Participants:
Series Code: TCM
Program Code: TCM200008S
|
00:40 I'm delighted that you've joined us for this series
00:43 of prophetic Bible messages fo- cusing on the book of Revelation 00:47 titled: Three Cosmic Messages. 00:51 These presentations especially underline the prophecies 00:56 in the book of Revelation chapter 14 verses 6 to 12 01:00 called the Three Angels' Messages. 01:02 We've been studying them. The first angel's message 01:05 that goes to the ends of the earth says: 01:08 "I saw another angel flying in the middle of heaven 01:10 having the everlasting gospel to preach to them 01:13 that dwell on the earth: to every nation, kindred, 01:16 tongue, and people. Saying with a loud voice: 01:19 'Fear God and give glory to Him 01:22 for the hour of His judgment has come 01:24 and worship Him that made heaven, earth, the sea, 01:27 and the fountains of waters. ' " 01:29 In our last presentation we looked at the significance 01:32 of creation. We saw that creation 01:36 speaks of a God that is all-powerful, 01:39 all-intelligent. A God of infinite design. 01:43 A God of careful planning; a God of purpose; 01:46 and a God that's created us unique and special. 01:49 We introduced the fact that the Bible Sabbath 01:52 was a symbol of God's creative power 01:56 and His desire to have fellowship with us. 01:59 In this presentation we'll continue to probe the depths 02:03 of the meaning of what it means to worship God as Creator. 02:07 Let's pray together. 02:08 Father in heaven, we're thankful 02:11 that we're not some speck of cosmic dust. 02:14 We're not some tin can run over by some truck 02:18 that some guy's kicking down the road. 02:20 We're not some meaningless object. 02:23 We're not merely an enlarged protein molecule 02:27 part of the animal creation. 02:29 We thank you that we're created in the image of God. 02:31 As we study the magnificence of creation, 02:34 as we study the Sabbath as a symbol of Your creative 02:38 authority, open our eyes to see divine truths 02:42 in Your Word. In Christ's name, Amen. 02:45 My topic for this presentation is: 02:52 If we ever needed a refuge in the world of confusion, 02:57 it's today. If we ever needed a place of security, it's indeed 03:02 today. Come back with me 03:06 to a battle that was waging in the first World War. 03:09 The casualties on both sides were high. 03:13 The shelling was intense. 03:15 The firefight had increased all day. 03:19 American soldiers with their allies were in trenches 03:24 facing the Axis powers led by Germany. 03:29 There the rival armies faced one another across the trenches. 03:34 Many that day were killed. 03:37 The wounded, the dying, the bloody 03:41 were all around scattered there. 03:44 When evening came it was Christmas Eve 1914 03:50 and a young G.I. Joe 03:54 was there in one of those trenches. 03:57 His mind wandered. 04:00 He began to think about home; 04:02 he began to think about the Xmas tree with all of its trimmings. 04:07 He began to think about turkey and mashed potatoes 04:12 and mixed vegetables and home- made chocolate chip cookies 04:17 and apple pie. 04:18 There in the trench that night 04:21 in that war his heart longed for home. 04:26 Then surprisingly enough 04:29 he heard the familiar sound of a Christmas carol that 04:33 gladdened the air. As he listened 04:37 he recognized the tune and he recognized that the words 04:42 were German. He recognized that old familiar carol 04:45 Silent night, holy night. 04:48 He wondered: "Is this some kind of a ploy? " 04:51 "Is this something that the enemy is using 04:54 to pull us out of the trenches 04:56 and shoot us down on this Christmas Eve? " 04:59 But then as he looked 05:01 he saw those German soldiers coming toward him singing. 05:07 He, along with other Allied forces and American soldiers, 05:11 got out of the trench and they met together. 05:14 And for that one night - that one brief moment - 05:19 in that horrible war these soldiers were brothers. 05:25 They were linked together in a common humanity. 05:57 That night those forces - American, German, 06:02 Allied Axis forces - 06:05 met together and there together 06:09 for that one brief moment of time they were common humanity. 06:13 That's really what creation does. 06:16 Creation links us as brothers and sisters. 06:21 Creation links the nations of this world together. 06:25 The essence of humanity's dignity is a common creation 06:30 because every human being was fashioned by God. 06:34 Every human being by God 06:38 was shaped and made anew. 06:41 Every human being is unique... they're new. 06:45 You know, I'm told that when Swiss lace makers 06:49 make their Swiss lace at times they take 06:53 a microscopic slab - a little piece of glass - 06:58 and they let the snowflakes fall in that glass 07:01 and then put it under a microscope. 07:04 And every snowflake is different so no two pieces of Swiss lace 07:10 pattern are essentially the same. 07:13 When God made you He threw away the pattern. 07:18 You see, creation elevates us above the animal creation. 07:22 It elevates us above this evolutionary idea. 07:27 The idea of creation is the idea that establishes 07:32 our human dignity. 07:34 In Christ, the Creator, every human being has priceless value 07:40 and God-given dignity. 07:41 Whether that's the unborn; whether it is a young man 07:46 who has been hit by an automobile 07:49 and now is a quadriplegic and sits in a wheelchair. 07:53 Whether it's a young man born and has Down syndrome. 07:58 Whether it is an older woman, senior citizen, 08:02 with dementia or Alzheimer's 08:05 that has difficulty communicating and remembering. 08:08 All humanity, male and female, 08:12 young and old, rich and poor, 08:16 wise and unwise, educated and uneducated, 08:21 all humanity has worth in God's sight 08:25 because they were created by the living God. 08:28 Creation also provides us with a true sense of self-worth. 08:32 A true sense of self-worth is a sense not that we're 08:38 superior to others, not that we're better than others, 08:41 not that we lord it over others, 08:44 but a true sense of self-worth recognizes 08:47 that we are created by God. We have value in His sight. 08:51 That's He's given us unique abilities. 08:54 He's given us unique gifts. 08:55 And these unique abilities, these unique gifts, 08:58 are to be given back in service to others. 09:02 All humanity created by God 09:06 understanding that creation, understanding their worth, 09:11 has that sense of self-worth. 09:12 So we no longer walk with our heads down, 09:16 depressed, thinking: "Oh... poor me! " 09:19 Rather we walk with our heads up 09:21 taking a deep breath with our shoulders back 09:23 and a smile on our face and a sparkle in our eyes 09:26 because we know who we are. 09:28 We are sons and daughters of God 09:30 created by the King of the universe. 09:33 We are unique creations. 09:36 Nobody is exactly like you in the universe. 09:40 And isn't that a good thing? Because if anybody was like you 09:43 their worth and your worth would be diminished by 50%. 09:48 You know, even identical twins are not identical. 09:52 Even identical twins have their differences, their uniqueness's. 09:56 You are created by God. When the genes and chromosomes 10:01 came together to form the unique biological structure 10:04 of your personality God threw away the pattern. 10:09 Like a masterpiece painted by Leonardo da Vinci 10:14 that has incredible worth because it's one of a kind, 10:18 because it's unique, YOU are one of a kind. 10:21 You cannot be produced on a photocopy machine. 10:25 Nobody can make a photocopy of you! 10:28 Although somebody may take a picture of you with their 10:32 digital photograph camera or on their iPhone 10:36 that's not you. 10:38 You are YOU... created by God unique. 10:44 Once we go down the road of evolution 10:48 we wander down a road that dehumanizes human beings. 10:53 If we truly worship Him as the Creator, 10:56 we will value life like He values it 11:00 and we will see every human being created in His image. 11:05 That's why evolution is so dehumanizing. 11:07 Because really... what does evolution say? 11:10 It says that there is no Creator. 11:13 It says we evolved from the lower forms of life. 11:16 It says we are here by chance, by randomness. 11:20 So if I'm merely a genetic accident, 11:23 if I'm merely an enlarged protein molecule, 11:27 if I am merely a little more intelligent 11:30 species than the animals. 11:33 If that's all I am, then I have very very little worth. 11:38 But if I'm created by God, 11:41 if every human being is created by God special in God's sight, 11:45 then I value others through the eyes of creation 11:51 as God values them. 11:53 Creation provides a moral imperative for living 11:57 as well. Creation says: 12:00 "The One that made me and created me 12:04 as an intelligent rational being 12:07 holds me responsible for the choices that I make. " 12:11 Now let's pause here. 12:13 This is why the message of Revelation 14 is so significant. 12:18 Because in an age of evolution 12:20 that says really at least two things here at the outset. 12:24 That says, number 1, that we are merely 12:27 advanced animals. That dehumanizes human beings 12:31 and it does not provide any basis for genuine 12:36 authentic love toward others. 12:38 In that philosophy it is the survival of the fittest 12:43 and I simply trample upon others 12:46 to achieve my goal. 12:48 There's no moral ethic that's provided. 12:50 The second thing is that if I'm just an advanced animal 12:54 and a little more intelligent than the animal, 12:57 I have no accountability except to myself. 13:00 Therefore if there is no accoun- tability except to myself 13:04 the idea of making positive moral choices 13:07 and standing before the judgment bar of God one day 13:10 to give account of those choices 13:12 that simply goes out the window. 13:14 So creation provides a moral imperative for living. 13:20 It indicates that the One who made me 13:22 made me responsible. There the message of Revelation 14:7 13:27 to a generation that says they have no responsibility 13:32 except to themselves, that has no moral ethic 13:36 higher than their own mind... 13:38 This message of Revelation says: 13:43 In other words, we are responsible for the decisions 13:46 we make. We are free moral agents. 13:49 God has given to us conscience; He's given to us reason. 13:51 He's given to us judgment, and therefore the choices 13:55 we make we will ultimately be held accountable for 13:59 through all eternity. 14:00 Those choices will decide our eternal destiny. 14:04 To a generation it says 14:07 the summum bonum of life... that is, 14:09 the essence of life is doing what you want to do. 14:12 God calls us back... He calls us back to the fact 14:15 that He created us. He calls us back to the fact 14:18 that He's given us conscience. 14:20 He calls us back to the fact of making positive moral choices. 14:32 We are responsible to our Creator. 14:36 We are responsible to the One that made us. 14:38 Since He made us and He created us 14:42 and He created us with minds to make decisions 14:45 we are responsible to Him for the decisions that we make. 14:49 To the evolutionist, the highest standard is the human mind. 14:54 For those who believe in creation 14:57 the highest standard is doing God's will 15:00 as revealed in God's Word. 15:03 For those of us who believe creation 15:05 we believe the God that created the world 15:08 reveals Himself in this book called the Bible 15:12 and that we'll be accountable for the decisions we make 15:16 in the light of the eternal moral principles 15:19 of the very living Word of God. 15:22 For those of us who believe in creation 15:25 we believe that there are two pathways: 15:28 the pathway of life and the pathway of death 15:31 and that the devil is leading millions down the pathway 15:35 of eternal destruction by failing to recognize 15:39 their responsibility to the Creator God. 15:43 For the evolutionist, you see, death is the end. 15:46 There is no tomorrow. 15:47 Creation, though, speaks of a 15:49 very bright and glorious tomorrow. 15:52 I spent many years in the former Soviet Union. 15:57 From 1985 to 1990 I traveled to Hungary, Poland, and Yugoslavia 16:02 and spent time there sharing Christ 16:06 with audiences that were largely atheistic in their background. 16:11 When the former Soviet Union fell in 1989 16:15 I immediately went to Russia. 16:17 Lectured in Plekhanov University. 16:19 Lectured as well in the Kremlin. 16:22 Lectured in the Olympic Stadium. 16:25 Thousands came to our meetings at that point. 16:28 At one occasion I was invited to debate - 16:32 which I didn't choose to do - 16:34 a Communist philosopher. 16:36 Because the Christian church in the former Soviet Union 16:41 encouraged me to do that 16:42 to put Christianity in the forefront I agreed. 16:46 One of the things that I said to him in that debate 16:49 over national television was this: 16:52 I said: "Suppose you have a very close friend 16:56 and you've know this family for many, many years. 17:00 And suppose your friend's wife is in a tragic car accident 17:06 and is killed instantly. 17:08 Your friend is in the hospital and you go to him 17:12 to give him comfort. I want to know 17:15 what you're going to say. 17:17 Are you going to say to your friend: 'Well you know, friend, 17:20 it's just too bad your wife died. 17:22 At least she's no longer suffering 17:25 and well, she's in the grave now and you'll never see her again 17:28 and worms are going to eat her body 17:30 and you know, this is just a mystery we don't understand. 17:33 Soon we're all going to die anyway so take courage. ' 17:36 What are you going to say to your friend 17:38 who's lost his wife? " 17:39 You know, if I have a Christian friend whose wife's been 17:42 in a car accident I can go to visit him in the hospital. 17:45 I can put my arms around him. 17:47 We can cry together and weep together and I can say: 17:50 "Friend, you know you and I don't fully understand this. 17:53 We live in a broken world, a world of good and evil 17:56 and I don't have any pat answers but I know this: 17:58 that Christ is going to be with you. 18:00 He says: 'Lo, I am with you always... even to the end 18:03 of the earth. ' " I can say to him 18:05 "Christ will give you strength to get through this 18:07 and one day, one day beyond all the sickness, 18:11 suffering, and pain you can see your wife again. " 18:14 "You can live with her through all eternity again. " 18:17 "One day there is a better world coming. " 18:20 You see, atheism has no hope for the future. 18:24 If you accept evolution and you take it to its final end, 18:28 it does not answer the great questions of life. 18:33 But if you look at the "eyes" of Scripture 18:36 and through the "eyes" of Scripture 18:38 2 Peter 3:13 says: 19:06 In this world there is sickness. 19:09 In this world there is suffering. 19:10 In this world there is heartache. 19:12 But there is a new world coming where righteousness dwells. 19:16 Christ created this world once. 19:19 He created it in Edenic splendor 19:22 where there was no sickness, suffering, and death. 19:24 And our Creator will re-create it. 19:27 That's the message of the book of Revelation: 19:29 that we're not wandering on some aimless planet 19:33 spinning through space. We're not alone: 19:36 but that Christ is here with us. 19:38 And one day there'll be a better world. 19:40 Evolution offers no hope of eternal life. 19:44 It simply offers the grave as a dark hole in the ground. 19:48 Death: a long night without a morning. 19:52 But creation answers the eternal questions of life: 19:55 Where did I come from? 19:56 From the hand of a loving God that created me. 20:00 Why am I here? 20:01 To reveal His glory. 20:03 To enjoy the abundance of life He offers. 20:06 Where am I going? 20:08 My destiny is eternity. 20:11 I remember the story of a preacher who was 20:14 the preacher of Bourbon Street actually. 20:16 His name was Bob Harrington. 20:18 And he would go down to Bourbon Street in New Orleans. 20:21 He would open his Bible and he would share Christ 20:25 with many of the down-and-out and outcasts there. 20:28 One time he was preaching and one of those outcasts 20:30 came and took a bottle of beer, opened it, 20:34 and poured it over his head. 20:36 And another time he was walking through the 20:39 Bourbon Street and somebody came up to him and said: 20:41 "Bob! Where you might be goin' preacher Bob? " 20:43 He said: "I'm going to heaven but I'm just passing through 20:47 this life. Passing down through Bourbon Street but I'm on my way 20:51 to heaven. " You know, my brother and my sister, 20:53 friends: creation says this life is not all there is. 20:59 God created a perfect world 21:01 and He will re-create it in Edenic splendor 21:05 as a perfect world once again. 21:07 We are just passing through this world. 21:11 Creation unites us to God. 21:13 The God that created us wants to have fellowship with us. 21:17 Creation establishes our self-worth. It says 21:21 we have value in His sight because we were made uniquely. 21:26 Creation forges ties with all humanity. 21:30 It says all humanity is made of one family. 21:36 That we are brothers and sisters in Christ. 21:39 Creation inspires us with a confidence that a God 21:43 that cares, the God that made us, has not forgotten us. 21:48 The God that made us cares for us. 21:50 Creation links us to God's inexhaustible power. 21:54 The One that made us, the One that shaped us, 21:57 the One that fashioned us 21:59 has this inexhaustible, this incredible power. 22:04 This is the message of the 3 angels. 22:07 This is part of these three cosmic messages 22:11 that go to the world in this generation. 22:14 Creation encourages us with the hope of life after death. 22:20 This is an amazing graphic. 22:23 It was painted by the artist Nathan Greene. 22:27 He painted this aspect - this part of the picture 22:31 of the second coming of Christ called The Blessed Hope - 22:35 and he painted into the picture the angel presenting 22:39 a little girl back to her parents. 22:43 The artist, Nathan Greene, happened to know this family. 22:47 And their little one died at a very young age 22:51 of a strange disease. 22:53 To encourage them he had painted this picture 22:57 of an angel presenting her back to her parents. 23:02 What hope we have! 23:04 The God that created us has not forgotten us. 23:08 The God that created us will re-create this world 23:11 in Edenic splendor. And as the apostle Paul says: 23:15 "The Lord Himself will descend from heaven... " 23:18 in that Blessed Hope... "with a shout, 23:21 with the voice of the archangel. 23:23 The dead in Christ shall rise first 23:25 and we which are alive and remain 23:27 will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord 23:30 in the air. " Husbands and wives united in Christ. 23:35 Sons and daughters brought back and placed in their mothers 23:40 arms... those that have died in childhood. 23:42 What a day of rejoicing that will be! 23:45 God created us. He is all powerful. 23:49 He is coming again in the clouds of heaven 23:51 in Christ to redeem us. 23:53 Now this creation has given to us 23:58 a sign of that creation. 24:02 When Christ created the world 24:04 He left a perpetual sign 24:07 of His creative authority called the Sabbath, 24:11 and every week the Sabbath reminds us 24:15 of that God that made us. 24:18 Every week the Sabbath reminds us that we are valuable and 24:22 precious in His sight. 24:23 Every week the Sabbath reminds us that He is the God 24:27 of intelligent design and that He has a purpose 24:31 for our lives. 24:33 Every week the Sabbath reminds us 24:35 when we go through difficulties and troubles 24:38 that He has power to change our lives and solve those problems 24:42 that we face. Every Sabbath the creation 24:47 story calls us to the new creation that there is 24:53 in Christ and that He will make this world over again. 24:57 That's what this message of Revelation is all about. 25:00 That's what the first of these three cosmic messages is about. 25:18 This is no message that is to be done in a corner. 25:21 It is to go to the ends of the earth. 25:41 In other words: worship the Creator. 25:43 So in an age of evolution 25:45 God has sent a special message 25:47 calling us back to worship the Creator. 25:51 Why do we worship anyway? 26:01 Now this may be a new thought for you. 26:04 Who is it that created the world? 26:07 The Bible says in Genesis 1: "In the beginning God 26:12 created the heavens and the earth. " 26:14 But the Bible also says: "The Spirit of God moved 26:16 on the face of the deep. " So God is the active 26:20 agent in creation. He creates through the power 26:24 of the Holy Spirit but He designates creative authority 26:28 to someone. Who is that? 26:47 So God is the master Creator 26:51 but He designates creative authority to Christ. 26:56 So Christ is really the active agent in creation, 27:01 the One who carries out the Father's plan. 27:04 So Revelation's call to worship the Creator 27:07 is really a call to worship Jesus. 27:11 Do you see why Satan hates creation so much? 27:15 Because for Satan Jesus is a rival 27:19 and he's made every attempt to discredit creation 27:22 because he hates the Creator. 27:25 So the devil has attacked creation 27:28 as a way of attacking Jesus. 27:31 The devil wants to rob Christ of His creative authority. 27:36 He wants to rob Christ of the worthiness that Jesus has 27:41 to be worshiped as our Creator. 27:44 That's why the Sabbath, the symbol of creation, 27:49 is at the center of the great controversy 27:52 over Christ's worthiness to receive worship 27:56 as our Creator. As we come and worship on the Sabbath 28:01 we say: "Jesus, You are worthy 28:04 to be worshiped as Creator. " 28:07 The very basis of all worship 28:10 is the fact that He created us. 28:36 If you destroy creation, 28:38 you destroy Christ's glory. 28:40 You destroy the honor that is due to Christ. 28:43 You destroy the very power of Christ 28:45 because He spoke and the worlds came into existence. 28:48 So this issue of the Sabbath 28:51 is not some issue of legalism. 28:54 It's not some minor issue of you choose one day 28:57 and I choose another. It is at the very heart 29:00 of the great controversy between good and evil. 29:03 It has to do with Satan's intentional intent 29:08 to destroy Christ as Creator 29:12 and undermine the very basis of all of worship for Christ. 29:37 When we come to worship on the Sabbath 29:40 we are saying: "Lord, in You we live. 29:42 In You we move. In You we have life. " 29:45 We are acknowledging that Christ is indeed the life giver. 29:50 The Sabbath also is that link to our family of origin. 29:55 It reminds us of who we are. 29:58 It takes us back to our roots. 30:01 We are anchored in a God that made us 30:06 at the beginning... not anchored in primeval slime. 30:11 The Sabbath is a link to that family of origin. 30:16 It reminds us that we are special in His sight. 30:19 That we are precious in His sight. 30:22 That we are fashioned uniquely in His sight. 30:25 You know, some time ago I read a fascinating 30:28 and a real cute little story. 30:30 Little Shia was about 7 years old. 30:35 Her Mommy had a baby. 30:38 And Mommy and Daddy, Shia and her sister 30:42 were just a family that loved one another. 30:45 And Shia kept saying: "Mommy, can I go into the baby's room 30:50 and talk to the baby by herself? " 30:52 "Mommy, can I go into the room with the baby? " 30:55 And you know, mother was a little bit hesitant. 30:57 She wondered what Shia would say to that little baby 31:02 and she wanted to be quite careful. 31:04 But as the baby grew a little bit 31:07 and as Shia showed maturity 31:09 and as she showed a real love for her sister 31:12 Shia was allowed to go into the room. 31:15 Shia went in; closed the door 31:17 but left it open just a little crack. 31:20 Well Mommy and Daddy wanted to know what Shia 31:23 was going to say to her sister. 31:24 And so they listened at that door in the crack of the door. 31:28 And they heard Shia say this: 31:31 "Baby Sister, tell me what God is like 31:35 because I'm beginning to forget. " 31:39 "Baby Sister, tell me what God is like 31:42 because I'm beginning to forget. " 31:54 This world overwhelms us. 31:57 The responsibilities of life seem to choke out at times 32:03 the very life of spirituality. 32:05 At times the world presses in too close. 32:09 We tend to forget. 32:11 We forget that God created us. 32:13 We forget that we were made special by Him. 32:16 We forget that we are precious in His sight. 32:19 We forget that He can re-make us and re-create us 32:22 into His image. 32:24 We forget that He has a better world coming, 32:27 that there's a new day dawning, 32:29 that there's a better tomorrow on the horizon. 32:31 And so He's given us the Sabbath. 32:34 The Sabbath is an oasis in time. 32:37 The Sabbath - this palace in time - invites us 32:41 to remember: to remember that He created us, 32:44 that He fashioned us, that He shaped us, 32:47 that He cares for us, that He died for us. 32:49 To remember that He's coming again for us. 32:52 Now there is a not-so-subtle deception. 32:56 And that not-so-subtle deception tries to blend 32:59 evolution with a form of creation. 33:02 And what it says is this... 33:03 and some Christians have really bought into this lie... 33:06 It says: "Well, you know, maybe God was the first 33:10 cause of everything but maybe then He just 33:13 allowed the world to evolve after He created life 33:18 initially. Then over millions of years 33:21 He let the world kind of evolve. So He was really 33:25 the first cause. He caused that first spark of life. " 33:28 That's what some people think or believe. 33:30 They try to harmonize creation and evolution. 33:33 But from a Biblical perspective that's really not possible. 33:38 Because the Bible says in Psalm 33 verse 6 and 9: 33:51 So the Bible teaches that this world came into existence 33:56 not over long periods of time 33:58 but God spoke the world into existence. 34:01 So to accept the idea that God created the first spark 34:04 of life and then let life evolve 34:06 is a denial of the scriptural story 34:09 and undermines the very foundation of Scripture. 34:13 The Bible also says in Hebrews 11 verse 3: 34:29 In other words, there were no long years 34:31 of evolutionary progress. 34:33 Rather, God spoke and this world was created 34:37 in the very likeness of God's plan. 34:42 God spoke and the world came into existence. 34:45 The days of creation according to Scripture 34:49 were 24-hour days. 34:52 Now some people say: "Well, could those days 34:54 have been thousands and thousands of years? " 34:57 Well, we already read Psalm 33. He spoke and it was done. 35:00 Doesn't say He spoke and continued to be done 35:02 for thousands of years... millions of years. 35:04 But there is another way that we can know that. 35:07 If you look at creation 35:10 and you see the linguistic grammatical structure 35:14 of Genesis chapter 1, 35:16 the Hebrew word for day is the word yom. 35:29 Now it is true that sometimes the word yom 35:32 in the Bible is used for a longer period of time. 35:34 But when you have a number preceding it as an adjective 35:38 it has to be twenty-four hours. 35:40 So if you say that the 24-hour days of creation 35:44 are longer periods of time, that they are not 24 hours, 35:49 one of the real problems you have 35:51 is you undermine the very structure, the very grammatical 35:55 structure, of Scripture. 35:57 There's another problem with that. 36:14 What sense would it make 36:17 for God to say: "Remember the 7th-day Sabbath" 36:20 if the 7th-day Sabbath were not a 24-hour period 36:24 of time and if it were merely thousands and thousands 36:27 of years each day of creation? 36:29 So it would be nonsensical to say: "Remember the Sabbath. 36:32 In six days God created the world... 36:34 the seventh day He rested" 36:35 if indeed there is no 7-day creation week 36:39 that are literal days 24 hours each. 36:41 So what happens when you begin to revise the Scripture 36:45 and try to make it fit in to what one believes 36:49 is a more scientific explanation. 36:51 Although I should hastily add 36:53 that there are many creation scientists 36:56 who look at the evidence in geology, 36:58 the evidence in biology, 37:00 the evidence in the earth 37:02 and believe that that evidence indicates 37:05 the reasons why there was a flood, for example. 37:11 A universal catastrophe. 37:12 They believe - these creation scientists - that 37:15 the evidence of the earth indicates that God did create 37:18 the world. They see in nature design; 37:22 they see in nature an intricacy; 37:25 they see in nature a careful planning. 37:28 But here's the problem with one who tries to both 37:32 harmonize the evolutionary data with 37:38 the Biblical data. It means that you undermine Genesis. 37:41 It means you undermine the Ten Commandments. 37:43 And it really means you bring into question 37:46 what Christ Himself said 37:48 because Christ talks about creation. 37:50 He talks about the flood. 37:51 He says: "In the beginning God created male and female. " 37:55 So you bring into question the entire realm 37:58 of Scripture if you go down that road. 38:02 That's why Satan is challenging 38:04 the very heart of God's authority. 38:06 He wants to attack the Sabbath because he wants to undermine 38:10 creation because he wants to attack Jesus 38:12 and he wants to diminish the authority of Christ 38:16 and take away the very essence of why we worship Christ. 38:20 The Sabbath is at the very heart of this controversy 38:25 between good and evil. It's at the very heart 38:27 of this controversy over worship. 38:29 Satan claimed that God was unfair and unjust. 38:33 He claimed that His laws were arbitrary. 38:35 The ultimate question was one of authority. 38:39 And the law of God - the commandments of God - 38:42 are the very basis of the authority of God. 38:45 And the Sabbath in the heart of God's law 38:48 is at the very foundation of this battle between good 38:53 and evil. 39:01 It's not something superimposed upon believers. 39:05 Obedience comes from the heart. 39:08 Now somebody asks: "Well wasn't the law of God done away with 39:11 when Christ died on the cross? " 39:13 Jesus says, John 14:15, 39:16 "If you love Me, keep My commandments. " 39:19 He says in the book of Hebrews 39:21 "A new heart will I give you 39:23 and a new spirit will I put within you. 39:26 I will write My law in your mind. " 39:29 In our minds so we know it. 39:31 "I will write My law in your heart. " 39:34 In your heart so you'll love it. 39:35 So in this controversy between good and evil 39:38 we are called to make moral decisions. 39:41 We're called to obedience in the light of the judgment hour. 39:45 We are called to worship the Creator. 39:47 And the very essence of that Creator worship is 39:50 worship on the Sabbath. 39:52 This is a titanic struggle; it's more than a matter of days. 39:54 It's more than a matter of an arbitrary decree. 39:58 It's a matter of a battle for the throne of the universe. 40:02 That's why the message says, Revelation 14 verse 7: 40:06 "Fear God... " a message as important for our day 40:09 as Noah's message was for his day. 40:12 A message of obedience: fearing God, giving glory to Him. 40:15 A message of the judgment hour to make eternal choices. 40:18 A message to worship the Creator. 40:21 And the very essence of worshiping the Creator 40:23 is found in the Creator's day: the Sabbath. 40:27 But notice: Revelation 14:7 says "Worship the Creator. " 40:31 But we go down to the 9th verse. A second angel follows 40:35 in the 8th verse talking about the fall of Babylon. 40:38 We're going to talk about that in our next presentation. 40:41 But notice: 40:54 Revelation chapter 14 verse 7 40:58 says: "Worship the Creator. " 41:00 Revelation chapter 14 verse 9 says: 41:03 "Don't worship the beast. " 41:05 So you have two worships set distinctly in opposition. 41:09 Where do these worships find their focal point? 41:13 Where do they find their climax? 41:15 The next verse tells us. 41:29 So Revelation 14:7 says: "Worship the Creator. " 41:34 Revelation 14:9 says: "Do not worship the beast. " 41:39 Revelation 14:12 says that the way we worship 41:44 the Creator and do not worship the beast 41:46 is because of the faith of Christ 41:49 that lives and dwells in our hearts. 41:52 We thus keep the command- ments of God in obedience. 41:56 Now my friend, this is not some periphery issue. 42:00 This matter of keeping God's commandments 42:03 is not something that is a side issue of Christianity. 42:07 It's not that I'm saved by grace so I can do as I please. 42:11 It's I'm saved by grace so I can do as Christ pleases. 42:14 And once I understand this larger issue 42:17 this message that God is sending to all humanity, 42:21 this message that's a call back to fearing and respecting 42:25 and obeying Him, of giving Him glory in the way we live, 42:29 this message of the judgment hour 42:31 that calls us, that compels us, that urges us, 42:35 that beseeches us to make a choice to give our whole lives 42:39 to Him... this message calls us back to worshiping 42:42 the Creator. It calls us from the falsehoods, the traditions, 42:46 the deceptions of Satan 42:49 which he's trying to undermine the very law of God 42:52 and destroy the Creator's authority because he hates Jesus. 42:57 These two worships are contras- ted in the book of Revelation 43:01 and they are contrasted before our very eyes. 43:04 Worshiping the beast or worshiping Jesus Christ 43:07 on the day that He has created and enshrined. 43:10 In the future church and state will one day again unite. 43:15 In the future at a time of chaos and calamity 43:18 as we shall study there will be laws passed 43:22 in an attempt to enforce worship of the beast. 43:25 But those who worship the Creator 43:28 will stand firm for Jesus Christ 43:31 through His grace, by His power, because they love Him 43:34 and they're saved by His grace. 43:50 What does Sabbath say in a 21st-century society? 43:56 It calls us to devotion. 43:58 It calls us to the deepest allegiance to Christ. 44:01 It calls us to loyalty. 44:08 And every 7th day that palace descends from heaven to earth. 44:19 A Jewish writer by the name of Abraham Heschel 44:23 really describes the magnificence of the Sabbath 44:26 in these words: 44:42 You see what Heschel was saying. 44:44 That the Sabbath is a metaphor for paradise. 44:47 So on the Sabbath the palace in time descends. 44:51 We leave the cares of earth. 44:53 We leave the heartaches of earth. 44:55 We leave the sorrows of earth. 44:57 We are enclosed... we are shut in with Jesus 45:00 in His palace. 45:03 We are in relationship to Him in worship. 45:06 We are in relationship to Him as each week we come 45:10 to sing His praises as we study His Word. 45:13 As we pray as corporate bodies in worship. 45:17 The Bible says in the book of Hebrews: "Forsake not the day 45:20 of yourselves assembling and so much the more 45:24 as you see the day approaching. " 45:25 The Sabbath becomes the sign of loyalty to Him 45:28 in the light of a universal con- flict between Christ and Satan. 45:32 And then Heschel says: 45:42 The Sabbath is an appetizer. 45:45 The Sabbath provides for us a taste of eternity. 45:49 The Sabbath is a time for us to fellowship with our Creator. 45:53 Heschel goes on: 46:09 You see, the Sabbath is that time to nurture 46:14 that seed of eternity that God has put in our hearts. 46:18 And we nurture that as we worship our loving Creator. 46:22 And that seed grows and blossoms so the fruits of the Spirit 46:26 can be seen in our very lives. 46:29 On Sabbath Christ finished His work; it was complete. 46:34 And on Sabbath we rest in His love and care. 46:38 Sabbath rest is a rest in His loving care. 46:41 Sabbath rest is a rest in His righteousness not ours. 46:44 Sabbath rest is a rest in anticipation 46:48 of the eternal rest that Christ will give us when He comes 46:51 again. Sabbath rest is a symbol 46:55 of a faith experience in Jesus. 46:57 It is a graphic illustration of our trust in Him 47:01 because it is a total period of rest in Him. 47:05 We enter into His palace in time. 47:12 But we rest in His love and care. 47:16 We rest in the fact that He created the world 47:20 in His finished work of creation. 47:21 We rest in His finished work on the cross. 47:24 And as we rest on Sabbath we say: "We can add nothing to 47:28 our salvation. " Our works don't add to it; 47:31 our works are the response to His grace, 47:34 the response to His salvation. 47:37 We come and we say: 47:44 We come resting in the cross, resting in grace, 47:47 resting in His mercy, resting in His pardon. 47:50 But there's something else even deeper in the Sabbath. 48:05 The Creator God, the all-powerful God 48:09 who created this world and rested on the 7th day, 48:13 the God who spoke and worlds came into existence, 48:16 He says to us that the Sabbath is a sign 48:20 of His sanctifying power. 48:23 The Sabbath is a sign that He can make us over again. 48:27 The Sabbath is a sign of the new creation. 48:30 Sanctification is a word in the Bible that means holiness. 48:35 It means one who is set aside. 48:38 Christ makes us holy. 48:41 We don't make ourselves holy. 48:43 We don't change our own lives. 48:45 We are not our own creators. 48:47 But as we come on Sabbath we acknowledge the fact 48:50 that He is the sanctifying God. 48:53 We acknowledge the fact that He is the God that touches us 48:56 with blessing. We acknowledge the fact that 48:58 He is our all-powerful Creator. 49:05 He longs to sanctify you as that special child of His. 49:11 The Sabbath is a symbol of that. 49:24 ... so He can give us victory over those besetting sins 49:28 so this all-powerful Creator can break the chains 49:32 that bind us, that can unlock the prison doors that trap us. 49:36 He can deliver from alcohol; He can deliver from tobacco. 49:39 He can deliver from those foods that we use to indulge our 49:43 appetite to destroy our bodies. 49:45 He can deliver us from hatred and bitterness and anger 49:49 and resentment. He can deliver us from lust and impurity. 49:53 He can deliver us from the captivating alluring attraction 49:58 of those video programs and those digital media 50:04 onslaughts that corrupt our mind at times. 50:08 He is the One that can give us new desires, 50:11 new tastes, new love. 50:19 You see, worshiping Christ as the Creator 50:23 not only means that He will re-create us. 50:26 But if I worship Him as the Creator, 50:29 I will be interested in caring for His creation. 50:34 In an era when industrial pollution 50:38 is destroying our earth, in an era when 50:42 this earth is being polluted by factories all around us, 50:48 there is a call... a relevant call... an end-time call 50:52 to worship Him as Creator. If I worship Him as Creator, 50:55 I'm going to respect that which He created - 50:58 the earth - and do everything I can to care for the earth. 51:01 But also, if I worship Him as Creator 51:04 of all that He has created 51:06 the human body is the most sacred. 51:08 So if I worship Him as Creator, 51:10 I'm going to care for this body that He made. 51:14 Sabbath is that call to worship Him together 51:18 as Creator, the One who created heaven and earth. 51:21 It's a call for families to come, to pray together, 51:24 to study God's Word together, 51:26 to let the power of the Creator change their lives. 51:29 We need Sabbath quality time with God, with our families. 51:32 Who sanctifies us? The God who helps us to keep growing 51:37 in our spiritual lives. 51:38 And one day in eternity, one day in a place called glory, 51:42 one day in a place called heaven, 51:44 one day when we walk on streets of gold 51:47 the Bible says, Isaiah 66:23-24: 52:11 We will have an entry into that forever relationship 52:17 with Him. Can you imagine it? 52:20 Singing on Sabbath in heaven: "Worthy, worthy 52:24 is the Lamb to receive blessing and honor 52:27 and glory. " The Sabbath is not some legalistic requirement. 52:31 It is a day of rest and gladness. 52:35 Let joy fill your soul as Charles sings 52:40 O Day of Rest and Gladness. 52:51 O day of rest and gladness, 52:56 O day of joy and light, 53:01 O balm of care and sadness, 53:06 most beautiful most bright; 53:11 On thee, the high and lowly 53:16 before the eternal throne 53:21 sing "Holy, holy, holy" 53:26 to the eternal One. 53:31 Thou art a port protected 53:36 from storms that round us rise. 53:41 A garden intersected 53:46 with streams of paradise. 53:51 Thou art a cooling fountain 53:55 in life's dry, dreary sand; 54:00 From thee, like Pisgah's mountain, 54:05 we view our promised land. 54:10 O day of sweet reflection, 54:15 thou art a day of love. 54:20 A day to raise affection 54:25 from earth to things above. 54:30 New graces ever gaining 54:35 from this our day of rest 54:40 We seek the rest remaining 54:45 in mansions of the blessed. 54:54 The Creator God invites you 55:00 to enter into His palace. 55:03 Every Sabbath God's palace descends from heaven to earth 55:10 and you have a personal invitation to fellowship 55:14 with the Creator. Creation speaks 55:18 of a God that cares for you. 55:21 Creation speaks of a God that created you and fashioned you 55:26 and loved you beyond what you ever imagined. 55:30 Creation speaks of this all-powerful God 55:33 that wants to change your life. 55:36 That wants to give you a new heart. 55:39 Creation speaks of a God who rested on the seventh day. 55:46 And we can rest... rest from that anxiety. 55:51 Rest from that worry. 55:53 Rest from that care. 55:55 We can place our lives in His hands. 56:00 Creation speaks of a new world... 56:04 a world where the heartache and sorrow is gone. 56:09 Creation speaks of a God that is coming again. 56:16 He created the world once 56:18 and He longs to re-create it again. 56:23 O day of rest and gladness! 56:26 Will you enter into the joy of creation 56:29 by committing your life to worship Him each Sabbath 56:35 and understand the bigness and largeness of the Sabbath 56:39 as we pray? 56:40 Father, many of us have understood the Sabbath 56:42 before, but we see it in bigger terms, larger terms. 56:46 We accept Your invitation 56:49 to accept this as a day of joy and gladness. 56:52 Some of us have never heard messages on the Bible Sabbath 56:55 before, and just now we make that decision to follow You 57:00 and enter into Your joy. In Christ's name, Amen. 57:05 May Jesus guide your life 57:11 as you understand more fully 57:14 the blessings that He has for you each week 57:18 in the Bible Sabbath. My prayer 57:19 is you will enjoy the blessing of the Sabbath today and always. |
Revised 2020-07-28