Scripture: Genesis 1:1-25; Psalm 19:1-4
Theme: Thanksgiving - For God's Creation
Sermon - This Sermon focuses on thanksgiving - thanking God for Creation - 1. Creation is God's Gift to Us 2. Creation is our Healer/Teacher 3. Creation is Ours To Redeem
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God our Father and from Jesus Christ our Savior and LORD!
How many of us this morning have said or at least have heard the following prayer?
"Thank You for the World so Sweet,
Thank You for the Food we Eat,
Thank You for the Friends we Meet,
Thank You for the Birds that Sing,
Thank you God for everything."
Most of us probably learned a prayer similar to that one as we grew up. It's a prayer of thanksgiving and praise to the LORD for His Good Creation. It's a prayer that reminds us that just as we thanked God for Good Friends last week we should also thank God for the world that He gave to all of us this morning.
In our passage, we read how God created our world. Did you happen to notice how many times God steps back and declares as He looks at His Creation - "IT WAS VERY GOOD". The writer of Genesis lets us know that God loves what He is doing and loves what He is seeing.
This morning, let's take a few minutes and remind ourselves of the majesty, the beauty and the wonder of this world that God has given to all of us. And then let's discover some ways that we can unplug and refocus our attention back on this world that we have been given the responsibility to redeem and restore.
I. Creation is God's Gift to All of Us
If we allow ourselves to see it and receive it, we will gladly acknowledge that one of God's Greatest Gifts to us is OUR WORLD. The world that we see when we open our eyes each morning. The world that we hear when we focus in on listening to all the sounds it makes. The world that we can touch as we feel the wind or feel the grass under our feet. The world that we can smell after a gentle rain or the world that we can taste as we lift up a fresh strawberry or bit down into a fresh piece of baked bread.
There is supernatural wonder all around us if we will only take the time to see it. In fact, our senses can be quite overwhelmed by all the beauty that is all around us. Who doesn't love the way that the trees burst forth in color in the spring and then once again in the autumn? Who isn't amazed at all the different types of flowers that bloom each and every year - tulips in the spring, roses during the summer and mums in the fall?
Who isn't amazed at the calm breeze that blows all around us or the sound of the water that falls from a gentle waterfall? Who isn't amazed at the splendor of the Rocky Mountains or the depths of the Great Canyon? Who isn't amazed at the wonder of the morning skies or the beauty of the rainbow?
We haven't even said anything about all those wonderful creatures that fill our skies, our oceans or the land all around us. Who is not amazed at the sight of an elephant, a giraffe, a sea lion, a dolphin, an eagle, a cardinal or even the sight of some ants as they work so hard? Who is not amazed at all the beauty and wonder around us - even if that beauty is seen in an earthworm, a spider's web or in the power of a great white shark?
And how much joy God brings to our lives through those wonderful creations that He has enabled us to domestic - dogs, cats, birds and the list could go on. Those wonderful little creatures that share love, depend on us and teach us so much about love, mercy, grace and joy.
Take a moment and go with me to the 6th day of creation. It's just past noon time. God has just put the final touches on His creation. The sun, moon and stars are all in their places. The dry land the seas have been formed. The sky is overflowing with all kinds of birds and flying creatures. The seas are full of all manner of fish. The earth is covered with all kinds of vegetation, plants and trees. Walking, running and playing are all these amazing animals sharing life together. The lion and the lamb are walking down the paths together. There is no death. There is no pain and there is no suffering. All is Good.
It's about right at that time that God scoops up a hand full of dirt and begins to fashion Adam. He makes his torso, his arms and his legs. He fashions his face taking great care in making sure that Adam reflects His own image, glory and grace. He then breathes into this dirt man His own Holy Breath and Adam comes alive. The first thing Adam sees is God Himself. Then God takes the afternoon and begins to walk with Adam telling him that all that he sees now belongs to him. The world, the animals, the skies, the birds and the fish of the sea - it is all God's Gift to Adam.
Can you imagine the look on Adam's face? Can you imagine the joy that came into his heart? I mean there are a lot of great gifts that a Father can give a Child but not one this big. "Adam - this is yours. I want you to have this world. I want you to take care of it as I have taken care of it and built it. Adam, one day you will give this to your children and they to their children - cherish it, be a good steward and enjoy the world that I have given you."
All too often I am afraid we don't take the time to enjoy this world that God has given to all of us. While some people may say they own a certain plot of land or a mountain or even a stream the truth is that land, that mountain and that stream really belongs to all of us. God has given it to all of us for us to enjoy its beauty, majesty and glory.
Years ago when our family traveled to see Mt. Rainer and the Redwoods we had to pay a certain fee or travel to areas where it was said that this land belongs to the government or to this private enterprise but as we walked around the area of Mt. Rainer and as we walked around the Redwood forest we knew better. All of this was God's gift to us humans. All of this - the snow on top of Mt. Rainer, the majesty of the redwoods and the wonders of all the creatures that lived around each of them are a gift from God. The flowers that grew around the mountain and the forest were all God's gift to us.
You may say that you own a mountain but that doesn't stop the rest of us from enjoying the view or the animals from roaming all around it. You may say that you own a farm but that doesn't stop us from enjoying the beauty of the bales of hay, the beauty of the cows and the beauty of the woodlands that surround it.
Our earth is God's gift to all of us. The sky, the clouds and the stars that we see each night are God's gift to all of us. The air, the water and the soil are God's gifts to all of us. And they are all essential to our existence. We need God's air, God's water and God's soil.
We need to stop and thank God for our world. We need to pause and thank God for our world. We need to take some time and join in with the Psalmist as He/She praises God for the heavens which show forth God's glory and proclaim His Mighty Hands.
We need to thank God for His Creation for it has great things to say to us and to teach us.
II. Creation is our Healer and Teacher
+In Revelation 22:2 the Apostle John reveals to us that the trees were created for healing.
In Psalms 23:2-3 we read about how the Shepherd would use the healing power of the grass and the still waters to restore His sheep and himself.
In that same psalm we read how the Shepherd uses the oil of the earth to protect his sheep and puts forth a bounty of food for his sheep from all the plants that grow around them. Creation is all around providing, sustaining and healing.
Today, we live in a world that is all too often focused more on synthetics, chemicals and GMO foods. But we must never forget that not only is our world God's gift to us it is full of healing powers. God created all kinds of herbs, oils and natural ways to bring healing to our hearts, minds and souls and they are all around us. What we must do is allow the LORD to show us more and more natural ways that He created to bring healing and wholeness to us as humans.
Way before yoga and all that stuff, God had told His people that the land was of ways to provide food for the body, soul and mind. Milk and honey and wind and waves that can provide for us the means to restore our souls and calm our hearts. Way before Prozac, the LORD had shown David and others the power of music that comes from creation. Music that can bring healing and wholeness to our lives.
I believe that if we allow Creation - God's wonderful gift to us - it can bring peace back into our lives and tranquility back into our souls.
When most of us were younger we allowed Nature/God's Good Earth to bring healing to us in ways we may not have even been aware of at the time. We went outside and enjoyed the sun's healing touch. We went outside and breathed in fresh air. We went outside and enjoyed the blowing of the wind, the falling of the rain or the wonder of the snow as it gently feel on us. We took in all the beauty of watching the leaves fall, watching the bees as they worked to get their nectar from the flowers and heard the birds as they flew over our heads.
We took in all the wonders and laid on the grass and enjoyed looking at all the clouds trying our best to see what images we could make out of them. We smelled the wonders of the woods and felt the coolness of the green grass. We sensed the presence of God near as we watch the squirrels and the birds and even the bugs as they flew, watch or jumped around. We were amazed at the beauty of the butterflies and the wonders of the fire flies.
As we climbed trees, sat in the fields and played in the dirt and sand we didn't know it but nature was immersing itself in us and healing our hearts, minds and souls. We didn't have a care in the world because there was something around us that reminded us that God was in control and all was well.
Somewhere along the line we forgot many of those things. We got busy and started thinking more about concrete, brick and mortar, steel and plastic. We got caught up breathing recycled air and walking on carpet. We got caught up spending the majority of our time indoors and began to feel that the outdoors was too hot, too cold, too rainy or too humid.
Somewhere along the line we forgot the beauty and the health of our world. We forgot that we were made to live in and amongst nature; not shut away from our world. We forgot the majesty and wonder of nature and to stop for a moment and remind ourselves that our DAD - OUR HEAVENLY Father made all of us this for us.
+God uses nature to teach us
The Bible is full of scripture that reminds us that nature is one of God's best ways of teaching us. For example:
-Proverbs 6:6-8
Proverbs 6:6-8 New International Version (NIV)
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.
-Matthew 6:26 - 30
Matthew 6:26-30 New International Version (NIV)
26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
In fact, it is amazing at how many times Jesus pointed to nature/creation to teach us. Examine His parables - most of them speak about nature - the Four Soil, the Sheep and the Shepherd, the Vine and the Branches, the Mustard Seed and the Wheat and the Tares.
Why wouldn't Jesus refer to nature? John chapter 1 tells us that it was God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit who created everything in the first place. So, it should not surprise us that one of the greatest tools that Jesus used to teach us about Himself, salvation, forgiveness, mercy and grace would be the world that He made.
If we will listen we can hear Creation singing God's Praise and teaching us valuable lessons. The Bible says that the trees clap their hands in praise (Isaiah 55:12).
It should not surprise us that God used the stars in the sky to talk to Abraham or a burning bush to send out the call to Moses. God used the sheep on the hillside to teach David and used the grass of the field and the dew to help Nebuchadnezzar come to repentance. God used the wheat to help Boaz realize the beauty of Ruth and God used olive oil help a widow keep her family together.
Story after story in the Bible shows us how much nature has to teach us about God, His majesty and love.
Oh, I know that all around us are those who want to make nature some god. They want to declare the stars gods and goddesses. And they want to promote certain mountains, rock formations and the like as gods and goddesses.
But just because they want to make nature some Mother God doesn't mean that we should abandon nature or stay away from nature. Just the opposite. That is just the Devil once again doing his best to get us to see things in the wrong light.
Trees, flowers, birds, fish and animals have a lot to teach us. Mountains, hills, oceans, streams and waterfalls have a lot to teach us.
Remember when Jesus was traveling towards Jerusalem for the last time? Remember when the Pharisees got so upset with the fact that a crowd had gathered to proclaim Jesus as Messiah and King? Jesus said if human beings would not declare His glory and give praise that the very rocks would have started talking.
How long has it been since we let creation heal us? How long has it been since we just went on a walk and allowed nature to bring healing to our lives? How long has it been since we just rested in the sun or sat in the shade and took in God's breeze knowing that just as the wind blows so too does God's Holy Spirit?
How long has it been since we let the squirrels teach us about God's providential care or the ants teach us the importance of having a good work ethic? How long has it been since we have allowed God's cows and chickens remind us how God has provided for us the ability to enjoy a good meal?
How long has it been since we planted something and in the process learned some lessons on patience as we waited for it to grow and mature? How long has it been since we just took in God's masterpieces - His hills, mountains, fields, valleys and rivers and allowed them to both heal us and teach us? How long has it been since we went out into the quiet of night and try to count the stars allowing them to teach us just how big a God we serve? If we allow creation - it will teach us about God and it will bring healing and wholeness into our lives.
III. Finally, this morning let us join together to bring redemption and restoration to our world.
Nature is God's gift to us. It brings healing and is able to teach us how to be better humans. It also needs us.
When we sinned - when we who were created in the image of God and given the breath of God - sin, death and hell entered not only into the human race but into all creation as well. We were separated from a holy God, ejected from the Garden of Eden, and thrust into a world that had been changed. The very ground itself was cursed because of our sin. What had produced fruit and good things so easily now would have to endure thorns and thistles and disease.
All of creation was broken and is now groaning because of its curse and our sins. Listen to Paul's words in Romans 8:18-25
Romans 8:18-25 New International Version (NIV)
Present Suffering and Future Glory
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
In this passage, Paul describes creation going through three major phases - past, present and future. First, creation was broken because of our sins. It lost its purpose. It lost its innocence. It lost its ability to be a perfect home. Instead, creation has become uncertain and at times hostile.
Secondly, creation is waiting. It is waiting for God to come and rescue it from the sin of humanity. It is waiting for Spirit-filled people to redeem it as well as other human beings. It is waiting for Jesus to come again.
One day, all of creation will be set right again. The lion will lay down with the lamb. Creation will be rid its curse and mankind's sin.
One of the things that a great deal of theologians are waking up to is that nature is not only alive but the Bible is right in saying that nature is groaning. It's groaning is what happens when we see drought, famine, earthquakes, tornadoes and disease.
Some eschatologists are now realizing that what we are seeing in nature are two major things:
+Nature is doing its best to sound forth the message about the coming of Jesus Christ. Nature is doing its part in fulfilling scripture that tells us that the Last Days are upon us. Nature is doing its best to tell us that the time for God's Judgment is at hand.
+Nature is also reacting to our sins and is doing its best to teach us to refocus and to help redeem it.
The Earth is alive. The earth is a living organism. It is creative and it breaths and moves. The hills, the valleys and the mountains are not only homes for living creatures they are alive as well. Everything around us is alive. And because of that what we do on this planet causes us our planet to respond.
Our sins - our pollution, our destruction of renewable energies and our abuse of the land causes the land itself to respond.
If I kick a dog or pull a cat's tail, I should not be surprised if it turns around and does it best to bite me. If I am crazy enough to go to a zoo and hit a lion with a stick I should not be surprised if it tries to kill me.
The same can be said to be true of God's Good Creation. God gave us everything that we need to live life here on His Earth. Creation is His gift to all of us. He did not tell us that we could sin against the earth, the animals and not have to face the consequences.
Some of our disasters like the Dust Bowl of 1930's and the nuclear disaster of Fukushima are manmade. We know that we were responsible for each of them. Other disasters like the way we have polluted our waters and air is our fault as well.
Actually, what is happening is the Devil is leading us to destroy God's Good Creation. Satan wants us to destroy this beauty gift that God has given to all of us. He wants to take away its healing abilities and he wants the earth to fight against us. He wants us to terraform the earth into a living hell. He uses our greed and our selfishness to cause us to destroy the very land under our feet.
I firmly believe that God has another way for us to live on this planet. I believe that if we were really listening to God then we would find ways to be more Green Friendly and more efficient without harming this wonderful gift that He has given to all of us.
But the Devil has tempted us to bypass God and be our own gods. We are the ones that are poisoning our planet and raping our planet for our own greed. We have the ability to do things God's way and if we would do it our lives would be much better. All we have done with some of our so called scientific technologies is to create more cancers and diseases. All we have done is solve one problem and create two more in the process.
Some theologians believe that nature is like the dog who has been kicked and is in the process of kicking back. The Earth itself is tired of sin and is groaning for the coming of Jesus and is reacting to all the sin that we are doing to it.
We are witnessing an uptick in earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, weather disturbances and some major changes in the animal kingdom and the plant kingdom. Some of that is a direct result of our actions and I believe that some of it is nature itself responding to all our sin(s). I also believe that some it is nature responding to its own curse and the curse that we are continuing to inflict upon it by our sins.
Sin affects everything. Sin affects our individual life, our family's life, our communities life and if Paul is correct then our sin affects all of creation as well.
So, what can we do?
Well, the easiest thing for us to do is to obey God and not sin.
Then we can also do what we can to help others not sin.
And we can do some practical things to show our appreciation to God for His Creation -
1. We can refuse as much as possible to not join the throwaway culture. We can reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible.
It is amazing that during WW II how well we Americans learned how to reduce, reuse and recycle. And then again it is amazing how we as their children and grandchildren have been seduced into never reducing, never reusing and never recycling.
2. We can make sure that we try to buy things that are long lasting. Sometimes for the sake of convenience or to save a few pennies we buy something that we know is not going to last long. We need to look long term and buy what is quality and what will stay out of our landfills the longest.
3. We can pick up some trash - in our neighborhoods, around our homes and other places like our schools, our offices and around our work areas. And each time we pick up some trash we can say things like - "Lord, thank you for this wonderful and amazing world you have given to all of us. Help us to have less trash and less waste."
4. We can go on a thanksgiving walk - that's right - just take a walk around the yard, down a path and take some time to thank God for all the things you see - the grass, the sky, the flowers, the birds, the squirrels, the deer etc.... How long has it been since we have been on a thanksgiving walk?
5. We can plant some flowers, grow a small garden, plant a tree or give to an organization that plants forests and trees.
6. We can watch a nature show or visit the Zoo and take some time and watch God's creatures, learn from them and tell the Lord how much you appreciate them as His gift to you.
7. We can unplug and really see the hills, the forest, the trees and the landscape that is all around us. We can take some time and listen to the wind as it goes through the trees and ask the Holy Spirit to breath into us a new anointing. We can feel the warmth of the sunshine on our face and ask God to warm our hearts. We can see the beauty of nature all around us and ask God to allow us to mirror His beauty.
8. We can take a night and look at the stars. We can try to imagine how God created the heavens and the earth. We can see the wonder of God and realize that one day soon we will be with Him forever and ever and ever.
9. We can enjoy a pet, adopt a pet or give to a humane society. We can realize that God gave us furry friends to help us learn more about love, patience, kindness and joy.
There is so much we can do.
Today, as we close let's take some time and thank God for our world. For the air we breathe, the soil that is under our feet and the water that we drink every day. Let us be determined to be good stewards of the Earth for it is one of God's Greatest Gifts to all of us. Let us do all we can do to give to the LORD a clean earth when He returns and not one full of disease, pollution, hatred and sin.
Closing song - THIS IS MY FATHER'S WORLD - by Maltbie D. Babcock
God of Heaven - Third Day
