 and 6. And here it says, and he was seen by Cephas. Cephas is another name for the Apostle Peter. That was the original name of the Apostle Peter. So here he was seen by Peter, then by the 12. And you might say, well, they were only 11 by this time point. But Judas had seen him before. But then the 12th Apostle that would be yet elected in the book of Acts was part of the brethren who also saw him alive. And after that, he was seen by over how many brethren? 500. So 500 saw Jesus alive. And some of them, they were so scared of him, they thought he was a ghost. And so he ate a piece of fish in front of him. And Dr. Luke tells us that, because Luke is a doctor, and he wanted to give a physical example that this Christ rose from the dead, and my faith is not in vain. And what a wonderful, wonderful proof that is. But there was another man, and I'm like that other man, really, and there was a man by the name of Thomas. And Thomas had a problem. He was one of the 12 disciples, and he was a stubborn man. And I'm stubborn and a little bit stupid. And so I want my own way. And Thomas said, I cannot believe it, that this Christ has risen from the dead, unless I can put my hands into his nail prints in his hands, unless I can touch his side and know that he's real, I will not believe. And then in John 20, verses 26 to 28, let us read what happened. Jesus then appeared to him and to the 12 disciples in John chapter 20, verses 26 to 28. And so this was eight days after the Lord Jesus was killed on the cross. And after eight days, his disciples were again inside and Thomas with them. Jesus came and the doors being shut and stood in the midst and said, peace to you. And then he said to Thomas, reach your finger here and look at my hands and reach your hands here and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing. And Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord and my God. And Thomas became a witness, an eyewitness that this Christ is real, that this Jesus Christ is real. And I ask you to believe that Jesus is the son of God. He will forgive your sins and give you eternal life if you ask him. And now we're coming to the seventh witness. And let us assume that there is a court case happening in the Mississauga Provincial Court. And you receive a subpoena in the mail and the subpoena says that you have to appear in the court, in the Provincial Court of Mississauga in the province of Ontario case versus Jesus Christ claiming to be the son of God. Would you appear as a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ in his defense? What would you say? The state's trial lawyer, the prosecutor would be prepared with his witnesses from the Muslim faith. He would be there with the Buddhist faith. He would be there with the Hindu faith. There would be agnostics and they would all say that Jesus is not the Christ. And I know many of you would be able to go to that courthouse. But beloved, you don't need to go to a courthouse. You can start as a witness right at your place of work, right in the street car, right in your car when you drive someone. You can be that witness that Christ is real. And so may I submit to you this day that you are a witness that is needed by Christ because he has kept you and me alive, that we might be witnesses because he came to save and seek that which was lost. And then he left that task for you and for me. And so may I submit to you this day that you're a seventh witness and I am a seventh witness. And so today we have covered seven witnesses. The first witness, John the Baptist, the greatest born of woman. He testified that Christ is the son of God. You have heard the witness of Christ's works, how Jesus did incredible works to prove that he is the son of God. You have heard God the Father himself saying, from heaven, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. Then you have heard the fourth witness, which is the scriptures proving that Jesus is the Christ. You have heard the Holy Spirit as the fifth witness, and he tells you, I've put the truth into your heart. You can't suppress it, but Jesus is the Christ. You have heard the sixth witness, which are over 500 and the disciples who saw Jesus alive, and then also doubting Thomas who touched him. And now you have heard from the seventh witness, and the seventh witness is also me, beloved. And I can not show you with my eyes the son of God, but I can show you with the Spirit of God, with the eyes of my Spirit, that he is the Christ. And there are some miracles in this newsletter that I have on the table. I just share one miracle in closing. I couldn't believe that God had chosen me, such an evil man, such a sinner, that I should bring the word of God. How can this be, Lord? I couldn't understand it, and then the chaplain of the United States billiard industry, he gave me a hard time, and he almost shouted at me, and he said, you've got to declare that you're called of God. And I said, how can I do that? How can I do that? And then finally I started to give in, and I didn't want to do it, because how can God use a man like me, full of sin, being a horrible example to young people, being a horrible example to my own family, having left my wife, having left my daughters. They prayed for me for 18 years. How can God use a man like this? And so I said, Lord, I really can't. And then he pushed me that I would declare that God had called me. And so I said, well, I'm called for revival, so I better look up about this revival. What is this all about? And so I put in the internet, in New Jersey, the word revival in New York. And up on the screen, this was on a Thursday afternoon, came the name Pastor Bruce Berliner from Wall Street Revival New York. And I said, well, Lord, am I supposed to contact this man, or what am I supposed to be doing? And then I left it, and I sort of forgot about it. And Friday morning, I had a 7 a.m. prayer meeting with men, and that was about 60 miles from New York City. So I went to this prayer meeting, and across on the tables from me said, Pastor, Pastor. And I said to him, Good morning, Pastor. And he said to me, Good morning, Pastor. And I said, I'm not a pastor. And then he looked at me, puzzled, and he said, Yes, you're called of God. You're a pastor. And I got angry at that time point. How can another person prophesy about me? They don't know about me, you know. And I sort of angrily said to him, Well, who are you? And he said, My name is Pastor Bruce Berliner from Wall Street Revival New York. And I fell nearly off my chair. And then Pastor Bruce Berliner said, I'm not sure why I'm here this morning. I was called by God to be here. I have a funeral this morning. I'm needed by my own church. And the Holy Spirit is calling me. And the Holy Spirit told me to come. And I got so scared. I got so scared at that time point. And I couldn't tell him that I knew why he was there. I just was physically not able to tell him. And then I was sort of in a daze for the rest of the morning. And it took me two weeks before I called him. And I told him that I was called of God and that he had prophesied correctly and could we have lunch. And we had lunch. And I shared with him all of the other miracles that God had done. And then he said, You're called of God and you must do what you're supposed to be doing. So beloved, I am your seventh witness this morning. I'm an evil man. I'm not a good man. But God saved me. God made me a different person. God made me a person that is now able to love. I was never able to love before. I was never able to be really kind before. And so God made me that seventh witness for you this morning. And then for those of you that are saved already, I ask you to share your witness because you are that seventh witness. Pastor Mark. Thank you, Edgar. When you started this morning, I thought I'm going to close in prayer and say that Edgar is the eighth witness today to me, not knowing that the seventh witness was us. But you're the seventh witness for me this morning. And I mentioned to Christine when she came in today, I didn't know what I thought I knew what I was going to preach in Indianapolis at the Revival Conference. And I had five pages of verses and some illustrations. And this morning when I woke up, the Lord laid on my heart, that's not what you're to preach. And this is the verse he told me to preach. And I argued with the Lord. I said, this can't be it. It was in Malachi chapter four, verse eight. See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, or else I will come and strike the land with a curse. And I said, Lord, I've never heard a revival message. Every revival message that I've ever heard, and anything that's documented of a revival talks about love for God and purity and holiness and all this. How can I talk about love for one another as a way to prepare for revival? And I was thinking that those were the words. What does this have to do with preparing for revival? And the Lord says, unless children respect their parents, unless parents love their children, unless husbands love their wives, unless wives love their husbands, unless there's familial love, I will strike the land with a curse. And the Lord said, how can you have revival if there's a curse on the land? And so I was struggling. I said, Lord, how can that prepare the way? And then here you read Luke one, 17, and it says this, and he will go on speaking of John the Baptist before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And the Lord says, that's it. Unless you preach that, they'll not be prepared for revival in North America. That's what the Lord told me. So you're the seventh witness this morning, brother. So thank you. God still speaks. He still works today. That's what my message is. Thank you. Thank you for preaching that. So let's just pray. Heavenly Father, we just thank you. You are God. You are real. You have sent the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit. We have that testimony in our hearts today. If we believe in you, I just thank you for our brother's powerful message. I pray that would encourage us to be bold in our witness. And Heavenly Father, we just pray now that you would not just as you bless this spiritual food to our bodies, our souls. So you bless this physical food to us and that we would be strengthened by it again. May we just enjoy one another's love and fellowship. And may we extend that love that you have shed abroad in our hearts to one another as well. And we thank you so much for this time together. We praise you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for all that has been said and done and will be done in the power of your spirit. In Jesus name. Amen.