Messages with Meaning


Sermons delivered at Sanlando Springs by Pastor Jack Parrott

God Doesn't Make Mistakes

Genesis 2:7
Presented on May 4, 2008, © Dr. Jack Parrott
I. Introduction

  1. Florida educators and politicians have been debating evolution. They recently approved a revision to educational standards which now requires that the 'scientific theory of evolution' be taught in the classroom. After studying the original recommendations, I opposed the new standards for three reasons:
    1. They mandated teaching evolution in elementary grades
    2. They mandated teaching evolution as scientific fact
    3. They prohibited the presentation by teachers of alternative views
  2. I do not favor teaching religion in the elementary grades by public school teachers for the simple reason that watered-down universalist religion (which is what would be written into our curricula) would do more harm than good. I do favor giving middle school and high school students the option of release time to study religion in the local church of their choice. In the meantime, what should we do?
    1. Oppose the teaching in the public schools of evolution as fact, it is a theory.
    2. Support the right of teachers to teach commonly held alternative views.
    3. As Christians we are to hold to the clear teachings of the Bible, and we are to become more diligent in teaching our children what the Bible says.
II. God made you from nothing
  1. God created you (Gen 1.26-27). The word bara means "to create" (out of nothing).
    1. There was a time when you were not; but there was never a time when God was not. (See John 1.3 and 17.5))
    2. Rationally we know that you can't get something out of nothing. So where did the something of creation come from? God. God brought something into existence that didn't exist before. See Hebrews 11:3
    3. What about similar stories coming from other religions and cultures (such as the Egyptian mythologies)? All are attempts to describe the same truth: humanity and all of creation came from somewhere. The Hebrew Scriptures say that "somewhere" is a "Someone," and that "Someone" is the Lord God!
  2. God formed you (Genesis 2.7). Here's the picture: God molds you like a potter molds clay. When a potter picks up a piece of clay and begins to mold it, he has a picture in his mind and a passion in his heart for what he is about to create.
    1. We don't look like God! (Remember George Burns in Oh, God?) What does it mean to be made in the "image of God"?
    2. Jill Briscoe says, "When a potter had finished a pot, he would take an instrument and stamp it with the impress of his initials. His personality. His express image. And everybody would know, because they'd turn the pot over, who had made the pot. We do this when we go into a china store today. Whose china is it?"
        Psalm 139:13 (CEV): "You are the one who put me together inside my mother's body."
  3. How can we know that? Just as some people think there are evidences we came crawling out of the water or swinging from tree limbs (and, I must admit, when I see the way some people behave I'm tempted to wonder myself!), there are also many evidences of the Divine Creator. Here are two:
    1. We have an inner drive to seek the transcendent, to seek after God.
    2. We have the ability to make a moral choice.
III. God made you to become something
  1. God was the spark of human existence. He acted and humanity "became".

    2.   When it says He breathed into man and he came to life that breath (literally "puff") was a 'puff of purpose.'
  2. Creation did not occur by chance or accident or without purpose. God had a purpose in mind when He created the world and He instilled a sense of meaning and purpose in us. That is part of the divine nature we have as human beings.
    1. Dr. Vernon Elmore said in the Holman Bible Dictionary: The Bible teaches that human beings have purpose. They have an instinctive need to be something and to do something. They have a responsible intuition and an inner call to duty. The human race has a unique sense of "oughtness."
    2. I agree with the person who said, "There are two great moments in a person's life: the moment you were born and the moment you realize why you were born."
    3. God wants you to reach your full potential.
  3. We are created with an inner need to use our minds and our abilities to serve God and His creation.
      Jesus is perfect image of God ("exact representation," Hebrews 1:3), and He models for us a purpose-driven life.
IV. God made you for Himself
  1. We are "a living soul" (inspiration)
    1. We are born with an ability to have a relationship with God ...with an inner hunger to know and love God.
    2. See Acts 17:26-28
  2. What does it mean to be 'alone'? Adam was alone.
    1. He was socially alone, and God gave him a partner with which to share life.
    2. Then he and Eve became estranged from God because of wrong choices and their actions left them spiritually alone.
    3. God doesn't want us to be spiritually alone. He made us for Himself.
  3. Christ brings God and humanity together at the cross.

    4.    2 Corinthians 5:19 "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself."
  4. The greatest joy an individual can experience comes when we learn that we are created and called of God. We are each one made for a purpose. There is a reason why we are here.


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