In the Beginning: What Creation Tells Us About Ourselves

Welcome

Ask anyone if they can remember last week’s sermon - What Creation Tells Us About God

What was the main takeaway?

Read Genesis 1:26-31 and Genesis 2:1-25

PRAY

Give the title of today’s sermon

Give a short recap - God makes Adam (from what?), He tells him to (do what?) reign over the land and animals, he does that, and then God says it is not good for him so be alone, so He makes Eve (from what?).

Life’s Big Questions: How did we get here? What is our purpose? What is the meaning of life?

If we look to the beginning of humanity’s existence, we can find some answers to these questions.

3 points today… one more than last time!

God Made Us In His Image

Read Genesis 1:27

Genesis 1:27 NLT

So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

BOOM - Colossal, Vital, Life-Altering Truth here!

Humans (you and I) are made in the image of the one, true, living God.

That sounds important - but what does it mean?

Definition of Image: something that is a likeness or representation resembling something or someone.

Genesis 1:27 MSG

God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female.

You, me and every human being on planet earth reflect God’s nature - in some way, we share in His likeness

And while we do reflect His nature, we do so imperfectly.

You are an image-bearer of the God of the universe, and this means that every human being has inherent worth and dignity.

How do we reflect God’s nature?

Like God, We Create

As we can see from the creation narrative, our creative ability reflects God’s ability

Like God, We Love

1 John 4:7–9 NLT

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.

Like God, We Think

INSERT ILLUSTRATION ABOUT WHY SCIENCE WORKS

Isaiah 55:8–9 NLT

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

God Made Us to Steward His Creation

Notice, God gave Adam and Eve a job to do. Well two jobs actually (Genesis 1:28):

Fill the Earth

Reign Over the Earth

Fill the Earth is pretty straightforward - yes, God directed mankind to have and raise children and this is the natural and expected outcome of most marriage relationships, like Adam and Eve enjoyed. Because of sin and the fall, this is sometimes not possible and God gives grace in those situations, but children should be the usual expected and joyous outcome of marriage.

But lets talk about “reign over the earth”… here are the jobs God gave to Adam and Eve:

Genesis 2:15 NLT

The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.

Genesis 2:19 NLT

So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one.

God made Adam (and now us) rulers over creation, a concept summed up well by the word stewards.

Stewards - a person employed to oversee the affairs of another

God has entrusted us with His affairs and property - the Earth and one another!

From creation, we can see two important aspects of good stewardship...

Good Stewardship Requires Work

How many of you like to work?

Yes, God immediately have Adam a job! To name the animals and the tend the garden.

Humankind has been working a job ever since the very beginning - work is central to our purpose and a vital part of our stewardship.

But we don’t like work Aaron - why is work so hard?

Turns out, work is hard as a consequence of mankind’s rebellion to God’s good plan for Him.

But, even though it is difficult, work is a part of fulfilling our purpose as stewards. Work is Good!

Proverbs 18:9 NLT

A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things.

Colossians 3:23 NLT

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

Work, steward creation and all that God has given you, as though you are working for Him rather than just for people.

But, while good stewardship requires work, it also requires...

Good Stewardship Requires Rest

Now, who likes to rest?

Notice the seventh day of creation… what does God do?

Have you ever thought about why? Did God need to rest? Weird, right?

God modeled a pattern of work, then rest, because WE need to rest.

He makes it a little more clear when He gives the Israelites the 10 Commandments:

Exodus 23:10–12 (NLT)

“You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working.

Throughout ancient history, God required the Israelites, His chosen people before the church, to take a day of Sabbath rest - a legally required day to rest from work, celebrate God’s provision, and give Him praise.

While the Sabbath is no longer legally required of New Testament believers, a regular period of rest is still the biblical standard for humanity as demonstrated by God in creation.

How can we steward well our resources given by God if we have no energy to care for them from?

You cannot pour from an empty cup

The oxygen mask on an airplane

God made you to work, and he made you to rest, in a perfect proportion He designed. We must be good stewards of all He has given us.

Which one do you naturally tend to, overwork or laziness? BOTH are equally sinful and a rejection of God’s design (no matter what our culture or your generation may tell you)

Now, point 3...

God Made Us to Be In Relationship

God makes Adam, gives him a job, and then something remarkable happens...

What does God say about Adam at this point? Genesis 1:18

Genesis 2:18 NLT

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”

It wasn’t good for Adam to be alone, he needed some help, a companion

So what is God’s solution? - Eve!

We are not made to be alone… and we never have been!

We were not build to be alone… Solomon, the wisest and richest man to ever live, put it this way:

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 NLT

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

The New Testament has a ton to say about the nature of community, especially Christian community, likening it to a body.

Here are is the reality: We need each other and were made that way.

Not only do we need relationship with each other, but like Adam and Eve originally experienced, we need relationship with God. Jesus invites us to bring our burdens and rest in him:

Matthew 11:28–29 NLT

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

The U.S. Surgeon General issued a health advisory just a couple of months ago entitled Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation… here are some lines from the website:

“What if there is something in our everyday lives that can transform our whole health and well-being?

Something that can decrease the risk of developing and worsening:

Heart disease, Anxiety, High blood pressure, Dementia, Depression, Diabetes

It exists. It’s something that needs to be cared for and nurtured like a garden, by all of us. It can create healthier, more prosperous and resilient communities.

That something is called social connection.

Social connection is essential to our health and well-being.

Did you know that lacking connection can increase the risk of premature death to levels comparable to smoking daily?”

I love when secular science makes a revelation about something we’ve known for centuries because God has already told us. We need each other.

And what the U.S. Surgeon general has missed is the correct solution to this epidemic… kind of life-giving, heart disease and anxiety reducing relationship we need is found a) in relationship with God and b) in relationship with the body of Christ, i.e. other believers. This is how God has designed us to be.

So, in recap...

God Made Us In His Image, God Made Us To Steward His Creation, and God Made Us for Relationship

Again, these are huge, enormous topics that we could easily spend weeks talking about, but we only have time for cursory look. But this look at creation does give us a some pretty good answers for some of those hard life questions like “why am I here?”

You are here because:

God desired you to be.

He made you in such a way that you reflect His image, imperfectly now, and someday, should you choose to follow Him and make Him King in your life, perfectly in a heavenly body.

He desired you to have relationship with Himself and with others, and in doing so you to bring Him the glory and honor He rightfully deserves

You have a purpose to fulfill.

God has given you the responsibility of stewardship; stewarding all of the things He has given you, including your own physical, emotional and spiritual life, those of your children and family, and any resources you have been given including your job, money and/or home, and most importantly your time. This includes the spiritual stewardship of your family, raising them to know the Lord and His love for them.

Also, you have an important role to fulfill in the body of Christ. Your gifts are designed to achieve meaningful purpose in the body, whether you are an arm, a leg, or a toe.

When we do these things and give God the glory for it, we live our lives fulfilled. Ultimately, living within God’s creation framework is for our good and His glory.

So, how are you doing?

First and most importantly, are you following God and do you love Him? Are you resting in Him, speaking to Him in prayer and listening to Him through His Word? Have you committed to following Him and making Him King of your life? You cannot achieve your God given purpose without relationship to Him.

Are you stewarding well the resources God has given you? Do you spend your time well, or does your time evaporate while staring at a screen? Do you spend your money like it was given to you by God, or do you waste it on satisfying your whims and temporary desires? Are you stewarding your family’s hearts and minds by challenging them to know God and His purposes for them?

Do you value others and see them as people created by and loved by God? Are you seeking constructive and uplifting relationships, especially within the body of Christ?

Surely, we are not all doing these well, but let us strive to grow in each of these areas this week. Ask the Holy Spirit each morning to help you believe the depth of Christ’s love for you and to give you the ability to bring God glory through your actions.

Great Are You Lord