Introduction:
The theme for today’s flower week sermon is “Beautifying my environment”. The Scriptures begin with the words “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. God created a perfect world and placed man in a perfect environment with everything he needed. He was given authority and dominion over all that God had created and was to take care of it and preserve it. The Garden of Eden must have been the most beautiful place. We cannot even imagine how beautiful it was because our finite minds but it must have had the most beautiful environment with trees, plants and flowers. Flowers are still admired and treasured in our fallen world and on any occasion or in any situation we can express our feelings with flowers. “Say it with flowers” is one way Britain is responding to the death of Queen Elizabeth II. There are flowers being placed everywhere in Britain to express the grief of the nation and their love for the queen.
Step One: God is Creator
a) All things were made through Him
God is Creator and everything was made by Him. He made flowers to beautify the environment and be a blessing to man. Although man cultivates the flowers, God is the Creator as all things were made by Him. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. (John 1:1-3) Perfection is the hallmark of the Creator.
b) Sin ruined God’s Creation
Sin ruined God’s perfect creation. The moment Adam disobeyed God and obeyed the devil, he died for “The wages of sin is death”. (Rom. 6:23) Adams sin did not only affect mankind but the whole creation. Man became a slave to sin and Satan and the whole creation was subjected to corruption, decay and death.
c) God restores His Creation
God’s plan for His creation has not changed. Sin only delayed it but the grace of God has restored it. “The wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. (Rom. 6:23) Man is a spirit, he possesses a soul and he lives in a body. Christ became sin and paid the price for sin to redeem man. He gives the believer a new pure and holy spirit where the Holy Spirit can live. The spirit is immediately saved but the soul, our will, mind and emotions, need to be renewed to bring our thoughts and actions in alignment with the Word of God. Our bodies will also eventually be redeemed and resurrected.
Illustration:
The whole of creation reveals God as Creator. The lilies of the field may appear insignificant but they display the glory of God. Even Solomon, in all his glory, was not clothed with such splendour. Not too long ago we used to value flowers in our country. They were cultivated in gardens around our homes and in designated parks and gardens. Today our gardens have given way to pavement stones and concrete structures and the decoration of our homes and offices to artificial flowers. There is no way that one can compare natural flowers to artificial ones. Each natural flower is unique with a peculiar smell and beauty and produces nectar to attract bees and other insects. They initiate the process of pollination that ensures the spread and growth of other plants and makes the production of honey possible. In addition, through the process of photosynthesis they use the carbon dioxide we exhale to produce the oxygen we breathe. They have a life of their own, that although short, benefits man in many ways. The artificial flower is dead and can only serve as a decoration.
Application:
Today greed and lust are responsible for the destruction of our environment making it unsuitable for the cultivation of plants and flowers. All of God’s creation has a value and a purpose and we are responsible to take care of them by protecting our environment.
Step Two: God is our provider
a) God provides for our life
Greed, envy, lust and love of money are destroying our lives. We think we are responsible for our lives and do not see God as Creator and Provider. We forget that before God created man and breathed His breath of life into him, He created everything that man would need.
b) God does not want us to worry
God does not want us to worry about what to eat or drink or what to wear because life is more important than food and the body more important than clothes. Worry robs us of life itself. If God cares about the lilies in the field with a short life span and supplies their need and feeds the birds in the air which are of less value than we are, how much more will He not take care of our needs.
c) God loves us
God loves us and why would He not provide for His loved ones? He created us in His image and likeness, and when we sinned, He redeemed us with the precious blood of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Illustration:
The way God cares for the birds of the air and the lilies in the field should tell us of God’s love and care for us who are created in His image and likeness. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16) The whosoever are you and me and all we need to access the grace of God is to believe. God wants us to trust Him and obey Him. He knows our needs and has made provision to meet them. However, we can refuse to benefit from His provisions by not believing in Him. Let us enter into God’s abundant provisions and blessings by believing in Him so that the Holy Spirit can live in us and lead us into all truth.
Application:
God loves us and shed His blood for our redemption. Let us trust in the Lord with all our heart and stop leaning on our own understanding. Let us acknowledge Him in all our ways and allow Him to direct our paths.
Step Three: God should be our priority
a) Seek first the Kingdom of God
When we really know God as our creator and provider, we will make Him our priority and not worry about worldly things as the world does. Our heavenly Father knows our needs and directs us to first seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to us as well.
b) Service to God
If God is our priority, we would spend time serving Him. We can know who we are serving when we know who we are spending our time with. Instead of worrying all the time, we should spend our time with our Lord, Jesus Christ.
c) Trust the Lord
If God is our priority, we will trust Him to take care of us and give us everything we need just as He takes care of the birds in the air and the lilies in the field.
Illustration:
God is love and has placed in our hearts the desire to live in a perfect place. This was God’s plan from the very beginning when He formed man from the dust of the earth and breathed His life into him. He placed him in a perfect garden, the Garden of Eden, where everything that man would ever need was available. When man lost his first home, Christ came and redeemed him so that he could once again experience joy, peace and fulfilment in God’s presence in his new home in Heaven, the New Jerusalem.
Application:
Heaven is reserved for all those who have believed in the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and accepted Him as their Saviour and Lord. Is Jesus Christ your Saviour and Lord?
Conclusion:
If Jesus Christ is our Saviour and Lord, how have we been taking care of the environment He has entrusted into our care? Unfortunately, here in Ghana, we have been destroying it and, in the process, destroying ourselves. Illegal mining, Galamsey, is destroying the land, plant life and polluting the water bodies. People are suffering and dying from mercury and cyanide poisoning. What are we doing to God’s creation? Consider the Lilies in the field. If God carefully takes care of them, should we not do the same?
Personal Response:
Let us consider our environment. Are we not destroying it with our actions and neglect? Is our priority to serve God or is it gold and money? Let us be good stewards of the environment God has entrusted into our care to the praise and glory of Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
