Creator-Sustainer
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As I come to you this morning I come bearing the truth of God’s Word.
My prayer is that I will obey 2 Timothy 2:15 (NASB95) Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
Let me say upfront that the TRUTH I preach this morning may get me kicked off social media.
So please go to our website: www.NewLifeBlairsville.org
Last week I talked about how bank tellers are trained — by constant handling of the genuine.
It came to my mind that the reverse is the way the devil trains his followers.
The devil’s follwers constantly handle, or, as I heard Thursday in a seminar I attended, they marinate in that which is of darkness, deceit and lies.
The devil’s followers marinate in these lies until they think they are truth.
The good news is that when they encounter the truth of Jesus, He comes with more than rhetorical prowess.
Jesus comes with more than worldly logic.
The truth of Jesus comes with Holy Ghost power.
As the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:1–5 (NASB95) And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
Thank God, the truth of Jesus comes anointed by the Holy Spirit.
An anointing that breaks the yoke of bondage — an anointing that will set the captive free.
As Jesus said to those who believed in Him in: John 8:32 (NASB95) … you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
Let’s read the truth that will set us free this morning:
Text: Colossians 1:15–17 (NASB95) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
Jesus Is NOT A Created Being
Jesus Is NOT A Created Being
As we look at this passage I want to immediately dispel any thought, any belief that Jesus is a created being.
We might could think that when we see the word “firstborn” right at the beginning of our text.
Instead seeing this as a reference to being born and therefore created, we need to understand this term is about His preeminence.
CBC: The meaning of prōtotokos (the Greek word translated firstborn) in Colossians 1:15, then, is a statement concerning the rights, privileges, and prerogatives of Jesus, the divine Son of God. Neither here, nor in any passage containing the word “firstborn,” is there a suggestion that the Second Person of the Trinity was born, created, or generated. (Cf. monogenēs [3302].) In this instance prōtotokos refers to His preeminence over creation.
The Fire Bible agrees when it says: The term “firstborn” carries the OT meaning of being “first in position,” “heir” or “supreme”
As the eternal Son of God, Christ is heir and ruler of all creation (cf. v. 18; Heb 1:1–2) and is sovereign over all things (i.e., he has complete authority, control and power to do as he desires; cf. v. 16; 2:9–10; Mt 28:18; 1Pe 3:22; 2Pe 2:1; Jude 1:4).
Rather than being a product of creation, Jesus is the Author of creation. As our text says in:
Vs. 16 ALL things were created BY Jesus
It goes on to say that ALL things have been created THROUGH Him
And that ALL things were created FOR Him
John 1:3 (NASB95) All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
Hebrews 1:1–2 (NASB95) God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
Reading on in Hebrews 1:3 (NASB95) And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. …
Helping us understand Vs. 15 of our text, Hebrews tells us that when we see Jesus we have seen God.
In: John 14:8–9 (NASB95) Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; …
So, scripture plainly tells us in our text and in Hebrews 1:3, that Jesus created all things and, right now, at this very minute, He sustains all things. As Hebrews 1:3 says, He upholds all things by the word of His power. He is the One who is keeping it all in motion.
Creation
Creation
And, yes, you heard me correctly:
I said: Everything was CREATED by, through and for Jesus.
It did not evolve.
I am not anti-science.
The TRUTH is (oh, that bothersome word!) there is absolutely no credible science that proves evolution — not one shred.
All TRUE science tells us that God created everything.
Certainly there is NO life that did not come from our Creator.
Evolution of life falls apart in several ways.
First, even fake science declares that life does not, cannot come from nonlife — they shoot themselves in the foot from the get-go.
I can take all the chemical components of the simplest one-celled organism and stir it for a million years and I can’t make it live.
I can shock it, heat it, cool it, irradiate it or anything else I can think of and I will NEVER be able to take nonliving goo and turn it into life.
Not happening!
Another problem that evolutionary mythology tries to foist upon us is that the simplest lifeforms evolved into more complex lifeforms.
Let’s set aside what I just said about life coming from nonlife and just jump in midstream in this evolutionary chain.
What evolutionists say is absolutely impossible.
It’s impossible even on a single cell level — forget about single-cells clumping together to become multi-cell organism, to become, fish, to become amphibians, to become birds, to become mammals, etc.
There is absolutely NO way that single cell creature can exist without complex structures from the beginning.
These complex structures in a single-cell organism could not start out simple and then evolve to being complex.
A single cell lifeform is impossible right from the beginning without a very complex “case” or “coating” if you will.
The cell membrane that allows a single cell to live is amazing in its complexity:
It has to allow nutrients and other things IN
While, at the same time, keeping poisons OUT.
It also has to allow nutrients in while allowing waste out.
If ANY of these things go wrong the cell is dead.
If you are interested in this I can connect you to a YouTube video.
All that to say that evolution is NOT possible.
Parents, teach your children the truth from the youngest age, because they will be battered by evolution every moment of their public school lives.
If they go on to college they will encounter it in every course — even those NOT related to science.
The evolutionists want to force this down the throats of their students so they can force the rest of their hellbound ideology on them.
Created FOR Him
Created FOR Him
Evolutionists do NOT want us to believe we are created because that changes EVERYTHING about how we live our lives.
Suddenly it’s not about us, but about the One who created us.
The upshot of all I am saying is that not only was ALL creation made BY Jesus — WE were made by Him.
We are NOT an accident.
He created everyone of us on purpose for His purpose.
1 Corinthians 8:6 (NASB95) … for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
Can you see how important that is?
If I am not God, as evolution would scream, then who is?
The One who created me.
As says Revelation 4:11 (NASB95) “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
Chorus from KJV: Revelation 4:11 (AV) Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Created BY Him For His Pleasure
Created BY Him For His Pleasure
The One who created everything certainly knows how it is supposed to operate.
And when it operates the way He designed it, according to the parameters He established, it pleases Him.
He is able to pronounce, as He did in Genesis 1, when He created everything: It IS good!
Not only did God create us, He created us for relationship.
It pleases Him for us to be in relationship with others.
God declared in Genesis 2:18: It is NOT good for man to be alone.
First and foremost is He created us for relationship with Himself.
It pleases God to have relationship with US His creation.
Even after sin entered into and spoiled His creation, God wanted relationship with us.
He was willing to pay the high price of having us in relationship with Him — the death of His Son, Jesus.
John 3:16–17 (AV) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
But God also created us to be in relationship with one another.
The FIRST relationship God created was the marriage relationship.
According to Genesis 2:24 (NASB95) For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
Creator God’s intention for marriage is procreation.
Genesis 1:27–28 (NASB95) God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
When children are born into a relationship where one man and one woman are committed to each other for life — they thrive.
Any other family structure produces poorer outcomes.
Why?
Because 2 women, no matter how much they may love each other, no matter how good their intentions can never be a father.
Conversely, 2 men, no matter how good their intentions can never be a mother.
And children thrive best when they are in a home where their biological mother is married to their biological father.
That is how God created humanity.
Not only do families thrive when they are aligned with Creator God’s design, society will only thrive when God’s plan for children is followed.
Last week, the US House of Representatives passed a bill called the “Respect” for Marriage Act.
47 so-called conservatives, who said they support a Biblical view of marriage voted for this heinous, odious, family-wrecking, religious-liberty destroying bill.
Thursday I was at a FRC briefing.
The president of FRC, Tony Perkins, talked about having a phone conversation with one of the 47.
What he said devastated me and made me ashamed.
The Congressman said ...
Staff
Went to pastor saying I don’t want to be labeled a biggot...
Pastor said, vote for it.
Perkins said, Come to me…
Someone at my table said …
You need to understand this bill is NOT just about destroying marriage and families.
It is about destroying freedom of religion.
It will outlaw all people and organizations that do not just accept, but who will not celebrate their unbiblical beliefs about human sexuality and relationships.
It will close down Bible-believing, Bible-upholding churches, fellowships, businesses and more.
Thankfully, NO conservative, family-friendly US Representatives in GA voted for this abomination.
You may want to contact them and say, “Thank you.”
BUT, I want to encourage you to contact your U.S. Senator.
The 2 GA US Senators are spiritual idolaters.
Including the one who calls himself a pastor.
Once again, I am ashamed to be put in the same category as him.
He does NOT stand for Biblical values.
He needs to be voted out of office in November.
In the meantime …
Fill their email IN boxes.
Flood their phone lines
Tell them YOU want them to vote NO.
I know it seems like an exercise in futility — but they need to know how you feel.
The thing that can stop it being an exercise in futility is prayer.
Let’s pray right now.
Turn to Your Creator
Turn to Your Creator
Let’s leave the political realm and get back to spiritual priorities.
Our text tells us that ALL things were created BY, THROUGH and FOR Jesus.
That includes each one of us.
Jesus, the One who made it all, the One for whom it all exists, died to make a way for us to be reconciled to the Father.
Will we take advantage of what He did for us?
We do that by repenting of our sins.
By surrendering our lives to Him.
When we do that, Jesus, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, will create in us a new heart.
The Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper
With that new heart let us remember the sacrifice He paid for until He comes again for us.
Before we partake of the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of His sacrifice, we must prepare ourselves:
27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died. 31 But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way.
Congregational Prayer of Repentance
Receive Elements
As the worship team comes…
All invited - you don’t have to be a member
Come, take a piece of the Bread and one of the cups and hold it until we all partake together.
Let’s gather at the front and partake together as the family of God.
Hymn: Redeemed/Jesus, Messiah
Bread
3 He was despised and abandoned by men, A man of great pain and familiar with sickness; And like one from whom people hide their faces, He was despised, and we had no regard for Him. 4 However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore, And our pains that He carried; Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted, Struck down by God, and humiliated. 5 But He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings; The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him, And by His wounds we are healed.
He took OUR sins in His body.
26 Now while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
Prayer
I. End prayer with prayer from Seder:
A. Blessed are you, O Lord our God, who brings forth bread from the earth.
Cup
10 But it was the Lord who decided to crush him and make him suffer. The Lord made his life a penalty offering, but he will still see his descendants and live a long life. He will complete the things the Lord wants him to do. 11 “After his soul suffers many things, he will see life and be satisfied. My good servant will make many people right with God; he will carry away their sins. 12 For this reason I will make him a great man among people, and he will share in all things with those who are strong. He willingly gave his life and was treated like a criminal. But he carried away the sins of many people and asked forgiveness for those who sinned.”
He shed His blood to wash away our sins and give forgiveness that leads to life.
27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
Prayer
I. End prayer with prayer from Seder:
A. Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
Jesus is Coming
This meal reminds us that Jesus is coming soon. Jesus told us in:
12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to reward each one as his work deserves.
Hymn: O, I Want To See Him