Genesis 1:6-13Born to a Saudi family, in Saudi Arabia, and living very close to Mecca, I grew up with strict principals and traditions of Islam and the Arab culture. As a teenager I went to the mosque five times a day in obedience to my parents. One night, while I was asleep, I had this horrible dream of me being taken into hell. And what I saw there brought me real fear and these dreams kept coming to me almost every night. At this point I was really wondering as to why I should be seeing hell in this manner. Suddenly one day, Jesus appeared to me and said, "Son, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. And if you would give your life to Me, and follow Me, I would save you from the hell that you have seen."
This came as a surprise to me, for I did not know who this Jesus was. Of course, He is mentioned in the Koran in the book Surah Mariam. He is stated as one of our prophets, but not as a Savior who could save us from hell. So I started looking out for a Christian who could give me some advise about this Jesus I have seen and possibly get one of the Christian Holy Books, which I now know is the Bible. But it was a difficult task for me to get any Christian to speak to me about Jesus. As you would know, Christianity is totally banned in Saudi Arabia and if a Christian is caught witnessing to a Muslim, he could be almost sure that he would be beheaded.
Then the Lord led me to an Egyptian Christian who was sick. I prayed for this man’s healing and this man gave me a Bible. Then I, by myself, started reading the Bible. By this time Jesus had become a close friend to me. Soon I started witnessing about the experience I had with all my family relations and friends. Soon the authorities were informed that I had converted to Christianity, and I believe this was done by one of my family members. As it states in the Koran, if someone would turn away from Islam, he is a traitor to the faith and he should be executed. So I was taken into custody and tortured. They told me that I would be beheaded if I would not turn back to Islam. But I had already made my decision that I would never turn back. So I told the authorities I’m willing to die for Jesus and that I would never come back to Islam. After much torture and imprisonment, I was sentenced to be beheaded. They gave me a date and a time and I told them, "You go ahead and execute me. I’m going to heaven to see Jesus. But I pray that what you would do to me would stay in your minds and not give you rest until you come to Jesus."
The appointed day and time came for my execution, and I was waiting with much anticipation, yet very much strong in my faith in Jesus. Generally the executions are carried out on the set time and date. But to my amazement, no one turned up. One hour lapsed, two hours went by, then it became three hours, and then the day passed by. And no one turned up. Then two days later, the authorities turned up and opened the doors and told me, "You demon! Get out from this place!" I also noticed that the main person who was determined to get me beheaded was not present when they came to release me. I asked them where this guy was. And with much hesitation they replied that his son had died on the same day they planned to execute me. Although I continue to go through much persecution, one thing I know is that the Lord’s hand is upon me.
There are some who point to the creative work and say that God created in two sections. The work of giving form and the work of filling. And that in days 1-3 we see God giving form to the work of creation and days 4-6 God is filling his creation. So today as we look at days 2 and 3 we see God giving form or shape to his creation.
There are three truths concerning God and his creation within our text. The first truth that we see is that God’s creation is a physical reality. What God created is really real. The trees, people, plants, ground, water, dirt, rocks, clouds, stars, and moon along with everything not mentioned are real. They are physically real. Who am I? Do I exist? Do I truly live? The answer is yes you and everything else does truly exist. As much as some days of life seems like a nightmare or a dream that will not end is just that, it seems like a nightmare or a never ending dream. We all exist and are real. Pinch yourself and it will hurt. I am sure you remember the times you that you hurt yourself. If you weren’t real it would not have hurt. If the material world is just an illusion then stop spending money on medical bills, it’s just an illusion. You don’t need doctors. They are not there to help. They are just stealing your money and playing into your weak mind and imagination out of control. But it is real. We do need doctors. We do hurt and we can touch and experience the touch, smell and sight of God’s creation and some of it we can taste. Look at verse 6, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters. Verse 7 tells us that it happened and gives us more detail of how it was done. Some people will tell you that this means that the earth was covered with water which is true, and that the Lord moved some of it in the outer reaches of the atmosphere and the whole earth was enveloped in water. That we do not know for certain. It makes for some good explanations of what size crops they could grow and why people lived so long. But we really do not know. Most people say that this is God creating the heavens. The expanse that we call the sky where the birds and airplanes fly and even outside of our atmosphere where the sun, moon and stars reside. Now when this was written they did not have space rockets and shuttles where they could leave the earth’s atmosphere and determine where everything was at in comparison to each other. As we see the heavens today from earth is all they knew. This expanse is likely to be what we see when we look up at the sky. The water above the expanse is understood to be the clouds. They were always there and God has held them above the expanse in order that we might be able to breathe and not be crushed by the oppression of the clouds. The clouds are real. The rain is real. And as I look out of my office window, I hope that it will snow and that too is real. I miss the snow we would get in North Carolina. It is real. You can touch it. You can crash your car into things very easily in dense fog. Because the clouds are real and when they get lazy and tired and sit on the ground, it is hard to see through them. Verse 9 says, Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place and let the dry land appear. Now, we all know that when you fall it can hurt especially depending upon where you fall from. We are thankful that the land really exists. Otherwise the gravity of the earth that does not exist would pull us into one great big ball and mass of humanity. We are able to walk, and sit and ride upon this dirt that God calls the earth. It is real along with all of the plants. We need to eat. And God has given us plants to eat. And now we also eat some very tasty animals. Especially when you grill them just right and add the right flavorings. When you think about what the Lord has done, He has given us a world to enjoy and explore. A world to provide for our physical needs. The world and his creation are real and very personal.
Mark 8:22-25 ¶ And they *came to Bethsaida. And they *brought a blind man to Jesus and *implored Him to touch him. Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, "Do you see anything?" And he looked up and said, "I see men, for I see {them} like trees, walking around." Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and {began} to see everything clearly.
Matt 15:29-31: ¶ Departing from there, Jesus went along by the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there. And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them {those who were} lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them. So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. Why would the Lord make use of his time healing physical ailments if the flesh is not real? Why would he bother healing if the healing meant nothing? These were signs to demonstrate he is sent of God, but these were also acts of compassion demonstrating God’s dealings within the context and the reality of our world. He is still working today. He is still working and dealing within our world. He is still working and dealing in the hearts of people today. Is he dealing with you and calling you to himself and to repentance?
The second truth that we see today is that God provides for our needs. One commentary writer says that part of the consequence in creating the expanse between the two waters is to provide an open area for us to breathe. Without the suffocation and thickness of the clouds, we are able to breathe more freely. In verse 9 we see God separating the waters and expose the dry ground. Without dry ground we could not live. We need dry ground. We cannot live constantly in the water. Our bodies are not made to survive in water. Those who are lost at sea usually survive because they have something to float on rather than themselves floating in the water. We need water and instead of removing the water he kept the water so that we would have a source of fluids to take in, and in addition, all of the plants, the vegetation that he creates requires the use of water in order to grow. Even those plants that you rarely have to water still require some. Yet through his creative work God provides for our needs. Even in the midst of this section of his creative work he is providing for our needs. He is shaping the land that we will live on and travel, and call home. It is on this day and at this time that the Lord parted the waters to form the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers and event he Chesapeake Bay. Verse 11 tells us that the Lord planted the plants, the trees and everything that produces the food and fruits that we would one day eat. Then in verse 12 we are told that this actually took place. This is not some random act that just happened to take place within a span of billions of years and with a great and random chance. This was intentional in order to demonstrate the Lord’s provision for his creation. In order to demonstrate God’s care and concern for his creation. In order to demonstrate that God is a god who is worthy of our worship because he alone provided for our needs and caused the plants to grow and sprout and not Baal or any other god. Not even mother nature. God provides for his people. We are his people will he not care for us?!
Yesterday was one of those days. I was so pooped that I struggled to sit upright at the dining room table. It took extreme effort to hold my head up out of the soup bowl. Days like that are common for me because I have a connective tissue disease that causes chronic fatigue as well as pain.
If you've never experienced fatigue, you can't understand how debilitating it is. It's not the exhilarating tired you feel after aerobic exercising. It’s not the contented tired you feel after gardening all day. It's more of a crash and burn, hit-the-wall, feel like you're dead or dying exhaustion. I think it must be the way the coyote feels after chasing the roadrunner all day and being pulled through a wringer, hurled off a cliff, blown up with dynamite, run over by a truck, squeezed through a knothole, and then having an Acme safe dropped on his head.
Exhaustion is the burn out toddlers experience after skipping their afternoon nap. I can relate when I see a two year old in a shopping mall throw himself to the floor sobbing. There are many days I feel like doing that, but I lack the energy required to cry.
The worst thing about chronic fatigue is that even after a full night's sleep, I still don't feel refreshed. Most mornings I wake up just as tired as I was when I went to bed. Fatigue is like a thirst that is never quenched or a hunger that's not satisfied. I rarely get "enough" rest.
Though I've dealt with weakness and fatigue for years, it still frustrates me. I get angry when the most strenuous activity I can accomplish is taking a shower. And I hate disappointing others by canceling outings because I need a hoist to lift myself off the couch. It's infuriating that I can be energetic and ambitious one day while the next day every cell in my body hurts and I need toothpicks to hold my eyes open.
Thinking about this recently got me so upset it triggered a hot flash. I decided to do something about it. So I started whining.
I’ve developed complaining to a fine art, but I’ve learned that it doesn’t help the situation. In fact, focusing on the negative usually makes things seem even more miserable.
There’s a passage in the Bible about weariness. Isaiah 40:29 says God gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. It says those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, run without growing weary, and soar on wings like eagles. Hmmm. I don't feel strong or powerful. I certainly don't soar, and I can't even remember when I ran last. Some days it takes all the energy I can muster just to move from lying to a sitting position. So what gives? Where's all this power that the Bible promises?
Obviously, God's not promising literal physical strength. In His perfect will, He knows that what we really need is INNER strength.
And guess what. The best way to develop strength within is to face problems without. Problems like physical ailments and fatigue. Shucks! You didn’t want to hear that, did you? Problems may wear down the body, but they can build up the spiritual "struggle muscles." When God gives strength to the weary, it may be in the form of perseverance, patience, determination, or greater faith. You may not run faster, jump higher, or leap Misery Mountain in a single bound; but you can likely feel your hope and your relationship with Him grow stronger.
God provides strength to battle discouragement, strength to remain obedient, strength to keep hope alive, and strength to endure.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth about how he was physically persecuted, hard pressed, perplexed, and struck down, yet he did not despair. (2 Corinthians 4)
In the same way, even though my body isn't satisfied or renewed by physical rest, my soul can be satisfied by God. He revives my weary spirit with spiritual strength.
In 2 Corinthians, chapter 11, Paul listed some of his hardships, which included being beaten with rods, shipwrecked, stoned, imprisoned, flogged, and deprived of food, water, and sleep. He'd been naked, cold, and afflicted with a "thorn" in his flesh. Even so, he could say he delighted in his weakness, hardships, and difficulties. What was that? Delighted?! That must be a typo. He couldn’t have said he was delighted, could he? Yes, that’s what he said alright. Then he went on to say, "God's grace is sufficient and His power is made perfect in weakness. When I am weak, then I am strong."
Now when I consider the attitude Paul had, even in desperate situations, I (try to) replace my whining "Why me" attitude with a more submissive "Whatever you want for me, Lord." With a new perspective, I can hope for the best; but I also prepare for the worst. And then I accept whatever God sends.
Though I am weak and tired, I can be strong in His power.
Matt 6:25-30: "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, {as to} what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, {as to} what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and {yet} your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? "And who of you by being worried can add a {single} hour to his life? "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is {alive} today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, {will He} not much more {clothe} you? How much more valuable are you than a bird or a flower? I do know this, you are much more valuable. That is the whole point of the question. Can you not tell by just how it is asked that you are more valuable than a bird o flower! How can anyone look at a bird or other animal and then say that animal is more important than a person? Those who do have a skewed and mislead and completely distorted view of the value of human life.
The third truth we see this morning is that God created in six days. Now some of you are saying, that is a point without any contention or why even bother it is proven without any doubt that God created within six actual days. I would agree with you whole heartedly. Yet there are many theories and discussions still about the actual timing of creation. There are some who say that God created the world and that Genesis is only the recounting in more a detailed form of that creation. And that God is telling Adam how everything came into being. So the creation account of six days is really only six points of God’s telling the story. Like his six points to his sermon. There are many who hold to this view none that I know of personally, but they are out there. Then there are those who say that the six days are just six spans of time. No one knows how long these “days” are but that during this span through evolution the Lord created all things. For me this seems to imply that God created not out of nothing but out of pre-existent matter. But matter is not eternal. Only God is eternal. Not even the angels are eternal. Those are two of the opposing views to the view that the six days are actual 24 hr. days. Yet which God would demonstrate greater omnipotence the one who creates in 144 hours or thousands or millions of years? Which God would demonstrate a greater sense of worthiness of trust? Which God is worthy of worship? The one who is the direct creator and source of all of life or the one who only existed before the “creative” act? When you look at Genesis 1 we see that at the end of each day that the text says there was evening and there was morning and then the day. When it is phrased in this manner this is a direct reference to a 24 hr. period otherwise the Bible would be misspeaking in the details of what constitutes a 24 hr. day in the world of the recipients. Why would God give us his word and then describe a time reference different than what we know without any explanation? God created time for us so why would he describe it any differently than we know? I would assume trust the God who creates out of nothing, who creates directly and not merely forms and shapes, and the one who is able and did create within a period of six 24 hr. days.
Colossians 1:16: For by Him all things were created, {both} in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. Revelation 4:11: "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created."
Do you serve and worship the God who has created you? Do you submit to the Spirit of Truth that will make you knew and recreate your Spirit?
My eldest son e-mailed me one day. He was at work, with time upon his hands, and his heart upon God. He teaches a class at the church he attends and on this particular day, the Lord had many things running through my son's mind. Many things He was stirring up within him and many things He was revealing to him, things that the Lord wanted him to bring to the awareness of his class and to those he wanted to challenge.
God's lesson that day was to teach us who and what we really are. Not what our carnal minds think, not what friends or family think, or the perceptions of the world. No, God wanted to awaken us from our slumber. It reminded me of the passage in the bible where Jesus asked his disciples who He was, probing to see how much light had been shone into their hearts and how much light they had been able to receive.
One said one thing, some another, but Simon Peter said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Then Jesus told Simon Peter that he was blessed, for our Father in heaven had revealed this to him. That day, my son was pushing me and others to look within ourselves to see what had been revealed within our hearts, without us even being aware of it.
At first, my answer to my son only scratched the surface, which did not go deep enough, so he e-mailed me yet again, probing deeper and deeper, until the revelation within my heart surfaced. Below is my answer to him after I looked into the recesses of my spirit, thus finding the truth that God had placed inside my heart.
"Who I Am"
Well, son, you gave me a lot to think about. I guess most of us don't really know who we are, but I guess I can figure out a few things.
I was created by God. His spirit dwelt in me, even before I became aware of Him. I am eternal. I am his child, created in His image. I was created out of love, and put on earth, to learn of Him, to love Him, to worship Him, and to share this knowledge with others that are traveling the same path.
I am Eve in the garden. I am Jonah, in the whale's belly. I am Nicodemus, who needed to be born again. I am Zacchaeus in the tree. I am the woman at the well.
I am a part of God, and He is a part of me. I am housed in a wall of flesh, but I am really a spirit being. Because of Christ's love and sacrifice, I am free. I am a child of the King, joint heir, with Christ Jesus. I am God's eyes, I am God's ears, and I am God's hands. I am His connection to this physical world. I am Love.
I am this and more, but if written, that would be a book. I am still discovering who and what I am, but I think, that God has opened my eyes, and let me see the glory of His creation. me.
After my son received this final testimony as to who I am, he e-mailed me for the last time in reference to this. He was pleased that I had finally dug deep enough until I found the well of "Living Water" that was inside of me. "Keep on walking, sister," was his joyful and satisfied response.
God’s creation is a physical reality. May we seek to care for our own bodies as God’s property and not our own. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit. May we be a worthy vessel of the dwelling of God. We are not required or expected to have the perfectly physically fit body, but we are to respect our bodies and care for them in a healthy manner as we are able.
God provides for our needs. May we trust that as we are obedient and submit to His will that He we will not be separated from Him. Our greatest need as a believer is to be full of the Spirit that will recreate us and make us new, and through that we know we have salvation. It is through the clear working of the Spirit that we see the evidence of our salvation and security in Him. Without salvation we are eternally lost and condemned to damnation.
God created in six days. May we trust in Him that Satan and sin will be defeated. No matter what may happen to us in this life, God is greater than any other power or spiritual foe. Through faith in Christ alone do we gain access to eternal security. In Christ we will never again be separated from God the Father.
