P1 PILLARS OF A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW | CREATION

I want to start a series this morning called pillars of a biblical worldview. Pillars of a biblical worldview. Let me start with this. I read a story several years ago that I've read many times since then, and you've probably heard as well. It's a story about the Lone ranger in Tonto. Lone Ranger and Tonto were out camping one night when Tonto, in the middle of the night, shakes, the Lone ranger says, kimusabi, wake up. So the Lone Ranger wakes up from his sleep. What's going on, Tonto? And Tonto says, look up into the sky and tell me what you see. Well, confused and still half asleep, the Lone Ranger looks up and says, well, I see stars up there. Why? And Tonto says, well, what does that tell you? And the Lone ranger says, still half asleep, says, well, Tonto, I guess, meteorologically speaking, it tells me it's a clear night. It's going to be a pretty day tomorrow. Astronomically speaking, it tells me that there are probably billions of galaxies out there. Theologically speaking, it tells me that God is big, and we are, by comparison, very, very small. And then the Lone Ranger stops and says, wait a minute. Why, Tonto? What does it say to you? And Tonto says, it tells me somebody stole our tent. See, two people. Two people can observe the very same thing. Two people can experience the very same thing and yet interpret those same things very, very differently and draw very different conclusions regarding the same set of circumstances or information. How is it that two people, two people perhaps, who have much in common, for example, they live in the same country or the same state or the same county or the same city or in the same family? How can two people who have so much in common see and observe and perceive the same set of information and yet draw very different conclusions about that set of information? Well, the answer to that question lies in an understanding of worldviews. Worldviews. We all have a worldview that informs our beliefs, our behaviors, and our attitudes. Now I'd like to put on the screen a working definition of a worldview. Your worldview is a framework from which you perceive reality and make sense of life in the world. It's a good definition for us to hang our hats on over the next several weeks as we talk about worldviews. Your worldview is the framework from which you perceive reality and make sense of life and the world. As Christians, it's important for us to have a biblical worldview. In other words, it's important for us as we observe all that's going on around us, that we look through the lens of scripture to understand and interpret those things and to draw conclusions about those things based on what God says rather than what the world says. As Christians, it's our job to bring God's perspective to bear in our world. We're his ambassadors. So it's important for us to have a biblical worldview. However, as I shared a few weeks ago in another sermon, very few christians in America have a biblical worldview. In fact, several weeks ago, I shared with you the results of a survey that was done by the Cultural Research center at Arizona Christian University. They did a poll, they did a survey, and here's what that survey found. That survey found that of all professing Christians living in the United States, only 6% have a Christian a biblical worldview. What that means is 94% of professing Christians in our country perceive and understand the world through a lens other than the Bible, through cultural lenses. Okay. In this series, the goal of this series is to make sure to clarify what it means to be in the 6% redeemer. We want to be six percenters. We want to make sure that we are seeing life in the world through the lens of scripture. We're going to begin this morning at the beginning, the very first verse in your Bible, Genesis, chapter one, verse one talks about the very first pillar of a biblical worldview. Let me read that verse. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Church. There is no possible way for us to dive into the deep meanings of that verse in a single sermon. Let me just point out a couple of things about that verse. First, in the beginning, God, the first four words of the Bible. In the beginning, God tells us so much about the God we serve in worship. God was in the beginning, before anything was created, God was. In other words, God was not created. God is preexistent. He is self sustaining. He is independent. God does. In other words, God does not rely on anything else or need anything else to be or to operate. God always has been before anything was created. It is an incredibly important theological tenet. God is not created. He was in the beginning. In the beginning, God. Then that verse says, he created that self existent, independent God created the heavens and the earth. The heavens and the earth. Scripture using a figure of speech called mirrorism, where you use two contrasting terms to infer totality. For example, in our wedding vows, husband and wife will say something like, I will be committed to you for better or for worse. Now, that does not mean I'm only going to be committed to you if things are better or worse. No, it's mirrorism. It's using two contrasting terms to suggest totality. What we mean by that is I will be committed to you no matter what, from better to worse and everything in between. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Our first pillar, the first biblical worldview pillar that we're going to talk about is this. God created all things. Our self existent, our self sustaining, independent. God created all things. Now let me just stop here long enough to say this is very different from the prevailing worldview in our culture that says the world and everything in it just happened through a natural, random process over billions and billions of years. Very, very different worldviews. Creation versus evolution and other theories. Now, perhaps later this year, I'll do an apologetic series that talks about why we believe creation makes far more sense than evolution. That's not the purpose of this sermon. The purpose of this sermon is this, since God created all things, given that that is true, given that that is what the Bible teaches, since God created all things, how should that inform our attitudes, our beliefs and our behaviors? And how do those differ from a different worldview? Three things I want to share with you. First of all, creation means that we are accountable to our creator. If God created the heavens and the earth and all, everything, if God created all things, then we are accountable to the one who created. Now, I don't have to tell you there is a passionate aversion in our culture today against accountability. Accountability is to be avoided at all costs because so many have embraced a non biblical worldview. If there's not a God, there is no ultimate authority to whom I'm accountable, to which I'm accountable. But if God created all things, there is. There is an ultimate authority to whom we must all answer. One of the biblical themes that rises from creation is the theme of stewardship. Stewardship. The Bible teaches that you and I are not owners of what we have and those things we've been entrusted with. We are stewards of those things. A steward is not an owner. A steward is entrusted with things by the owner for the benefit of the owner. Let me read to you psalm 24, one and two. The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it. Let me just stop there. Who does the world and everything in it, and everyone who is in it. Who does that belong to? It belongs to the Lord. The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it. For here's why. For he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. Since God created all things, he owns all things. God is the owner of all things. Now, this biblical worldview is very different from a non biblical worldview because a non biblical worldview will say something like this. What I have is mine to do with what I think is best. No one should be able to tell me what to do with what is mine. But a biblical worldview says God owns it all and it's all for him. I've been entrusted with certain things, possessions, position, power, influence, proficiencies, abilities, skills. I've been entrusted by many things by God for his benefit. Jesus taught this in his earthly ministry. Matthew chapter 25 tells. Jesus tells a story about a man, apparently of great wealth, who was going on a journey, and he entrusted at least a good portion of his wealth to servants that he left behind. In fact, the Bible describes how he gave one servant five bags of gold. He gave a second servant two bags of gold, and he gave a third servant one bag of gold, and he went on his trip. Well, when the master came back, he found that the first two servants had doubled the wealth that he had entrusted to them for the master's benefit. And the master said, you have been given a few things. I will put you in charge over many things. Come and share in my happiness and joy. But then the third servant came. And listen to how Jesus tells this part of the story. Matthew chapter 25, beginning in verse 24. Then the man who had received the one bag of gold came. Master, he said, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you've not sown and gathering where you've not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your goal in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you. His master replied, you wicked and lazy servant. So you knew that I harvest where I've not sown and gather where I've not scattered seed. Well, then you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers so that when I returned, I would have received it back with interest. So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. Okay, I want to share with you three very important lessons from Jesus parable here. Number one, God determines the content of your life. God gave one servant five. He gave another two. He gave another one. God has entrusted to each of us things that he has determined. You say, well, Pastor Jeff, look, I'm a self made man or woman. I've worked hard for what I have. I'm sure you have, and that's wonderful. But who gave you the ability to work hard? Who gave you the physical strength? Who gave you the mental capacity? Who gave you the skills that you have used to accumulate what you think you have accumulated for yourself? Listen, God is ultimately responsible for the content of your life. Lesson number two from this story, God expects you and me to use that content for his benefit. God has entrusted things into your life with an expectation that you are going to use those things to benefit him. And then the third lesson from this story, God is the judge of good and bad investments. You see, this third servant thought he was doing a good thing. He didn't want to lose a single dime that his master had given him, so he buried it in the ground. He thought that was a good idea. He thought that was the best idea. He did what was right in his own eyes with what he had been given. But what he thought about the investment did not matter. The only thing that mattered in the end was what the master thought. So the very first thing that we learn from this pillar, God created all things, is that we are accountable to him to use all of those things entrusted to us for his benefit. And we will be rewarded one day based on how well we do that. Second, the second implication of this pillar, that God created all things. Creation affirms human purpose and intrinsic value. God created all things, but he created mankind uniquely. Let me read to you from Genesis, chapter one, verse 26 and 27. Then God said, let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created mankind in his own image. In the image of God, he created them. Male and female, he created them. Okay, listen very closely. Not all creation was created with equal purpose and value. Humanity, mankind was the apex of God's creation. Mankind, and only mankind, was created in God's image. Mankind, and only mankind, was given dominion over the rest of creation. Now, this is very, very different from a non biblical worldview. A non biblical worldview says, you just happened. You weren't created, you just happened. You're nothing more than just a complex collection of biological matter. But see, creation affirms purpose and value. Let me take these one at a time. First of all, creation affirms purpose. Evolution will try to tell you how you came to be, but it doesn't even try to explain why you came to be. If evolution is true, we have no purpose every human being, though, has an innate desire to know purpose. Accidents don't affirm purpose. Creation does. Let me give you an example. A car, an automobile was designed and built for a purpose. In other words, an automobile didn't just accidentally happen and somebody one day said, oh, you know what that would be good for? That'd be good to get from point a to point b. No, that's not the way it happened. No, someone had a purpose in mind, and they designed and created an automobile for that purpose. God created you for a purpose. For what purpose did God create you? Ecclesiastes, chapter twelve, verse 13. Now all has been heard. Here is the conclusion of the matter. Why are we here? Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. What is our purpose? To fear God and to keep his commandments. What does it mean to fear God? It means to live in awe of his beauty, his power, his majesty, his holiness, his goodness. To live in awe of him and to keep his commandments. What does that mean, to live in such a way that yields our will to his will and to make much of him. In fact, the west mystery catechism puts it this way. Your purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. Your purpose is to glorify God by keeping his commandments, yielding your will to his and to enjoy him forever. To live in fear of him, to live in awe of all that he is and all that he has done. That is your purpose. But also, creation affirms intrinsic value. This is different from a non biblical worldview. If you just happen, your value comes from what you do. The world ascribes value based on your contribution, based on your ability, based on what you can bring to the table, what you are able to do. Problem with that, of course, is if your value is based on what you do, your value throughout your lifetime is going to ebb and flow. In fact, there will be some times in your life that you are worth zero because you can contribute zero. And in fact, if this is the measure of human value, everyone at some point in their life is absolutely worthless according to a non biblical worldview. But creation affirms human intrinsic value because we have intrinsic value. As God's image bearer, our value. Listen, our value is not determined by what we do. Our value is determined by who we are. We are image bearers of our creator, and that gives us intrinsic and infinite value. Several years ago, many years ago, now, I was in Washington, DC, and I went into this library. It was an old library that featured historical documents and books. And it was fascinating because it wasn't too large, maybe the size of the grand foyer. And there were all these books that you could, old books that you could pick up and thumb through and see, notes that had been written in the books. And it was just a fascinating library there in Washington, D. C. But I noticed in this room, in the middle of the room was a pedestal, and there was a piece of paper enclosed with glass. Nothing else was enclosed by glass. You could touch and feel everything else. But this document was different. It was protected. So I walked over to this document underneath the glass, and what I saw was not very impressive at all. In fact, the piece of paper was not nearly as good a shape as other things in the room. The writing on the piece of paper was not legible. I couldn't read much of it. But then I looked down at the bottom of that piece of paper and I saw the name, the signature of George Washington. George Washington had written that, see, that piece of paper was not valuable. That piece of paper was not priceless because of what it was. It was just a piece of paper with some scribble on it, much like everything else in the room. It was priceless because of the signature. It bore. You as a human being, bear God's signature. You, as a human being, bear God's image. And that is what gives you value. Your value is not extrinsic. No, your value is intrinsic. According to a biblical worldview, the final thing that we learn from this pillar, creation affirms God's sovereignty and providence. As creator, God is in charge and is in control. Let me read two more verses to you. One from the New Testament, one from the old Ephesians, chapter one, verse eleven. In him, we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything. Watch this. Who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. Job, chapter 42, verse two. Job says, I know that you can do all things. No purpose of yours can be thwarted. Okay, folks, this is so different from a non biblical worldview, because a non biblical worldview says nobody knows how this thing's going to end up. In fact, this whole thing relies solely on us, which is really bad news. That's why a non biblical worldview leads to uncertainty, while a biblical worldview leads to certainty. We do know how things are going to end up. God has told us, and God is moving all things through his by his divine power toward that predetermined end. A non biblical worldview leads to anxiety, but a biblical worldview leads to calm, assurance and peace. Non biblical worldview says this whole thing depends on us. Biblical worldview says this whole thing is controlled by God. To illustrate this, I want to share with you one of my favorite stories that I tell often that illustrates this little eight year old girl was sitting on an airplane by herself. And as they're getting ready for takeoff, the people sitting, the adults sitting around her, noticed that this little girl was all alone. So they were taking care of her. They were making sure she was okay because they didn't know if she had ever flown before. So during the flight, the captain came over the sneaker and said, I want everybody to return to your seats and fasten your seatbelt because we've got some rough air coming up. So everybody did. And in a few moments, the plane started really shaking. I mean, it was severe turbulence to the point where everyone sitting around this little girl was very, very alarmed, in fact, panicking. But one lady sitting near this little girl looked over at the little girl and the little girl didn't seem to be phased at all. And after the plane leveled out, the lady leaned over to the little girl and says, sweetheart, were you not afraid like the rest of us? Did you know what was happening? She said, oh, yeah, I knew what was happening. She said, well, why were you not afraid like the rest of us were? And the little girl says, because my daddy's the pilot and I know as long as he's in the cockpit, I'm going to be okay. I don't have to tell you this world and this life comes with rough air. But folks, our daddy is in the cockpit. And as long as he, he's there, the one who loves you and me enough to give his only son for us, as long as he is in charge, as long as he is in control, we are going to be okay. It is only a biblical worldview that gives that kind of assurance that God is sovereign and he is moving everything toward a predetermined end. Very first verse in the Bible is a profound verse with enormous implications. God created all things, which means we're accountable to him, which means we have purpose and intrinsic value, and which means that we can have peace even in the midst of difficult circumstances, because we know that God is in control. It's in the God of the Bible that we find purpose, value, hope, confidence and meaning. That's why relationship with Jesus is so vital. Jesus came to reconcile us back to that creator in whom we find all that we are, so much that we are looking for in life. If you've never placed your faith in Jesus to be reconciled back to the God that we've offended by our sin, the wonderful news of the gospel is that you can do so. In fact, at this time, I'd like for everyone in the room to bow your heads and close your eyes with me because I'm going to say a prayer. It's a prayer similar to the one I prayed over 40 years ago. Now, when I asked Jesus into my life to reconcile me back to God, your prayer to the creator from your heart might sound something like this. God, I recognize my sin has separated me from you. But I believe Jesus died in my place and rose again so that I could be cleansed from sin. And in this moment, I place all my trust in what Jesus did for me, to rescue me from my sin and to restore me to a right relationship with you. In Jesus name, amen. Everyone looking back up here, if you prayed along with me just now, are you curious to know more about what it means to place faith in Jesus? Our volunteers have prepared packets of information for you back at guest services. You can pick those up as you leave this morning and I hope that you will. If you're watching online and you prayed along with me just now, I'd love to send you that same literature, that information by mail, because we believe it'll be helpful to you and a blessing to you. We set up a website called imadadecision.com. I made a decision. If you go there, you'll see a place where we can receive your mailing address from. You. Provide that to us and we'll be sure to put that in the mail to your home, wherever it might be this coming week. Bye.