Awaken the Wonder: The Holy Spirit and Creation

January 21, 2018 / By

hsc2018 screen series[2]The Bible opens with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit’s personal acts of creation.

Of Jesus it is said, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. John 1:1-4

  1. Behind all created things is the Personal Him.
  2. Without the First Maker, nothing was made.
  3. The primary feature of the Personal Him (First Maker) is life.

Every form of life traces it’s making to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Genesis 1 reveals every form of life is personally created by God and is therefore to be:

  • Respected as being created and sustained directly by God’s voice.
  • Stewarded as belonging to God and entrusted to humans for well keeping.

God’s Bible makes it very clear that the earth belongs to God (always has and always will).

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof the world and those who dwell therein,  for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Psalm 24:1-2

“The socialists claim that the earth belongs to the state. The communists say it belongs to the workers. The capitalists say that it belongs to those who have the initiative to acquire and preserve it. But they are really wrong. The earth is the Lord’s. We do not own any of it. We are only stewards of the earth.”  The forgotten beatitude: Worshiping through Stewardship. William Tuck

Christians steward all of God’s creation by respecting all living things, working for their continued existence, and seeking the sustainability of everything living.

Human beings are created personally by God and are living things to be respected and stewarded.

However, human beings are FAR more than only living things.  Human beings are the only living beings created by God’s hand, given life by His breath, and made in His image.

This “Trinity of Tremendous” must always be remembered and prioritized”

  • Created by God’s hand
  • Given life by His breath
  • Created in His image

The “Trinity of Tremendous” emphasizes the sanctity of all human life.

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his (not we ourselves) we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  Psalm 100:3

Created in God’s image, we celebrate people of all ethnicities and condemn all forms of racism as a grave and sinful insult to the image of God in all people.

Created in God’s image, we celebrate people of all ages, from conception to natural death, and condemn all forms of life-taking as a grave and sinful insult to the image of God in all people.

Created in God’s image, we celebrate people of all physical, cognitive, social, and spiritual capacities, and condemn any and all forms of a caste system as a grave and sinful insult to the image of God in all people.

The Holy Spirit sustains the image of God in every human being and mistreating your fellow human being grieves Him.  Ephesians 4:25-32

Listen – My Story

  • Finish the sentence, “I feel valued when……………”
  • Is it easy or difficult to personally sense value from knowing God values you?

Learn – Digging Deeper

  1. Read Matthew 3:16-17. How did the Father present the sanctity of Jesus’ life in this passage?  If you were Jesus, in this passage, what would your feelings have been?
  1. Read Matthew 12:18. This prophetic quote from Isaiah reveals three processes in showing the sanctity of another person:
  • “Whom I have chosen.” How important is it to know one is chosen?
  • “My beloved.” How important is it to know one is loved?
  • “With whom my soul is well pleased.” How important is it to know one is well pleasing?
  • How should we communicate these three processes to those in our lives today?

Life – Taking it Home

  1. How can you extend the sanctity of human life to someone this week?
  2. Is there anything in your life that devalues the sanctity of your life?
  3. Pray often, “Holy Spirit, show me the sanctity in this person.”

Lift – Prayer

  • Please pray for a continued outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the people of MCA Church and East Anchorage.
  • Please pray for those in your circle of influence who do not yet trust in Jesus for salvation.
  • Please pray for a powerful anointing upon Heaven’s Gates and Hell’s Flames (April 1-4, 2018)