YOU, A LOST CAUSE? NEVER!! Passage: Genesis 1:26-31; 3:8-9 Introduction: A. I believe that God believes you are very special... beyond words. I believe what the Bible says > you have been created with extraordinary value & significance. I believe that God s view of us is a mystery, bigger than we can take in David: (Ps.8:3-4) When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? But David said more than he understood and the more we discover, the greater the mystery. Our galaxy (the Milky Way) is about 120,000 light years across. One light year = the distance light can travel in one year = 6 trillion miles (x 120,000 years) Our sun is only one of between 100 400 billion stars in our galaxy. And our galaxy is just one of 100-200 billion galaxies or more of all different shapes. That means a total of roughly 70 billion trillion (7 x 10 22 ) stars in the heavens 5-10x more stars than all the grains of sand on all the beaches of the earth!!!! Hardly a major put down of humanity, David is in awe of God s love and purpose for his life: (8:5) You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. Moses adds So God created mankind in his own image (1:27) (2:7) [God] breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (1:31) God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. Paul adds for man is made in God s image and reflects God s glory. (1 Cor.11:7) B. Yet with all this promise & everything going for us > man, did we blow it big time when we sinned! We turned on God > and went from closest friends to outcasts > from blessed to cursed. Our sin brought death/spiritual separation: your sins have separated you from your God (Isa.59:2) In a word, we were LOST : We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. (Isa.59:10) (cp.2 Cor.4:4)) There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, (Rom.3:11-12) C. Dr. Bridges told story; in airport bathroom; elderly man was disoriented, reaching toward the latrine, attempting to wash his hands; Let me lead you to where you can wash your hands ; turned to find his way out; walking into the mirror... and it broke Brother Bridge s heart. D. So the natural question is after we ve messed up a million times is it all a LOST CAUSE???? When you feel like a failure and you re saying, what s the use!!... IS IT ALL A LOST CAUSE? ( with little chance of succeeding ; beyond hope ) But I need you to listen to the broken heart of God calling out to Adam Where are you? 1 Dr. Thomas Keinath 4/10/2016
And I need you to see that our Creator never looked at us and said, Forget you. And I need you to know that God will never write you off as a Lost Cause! THE BIBLE REVEALS TWO GREAT REASONS WHY YOU & I COULD NEVER BE A LOST CAUSE TO GOD. 2
EVERY PERSON HAS BEEN CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD. Genesis 1:26-27 The Bible says that God took special interest in creating humanity. (1:26) Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness (Hebrew parallelism) Image (tselem) from a root meaning to shade ; a reflection; implied a representation Likeness (demooth) similarity to an original, a resemblance Take away the image of God (His breath/his touch) we aren t worth much at all... Est. worth of chemical compounds of a 200lb. man > 1930 s = $1.25; 70 s = $4.83; today = $22.06 Over 60% of your body weight is water, and that s free. No! Our real value comes through more than meets the eye! God s Word says that we are created to resemble God in some very unique ways. Like God, we have been created with complex personality traits and characteristics. Marc Hauser, director, cognitive evolution lab at Harvard University; recent article in Scientific American, mounting evidence indicates that, in contrast to Darwin's theory of a continuity of mind between humans and other species, a profound gap separates our intellect from the animal kind. (http://www.livescience.com/33376-humans-other-animals-distinguishing-mental-abilities.html) Like God, we have a deep sense of morality a conscience that makes judgments. Like God, we have been created with spirituality (an eternal spirit, capable of spirit to Spirit communion) Renowned philosopher Harold H. Titus has said that even agnostics and atheists tend to replace a personal god with an impersonal one the state, race, some process in nature, or devotion to the search for truth or some other ideal. (text, Living Issues in Philosophy, 9th ed., p.29) Like God, we have been created with significant responsibility delegated authority. Our ultimate purpose = we have been created to bear the image of God before this world. But sin comes like a shroud like a dark cloak veiling the image of God. Sin defaces the image/obscures the likeness causing us to act sub-human Sin thwarts the extraordinary plan God has for a man or woman trading living for existing We dumb down what it means to be human. Unrepentant sin generates a LOSE-LOSE situation every time : And in our LOSTNESS > we lose, others lose, God loses out. And all of this breaks the heart of God who created for so much more. B. Niece s vision of our city When the sheet was lifted it was quick and dramatic like a great reveal... When the sheet was lifted I sensed the Lord s love and passion. You have a Father who sent His Son to pull back the shroud to release the glory. You have never been & you will never be a lost cause to your Father in Heaven!! You are too valuable for that you are too loved for that!! His image is still there, just waiting to be Released Restored! Recreated in you! Eph. 4:23-24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Col. 3:10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 3 Dr. Thomas Keinath 4/10/2016
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EVERY PERSON HAS BEEN CREATED FOR THE ENJOYMENT OF GOD. Genesis 3:8-9 One evening God came calling on Adam and Eve. He came to be with them, to spend time with them so personally, they heard Him walking by. God hasn t just made it possible for us to be with Him, He WANTS us to be with Him! Your wife and kids may get tired of being with you; your dog may get tired of being with you; you may get tired of being with you but not your God!!! Psalm 139 where can I go from our presence? Isa.43:1-3 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. (4) you are precious and honored in my sight, because I love you. (5) Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Jesus said, I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. (Jn.14) And WHY does He want to be with us?! (listen to the song of Heaven Rev. 4:11) Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure [ thelēma one s choice, desire, pleasure] they are and were created. God wills to be with us He is blessed, He is honored to be with us! To refuse the relationship to deny your God > breaks the heart of God. To remain in your sin will only lead to more chaos and eventual ruin. To foolishly run & hide will only advance your lostness. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? (Lk 9:25) E. And so your Father keeps calling Where are you?... you ve been created for more Just listen to Him Let Him speak for Himself: Ezekiel 34:11-12 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 2 Peter 3:9 he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish Mark 19:10 The Son of Man has come to seek and save those who are lost. Conclusion: 5yy old sister Judy lost at Niagara Falls there I was confronted with a dreadful sense of lost-ness. For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. (2 Chron.16:9; cp. Zech.4:10) even now He s searching even now He s calling out... 5 Dr. Thomas Keinath 4/10/2016
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