Have You Met Your Creator?

961103AM

BYT-12

Genesis 1: The first words the Bible opens are the Creator introducing Himself to us, His creations. “In the beginning God . . . “

John 1: The Gospels start and Jesus is introduced as the Creator announcing His coming to earth “In the beginning was the Word . . .all things were made by Him . . . and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”.

Revelation 10: The last words of the Scripture as human history concludes when the Creator returns to earth to take His place as King of kings and Lord of lords! Revelation 10:6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: (KJV)

Have You Met Your Creator?

That meeting will begin when you start to listen to His voice. Our text in Psalm 19:1-6 explains this morning that our Creator God has revealed Himself in two ways. In nature and in His Book, the Holy Scriptures!

I find my Lord in the Book,
Wherever I chance to Look
He’s the theme of the Bible
The center and heart of the Book.

He’s the Rose of Sharon,
He’s the lilly bright and fair,
Wherever I open my Bible,
The Lord of the Book is there.

He at the Book’s beginning gave the Earth its form
He is the Ark of shelter bearing the brunt of the storm
He is the burning bush of the desert, the budding of Aaron’s rod
Wherever I look in the Bible, I see the Son of God.

The Ram upon Mt. Moriah, the ladder from earth to sky.
The scarlet cord in the window, and the serpent lifted high,
The smitten rock in the desert, the Shepherd with staff and crook,
The face of my Lord I discover, wherever I open the Book.

He is the Seed of the Woman, the Savior virgin born,
He is the Son of David of whom men rejected with scorn,
His garments of grace and of beauty, the stately Aaron Deck,
Yet He is a Priest forever, for He is Melchizedek.

Light of eternal glory, whom John the Apostle saw,
Light of the golden city, Lamb without spot or flaw,
Bridegroom coming at midnight for whom the virgins look,
Wherever I open my Bible, I find my Lord in the Book.

Psalm 19 Magnifies God’s Revelation of Himself

1. In v. 1-6 through CREATION God is revealed in a general way. (general revelation)
   2. In v. 7-14 the SCRIPTURES reveal God in a special way. (special revelation)

• In v. 1-6 through CREATION God is revealed in a general way. (general revelation)
  • We have already learned that “general revelation” is nature as it reveals and magnifies the wondrous character of our Almighty God . Note what Paul says in the New Testament:
    • Romans 1: 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (KJV) REMEMBER PEOPLE COME INTO THE WORLD HOLDING TWO CANDLES (creation and conscience).
• NEXT OUR CREATOR REVEALS THAT HIS NAME IS JESUS! What does Ps 19:1-3 teach?
  • We know that the “glory” the heavens declare are in the fullest sense, no less than our Lord Jesus Christ. Who is Hebrews 1:3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; (KJV)
    • Col 1:15-23 links the Creator with this gospel of the Creator. Colossians 1:15-23 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. 21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: 23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; (KJV)
    • But, all of us Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (KJV)
• NEXT OUR CREATOR REVEALS WHAT HIS CREATURES NEED – SALVATION!
  • What does Psalm 19:4a teach? “Their line is gone out through all the earth.”
    • Paul quotes this verse in Romans 10:18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. (KJV)
    • Jesus said He was John 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (KJV)
    • But Jesus sadly affirms John 3:19-20 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. (KJV)
• FINALLY OUR CREATOR REVEALS HIS CREATURES’ ONLY HOPE – JESUS! What does Psalm 19:4b-5 say.  Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world . In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race, teach? The two metaphors (bridegroom and runner) seem out of place. But isn’t Jesus our Bridegroom from Heaven? He who waits to come at His time to our home with Him? Eph 5 and John 14

JESUS IS GREATER THAN OUR SUN

• The sun consumes 4.2 million tons of hydrogen each second, and turns it, via thermonuclear fusion, into helium heat and light. That’s 8.4 billion pounds of heat…
• Do you know what 1 pound of matter turned to heat can do? We call it a hydrogen bomb. Its power is measured in MEGATONS or millions of tons of TNT explosive power. One pound of matter turned to pure heat can raise 20 million tons of rock by 2500 degrees Celsius and cause it to glow as incandescent lava. Nothing can approach energy unleashed that powerfully.
• A piece of the sun ⁽¹⁾ the size of a flake of dandruff or a white fleck of lint on your clothes that was in Oklahoma City — would kill you here in your seat this morning because of the heat radiating from it!
• It only takes eight minutes for that light to get to the earth from the sun. It travels 93 million miles in those minutes. To generate that light and heat, the sun consumes 4 million tons of itself each second. It is 864 thousand miles in diameter and won’t burn out for a long time though. The energy radiated from the Sun in one second is more than all the energy used on the earth since creation!
• Now hold onto this one. The sunlight and heat you felt on a hot July or August day is only 1/2 of 1/billionth of the sun’s radiant energy. 93 million miles of space and a hundred miles of atmosphere and all the other buffers God has put there keep us shielded. But, with that in mind look again at Revelation 1:16 and his ‘JESUS’ countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength . (KJV)

JESUS IS AS INESCAPABLE AS OUR SUN! What does Psalm 19:6 teach? His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. (KJV)

• This verse ⁽²⁾ is often derided by skeptics as teaching that the sun goes around the earth, instead of the earth rotating on its axis.
• But the writer was more scientific then his critics. There is no fixed point of zero motion in the universe, so far as astronomers know. The sun indeed is moving in a gigantic orbit in the Milky Way galaxy, and the galaxy itself is moving among the other galaxies. So the circuit of’ the sun is, indeed, from one end of the heavens to the other.
• However, the psalmist was really using the scientifically correct terminology of “relative motion.” No one knows scientifically where a fixed point of zero motion may be, so all motion must be referenced to some assumed fixed point. For practically all measurements by surveyors, navigators, and astronomers, the most useful (therefore, the most scientific) zero point is the earth’s surface at the location of the observer. That is exactly what the psalmist has assumed.
• And note the significance of the statement that “there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” This refers mainly to the sun’s effect on the earth, and scientists now know that the heat energy transmitted to the earth by solar radiation empowers all activity on earth, either directly (e.g., winds, rains) or indirectly (plant life through photosynthesis, and therefore also animal and human life). Through “fossil fuels” derived from buried organisms, it even drives our machinery. It is significant that the science which deals with all these energy transfers is called thermodynamics (meaning “heat power”) and its two basic laws are the best-proved and most universally applicable laws of science.
  • These two laws testify plainly to the existence and power of God. The Second Law (the law of decreasing available energy, as the universe heads downward toward an eventual “heat death,” with the sun and stars all burned out) tells us that there must have been a primeval creation, or else the universe would already be “dead”! The First Law (law of energy conservation) tells us that no energy is now being created, so the universe could not have created itself. The only scientific conclusion is that “in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1: 1).
• When this verse speaks of the sun’s “going forth,” however, it is not referring only to its transit across the sky, but to the “outgoing” of its radiant heat energy.
  • It is the same Hebrew word as in Deuteronomy 8:3 which reminds us that man cannot live by bread alone, but “by, every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord).”
  • It is also used in the remarkable prophecy of the coming birth of Christ in Bethlehem, where we are told that His “goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).
• Here also, the sun is a beautiful type of Christ, picturing both the Living Word and the Written Word of God. He is the eternally begotten Son of God, everlastingly proceeding from the Father and declaring Him (John 1:18), while the Holy Scriptures ‘for ever settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89), can continually sustain our spiritual lives, just as the sun does our physical lives.
• As marvelous as God’s witness in the creation may be, it can never bring lost men to salvation. The sun may sustain their lives, but it can never save their souls.

JESUS SPEAKS THIS MORNING THROUGH THE SCRIPTURES

In v. 7-14 the SCRIPTURES reveal God in a special way. (special revelation)

• IF YOU MET JESUS, YOUR CREATOR THIS MORNING, WHAT COULD HE SEE?
  • He can see your past . John 4:17-18 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. (KJV)
  • He can see your thoughts . Luke 11:17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. (KJV)
  • He can see your future . Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. (KJV)
• IF YOU MET JESUS, YOUR CREATOR THIS MORNING, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
  • When demons faced Him they were terrified . Mark 5:7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. (KJV)
  • When a tree faced Him it wilted . Mark 11:20-21 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. (KJV)
  • When diseases met Him they fled . Luke 4:39 And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them. (KJV)
  • When the winds and waves of a fierce storm faced Him they fell silent . Luke 8:24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm. (KJV)
  • Have you met Jesus, your Creator? What are you going to do when you meet Jesus? He is here this morning. Will you hear His voice?

Harry Didn’t Listen

Mt. St. Helens ⁽³⁾ belched gray steam plumes hundreds of feet into the blue Washington sky. Geologists watched their seismo- graphs in growing wonder as the earth danced beneath their feet. Rangers and state police, sirens blaring, herded tourists and residents from an ever-widening zone of danger. Every piece of scientific evidence being collected in the laboratories and on the field predicted the volcano would soon explode with a fury that would leave the forests flattened.

“Warning!” blared loudspeakers on patrol cars and helicopters hovering overhead.
“Warning!” pleaded radio and television announcers, shortwave and citizens-band operators.
“Warning!” echoed up and down the mountain; and lakeside villages, tourists camps and hiking trails emptied as people heard the warnings and fled for their lives.

But Harry Truman refused to budge. Harry was the caretaker of a recreation lodge on Spirit Lake, five miles north of Mt. Saint Helens’s smoke-enshrouded peak. The rangers warned Harry of the coming blast. Neighbors begged him to join them in their exodus. Even Harry’s sister called to talk sense into the old man’s head. But Harry ignored the warnings. From the picture- postcard beauty of his lakeside home reflecting the snow-capped peak overhead, Harry grinned on national television and said, “Nobody knows more about this mountain than Harry and it don’t dare blow up on him. …”

On 18 May 1980, as the boiling gases beneath the mountain’s surface bulged and buckled the landscape to its final limits, Harry Truman cooked his eggs and bacon, fed his sixteen cats the scraps, and began to plant petunias around the border of his freshly mowed lawn. At 8:31A.M. the mountain exploded.

Did Harry regret his decision in that millisecond he had before the concussive waves, traveling faster than the speed of sound, flattened him and everything else for 150 miles? Did he have time to mourn his stubbornness as millions of tons of rock disintegrated and disappeared into a cloud reaching ten miles into the sky? Did he struggle against the wall of mud and ash fifty feet high that buried his cabin, his cats and his freshly mowed lawn–or had he been vaporized (like 100,000 people at Hiroshima) when the mountain erupted with a force 500 times greater than the nuclear bomb which leveled that Japanese city?

Now, Harry is a legend in the corner of Washington where he refused to listen. He smiles down on us from posters and T- shirts and beer mugs. Balladeers sing a song about old Harry, the stubborn man who put his ear to the mountain but would not heed the warnings.

• If you don’t listen to Him now, you will later. John 5:28-29 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. Matthew 13:49-50 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, 50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (KJV)
• We were all born with two candles – creation and conscience. To those God adds His Word. We know He is real. Don’t blow out any of your candles. Let them lead you closer to your Creator.“Have You Any Room for Jesus?”

1. Our Amazing World of Nature, Readers digest Books, 1969, pp. 261-63.

2. Henry Morris, 9/96 Back to Genesis #93.

3. Billy Graham, APPROACHING HOOFBEATS, p. 13-14.

4. 1954, R.B. Munger.

5. Mark Syverud,Daily Messenger , (August 13, 1995).

6. The Bulletin, Bend, OR (4/4/96), A-8.

7. The Berean Call, 8/96.

8. World’s Last Mysteries, Readers Digest Books, p.

9. Who moved the Stone?

10. Exploring Our Living Planet, NGB, p. 39>

11. Exploring, p. 30.

Slides