God and His World

1:12And so the astronauts worked quickly to get camera into or film into the camera, and Bill Anders snapped a series of pictures, one of which became one of the most famous images of the entire 20th century. It's known as Earthrise. You can see it here. And that same evening, the These astronauts were scheduled to participate in a broadcast that would be heard by roughly 1 billion people around the world. And in true government fashion, the only instruction that the astronauts were given for this broadcast that would be heard by 1 billion people was do something appropriate.

1:57Appropriate? What exactly would be appropriate to say in the year that both Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated? What would be appropriate to say in the year when thousands of American lives had been lost in Vietnam? What would be appropriate to say in a year where there was more civil unrest than the United States had seen in a long time? What would there be to say? What would be appropriate? Well, nothing seemed appropriate until they had the idea to simply read from God's word.

2:34And they chose to read on this broadcast to one billion people the first ten verses of the book of Genesis. Because you can't make sense out of the universe or out of all the sin and evil that's committed on the earth unless you begin where the Bible does. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Well, today we are embarking on a new sermon series, and it is a highly unusual sermon series for our church because we almost always go verse by verse through books of the Bible. But as we considered all that's going on over the past 18 months, and as we're still in the midst of this pandemic, the elders felt it was important for us to take time to get back to the basics, to reconsider the foundational truths of the Christian faith and of the church and of the word of God, so that we together can re-center ourselves as the people of God.

3:43We're going to address some of the most foundational elements of the Christian life in this series. We're going to talk about God and His Word. We're going to talk about the church. We're going to talk about worship a lot. We're going to talk about discipleship and making disciples. We're going to talk about gender and marriage and parenthood. We're going to address all of these topics. And friends, there is nothing more foundational, nothing more important than the knowledge of God.

4:11We come to know about God in two ways: through his world and through his word. And so next week we're going to consider God and his word. But today we're going to begin this sermon series back to the basics with God and his world. It's what theologians call General revelation. And that's because God has revealed Himself to all people in all places at all times through what He has made. It is the sermon that has been heard by every person who has ever lived at any point.

4:49So I invite you now to look at the text with me that we are preaching from today. Psalm 19. Look at verse 1. David writes this: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. The heavens, along with the sky above, are personified in this verse. They are shown as preachers who are declaring and proclaiming a message. And as we see in verses 2 through 4 here, they proclaim this message without ceasing, day after day, night after night. The heavens and the sky above are pouring out speech, David says. So anywhere you go, anywhere you live, you will hear the sermon that the heavens are preaching.

5:43And what is the content of this sermon? What's the content of the message? He says, it is the glory of God and his handiwork. So this Hebrew word translated glory is Kabad. It means Something like weightiness or heaviness or splendor. Other contexts, it can mean different things, but that's usually what it means: weightiness, heaviness, splendor. And this other word, handiwork, is ma'asa. And that word is referring to something that's made by hand. So, what David is saying is that when we look up into the sky, when we look at all that is around us, we are looking at something that was made with a particular purpose and with an end in mind, not something that was thrown together sloppily or at random.

6:38And the size and the order and the design of the universe tells us something about the creator of the universe. It points us to his glory, to his weightiness and splendor, to his importance. So, friends, whenever we look at a creation, whether we're talking about a building or a painting or a song or a poem, we draw conclusions about the creator of that creation by what we see. We judge him or her in light of the creation. So, the more beautiful that the creation is, then the more weight, the more glory we ascribe to the one who created it.

7:27So, we appreciate the paintings of children. Especially if they're our kids or grandkids, our nieces or nephews, we appreciate their work. But we stand in awe of the works of Michelangelo. When you go to Rome and you stand in the Sistine Chapel underneath the ceiling, or if you go to Florence and you stand in front of the statue of David, or if you open a book of his poetry and you read the words that he wrote, the scope, the design, the beauty of Michelangelo's work is breathtaking.

8:09His creations lead us to ascribe weightiness and importance to him as a creator. It leads us to ascribe glory, if you will, at some level, to him as a creator. And it's no different with the heavens and with the sky above. The sky itself, day and night, the moon and the planets and the stars. The sun, as David talks about in verses 4 through 6, as it rises in the morning, as it sets in the evening, as it makes its way across the heavens. When we consider all of those things and the way that the sun perfectly illuminates and heats this planet so that it can sustain human and animal and plant life, when we look at all of those things together, all of creation is declaring the glory. Of God.

9:02It's telling us about his weightiness and his splendor. Because who is big enough? Who is powerful enough? Who is creative enough to make all of the things that we see in the universe? What David is saying in Psalm 19 is that God designed the universe to reveal his glory and to point us back to him. The British scientist Stephen Hawking noted that if the universe had a beginning, we could suppose it had a beginner, a creator.

9:45But he didn't believe that. He believed what many people, including what many professing Christians, believe, and that is that science, or at least accepted science, and the scripture are at odds. So the false dichotomy that's presented to every person alive in the 21st century, including those of us who are followers of Christ, the false dichotomy that we are handed is you can believe the science or you can believe the scripture in spite of the science, but those are your choices.

10:29But is that true? Do we really have to choose between science and scripture? Robert Jastro didn't think so. He was an agnostic American astronomist, and he was born a couple of decades before Stephen Hawking in the 1920s. And he wrote this book called God and the Astronomers. And I want you to look at this quote from this book. Jastro says this: three lines of evidence: the motions of the galaxies, the laws of thermodynamics, and the life story of the stars pointed to one conclusion. All indicated that the universe had a beginning.

11:19Now, a lot of you have degrees in the sciences, or you're pursuing degrees in the sciences. But if you, like me, are of a more modest mind, then you might need a little help understanding Jastro's argument here. And so, I want to break this down for you. He refers first to the laws of thermodynamics, and the second law of thermodynamics is the law of entropy. It says that in a closed system, the amount of usable energy is always decreasing.

11:51So, what we know, or what scientists have discovered from studying the universe, is that the amount of usable energy is running out as the stars burn. They burn hydrogen, and there's less usable energy in the universe. And if it is running out of energy, that means it started with a finite amount of energy. That means it had a beginning. And if it had a beginning, it had to have a beginner. Second, the fact that the universe is expanding.

12:21Astronomers have noticed that the galaxies are not remaining in place, they are getting further and further apart, but they're getting further and further apart at a slower and slower rate all the time. Which is exactly what you would expect if the universe suddenly exploded into existence. There would be rapid expansion that would slow down over time. They've observed this over many, many decades. And then, third, the existence of the radiation echo. As scientists developed all these instruments over the years to study space and the universe, there was always this background noise, and they couldn't figure out what it was. They thought it might be some kind of static from the instruments, they thought it might be bird poop on the instruments. They didn't know what it was. But then they realized that it was actually radiation coming from the universe that has the exact same wavelengths of heat and light that you would expect from a massive explosion.

13:23So it's hard to reconcile the existence of that background radiation echo if you believe that the universe has always existed. Existed in a static state, that it didn't suddenly explode into being at one particular point in time. And so, what these discoveries did to Robert Jastro and to many other astronomers and many other scientists beside is it led him to become a theist. He began to believe in the existence of a creator. But just like Stephen Hawking, he never became a Christian.

13:58And we don't know exactly why that was, but we do know from the scripture why millions and millions of people all over the world in every generation don't become believers in spite of all of God's evidence that He has placed in the universe. So, I want to invite you to turn with me now to Romans chapter 1. If you're using the Black Bibles under the seat in front of you, that's on page 948. Romans chapter 1, verse 18.

14:45Listen to what Paul writes in Romans 1:18 through 23. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

15:52So here's Paul's argument in Romans 1: God has revealed Himself to all people through what He created. All of His creation points back to Him. And Paul makes a stunning claim. He says here in Romans chapter 1 that just by looking at God's creation, we can see His invisible attributes. And the invisible attributes that we can see from His creation are His eternal power and divine nature. His eternal power and divine nature. So, in other words, creation has been speaking to every person since the dawn of time. And what creation is saying to each one of us is: there is a God, there is a divine being, and he is eternally powerful.

16:49Because only an eternally powerful divine being could have made all that we see that is obvious. Paul says in verse 19, look again at verse 19 of chapter 1: for what can be known about God is what? Plain to them. It's plain to them. Why? Because God has shown it to them. So to every skeptic who says, Look, if God exists, why doesn't he make himself more obvious? Paul replies, God has made himself obvious. His creation testifies that an eternally powerful divine being exists. You are without excuse in your atheism.

17:40But Paul takes it a step further. And this is not very nice. This is not very sensitive. This is not very PC. But he goes a step further and he says, Here's the deal. You are suppressing the truth in your unrighteousness. Don't believe in God because you don't want to believe in God. Verse 18, look there. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who, by their unrighteousness, suppress the truth. Verse 21, look there again. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him.

18:32So Paul argues, you already know that God exists. Everybody knows that because that's obvious. The vast, complex universe, the earth with its absolutely perfect conditions to sustain human and animal and plant life, didn't create itself. That is impossible. And anyone who has ever taken a class on logic understands that. Something cannot come from nothing. He says very plainly, you already know that God exists. The problem is, you don't want him to. You don't want him to be God because you want to be God.

19:14You don't want to submit to him. You want to do what is right in your own eyes. You know the truth, but you suppress it. But friends, here's the deal. You have to worship something because God Created all of us to be worshipers. We're all worshipers, every one of us. We can't not worship. So take a look at this quote from David Foster Wallace. David Foster Wallace is the celebrated author of the best-selling book, Infinite Jest. And this is a famous address that he gave at Kenyon College back in 2005. Take a look at what he said.

19:57In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshiping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It's the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure, and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally plant you.

20:39Worship power, you will end up feeling weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to numb you to your own fear. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart, you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. But the insidious thing about these Forms of worship is not that they're evil or sinful. Now, remember, he is an agnostic. Not that they're evil or sinful, it's that they're unconscious. They're default settings. They're the kind of worship you just gradually slip into, day after day, getting more and more selective about what you see and how you measure value without ever being fully aware that that's what you're doing.

21:26So here's how Paul says it in the scripture: Take a look at verse 22 again. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. So when the atheist says, I worship no God, that's not true. They have simply exchanged the worship of the one true God for worshiping someone or something else, the idol of their choice, whether consciously or unconsciously. Paul understood all of that. So his entire approach to ministry was formed by his belief that God exists, that he has revealed himself clearly through what he has made, that we were created to be worshipers of the one true God, but that every one of us has suppressed the truth in unrighteousness because we did. Not want to worship God. We wanted to be God. We wanted to declare what was right and wrong.

22:38And I think we see this very clearly in Paul's ministry. So I want to ask you to go to one more passage this morning. I want you to flip back in your Bible one book to the book of Acts, Acts chapter 17. It's on page 926 of the Black Bible's Under the Seats. Acts chapter 17, in just a moment, we're going to be in verse 22. But before we get there, I want to tee this passage up for you so you understand what's going on.

23:08Paul just got to Athens, Greece, and he was dropped off there alone. And so he is waiting for his ministry team to join him there. So he starts walking around the city, and he sees, if you look at verse 16, his spirit is provoked within him because he sees that the city is full of idols. Well, of course it was. All cities are full of idols because all cities are full of worshipers. The idols can take the form of temples and statues, or they can take the form of skyscrapers, football stadiums, baseball diamonds, dog parks, bars and clubs. All cities are full of idols because all cities are full of worshipers.

24:02And so Paul is provoked because he sees that all of these people are worshiping, but they're not worshiping the one true God. And he can't help himself. Have you seen that new Progressive commercial where Flo and her friends are trying to have a day at the beach? And Flo is hearing all of these people talk about their insurance needs, and she can't stand it. And so finally, she throws on her white apron and goes over there to tell them about Progressive and how it can meet their needs. This is what happens to Paul. He's just supposed to be waiting for his friends, but he can't take it. He sees all of the idolatry. He's moved to action. So he starts talking to anybody that will listen to him at the synagogue and then in the marketplace. And finally, some of the philosophers come up to him and they say, Will you give an address? Will you come to the Areopagus? Will you come to Mars Hill, this rock outcropping on the outskirts of the city? Will you come there and teach us what you believe?

24:56So Paul shows up. Let's pick up in verse 22, Acts chapter 17. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said, Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription to the unknown God. What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it. Being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for in him we live and move and have our being. As even some of your own poets have said, for we are indeed his offspring. Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.

26:27So let's pause there and let's think about what Paul has shared with them. He has essentially shared everything that we've already covered in Psalm 19 and Romans chapter 1. He says, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. Of course they are. All people are religious. All people are worshipers. He says, God made the world and everything in it. So he doesn't need anything. In fact, he sustains every living thing, including us. Desires that we would find him and worship him, even though he's not far from us.

27:06But then he transitions and he says, Your conception about God is wrong. You've created gods in your own image and likeness and worship them instead of worshiping the one true God who created you in his image and likeness. So here's the climax. Here's the call to action. Take a look at verse 30. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed. And of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

27:57So what did the Athenians need to do? They needed to repent of their idolatry for worshiping and serving created things rather than the Creator. And they needed to believe the truth that Jesus would hold them accountable for their sin and idolatry one day. And they could know for sure that that is true by the fact that God raised him from the dead. The Athenians needed to repent and believe, as we saw in Psalm 19 and in Romans 1. Creation speaks loudly that God exists. His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen from what has been made. So they're without excuse.

28:42But the Athenians, like all people, had exchanged the glory of God to worship images resembling mortal man. They were idolaters who needed to repent and believe in the one true God and Jesus Christ, whom he sent to save us. And if any of them were to say, well, who are you to tell us that our gods aren't real or that your God is the one true God? Paul says, listen, all of the evidence that you need is in the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

29:24Friends, the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. That was true before Adam and Eve were ever created. It was true when God revealed himself to Abraham and told him to look up at the night sky and count the stars if he were able to do so. It was true when God caused the sun to stand still over Joshua and the Israelites as they fought the battle. It was true when David composed and sung all of those hymns. And psalms that he wrote while under the night sky.

30:05It was true when the star of Bethlehem led the Magi to the Christ child. It's always been true. The human race has always been fascinated with the sun, the moon, and the stars. That's in part what drove us to put a satellite into orbit and a man on the moon and a rover on Mars. The more we've studied the universe, the higher the mountain of evidence grows that it had a beginning and therefore that it had a beginner. That it was designed with care and intent and therefore it had a designer.

30:46So you can look at all of it and you can try to convince yourself that something came from nothing and that this universe and this world and you and me, we are all here on accident and so none of us has a purpose and there is no meaning in life at all. You can deny that creation preaches the truth about the Creator, but you still have to do something with the person and work of Jesus Christ.

31:16Many, many witnesses say that he claimed to be God, that he performed many miracles, that he predicted his own death and resurrection, that he was sinless. That he went to the cross, he was crucified, he died, and he was buried, and that on the third day, his tomb was empty, and that he appeared to many, many people, including more than 500, at a single time. You see, God says in his word that his creation is enough to condemn you because all of it leaves us without excuse.

31:57But his creation is not enough to save us. Only Jesus Christ and faith in his perfect life, death, and resurrection can do that for you. So I pray this morning: if you've been denying God's existence and suppressing the truth in your unrighteousness so that you can live however you want, I urge you this morning to do what Paul commanded: to repent, to turn from your sin, and to turn and receive Jesus Christ by faith. Because you will stand before God to be judged, and you will be without excuse for your unbelief. Jesus promised forgiveness and eternal life to all who trust in Him. So please don't put it off for one more day.

32:52And if you're here today and you're already a believer in Jesus Christ, then I invite you this morning not only to open your Bible. Bible, but to open your eyes to the world around you that God has created. College Station, Texas, is objectively one of the least beautiful places on earth. There is no denying this. It is a fact. And yet, there is enough glory revealed here to make a believer out of anyone. When I look over the steeple of Christ United Methodist Church on the south side of town, I see the sun rising, or I turn around, I look in our backyard, and I get to see the sun setting over the park.

33:45Or when Kendra and I sit outside at night and we see all five stars, all of that points to the beauty and majesty and splendor and weightiness of the Creator. And so I want to challenge you, my fellow believers, pick your head up. Stop looking at your phone. Stop wasting time on social media. Stop reading every news site that's out there. Pick your eyes up and look around at what this eternally powerful divine being has created for his glory and for your good because all of it testifies. To His beauty and majesty and goodness and splendor.

34:36The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.