HopeLives365

Host: The Bible says, Second Corinthians 5 verse 17, if any man is in Christ, he's a new creation. We can become new. The all powerful creator can recreate in us love where there was hate.

Host: This is Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message, Revelation's Creation Connection, part one. Enjoy and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up-to-date with Hope Lives 365 and Pastor Mark by going to hopelives365.com.

Host: And now, Pastor Mark Finley. The title of our series reflects the Book of Revelation and three messages that God sent to John on the Isle of Patmos. They're called the Three Angels' Messages. They're found in Revelation 14 verse 6 to 12.

Host: Let's summarize what we have studied so far in this series. This is a series of 13 separate presentations. So far we've discovered the fact that all of the Book of Revelation leads us to make eternal choices. The Book of Revelation is about the Christ who invites us to make these choices in the light of eternity.

Host: We've also studied that the gospel of God's grace would go to the ends of the Earth before the return of Christ. That there would be a message that would leap across geographical boundaries. A message that would penetrate every language group. Here is something bigger and larger than any of the small plans that human beings make. And God invites us to be something part of something large for Him.

Host: Also, we've studied the fact that this message that would go to the ends of the Earth was pictured as being carried by angels, symbolically. One of those angels says with a loud voice, "Fear God." That word fear means respect God. It's an attitude of obedience toward God.

Host: Then the angel says, "Give glory to Him." Giving glory to God is a way in which we express our faith in Him through our lifestyle. We give glory to Him by what we eat, what we drink, how we live, our attitudes, we give glory to God, but the things we place in our minds.

Host: Here is an urgent call in the light of eternity's judgment for a full, complete consecration to God. Our message says, "I saw another angel flying in the midst of Heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those that dwell on the Earth, to every nation, kindred, tribe, and people."

Host: Saying with a loud voice for emphasis, "Fear God, give glory to Him for the hour of His judgment not will come, but has come, and worship Him that made Heaven, Earth, the sea, and the fountains of waters." Here is a message that calls us in an age of evolution to worship the Creator.

Host: As we enter into our presentation, let's pray. Father, we hear the call of Revelation. We hear the voice of God through the Holy Spirit speaking to us. And Father, as we come to this important topic, we pray that you would guide us by your Holy Spirit to see new things from your word. Speak to us through your word.

Host: Speak to us by your Holy Spirit. Help us see the importance and significance of creation in an age of evolution. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. The title of this presentation is Creation Speaks.

Host: Creation speaks to us of God's love. Creation speaks to us of God's power. Creation speaks to us of a God who will restore this world in its edenic splendor. Creation speaks to us of a creation in the past, a new creation in the future, and how God wants to newly create our lives.

Host: Come back with me over the decades to the 1840s. Economic, philosophic, and scientific movements were changing the world. It was here in the 1840s, fact in 1844, that Charles Darwin published his first draft of The Origin of Species.

Host: That book, The Origin of Species, focusing on evolution, would change the thinking of the world. It was in 1844 that Karl Marx was working on his manuscripts of the Communist Manifesto. Another movement of humanism and of dialectic materialism that would change the world.

Host: In the 1840s, Samuel Morris made the first digital transmission there, Morse Code. That instant communication method would again be part of a scientific movement that would change the world.

Host: By 1859, Darwin's thoughts had fully developed. And as they did, when he published The Origin of Species, many believers in that theory of evolution sensed that we had come to a pivotal moment in the history of this world. In fact, one wrote this, "Darwin's Origin of the Species, published in 1859, remains one of history's most influential and talked about scientific papers."

Host: "It introduced the theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection. A theory that became the backbone of modern biology. On the origin of species changed the way people think about the world and the origin of the world. The impact of evolutionary thought on science, on philosophy, on psychology and religion is incalculable."

Host: The essence of evolution is this. It is the survival of the fittest. And if you take evolution to its logical conclusion, there is no basis for a moral ethic. We are simply enlarged protein molecules. We're simply a random combination of genes and chromosomes. Where is there a moral ethic if we are simply enlarged protein molecules and a more intelligent form of the animal species?

Host: There is no basis for a moral ethic. There is no morality on that basis. So evolution really changed not only science, not only philosophy, and psychology, but it totally changed the way people think about life. But at the same time, Karl Marx and Frederick Engels were writing the first drafts of the Communist Manifesto.

Host: Evolution and the Communist Manifesto have something in common. And that is that life revolves around the individual and that there is no hope for eternity. There's nothing beyond. The grave becomes a dark hole in the ground. The end of life becomes a nightmare without a morning.

Host: So when you look at evolution, you look at communism, socialism, in its extreme forms, dialectic materialism, they offer only one thing, and that is self-gratification today because there is nothing beyond tomorrow. In fact, Karl Marx said this, "Religion is the opiate of the people." In other words, religion is a myth. It's a fanciful myth according to Marx's understanding.

Host: It is something for people that are intellectual ignoramuses, some people that don't have that thinking capacity. As we look at the 1840s, and we see the development of evolution, we see the development of Marxism, and with Engels and Marx, and we see the origin of the Communist Manifesto.

Host: We have to ask a question, and the question we ask is this, would God leave the world without a witness? These two movements developing simultaneously, evolution and communism, produced an extremely low value on all human life by dismissing the concept of a personal God who's the creator of the universe.

Host: So if you accept communism, if you accept its atheistic view, if you accept evolution and the origin of the species and the survival of the fittest, you dismiss the idea of the supernatural. You do away with the first 11 chapters of the Bible immediately. You dismiss the Genesis account. And essentially, life becomes a vain pursuit for pleasure.

Host: God would not allow the world to be without a witness. And so He sent a message for this hour. And amazingly enough, this message of the three angels was developing at the same time of evolution and communism. It was developing there in the 1840s. God would send a message to this planet.

Host: He would raise up a divine movement of destiny. A group of Bible students began to study the Word of God. They studied the prophecies of Daniel. They studied the prophecies of Revelation. And as they did, they sensed in this message of Revelation, the 14th chapter, verses 6 to 12, that God had a special message. God had a unique message. God had a message for this generation that is shaped, that is tailor-made to meet the challenge of evolution, to meet the challenge of atheism.

Host: A message for us today. That message was given to John on the Isle of Patmos. John was the last of the living disciples. He was there in his 90s. Patmos is an amazing place. I've visited it on numerous occasions. About nine miles long. It's an idyllic island today. It has about 3,000 people living there. You come into its port called Skala.

Host: And it was there that John, exiled on the Isle of Patmos, a prisoner for the Lord, sent there by the pagan Roman Emperor Domitian, because John would not sacrifice to the idols of Rome. And there on that island, Jesus visited him. There on that island, John had a vision of the future. The island was illuminated with the glory of God.

Host: And John there saw these scenes that we are studying in the book of Revelation. It's the Revelation of Jesus Christ, in His last day message to the world. Here, Revelation 1 verse 9 says, "I John, both your brother and companion in tribulation." John says, "You're going through trouble, I understand it. I'm a prisoner, I'm an exile on the Isle of Patmos."

Host: His bones ached with pain. His body was racked at times with that suffering and the pain. He says, "I John, your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Christ, was on the island which is called Patmos for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus."

Host: And there on that island, God broke through. There in that island, God moved powerfully and gave to John the book of Revelation. It was Jesus who visited John. And as He did, He unfolded the future. And He unfolded movements that would come down the stream of time. And He unfolded His message that would meet the challenge of the time.

Host: We'll be right back with Pastor Mark Finley. We thank you for listening and hope you're enjoying today's message. Our mission is to attractively present the Christ-centered biblical truths of scripture in a practical, relevant way to people around the world so that they may experience the abundant life that Christ offers and effectively share with confidence His life-changing truths with others. You can support this ministry and help us reach even more by going to hopelives365.com/donate.

Host: And now, back to Pastor Mark Finley. In Revelation, we read how the Revelation of Jesus Christ, how Jesus would unmask the plans of the devil. How Jesus would reveal the plans of God. Revelation is not some common book, not some book dreamed up by a human author. It is God's message for this generation.

Host: Revelation 14 is that message described as being carried by three angels in midheaven. Three cosmic messages, we've been studying it. Fear God. Give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come. Worship Him who made Heaven and the Earth and the sea and the springs of waters.

Host: Incidentally, when you go into the place where John purportedly, and we don't know for sure, received the vision of Revelation. And it's a cavelike structure, you go down. The monks who are the custodians of that particular place today, have placed this placard and I I've taken a picture of it, which they believe to be the heart of Revelation.

Host: And it says, "Fear God." Very same verse we have here, and give glory to Him for the hour of His judgment is come, and worship Him who made Heaven, Earth, the sea, and the fountains of water. It's quite amazing to me that the thousands of people who visit that cave see this very verse. And that even the great religious leaders down through the centuries have sensed there's something special here.

Host: A call to worship the Creator in an age of evolution. You know, Winston Churchill once said, "It's not enough to have lived, we must be determined to have lived for something." And Fyodor Dostoevsky said, "The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for."

Host: When you understand the bigness, when you understand the greatness of this message of the three angels, it's something to live for. It's a purpose that burns in your soul, because you sense that when error flooded into this world through creation. When error flooded into this world through dialectic materialism, communism, and atheism. That God had a message to go to the ends of the Earth to prepare people for his soon return.

Host: And part of that message is a call. It is a clarion call to men and women everywhere that we're not a genetic accident. We're not simply skin covering bones. We're not simply a chromosomal aberration. We didn't simply evolve from the primeval slime, but we were created by a loving God that cares for us.

Host: Fear God, give glory to Him. The hour of His judgment has come. Worship Him who made Heaven, Earth, sea, and the fountains of waters. Now, who is the one who made the Heaven, Earth, sea, and the fountains of waters? Who is He? What's another name that we call this one? He is the Creator.

Host: So here is a call in an age of evolution to worship the Creator of the Heavens. Worship the Creator of the Earth. Worship the one by whose very word He spoke and stars came into existence. He spoke, and Earth appeared. He spoke, and this dry land was carpeted with living green. He spoke, and birds flew and fluttered and fruit trees sprung up. He spoke, and human life came into existence as He formed man out of the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.

Host: The Creator, the all powerful one. God spoke, and this world was came into existence. You know, my word is a declarative word. I can say, "This is a Bible." I can say, "That's a screen." I can say, "That's a picture." But my word doesn't create that which it says. God's word is so incredibly powerful that God when God speaks, it is so.

Host: Even if it were never so before, because when God speaks, He makes it so. The audible word out of God's mouth becomes tangible matter. So when the all powerful Creator, the almighty Creator says, "Let the sun, moon, and stars appear." The word out of His mouth carries with it creative power that creates what He declares. What God says is so.

Host: Even if it were never so before, because when God says it, it happens by the power of His word. He is the all powerful Creator. Now, why does creation matter? Why does it matter whether we understand this message, this call to worship the Creator? What is the significance of that in our practical lives?

Host: When you go back to Genesis 1 verse 1, the Bible says, "In the beginning, God created." Now, the word Hebrew word for created there is bara, and bara is something that only God does. He is the Creator. We can make something out of something, God can make something out of nothing. In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.

Host: To know that it was God that created means that this God is all powerful. The sun, for example, has a diameter of approximately 860,000 miles. And it could hold 1 million planets the size of the Earth. I mean, you talk about an all powerful God for Him to speak, and this sun comes into existence, this magnificent orb of light in the sky.

Host: It's absolutely incredible. The sun is just one of 100 billion stars in our galaxy, and the Bible says, "God knows all those stars by name." An all powerful God, an all wise God. Now, take the pistol star. It has 10 million times. Did you get that? I don't want to go over that too quickly. It has 10 million times the power generated by the sun.

Host: So when you look at these orbs in space, you come to this conclusion, God is incredibly powerful. The God we serve is not weak and powerless, He is rather all powerful. And you look at the stars, somebody said if you could count the stars, you'd have as many stars as there were grains of sand in the sea. And God knows every one by name.

Host: God created them. God fashioned them by His word. And every one of them He knows. He is an all powerful God. He's an all wise God. He's a God with supreme intelligence. Isaiah says in Isaiah 40 verse 26, "Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things. Who brings out their host by number. He calls them by name. By the greatness of His might, and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing."

Host: The story is told of Napoleon, who one day was sailing on a ship with his sailors. It was a dark night, the stars were twinkling in the sky, and they were all standing on the deck talking. And these sailors got into a conversation about the existence of God. And it's reported that Napoleon looked at them and said, "Look up at the stars and tell me what you think."

Host: And he then left them and went on to bed. The sailors standing there looking at the stars had that sense in the cosmos of the universe that God indeed was the Creator. When we look at creation, why does it matter? It matters because it tells us of an all powerful, almighty God.

Host: And it as you look down through history, you see how this powerful God has worked. As Israel left Egypt with over a million people coming out of Egypt, well over a million, they came to the Red Sea. The Egyptian armies were behind them. Mountains kept them from fleeing further to their west. There as they came to the Red Sea, miraculously, God opened that sea divinely.

Host: He is the God that created the world with power. He is the God that opened the Red Sea where they came through some 20, 25 miles. And then this same sea, at the word of God, crashed down on the Egyptian armies, killing them. He is eternal power. Still parts the troubled waters of our lives. He still opens the way where there is no way.

Host: Maybe you're struggling in your own life with something that is really bothering you, really troubling you. Maybe you sense that you're too weak to go on. But this God of all power, this God that created the Heavens and the Earth, this God that brought forth the sun, moon, and stars, this God that opened up the Red Sea, He is your God.

Host: He is the all powerful Creator. Or think of it, here, God rains manna for 40 years down in the wilderness to feed Israel. He provides their need. Philippians chapter 4 verse 19 says, "My God shall supply all your need." This all powerful God is still the one that opens the troubled seas of our lives.

Host: This all powerful God, the Creator God is still the one that meets our every need. You can trust Him. We did not evolve. We are not merely skin covering bone. We're not simply a genetic accident. Come with me to the ancient sanctuary. Israel was guided by a pillar of fire by night. And they were protected by a cloud during the day.

Host: The all powerful Creator took care of His people in the wilderness and guided them. This all powerful Creator will guide you in the decisions that you must make in life. The Creator has not forgotten His creation. God calls all the stars by name and He hasn't forgotten your name.

Host: You know, there was a young boy traveling on a plane, and he was reading his Sunday school lesson, and a a professor of religion sat next to him, and he thought, "I I'm going to have a little fun with that boy." And he said, "Boy, I'm noticed you're reading the Sunday school, you must be a Christian." The boy said, "Yes." He said, "Can you tell me, son, something that God can do?"

Host: "Tell me one thing God can do, and I'll give you a shiny apple." The boy said, "Mister," after the kid thought a little while, "Mister, if you tell me something God can't do, I'll give you a whole barrel of shiny apples." You know, friend, that's the God we serve. Not weak, but powerful. He is the God of creation.

Host: This Christ entered into human flesh, faced Satan head-on, and overcame him. And the all powerful God of creation faced Satan in human flesh, trusting the Father, overcame temptation, and His power is available for you and for me.

Host: You've been listening to Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you've enjoyed today's message and remind you that you can find more and our many ministry resources at hopelives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to hopelives365.com/donate.

Host: And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark. God's infinite power can defeat the forces of Hell that tried to destroy us. Maybe darkness has overcome you. Maybe you felt discouraged and depressed. Maybe you have fallen over temptation. I point you to the all powerful Creator. I point you to the one who in His life defeated the forces of Hell and the one indeed who can chase back the evil shades of darkness in your own life.

Host: I point you to this living Christ. He is the all powerful Creator. He is the Savior, the divine Son of God.