We Believe… Maker of Heaven & Earth

Apostles’ Creed Part 3

 

A message by Jeffrey Westbrook

 

Crossroads International Fellowship

14 March, 2004

 

 

Texts: Psalm 124:8; Deuteronomy 10:12-21 (NASB)

 

Intro:    · This series/ the creed

            · Joke: the oldest profession

A doctor, a civil engineer, and a computer scientist were arguing about what was the oldest profession in the world. The doctor remarked, 'Well, in the Bible it says that God created Eve from a rib taken from Adam. This clearly required surgery, so I can rightly claim that mine is the oldest profession in the world.'
The civil engineer interrupted and said, 'But even earlier in the book of Genesis, it states that God created the order of the heavens and the earth from out of the chaos. This was the first and certainly the most spectacular application of civil engineering. Therefore, fair doctor, you are wrong; mine is the oldest profession in the world.'
The computer scientist leaned back in his chair, smiled and said confidently, 'Ah, but who do you think created the chaos?'

· Why so many Scripture references in these sermons? Because the Creed is based on the whole truth of God, not an isolated passage or lone idea; these are themes developed throughout the Scriptures

 

Thesis: We profess that we believe in God who is maker of Heaven & earth. That means that we believe in a…

 

I.   Created universe

  1. God was the one who created it

1.      Numerous verses declare this truth:

a.  Gen. 1:1

    1. Ps. 115:15 – May you be blessed of the Lord, Maker of Heaven and earth.”
    2. Ps. 148:1-5 – Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light! Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created.
    3. Neh. 9:6 - You alone are the LORD. You have made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them And the heavenly host bows down before You.
    4. Heb. 11:3 – By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
    5. Acts 17:24 – The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth…

2.  How did God create?

a.  I dunno

b.      Often said that the Bible is not a science textbook. That means that it may not give the scientific explanation of God’s method of Creation. But the Bible is true, and it contains truth: so if it says (over and over again) that God created the world and all it contains, we know that it is true

 

c.       But remember this: Could God have created the world in one standard week? Absolutely! He could’ve done it with less than a blink of an eye. So the issue of whether He used 6 very long days or 6 24-hour days is not about what He could do!

  1. Not happenstance, but order, reason

1.      We are more than the random chance of the right formation of molecules

a.  “If a fair maiden kisses a frog which instantly changes into a handsome prince, we would call it a fairy tale. But if the frog takes 40 million years to turn into a prince, we call it evolution” (Joe Crewes, http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/deception.html)

    1. Requires tremendous faith to believe that we’re just here by chance
    2. “Dr. George Wald, Nobel Prize winner of Harvard University, states it as cryptically and honestly as an evolutionist can: ‘One has only to contemplate the magnitude of this task to concede that the spontaneous generation of a living organism is impossible. Yet here we are - as a result, I believe spontaneous generation.’ (Scientific American, August, 1954).  That statement by Dr. Wald demonstrates a much greater faith than a religious creationist can muster. Notice that the great evolutionary scientist says it could not have happened. It was impossible. Yet he believes it did happen. What can we say to that kind of faith? At least the creationist believes that God was able to speak life into existence. His is not a blind faith in something that he concedes to be impossible” (Crewes)

2.      There is purpose in the creation

a.       Ps. 104:24, 29-30 – O LORD, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; The earth is full of Your possessions. You hide Your face, they are dismayed; You take away their spirit, they expire And return to their dust.  You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the ground.

b.      Gen. 1:26-27 – Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

c.       Basically, God created the whole world with purpose, including humanity—and including you and me

d.      “There is a natural law to the world; there is a natural order. And because the God of the Bible is a God of order and reason, we see in His design, we see in His creation, a system of order and reason, a natural law that He has built into the universe. And people of science seek out and find these laws that have been built in by a designer with an intelligence far, far beyond what we are capable of.” (Pat Black, “Universal Laws”)

3.      Moral laws exist

a.       “But we find the God of the Bible also has not only a natural law built into His creation, but He has a moral law built into His creation. Not only does the physical world operate by a system of consistent laws with cause and effect, we find in the realm of morality there is a consistency of cause and effect. The choices we make—moral choices—have effect, they have consequences. And these consequences are consistent.” (Pat Black)

    1. God gives His Law through His Word
    2. Lev. 11:45 – “For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy”

 

 

    1. Matt. 18: 37-40 – “And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
  1. Our response to the Creator

1.      As seen in the above verses, we should praise Him, worship Him

2.      We owe our very existence to Him. That should affect the way we look at the world and life; it should affect how we live.

3.      We should be in awe of Him; Ps. 33:6,8 – “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host. Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.”

 

II.  Transcendent God

A.     God is wholly other

1.      Is. 55:8-9 – “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.  “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

2.      A holy and perfect God

3.      Many people lose the sense of awe in God; they focus on God’s nearness to the exclusion of his greatness

B.     God is omnipotent

1.      Jer. 32:17 – Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You.

2.      Numbers 11:23 – “Is the Lord’s power limited?”

 

III. Immanent God

  1. God is active in His creation

1.      (as mentioned in numerous verses above)

2.      Francis Schaeffer: The God Who Is There; He is Not Silent

3.      Need to balance our understanding of His transcendence and immanence (many people tend to emphasize one to the exclusion of the other)

  1. God knows us intimately

1.      Knit me together in my mother’s womb (Ps. 139)

2.      Knows the hairs on each person’s head (that’s a lot of hair to count!) – cares about such minute detail about us, then surely He cares for us, too

  1. God cares about us

1.      I Pet. 5:7 – “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you”

2.      Helmut Thielicke: “God can become my Lord only when He is with me in the hundreds of little things which make up my life.” (I Believe: The Christian’s Creed)

3.      “This is the miracle: Almighty God loves me so much, that everything in my life is important to Him—not only the salvation of my soul, but also my toothache and the slippery streets I must drive, or even… a cute note from my youngest child.”

 

IV. God who demands total commitment and surrender from us

  1. We’re His by right – He made us, and so we’re His property.

1.      The story of humanity is the story of people trying to reject God’s proprietary rights; challenging God’s sovereignty over us

 

2.      Ps. 24:1 – “The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it.” We belong to Him

3.      Ps. 100:3 (It is He that has made us, and not we ourselves)

4.      Jesus came to seek and save the lost – God wants to be in a relationship with us

5.      Max Lucado’s story “You Are Special” (summarize)

B.  He demands that we give our all to him

1.      Refer to Deut. 10:12-21

2.      Is. 42:5-6a – Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it, "I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You

3.      MacArthur

4.      “I Surrender All” – it’s more than just an offering hymn; it means all of our beings, not all of our money! And it’s not “I surrender part”!

 

Conclusion

Fulfilling the purpose for which we were made: having a relationship with our Maker; Christianity is not a new religion; it has its origins all the way back to the first people who worshiped and fellowshipped with God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven & Earth.

 

 

 

{NASB}

Psalm 124:8 – Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.

 

Deut. 10:12-21 –

12   "Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
13   and to keep the LORD'S commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?
14   "Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it.
15   "Yet on your fathers did the LORD set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day.
16   "So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer.
17   "For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.
18   "He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.
19   "So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
20   "You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name.
21   "He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen.

 

 

Sermon © 2004 by Jeffrey Westbrook

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