The Creator Speaks – We Should Listen

Gen. 1:1 says, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Psa. 8:1 says, “LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth, You who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!

Psa. 8:3-5 continues, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have set in place; What is man that You think of him, and a son of man that You are concerned about him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty!”

Isaiah 40:25-26 says, “To whom then will you compare Me That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One. Raise your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, The One who brings out their multitude by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing.”

Psa. 14:1-3 declares, “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed detestable acts; There is no one who does good. The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of mankind to see if there are any who understand, Who seek God. They have all turned aside, together they are corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.”

Ecclesiastes 1:2,3 says it bluntly, “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Absolute futility. Everything is futile. What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?”

Romans 1:18-20 says, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

Col. 1:16-17 says, “For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.”

“Pay Attention!” It’s what the teacher shouts out to their class. The teacher may have said it for any number of reasons. Perhaps they were becoming rowdy. Maybe the teacher, she had information that would be on the test. Or maybe there’s a threat that they need to be aware of or a danger to be avoided. For those and various other reasons we all need to Pay Attention. Not everything deserves our attention or is important. But the question of Origins is not one anyone should ignore. It will be on the test.

As I mentioned last week, I want to spend some time on Truth Matters examining this story that we’re all part of from the perspective of worldview. Now, we all have a worldview, whether we think about it or not. We have assumptions or have made decisions that form our worldview. And this worldview frames the way in which we make all the decisions of in our lives.

I also mentioned, there are four essential elements that all worldviews have. They involve the questions surrounding Origins, Morality, Meaning and Destiny.

It only makes sense to begin with the question of Origins. It is, after all, the beginning. It’s where any story starts. We all have a beginning. Everything we’ve experienced has a beginning. Science, History, our own lives chart a timeline that began at some point in the past and moves forward from there. We have calendars that dates our lives and events of the world around us.

But Origins is more than just a matter a matter of timeline. Each of us have parents. Life circumstances may have it where we don’t know who they are. But we all know for certain that we came from someone else. No one would believe that they suddenly appeared without any explanation.

If for instance, we were sitting at a table and you turned your head away from the table. And then then you looked back and there was a book sitting on the table. Now, you would immediately wonder, “Where did the book come from?” Well, why would you ask that question? Well, because instinctively you know that something doesn’t come nothing. It has an origin. Someone placed it there. And now it’s just a matter of discovering who did it.

Well, we all live a world, in a universe that’s filled with stuff. From the tiniest subatomic particles to the vast galaxies spun out across universe one question hangs out there, “Where did it all come from?”

Now I understand that there is a continuing debate in our world on this question of Origins. All of us have had the same information available to us; the world around us. The difference comes about by the assumptions that a person brings to that information. And by the way, we ALL have assumptions that we bring. Despite what someone may claim, they have assumptions. Even for example the earlier example I gave of the book suddenly being there, it has assumptions that books don’t suddenly come out of nowhere.

Now the question of the Origin of everything revolves around the assumption made concerning what is the source of everything. One line of thinking stems from the assumption that the origin of everything is natural. This is called Naturalism. Naturalism is the view that every law and every force and the origin of everything is natural. There is no origin other than itself. Nature is the only voice that speaks on the question of origin. We will look at that view next week.

The Biblical worldview has the assumption, without apology, that the origin of everything is God. Now, someone may be at this point wanting to argue about the origin of God. I am not here to explain God. I will let Him speak for Himself. And today on Truth Matters, that is exactly what we’re going to do. I want us to allow God to speak for Himself.

And God wastes no time in speaking on the question of Origin. The very first words of Scripture say it simply and powerfully. Gen. 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

This simple verse speaks timeless volumes in an economy of words.

“In the beginning,” The timeline of the story of everything is provided for us. We know exactly where we are in the story, the beginning.

“God,” Here we’re introduced with the main character of the story. He is One who precedes even the beginning. He is the source of the action that’s about to be introduced. He is the final and absolute WHO behind all of it.

“Created,” Here is the action. God is the Creator. It didn’t all happen on its own. Everything didn’t occur by accident. God was the one who created everything that was created. And what did He create?

“The heavens and the earth.” God created all of time, space and matter. He is the source of the universe and what is in it.

And so, in this single verse the Scripture provides us with what has occupied philosophers and scientists across the ages. And yet, He said it in a simple enough form for a child to understand and comprehensive enough to enlighten cosmologists and thinkers of all kinds. This one sentence lays down the foundation for the story. Now, two questions remain, “Is anyone listening?” and “How are they responding?”

The writer in the Psalms declares his response in Psalm 8:1, “LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth, You who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!” This is a life that acknowledges the Creator and calls Him Lord. He admires the splendor in the heavens and he declares that they speak of the One who created it. There is no accidental mystery to what he observes. There is beauty and order which speaks of the Creator and who He is.

And it goes on in recognizing the implications of his declaration. In that same Psalm, Psalm 8:3-5 he says,
The writer is amazed by the vastness of creation. He is humbled that the Creator who condescends and has concern for humanity. And yet, this great God has put man in a special place in His creation. This speaks volumes concerning the nature and the character of this God. You would do well to spend time contemplating what is just been said.

But it is not only the creation that speaks. God Himself has spoken and tells us of Himself. The prophet Isaiah records that we would all do well to listen to what He says. He says in Isaiah 40:25-26 it says,
The God of Truth declares that He has no equal. He alone is the Creator. He invites the listener to look and observe His creation. Regardless of its vastness, He knows the stars He created and He knows them by name. And by His power none of them have escaped His attention. He plainly says that He is greater than His creation.

And yet, this God, the Creator is denied by some in His creation. They deny His existence despite the evidence that He provides. They deny His sovereignty over which He has created. And these denials have consequences. It turns them into fools and sets their lives in directions contrary to their created purpose. In Psalm 14:1-3 the writer spells it out.
It hardly gets more honest than that doesn’t it? It’s utterly foolish to deny the existence of God. To travel down that road corrupts the heart and the lives of all who choose this direction. In fact, the rebellion of mankind touches us all. There is more about this in the story that we can see repeated over and over again. This passage makes it clear that there is a cost to denying the Creator.

Also, to live a life absent an acknowledgment of God, that life becomes an existence centered on self and restricted to the here and the now. Ecclesiastes 1:2,3 says it bluntly,If all there is to life, is life “under the sun,” then life is futile, empty. If there is no Creator, there is no purpose. If there is no purpose … why should I care? Empty!

But there is a Creator. And because of that, it is vitally important to be on the right side of the story with the main character, the Creator. It matters what a person’s response is to the Creator. To put it terms of how I began this episode, there will be a test. There will be no excuse or claim of ignorance accepted. Romans 1:18-20 makes it clear.
You don’t want to be that person. I have shared with you about the way God has provided for us all. He has spoken most clearly when Jesus came to earth. In Colossians 1:16-17 tells us who He is.
God is not hidden. He has come to us to rescue us from ourselves and from our rebellion. He is our Creator. And the Creator has a purpose for His creation. He holds it all together. This tells us from the tiniest particle to the vastness of space, He is Lord over all of it. The only question remaining is, “Have you made Him your Lord?”

Remember what I said last week? There is an important principle in story. It says, “You never want to be on the wrong side of the hero at the end of the story.” I’ve told you who the hero is. Make sure you are among those who know and acknowledge God as Lord of their life.

For those of us who know Him, we know who our Creator and Lord is. And we join the Psalmist in saying, “LORD, our Lord, how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!”

Knowing Our Lord and Creator chances everything. We know our Creator and we are known by our Creator. He is our Lord and He is magnificent. He made us with His purpose in mind and we are safe and complete in Him.

It’s the truth.
And as always, Truth Matters.