Auburn SDA Church
Living Compassionate Lives
  • Burdens Are Lifted At Calvary

      • Matthew 9:36ESV

  • Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

      • 1 Corinthians 15NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:1–13NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:1–13NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:1–13NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:1–13NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:1–13NIV2011

      • Luke 24:44–47NIV2011

      • Luke 24:44–47NIV2011

      • Luke 24:44–47NIV2011

      • Luke 24:44–47NIV2011

      • Luke 24:44–47NIV2011

      • Luke 24:44–47NIV2011

      • Romans 1:1–4NIV2011

      • Romans 1:1–4NIV2011

      • Romans 1:1–4NIV2011

      • Romans 1:1–4NIV2011

      • Romans 1:1–4NIV2011

      • Romans 1:1–4NIV2011

      • Romans 1:1–4NIV2011

      • Romans 1:1–4NIV2011

      • Romans 1:1–4NIV2011

      • Romans 1:1–4NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15NIV2011

      • Romans 1:1–4NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15NIV2011

      • Romans 1:1–4NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:14–19NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:14–19NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:14–19NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:14–19NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:14–19NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:14–19NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:14–19NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:14–19NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:20–32NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:20–32NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:20–32NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:20–32NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:20–32NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:20–32NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:33–45NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:33–45NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:33–45NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:33–45NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:33–45NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:33–45NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:33–45NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:33–45NIV2011

      • Philippians 3:20–21NIV2011

      • Philippians 3:20–21NIV2011

      • Philippians 3:20–21NIV2011

      • Philippians 3:20–21NIV2011

      • Philippians 3:20–21NIV2011

      • Philippians 3:20–21NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:46–58NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:46–58NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:46–58NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:46–58NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:46–58NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:46–58NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:46–58NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:46–58NIV2011

  • Love at Home
  • Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
  • Seeking the Lost
  • Burdens Are Lifted At Calvary

      • Matthew 9:36ESV

  • Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
  • In Albania
    on 1 year mission
    in market
    introduced to nice man.
    Asks me to talk
    want to discuss philosophy.
    Who is man?
    What is conscienceless?
    How did we get here?
    What is our purpose?
    Is the universe real?
    What is morality?
    Can we really know anything?
    Is moral ethics a construct of religion?
    At 23,
    I thought I knew it all
    but this man was able
    to quickly deconstruct
    my entire worldview.
    The truth is,
    his questions
    are good question.
    These are the
    questions of life.
    We must be able
    to answer them.
    I believe,
    the Bible answers
    all of them clearly.
    To answer these question
    we have to go back
    to the beginning
    of the bible.

    Creation

    Genesis 1:26–28 ESV
    Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
    Genesis 1:26–28 ESV
    So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
    There is a lot packed in here.
    Let’s focus on first point.
    Genesis 1:26 ESV
    Then God said, “Let us make man in our image...
    What does it mean
    to be made in the:

    Image of God

    Your first question may be:
    Who is God?
    If so, don’t worry
    that was the title
    of my last sermon.
    (Go to YouTube).
    We were created in
    the image of God.
    What does it mean
    to be made
    in the likeness of God?
    How are we like God?
    physically
    emotionally
    mentally
    in terms of procreation
    in aspect of dominion
    yes
    all of these are true
    to one degree or another.
    But the image of God
    is most evident in
    God’s spiritual nature.
    More specifically:
    God’s Character.
    We were made
    with a character like God.
    A spiritual nature
    of love
    and goodness.
    Paul describes
    what likeness to God
    is actually like:
    Ephesians 4:22–24 ESV
    to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
    What does it mean
    to be like God?
    Simple, To Be:
    righteous
    and holy.
    To be like God
    is to have His
    character and heart.
    In fact,
    the bible describes
    another being that was
    made exactly like the Father.
    Who was it?
    Jesus Christ.
    Hebrews 1:3 ESV
    He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
    Jesus was the
    imprint of God’s nature.
    NKJV actually says:
    Hebrews 1:3 NKJV
    who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
    Jesus has the
    exact image of
    the Father.
    But the
    Father
    Son
    Spirit
    agree to make us
    in the likeness of
    their image.
    Take some time
    to let that sink in...
    What a grand calling.
    What an amazing purpose.
    What profound identity
    that we have!!!!
    We were made
    to be like God!!!
    We have deep value
    in the eyes of God!
    Each of us are special
    and intentionally created
    A missionary in a Muslim-majority country had been working for year to help his Muslim friends see God more as a loving and caring God rather than a harsh judge.
    One day, he got a call from his wife. Their local house-helper (a common practice in that country) had accidentally dropped and broken their glass pot from the coffee maker. (Coffee isn’t common in that country – everyone drinks tea. So, the coffee pot was considered precious.)
    The missionary’s wife called to tell him in advance, not that the coffee pot was broken, but that the house-helper was terrified to tell him. Because women are not valued highly in that culture, she probably expected to be fired or even struck when the “man of the house” got home.
    The husband understood why his wife warned him. When he came home, he made sure his reaction showed the house-helper that she was more important than a coffee pot.
    Relationships matter and none more than that relationship Christ has with the Church.
    By living the love of Jesus, the missionaries displayed God's love to a woman in a way which simple words could not.
    He endeavored to show the image of God, through his actions.
    The danger of Evolution
    is diabolically evil
    in many ways.
    Robs God of Kingship
    Robs God of Power
    Robs Humans of Infinite Value
    I hate shows and tours
    talking about “millions of years.”
    I think it is Satan’s
    plan to get us used to
    subconsciously agreeing
    with his lies about
    God
    Us.
    Fight Satan
    Fight Lies
    Fight Normalizing Fallacy

    The Creation of Humanity

    The fall of Lucifer was
    connected to the creation
    of humanity.
    The Story of Redemption Chapter 2—The Creation

    After the earth was created, and the beasts upon it, the Father and Son carried out their purpose, which was designed before the fall of Satan, to make man in their own image.

    Lucifer had not fallen,
    was not kicked out of heaven,
    until after the plan to
    create humanity.
    This was part
    of his jealousy.
    Early Writings Supplement

    But when God said to His Son, “Let us make man in our image,” Satan was jealous of Jesus. He wished to be consulted concerning the formation of man, and because he was not, he was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

    Satan was upset,
    God was embarking on
    something new
    something profound
    something important
    a new creation in the image of God
    and he was not invited
    to the discussion.
    The jealousy and ire
    of Satan was kindle
    against both
    Jesus
    and humanity.
    Satan hates
    creation
    humanity
    image of God.
    If we understand
    our identity and value
    we see straight through
    Satan’s evil plan.
    Satan hates God.
    But he cannot directly
    attack God Himself.
    Therefore Satan attacks
    the image of God in us.
    He wants to break the mirror.
    Imagine:
    An ancient king wanted to establish his rule in a newly conquered, distant province where he could not physically live.
    He did not build massive statues of himself or send an army to occupy the streets. Instead, he minted a new currency stamped with his own face, and he appointed royal ambassadors to walk among the people.
    When citizens handled the coin or looked at the ambassador, they knew immediately who the true king was, what he valued, and how authority was exercised in his kingdom.
    The Ancient Coin: Every human being is minted with the stamp of the Creator.
    Let us not help Satan
    attack God by destroying
    His precious image.
    Don’t let Satan win!

    Breathe of Life

    So God fulfilled
    His plan and created
    Adam and Eve.
    Genesis 2:7 ESV
    then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
    Adams body was
    a pile of dirt until
    God breathed into Him the:
    Breathe of Life.
    Suddenly,
    the life-generating power of God
    flowed into that
    pile of dirt
    and made it alive.
    This word breathe
    is interesting.
    There are two primary words
    in Hebrew that mean
    breath.
    נְשָׁמָה
    and
    רוּחַ
    Neshamah means:
    breath
    to have life
    Ruah means:
    breath
    wind
    spirit
    Jobs equate the two terms:
    Job 33:4 ESV
    The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
    When we have
    spirit
    breath
    we have life.
    It is at the core
    of what it means
    to be human.
    Life came through
    an intimate exhale of God.
    Without that breath
    we are nothing again.
    Isaiah 2:22 ESV
    Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?
    What is man?
    Someone with breath.
    With breath
    comes life
    comes humanity
    comes existence.
    But in this broken world
    without the tree of life
    there is fragility
    to this breath.
    Without breath
    we are dead.
    1 Kings 17:17 ESV
    After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.
    You are one missed breath away
    from meeting your Maker.
    We are dependent upon god
    for every breath we take.
    The Illustration: The Glassblower and the Fragile Vessel
    The Setup:
    Think for a moment about the art of glassblowing. If you’ve ever watched a master artisan work, it is a mesmerizing process. They begin with a lump of dull, cold, formless sand and minerals. It looks like nothing. It has no beauty, no shape, and no utility.
    The artisan places it into a furnace of blazing heat until it becomes molten, glowing white-hot. But even then, liquid glass left to itself will simply spill out, fall to the ground, and harden into a useless, distorted puddle.
    The Action:
    To give it life, the master does something deeply intimate. He takes a long metal pipe, connects it to the molten glass, and dips his head low. He places his lips to the tube. And then, the master breathes.
    He exhales his own breath into the formless mass. Suddenly, under the power and pressure of his lungs, the glass expands. It takes shape. It begins to glow from the inside out. What was once formless dust is suddenly transformed into a breathtaking, translucent vessel capable of holding light. It owes its entire shape, existence, and beauty to the very breath of the master.
    The Turn (Fragility):
    But look closer at that finished masterpiece. As beautiful and intricate as it is, it is made of glass. It is incredibly fragile. If it falls, it shatters into a thousand pieces. It cannot sustain its own structural integrity against a harsh world. More than that, if you seal that glass piece hermetically and take away the air around it, or if it loses its connection to the environment the master intended for it, it becomes hollow and empty.
    Our lives are exactly like that glass vessel.
    We have beauty and life
    only through the
    gift of God.
    But our life is fragile.
    Life can end quickly here.
    (Funerals lately).
    Be sure to surrender
    to the glass makers.
    Your
    present
    future
    is secure in His hand.
    ***********************
    Start Skip
    *************************
    Many Christians
    try to say that this
    spirit
    breath
    is consciousness
    or the eternal soul.
    These same Christians say
    people are different than animals
    because we have a soul
    and they do not.
    They don’t know their
    bible very well.
    Ecclesiastes 3:19 ESV
    For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.
    Humans and animals
    both have breath of life.
    When all land animals died
    during the flood
    Bible says:
    Genesis 7:21–22 ESV
    And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died.
    The animals also
    had the breath of life.
    Therefore this breath of life
    is not a
    eternal soul
    consciousness
    personality
    humanness.
    The breath is just
    God’s life giving power.
    That is why Solomon can say
    that when we die:
    Ecclesiastes 12:7 ESV
    and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
    We are human
    We are alive
    We breath
    because God gave
    life to us
    at creation.
    What an amazing God
    and creator we serve!
    What does it mean
    to be human?
    We are composed of
    pile of dirt
    life-power of God.
    But we are more
    than just dirt.
    ********************
    End Skip
    ********************
    After making people
    God looked at His creation
    Genesis 1:31 ESV
    And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
    God created people to be:

    Very Good

    We are not
    an afterthought
    failed plan
    good idea gone awry
    We are the fulfillment
    of God’s great plan
    to make something
    someone
    perfect
    special
    “good.”
    Testimonies for the Church, Volume 4 Number Thirty—Testimony for the Church

    [We] would learn from the Inspired Record that God has placed a high value upon the human family. The works of His creation upon each successive day were called good; but man, formed in the image of his Creator, was pronounced “very good.” No other creature that God has made has called forth such exhibitions of His love.

    Our pre-fall nature
    was very good.
    There was nothing
    within us to
    desire evil
    want something more.
    There was no
    resentment
    jealousy
    shame
    antagonism.
    We were perfect,
    in God’s image.
    But we had a
    choice to make.

    Free

    God gave us choice.
    Joshua 24:15 NKJV
    ...choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve... But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
    Love had to be chosen.
    Tree of knowledge of good and evil.
    Genesis 2:16–17 ESV
    And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
    We chose evil.

    The Fall

    Through the fall
    Satan destroyed
    all we were made to be.
    We were made to
    have life
    have breath.
    Through sin,
    Satan brought death.
    Genesis 2:17 ESV
    but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
    We were created to be good.
    Satan’s leadership brought
    us to a life of evil.
    Romans 5:12 ESV
    Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
    We were created in
    the image of God.
    (to be righteous).
    Through sin the:

    Image was Broken

    We were created to
    be like God in all ways.
    The fall made us
    like lucifer.
    Evil not Good
    Living but Doomed to Die.
    (spiritually dead).
    The image of God
    could hardly be seen
    only a few generations later.
    Genesis 6:5 ESV
    The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
    After 10 generations
    1,656 years
    We were no longer
    reflecting God’s character.
    Satan had succeed in
    nearly obliterating
    the image of God
    that was within us.
    Defacing $100 Bill
    We were reflecting our:

    Fallen Nature

    Our fallen nature
    makes us bent toward
    choosing evil.
    This nature we are
    now born with.
    Psalm 51:5 ESV
    Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
    As an unregenerate sinner
    we are naturally inclined
    to seek sin and selfishness.
    In the words of Paul
    We:
    Ephesians 2:3 ESV
    … were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
    Thankfully
    God had a plan.
    He had seen it all
    and was ready to
    save us lost humans.
    Ephesians 1:4 ESV
    even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
    God had a plan
    which he had made
    before creation
    to restore the
    image of God in us.
    He would come to:

    Redeem Us

    This redemption was not
    just legal justification.
    This is not about God
    simply saying:
    I forgive you.
    It is okay.
    You are not guilty.
    You are judged innocent.
    God cannot just
    proclaim us righteous again.
    He must somehow
    make us righteous again.
    Yes, He forgives us.
    But even more,
    through sanctification
    He works to restore us by:

    Restoring the Image of God.

    Colossians 3:9–10 ESV
    Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
    How can we have the image
    of our creator again?
    God leads us through
    a daily and life-long
    process of of
    putting off old self
    putting on new self
    renewing our mind
    to be like Jesus.
    This is the result
    of daily surrender
    indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
    In 1972, a man walked into St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and attacked Michelangelo’s famous Pieta statue with a hammer, shattering Mary's arm, nose, and veil. The world was devastated. The museum didn't throw the broken pieces away. Instead, they brought in master art restorers.
    True art restoration is an incredibly tedious process. The restorers don't paint their own ideas over the damage. They don't try to reinvent the piece. Instead, they meticulously scrape away the modern dirt, dissolve the foreign chemicals, and seamlessly bind the broken fragments back together. Their entire goal is to submerge their own ego and allow the original creator's handiwork to shine through again.

    Appeal

    Let God recreate His
    image within our lives.
    How is the process working
    in your life?
    Are you taking time
    to pray, study, and surrender?
    Up and Down?
    Is God’s image being
    remade in your life?
    We need to make this
    our life priority.

      • Genesis 1:26–28ESV

      • Genesis 1:26–28ESV

      • Genesis 1:26ESV

      • Ephesians 4:22–24ESV

      • Hebrews 1:3ESV

      • Hebrews 1:3ESV

      • Genesis 2:7ESV

      • Job 33:4ESV

      • Isaiah 2:22ESV

      • 1 Kings 17:17ESV

      • Ecclesiastes 3:19ESV

      • Genesis 7:21–22ESV

      • Ecclesiastes 12:7ESV

      • Genesis 1:31ESV

      • Joshua 24:15ESV

      • Genesis 2:16–17ESV

      • Genesis 2:17ESV

      • Romans 5:12ESV

      • Genesis 6:5ESV

      • Psalm 51:5ESV

      • Ephesians 2:3ESV

      • Ephesians 1:4ESV

      • Colossians 3:9–10ESV

  • In Albania
    on 1 year mission
    in market
    introduced to nice man.
    Asks me to talk
    want to discuss philosophy.
    Who is man?
    What is conscienceless?
    How did we get here?
    What is our purpose?
    Is the universe real?
    What is morality?
    Can we really know anything?
    Is moral ethics a construct of religion?
    At 23,
    I thought I knew it all
    but this man was able
    to quickly deconstruct
    my entire worldview.
    The truth is,
    his questions
    are good question.
    These are the
    questions of life.
    We must be able
    to answer them.
    I believe,
    the Bible answers
    all of them clearly.
    To answer these question
    we have to go back
    to the beginning
    of the bible.

    Creation

    Genesis 1:26–28 ESV
    Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
    Genesis 1:26–28 ESV
    So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
    There is a lot packed in here.
    Let’s focus on first point.
    Genesis 1:26 ESV
    Then God said, “Let us make man in our image...
    What does it mean
    to be made in the:

    Image of God

    Your first question may be:
    Who is God?
    If so, don’t worry
    that was the title
    of my last sermon.
    (Go to YouTube).
    We were created in
    the image of God.
    What does it mean
    to be made
    in the likeness of God?
    How are we like God?
    physically
    emotionally
    mentally
    in terms of procreation
    in aspect of dominion
    yes
    all of these are true
    to one degree or another.
    But the image of God
    is most evident in
    God’s spiritual nature.
    More specifically:
    God’s Character.
    We were made
    with a character like God.
    A spiritual nature
    of love
    and goodness.
    Paul describes
    what likeness to God
    is actually like:
    Ephesians 4:22–24 ESV
    to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
    What does it mean
    to be like God?
    Simple, To Be:
    righteous
    and holy.
    To be like God
    is to have His
    character and heart.
    In fact,
    the bible describes
    another being that was
    made exactly like the Father.
    Who was it?
    Jesus Christ.
    Hebrews 1:3 ESV
    He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
    Jesus was the
    imprint of God’s nature.
    NKJV actually says:
    Hebrews 1:3 NKJV
    who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
    Jesus has the
    exact image of
    the Father.
    But the
    Father
    Son
    Spirit
    agree to make us
    in the likeness of
    their image.
    Take some time
    to let that sink in...
    What a grand calling.
    What an amazing purpose.
    What profound identity
    that we have!!!!
    We were made
    to be like God!!!
    We have deep value
    in the eyes of God!
    Each of us are special
    and intentionally created
    A missionary in a Muslim-majority country had been working for year to help his Muslim friends see God more as a loving and caring God rather than a harsh judge.
    One day, he got a call from his wife. Their local house-helper (a common practice in that country) had accidentally dropped and broken their glass pot from the coffee maker. (Coffee isn’t common in that country – everyone drinks tea. So, the coffee pot was considered precious.)
    The missionary’s wife called to tell him in advance, not that the coffee pot was broken, but that the house-helper was terrified to tell him. Because women are not valued highly in that culture, she probably expected to be fired or even struck when the “man of the house” got home.
    The husband understood why his wife warned him. When he came home, he made sure his reaction showed the house-helper that she was more important than a coffee pot.
    Relationships matter and none more than that relationship Christ has with the Church.
    By living the love of Jesus, the missionaries displayed God's love to a woman in a way which simple words could not.
    He endeavored to show the image of God, through his actions.
    The danger of Evolution
    is diabolically evil
    in many ways.
    Robs God of Kingship
    Robs God of Power
    Robs Humans of Infinite Value
    I hate shows and tours
    talking about “millions of years.”
    I think it is Satan’s
    plan to get us used to
    subconsciously agreeing
    with his lies about
    God
    Us.
    Fight Satan
    Fight Lies
    Fight Normalizing Fallacy

    The Creation of Humanity

    The fall of Lucifer was
    connected to the creation
    of humanity.
    The Story of Redemption Chapter 2—The Creation

    After the earth was created, and the beasts upon it, the Father and Son carried out their purpose, which was designed before the fall of Satan, to make man in their own image.

    Lucifer had not fallen,
    was not kicked out of heaven,
    until after the plan to
    create humanity.
    This was part
    of his jealousy.
    Early Writings Supplement

    But when God said to His Son, “Let us make man in our image,” Satan was jealous of Jesus. He wished to be consulted concerning the formation of man, and because he was not, he was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

    Satan was upset,
    God was embarking on
    something new
    something profound
    something important
    a new creation in the image of God
    and he was not invited
    to the discussion.
    The jealousy and ire
    of Satan was kindle
    against both
    Jesus
    and humanity.
    Satan hates
    creation
    humanity
    image of God.
    If we understand
    our identity and value
    we see straight through
    Satan’s evil plan.
    Satan hates God.
    But he cannot directly
    attack God Himself.
    Therefore Satan attacks
    the image of God in us.
    He wants to break the mirror.
    Imagine:
    An ancient king wanted to establish his rule in a newly conquered, distant province where he could not physically live.
    He did not build massive statues of himself or send an army to occupy the streets. Instead, he minted a new currency stamped with his own face, and he appointed royal ambassadors to walk among the people.
    When citizens handled the coin or looked at the ambassador, they knew immediately who the true king was, what he valued, and how authority was exercised in his kingdom.
    The Ancient Coin: Every human being is minted with the stamp of the Creator.
    Let us not help Satan
    attack God by destroying
    His precious image.
    Don’t let Satan win!

    Breathe of Life

    So God fulfilled
    His plan and created
    Adam and Eve.
    Genesis 2:7 ESV
    then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
    Adams body was
    a pile of dirt until
    God breathed into Him the:
    Breathe of Life.
    Suddenly,
    the life-generating power of God
    flowed into that
    pile of dirt
    and made it alive.
    This word breathe
    is interesting.
    There are two primary words
    in Hebrew that mean
    breath.
    נְשָׁמָה
    and
    רוּחַ
    Neshamah means:
    breath
    to have life
    Ruah means:
    breath
    wind
    spirit
    Jobs equate the two terms:
    Job 33:4 ESV
    The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
    When we have
    spirit
    breath
    we have life.
    It is at the core
    of what it means
    to be human.
    Life came through
    an intimate exhale of God.
    Without that breath
    we are nothing again.
    Isaiah 2:22 ESV
    Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?
    What is man?
    Someone with breath.
    With breath
    comes life
    comes humanity
    comes existence.
    But in this broken world
    without the tree of life
    there is fragility
    to this breath.
    Without breath
    we are dead.
    1 Kings 17:17 ESV
    After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.
    You are one missed breath away
    from meeting your Maker.
    We are dependent upon god
    for every breath we take.
    The Illustration: The Glassblower and the Fragile Vessel
    The Setup:
    Think for a moment about the art of glassblowing. If you’ve ever watched a master artisan work, it is a mesmerizing process. They begin with a lump of dull, cold, formless sand and minerals. It looks like nothing. It has no beauty, no shape, and no utility.
    The artisan places it into a furnace of blazing heat until it becomes molten, glowing white-hot. But even then, liquid glass left to itself will simply spill out, fall to the ground, and harden into a useless, distorted puddle.
    The Action:
    To give it life, the master does something deeply intimate. He takes a long metal pipe, connects it to the molten glass, and dips his head low. He places his lips to the tube. And then, the master breathes.
    He exhales his own breath into the formless mass. Suddenly, under the power and pressure of his lungs, the glass expands. It takes shape. It begins to glow from the inside out. What was once formless dust is suddenly transformed into a breathtaking, translucent vessel capable of holding light. It owes its entire shape, existence, and beauty to the very breath of the master.
    The Turn (Fragility):
    But look closer at that finished masterpiece. As beautiful and intricate as it is, it is made of glass. It is incredibly fragile. If it falls, it shatters into a thousand pieces. It cannot sustain its own structural integrity against a harsh world. More than that, if you seal that glass piece hermetically and take away the air around it, or if it loses its connection to the environment the master intended for it, it becomes hollow and empty.
    Our lives are exactly like that glass vessel.
    We have beauty and life
    only through the
    gift of God.
    But our life is fragile.
    Life can end quickly here.
    (Funerals lately).
    Be sure to surrender
    to the glass makers.
    Your
    present
    future
    is secure in His hand.
    ***********************
    Start Skip
    *************************
    Many Christians
    try to say that this
    spirit
    breath
    is consciousness
    or the eternal soul.
    These same Christians say
    people are different than animals
    because we have a soul
    and they do not.
    They don’t know their
    bible very well.
    Ecclesiastes 3:19 ESV
    For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.
    Humans and animals
    both have breath of life.
    When all land animals died
    during the flood
    Bible says:
    Genesis 7:21–22 ESV
    And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died.
    The animals also
    had the breath of life.
    Therefore this breath of life
    is not a
    eternal soul
    consciousness
    personality
    humanness.
    The breath is just
    God’s life giving power.
    That is why Solomon can say
    that when we die:
    Ecclesiastes 12:7 ESV
    and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
    We are human
    We are alive
    We breath
    because God gave
    life to us
    at creation.
    What an amazing God
    and creator we serve!
    What does it mean
    to be human?
    We are composed of
    pile of dirt
    life-power of God.
    But we are more
    than just dirt.
    ********************
    End Skip
    ********************
    After making people
    God looked at His creation
    Genesis 1:31 ESV
    And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
    God created people to be:

    Very Good

    We are not
    an afterthought
    failed plan
    good idea gone awry
    We are the fulfillment
    of God’s great plan
    to make something
    someone
    perfect
    special
    “good.”
    Testimonies for the Church, Volume 4 Number Thirty—Testimony for the Church

    [We] would learn from the Inspired Record that God has placed a high value upon the human family. The works of His creation upon each successive day were called good; but man, formed in the image of his Creator, was pronounced “very good.” No other creature that God has made has called forth such exhibitions of His love.

    Our pre-fall nature
    was very good.
    There was nothing
    within us to
    desire evil
    want something more.
    There was no
    resentment
    jealousy
    shame
    antagonism.
    We were perfect,
    in God’s image.
    But we had a
    choice to make.

    Free

    God gave us choice.
    Joshua 24:15 NKJV
    ...choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve... But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
    Love had to be chosen.
    Tree of knowledge of good and evil.
    Genesis 2:16–17 ESV
    And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
    We chose evil.

    The Fall

    Through the fall
    Satan destroyed
    all we were made to be.
    We were made to
    have life
    have breath.
    Through sin,
    Satan brought death.
    Genesis 2:17 ESV
    but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
    We were created to be good.
    Satan’s leadership brought
    us to a life of evil.
    Romans 5:12 ESV
    Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
    We were created in
    the image of God.
    (to be righteous).
    Through sin the:

    Image was Broken

    We were created to
    be like God in all ways.
    The fall made us
    like lucifer.
    Evil not Good
    Living but Doomed to Die.
    (spiritually dead).
    The image of God
    could hardly be seen
    only a few generations later.
    Genesis 6:5 ESV
    The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
    After 10 generations
    1,656 years
    We were no longer
    reflecting God’s character.
    Satan had succeed in
    nearly obliterating
    the image of God
    that was within us.
    Defacing $100 Bill
    We were reflecting our:

    Fallen Nature

    Our fallen nature
    makes us bent toward
    choosing evil.
    This nature we are
    now born with.
    Psalm 51:5 ESV
    Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
    As an unregenerate sinner
    we are naturally inclined
    to seek sin and selfishness.
    In the words of Paul
    We:
    Ephesians 2:3 ESV
    … were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
    Thankfully
    God had a plan.
    He had seen it all
    and was ready to
    save us lost humans.
    Ephesians 1:4 ESV
    even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
    God had a plan
    which he had made
    before creation
    to restore the
    image of God in us.
    He would come to:

    Redeem Us

    This redemption was not
    just legal justification.
    This is not about God
    simply saying:
    I forgive you.
    It is okay.
    You are not guilty.
    You are judged innocent.
    God cannot just
    proclaim us righteous again.
    He must somehow
    make us righteous again.
    Yes, He forgives us.
    But even more,
    through sanctification
    He works to restore us by:

    Restoring the Image of God.

    Colossians 3:9–10 ESV
    Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
    How can we have the image
    of our creator again?
    God leads us through
    a daily and life-long
    process of of
    putting off old self
    putting on new self
    renewing our mind
    to be like Jesus.
    This is the result
    of daily surrender
    indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
    In 1972, a man walked into St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and attacked Michelangelo’s famous Pieta statue with a hammer, shattering Mary's arm, nose, and veil. The world was devastated. The museum didn't throw the broken pieces away. Instead, they brought in master art restorers.
    True art restoration is an incredibly tedious process. The restorers don't paint their own ideas over the damage. They don't try to reinvent the piece. Instead, they meticulously scrape away the modern dirt, dissolve the foreign chemicals, and seamlessly bind the broken fragments back together. Their entire goal is to submerge their own ego and allow the original creator's handiwork to shine through again.

    Appeal

    Let God recreate His
    image within our lives.
    How is the process working
    in your life?
    Are you taking time
    to pray, study, and surrender?
    Up and Down?
    Is God’s image being
    remade in your life?
    We need to make this
    our life priority.

      • Genesis 1:26–28ESV

      • Genesis 1:26–28ESV

      • Genesis 1:26ESV

      • Ephesians 4:22–24ESV

      • Hebrews 1:3ESV

      • Hebrews 1:3ESV

      • Genesis 2:7ESV

      • Job 33:4ESV

      • Isaiah 2:22ESV

      • 1 Kings 17:17ESV

      • Ecclesiastes 3:19ESV

      • Genesis 7:21–22ESV

      • Ecclesiastes 12:7ESV

      • Genesis 1:31ESV

      • Joshua 24:15ESV

      • Genesis 2:16–17ESV

      • Genesis 2:17ESV

      • Romans 5:12ESV

      • Genesis 6:5ESV

      • Psalm 51:5ESV

      • Ephesians 2:3ESV

      • Ephesians 1:4ESV

      • Colossians 3:9–10ESV

Auburn SDA Church
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