[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 21st of January, 2018. Look for the video on our Vimeo channel: http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
Last week, with the start of the new year, we looked at new beginnings and being a new creation through our belief in Jesus as our Lord and the one true Son of God. Today I’d like to go back to the very beginning, our original creation, the genesis of all there is. We need to remember where we came from, and how we came to be, so we can stay on track to where we want to go. And maybe we can find out a little something about ourselves and others that we may not have considered before.
Please listen and follow along as I read from the opening of our Bible, from the Book of Genesis, chapter 1, verse 26 through chapter 2 verse 7, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
Please listen and follow along as I read from the opening of our Bible, from the Book of Genesis, chapter 1, verse 26 through chapter 2 verse 7, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 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. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
4 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; 6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.
7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
--Genesis 1:26-2:7 (NKJV)
Let us pray… Father God, You created us – every one of us. And then You gave us free will, including the freedom to choose whether we believe in Your Son Jesus or not. Thank You, Father, for making us, and for giving us Your Son so that we might be saved. Help us to maintain and grow our faith in You and Jesus. Speak to us now, Father, that we might better hear Your voice and discern Your will for our lives. In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray. Amen.
At a summer Christian camp for children, one of the counselors was leading a discussion on the purpose God has for all of His creation. They began to find good reasons for clouds and trees and rocks and rivers and various animals, and just about everything else in nature. But then one of the children asked, “If God has a good purpose for everything, why did He create poison ivy?” The counselor gulped, struggling to come up with an answer, when one of the other children came to his rescue, saying, “The reason God made poison ivy is that He wanted us to know there are certain things we should keep our cotton-pickin’ hands off of!”
As Christians, I think there are at least two points we can all pretty much agree on. God made everything. Moses tells us as much, in the very opening of his great Book of Genesis, chapter 1 verses 1 and 2…
God’s Holy Spirit was right there, hovering over the face of the waters, waiting for God’s command. With each step of His creation, God noted that it was very good.
Which leads to the second point we can agree on: God is good. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. So if God is good and He made everything, then everything must have some good in it! Even poison ivy, and mosquitos, and Brussels sprouts. And His creation includes people, so we all have some good in us, too – even Hitler and Idi Amin. And let’s not forget all the angels, including Lucifer and his fallen colleagues.
Now, not all of those individual pieces of God’s creation are exactly what we would call good. Yet each one was created by God to serve some specific purpose, even if it is as an example of what not to do, or touch, or eat. And since, as the Apostle Paul tells us, God makes all things work together for good for those who love Him and follow His call, then each and every element of His creation has a purpose that it serves that works toward the good of God’s adopted children and to help fulfill His great plan.
So with all that, can we say that there is a little good in everything and everyone? I think so, and I think it is beneficial for us if we do. Because if we consider that everything, and especially everyone, has some good in them, then it makes it a lot easier for us to do as our Lord Jesus commands.
There was an incident when a Pharisee, who happened to be a lawyer, tried to trap Jesus. The Apostle Matthew recorded it for us in chapter 22 of his Gospel account, verses 36 through 39…
Love God with all that is within us, and love our neighbor as we love ourselves. That’s what Jesus commands. That’s what Jesus expects. It is so important to Him that we love one another, He placed it second in importance only behind loving God. It is so important that He issued the command over and over, such as recorded by the Apostle John in chapter 13 of his Gospel account, verses 34 and 35…
Jesus wants us to love others in the same manner and to the same extent that He loves us. How does Jesus love us? Unconditionally, sacrificially, giving His all just for us without any thought as to how it might benefit Him.
And let’s think about how Jesus loved mankind and showed that love during His ministry on earth. He sat in the temple on the Sabbath and waited on the people to come to Him and be taught, right? Of course not! He went out into the countryside, into the greater community, out to where the people were. He reached out to everyone, and some even listened. And He told us to do the same, to go into the world spreading the Good News of salvation through Him. He told us to make disciples and teach them all about Him and all about love.
He wants us to do good things for people so that they can see Him in us and in our actions of love. As John recorded, He told us that this is how others will know that we are His disciples, His followers, by the love we show for one another and for others. He told us all this because there is a little good in everyone, and He wants all to be saved. We do good works not to get into heaven, but because we love Jesus and want others to love Him, too.
Sometimes, though, we feel like the amount of work we need to do is quite overwhelming. We see needs that we simply cannot fill. The Apostle Paul tells us not to be discouraged or deterred, not to give up on our good work. Listen to the encouragement he gave us in his letter to the Galatians, chapter 6, verses 9 and 10…
The times when we get too tired to continue, when the work seems too much, the task too great, we need to take Paul’s words to heart - we will be rewarded. We will reap the harvest we labored over in due season, when God’s time is right. So we should continue to take advantage of every possible opportunity of serving the greater community, of meeting the needs of all we can, of doing good to all people, and especially to the fellowship of believers, the household of faith.
God, the Almighty Creator of all the universe made us. He breathed life into us, into all of us. He did not make us to be bad, to do evil, to disobey. He filled us with His own breath to give us life.
So there is some good in all of us. Help bring the good out in others by sharing the love of Jesus. And help save the world. In the blessed name of Christ Jesus. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You created all that is, and You declared it all good. When You made us, Father, You breathed life into us. You made us in Your own image, in Your own likeness. You made us, Father, and You made us to be good, not bad, not evil. But You also gave us free will and we chose to disobey You, and sin entered the world. Forgive us our disobedience, God. Help us to be truly repentant in our hearts. Thank You for Your love and mercy. Help us to see that there is at least a little good in everyone..
Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You straight from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, repenting of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness…
Lord Jesus, You saw people the way God intends us to – as God’s most beloved creation. You see us still, Lord, through a lens of love. And that’s how You want us to see others. You command us to love all people because we are all created by God, in His image. You showed love to all, Lord, even the Pharisees who hated You. You tried to get them to see the truth, but they chose to remain blind. Help us, Lord, to love as You love. Help us to serve out of our love, to show others Your love. Help us to love unconditionally, sacrificially, doing good as often as we can for the benefit of the greater community, so that all might see You in action.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
At a summer Christian camp for children, one of the counselors was leading a discussion on the purpose God has for all of His creation. They began to find good reasons for clouds and trees and rocks and rivers and various animals, and just about everything else in nature. But then one of the children asked, “If God has a good purpose for everything, why did He create poison ivy?” The counselor gulped, struggling to come up with an answer, when one of the other children came to his rescue, saying, “The reason God made poison ivy is that He wanted us to know there are certain things we should keep our cotton-pickin’ hands off of!”
As Christians, I think there are at least two points we can all pretty much agree on. God made everything. Moses tells us as much, in the very opening of his great Book of Genesis, chapter 1 verses 1 and 2…
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
--Genesis 1:1-2 (NKJV)
Which leads to the second point we can agree on: God is good. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. So if God is good and He made everything, then everything must have some good in it! Even poison ivy, and mosquitos, and Brussels sprouts. And His creation includes people, so we all have some good in us, too – even Hitler and Idi Amin. And let’s not forget all the angels, including Lucifer and his fallen colleagues.
Now, not all of those individual pieces of God’s creation are exactly what we would call good. Yet each one was created by God to serve some specific purpose, even if it is as an example of what not to do, or touch, or eat. And since, as the Apostle Paul tells us, God makes all things work together for good for those who love Him and follow His call, then each and every element of His creation has a purpose that it serves that works toward the good of God’s adopted children and to help fulfill His great plan.
So with all that, can we say that there is a little good in everything and everyone? I think so, and I think it is beneficial for us if we do. Because if we consider that everything, and especially everyone, has some good in them, then it makes it a lot easier for us to do as our Lord Jesus commands.
There was an incident when a Pharisee, who happened to be a lawyer, tried to trap Jesus. The Apostle Matthew recorded it for us in chapter 22 of his Gospel account, verses 36 through 39…
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’"
--Matthew 22:36-39 (NKJV)
34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”--John 13:34-35 (NKJV)
And let’s think about how Jesus loved mankind and showed that love during His ministry on earth. He sat in the temple on the Sabbath and waited on the people to come to Him and be taught, right? Of course not! He went out into the countryside, into the greater community, out to where the people were. He reached out to everyone, and some even listened. And He told us to do the same, to go into the world spreading the Good News of salvation through Him. He told us to make disciples and teach them all about Him and all about love.
He wants us to do good things for people so that they can see Him in us and in our actions of love. As John recorded, He told us that this is how others will know that we are His disciples, His followers, by the love we show for one another and for others. He told us all this because there is a little good in everyone, and He wants all to be saved. We do good works not to get into heaven, but because we love Jesus and want others to love Him, too.
Sometimes, though, we feel like the amount of work we need to do is quite overwhelming. We see needs that we simply cannot fill. The Apostle Paul tells us not to be discouraged or deterred, not to give up on our good work. Listen to the encouragement he gave us in his letter to the Galatians, chapter 6, verses 9 and 10…
9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
--Galatians 6:9-10 (NKJV)
God, the Almighty Creator of all the universe made us. He breathed life into us, into all of us. He did not make us to be bad, to do evil, to disobey. He filled us with His own breath to give us life.
So there is some good in all of us. Help bring the good out in others by sharing the love of Jesus. And help save the world. In the blessed name of Christ Jesus. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You created all that is, and You declared it all good. When You made us, Father, You breathed life into us. You made us in Your own image, in Your own likeness. You made us, Father, and You made us to be good, not bad, not evil. But You also gave us free will and we chose to disobey You, and sin entered the world. Forgive us our disobedience, God. Help us to be truly repentant in our hearts. Thank You for Your love and mercy. Help us to see that there is at least a little good in everyone..
Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You straight from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, repenting of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness…
Lord Jesus, You saw people the way God intends us to – as God’s most beloved creation. You see us still, Lord, through a lens of love. And that’s how You want us to see others. You command us to love all people because we are all created by God, in His image. You showed love to all, Lord, even the Pharisees who hated You. You tried to get them to see the truth, but they chose to remain blind. Help us, Lord, to love as You love. Help us to serve out of our love, to show others Your love. Help us to love unconditionally, sacrificially, doing good as often as we can for the benefit of the greater community, so that all might see You in action.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
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