Revelation's Creation Connection pt. 2

Mark Finley: God has a plan for your life. Your life is not to be some haphazard, lackluster life with no purpose or meaning. God has a design for your life.
Host: This is Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message, Revelation's Creation Connection, part two. Enjoy and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up to date with Hope Lives 365 and Pastor Mark by going to hopelives365.com.
Host: And now Pastor Mark Finley.
Mark Finley: As I open the Word of God, that same Word, the written Word in the Bible, carries the power of the spoken Word. And as we listen to the Word of God together, as you allow the Word of God to bore its way into your heart and mind, He will recreate you in His image. If any man is in Christ, he is a new what? Creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are new. Christ wants to make a new you. Would you like to pray this prayer right now as we proceed in our presentation? Let's pause for a moment. Dear Lord, You are the Creator of this world and everything in it. You are the God of awesome power. By faith, I believe that You can make of my life a new creation. I surrender to You anything not in harmony with Your will and ask You to recreate Your image in me. Would you like to say, Jesus, I believe You can make of my life a new creation. Wherever You are, would you like to repeat that with me right now? Dear Lord, I believe that You can make of my life a new creation.
Mark Finley: The all-powerful Creator is still in the business of recreation. He's still in the business of inviting people to come to Him and change their lives. Creation speaks also of a God of intricate design and careful planning. When you look at creation, everything about creation indicates design. It does not indicate randomness. It does not indicate chance. It does not indicate haphazardness. When you think of it, the planets orbit in an orderly fashion around the sun. These planets are not haphazard, stuck up there someplace in the heavens so that they are out of orbit, colliding with one another. But Almighty God holds them in His hand and directs them in their orbit around the sun. Or you think about it, every seed produces after its kind. When you plant a seed in the ground, the harvest is predictable. Apple trees produce apples. Orange trees produce oranges. Corn kernels produce corn stalks and ears of corn. Strawberry plants produce strawberries. There's a very orderly process in the universe.
Mark Finley: We don't see randomness, we don't see chance, we don't see haphazardness. Think of the intricate design of God. You know, God must have this fantastic imagination. Think of all the different colors of the fish. Think of how God places in some fish almost like a sonar radar, and these fish can go to the place where they were born after they have migrated hundreds, thousands of miles from there after they have swum through the ocean. They go back. It's quite amazing when you think of the design of all creation. When you look at sea life with its multi-colors of orange and yellow, and blues, and greens. And you look at the way God created the birds and all the infinite variety of the birds. But you look at precision, you look at design, you look at beauty, you look at order.
Mark Finley: And where there is design, there must be a designer. And where there is order, there must be a creator because order doesn't come out of chaos. You look at God and you see intelligent design. And where there is intelligent design, there must be an intelligent designer. Creation speaks of a God of intricate design, a God of careful planning, a God who is the originator of life. And because of that, creation matters. Not only does He have a plan for creation, not only does He have an intricate design and all creation, God's got a plan for your life. Your life is not to be some haphazard, lackluster life with no purpose or meaning. God has a design for your life. God has created you in His image.
Mark Finley: Psalm 48 verse 14 says, "For this is our God. Our God forever. And He will be our guide even to death." If God created the birds and guides them through the air. If God created the fish, God created you. He fashioned you, He shaped you. And the Scripture says, "He will be your guide." David cries out in ecstasy. Psalm 139:14, and verse 14 and 15, "I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works and that my soul knows well." Think about it. David says, "You're fearfully and wonderfully made." Think of the cell, and think of the mitochondria, the little life center of the cell. You think of the nucleus of the cell with its amazing, amazing center of all life.
Mark Finley: And you begin to think about how complex we are. You think about the eye and its ability to see, the ear and its ability to hear, the heart as it pumps its blood, the stomach as I digest food, the lungs and the respiratory system. Or you think of how God was so caring. What if you didn't have fingernails? What if there were no fingernails? I mean, you're whacking something, your fingers are always bloody and bruised. What if there are no eyelashes here and you're constantly getting dust in your eyes? Or think about that little trachea in your throat that brushes out the impurities. What if that didn't exist? God has taken care of every little tiny detail in creation.
Mark Finley: He is the God who hasn't missed one little item. That's why David says, "I will praise You for I'm fearfully and wonderfully made. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth." David says, "My frame was not hidden from You." In other words, God knows your name. God knows the circumstances of your life. And God has an immense purpose for your life. Now, creation also is the basis of all worship. If the devil can palm off the falsehood or lie or deception of evolution, there is no basis for worship.
Mark Finley: Why do we worship God anyway? Revelation 4:11 says, "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. For You created all things and by Your will they exist and were created." So the worthiness of Christ to receive glory, honor, and power, the worthiness of Christ to be worshipped is based on the fact that He created us. Now, notice the last part of the text. It says, "You created all things by Your will they exist and were created." So we've come into existence not by chance, not by randomness, not by haphazard luck, but by the will of God. Has that solemn thought hit you yet? You exist by the will of God.
Mark Finley: You exist because God willed you to come into existence. Why were you born at this moment of Earth's history? Why weren't you born a thousand years ago? Why weren't you born five years from now? Further than that, why are you a human being? Why aren't you a cow? Why aren't you a mosquito that somebody can just simply swat? Why are you, you? You are you because God willed it. When the genes and chromosomes came together to form the unique biological structure of your personality, God threw away the pattern. God shaped you. God formed you. There's nobody like you. And creation says that you're more than one more than one of seven billion people calling at one another for living space on planet Earth.
Mark Finley: But creation says that you're special in God's sight. You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power because You created all things. By Your will, they are created. We came into existence by the very will of God. That means life has purpose, that means life has meaning. Psalm 33:15, "He fashions their hearts individually." Every baby born has been created by God. Although we live in a world of sickness and suffering where there are deformities that take place because we live in a broken world. That child is still God's child.
Mark Finley: That child is still one that God has purpose and meaning for in their life. And no matter how much that little one may suffer in this life because of the brokenness of sin and the heartache of our world, God still has an ultimate plan and one day they will be whole again. Jeremiah chapter 1:5 says, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I sanctified you and ordained you a prophet to nations." So it is not simply that life takes place after one is born, but rather when one is conceived, there is life there. "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." God knew Jeremiah even in the womb. So what does this message of Revelation chapter 14:6 and 7 say? It says that we're created by God, that human life is sacred.
Mark Finley: That is why the taking of the life of the unborn. That is why the taking of the life of those who do not, who are not able to speak up for themselves is a violation of the commandments of God. That is why the taking of the elderly life when they can no longer make a contribution to society. That is why that is not in harmony in any way with God's will. Why? Because creation says every life matters. The life of the unborn, the life of those who have physical deformities, their life matters. The life of those who are mentally retarded, that life matters. The life of those who are elderly and dying but can't contribute to society, that life matters. Every life in this broken, shattered world matters to God and God speaks words of hope and encouragement to every human being.
Mark Finley: He has a purpose for our life. The call to worship the Creator is a call to understand and appreciate the value of every single human being. Every child has value in His sight. Every teenager has value in His sight. Every adult has value in His sight. Every senior citizen has value in His sight. Rich and poor, ignorant and wise, all have value in the sight of God. Evolution is dehumanizing because it says we're simply an enlarged protein molecule of the animal creation. Creation matters.
Host: We'll be right back with Pastor Mark Finley. We thank you for listening and hope you're enjoying today's message. Our mission is to attractively present the Christ-centered biblical truths of scripture in a practical, relevant way to people around the world so that they may experience the abundant life that Christ offers and effectively share with confidence His life-changing truths with others. You can support this ministry and help us reach even more by going to hopelives365.com/donate. And now, back to Pastor Mark Finley.
Mark Finley: Creation speaks of a God longing for personal fellowship and intimate relationship. Where there is design, there must be a designer. Where there is intelligent design, there must be an intelligent designer. And where there is love in the universe, there must be one who is the origin, the heart of all love. And the fact that we have the capacity to love, the fact that we have the ability to love, indicates the reality of an intelligent designer who we call the Creator God, who the Bible calls the Creator, who has placed that love within our hearts.
Mark Finley: So the call of creation is a call to respond to His love and enter into intimate relationship with Him. The Christ that created us, the Christ that died for us, longs to have a relationship with us. The Sabbath set aside at the beginning of time is that appeal by God for His desire for relationship. In Genesis chapter 2:1 to 3, the Bible says, "Thus the heavens and the earth and all the host of them were finished.
Mark Finley: And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done. And He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and He sanctified it because in it He rested from all His work which God created and made." Now, notice God did three things on the seventh day. He rested. Why? Did He rest because He was tired? No, He rested, knowing that we would be tired. And He rested in fulfillment, in completion of His creation. He sanctified that day. He set it apart as a special day for us to have fellowship with Him.
Mark Finley: He blessed that day. He put a special blessing in the seventh day Sabbath. A blessing that's not in any other day. A blessing of intimate fellowship with Him as the Creator, and He established the Sabbath as a memorial of creation. Now, don't misunderstand me. We can get a blessing from God any day we worship on.
Mark Finley: But if we want the Sabbath blessing, the special blessing that the Creator has placed in a day, the Bible doesn't say put the blessing in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth day. He placed that blessing in the seventh day. Why is creation important? Because it calls us to fellowship. God set aside the seventh day Sabbath as a palace in time.
Mark Finley: As a day for us to step out of the normal routine of life, the hectic pace of life, the pressures of life, and to have fellowship with Him. Now, it is true, as I've mentioned, that every day we're to have fellowship with God. But life presses in on us. There are normal and natural responsibilities. But on Sabbath every week, we are called from the mundane.
Mark Finley: We are called from the common things of life. We are called to have intimate fellowship with our Creator. Jesus wants to have fellowship with you. You know, in Isaiah chapter 43 and verse 21, the Bible puts it this way. Jesus says, "This people I have formed for myself. They shall declare My praise." This people I have formed for myself.
Mark Finley: And you know, in Isaiah 43 and verse 4, it talks about how precious we are to God. It says, "Since you were precious in My sight, and you have been honored, and I have loved you." See, in Christ, we are precious, precious. Sometime ago, I read the story of a diver who was diving in the Pacific off one of the very remote islands. And he came across something that he thought was simply an old shell.
Mark Finley: It was large. He struggled to get it up. He worked again and again in the sand, in the mud, the muck to get it up and finally get this old shell up, large about this large, and didn't know what to do with it, and he brought it home, he dried it out, it was stinking. And finally he put it in some back room in his house. A little later, he began to have a sense, maybe this shell is something special.
Mark Finley: As they called in specialists in deep-sea diving and particularly pearls, they discovered up until that time, in that house, the largest single pearl in the world, worth multiplied millions. He had no idea how precious that discovery was. Have you sensed how precious you are to God? If God loses you, there's no way He can replace you.
Mark Finley: And that's what the Sabbath is all about. It's about the God that created you. It's about the God that formed you. It's about the God that shaped you. It's about relationship, entering into a relationship with this God. The Sabbath has an open-armed Christ, the Creator. This all-powerful Christ, this completely wise Christ, this all-intelligent Christ, this Christ who cares for the intimate details of creation and cares for our life.
Mark Finley: You know, Matthew says every one of the hairs of your head are numbered. In other words, He knows every intimate detail. Matthew says, in Matthew's gospel, He doesn't overlook the sparrow that falls. God is concerned. The Sabbath is a perpetual reminder of the God that cares for us.
Mark Finley: The Sabbath reminds us of the One who has provided all the good things of life for us. You know, in Psalm 84:11, it says, "No good thing will He withhold from those that walk uprightly." In a world of brokenness, in a world of chaos and confusion, in a world of fear, in a world of sickness, suffering, and death, in a world of hurricanes, tornadoes, tidal waves, and natural disasters.
Mark Finley: The Sabbath invites us to intimate fellowship with our Creator, to trust in His love, to rest in His care. The Sabbath is that oasis in the desert of this world. Sabbath is the eternal symbol of rest in Him. The world may be in chaos, but we can rest in Christ. The world may be facing natural disasters, but we can rest in the arms of our loving Creator.
Mark Finley: The world may be plagued with sickness and pestilences and violence, but we can rest in the arms of the One that cares for us. In a book called Selected Messages, on page 372, the author describes the preciousness of the promises of God. "The exceeding great and precious promises given us in the Holy Scriptures have been lost sight of to a great extent."
Mark Finley: Evolution has undermined Scripture. Atheistic communism has undermined Scripture. Just as the enemy of all righteousness designed that they should be. He has cast his own dark shadow between us and God. See, that's the Sabbath is calling us back to relationship with God so this dark shadow can be removed.
Mark Finley: That we may not see the true character of God. So Sabbath is a representation that we're resting in Christ, resting in His love, resting in His care, resting in His goodness. The Lord has proclaimed Himself to be merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abundance in goodness and truth. Then the writer says, "Several have written to me inquiring if the message of justification by faith is the third angel's message." And I've answered, "It is the third angel's message in verity." What does that mean?
Mark Finley: It means this, that as we rest in the loving arms of our Creator, we are resting from our works, trusting Him for salvation. So Sabbath is a symbol, not of righteousness by works, not of legalism, but it's a symbol of rest, resting from our labors and trusting in His works. Resting from any goodness that we may have, trusting in His goodness.
Mark Finley: Resting from all anxiety about salvation, and trusting in His peace that floods our hearts and floods our souls. The Bible says in Genesis 2:3, "In it, the Sabbath, He rested from all His work which God created and made." Just as God rested on the Sabbath from His work, we rest from all vain attempts to achieve our salvation.
Mark Finley: We rest in His love, rest in His care. That's what Sabbath is all about. And that's why the devil hates the Sabbath. That's one of the reasons he's introduced evolution to this world to undermine the Creator God so we would not sense our rest that comes only in Him. Hebrews chapter 4:9 and 10 says, "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God." What is this rest?
Mark Finley: "For he who has entered His rest," that's Christ's rest, "has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His," on the seventh day of the week. God ceased from His works and rested. We rest every seventh day not because we believe keeping the commandments of God saves us, but we rest in His love.
Mark Finley: We rest in the assurance of salvation He gives us. We rest in the security of the cross. We rest in the confidence of the Christ who descended from heaven to earth to live in human flesh, to meet Satan head-on, and to die in our behalf. The Sabbath is a symbol of rest, not works. It is a symbol of our trust relationship with Jesus.
Mark Finley: Now, there is this sense of the Sabbath as an eternal link. Now, you may ask the question, how is the Sabbath an eternal link and what is the Sabbath an eternal link of? When you look at our world today, it's a broken world. It's a shattered world. It's a world filled with sickness, suffering, and disease. The Sabbath is a link in a golden chain.
Mark Finley: It leads us back to creation. And there at creation, we sense that God created us, He fashioned us. We sense that He's the God of intricate design, that He's the God of vast intelligence, and the God of all power. The Sabbath leads us back to a perfect world in Eden. The Sabbath also leads us to rest in Christ for our salvation.
Host: You've been listening to Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you've enjoyed today's message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at hopelives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to hopelives365.com/donate.
Host: And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark.
Mark Finley: But the Sabbath points us forward. It points us forward to beyond what is, to what will be. It points us forward to eternity rather than our being locked in the time of this world. When we come to Sabbath, we look forward to that eternal Sabbath where one day we will rest with Christ in eternity. And one day every week we will come to worship Him with the men and women who are redeemed from all the ages. Can you imagine this?