I Was Created

It seems that our world is having an identity crisis. People not knowing who they are, developing things like “self esteem.”

Self esteem is an idol. It is making everything about us and trying to feel better about ourselves.

What we need is to esteem God, and from our high view of God we can see what He thinks of us.

From that we are able to develop a true identity.

Today we are going to look at humanity in general; in the sermon’s to come we are going to focus on how a believer is to develop their identity.

I love to play board games. Especially strategy games. Before we play, I always have to read the rules. I need to know how to play.

My kids enjoy making up their own rules.

My problem with that is, the one who created the game, is the one who makes the rules by which the game should be played.

This world, has a creator; as such, the creator is the one who has the right to determine what the rules are.

Genesis 1:26-28

Created By God

Created at the the end.

Man was created special.

In the Image of God

Augustin of Hippo

How often do we stop and wonder why we have the capacity to love, the ability to think and process data.

Why do we have a concept of justice? What is right and what is wrong?

Do we see the fingerprints of God left on our lives? The evidence of a creator who is far beyond us?

If we have a creator who we are made in the image of, why don’t people care about discovering who this creator is, and what pleases or displeases Him?

Romans 1:18-25

v.18

Wrath of God

Not the passiveness of God.

Not the displeasure of God.

The wrath of God.

He hates sin.

Psalm 7:11–13 (ESV)

11 God is a righteous judge,

and a God who feels indignation every day.

12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword;

he has bent and readied his bow;

13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,

making his arrows fiery shafts.

In Psalms we are told that God’s bow is readied, the arrow is knocked and it is pointed at the heart of man out of anger for the sins that man continues to commit.

What keeps God from loosing His arrow, is that He is good, and longsuffering. Allowing time for repentance.

People don’t believe this anymore. They don’t understand how close they stand to the edge of utter destruction believing that there is no punishment for their sin.

Who Suppress the Truth

Who is God angry at?

Those who know that their is a God, but who willingly desire to live their own lives.

v.19-20

When we look at the world. We are not so ignorant as to say that this came by chance.

Creation is to wonderful, to complex.

Darwin even said that for evolution to happen, cells would have to be simple organisms.

You wouldn’t take a look at a watch and think, “that watch must have slowly created itself over millions of years.

No! It clearly has a designer.

When we look at evolution. What we don’t see is the addition to DNA coding. We see changes that happen from the loss or degrading of genetic coding; which means the coding had to have been created prior.

When we look at the complexity of the world. Mankind is without excuse, knowing their must be a God.

v.21-23

People recognize that their is a God.

Claiming to be wise, they became fools.

This is people believing that they know more than God, or scripture.

Exchanged the glory of God

They used to worship gods made to look like animals. Or animal man hybrids.

Today people worship themselves and see their god look back at them through the mirror every morning.

They use terms like “self esteem”, and “love yourself” to speak of this.

Self esteem is an idol. That needs to be put to death and that is one thing I am trying to do with this series.

Blaise Pascal

We need to discover who we are, but not through the self indulgent view of self esteem but through the lens of God and who He says you are.

God Gave Them Over

v.24-25

The transgender movement, the LGBQT movement.

These are all subject to this.

They deny that their is a God, they deny it by the way that they live. God is giving them over.

Transgender people are twice as likely to experience depression and out of a recent study 29% confessed to having attempted suicide.

These are people who are clearly broken, why?

Because the don’t realize the glorious truth that they were created, with love; and with intent.

Yes they might have sinful desires that need to be fought against, not celebrated.

The worst part is, they are hurting broken people, who will go to hell believing that they were made incorrectly.

They fail to recognize that they have a sin nature that is hindering them, and rather recognizing it as sin, they celebrate their sin, and make it their identity.

Churches aren’t always helping

Some people who profess to know God, rejoice along with these people who are blinded by the enemy.

Rather than pointing people to the light; they deny that their is a God.

Not by their words, but by their actions and their view of His word.

Here’s the big Idea,

The one who makes the game, makes the rules.

We were created by God, He gets to decide what the rules are.

This is why we are looking at is how your identity is shaped and found In Christ.

How does God say your were created?

Psalm 139:13–14 (ESV)

13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

v.13

We know that babies are formed by a biological process.

But here, David is explaining how carefully God builds us.

That biological process, is something that is ordained and sustained by God.

God is carefully creating us.

In love, with purpose, we were made in our mother’s womb.

v.14

Fearfully Made

This is to describe the awesome nature in which God was creating Him.

How it is a miracle, in extrodinary ways, the creation of life.

We describe a baby being created as a miracle.

That is what the word for fear means. ya-d-ah means a miraculous event.

God is performing a miracle, specially creating life.

Wonderfully Made

Pay-la

Something that is distinct, separate.

This is similar when God created all things, after He took His time making man, something wonderful, set apart.

When God calls people to be holy.

It is in this sense, that they are distinct separate.

When God creates life. It is distinct from His other work. Separate, something special.

This is part of the reason that we believe abortion is wrong.

It is taking the life of one who is made in the image of God.

Who God is creating.

You Were Created Special

When God made you, He made you special. He made you just the way that you are.

He created the way that you are for a specific purpose.

He created you out of love.

The movements that are taking place, are meant to empower people; But they never will.

Inside people will know something is wrong, and they will spend all their time unhappy, searching for it.

The only way for us to find happiness, fulfillment in this life, is to properly understand who has created us, what He created us for, and to live for Him.