Father Of Lights
Father Of Lights
Lord God Father of lights let us shine like stars in the universe for all to see and
let us not hide away ..
Let our prescence and radiance be seen by all in a dark world that people would look
and be amazed as they gaze at the children of the light and day...
Lord let us not be swallowed up and be sucked in by the world but let us know your
power and strength within us ..as an never ending source burning inside and radiating
out.
Fill us to overflowing Lord that others might be attracted to our light and be pulled
in to circle round us as we serve a God that made and created all things in Jesus name
amen
And so we continue tonight looking at Cross references and the " Stars " and we
continue our theme of worship .
Before we start I have to add that we do not worship created things but we worship
instead the creater of all things, but we merely look at the created that points to
the creator.
We do not worship or live our lifes based on the star signs neither do we base our
future on fortune telling, but we base our future in Christ Jesus, who has far more to
offer ...not that we would follow Him simply because He offers more !!
We ( of course ) neither run after those people seen as " more gifted " to get prophesies
or words of knowledge as if we would use others in our family like fortune tellers !!
No of course not we seek God alone and run after Him don't we ?
We would not follow great teachers or scholars or mere men with anointed ministeries ?
would we ? no we follow them not because they have a gifting but we follow them because
we want to learn from them because they point us to the creator.
We follow a Rabbi because he points to the Great Rabbi and we would never follow them
simply because of their gifting !! would we ? or seek for them to predict our future..
as if they would be fortune tellers on our behalf because we can seek God ouselves....
can't we ?
We follow these men and women because they are leaders of
a flock and because they point to God.....don't we !!
And so we look at the stars not as if it were astrology but because it is astronomy,
that points to the creator of all things.
The stars can no more predict the future than an atom can, which in itself is the
miniature universe.
Incidently, I wonder why people seem to put so much emphasis on how the moon and the sun
and the planets affect us ? and they do whether we like it or not, the sun predicts
the day and night and has been placed there by God to give us life as also the Son.
The moon displays the seas and waves in splendour as they trot to and fro gallopping
accross the land.
The stars may also have an effect on us, but we do not look to these things even though
they do have an effect on us and why not ? because when we use these things to predict
our future we are taking our eyes off God and making these things our God instead.
Its funny is'nt it ? how we can place such a great emphasis on celestial bodies and yet
when it comes to the other celestial bodies that are spiritual bodies we seem to put these
in second place ?
We see more force behind the sun and moon than we do behind God and the enemy ummm
thats strange, so lets begin our journey into astronomy and learn a lesson from the
creator of astronomy.
Lord God Father of light in Jesus name we come to you and we give you our very lifes
and in return you give us your life, we come to you now as children of the light and
we wonder at the magnificence and splendour and glory of all that speaks and proclaims
your name.
For the heavens speak of you and the universe cries out to you and longs and yearns
for the day when it shall be transformed into something new and the very stones cry
out to you and speak of the maker.
Since earliest times men and women have gazed at the stars and known of your existence
Lord therefore there is no excuse.
We worship You Lord for you alone are the maker of all things and all things cry out to
you and point to you and direct to you.
We thankyou now Lord as we come to your word that we will come eager in anticipation
wanting to hear from you Lord and the wonders of your creation but most of all Lord we
come to you because we want to know more of you In Jesus Name amen
The universe and astronomy has always fascinated people since earliest times and I
have to say " It is one of my favourite subjects " although throughout the years I
have come to the conclusion that " The more we learn about the universe and the planets ,
solar system, black holes, space and the mind blowing expanses of outerspace and galaxies...
the more we need to find out.
Delving into astronomy reminds me of looking into Gods heart ...as the more you learn the
more there is too learn and we have to come to the conclusion that " we know very little "
I find myself having to throw out the " text book teaching " I learnt as a child about the
planets because as scientists learn more about the expanses of space ..they realise how
little they knew.
We now find pluto downgraded from a planet !! we find we have a second moon !! be it
very small and more like an orbiting piece of small rock a few miles wide ...but nonetheless...
a moon.
We find that our knowledge and our understanding of our own small solar system is very
limited and scientists are still to ascertain what " space " is, being a " dark matter "
Maybe if we were ever to find the answer to what lies beyond a " black hole " we might
find our questions growing ever more and again find another expanse of unanswerable
questions !!
It makes us seem so small ...does'nt it ?
And yet as we look at the immenseness of space we can look also to the tiny atom....
a universe within itself with the nucleus and nuetrons and protons and electrons
encircling like miniature planets .
How could a God that is so big and mighty know every tiny atom that we cannot even see ?
I wonder if He names them ?
I wonder if He has named every tiny atom ? He being in every tiny atom knows about every
molecule and partical because if He did not He would not be God.
For there is nothing that God does not know about, for He is everywhere and in all things
at once.
And as we look at the atom and we wonder at the creation that proclaims God we also can
look at the stars in the sky and wonder in wonder.
And men and women can imagine about other civilisations and peoples and yet we know that
there cannot be aliens do we not ? if such a thing did exist it might exist in animal form
or vegetable or as a bacteria or germ...
But we know that Jesus the Son died on a Cross of wood once for all and we know that the
earth is Gods footstool and we know that Christ did not die once for all 1000 times over
and over again on different planets all over the universe ....!! don't we ?
We also know that Jesus did not give up His life as a ransom for many on other planets,
using this planet as a mere platform to proclaim salvation to all life forms don't we ?
And yet there are some that like to have imaginations that exalt above Gods word but as we
let Christ trasnform our way of thinking, we begin to see that Christ has cast down those
imaginations and fanciful ideas of the heart and He takes into captivity those thoughts
and leads us on in His train. 2 Corinthians 10:5 2 Corinthians 2:14
Lets look at some more scripture and go from the beginning of time that God made to the
end of time that God made and lets Go into Gods time who is at the beginning and at the end
at the same time.
And we go to Genesis at the beginning of time or before time and we see Lucifer " the
morning star " being cast down...the is the fallen one who brought a "third" of the angelic
hosts down with him
This is not Jesus mentioned in 2 Peter 1:19 (English Standard Version)
19And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to
pay attention(B) as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and
the morning star rises in your hearts,
This is Jesus who came to earth to proclaim liberty and freedom and salvation to captives
and to take them captive in His Train.
I wonder what third of angelic hosts went down as a falling star to Earth ?
I wonder if the higher ranking angelic hosts were involved here ?
We can see these scriptures as speaking about the fallen third of angels cast down from
their lofty place or we can see these scriptures as speaking about the end times and
the stars falling from the sky...
Revelation 12:4
Its tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky and knocked them down to the earth.
REV 8:12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was
struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of
them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of
the night.
ISA 13:10 The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their
light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its
light.
MAT 24:29 "Immediately after the distress of those days "'the sun will be
darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from
the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'
ACT 2:19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth
below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
Wow what a powerful God we serve ? one who can command the universe? why ? because He
created the univers and flung stars into space and the same hands that moulded and shaped
the universe ....the same hands that moulded and shaped you and me and the same hands
that continue to shape and mould our lifes as we walk on in this journey are the same
hands that bled for our salvation.
The same nail pierced hands that created and shaped this vast universe and every minute
atom were pierced for you and for me .
The same breathe that spoke and created in the beginning breathed a final breathe on the
Cross of wood and said " Father forgive them for they know not what they do "
The same feet that made the earth His footstool bled for you and for me.
The same robe that was torn from the maker of the universe is worn by us, .....
it is called the robe of salvation and the blood sets us free.
The same breathe that breathed life into adam and into you and me...that stretches down
and breathes into our nostrils the breathe of life is the same breathe that said " Father
why have you forsaken me ? "and at this time the earth grew dark !!!
The same hands that stetched out the heavens bore our sin !
I wonder how big and how wide and how deep Gods love is for us ?
Ask yourself how big and how wide and how long and how high is the universe ?
Now lets look up at the stars in wonder and see Gods creation speak of the creator !!
When we consider " sun spots " the size of our earth or ten times larger !! when we
consider " dwarf stars " and collapsing giant stars imploding into themselves and causing
themselves to become " anti matter " huge holes in the surface of the universe..that
scientists call " Black holes "
I have always thought that their name really does not describe or even begin to touch upon
their immenseness and grandness and this in turn reminds me of God. And I consider what
name I might give Him ? what name might we give God ? for we cannot give God a name nor
can we even begin to describe Him, for He already has a name and He already has many names.
And it was never for us to name Him, but only for us to name the animals.....I wonder in
our understanding if we could ever imagine God already choosing our names before we were
born ?
"O NOOO GAURDIAN ....MY PARENTS GAVE ME MY NAMEEE.." ?
Did they ? think about that....and consider that God knows the names of every planet,
every star, every galaxy, every obiting sphere , every black hole and tiny particle that
exists and has its being even before man was born in the heart of God, if man and woman
was ever born in the heart of God !! or was man always in the heart of God ?
Consider for a moment this scripture
Luke 1:13
But the angel said to him, "Stop being afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been
heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to name him John.
?
I wonder who named Jesus ?
When we consider that the same hands that flung stars into space were pierced by our sin !!
The same hands that spoke and gave life and created the immense expanse and unmeasurable
expanse of space and time and light and darkness and life and breathed life into us...
Gasped His last breath on a Cross of wood ...to give you life !!
Lets pause with this scripture for a moment !!
Job 9:2 - 10 RSV
But how can a man be just before God? If one wished to contend with him, one could not
answer him once in a thousand times. He is wise in heart and mighty in strength -
who has resisted him, and succeeded?
He who removes mountains and they know it not
when he overturns them in his anger who shakes the earth out of its place and its
pillars tremble who commands the sun and it does not rise, who seals up the stars
who alone stretched out the heavens, and trampled the waves of the sea,
Who made the
Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the Chambers of the South, who does great things
beyond understanding and marvellous things without number..."
When we consider Vast black holes in the universe sucking in matter and engulfing
anything and everything that may wander past.
These black holes in the universe sucking in matter like giant vacuum cleaners, cleaning
up space.
A white dwarf or red giant comes about once a star
or sun has exhausted itself and burnt itself out it, the star will then implodes on
itself,
if the sun or star
is smaller in size it will become a red giant and once it has shed its outer layers
becomes what scientists call " A white Dwarf " and eventually become ( although none are
known of YET ... a "black dwarf "
A "black hole" is basically a star that once shone and exhausted its energies, it then
implodes back into itself and the forces involved are so immense that it will keep on
imploding on itself until it becomes anti matter.
When we consider one of the largest black holes in the universe that man has found up until
this date !! which is called M87..( sounds like a motorway does'nt it ? )
This black hole is 3 billion times larger than our own sun !! IMAGINE ..? 3 billion times
larger ? and scientists with their techniques and equipment can only wonder as they measure
the data and consider the verosity and chaos and violence of this huge black hole, sucking
into itself immense amounts of matter.
ISA 34:4 All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled
up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from
the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.
Matter that becomes anti matter once it reaches temperatures of millions of degrees and shoots
out of the black hole as what we call " x rays "
No light is emmitted from a black hole and the mass of a black hole, some balck holes can
be so dense they are said to be equal to 3 billion times the weight or mass of our own sun.
( for there is no light in Him ) although he is likened to a star !! and can be seen as
an angel of light...2 Corinthians 11
This one single black hole measuring 3 billion times the size of our own sun is situated
within what the scientists call " Virgo " cluster, a cluster of galaxies ....not just one or
two clusters but thousands upon thousands of clusters and in the center of these thousands
upon thousands of galaxies lies this black hole.
Psalms 19:1
David speaks in psalm 8
When I consider your heavens,
The work of your fingers, The moon and the stars,
Which you have set in place , What is man that you are mindful of him,
The son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly
beings
And crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
You put everything under his feet: All flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, All that swim the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Lord,How majestic is your name In all the earth!
This cluster of galaxies where the largest black hole found up until now is situated is
ten times the mass of the milky way..
And lets consider our own sun 870,000 miles accross (solar radius)..our own sun accounts
for 99% of all matter in our solar system..and our own planet earth could fit 1 million
times into our sun !!
The largest star known to man is called ( by us..not God or are we merely repeating the names
God has already given in prophetic utterance ? )
VY Canis Majoris !! which is 5 thousand light years from earth and measures 2,100 times
the size of our Sun. !!
When we consider the works of His hands ? what are man that you are mindful of him ?
God speaks through
His creation and the vastness of God cannot be fathomed or imagined or comprehended,
nor perceived in the minds of man or woman.
Lets look at another scripture
JOS 10:12 On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua
said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: "O sun, stand still over
Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon."
Wow !! thats cool or hot should I say ? God who made the universe and everything in it
who stretched out the expanse of stars that we see with our eyes !! stopped the sun ?
which is 870,000 miles accross !! wooooooo ..what a mighty God we serve !!
Why did He do that ? ...for one man ? God would stop the sun for one man ?
JOB 9:7 He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light
of the stars.
wooo wow...who can comprehend God ?
2PE 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will
disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the
earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
ummm a new heavens and a new earth ? maybe when we become Christians this new
earth and heavens already comes into being because when we change soo too does
that which encircles us !!
Maybe the new heavens and the new earth is already set in place ? for if it were not
then God would not know all things and we would not be seated in heavenly places now
with Him..
REV 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and
the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
Wow God can destroy that which He soo lovingly made ? why would He do that ?
Why would God change us and renew us ? maybe things are not the way He planned ?
Maybe in His love for us He gave us free will !! and maybe we kind of messed things up !!
I remember when a certain person left home and what a mess they left behind, what a mess
their lifes were in !! what a mess they had made with their own free will !! what a mess
they left behind in torn and tattered lifes !! what a mess they made of their hearts and
of those around !!
But God gave them a second chance !! they could start again from scratch like a new day !!
A bit like a new start... a new beginning... a new chance to start again...
A new heart...wow how they had fallen !! wow how they had swept with them so many people !!
Wow how they had tried to play at being God Himself !! wow they said " ITS MY LIFE "
oooo dear,,,, but God in His mercy gave them a new start ,,a new beginning..
a new family, new friends.. new brothers ....new sisters....a new Father ....
A new day, a new universe, a new heavens, a new earth... !!
JOB 37:18 can you join him in spreading out the skies, hard as a mirror of
cast bronze?
PSA 8:3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon
and the stars, which you have set in place,
PSA 136:7 who made the great lights--His love endures forever.
JER 31:35 This is what the LORD says, he who appoints the sun to shine by
day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea
so that its waves roar--the LORD Almighty is his name:
And so we like stars in the universe shine out fo all to see.....don't we !!
Astronomers have recently discovered an amazing object in the heavens. Some
have dubbed it the "celestial cross."
But is it any wonder that throughout this entire huge space that we live in and
amongst the trillions upon trillions of stars , galaxies , planets and mass of celestial
dust we should find a cloud shaped like a Cross ?
We only have to look at the stars like David did and say " When I consider the works of
your hands "
And so to summarise...we look at the stars in the sky to see the splendour and the glory
of God..
But we do not put these things before God nor do we use the things created by God to predict
our futures, but we lean on God and cast aside astrology becasue we know that these things
are merely temporal and God is eternal and He will decide whether we are to know the
future or not.
Because He knows what is best for us and He knows what will harm us, and a little knowledge
is very dangerous in the hands of the created .
We neither worship man nor a gifting a man may have, nor do we worship money, becasue
we know these things are only temporal and we look to God and we worship Him alone.
Lets pray.
Lord Father God In Jesus name you who flung stars into space and have called us by name,
how great is your name in all the earth and in all the universe, you who have called us
by name placed the stars in the sockets and designed the vast expanse of the stary skies.
You named each celestial body and you made the Earth your footstool and gave us authority
to name the animals and to subdue the Earth and not the planets.
Your creation speaks of your glory and even the very rocks would cry out and the trees would
clap for joy and the mountains tremble at the sound of your voice.
We worship you alone Lord God who created all these things for us to marvel at and we remind
ouselves of your love for us..that you should make all this for us, that we might come to
you.
We marvel at your splendour that you might think of us and be in love with us, that you
might always say and then do in demonstration ...for there is nothing that you say that
you do not do yourself, becuase you speak and do...you believe in us and we believe in
you...you love us and we love you...you want us to worship you as you always think of us
and we are always on your mind so too you are always on our minds and we meditate on your
word to us day and night.
We demonstrate your love to us becuase you demonstrate your love to us, we sacrifice our
lifes to you becuase you sacrificed your life for us.
We lay down anything that gets in the way of our relationship because you layed down all
things.
We lay down astrology before you now and we lay down anything that would predict the
future because you are the one and only God and we lay down our worship of the stars
that predict our lifes and hearts.
We repent of our belief in astrology and turn from our worship of the stars and we bow
before the creator of all things
And anything else that might exalt itself above you Lord who made the stary skies and
the heavens that we survey and we look to your creation and we prasie you that you are such
a mighty God who is in every universe and in every atom in Jesus name amen