Today is a special day. There are several birthdays today. Both Beverly and Edwin share a birthday today. Edwin’s mother also has a birthday today.
As I was waking up this morning the Lord brought to my mind the scripture found in:
Psalms 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
I was laying in bed thinking about how the writer of this Psalm would probably spend time looking up at the stars in the sky at night in awe and adoration of God’s handywork. Many people believe that David wrote this Psalm due to style, structure and time period. They believe it was written later I David’s life as he reflects on what God had brought him through.
I can only imagine that all the nights of watching his father’s sheep as a young man was an incredible source of inspiration and perspective to David. We see this in other Psalms as well. Psalms 8 is one that comes to mind.
Psalm 8
1 O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
**I want to make a statement that you may or may not agree with. I believe we live in a time that as humans we are too distracted looking at what man has made on this earth and need to spend more time looking at what God has made in the heavens.
***The First point of the Message today: God is the creator of both the heavens and the earth, don’t loose perspective
Psalm 19:1-6
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
When Moses wrote the book of Genesis under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he describes God’s intent for the heavenly bodies in addition to just being absolutely beautiful.
Genesis 1:14-18
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
***I want to talk for a few minutes about verse 14 where God said the lights in the firmament of Heaven are for signs. I looked up this Hebrew word this morning to see where else it is used and it brought me to some pretty interesting places in God’s word.
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; H226 Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Matthew 2
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
***The First point of the Message today: God is the creator of both the heavens and the earth, don’t loose perspective
***The 2nd point of the Message today: God uses the heavens he created to show signs and wonders
***There was a King who was sick and close to death. God had the Prophet Isaiah go to see him. Look at Isaiah 38
Isaiah 38:1-8
1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord,
3 And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
4 Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying,
5 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.
6 And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.
7 And this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken;
8 Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.
**A few chapters later in Isaiah 45 the prophet speaks of this anointed king Cyrus who God is using to do some great things. Here is the interesting thing. Cyrus the Great will not be born for another 150 years in the future. The great things that God is going to have King Cyrus do is to bring the children of Isreal back to the land of promise from their captivity by the Babylonian Empire that has not even happened yet, and will not happen for another 80+ years. Amazing right! Turn with me to Isaiah 45 and lets read this amazing prophecy and I want you to pay close attention to how Isaiah speaks about the heavens and the works of God’s hands
Isaiah 45:1-13
1 Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.
7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.
8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it.
9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
10 Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?
11 Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.
12 I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
13 I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts.
***The First point of the Message today: God is the creator of both the heavens and the earth, don’t loose perspective
***The 2nd point of the Message today: God uses the heavens he created to show signs and wonders
***The 3rd point of the Message today: We can have confidence in the God we serve when we look at what he has created
There is an old saying, never trust a skinny chief, or a mechanic with a broken car, or a financial planner with a lot of debt.
I want you to go with me to the Book of Romans Chapter 1 and lets look at Paul’s perspective on Man’s relationship with God the creator of Heavens and Earth:
Romans 1:16-25
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
***The First point of the Message today: God is the creator of both the heavens and the earth, don’t loose perspective
***The 2nd point of the Message today: God uses the heavens he created to show signs and wonders
***The 3rd point of the Message today: We can have confidence in the God we serve when we look at what he has created
*** The 4th point of the Message today: Focus your attention and worship on the Creator and not the creation.
Go with me to Exodus 33. The Children of Isreal had just sinned pretty big. Moses was up on the Mountain of God for 40 days getting the 10 commandments and all the instructions from God on how to teach the people to be in relationship with him in worship, sacrifices, ect. You remember the story from the movie, 10 Commandments. The people have Aaron make a golden calf to worship. They all get drunk, naked and have the first Woodstock in the wilderness party. God tells Moses to get down there and take care of the situation and then God informs Moses that due to the Children of Israels behavior, God is not going to go with them but he is going to send an Angel……..Moses says wait a minute. God, if your presence does not go with us then I am not going…………..
**How many of you would have been happy to have an Angel go with you? I would have probably said, Okay God. Give me Michael the archangel and we will be good. He is a strong, warrior angel. Thank you for your archangel Michael!
What did Moses know that we do not under? Moses knew point #4 of the message. Moses knew the created angel was not to be compared to the Creator, Yahweh, The Great I Am! God had showed Moses how he created the Heavens, the Earth, Mankind, all the beast of the field, the animals. God showed Moses how he put Adam to sleep and took from his side a rib and made Eve. Moses knew the Creator and he would never settle for just a creation.
*** The 4th point of the Message today: Focus your attention and worship on the Creator and not the creation.
Exodus 33:13-23
13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
17 And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
21 And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
(1 Corinthians 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.)
23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
**Continuing in chapter 34
Exodus 34:1-7
1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.
2 And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.
3 And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.
4 And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.
5 And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.
6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
John 1:10-14
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
***The First point of the Message today: God is the creator of both the heavens and the earth, don’t loose perspective
***The 2nd point of the Message today: God uses the heavens he created to show signs and wonders
***The 3rd point of the Message today: We can have confidence in the God we serve when we look at what he has created
*** The 4th point of the Message today: Focus your attention and worship on the Creator and not the creation.
***Point #5 of the Message today: The Glory of God is reveled to us through is Son Jesus Christ.
***In Closing I want to take you back where we started in Psalm 103 and lets reflect on the revelation of the Glory and Mercy of God through Jesus Christ:
Psalm 103
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
19 The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
20 Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
21 Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22 Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.