CREATION (2)

Doxology:

This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!

Scripture Reference: 1 Cor 15:1-4

Context

We finished up our series “Experiencing God” last week, and as we look at the calendar, Easter will be upon us before we know it. Easter Sunday is the first Sunday in April, April 5th, so that gives us six weeks.

This year, I want us to spend more than just a week or two focused upon Easter. Easter is the most important holiday within the Christian faith. It is when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

So starting today, we are going to be walking through a series that will take us straight into Easter.

And in this series, we are going to focus our thoughts on “The Gospel of C.H.R.I.S.T.”

That is going to be the name of our series: “The Gospel of C.H.R.I.S.T.”

And to work through this series, we are going to use the title “Christ” as an acronym. Each week, we will move on to the next letter and cover the next topic… Lord willing… and by doing so, we are going to unpack the Gospel of Jesus.

***Backstory of me and the Gospel.

The word Gospel is in the Scriptures over 100 times, and it is indirectly mentioned more times than that.

Truth be told, regardless of how many times it is there, the Gospel is the central focus point of everything. Everything in Scripture, regardless of what it is, ties back to the Gospel in some way.

It is the foundation the Paul spoke of in 1 Cor 3:

1 Corinthians 3:11 NKJV

11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the starting point, and everything we believe from that point forward must stem from and align with the Gospel. If it is out of alignment with the Gospel, then it is out of line all-together.

Our verses that we are going to be using as our series text comes from 1 Cor 15:1-4

1 Corinthians 15:1–4 NKJV

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

Notice that Paul again says that it is their belief in the Gospel message that brought about their salvation. It is what they first received, but it is also that which they still stand firm on.

And what is the Gospel?

In its most basic, simplest form, the Gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Those three essential truths of Jesus serve as the foundation of the Gospel. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And for those of us who have been in church our whole lives and grew up with the accounts of Scripture, that in and of itself makes perfect sense. We don’t need anything else. But what about those who did not have that luxury?

What about those who say, “Ok… but what is so special about Jesus’s death or burial? I didn’t ask Him to die for me, and furthermore… why do I need someone to die for me? I’m not perfect by any means, but I am also not a bad person. And resurrection from the dead… come on!! Do you really believe that someone resurrected from the grave after being dead for three days? And God… You really think that God sent His son from Heaven to be a man… even to the point of dying on a cross? If Jesus was really the Son of God, there is no way that He would have allowed Himself to be killed by mere men. That doesn’t sound much like a God to me!”

How do we rebuttal this? How do we make sense of these questions and claims from those who know nothing of the Scriptures?

Friends that is what this series is going to do. We are going to break down the Gospel in a way that it not only answers these questions, but shows just how badly we need God in our lives.

So if you have friends, family members, neighbors, or co-workers that challenge the Gospel, or simply haven’t seen it in a light to where they can fully surrender to it just yet, encourage them to come over the next six weeks, or at least watch the messages online.

And us as the church… let us be praying that this series will not only take us deeper into our walk with God as we come to understand the Gospel on a deeper level, but also that it will have its perfect work in those who are willing to listen to it.

Let’s Pray!!

Content

In order for us to fully grasp the Gospel, we have to go all the way back to the beginning. So today, we are going to be speaking on the topic of “Creation”.

Creation

We have to start with creation, because it is the beginning of a thing that sets its course. And where did it all begin? It began with God!

Genesis 1:1 NKJV

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

It has amazed me over the years that with all the scoffing against the legitimacy of the Bible, that even the most impressive intellectual unbelievers can not even get past the first 10 words of Scripture.

In the beginning God… There was nothing else. Many scholars also agree that there was nothing in the beginning. But in their minds, somehow nothing became everything. Nothing somehow produced something, and that something evolved into something else, which evolved into something else, which ultimately led us to where we are today.

Matter of fact, it has amazed me over the years how that so many people have made their living studying and teaching on absolutely nothing.

But right here in the first ten words of God’s Word we have the answer to this seemingly difficult dilemma. “In the beginning God…”

It was God who created the heavens and the earth, and with His creative power, all He had to do was speak it into existence.

Psalm 33:6 NKJV

6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

It is so important that we get this truth right out of the gate. Its important to get because every design has a designer. When we look at this building, we know that someone designed it and built it. When we look at these pews, we know that someone created them. When we look at a watch on our wrist, we know that someone designed that watch. These things didn’t just happen; they were created; they were designed.

The earth is no different. When we look at all of the intricacies of the earth, we instantly realize the impossibility of all those things working out on their own. Their must be a grand designer behind it all. It is the only plausible explanation. Nothing else even comes close to making sense.

Scripture tells us who that designer is. It is God.

Psalm 89:11 NKJV

11 The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.

Just as we perceive that every design has a designer, we can also perceive that every designer created their design for a purpose.

If we look at this building, we know it was created to host people. If we look at these pews, we know that they were created to be sat in. If we look at the written Word of God, we know it was created to be read.

And this same truth exists for the world we live in. This home that we call earth was no accident. It didn’t just happen. It was created with purpose in mind.

Isaiah 45:18 NKJV

18 For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.

God had a purpose when He created this world. It says He did not create it in vain, but that it would be inhabited.

There you go. Now it makes sense why trees produce oxygen. They do that because we, the people whom God designed this world for, need oxygen to breathe. Now we begin to understand why things are the way they are. God created this world in a way that we as human beings could live here, exist here, and thrive here. He created it for us.

And that moves us on from the creation of the world itself, because now we begin to see that God not only created the world, but then He created us and put us here so that the world could fulfill its divine purpose.

Genesis 5:1–2 NKJV

1 This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.

So God created us, and yet again, just as we were able to see in the design of the earth for its purpose, we see that we were created with a purpose as well. It gives us some very detailed information as to how we were designed by God.

We were created in the likeness of God. We were created male and female. That is very detailed information.

Genesis 1 also gives us information concerning our design:

Genesis 1:26–30 NKJV

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.

Here we see the same information… we were created in the image of God and we were created male and female… but we also see a glimpse into our divine purpose.

We see that God created us in His likeness so that we could rule and reign in His stead. God created mankind to be the superior of all His beings that He created. He created us to have dominion over all of the other creatures. He created us to be in charge.

We also see that He created us male and female for the purpose of reproduction. He told Adam in verse 28, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it...”

God knew that it would be impossible for only two human beings to carry out His mission across the face of the whole earth, so He told them to have children, teach them their purpose, their mission, and then send them out to do elsewhere what you are doing here. By doing this, you will be able to accomplish your mission throughout the whole earth.

Now we need to plant our feet here for a little bit, because this right here is going to teach us why we are here… why we were created… what our God-given purpose in life really is.

Created To Rule

Genesis 1:26 NKJV

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

God’s design for man was to have dominion over everything else on the earth. This word dominion is an interesting word. It doesn’t mean that one rules from a place of power, but rather from a place of position.

Mankind was designed by God to be the rulers of this world. This doesn’t mean that they were the strongest. It means that they were put in a position of authority.

In the Bible, there are two different words used to speak of power:

Dynamis - Shear power, strength. Someone who has dynamis is strong.

Exousia - Authoritative power.

Dunamis speaks of shear strength, but exousia speaks of authority.

God who is the ultimate authority as the creator of all things, created mankind and then placed us in a position of authority. He placed us in charge of everything else.

This was part of Adam and Eve’s design. They were to rule over all the other animals from a place of authority.

But also notice that this authority was given to them by the ultimate authority. It is God who reigns. We were designed to rule, but He is the only One who reigns.

So mankind was designed to follow God’s lead. We were created to carry out God’s will in life. We were created to be His ambassadors on earth.

An ambassador is a representative. If there is some kind of diplomatic meeting and the head of state can’t make it (the president, prime minister, etc.), then they send an ambassador in their place. The ambassador has complete authority to act as if they are the head of state themselves. They have been given all authority to make decisions, to align/unalign with other parties, etc.

So God created mankind to be His ambassadors over all the other creatures, but God remains as the only sovereign being who is in total control.

We will see the importance of this as we continue through the series, but for now let me just emphasize that even though our position of authority has changed, His has not.

God always has been, and always will be the only sovereign being who is in total control. He is still the Almighty Creator of the universe. He is still the final authority of all things.

And if we want the blessings of God, the power of God, the hand of God to be seen upon this world today, we must get back to this understanding. We must look to Him as the source of right and wrong. We must believe that God designed us for a purpose and that His design is perfect. We must align ourselves with Him, regardless of what the world says, thinks, or does.

As His ambassadors, our purpose is bring Him glory.

Isaiah 43:7 NKJV

7 Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.”

Now this is a high bar. I’m not going to pretend that it is not. But I don’t think the right answer is to lower the bar so low that literally anyone and everyone can be considered godly. I think we have had enough of that, and it is because we have lowered the bar of God’s design and expectation of our lives that we are in the mess that we are in today.

The bar needs to remain high. Living for God isn’t easy in world full of sin. But if we are willing to look to the ultimate authority, believe that He knows what He is doing, live according to His will… He will bless us individually, as a family, and as a nation.

We were created to rule.

Created For Relationship

Genesis 1:26–28 NKJV

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Not only were we created to rule, but we were created for relationship.

Notice that our first relationship is to be to God Himself.

Out of all the creatures He created, it was only mankind that was created in His image. Only us. And we see here in Genesis that God spoke to mankind. He might have also spoken to some of the animals, but we if He did, we have no record of that. But He did speak to Adam and Eve.

He shared His mission to them. He shared their purpose to them. He told them what all He had provided for them. We even see in Chapter 3 that God regularly came down and spent time with them:

Genesis 3:8 NKJV

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…

It doesn’t tell us that God came down every day, but I would like to think that He did. I think that based upon the Scriptures we have:

1 Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV

17 pray without ceasing,

Luke 9:23 NKJV

23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

We are told to seek God daily in our lives. Why? Because God wants to have a strong, thriving relationship with us. We were created to be in relationship with Him. It is divinely woven into our design.

Whether or not we fulfill our God-given purpose hinges upon whether or not we maintain a proper relationship with the One who created us to begin with. It is only in Him that we begin to understand why we are here. And it is only in Him that we will be successful at carrying out our divine mission.

So first and foremost, we were created to be in relationship with God.

But notice also that we were created to be in relationship with others. The first marriage in all of Scripture is right here in Genesis. God not only created them, but He created them for one another. And within their marriage, they were to bare children.

The marriage relationship is the most loving, intimate human relationship that we have. But even that relationship comes second to our relationship with God.

We all know that you can’t put more into a container than the container can hold. If you try to, you damage the container.

God wants nothing more than to pour His love into us. But we can only stand so much. If you want to get more into the container, you first have to pour some of what is in the container out.

It is our relationships to one another (our spouses, our families, our friends, our neighbors) that gives us this out. We were designed to love others as God loves us. We were designed to pour into them as God pours into us.

If you are struggling to feel the love of God right now in your life, maybe it is because you are already full and need to pour some out so that more can be poured in.

We were designed by God to live in relationship with other people, pour the love of God into those relationships, and then get filled back up again as we come into His presence.

We we were created to Rule; we were created for relationship; and:

Created To Reproduce

Genesis 1:28 NKJV

28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Notice here that the reproduction is on two different levels.

First there is the physical reproduction, or having kids. We already mentioned this. God told Adam and Eve to have children and subdue the earth. Adam and Eve could not do it all on their own, so God told them to have children to help with the cause.

But within that command, we see a second kind of reproduction.

It is the reproduction of character.

As parents, our responsibilities extend beyond simply putting food in our kids bellies and clothes on their backs. Our responsibility first and foremost, is to make sure they understand God’s design for their life and what their mission is while here. That is at the top of the list.

We are not just to have a bunch of kids, we are to teach and train those kids. We are to help them understand why they are here. We are to help them see where their true joy and fulfillment lies.

Notice that God told Adam and Eve to have children for the purpose of helping them fulfill their purpose. That means they were to download everything that God had told them into their children. And by doing so, they would also be equipping their children to walk in purpose.

Proverbs 22:6 NKJV

6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

We were created to reproduce.

Commitment

So let me ask you today:

Are you living out your purpose before the Lord?

Are you serving as the ambassadors that God has called you to be?

Do you feel fulfilled in your life?

Are you living in relationship with your Creator as you were designed to?

Are you reproducing the Christ in you? Not only to children, but to friends and family.

You were created to rule in the name of Christ!

You were created to live in relationship with God and others!

You were created to share the Christ in you with the world!

If you are ready to step into your God-Given purpose…

If you are ready to experience God like never before…

If you are ready to proclaim the love of God on a level you have never experienced…

The only thing standing in your way, is your flesh. Say no to the flesh, and yes to the Spirit!

Come and get things right with God today!