EmmDev 2018-09-11 [Celebrating Creation] Implications: Community

Implications: Community

For the next little while we will explore some of the implications of creation and some of our responsibilities.

Today we consider the thought that we are created in the image of the Triune God and that the implication is Community.

One of the fundamental theological principles of the faith is our belief in the Trinity - that the Godhead is a perfectly loving community of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.   If we are created in God's image, then we reflect God's nature, even though our reflections are tainted by the blight of sin. We reflect His creativity, the ability to appreciate beauty, and especially His capacity to share love with each other.

The bottom-line is this: If God in the Trinity is a perfectly loving community then we who are created in His image are created to move toward loving community. We are not created to be individual lone-ranger Christians but to express our faith in and through community.

Some would argue that our sinfulness as a result of the fall has made community impossible - they would argue that immediately after eating the fruit, Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent (who didn't have leg to stand on! :-) ) God also warns Adam and Eve that the relationship between men and women will be blighted by the abuse of power: "Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." (Gen3:16)

But this blight is not our created purpose and God calls us to a higher standard. In Gen4:9 we read:
Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"
"I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"

Cain's answer implies that he does not feel the need for community, whereas God's question implies that close and caring community is a given. This implication is echoed throughout Scripture.

Community is a creation-imbedded reality of our existence. The stain of sin results in us rejecting or deforming the idea of loving community, but this does not allow us to avoid the issue.

We are created for God-honouring loving community and we should pursue it.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.      (Genesis1:27)

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EmmDev 2018-09-07 [Celebrating Creation] How small and great we are

How small and great we are

Imagine yourself to be standing and looking at your favourite scenic spot. Mine is at some rocks on a beach where the waves are thundering, crashing, spraying, and making miniature rainbows.

It is easy to be enthralled by the beauty of creation. The soaring mountains, the crashing waves, sunlight on the dewdrops, moonlight on the water, and the innumerable shades and hues of green! How awesome and majestic! All of creation is nothing but a signpost pointing toward our LORD.

When my awareness of God's presence and greatness is dulled, it is always good for me to get out into the beckoning spaces of His creation. The bigger picture leaves one breathless and awe-filled, but it can also leave one feeling small and insignificant.

In Psalm 8 the Psalmist goes through this process. He experiences the enormity of creation and at the same time his own smallness.
He writes:
3 When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made,
and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place,
4 I think:
"Of what importance is the human race, that you should notice them?"
"Of what importance is mankind, that you should pay attention to them?"

He is then filled with wonder that in spite of the glory of the created world, God is especially interested in us. Both discoveries are important:

1.When we are filled with a sense of our own importance, intimidated by the size of our problems, or over-impressed at our own achievements then the revelation of creation cuts it all down to size.

2.Strangely enough, when confronted with such awesome and great beauty one often feels more alive than ever before. As though our heart beats more loudly in our chests. I believe that this is not us finding God in Creation (as though God could get lost!!!) but God finding us!!! We are very important to Him and He uses His creation to seek us out!

When last have you let Him find you?

(The whole psalm is worth reading)

PS 8:1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!      (Psalms8:1-9)

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EmmDev 2018-09-06 [Celebrating Creation] It was very good!

It was very good!

The word "good" appears seven times in Gen 1:
- v4 God saw that the light was good
- v10 And God saw that it was good (land and sea)
- v12 And God saw that it was good (plants and trees)
- v18 And God saw that it was good (sun, moon and stars)
- v21 And God saw that it was good (fish and birds)
- v25 And God saw that it was good (livestock and ground creatures)
- v31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good (everything)

There is beauty, magnificence and majesty that permeates all of creation. In spite of the blight of sin's brokenness, the goodness of creation still recharges our souls when we walk on the beach, stroll through the forest or hike through the mountains.

Even if we were to argue that it is simply the earth rotating on its axis and the various colours of the visible light spectrum bending to different extents around the curvature of the earth and being filtered by the dust and smog in the atmosphere, sunsets and sunrises still move us in deep and inexplicable ways.

Even though we can explain a rose by photosynthesis and plant genetics, it doesn't change the fact that we are filled with a sense of awe and a sense of well-being when we look at it.

We can explain that a lion is just a big cat and that the elephant is an unusual genetic specimen (it's nearest relative being the dassie) but when the lion roars and the elephant trumpets our senses stand at attention and it is as if we are suddenly more alive.

God is GOOD - in the most ultimate sense. Creation is pregnant with that goodness - as we experience its goodness we get just a fleeting sense of how incredibly good God is!!!

And so we come back to the idea of Leviathan frolic-ing in the vast ocean God created for that purpose. Our awesomely good God has made a beautifully good world for us to glimpse just some of His GOODness - let's learn to open our eyes and to FROLIC.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.      (Genesis1:31)

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EmmDev 2018-09-05 [Celebrating Creation] Frolic

Frolic

Psalm 104 is a beautiful Psalm celebrating the breath-taking bounty of creation. In verse 25-26 it talks about Leviathan:
There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number--
living things both large and small.
There the ships go to and fro,
and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

Leviathan is an Old Testament catch-all phrase that seems to encompass all creatures from whales or sea monsters to huge gliding serpents and such-like creatures. (A bit like the loch ness monster)

Leviathan comes from Caananite myths and was one of the terrifying creatures they had to ward off by sacrifices and offerings to placate the gods.

In sharp contrast to Canaanite superstitions Psalm 104 paints a wonderful picture of God creating the universe with Power, Precision and Purpose. (Read the whole Psalm below to see what I mean)

But it's the sense of purpose in the Psalm that I love. Vs 10-11 talk about the streams that pour into the ravines and flow through the mountains to "give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst."

And then our text which speaks of the ocean as a transport medium and playground for Leviathan. Leviathan is not a dark primordial monster to be feared - he is a creature God created to FROLIC.

What a lovely picture of a God who creates with purpose and that part of that purpose is to FROLIC!

Let's FROLIC through today as we consider the awesome space God has given us to play in! Creation is given to be enjoyed!
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Praise the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. 2 He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent 3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. 4 He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. 5 He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. 6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. 7 But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; 8 they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them. 9 You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth. 10 He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. 11 They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. 13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work. 14 He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate-- bringing forth food from the earth: 15 wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart. 16 The trees of the LORD are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 17 There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the pine trees. 18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the coneys. 19 The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. 20 You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl. 21 The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God. 22 The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens. 23 Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening. 24 How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25 There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number-- living things both large and small. 26 There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. 27 These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. 28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. 29 When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. 30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. 31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works-- 32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke. 33 I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD. 35 But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Praise the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD.      (Psalms104:1-35)

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EmmDev 2018-09-04 [Celebrating Creation] 4. Unique Humanity #3 Responsibility

4. Unique Humanity #3 Responsibility

The X-men movies series suggests that human beings are still evolving and that homo-sapiens will be surpassed by the next generation of superior humans.

Psalm 8 sees it differently: Humankind, created in the image of God, already has all it needs to be the apex of creation. This is not because of our DNA, the size of our brains or the flexibility of our thumbs. (Some folk are suggesting that the next generations will have more nimble thumbs because of all the sms-texting we are doing!!!)

The Psalm is clear: We are the apex of creation because of one key concept: The responsibility of choice.

• We have the option to praise - and when we do, it silences our enemies.
• We are only a little lower than the angels who were also given the gift of choice (and we know that Satan abused that choice and rebelled.) We have the choice of letting God be our God or trying to be our own gods (that's what Adam and Eve's choice was about.)
• We have the responsibility to look after God's creation - to be custodians of it.

Unfortunately we keep getting this wrong:
- We try to be our own gods
- We abuse creation
- We try to get praise for ourselves instead of praising God.

How do we know when we get it right?
The end of the Psalm makes it clear - we have exercised our choices and responsibilities correctly when God gets the praise.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth      (Psalms8:1-9)

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EmmDev 2018-08-31 [Celebrating Creation] 4. Unique Humanity #2 Spirit

4. Unique Humanity #2 Spirit

Genesis 2 tells the creation story again, but from another perspective. This should not unsettle us. When describing a car accident, one witness will say "The red car skipped the stop street and was broadsided by the blue car." Another witness will say "The Audi Cabriolet was hit by the Ford Focus and spun around three times but the airbag deployed and the driver got out ok." They are simply relating different details of the same story.

What Genesis 1 describes in one sentence: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them..." Genesis 2 describes in a couple of sentences, including how God made Eve from Adam's rib.

The point of the description here in Gen 2 is that God breathed life into Adam. The Hebrew word for "breath" is also the word for "Spirit" and so it is clear that what is implied here is that humankind are set apart from all creatures in that we have the capacity to be filled by the Spirit. We can be given life by the Spirit.

This imagery is Genesis' way of telling us that human beings are created to have a relationship with God through the Spirit. The French mathematician, Blaise Pascal, said: "There is a God-shaped hole in every person - a space that only God can fill." Augustine said: "We are restless until we find our rest in Thee."

Human beings are unique - God has breathed into us.
We are eternal and we can relate to God in "Spirit and Truth." (Jesus confirmed this in his conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4)

So as human beings we were are created in His image (to reflect Him) but He breathed His Spirit into us (so that we can relate to Him.)

What a privilege we have to be able to have a personal relationship with our God. The Creator of the Universe wants to walk with us and talk with us. Bow your head for a moment right now and talk to Him.... Wow!!!

...the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.      (Genesis2:7)

EmmDev 2018-08-30 [Celebrating Creation] 4. Unique Humanity #1 Image

4. Unique Humanity #1 Image

While evolutionary theories postulate that humankind developed from earlier species of evolved creatures, Scripture emphasises a clear line between humankind and the rest of creation.

While the rest of creation are signposts to the glory of God and the demonstrate the attributes of His creativity, beauty and fullness, Genesis tells us that God created humanity IN HIS IMAGE.

What does it mean when we say that we are created in His image? Does it mean that God has arms, legs, ears, eyes and a nose? If so, is God white, black or chinese? Does it mean that God has a beard and a friendly father-christmas smile? If so, then how are women created in His image?

The idea of being created in the image of God is better seen in our nature than in our physiology. Being created in His image means we as human beings reflect some of the attributes of God's nature. Here are some examples:

• We can compose poetry and music: This is the closest we get to creating "out of nothing."
• We can enjoy the beauty of creation and the fruit of our labours.
• We are able to make moral choices between right and wrong. Choices that are not the result of instinct or conditioning, but because we have been given the ability to choose.
• We can love selflessly - or choose not to.
• We are able to enter into a relationship with God or choose not to.

So whether God used the processes of adaptation and development to bring humanity to the fore, or whether He stepped in and did something new but similar to what came before, we don't know.
What we do know is that humankind is unique - there is a clear line: we are in the image of God - reflecting His nature and capable of a relationship with Him.

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.      (Genesis1:26-27)

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EmmDev 2018-08-29 [Celebrating Creation] 3. Wonderfully Diverse

3. Wonderfully Diverse

The well-loved welsh preacher, Granville Morgan, (who was Brenda's minister) once preached a sermon on God's favourite word.
What would you guess is His favourite word?
Is it "love"? Is it "grace"? Or is it "forgiveness"?
Granville argued that God's favourite word is "and".

God created all the creatures that the waters teem with AND He created every winged bird according to its kind AND He created all the creatures of the land: livestock AND creatures that creep on the ground AND wild animals each according to their kind.

Think about it:
God created red AND blue AND yellow AND green AND pink AND ...
Our new hi-def TVs can display 281.5 trillion colors - and yet if God only gave us four colours we'd be none the wiser - and 281.5 trillion colours still aren't enough to show a sunrise the way our eyes can see it.

God created whales AND dolphins AND jellyfish AND clownfish AND tuna AND sardines AND ...
God created swallows AND vultures AND ostriches AND parrots AND budgies AND ducks AND duck-billed-platypus AND ...
God created elephants AND kangeroos AND giraffes AND ants AND lions AND springbuck AND ...

The sheer diversity and creativity revealed in creation bears wonderful testimony to God's power, creativity and sense of humour (just look at the aardvark, the clownfish and the dung-beetle) It reveals His richness and awesome depth. Biologists are still discovering new species, astronomers are finding new stars and galaxies, and physicists are still discovering amazing truths in the quantum mechanics that govern our universe. We will never get to the end of what He can do!

So with the hymnwriter we must sing:
"Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!"

And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind... 24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.      (Genesis1:20-24)

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EmmDev 2018-08-28 [Celebrating Creation] 2. Creation was Orderly and Systematic (part 2)

2. Creation was Orderly and Systematic (part 2)

Genesis 1 tells us that Creation was orderly, joyful and excellent. Seven times over, we are told that "God saw that it was (very) good..." And, when He had finished, God rested. There is a sense of contentment and joy in creation.

Today we look at a beautiful passage from Proverbs. When you read through Proverbs you will find passages where Wisdom is personified (Often as "Lady Wisdom".) This "personified wisdom" points ultimately to Jesus, the Word, and also to the Holy Spirit. Our passage paints a picture of wisdom actively participating in creation and this is what John was talking about when he wrote about Jesus as the Word "through Whom all things were created." (John1:3)

Today's passage shows how wisdom participated in the work of Creation. Wisdom was the "craftsman at God's side" when the sea's boundaries were set and the foundations of the earth were laid. There is an incredible sense of delight and joy in this passage.

There is a sense that Creation is crafted into being.
That God delights in the act of creation.
That God rejoices in creating and that He delights in humankind.

We are not functionally made, we are joyfully and delightedly made.
God takes pleasure in creating us and delights in the process and purpose of creation. We are not here by accident. We are not creatures that somehow crawled out of the primordial soup and somehow managed to adapt and survive. We are made according to to the purpose, plan and delight of God!

This passage tells me that when God carefully (care-fully) formed you and me, He smiled from ear to ear with pride and joy.

I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.      (Proverbs8:27-31)

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EmmDev 2018-08-24 [Celebrating Creation] 2. Creation was Orderly and Systematic (part 1)

2. Creation was Orderly and Systematic (part 1)

If you look at Genesis 1 you will see that the sun, moon and stars are only created on the fourth day, but there are days before then "there was evening, and there was morning -- the first day." Although the component for morning and evening (the sun) is not yet created, God already had the concepts firmly in mind.

There is an orderliness about the creation account:

• A rhythmic cycle of days,
• God is the constant in the equation, and speaks it all into being. (This idea of speaking indicates order and authority.)
• The span of seven days indicating that there was a plan
• The emphasis of seven symbolising completeness
• The repetition of "God saw that it was (very) good" vv.10,12,18,25,31
• The rest on the Sabbath implying satisfaction and completeness.

Creation is not random, circumstantial or chaotic.
The picture that Gen 1 gives us is that God is firmly in charge, that God delights in His creation and that He is working with a plan.

Again, we are not getting hung up on the HOW in the sense of the mechanics of creation (I think our brains are actually too small to grasp the detail). We are more concerned in WHO created and that His divine and sovereign qualities are beautifully reflected in the account of creation. We see God's creativity, power and internal-integrity portrayed as orderliness. The HOW we can look at is the style of creation and that style is orderly, joyful and excellent.

We are not here by mistake or accident.
We are the end result of a carefully thought through plan where the Creator joyfully and systematically made a world that was good....!

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day. 6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day. 9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.      (Genesis1:3-10)

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