Creation: Day 3 - Dry Land

Introduction

The world we live in is breathtaking and complex.  The power and majesty of it points to Something/Someone powerful and glorious, more wonderful than we can even imagine.  Who is this Creator who sculpted the mountains and filled the oceans with water?  What does the story of creation in Genesis tell us about the Creator’s character?

In a world where we feel so small, we yearn to know our place.  Who put us here?  Where do we belong in this mighty world?  What is our purpose?  We need firm footing to stand, to build a foundation for our life and our family.  Give us something solid we can believe in.

Genesis was written to help us know the Truth about God.  The creation story reveals the character of God and the life He offers us.  If you want to know God and why we are here, you can find out by studying the story of creation in Genesis.

Genesis 1:9-13 9 Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. 10 God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. 12 The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day.

On the third day, God created the dry land and vegetation.

We live on an incredibly beautiful planet.  A picture of the planet from space reveals a stunning blue sphere with swirling white clouds, continents of green and brown, all set against vast oceans.  The mingling together of all these elements paint a picture of a planet that is lovely and inviting.  Though each of the other planets in our solar system has their own beauty, none seem as friendly or appealing as Earth.  We look at the Earth and we feel, “This is home.”  Our earth would be much less appealing if it were only water.  God knew this and so He made our planet have dry land and water.

All the other planets take their name from a Greek or Roman god, but Earth derives its name from an Old English word that means “ground” or “soil.”  Similarly, the Hebrew word used for Earth in Genesis 1 is “eres,” which means field, ground, or land.  It would seem the very identity of our Earth is tied to the soil upon which we live and grow our crops.

The majority of the earth is cover by water.  However, God made a place for us to stand on solid ground.  30% of the Earth is dry land (approximately 200 billion square miles).  There are approximately 75 billion square miles of cropland or pastureland, 64 billion square miles of forests.  God made sure we have enough land to live on and that there are a variety of land types for us to enjoy—mountains, desserts, forests, prairies, and more.  All of this points to the creativity of our God.

God gives us a solid place to safely stand.

There is a remarkable difference between standing on solid ground with a firm footing and sliding around on slippery mud.  Mud is that uncomfortable surface that is halfway between dry land and water.  Mud can be fun to play in, but you don’t choose mud for firm footing.  No, for a firm place to stand or for a solid place to build our life, we want dry ground.

Jesus said, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.” (Matthew 7:24-25)  God gave us the ability to think and make wise choices, but we don’t have to overthink every choice we make.  We are fortunate that we have the teachings of God in Jesus Christ to guide our feet along a safe path.

Does it seem like your life is firmly planted on solid ground?  Or does it feel like your world is sliding around in the mud?  If you are slipping around, you may need to re-evaluate what you base your choices on.  Are you relying too much on your own understanding or do you rely primarily on what Jesus teaches in the Bible?  Be honest.  What really is the foundation of your life?

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

God gives us a good place to take root and grow.

You’ve heard the expression: “That’s about as boring as watching grass grow.”  

But watching a plant grow is only boring to us because it seems like nothing is happening.  If you speed it up and watch in in a time lapse, it's incredible. When God looks at us and sees us growing—physically and spiritually—He is pleased.  2 Peter 3:8 says, “A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.”  How exciting it must be for God to watch us grow, because He sees things at a different speed! Maybe it is something like a time lapse for God.

Part of the reason we are on this earth is to learn and grow from our life experiences.  Why would God put us here if it were not so?  (Either God would have skipped the whole earth-experience or He would use His unlimited power to solve all our problems in an instant.  But that is not the way our lives work.  We must struggle. We must exert ourselves.  We must stretch. We must endure hardships.  And through these trials, we learn and grow.  

In Mark 4:3-9 Jesus taught a parable about how we can grow and be fruitful in God’s Kingdom.  He said, “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. 4 As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. 5 Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” 9 Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

A relationship with God is soft enough for us to set down roots in.  God is not hard and harsh like the footpath or rocky soil.  Seeds (and relationships) cannot survive in these because there is no way to set down roots for a solid foundation or for nourishment.  God gives us the freedom to think for ourselves.  He gives us principles to live by in the Bible that steer us clear of unnecessary harm, yet we are free to apply those principles in ways that are relative to our current situation.  God is like the good soil that is soft enough for roots to grow down into and yet also firm enough to provide a plant with a sure foundation.  When we are firmly rooted in the Truth of God, we are nourished by the Living Water.  We have a hidden resource of refreshment to carry us through the tough times of life.  We look around at others who whither when life gets too hot for them, and yet we press on because we draw refreshment from our relationship with God.  The deeper our roots, the more secure we are.  Even when the storms of life beat upon us relentlessly, we may bend, but we do not break or fall over.  We are upheld because we are firmly rooted in faith and God holds us up when others topple over.

Conclusion

God made dry land for us to stand firm on and He gives us a firm place to take root and grow.  Is your life planted firmly on faith in Jesus Christ?  Are you tending your spirit each day to put down roots deeply in Him?  Days of drought are coming in your life when the trials of this life will beat down like the scorching summer sun.  Are your spiritual roots deep enough to draw refreshing nourishment from Christ when you need it most?  Storms will come too—storms that will threaten to uproot you and throw you down to the round.  Are your spiritual roots deep enough in Christ to hold you firm when the storm comes?  Christ calls to you today.  "Come.  Plant your life in me."

He Saves the Animals Too - God's Green Earth, part 2

Introduction

[To Listen to a podcast of this message, click here.]

Although modern Evangelical Christians are sometimes accused of shying away from teaching and preaching about environmentalism,  creation care has been part of the Christian faith for a long, long time.  Environmental themes and theology saturate the great hymns of the Church in songs like "For the Beauty of the Earth", "This is My Father's World", "How Great Thou Art", and "All Creature of Our God and King" (the words of which were written in 1225 by Saint Francis of Assisi).  Though the theology is deeply embedded in our faith, we don't always give creation care the attention it deserves.

Last week I shared how God created the green earth and we are supposed to take care of it as good stewards.  The earth is the Lords and all that’s in it.  You may make use of it in your need, but you shall not abuse it in your greed.  And in order to be good stewards who take care of the environment, you must get to the core of the problem.  You must repent of your sin and turn to Jesus as Lord so that he can restore you to a right relationship with God. Then you will recognize the earth is the Lord’s and you will begin to treat the earth with the care it desires as one of God cherished creations. 

Last week, I didn’t talk much about animals; and that’s what I want to concentrate on today.  What about the animals?  The title of the message is, “He Saves the Animals Too.”  The title is inspired by the story of Noah.  You know this story, but have you ever thought of why God saved the animals on Noah’s Ark?

 

Genesis 6:17-19

¹⁷ “Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die. ¹⁸ But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives. ¹⁹ Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood.

Why Did God Save the Animals?
Have you ever thought about why God saved the animals? I mean, if they’re not important (as some people seem to think), why didn’t God go to the trouble of gathering all the animals onto the Ark? They are important to God.

All creation suffers because humanity’s sinfulness.  When Adam and Eve sinned, they brought a curse on all creation, including the animals.  Even though the animals did nothing wrong, they were under the authority of people and so they suffer the curse right along with us.  The way God created the world reveals a hierarchy among creation and the animals.  As God's creating progresses, things move from more and more complex elements.  First God creates light, then  water, then sky, then land.  And now the life forms become more and more sentient:  plants then fish then birds then land animals and finally people.  We see in this a general hierarchy of sentience (the capacity to think, feel, perceive, and experience life). Plants are the least sentient, unable to think, feel, and perceive (except maybe at the most basic levels). Then there are fish, birds, land animals, followed by people, who are the most sentient of all animals.

As the most capable of reason and reflection and understanding, people are to govern everything God

created as faithful stewards.  Unfortunately, humans rebel against God and choose to do things their own way and sin enters the world. The curse of sin invades humanity and all creation suffers alongside people.  And so, God, in His mercy, saves the animals along with Noah.  God will save the animals and all creation in the end too.  Listen to what Paul said in the New Testament.

Romans 8:20-21

²⁰ Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, ²¹ the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 

2 Points
So far, we’ve established two points. Let me review them:  First, God saved animals in the Old Testament, in the story of Noah.  Second, in the New Testament, we see that God will save all creation in the end (which includes animals). Romans 8:21 says creation "will join God’s children in glorious freedom form death and decay."  Animals have always been and will be part of God’s great salvation plan. Salvation is not just about people. Salvation is about all creation – the people, the animals, and the land.

Animals Have Souls

This may seem odd.  Because if you’re like me, you may have heard that animals don’t have souls; that only people have souls.  This is what I was taught growing up, but it’s not what the Bible teaches.  Listen to Proverbs 12:10.  "A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal, But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel." (NASB)  

Just at face value, this Proverb teaches a great principle.  Humans should treat animals well and not misuse, abuse, or exploit them without proper care and dignity.  But if you understand a little about the original Hebrew of the Proverb, you can understand even more.  

The Hebrew word translated as "life" is Nepes and it means "soul".  So, in other words, the righteous man cares about his animal’s soul.  That doesn’t mean we bring them to church and preach to them.  It means we recognize that an animal is a living thing with a soul just like you and me.  And we must treat them with the respect and dignity of a living, soul-filled being.  

Nepes, or soul, is what Genesis 2:7 says God breathed into Adam when he formed Adam from the dust of the ground.  It is the same word God uses to describe the insects, fish, birds, and cows and dogs and cats He created as well.  Nepes is the same Hebrew word the Bible uses throughout the Old Testament to refer to the souls of people and animals who are alive because God imparted a soul to them.

Nepes is the soul word used to describe animals when God put the rainbow in the sky and made a covenant with Noah and all living creatures in Genesis 9:9-10 saying, “I hereby confirm my covenant with you and your descendants, and with all the animals that were on the boat with you—the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals—every living creature on earth.” Normally, God makes covenants with people; but, in this case, God makes a covenant with the animals and all creation.

Nepes is the same word God uses to describe the lifeblood that pumps through all living creatures.  This is lifeblood, the soul, which people are forbidden to eat.  Genesis 9:4, “You must never eat any meat that still has the lifeblood in it.”  In other words, don’t eat animals while they are still alive and their soul is still there.  Not only would this be cruel, it’s evil! It’s like eating the animal’s soul and God forbids it.  If anyone eats an animal that’s still alive (or drinks its blood), God says that person must be kicked out of the community! (Leviticus 7:27)  God says, people must first end the animal’s life by letting their lifeblood cease to flow.  God says we can still eat animals (we don’t have to be vegetarians). An animal’s soul departs when their lifeblood ceases to flow.  God gives us permission to eat animals properly and humanely slaughtered.

Animal Souls & God’s Plan
So yes, animals do have souls. And animal souls are sacred to God, just as the souls within you and me are sacred to God. I don’t understand everything about how animal souls work, but I do understand this:

Animals have souls,
Animal souls are sacred to God, and
God’s plan of salvation includes the souls of animals too.

Visions of Eternal Life Include Animals

We know animals will be among us in the Afterlife.  The Bible includes animals in many visions of eternity.  Such as:

Isaiah 11:6-7 - In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
    the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
    and a little child will lead them all.
⁷ The cow will graze near the bear.
    The cub and the calf will lie down together.
    The lion will eat hay like a cow.

Revelation 19:11 – Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

Revelation 5:13 - And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

Practical Application

"Well, that's all great, Preacher, and way out there.  But what does this all mean for me?"  Treat animals as the sacred, soul-filled, living creatures loved by God that they are.  They are not disposable commodities that can be thrown away like trash.  There is a hierarchy in the animal kingdom. An insect is not the same as a bird. A bird is not the same as a dog or cat.  A dog or cat is not the same as a person.  However, they are all worthy of care, dignity, and respect.  Care for them as God's creatures.  And don't think so highly of yourself that you disregard the feelings of lower creatures.  

Furthermore, I suggest we not take for granted the food we consume.  It’s OK to eat meat. God gave us permission. However, we should never disregard or disrespect or take for granted the life of the animals we eat. In our modern world have lost touch with the sacredness of the food we consume. I'm a hunter; I sometimes kill animals.  Some may think that's cruel, but I don't.  I think it puts me more in touch with the sacredness of life, including the food we eat.  A few years ago, I was turkey hunting.  [Click here to read a poem I wrote about the experience.] I wasn't having any luck and had seen nothing all morning.  So I decided to just walk around the hunting property because it was a beautiful day.  Up ahead along the path, I heard some crows calling and thought it was odd they were being so noisy.  I just had a feeling maybe there were some turkeys gathered. So I put my shotgun to my shoulder and eased around the trees to see an open clearing where several turkey's we grazing.  I picked the one I wanted and pulled the trigger.  Boom! One of the turkeys was down and flopping around in its death throws as the rest ran off for the trees.  I walked up and stood over the turkey as its flapping wings slowed and became still as the lifeblood of the animal ceased to flow.  It was one of the most sacred moments I've experienced in life--to be with an animal as its soul departed from the justified actions of my hands.  Latter, as I ate the turkey for dinner, I had a truly spiritual understanding of the sacrifice it takes to consume the food we eat.  Some might think hunting and killing an animal is cruel.  However, you did the same thing if you ate turkey last thanksgiving.  The only difference is you were not present when the animal you ate lost its life to provide your turkey dinner.

Do you think about the sacred sacrifice that must be made anytime you eat meet.  Even if you are vegetarian, a plant likely lost its life to provide your meal.  We need to rediscover the sacredness of life and death that's played out every time we consume our food.  Never take this for granted.

The Most Important Thing – Repent

In order to make things right, to take care of the world and all the animals in it, we’ve got to go deep down to the core of the problem.  It won't do to only treat the symptoms.  What really needed it deep repentance.  We’ve got to turn away from our own sinful, selfish ambitions that thinks we are the center of everything and we've got to turn back to God through Jesus Christ.  We must recognize that Jesus is Lord.  If Jesus is your Lord, then we recognize that our Biblical mandate is to be good stewards of His creation.  Creation is sacred to God.  He loves the land and all the animals.  And our Lord has commanded us to be good stewards of it all.  It is not optional.  It is our Lord’s command.

Are you going to obey?

Is Jesus your Lord?

Stewards of the Land - God's Green Earth, part 1

Grace’s Question

[Click here to listen to the podcast.]
My teenage daughter asked a simple question that sparked this blog.  She asked, “Why don’t preachers ever preach about taking care of the environment?  Why don't Christians talk about it more?”  Her question really got under my skin.  It bugged, because she’s right.  We don’t talk about the environment very much--at least not in the moderately conservative churches I've served.  We mention it and it's part of our social principles (and we recycle), but we don't dwell on it much.  I don't know if many people in my church would label themselves "environmentalist".

Environmentalism is a huge political issue in our times.  Politicians use the subject to garner votes because they either "care for the environment" or they are "not one of those radical tree huggers".  However,  I’m not interested in what politicians or people have to say about the environment.  I want to turn to God’s Word in the Bible.  The Bible is the unchanging Divine Truth of God.  It is the Christian’s foundation for how to believe and live.  What does God’s Word say about taking care of the Earth?  God’s charge to humanity to take care of His creation goes all the way back to the beginning of time.

Genesis 1:26-28

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

²⁷ So God created human beings in his own image.

    In the image of God he created them;

    male and female he created them.

²⁸ Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”

Stewards of the Land

God’s charge to humanity to take care of His creation goes all the way back to the beginning of time.  Some people zero in on the phrase in verse 26 that says people will "reign over" the rest of creation.  And some have used this as an excuse for people to do whatever they please to the earth.  But a more accurate understanding is reflected by the phrase, "Fill the earth and govern it."  A good governor does not use the governed for their own selfish benefit.  A good governor does what is best for the governed--protecting and caring for them.  God charged humanity to be stewards of the earth.  What is a steward?

A steward is a person who manages or looks after another person’s property.  This is the core of what a Christian must understand when it comes to how we treat the earth.  Actually, it’s at the core of every part of life, not just the environment.  It is the recognition that the earth does not belong to us.  It belongs to God!  Psalm 24:1 – “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.”

Suppose a friend owns a mansion on the beach and says, “I want you to go down to Florida and enjoy a week’s vacation—free of charge—in my mansion on the beach!”  And they hand you the keys. Hopefully, you would be very grateful and you would go have a good time, but wouldn’t you also be very careful to take care of your friend’s house?  You wouldn't want to disrespect their property or damage it in any way so as damage your relationship with your friend.  Well, God has handed us the keys to His earth.  And He’s not just a friend.  He’s God.  He wants us to enjoy His earth, but we shouldn't do anything to damage His earth in a way that damages our relationship with God.

Avatar

After playing in the snow yesterday, my kids came inside to get warm and they watched the movie, “Avatar”.  Have you seen this movie?  It’s a spectacular 3D movie directed by James Cameron.  "Avatar" was noted at it’s release for the whopping $237 million it cost to make (which I think was a record at the time).  The story-line is a stereotypical summary of the modern, secular (NOT Christian) worldview of environmentalism.  (And this may be why evangelical preachers don’t preach about environmentalism very much).  In the movie, an evil alliance between the military and a big business corporation is stripping the resources of a futuristic planet, Pandora.  The a group of environmental friendly scientist are studyong the planet and oppose military/industrialists who are greedy and ignorant.  The even purer native Pandoran aliens are idealized as they worship nature as their god.  The trees and plants and animals are sacred and the planet is alive.  And it's no coincidence the story is portrayed this way; it's basically the underlying worldview pop-environmentalists of our age.  It's mysterious, intriguing, simplistic, and it attracts a large following in our age.

The modern, secular environmentalist movement often treats nature as if it were divine.  They sometimes even call her “Mother Earth”.  Environmentalists wrap their arm around science and say, “See!  Science is on our side too!”  Meanwhile, they simplistically romanticize Mother Nature and turn her into their goddess.  The plants and birds and trees are all interconnected and spiritual and we need to love nature (or some would even say worship her).  This is what turns many Christians and more rationally minded people off to the label “environmentalist”.

God Cares About the Earth

If we truly care about God’s Green Earth and want to take care of the environment, we’ve got to get back to God’s plan!  The earth is very important, but it is not god.  Tree frogs in the Amazon rain forest are very important, but they are not as important as people.  We’ve got to be very, very careful that we don’t make nature into an idol we bow down to worship in our hearts and through our worldly philosophies.

At the same time, we’ve got to recognize that humanity is full of sin.  It is part of humanity's fallen, sinful nature that we selfishly think we are the only things that matter on this Earth.  Our selfish greed leads us to think we can use the earth’s resources however we want, even if it destroys the environment.  But the earth is not ours to use and abuse however we want.  The earth belong to God and the Lord allows us to use and enjoy His earth, but we must take care of it.

"But what can we do?"  Taking care of the earth is more than a philosophical debate.  What are some practical things you can undertake to do your part in taking care of the environment?  Perhaps you think I might say, "Reduce, reuse, and recycle!"  (That's a popular slogan these days for people who want to take care of the environment.)  And there's nothing wrong with those actions in and of themselves; they can be helpful.  But if we really want to make a difference, we've got to go deeper--all the way to the core.

The Most Important Thing – Repent

The most important thing you can do:  You must ask God’s forgiveness for rejecting His Lordship, repent of your sin, and follow Jesus Christ.  Please don't think these cliches that a preacher must say.  It is the very core of the what we must do.  You see, it's all about who's Lord.  If Jesus (God) is Lord and the earth belongs to Him, we must use it in ways of which He approves.  Jesus must be Lord of your life.  If you really want to make a real difference, you’ve got to change your worldview.  Recycling cans or protesting to save the whales just won’t cut it.  If humanity comes before God, then all is lost.  We will always do what we selfishly want to do regardless of what's best for the earth.  And if you treat nature as if it is god, it cannot deliver and you will be spiritually bankrupt.

When we accept the Jesus is Lord, and seek to worship and serve him, we find that middle road that leads us to truly love and care for all creation.  We will resist the extreme that worships nature and created things, elevating them to a status they were never designed to hold (and are not able to hold).  Neither will we abuse nature , thinking we can use it however we please, because we will strive to be the good stewards God created us to be.  We will know that God loves His creation and we will love it too, but love it for what it really is and not some romantic fantasy we've created in our own mind. 

Now what should you do to take care of God’s world?
Once you've got your heart right with God, is there anything else you can do to help others take care of the world?  Yes!  What did Jesus tell us to do?  He said, "Reduce, reuse, and recycle!" Wait? What? No! No!  He didn't say that!  Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of Jesus Christ, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."  You see, you’ve got to change people’s hearts and minds.  Isn't it interesting, with all the problems we face in our world--poverty, slavery, racism, sexism, addiction, trashing the environment, and so much more, Jesus never instructed his disciples to go stamp out these problems?  He said, "Make disciples..." because he knew something we're so slow to understand.  If you only attack the symptoms of brokenness in our world, you will never really solve them because the real problem is deeper.  It's in our hearts.  We are rebels. We've turned our back on God.  We want things our own way.  And our own way leads to all these issues--slavery, racism, sexism, addiction, trashing the environment, etc.  Win people's hearts for God and it will lead true healing.

Save the Planet
God’s ultimate goal is to redeem and restore all of creation.  People get saved, but so does the whole planet.  God’s green earth will be perfect once more, as it was in the beginning.  This is the whole message of the Bible!  There will be a New Heaven and a New Earth!  So, God’s Green Earth is not disposable and it’s not something we are allowed to misuse and abuse for our own selfish pleasure.  If you've been doing that, it's a symptom you're heart is still not really right with God.  It's time to wake up and make a change.  We are to be good stewards who care for God’s land.  “The Earth is the Lord’s and all there in.  You may make use of it in your need, but you shall not abuse it in your greed.” (Sandra Richter, “Christians and Creation Care: Seven Minute Seminary”)  

Perhaps today is the day you bow your head in prayer and ask for God's forgiveness.  Perhaps today is the day you decide to follow Jesus as your true Lord, to let Him truly be in charge of your life.  Perhaps you've already done that before, maybe many years ago; but today, you realize you have not been a very faithful steward of the earth.  Then now is the time to repent and let the Jesus be the Lord of your life in this area too.  Christ came to save you as a whole person and that includes every area of your life.  When you realize any area out of accord with his will, you must turn it over to him and seek the Holy Spirit's help in following Him.  I invite you to do so right now.

Glory in the Heavens

Introduction

When I think of July, I think of fireworks.  Most people probably don't think of Christmas in July.  But it's not a bad idea.  December is such a busy month and the holiday season is so commercialized; the true meaning of Christmas can get lost amidst all the hype and Christmas lights. So today, let's keep our thoughts firmly focused on the Christ Christmas celebrates. 

Slides – Luke 2:6-15

⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

Pointing People to God

Listen to that...  Do you hear it?  Silence is never really silent, is it?  There's always some sound in the background.  People coughing and shuffling their feet; the sound of the air conditioner running.  I wonder what sounds the shepherds heard that night as they were watching their sheep in the dead of the night outside Bethlehem. A fire crackling or sheep noises.  You only hear those kinds of sounds if you're quiet and paying attention. And so it was for the shepherds that night in Bethlehem when an angel appeared among them.  It was quiet and they were listening for any sounds that seemed out of the ordinary--a wild animal or some other danger.  That made the approach of the angel all that more obvious as the glory of God shown around them.  They came to point people to Jesus.

Jesus came to point people to God.   For years, God had sent signs to point people to God, but they were always missed or ignored. We’re usually too busy or self-absorbed to notice; and so God came Himself in the person of Jesus.  God really didn't want us to miss Him this time.  So God also sent angels to point the shepherds to the baby Jesus lying in a manger in Bethlehem.

The Angels

The angels came to point people to Jesus.  I have never seen an angel, let alone a whole host of them as the Christmas story describes. Have you? I've heard stories of other who've seen angels.  And the Bible tells many stories of their appearance.  The book of Hebrews in the New Testament advises that we should always be kind to strangers, because you never know if it might be an angel in disguise.  I have never seen and angel (at least that I was aware of).  However, I have seen many other glorious wonders in Heaven that have pointed me toward Jesus and God.

Fireworks

Many people have seen fireworks blasting away in the sky this month.  Did you?  Do you remember the first time you saw fireworks?  I do.  What a glorious sight to see the colorful, sparkling lights fanning out like giant fiery hydrangeas in the sky!  To a young child, these are fascinating and captivating and beautiful.  As an adult, now more aware of the meaning of the Fourth of July as the celebration of our nation’s independence, the fireworks are even more magnificent because they represent to me how God set our nation free from the tyranny of Great Britain, against all odds.  And I can see God’s hand at work in the development of our nation as I remember how many have sacrificed throughout the years.

Lightning

But there is another light show in the sky that points me to God—lightening.  Many are afraid of thunderstorms.  I was too when I was a young child.  To help, my mom would take me out on our screened-in front porch and hold me while we watched the storm together.  It is one of my fondest early memories—sitting in my mother’s lap in a rocking chair and her soothing voice, feeling the hot summer air quickly cooled by the wet rain falling as a misty breeze filtered through the screens.  And up in the sky, you can see the lightning flicker across the clouds away in the distance, like fire flickering in a giant, Japanese lantern floating across the sky.  And the deep rolling of the thunder that speaks of a tremendous underlying power in this world.  How glorious!  If there is a Creator who made it all, how glorious and beautiful and powerful must He be.

Stars

Do you ever go out at night, in the quiet, and just stare up at the stars?  I admit, I used to do it a lot more than I do now.  There is too much to distract me these days.  But as a child, we didn’t have air conditioning in our home and it was quite hot in the house by evening.  So, I often stayed outside in the summer for as long as I could.  And up in the sky you can see the same stars the shepherds saw in Bethlehem.  Throughout the ages, people have speculated as to what are these mysterious lights in the night sky.  Some have thought them to be gods or the spirits of their ancestors.  In modern times, science has shown they are giant balls of burning gas thousands of times a big as the earth and trillions of miles away.  The closest stars are around 4 light years away (i.e. it would take 4 years to get to them if you could travel at the speed of light).  The farthest stars are 5 billion light years away!  And there are about a billion trillion stars in the universe!  Some think science has disproved the existence of God.  But I look up at the glorious  stars in the heavens and see that God is more magnificent than we ever realized before!

Birds

I see living things in the heavens that point me to God too.  For instance, what a glorious thing it is to see a flock of pelicans soaring across the waves over the ocean.  How graceful they are—flying in perfect formation, making minute adjustments to the wind, barely needing to flap their wings, spotting a school of fish swimming in the water below, and then circling around to dive at breakneck speed and splash into the water to catch their meal.  We sometimes refer to an unintelligent person as a “bird-brain”.  That's ironic because with all our human intelligence and ingenuity, we only figured out how to fly relatively recently.  And now that we’ve had a little over a hundred years to practice, we still don’t even come close to the grace and beauty of a bird in flight.  If God created the birds that soar above, He is truly magnificent indeed.

People

And yet, He created people too.  And look at us!  We are amazing!  Of all the creatures in God’s green earth, we are unique and special!  There is no other animal like us.  The closest, scientists say, are chimpanzees.  And, yes, they are amazing too.  But there is no animal who can talk like us, write words on paper (and now type on a computer screen).  There is no animal that has looked at a bird and dreamed of being able to fly and then figured out how to do it.  There is no animal who has looked up at the stars in the night sky and wanted to go there and then built a rocket-ship to fly to the moon.  Some say that humans acquired these abilities by chance.  I say that makes no sense; I say the hand of God must have been involved for people to be so incredibly different from all the other creatures on the planet and to have learned all that we have and gained mastery of all others animals. 

Romans 1:20 All these things—fireworks, lightning, stars birds, people (and many more) point me to God.  It is absolutely true what Romans 1:20 says, “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

If we just look around, the evidence it there.  The existence and nature of God should be obvious to anyone who is honestly searching for answers.

Jesus

But the glory of Christmas is that God didn't want to leave anything to chance.  Yes, we should know about God just by looking at all the glorious things He made.  But God wants to be absolutely sure you know Him.  And if you want a job done right, you do it yourself.  So God came Himself in the flesh.  Jesus is God. 

Matthew 1:23 - “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!  She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

John 1:1 - "In the beginning the Word already existed.  The Word was with God, and the Word was God." [Jesus is the Word.]

Hebrews 1:3 - "The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God..."

Colossians 1:15 - "Christ is the visible image of the invisible God."

Jesus is God.  He was God when the whole world was created.  He designed the birds and the clouds, and lightning and thunder.  He flung the stars across the universe with a word.  And He created you and me.   And yet, mysteriously, Jesus is also human.  He was human in every aspect: born as a baby, had to learn how to walk, grew up in a village, went to school, dealt with bullies and chores and being hungry and hot in the summertime and cold in the winter.  He knew about the yearnings of an adolescent heart, that wants to find their one true love and get married.  But Jesus, God in human flesh, came to our world for a special purpose.  He came to show us what God is like, how God loves us beyond all measure.  We are God’s one true love.  And He was willing to die for us.  And He did die for us on the cross at Calvary.

When we look at Jesus, we see God--the most perfect representation and proof of God.  We see God’s incredible love—to leave the glory of heaven to come live in our broken world and ultimately to die for us on a cross, to pay the price of our sin.  And now everything that could be done to point you back to God has been done.  All that’s left is a choice—your choice. 

Will you choose to follow God through Jesus Christ?

Or will you choose to continue to follow something or someone else?

I pray you choose Jesus.