Welcome to this week's edition of the Weekend Sermon. I am thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to post the sermon this week. I hope that all of you are doing very well.
This has been a good week in writing, and I want to thank the Lord for that. I also want to thank the Lord for allowing me to get the work done around the house that I needed to get done. I've been having a lot of pain in my legs and feet these past few months, but I've been able to get the work done that I need to. I'm hopeful that I won't have as much pain. I've had arthritis since I was in my early 20s, and after a period where it wasn't too bad, it has gotten worse again. I think that it will improve now that the weather is getting warm and I'm out and about.
Over the weekend, they are calling for some more heavy rain near where I live. Would you please pray that it does not rain so much as that it causes problems. Thank you.
Let us all pray this week for those in Papua New Guinea who are recovering from the earthquake. Pray that these folks receive all the aid that they need.
Let us also pray for those in Puerto Rico who are recovering from the damage done by the hurricane. There is much that still needs to be done in Puerto Rico.
Continue to pray for peace in the troubled areas of the world. Pray for peace in Syria and Yemen. NPR had special reports from Yemen this week. The situation there is quite bad.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us all pray for Taiwan and the Central African Republic. Pray that people in these nations will hear of the love of Jesus.
If you've read the blog this week, you know that I've had a couple of posts about the death of the last male northern white rhino named Sudan. This has really bothered me. It is a tragedy that human beings have hunted these animals to the point of extinction.
I was going to post the message for today later next month as part of our ongoing series, but in light of what has happened this week, I decided to move it up to this week.
We have been in a series of messages about verses that are taken out of context and verses that are misinterpreted. Today, I would like to deal with some of the prevalent misinterpretation of Genesis 1:26 and how these misinterpretations have led to humanity's disregard for animals and the environment.
First, let's state what Genesis 1:26 states. This is from the New King James Version, "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."
Many have interpreted this passage to mean two things that it does not mean. First, some interpret this to mean that God has given this world and the animals to people to use in whatever manner humans wish to use them. They say that we can hunt animals, use them for sport, food, entertainment or whatever we wish. We can exploit the natural resources of this planet as we wish for our own use. Those that interpret this verse this way have little regard for environmentalism, and they often belittle the whole idea behind man made climate change.
The second way that this verse is misinterpreted is that people will make the false claim that God made the world and its animals for humans. It is a view that is easily disproved from the Bible.
Let's start with the first misinterpretation. God has given human beings the responsibility to take care of the earth for Him. We have not been given the world to do with it as we wish for ourselves. The Bible is clear that the earth is the Lords.
Psalm 24:1 states, "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it." Psalm 50:10 states, "For every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills." Verse 11, "I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine." Job 41:11 states, "Everything under heaven belongs to Me."
I believe that we can clearly see from these verses that God is the one who owns this earth. We are the ones who were called to tend and care for the earth. We see this in Genesis 2:15.
Dominion can work two ways. Let's look at some governmental examples. A dictator can have dominion over his people such as Stalin had over the Soviet Union. He used his position to oppress and destroy. While not perfect, there have been many other leaders in the world who tried to do what is right and help people.
We are supposed to take care of what God has made. We are supposed to take care of the animals and the environment as good stewards of what belongs to God. We are not to exploit the earth to the point of environmental calamity and hunt animals to the brink of extinction.
The Bible is clear that animals weren't put on this earth for the use of humans. People were originally commanded by God to be vegetarians. It was not until after the flood in Noah's day that God allowed meat eating.
When Jesus returns, animals and humans will live together as they did in the Garden of Eden. There won't be any predation, and people won't eat animals anymore.
I've decided to just live in light of the reign of Jesus in this matter. Since I won't be eating animals then, I've decided to not do it now.
Now, let's look at the second way that dominion is misinterpreted. Some say that God made the world and the animals in it for humans. The Bible says that all things were made by and for Jesus Christ. We see this in Colossians 1:16 which states, "For in him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him and for him." I think that that is pretty clear.
It pains me to see those who call themselves Christians at the forefront of the anti-environmental movement. I feel terrible when I see Christians advocating exploitation of animals and the beauty of this world.
We do not have the right to destroy this world for our own benefit. This is God's world. We are to keep it in a good way for Him. We are to respect what he has made.
Think about this. The Lord made those beautiful animals like the rhinos, tigers, elephants and whales that are hunted and killed for sport. How do you think the Lord feels about that?
I hope that you will read this sermon today and consider ways to be a good steward of what the Lord has made. Think about what you eat and wear. Think about how what you do affects the planet. Think about how you can rightly care for the earth that the Lord has made.
Next week is Holy Week. We will have a different schedule. I will post the verses on Monday. On Wednesday, I will have a review of an excellent dog book. On Thursday I will have a post regarding Maundy Thursday. On Friday, there will be a Good Friday post. The Weekend Sermon will be about Easter and will appear on Saturday. May God bless you all. Amen.
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