2021.12.19 - Restoring the Creation: New Birth

Restoring the Creation: New Birth

Restore us O God!

I’ve heard a lot of crazy things people have done for love. We have songs about “love insanity”, we watch TV shows and movies about people losing their minds for love. It seems like the crazier the effort, the more we celebrate. We think that the level of craziness indicates the depth of love. And maybe it does…

There are many reasons God saves you: to bring glory to himself, to appease his justice, to demonstrate his sovereignty. But one of the sweetest reasons God saved you is because he is fond of you. He likes having you around. He thinks you are the best thing to come down the pike in quite a while.

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If he had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, he’ll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and he chose your heart. And the Christmas gift he sent you in Bethlehem? Face it, friend. He’s crazy about you!

— Max Lucado, A Gentle Thunder (Word, 1995)

Restoring the Creation: New Birth

Have you ever seen a magician cut a dollar bill in half … and then put it back together? It doesn’t appear to be taped back together. It doesn’t look like it’s just held in place. It looks like it’s put back to the way it was before. Cutting a dollar bill in half is crazy … but then the guy puts it back together!

Fortunately, for us, saving us is not the end of God’s “crazy” either. He doesn’t stop with the crucifixion, He moves on to Resurrection. He doesn’t stop with redeeming us, He moves on to Restoration!

In the Garden, everything was perfect, it was all beautiful, everything was shiny and new. Creation had that new car smell!

That perfection was marred in the fall. The relationship between God and mankind was severed … cut, like a magician’s dollar bill.

No progress could happen until we were forgiven … absolutely NO progress! And originally, there was no way to receive complete forgiveness. God developed a system where sacrifices would be acceptable, but each sin required another sacrifice. Why? Let me quote another giant theologian:

“Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners” – To correct a developing rudeness with the Bear kids, Mama devises The Politeness Plan. Basically the plan is that EVERY rudeness incurs a penalty.

Similarly, in the Old Testament covenant, every sin incurs a penalty!

Romans 6:23 NASB 2020

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And every human sins

Romans 3:22b–23 (NASB 2020)

there is no distinction,

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

A sacrifice for each sin is necessary, yet even that was not sufficient…

Hebrews 10:5–10 (NASB 2020)

5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “You have not desired sacrifice and offering, But You have prepared a body for Me;

6 You have not taken pleasure In whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin.

7 “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (it is written of Me In the scroll of the book) To do Your will, O God.’ ”

8 After saying above, “Sacrifices and offerings and Whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law),

9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second.

10 By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.

Sanctified [ἁγιάζω - hagiazo - BDAG]- set aside for ritual purposes; dedicated; consecrated; made holy

That’s not an act of redemption, that’s an act of restoration!

Restoring the Creation: New Birth

Restore us, O God!

What I’m about to say is radical in some conservative circles, particularly the more fundamental circles: It’s starting to sound like God is not done with us once we’re forgiven and saved. It sounds like He wants something beyond salvation! It sounds like He’s trying to restore His broken creation.

When Jesus healed people, He often sent them away with a command… “Go and…” Go and BE DIFFERENT…Be made new … Go and sin no more!

Listen to the end of our story from Revelation 21 and see if this doesn’t sound like the Garden has been restored:

Revelation 21:1–5 NASB 2020

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” 5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”

Restoring the Creation: New Birth

We’ve talked about how the Creation gives us Hope and how that hope results in Peace.

Now, we can see that God is not done with us. He is not satisfied with just forgiving our flaws, our inability to follow Him and His commands. He is not satisfied in just ‘giving us a pass’.

Love does crazy things, and so His love compels Him to sanctify us … to perfect us.

2 Corinthians 4:16 NASB 2020

16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day.

John Wesley said it this way:

“Thy soul shall be renewed day by day after the image of him that created it.”

Restoring the Creation: New Birth

Restoration is soooo much better than just redemption … and restoration is what His crazy love does for us. If we let it play to its end goal, we will be restored to the image of God in which we were created.

You see, God’s goal is to transform and restore. To transform and restore … YOU! Just like the magician’s dollar bills … He wants to put you back the way you were made to be.

The question is ...Are you ready … are you WILLING to be transformed?

The birth of Christ is the beginning of that restoration, and there is no better time to submit to God’s plans for you than today. He’s crazy for you. How ‘bout giving His crazy love a place in your heart. How ‘bout celebrating the Creation, the Fall, the Redemption and let Him bring Restoration to you?

How ‘bout letting that restoration start today … this morning … right now?!