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May 26, 2022 4:00 am
You may have heard people say things like nature is my church, but that doesn't line up with what Scripture teaches how we respond to that biblically find out today on Truth for Life. As Alister begs teaching from Psalm 19. Beginning in verse six he says this rising is from the end of the heavens circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat life on our planet demands the existence of the son without the sun were done not right in my own points. Not as good admittedly short. Despite my research, discovering a few folks who believe that we we we can actually survive on planet Ark without the sun. I want to go into it.
You can find them.
I hope you're not one of them, but they believe that will build to live in some cave very close to the arts.
In all essence and so will be okay.
I'm I have not signed up for that program and I don't suggest you do either because contemporary understanding of things is that without the sun.
The existence of some kind of microorganism for a wee while near to the core of the air is understandable. But in actual fact, nothing other than that would survive without the sun all the plants die. There's no photosynthesis. The plants die the animals that eat the plants die and the Homo sapiens who keep the animals in their yard who eat the plants will die as well.
Without the sun. It eventually proves to be impossible to maintain life on earth and the psalmist here says that the sun as it moves across the sky is a picture of the life-giving power of the works of God.
This is why incidentally, in that little him where we we sing that heaven above is softer blue and earth around a sweeter green and something lives in every hue.
The Chrysler size of never see and birds with bladder songs or flowing derricks with deeper beauty shine.
Since I know is now I know that I am his and he is mine that the perspective of the believer in terms of the planets in terms of science in terms of the nature of the world in which we live is actually understood within the context of God's revelation of himself. It is the foolish man not intellectually impoverished but morally deficient. It is a foolish man who old woman who says there is no God, because the evidence is there for all to see. God has not left himself without a witness. Hence the song that we just saying creation sayings the father song he calls the sun to wake the dawn and run the course of day.
This is biblical theology.
This is an understanding of the doctrine of creation. Why then is it that since the evidence is incontrovertibly there in the sky. Why is it that men and women do not see it. Well, don't you think that probably these opening verses of Psalm 19 are in the mind of the apostle Paul when he addresses that issue in writing the first chapter of his magnificent letter to Rome. If you turn there for a moment I just remind you of it.
It's not unfamiliar territory but it is timely for us to look at it once again.
Romans chapter 1 and verse 18. And Paul writes the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, the inevitable response of holiness to sinfulness, because in their unrighteousness. The notice suppress the truth for what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. If we had the opportunity say what it what you think about here Paul what what what you have in mind. I think he would've said Psalm 19.
He said that you know Dan today on her speech tonight on Tonight Show's knowledge there. There's no voices, no sound of the cry is going out to the earth. Really yeah because verse 20, his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world how in the things that have been made so they are without excuse. It is so clearly there. He says the power of God is invisible attributes, but in their unrighteousness. They suppress the truth.
They've exchange the glory of God for that which is simply idolatry. And if you read the balance of Romans chapter 1 realize that the result of this is the moral disintegration of human society.
In other words, the suppression of the truth of the majesty of God's work in creation to suppress that truth has implications that are far beyond the intellectual dimensions of metaphysical thought they actually impinge upon the way in which a culture of finally crumbles because now that there is no creator to whom a man or a woman is accountable, then there is no reason to believe that man is been created in a certain way for a certain purpose. Therefore man is then free to choose his own destiny and is on plan that there is no way in which this creator God should be controlling the nature of the formation of society, the multiplication of life.
The framework of marriage and so on.
And as a result, foolishness, darkening of understanding and the disintegration of a culture new, just a reading of history will make this point graphically for you where the Roman Empire go.
How did the Roman Empire finally collapse. How did Greece tumble in on itself. How did Alexander the great be so great and yet so hopeless in the end, the actual answer is to be found in the Scriptures you say this is very very important. Well of course is very important and it demands you see that we think biblically about these things. Some of us are afraid to those of us who are no good science get frightened by scientists the IME. I was frightened by my chemistry teacher. But apart from anybody else in a physics teacher. He was even warriors on the same level and the biology teacher. I could understand that running at least I had some kind of something I can look at the had to do with biology but be popular but you tend to be friends of those great signs and some said the signs of said the scientists of said what the scientists know science begins by the acknowledgment of phenomena that exists which then has to be analyzed on the strength of what it is and whether it repeats itself, and so on. Science actually has very little to say about the nature of divinity about the notion of the establishing of the character and handiwork of God and the universe isn't walking in the dark with his hands out in front and yet, despite that fact that many within the framework of the church and not least of all young people have been cowed into fearfulness in our culture today. Being prepared to give credence to all kinds of contemporary spiritualities which are an expression of confusion. Radical environmentalism self-made New Age notions, all of which all of which share this that they are pantheistic, all of which are seeing somehow or another that creation is confused with God and therefore that we may make contact with God. If we look in on ourselves since we are part of creation I what what are we going to say about this when we have conversation while we going to say my understanding of it is that the Bible makes it clear that there was no creation before the beginning there was no creation before the beginning. In the beginning God created and until he created, there was no creation.
So we teach our grandchildren before there was time before there was anything that was God and God made God spoke and it was that Genesis 1 and he spoke and it was Eddie spoke and it was.
That's not a scientific explanation of the development of the universe.
It is a declaration of the fight that behind the creation there is a creator and he is the one who has acted in this way, the creation is therefore not coeternal with God is not coeternal with God before its beginning, God dwelt alone, father, son and Holy Spirit in perfect harmony in perfect unity in perfect security in perfect fellowship in need of no one, and in need of nothing, and God created our world is really saying this morning. This is my father's world, he made this the universe was made by, it is providentially sustained by him and it is utterly dependent upon him okay since biblical theology.
It was created by him.
It is providentially sustained by him and it is utterly dependent upon God is not in any way dependent on his created universe. God is not in any way to be confused with that which he has created.
And if you're not allergic to it then get a letter to it and pay attention to the message that is being conveyed on virtually a daily basis within our Western culture, and it is pantheistic from beginning to and hence the inroads of Hinduism, and so on. In our environment because it expresses all those things as silly and as simple as it might be.
Let's see what mother nature has for us this morning.
I don't suggest you start shouting your your television screen. But you should at least have read your Bible and build a sale dear oh dear, here we go again.
The heavens declare the glory of God when when Paul is invited to address the intelligentsia in Athens after he's made a few introductory comments that are contextual and congenial. He starts writing on this doesn't that they said apparently you got some strange things going on in your head and you see you are bringing some strange ideas to our ears and we would like to know what these things mean the question of meaning is there meaning in the universe. I was simply a collocation of atoms are we just a bunch of molecules held in suspension as the world just an apple spinning tirelessly in space. You know we've got some strange stuff. Can you come and tell us about pose a big letter where is a start, the God who made the world and everything in its there surrounded by all indications covering their basis in the hope that somehow or another they haven't missed a God out so the poor one. Therefore, the unknown God just in case we missed one. Let's have it here and he comes in he says you've got all of this stuff around.
He doesn't live in places like this, you can turn them into a statute, he made the universe and he made you and as he progresses. He says you know if you think about it. If you listen to Paul Simon made him say that he says if you listen to your employer's ports will tell you the same thing and on and on and on it goes in there. We have all you see the quest for meaning is an understandable quest.
Some of you are here this morning and you are at your just exactly there-I meant to Paul Simon because we had. We were at Paul Simon the other evening.
I hear it not and what an amazing time it was.
I get hot water deep sadness for me when finally he he comes clean about his attempt at understanding that life and purpose in and the universe in the office. He offers to us all to read a book by an eminent scientist is now in his 80s.
That would explain our life's and explain the universe and explain how we can save everything and how we want Obi turned into this and that in the next day I said to myself, you you you you better than this. Paul, how can you buy this. How can you do know why because he's blind and so are we without the gospel because you see in this woodcut were finished close.
The idea that you can go up the mountain or sit by a stream or you gaze up at the universe and get the answer to these questions is unfounded and is on ground because God's majesty in creation, God's revelation in creation is sufficient to leave us without excuse.
When we suppress the truth but God's revelation in creation is insufficient in bringing us to an understanding of his saving purposes in the person of his son the Lord Jesus Christ and that takes his word and that's why, although it's a fairly abrupt transition.
It is understandable.
I think .3 helps is whether doesn't it in the rising of the heavens and the circuit to the end of those nodding head from his site and then boom, all of a sudden out of nowhere and by the way, the law of the Lord is perfect. You see, this is why incidentally, we teach the Bible because God's word is not like the word of man.
Let me let me end with Luther since I started with Luther and will have to come back to it later on.
This is Luther in them. Actually, this is Luther in a little book quoted by Horatius Bonner God's way of peace page, 105 and Luther says we must make a great difference between God's word and the word of man, a man's word is a little sound which fly into the air and soon vanishes by the word of God is greater than heaven and earth gay. It is greater than death and hell for it is the power of God and remain so everlastingly. Therefore, we ought diligently to learn God's word and we must know certainly and believe that God himself speaks with us.
In other words it takes God's revelation in his word, brought home by the spirit to the heart of a man or woman to then look at God's revelation in his works and to declare as the psalmist declares this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Don't be afraid of the pushback in our culture.
God's word is true is sufficient.
And even though our voices are little tiny voices and we stumble and bumble in trying to affirm the truths we profess God's word accomplishes its purposes, and five just as I say that now I think of the lawyer wrote the book Darwin's Black box. I think think it was him, but he tells the story of how he went to heat. He had an argument with his wife about who was going to the vacation Bible school evening program for the parents and she so I'm not going. He's one ongoing either and eventually his wife one and he came and he told me he said when I went there I sat and listened and I thought about this very much because I did. Similarly, this week is a dreadful, dreadful talk. I try to give one Thursday evening's hopeless and and and he said that the fellow that spoke it was it was hopeless. He said it he said that there was very little logical progression. What he was saying. I sat there and thought this is terrible and innocent, but I said secondly to myself, but you know what I think he believes and he said it was the fact that he seemed to believe it was unsettling to me and he said, and it was that terrible talk.
The vacation Bible school that God used as the first who into my heart and mind which brought me to an understanding of the risk in the presence of the living has enabled me to declare all these things about the nature and majesty of God's heavens declare the glory of God. But it is God's word that reveals and accomplishes his plan of salvation listing to Truth for Life. Alistair Begg will be back to close the program with prayer in just a minute.
We just learned from Alister that God's word accomplishes God's purposes through the power and work of the Holy Spirit. That's why were passionate about teaching the Bible with clarity and relevance every single day here Truth for Life that that's our mission. We believe the Bible is true that it teaches us all we need to know about life and death and God. We also trust that God will work through the teaching of his word to convert unbelievers to establish believers in their faith and to strengthen local churches. Our goal is to bring Alister's teaching the people in every corner of the world.
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This is a book that will help you talk about Christianity with those who don't know Jesus will help you answer their questions with confidence. You'll find the book online at truthforlife.org/donate by the way, if you're on Instagram you can receive thought-provoking quotes from Alister in your Instagram. It's a great way to reflect on God's word each day. It's also an easy way for you to share God's truth with others in your net just to search Alistair Begg Truth for Life and Instagram now hears Alister to close with prayer father, thank you that your word is fixed in the heavens that your word accomplishes its purposes. Otherwise, why would we ever spend the time like this is to listen to him. Monologue Lord we long so much that you will conduct a dialogue within our hearts, showing as our self-insuring is our Savior and making the boatlift's help us to this end, we pray for Jesus sake about looking thanks for joining us today. Tomorrow, Alistair Begg explains why the Bible isn't an inspirational book full of helpful advice. It's the instruction for our lives from our Creator Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by truth or lying Learning is for Living