My Creator

Okay, good evening everyone.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Okay, so I wonder if you can think of a time when someone has inspired you to do something

by what they've said.

It has become quite common for businesses and various institutions to hire in a business

expert or guru or motivational speaker to come and inspire their employees to take on

some new initiative, to motivate them to make more sales or close more deals or whatever

it is they need to do to make the company more money.

Now when it comes to a motivational speaker, the first thing I would want to hear is who

are they and what have they done?

Have they done something to warrant me taking the time to listen to them?

And if they're there to inspire me, then I want to know that they've actually done something

inspiring.

Now once I know there's a reason to really listen, then I can start to evaluate what they're

saying and work out if what they're saying rings true and holds together as a coherent

set of ideas.

But when it comes to any kind of expert advice, listening alone is not enough.

If I've heard something that's inspired me, well then I would actually need to do something

about it.

Tonight, let me tell you that you're going to hear from someone more inspiring than the

most expensive business guru or the top motivational speaker and you're going to have to decide what

you're going to do about what you've heard.

Now you might be sitting there thinking, letting Peter preach a sermon has really gone to his

head.

But believe me when I say that I'm telling the truth because I'm not talking about myself.

I'm not even talking about King David, the author of the psalm we're going to look at.

I'm talking about God.

So let's listen to what God has to say through the hand of David and let's think about who

God is and what he's done, what he's said and what we should do in response.

So let's look at Psalm 19.

Turn to it with me, please, if you can.

The heavens declare the glory of God.

The skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech.

Night after night they reveal knowledge.

They have no speech.

They use no words.

No sound is heard from them.

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth.

Their words to the end of the world.

In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.

It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber.

Like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other.

Nothing is deprived of its warmth.

The law of the Lord is perfect.

Refreshing the soul.

The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy.

Making wise the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right.

Giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the Lord are radiant.

Giving light to the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is pure.

Enduring forever.

The decrees of the Lord are firm.

And all of them are righteous.

They are more precious than gold.

Than much pure gold.

They are sweeter than honey.

Than honey from the honeycomb.

By them your servant is warned.

In keeping them there is a great reward.

But who can discern their own errors?

Forgive my hidden faults.

Keep your servant also from willful sins.

May they not rule over me.

Then I will be blameless.

Innocent of great transgression.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight.

Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Let's pray.

Lord, I thank you for the opportunity to come together and look at your word and consider it for ourselves.

And I pray like David.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight.

Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

So, let's start by looking at the first six verses of this psalm.

And let's see whether this God is really worth listening to.

So, how can we answer that question?

Well, just like a motivational speaker, we can ask, who is he?

What's he done?

And we can see who God is and what he's done through creation.

Through our natural world.

It speaks without words.

Without a voice.

It tells us a lot about God.

David writes,

The heavens declare the glory of God.

The skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Can you picture David?

David, perhaps in his shepherd days, out in the open, staring into the vastness of the night sky.

Have you ever stopped to ponder the immensity and beauty of the heavens?

One thing I still miss about my home, where I grew up in Northern Ireland, is the dark skies.

Having grown up out in the countryside and now living in the big city,

stars are much harder to see at night.

And there is something magnificent about seeing a clear, dark sky with its thousands of pinprick lights.

Being able to pick out the vast Milky Way or watch shooting stars streak across the sky.

When we go to Altna Creek in Aviemore for the dine weekend away,

I always hope for a clear sky.

So that we can see the stars during our night walks.

Though it can be pretty difficult to get the kids to stop,

turn off their torches, their phones,

and look up and let their eyes adjust

so that they can really see the beauty of the night sky.

And even the very scale of the universe is amazing.

It's something that as a child I can remember thinking about and struggling with.

How could the universe be infinite?

How is it possible for space to just go on and on and on and on and on?

But equally, how could it stop?

How could there be nothing?

How could there not even be empty space?

Surely there must be something.

So anyway, I just had to stop thinking about it and accept that it's beyond me.

And I thought it might be worthwhile to just watch a short video.

It's just three minutes long.

This video, it's from an app, a phone app called Cosmic Eye.

So that's why it's in portrait mode,

even though we're watching it on widescreen.

So forgive me that.

And let's just take these three minutes

to have a think about the very scale of God's universe.

Okay, so hopefully that helps to just give you some idea

of the scale of the universe that God has created.

I just feel that even the scale of the universe

tells us so much of God's power and awesomeness.

So David talks about the heavens.

He also talks about the skies.

And the skies can provide just as many wonders,

mighty towering clouds, beautiful rainbows,

breathtaking sunsets, and awe-inspiring thunderstorms.

I personally have always really enjoyed being in a thunderstorm

with a healthy sense of the danger they pose,

but nonetheless just really enjoying the raw power on display.

And it points me to God's power.

It just gives me a little hint of his almighty power.

Now at the end of verse four,

we see David turns his attention to the sun,

this bridegroom, this champion.

It rises at one end of the heavens

and makes its circuit to the other.

Nothing is deprived of its warmth.

Now, perhaps David didn't know about Scotland.

But in all seriousness,

even here in Scotland,

we are totally dependent on the sun and its warmth.

Without the sun shining on the earth,

it would soon freeze.

It would just take a matter of weeks.

And any plants without artificial light would soon die.

And if you've ever experienced a solar eclipse,

or even just a partial eclipse,

then you'll know the eerie feeling of darkness during the day,

and may well have noticed the drop in temperature that occurs

even within that short time.

And staying on the theme of eclipses,

listen to an explanation from a NASA website explaining how an eclipse happens.

eclipses occur due to the special coincidence of the moon and the sun being the same angular size.

The sun is 400 times wider than the moon.

But it is 400 times further away.

So they coincidentally appear to be the same size in our sky.

This is what allows us the phenomenal beauty of the total solar eclipse.

Now you see that NASA's explanation,

it recognizes the phenomenal beauty of an eclipse.

But it simply puts it down to coincidence.

The study of nature,

both in a scientific sense and in an art sense,

is a very wonderful and worthwhile thing.

But when we completely miss its designer and creator,

then we're in trouble.

Paul tells us in Romans chapter 1,

Romans 1:20

verse 20,

For since the creation of the world,

God's invisible qualities,

his eternal power and divine nature,

have been clearly seen,

being understood from what has been made,

so that people are without excuse.

For although they knew God,

they neither glorified him as God,

nor gave thanks to him.

But their thinking became futile,

and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Although they claimed to be wise,

they became fools.

They exchanged the truth about God for a lie,

and worshipped and served created things,

rather than the creator.

So if you don't already,

then please do take time to be amazed

by God's creation.

But always let it point you

to God's invisible qualities.

So I hope from this,

you've just had a little bit of a sense

that God really is worth listening to.

He's worth taking the time to hear.

And thankfully,

God doesn't leave us

with just the silent proclamation of creation.

He has more to say.

So we've evaluated God's work.

Now let's evaluate his words.

So what is God's word like?

What will we see if we take the time

to evaluate God's words?

Perhaps it's worthwhile to picture David again,

having stared into the night sky,

having felt the warmth of the sun as it rises.

He's been amazed at God's handiwork,

and then starts to think of all that he's read

or been taught from the scriptures.

And when David thinks and writes about God's words,

it's interesting to note

that whereas before,

in thinking of creation,

he uses the word God,

he now switches to Lord,

which is actually the way

God's personal name

is shown in most English Bibles.

It perhaps would be better rendered as Yahweh,

God's personal name.

But the point is

that David first thinks about God's greatness,

this God who created the universe,

and then moves to thinking about God

in personal terms.

This amazing God

has made himself known,

not just in a big,

far-off kind of way,

but also in a right here,

something to say about your life

kind of way.

God has drawn near to us

in his word.

And what does David make

of Yahweh's words?

Have a look at verses 7 to 10.

Yahweh's law is perfect.

His statutes are trustworthy.

His precepts are right.

His commands are radiant.

His decrees are firm and righteous,

more precious than gold,

and sweeter than honey.

Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

Perfect,

trustworthy,

right,

radiant,

firm and righteous,

more precious than gold,

and sweeter than honey.

And what effect does David say they have?

They refresh the soul.

They make the simple wise.

They give joy to the heart

and give light to the eyes.

So what is it that God says?

Well, tradition gives the number of commandments

in the Old Testament

as 613 commands.

That's rather a lot for us

to consider just now.

And I don't have a nice three-minute video

that I can show you

to amaze you with God's commands.

But thankfully,

Jesus summarizes

all of God's law

in just two commands.

In Matthew chapter 22,

Matthew 22 · chapter mention

an expert in the law

tries to test Jesus

with this question.

Teacher,

which is the greatest command

in the law?

Jesus replied,

Love the Lord your God

with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your mind.

This is the first

and greatest command.

And the second is like it.

Love your neighbor

as yourself.

All the law

and the prophets

hang on these two commandments.

Here we see

the very heart

of the law.

This is what it's all about.

Loving God

and loving others.

Can you imagine

what the world would be like

if it kept

these commands?

What a difference

it would make.

What a difference

it would make

to our own lives.

but we have creation

but we have creation

and now know so much more about it.

We have the completed Bible

and within it we have the definitive account

of Jesus' life and teachings.

And in Jesus, like we sang,

we have the full and final revelation of God.

At the start of the service we heard from Hebrews chapter 1.

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

Let's read Hebrews chapter 1 verses 1 to 3 again.

Hebrews 1:1–3

In the past, God spoke to our ancestors

through the prophets at many times and in various ways.

But in these last days,

he has spoken to us by his Son,

whom he appointed heir of all things

and through whom also he made the universe.

The Son is the radiance of God's glory

and the exact representation of his being,

sustaining all things by his powerful word.

Jesus is the ultimate way

that God speaks to humanity.

And if you read what the Bible says about Jesus

and evaluate his work and words,

I think you would agree

that the description David gives of God's word

could pretty well apply to Jesus.

Jesus is perfect.

Jesus is trustworthy,

right, radiant, firm and righteous,

more precious than gold

and sweeter than honey.

Again, we see God's character in Jesus.

We see it in creation.

We see it in his word

and we see it in Jesus.

And ultimately,

we see it in Jesus' death on the cross

and glorious resurrection.

God,

God,

who asks us

to love him

and to love others,

first loved us.

Romans chapter 5, verse 8,

Romans 5:8

says,

God demonstrates his own love for us in this.

While we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.

So I hope that you can see

that God's words are good.

If you don't already,

then please do take time

to read and meditate

on God's word.

And when you need help to understand,

because we all do,

please ask a member of Brunsfield.

Join a home group

or look for other good resources

that I can point you to

or Graham can point you to

or many others can point you to.

And I know in my life

that I don't do this enough.

You know,

thankfully as part of my job,

I have to read the Bible

so I can teach it to children.

I have to study passages

and really kind of understand them

as best I can

so that I can,

in a simple way,

explain it to children.

But there's something different

about just enjoying God's word

for itself.

To read it

and to meditate on it

like David did.

And that leads me on

to my third and final point.

So we've evaluated God's work.

We've evaluated God's words.

Now let's evaluate ourselves.

Now if you are very keen

on having three points

all starting with the same letter,

you can go Glasgow for this last point

and say evaluating ourselves.

But I'll just stick to ourselves.

So what about ourselves?

Like I said at the start,

it's all very well hearing

an inspirational speaker

realizing that they're worth listening to

and agreeing with what they've said.

But if we don't put into practice

what we've heard,

then it's all a bit pointless.

So what then for us?

What do we see

when we evaluate ourselves

in light of what God has said?

So let's first look

at verses 11 to 13

and see what David saw.

David knows that God's law

is a warning to him

and also the way

to great reward.

And it shows him

that we have two different kinds

of problems

in keeping to God's law.

Hidden faults

and willful sins.

These hidden faults

are not just faults

that are hidden from others,

but are actually hidden

from ourselves.

Who can discern

their own errors?

David puts it.

And in a commentary I read

it was put like this.

The truth is

you have no idea

how sinful you are.

Compared to God

and his word

we fall very short indeed.

We don't need to try to sin.

It will happen

without us even realizing.

The next problem

is willful sin

and the stranglehold

that it can put us in.

The sin where we know

it's wrong

but we just do it anyway.

Perhaps we feel

we just can't help ourselves.

Or maybe we've justified it

in our own minds.

Or maybe we're able

to downplay it

and think

well

what we're doing

is not really that bad.

It could be worse.

But if we're not careful

it will lead us

to what David describes

as great transgression.

You see

sin can easily snowball

and get out of control.

So what can we do?

What can be done?

Firstly

we need to recognize

that we are not

basically good.

Not when we evaluate ourselves

in light of God's character

and word.

When we ask ourselves

how are we

at loving God

and loving others

what is that evaluation like?

I know

when I think

about myself

even just loving

those who love me

can be so hard.

Parents

siblings

spouse

children

yes I love them

but

at times

do I really show it?

No.

Romans 3

23

puts it like this

for all have sinned

and fall short

of the glory

of God.

So

like David says

we need to ask

for forgiveness

and

if we

confess

our sins

God is

faithful

and just

and will

forgive us

our sins

and purify us

from all

unrighteousness.

we also need

God

to keep us

from willful

sin

and

great

transgression.

We absolutely

need God's

help

to overcome

sin.

It is not

something we can

do

on our own

and if we

do these

things

then we

will be

blameless

not because

we're perfect

but because

we are

forgiven

because of

God's

grace.

Jesus

who showed

us what

God is

like

lived

in perfect

obedience.

He never

failed to

love

and he

became sin

for us.

Took the

punishment we

deserved

so that we

can have

eternal life

if we are

trusting in

him

and then

we can

truly

call

God

Lord

our rock

and our

redeemer.

Let's pray.

Lord

thank you

for your

creation.

Thank you

that we

can look

and marvel

at its

beauty

and scale.

thank you

for using

it to

reveal

your

glory

to

us.

Lord

thank you

for your

word.

Thank you

that you

have given

it to

us so

that we

can know

you.

Thank you

for Jesus

and all

that he

revealed.

Lord

thank you

that you

love us.

Thank you

for Jesus

and because

of him

you are

willing to

forgive us.

Thank you

that because

you love

us

you are

willing

to

transform

us.

May

these

words

of my

mouth

and this

meditation

of my

heart

be

pleasing

in your

sight.

Lord

my

rock

and my

redeemer.

Amen.