Sermon Based on : Luke 8. 22-25; Genesis 2. 4b-9, 15-25 ; Revelation 4
Preached on: – 2nd Sunday before Lent 24.02.19
We generally say the Bible is a story. It is a marvellous book in which God tell us about Himself. In essence it belongs to the biography section of the book shop. It is autobiography in a sense that God is disclosing Himself telling us about Himself. It is biography in the sense that God is telling us about ourselves. God is writing about us who we are? why are we created? what we a here for ? And where are we going? And it is one story -the Story of God in His relation with His creation and in particularly with humankind. The story begins with two people in a Garden and it ends with a great crowd of people in a city. One story tells us how we got from two people in a Garden to where we are today at the 21st century and how we will get to that final vision of God’s people gather together in His presence in heaven itself. It is one story.
The
main character of the Grand Story of the Bible is God.
The very
first thing God does in this story is create. So what do we learn
from our OT passage this morning is God created “so
Lord God made the earth and the heavens” so our passage says. The Bible doesn’t speak much about HOW creation
happened but it does speak about WHO created it. God created. The
opening chapters tell us Who and not how, I think we shall leave that
part for the scientists and others to try and explain.
The story of creation is presented to us as a poem. It is art. The book of Genesis is traditionally attributed to Moses, but he wasn’t around at the beginning, so what he wrote probably came from words that had been spoken from one generation to the next. The easiest way to remember an important story and pass it along to others is to put it into the form of a poem or song. Here in Genesis, we have a beautiful work of art that tells us how the world was formed.
It’s arranged in an order that makes sense, and is easy to remember. First, God makes the places, and then he creates the things that belong in those places.
God saves his crowning achievement for last. The final thing God makes is humankind. God’s core passion is people, made in God’s own image.
Verse
27 of Genesis ch. 1 says “So
God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created
them;
male and female he created them”.
All the beauty of creation is secondary to you and me. Though sometimes it is hard to believe when we see ourselves in a mirror but it is the truth. Let this truth sink in. it is a beautiful poetic language “God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life”, God made us in God’s own image, whether you are male or female, for a purpose: to live with God while caring for his creation.
The first point which we can draw from our text this morning is the “Free Will”
We
Notice that the tree of life was
not forbidden for food. Only the tree of death,
knowing good and evil.
You see, when God made humans, his purpose was to live together with us in friendship. But God knew that the only way that could work would be if humans choseto love God the way God chose to love us. God gave Adam and Eve the “free will” or freedom to choose. They were told not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But of course they were not prevented of doing so, sometimes people ask a question why not God prevented them from doing so. If God knew what is going to happen then why they were not prevented of doing so. God did not create us as Robots to programmed to worship God. In our Bible study on Tuesday we discussed about prophet Jonah; how he misused his free will but God did accomplish His purpose through him.
God wants to be with you. Think about that. God wants to personally be with you. After the fall, at great cost to God, God has done everything possible in Christ to get us back. What can we give back in return- nothing except adoration and worship as we read from the book of Revelation this morning ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created’.
I would also like to make a second point that we are to worship the ‘Creator’ and not the ‘created’. When we see around we can notice people worshipping whatever they like for example – Flora and Fauna. We are called to be a good stewards of God’s creation and not worshippers. What are the other areas of our lives where we tend to worship the created. By the word ‘worship’ I don’t just mean something religious: our worship is what we give our attention, adoration, reverence and devotion to, as in hero- or celebrity-worship, or the love of your life, or the pursuit of money or power or pleasure. when we worship or tempted to worship worldly things, it is very easy to worship material things-the created rather than the one who created them- the ‘Creator’. Third point is if we truly worship who God is in Jesus Christ, we must love God and our neighbour – all our neighbours, because every human being, however unpleasant or damaged or different, is a child of God whom God loves and for whom Christ died.
Even our Gospel this morning encourages us to know more about Jesus our Lord our Creator, at the end of the brief story, the disciples remark with awe, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?” That is the question Luke wants us to consider: “Who then is this?” The clear answer is, Jesus is Lord over all. The whole Bible speaks to us about Jesus Christ. In Luke 24. After Jesus is risen from the dead He appear to two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus and He begin it says with Moses that is the book of Genesis and explains to them what all the scripture say about himself.
In the beginning, Jesus spoke and created the universe. Thus it was no big deal for Him to speak to the wind and waves of His creation and have them obey Him.
His purpose for all of us is to live in loving relationship with him, and he has created you to do that in a way that is completely unique to you. God made you for a purpose that only you can accomplish.
Let us pray.
Lord, you created us in your own image, but we don’t do a very good job of reflecting your glory sometimes. You made us to walk with you in friendship, but we often turn away from you. We know this breaks your heart. Yet, you don’t give up on us. Your steadfast love endures forever.
Help us, Lord. Help us to see your way in front of us, and help us to follow in that way. May we heed the invitation to come to Jesus Christ. May we live in him. May we grow in him. May your Kingdom come in all of its fullness.
In the name of God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen