HopeLives365

Mark Finley: The Bible talks about Christ as creator. Because he created you, he would not let you go. He came to die on the cross for you. He came to shed his blood for you. He came to redeem you.

Guest (Male): This is HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message: The Call to Worship the Creator. Enjoy and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up to date with HopeLives365 and Pastor Mark by going to HopeLives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: In heaven's last message for mankind, God pictures three angels flying in the middle of heaven with an urgent message, an eternal message, an everlasting message, a message that's universal to go to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. This message is to prepare men and women for the coming of Jesus.

We've been studying this for the last five weeks. The first of those messages says, "I saw another angel flying in the middle of heaven, urgently, swiftly, quickly, having the everlasting gospel, an eternal gospel of good news of God's grace to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people." It's to all mankind. It's the message that's to go to the end of the earth, saying with a loud voice, "Fear God," that is to obey God, "give glory to him in what you eat, and you drink, in your body, take care of it."

Why? For the hour of God's judgment has come. We're living in the unique time of Earth's history, a time the Bible calls the judgment hour just before the coming of Jesus. Revelation 14:7 says, "Worship him who made heaven, earth, the sea, and the fountains of waters." Who is it that made heaven, earth, sea, and the fountains of waters? What's another name for the one that made heaven, earth, sea, and the fountains of waters? He's the creator.

So here's a message that tells us in an age of evolution, in an age where many believe that we evolved from lower forms of life over millions and millions and millions of years, that we came from some primeval slime pit, that we are merely skin covering bones, merely some kind of genetic accident where death brings life in that philosophy of evolution. Here's this idea of macroevolution, this idea that life forms develop from the lower forms. But God says worship the creator.

What does it mean to worship the creator? Why worship the creator? In Revelation chapter 4, verse 11, the scripture puts it this way: What is the very basis of all worship? Why do we worship God anyway? Revelation 4:11 says, "You are worthy, oh Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created." God is worthy of our worship because he is our creator.

Creation is at the very basis of worship. If you knock out creation, you have no basis to worship at all. If I'm just a higher form of life, if I just evolved, if I'm just an accidental molecule that happened to form into a life form, if I'm no more than skin-covered bones, if I'm just an advanced genetic accident a little higher than the animal creation and all this happened by chance, then there's no basis for worship.

One of the devil's great plans in these last days of Earth's history is to foist the evolutionary hypothesis on the human race so that he will fundamentally change the whole concept of worship. Secular men who believe in evolution, secular women who believe in evolution, people who believe in evolution have totally discarded the concept of a personal, loving God who is the creator.

Genesis chapter 1 reveals this God. In Genesis chapter 1, we read about creation. Here in Genesis 1, the first verse of the entire Bible sets forth the fact that God created us. It says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." 31 times in Genesis 1, God is mentioned as the creator. Remember it was on December 24, 1968, that three astronauts orbited the earth: James Lovell, William Anders, and Frank Borman. They read from Genesis chapter 1, verse 1, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

You see, this word "created" is very interesting. In Genesis 1, the word for created there is *bara*. There's also another word for created called *asah*. *Asah* is to make something from something that already exists. To *asah* something is to make something from something that you already have the raw materials for. *Asah* could describe man's activities. For example, let's suppose I had boards and nails and I was a carpenter. I could *asah* a table; I could make a table from something that already exists.

The word *bara* is God's activity as creator. It's unique, it's special, it applies to God. God can *bara*; he can make something from nothing. God can speak, and sun, moon, and stars can come into existence. God can speak, and dry land can appear. God can speak, and flowers can appear. What God says is so, even if it were never so before, because when God says it, it becomes so. God speaks; the sun appears.

The word that proceeds out of God's mouth is so incredibly powerful that it creates that which it declares. God's word is a creative word. We read that in Psalm 33, verse 6 and 9. Notice what it says: "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." What an all-powerful creator he is. Verse 9: "He spoke and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast."

The Bible does not say he spoke and it was in the process of being done for millions of years. Not at all. He commanded and it stood fast. When God spoke, the words out of his mouth carried with them such energy, such creative power, that they created what God declared. When God said, "Let the sun appear," the word out of his mouth carried with it the creative power to create the sun. When he said earlier, "Let the dry land appear," the word out of God's mouth carried with it such incredible power that it created the very thing God declared.

When God talked about the animals appearing, God's word established that. So when we worship, we worship this all-powerful God. When we worship, we worship this incredible creator, this one that made heaven and earth, sea, and all that in them is. Now in Revelation 14:7, in an age of evolution, it calls us back to worshipping the creator.

Has God given us a sign of his creative activity? Has God given us a sign of his creating the earth? What indeed is that sign? In Genesis chapter 2, verse 1 and onward, we read: "Thus the heavens and the earth and all the host of them were finished. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had done. And he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made."

The seventh-day Sabbath was given to God hundreds of years before the existence of the Jewish race. The Jewish race doesn't come along until Abraham. You have Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob, the 12 sons of Jacob, the 12 sons of Israel. Remember Jacob, the deceiver, wrestled with God and his name was changed to Israel. Jacob has 12 sons; they become the 12 tribes of Israel. This is at least 2300 years after creation.

At creation, God gives to all humanity the preciousness of the Sabbath. God does three things on the Sabbath: he rests on it, he sanctifies it (he sets it apart for holy use), and God blesses the Sabbath. If the Sabbath were kept down through the ages, there never would have been an evolutionist because the Sabbath is an oasis in time. The Sabbath is a palace in time.

Every week, every seventh-day Sabbath, God's palace descends from heaven to earth, and God invites us to enter into that palace in time. Find there rest, find there strength, find there hope, find there meaning, find there purpose. All week we work in the world. All week our souls are restless for the one that created us. We work in the secular world all week. There's pressure on us. There's at times worry and anxiety. There are bills to pay, tasks to do, jobs that need to get done.

But on Sabbath we come, and our souls then find rest. We find new spiritual strength. We find connection with our creator. Here's a time that we can turn off the TV. Here's a time we can turn off our cell phones. Here's a time we can cease buying or selling. Here's a time we can come to fellowship with God, to spend time with him, to spend time in his word. Here's a time we can come to rest in his grace, to rest in his love, to rest in his care. Here's a time that we can come to have community with God's people and worship and praise him. Here's a time that we can come to fellowship with our families, to walk out among nature, to spend time as husbands and wives, and to spend time with our children.

Guest (Female): You're listening to HopeLives365. We'll be right back. If you like what you're hearing, we invite you to check out our website, HopeLives365.com. There you can find many ministry resources, encouraging messages, and even a link to our HopeLives365 YouTube ministry. And of course, an opportunity to sow into this valuable ministry. Find out more by going to HopeLives365.com. That's HopeLives365.com. And now back to Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: In a world that has forgotten this Sabbath principle, this Sabbath day, in Exodus chapter 20 we find starting with verse 8, notice the same words we find here are found in the book of Revelation. Exodus chapter 20, God says, "Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy." It's the only commandment he says to remember. I wonder why? He knew that the world would forget.

The world would rush on. The Sabbath is a slice of eternity where God invites us to find fellowship in him. "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day—what day? The seventh day—is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor the cattle, nor the stranger within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."

Remember in Revelation 14:7, it says, "Worship the one that made heaven, earth, sea, and the fountains of waters." Same thing here. Six days the Lord made; he's the creator. What? Heavens, earth, the sea, and all that in them is. That's the fountain of waters, right? And so he rests the seventh day. When we worship on Sabbath, we acknowledge God as the all-powerful creator. We acknowledge God as the mighty one.

There are two aspects of God that evoke our worship, that evoke our praise. One is he created us. We're not blobs of mud. We didn't climb out of the antediluvian slime. We are not skin-covered bones. We're not some amoeba. We're not some genetic accident. We have been created by God. That's one of the great reasons for worship.

The second is we've been redeemed by Christ. We worship because he is our creator. We worship because he is our redeemer. We worship because we are twice his. He redeemed us, and he created us. We find this principle in Isaiah chapter 43. The cross of Calvary and the Sabbath are linked together. Creation and redemption are both part of the plan of salvation.

"But now thus says the Lord who created you, oh Jacob, who formed you, oh Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I'll be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your savior. Since you are precious in my sight, and you have been honored, and I've loved you.'"

We're precious in his sight. Why? Because he created us. When he created you, he threw away the pattern. Swiss lace makers, I'm told, take snowflakes. As the snowflakes fall, they can take a snowflake before it melts, put it under a microscope, look at the pattern, and Swiss lace can be made from the patterns in the snowflakes because there are no two snowflakes alike. There are no two human beings alike.

When God made you, he threw away the pattern. You are unique, you're special to God. When you worship him on Sabbath, you acknowledge him as your creator. You acknowledge the fact that he is your God, that he has made you, that he's created you, he's fashioned you. When we rest also on the Sabbath, we rest in his love, we rest in his care, we rest in his redemption, that he has redeemed us. I love that old song, "I'm Redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb."

We are redeemed by Christ, and that's what Sabbath rest is all about. Remember how in Hebrews chapter 4, the author of Hebrews links together the rest we have in Jesus as the rest of our redemption and the Sabbath rest. You find that here in Hebrews chapter 4. The scripture talks about the rest we have in Christ.

It says, verse 4: "For he has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this wise, 'God entered in on the seventh day from all his works and he rested on the seventh day from all his works.'" So here it's talking about the seventh-day Sabbath when God rested. Therefore, verse 6, it remains that some must enter into the rest. Why? Because Israel never entered into the rest of Christ that the Sabbath represented.

Verse 9: "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered his rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from his." Creation: we rest on the Sabbath remembering he created us. Redemption: we rest on the Sabbath remembering that we are ceasing from our works. So the Sabbath is not a symbol of legalism; it is a symbol of grace. It's not a symbol of what we can do in our own works to save ourselves; it is resting in the Christ that saved us.

In the book of Revelation, there is a call, a call to rest in his grace, to rest in his love. The everlasting gospel calls us to Sabbath rest, to the peace that Sabbath brings, to the joy that Sabbath brings. The everlasting gospel calls us to worship the creator, and that is the basis of all worship. But also, it warns us against worshipping the beast. Let's go back to Revelation 14:7.

This last-day message, this message that's to prepare people for the coming of Jesus, says with a loud voice, "Fear God," obey God. "Give glory to him" in everything in your lifestyle—you eat, drink, what you do. "For the hour of his judgment has come." We're living in the judgment hour. Worship him who made heaven, earth, sea, and the fountains of waters. Worship the creator. But notice verse 9 what it says: "Then a third angel followed."

We're going to look at the second angel in our next broadcast and then the third angel. The second angel says, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, the great city because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." What's that all about? Who is Babylon? What does it mean that she's fallen? What is the wine of the wrath of her fornication? Incidentally, wine in the Bible is a symbol of false doctrine. Fornication is when you leave your true lover and go after somebody else.

So the church has left its true lover at times; it's entered into apostasy with false doctrine. But we'll study that next week. "Babylon is fallen." What does that mean? The third angel follows them, saying with a loud voice, "If anybody worships the beast and his image, he receives his mark in his forehead or in his hand, he himself shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God." What is the wine of the wrath of God? The wrath of God is his judgment, which is poured out full strength—the judgments of God full strength into the cup of his indignation.

This is nothing to fool around with, my friend. This is very, very serious stuff. But notice there are two worships. Revelation 14:7 says worship the creator. Revelation 14:9 says do not worship the beast. So worshipping the creator and worshipping the beast are in contradistinction. Then in verse 12, it says, "Here is the patience of the saints." The word patience is endurance. The saints there, the word for that is the believers. So here is the endurance of the believers.

Here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The only way you can keep the commandments of God is if you have that faith of Jesus living in your heart. Did you notice this? Verse 7, worship the creator. Verse 9, do not worship the beast. How do we worship the creator and not worship the beast? We worship the creator and not worship the beast by keeping the commandments.

What commandment is it that calls us to worship the creator? It's the Sabbath commandment that says, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work: thy son, thy daughter, thy manservant, thy maidservant, the cattle within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made the heaven and earth, the sea and all the fountains of waters, and everything that in them is."

Look, my friend, God is calling this world in an age of evolution to worship the creator once again. To find our highest delight, to find our greatest joy, to find our truest purpose in life as we come in harmony with this creator God of ours. You know, as I have held lectures all over the world, I've held lectures in many countries that were previous communist countries: Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia.

I held my meetings in Poland in 1988, and my meetings in Hungary and Yugoslavia in '87, '88, and '89. I think '87 was Poland, '88 was Hungary, '89 was Yugoslavia. And I saw people who are brought up in atheistic communism. You know, in atheistic communism, they had one of the highest suicide rates, highest alcohol rates in all the world. A survey was done of our meetings by Moscow University when I held my meetings in Russia.

In that survey, they wanted to find out, does a belief in God, does a belief in Christ as creator of the world, does a belief in that change your life? They found that people's lives were dramatically changed, transformed. People quit smoking, they quit alcohol, they had greater peace in their life, they worried a lot less, their marriages became better. Why? Because they knew they weren't specks of cosmic dust.

The atheistic, evolutionary philosophy did not hold any hope out for them. But Christianity and the creator God held purpose and meaning and direction for their lives. When we understand that God created us, we understand a couple of things. We understand, first, that we are special to him, that we can rest in his love and care. We understand also that we are not accountable to ourselves, that we're accountable to God who created us, who fashioned us, who made us.

We did not choose to live; he brought us into existence. We are his children. We understand as well that the God that created us, the God to whom we are responsible, that this God, when the human race sinned, sent his son Jesus to die in our behalf so we could receive the gift of eternal life. We understand that our creator is our redeemer. The Bible says that Christ is the creator of the world. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1 and 2; Colossians; the Bible talks about Christ as creator.

Because he created you, he would not let you go. He came to die on the cross for you. He came to shed his blood for you. He came to redeem you. Each Sabbath, as you rest in his love and care, thank him that you're not some speck of cosmic dust. Thank him that he created you. Thank him and praise him that he redeemed you. And thank him that one day you can live with him forever.

Father in heaven, we thank you with all of our hearts that we can live with you forever one day. We thank you for these messages from Revelation that help us to understand the times that we're living in and prepare us for the soon coming of Jesus. So guide us, direct us, I pray thee. Help us each Sabbath to find in you rest, to find in you the peace, to find in you purpose in life. Help us on each Sabbath to sense the Sabbath is a slice of eternity where we enter into heaven now to prepare for the heaven that'll come. In Christ's name, amen.