It is good to be with you for another edition of the Weekend Sermon. I hope that everyone is enjoying good health and doing well.
I am feeling a little better this week. Thank you for all of your prayers. The book is going well. I am now on the second draft of the manuscript. I have also completed several other writing projects over the last few weeks.
As many of you know, I have been trying to get my house sold. There has been some delay in this because it is not in very good shape. This week, one of my uncle's offered to help me get things at the house fixed in good enough shape to sell. This is a real answer to prayer.
As you go to prayer this week, let us all pray about the situation with diseases around the world. The news about the zika virus is very disturbing. Let us pray that this will dissipate. Let us pray that many of the sicknesses which plague man and animals will be able to be eradicated. Always, pray for peace in our troubled world.
Finally in the area of prayer, remember to pray for the spread of the message of Jesus' love around the world. With that in mind, please pray for the nations of Yemen, Qatar, Azerbaijan and Thailand.
For the past few weeks, we have been in a series of messages on the Apostles' Creed. We are examining the Creed section by section in order to more fully understand what it is saying about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as well as other important doctrines of the faith.
Today, we will examine the phrase, "Creator of Heaven and Earth." God is the creator of Heaven and Earth. The Bible makes it quite clear in Genesis 1:1 which says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth." This seems to be a straightforward enough statement, but the issue of creation is a hotbed of controversy both inside and outside the church.
In the church today, there are many divisions over the doctrine of creation. I want to go over a few of the ideas that are out there, and then I will tell you what I believe and why.
The predominate belief of the secular scientific community that is also becoming very prominent in the church is the theory of evolution. Many believe that all life evolved on earth from a simple organism to greater levels of complexity. In a religious vein, many theologians believe in theistic evolution, These theologians state that God is the source of the Big Bang, and now God is guiding the evolutionary process.
Others in the church believe in what is known as the Gap Theory. This believe states that there is a long gap of time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. In this time, there was a pre-adamic creation that would include dinosaurs etc. According to this theory, the old world was destroyed when Satan rebelled against God. At that point, God re-created the earth in its present form.
Another belief is in creation as recorded in the Bible. God literally created the universe in six literal days and rested on the seventh day. There is not evolutionary process.
That is just a very brief overview of a few of the positions about God and creation. People have filled volumes discussing this topic.
Now, I am going to state what I believe about the matter. I believe that God created the Heavens and the Earth. I do not know how long this process took. One thing that is important to state is that the Bible is quite clear that there was no death before the sin of Adam. Paul discusses this clearly in Romans 5:12-21. Death was introduced into the world as a result of sin. Those who believe in the Gap theory would believe that there was death in the pre-adamic world as a result of their sin, but there was no death in the re-creation before Adam's sin. This statement by Paul would also show the problem with theistic evolution. I Corinthians 15:26 says that death is God's enemy, and it is the last enemy that will be totally defeated.
I believe that God created the heavens and the earth. I believe that God created this world out of nothing. By the word of His mouth, He spoke all things into existence. I believe in a literal Adam and Eve. When Adam sinned, death came into this world and brought a change in this world of cataclysmic proportions.
When Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, God placed a curse upon the Earth. That is the reason why everything is so messed up in this world. God never intended there to be predation in the natural world. He never intended there to be diseases and germs and storms which kill hundreds of people. Sin and the curse of sin marred God's original creation.
Because the original creation has changed, we have an evolutionary process that has developed that is based on natural selection. However, this was not the way things were originally intended to be.
When Jesus returns, everything in all of creation will be restored to the was that it existed at the original creation. When Jesus establishes His rule and reign on the earth, the curse that is now on the earth will be lifted. This is clearly stated in Revelation 22:3.
Whatever someone believes about creation, the most important thing to remember is that a powerful and Almighty God made this world. Even though we see a world marred by sin, the hand of God is clearly on display in this universe. I don't know how anyone can look at the marvels of creation and not see the power of God.
I have always loved astronomy. I was able to study astronomy in college a little, and I have my own telescope. When I look at the stars and planets in the night sky, I am in awe that a powerful God created all that is in the heavens. When I see dogs running at play or hear the wolf's howl, I know that there is a mighty God.
What leaves me in the most awe and wonder is the fact that the God who is the creator of all the universe cares about me. God loved me so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross to take away my sins. God wants to have a relationship with me. He cares about my problems, and He wants to communicate with me in prayer. God cares about you and loves you as well. Whosoever will may come to the Father through Jesus Christ the Son.
One day, all that sin has destroyed will be made right. I long for that day, and pray each day that Jesus Christ will come quickly to make all things new and perfect once again just as they were at the original creation.
Next week, we will have two new verses to learn on Monday. I don't think that I will have a review on Wednesday as I am backed up in my reading. I may have a review, but it is doubtful. Next Friday, we will begin looking at what the Apostles' Creed teaches about the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. May God bless you all. Amen.
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