Maker of Heaven and Earth

Introduction

Analogy of Offensive lineman trying to be a Wide Receiver.

Key Point: If we believe that God is the creator of all things, then we will live as his creatures who are made in his image instead of living like we are the creator who makes God in our image.

Introducing the Artist

Genesis 1:1 tells us four things about God:

God is Eternal.

He has always existed.

God is Infinite.

He is completely set apart from the universe. . . outside of time and space.

God is Omnipotent.

He created everything out of nothing with the power of his word.

God is Independent.

He is self-existent and needs nothing. He created not out of need, but simply because it was pleasing to him.

God did not create the universe or us as people because he needed us or he was lonely. Instead, God created all things to magnify his glory and enjoy him.

The point of Genesis 1-2 is not necessarily about the specific details as to how the world was created, but rather who created everything.

We should not get distracted by the details of asking questions that the original audience was not asking and did not see as important.

Moses wrote the story of creation in Genesis to make clear that Yahweh was the creator of all things, not these pagan deities, nor the idea that matter has always existed and somehow created itself.

When it comes to Creation, faithful theologians and scholars who believe to the inerrancy of Scripture have come to different conclusions about when and in what process the earth was created. . . but two things that every Christian must agree on are:

God supernaturally created all things.

Adam and Eve were real people.

Have students share with their friend their favorite piece of art, movie, song, or landscape in nature.

These things are great, but imagine if after enjoying the artwork, you got to shake hands with the artist. . . ponder that after being amazed at the musical score, you got to meet the composer.

Let’s read Isaiah 40:21-28 to shake hands with our great Creator God who made all of these things.

Isaiah 40:21–28 ESV

21 Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; 23 who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. 24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. 25 To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.

Creator and the Creature

Isaiah 45:9-25. -tell them to write this down and read it tonight.

Believing that God is the maker of heaven and earth makes clear that God is the creator and we are his creatures. This distinction prevents us from three misunderstandings. . .

It stops us from misunderstanding God.

We are made in God’s image. . . Yet often, we make God in our image.

God is incomprehensible. . . not unreasonable but unfathomable. . . we cannot fully grasp his greatness.

Psalm 139:6 ESV

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

Romans 11:33 ESV

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

It stops us from misunderstanding the world.

We should enjoy God’s good world and allow his creation to help us worship him.

God is not the universe (pantheism) and the universe is not a part of God (Panentheism). . . rather. . . God is completely distinct and set apart from his creation.

Example: A sign to the beach.

“A sign is an important thing, but it is not the thing, so it must not be your destination.” -Paul Tripp

It stops us from misunderstanding ourselves.

Since we are not our own maker, we should not think of ourselves as our own master.

Isaiah 45:9–10 ESV

9 “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’? 10 Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’ or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’ ”

We must constantly remind ourselves that God is the creator and we are his creatures. We are not in a position, nor do we have any right to question his ways or his commands.

Do You Believe?

If we believe that God is the maker of heaven and earth, then we will. . .

Rest in Him.

We don’t have to be afraid or worry. Since he has the power and wisdom to create the universe with his voice, surely he has the power and wisdom to help us and deliver us in any circumstance that we will face.

Psalm 121:1–2 ESV

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Depend on Him

We were created to be dependent upon God. Independence should not be our goal. Spiritual maturity is seen not in becoming more independent from God but becoming more desperate for a daily dependence on him.

Understand and Acknowledge Our Limits.

Since we are created beings, we are finite. We cannot do everything. We must learn how to say no to good opportunities.

Unlike God, we have limits. When we think we can do it all, we are acting like we are God and expressing that we don’t need him.

Thank and Praise Him.

We will not grumble and complain. God has established every season and circumstance in our lives. If we grumble about our lives then we are saying that God is not good, he does not know what he is doing, and we can do better.

If God is the maker of our bodies, then we should be thankful for the bodies and physical features he has given us. We are fearfully and wonderfully made by the Lord and our souls should know this very well.

Love and Care for what He has Made.

Generally, this applies to caring for all creation, but specifically this means we must love and care for all people who have been made in his image.

Remember God’s Purposes.

If God made all things, he made them for a reason. We must always and continually ask. . . “What is God’s purpose for ___________ ?”

We must make God’s purpose our purpose in our everyday life.

Submit to Him.

If God is the maker of heaven and earth, that also means he is our maker. This means that he is the owner of our bodies, our soul, our mind, our desires, our sexuality, our skills, our relationships, our jobs, our money etc. . . and that means he decides how we should live and express these things.

We do not own anything, everything is God’s therefore we should give everything back to him and use it to glorify him.

We should not think something is right because it does not cause anyone else harm.

CS Lewis says: “For example, let us go back to the man who says that a thing cannot be wrong unless it hurts some other human being. he quite understands that he must not damage the other ships in the convoy, but he honestly thinks that what he does to his own ship is simply his business. But does it not make a great difference whether his ship is his own property or not? Does it not make a great difference whether I am , so to speak, the landlord of my own mind and body, or only a tenant, responsible to the real landlord? If somebody else made me, for his own purposes, then I shall have a lot of duties which I should not have if I simply belonged to myself.”

Expound a little on this quote.

Let me get specific for a moment. . .

Relationships: Where are you experiencing trouble in your relationships because you are living like they belong to you?

Money: Where is the doctrine of creation calling you to change the way you think about and handle your money?

Your body: Where has thinking your body belongs to you set you up for sexual temptation and trouble?

Time: Where is the doctrine of creation calling you to change the way you think about and use your time?

Trust in Him

He alone is God and he alone is the only savior.

Why do we need a savior?

Isaiah 45:23 is quoted in Philippians 2:9-11 in reference to Jesus.

Only Jesus became a human and can identify with you.

Only Jesus perfectly fulfilled God’s law as a human in your place.

Only Jesus paid the debt of your sin to God on the cross and fully bore God’s wrath for your sin.

Only Jesus rose again from the grave, never to die again.

Only Jesus can be your mediator between you and God because he only is your great high priest and can make intercession for you.

Isaiah 45:18–23 ESV

18 For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): “I am the Lord, and there is no other. 19 I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the Lord speak the truth; I declare what is right. 20 “Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save. 21 Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. 22 “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. 23 By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’

Turn to Jesus tonight and be saved. . . for he is your maker and he is your only savior.

Let’s pray.