Message in the Sky
All of creation declares His Glory

I. Introduction:

Mt 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem  2 and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."  3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.  4 When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.  5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:  6 "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"  7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.  8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."  9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.  11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

A. That star was a message in the sky.

B.  God was speaking to these Magi, and to all the Jews.

1.  You are not forgotten
2.  God loves you
3.  Everything is under control

We will come back to the star in a few minutes

C. God speaks through His creation

Ro 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,  19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  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 men are without excuse.

D. He speaks through the night sky

The heavens speak of His infinite nature:

Ps 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.  4 Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

As awesome as they are God is greater
Ps 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

E. He speaks at the ocean shore

Speaks of His infinite power
Ps 89:8 O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you. 9 You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.

God more powerful than the ocean
Ps 93:1 The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and is armed with strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.  2 Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity.  3 The seas have lifted up, O LORD, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.  4 Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea-- the LORD on high is mighty.

F. He speaks in the shadow of a mountain

The grandeur of a mountain consumed by God
Ps 144:5 Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.

G. God's creation does at least 3 things:
#1. Speaks of His existence
#2. Inspires Awe
#3. Inspires Humility

. All of God's creation gives Him glory : As though His creation worships Him

Ps 96:10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns." The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. 11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it;  12 let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;  13 they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.
(NIV)

II. Existence of Mankind Speaks of the Glory of God

A. The human body and mind are unexplainable.
      - Fastest computer can't duplicate the mind
      - The design and function of the body is genius

Ps 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Ge 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."  27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Yet there are those that try to dishonor and discredit God by proclaiming evolution a fact.

Making man no more than a high bred animal

- Latest missing link is being discredited
- Descended from apes?
- Descended from a rat?
- Now- Descended from a Lemur

I like this better than apes or rats, because I like King Julian.

He is my favorite character on Madagascar is a Lemur King Julian  SHOW PICTURE

B.  The glory of God is revealed in:
       - New born baby (No accident)
       - Working of the human heart (No accident)
       -  The human cell (no accident)

C.  The closer you look, the more you see that there
      is an intelligent design behind it all.

D.. Before we view this clip let me read this:

Col 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.  17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Here is a message that God has hidden in the living cell: Laminin

A hidden message waiting for the time when man would discover this love letter written in the living cell.

Designed to inspire:

- Reality of God
- Awe before Grandeur of God
- Humility before God - in His shadow

III. Back to the Star of Bethlehem

A. What was the Star of Bethlehem?
      1. A miracle?
      2. A natural event that God set to come to pass at a specific time when He set the Universe in motion?

B.  Fred Larson is a professor and lawyer
      - Years ago he became interested in the star
      -  Researched it for years
      -  He became aware of software that NASA uses
          to calculate the position of the planets.
       - It is based upon the findings of a German
          mathematician in the 1500's

C. With this software you can see the position of stars and planets in the past because their orbits are very regular - like a giant clock.
      
God has hidden a message in the sky. 

IV. Objections to looking to the stars

- Isn't this like astrology?

- Astronomy the study/observation of the stars

- Astrology is the belief that the stars have influence
   over man.

A. The Bible forbids the worship of stars

Jer 10:1-3

B. But also says that

- God speaks through them:

- Will use the heavens in the last days for signs

Lu 21:25 "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.  26 Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.

C. God does not call us to order our lives by the stars
     - That is by the word & Holy Spirit

D. BUT THE HEAVENS TESTIFY OF THE GLORY OF GOD

Ps 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.  4 Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

- WE don't plan tomorrow by looking at the sky
- We glorify Him for creation glorifying God.

1. The fact that God painted a picture in the sky before anything had taken place.

2. That the timing was perfect

3.  That Jesus is the Lamb slain form the foundation of the world. 

- And God wrote His birth in the sky before it happened.

4. God knew us before the world was created.

When He created the world
When He hurled the stars into existence, He had you on His mind - HE KNEW YOUR NAME

YOU ARE NO ACCIDENT!

Eph 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

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GOD HID THESE MESSAGES ON PURPOSE:

Laminin: all things held together in Christ

Star: The Gospel declared in the sky

Illustration:

-6 year old Elena Desserich was diagnosed with cancer and given about 4 months to live.

- She passed away in 2007

- After her death her parents began to find notes that she hid all over the house - Hundreds of notes

THAT IS WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR US

HIDDEN MESSAGE THAT HE KNEW WE WOULD FIND.

ALL SAYING I LOVE YOU
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THE PROTEIN HOLDING OUR CELLS TOGETRHER IS SHAPED IN THE SYMBOL OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE - A CROSS

- SIN
- SUBSTITUTION
- SALVATION

WHY WOULD YOU REFUSE SUCH A GOD?

WHY WOULD WE DOUBT SUCH A GOD?