Knowing or Rejecting God Week 10

started looking at this last week and we just got a little bit left to finish up on. Psalms 14 is a unique psalm in that the entire psalm with the exception of just one small section is repeated in Psalm 53. And whenever God repeats himself, now I I tend to repeat myself because I have a very limited vocabulary and sometimes I repeat myself. You like when my kids don't make me tell you again because I have to tell them again, you know, and I repeat myself for all the wrong reasons. But God, he repeats himself. There's a reason for that. And so this is an important passage, an important chapter of Psalms that we want to pay attention to in that.

And it begins out very familiar passage. the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. The words there is are in italics in your King James Bible, which means that they were added by the translators to help you to understand the verse, but they wanted it clear to you that these words are not in the original. And so, you could read the verse either way. You could read it with or without those words. So, you could read that the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. But it also read as the fool has said in his heart, no God. And we talked about last week, we talked about, first of all, somebody says there is no God.

Uh they're an atheist. And an atheist is someone that says there is no God. Atheist. And one of the things I always say to them is when somebody says they're an atheist, I look them in the eye and say, "No, you're not." Uh and they argue with me and say, "Yes, I am." And I say, "No, cuz you look too smart to be an atheist." Because an atheist says, "Absolutely, there is no God." And nobody can say that absolutely. And a smart person realizes that because what if God's where I haven't been? What if I just haven't met him yet? I haven't seen him yet. And so I can't definitively say there is no God.

Uh somebody who's an atheist doesn't want there to be a God is what it comes down to. And so we talked about that last week. And then there's an agnostic. And the agnostic is at least the smarter of the two because he says, "I don't know if there's a God. I don't believe there's a God. I don't think you could know there's a God." And uh so they're agnostic. And um most often they don't know there's a God because they haven't sought God. They haven't read the word of God. They haven't looked for God in creation. They haven't uh looked for him elsewhere. And uh so that's where the agnostic at least we can help maybe direct them to look for God.

And then we have the thirdly, we have the person that says know God. And that's where we're at. Page 12 of your notes, Roman number three, know God. That's the person that's a agnostic ant, I'm sorry, antagonist. Uh antagonist. And that is somebody that says no to God. And and and again, we can read these verses legitimately that way. The fool has said in his heart, "No, God." And it's not very smart to say no to God. Uh and and when you say no to God, what you're doing, the Bible tells, is you're calling God a liar. We saw that in 1 John chapter 5 and verse number 10 under under letter A. And and and that's not a good thing to do is call God a liar when we say no to what he says in his word.

And so what so often is we say no to knowledge leads leads to saying no to God. Look at Psalms 14:4. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? Who eat of my people as they eat bread and call not upon the Lord? And so a lot of times people that say no to God, they they don't have the knowledge. uh and and and and I have found in my counseling and my talking to people often people that they'll say no to God and then but they don't know what what God says and and you have to go what what does the Bible say? What does God say? And they don't know what God says. And and yet they're saying no to God.

And and sometimes they do know what God says and their attitudes don't bother me. The facts I've already made up my mind. And and so they're saying no to God. And and some people just don't want to know. Uh you know, I I they plug their ears. They don't want to hear it. I don't want to know the truth. Don't tell me the truth because I don't want to have to do it. And they don't want to know. Um and so that was number one there. We talked about that last week. So number two is where we stopped at. Some don't want to understand. Go to Psalms chapter 82 and look at verse number five. Psalms chapter 82 and verse number five.

It says they know not, neither will they understand. They walk on in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are out of course. It's not that they don't know, but they don't want to understand. I, you know, again, they don't bother me with the facts. I I don't want to understand this because I know what's going to happen. It's going to I'm going to have to do it, and I don't want to do it. And and so they don't want to know uh the information. And and this is why they don't go for counsel. They they don't want you to show them what the word of God says because they're not interested in that.

And then number three is some refuse to listen. Go over to Second Timothy 4 and:es 1-4. 2 Timothy 4 and:es 1-4. It says, "I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who should judge the quick and the dead is appear in his kingdom. Preach the word. Be instant in season, out of season. reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lust shall heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away from their ears from the truth, and shall be turned onto fables. And so, they just they they don't want to hear.

They don't want to listen. Look at Acts chap 22. Acts chap 22 and look at verses 21 and 22. Acts chap 22 and verse number 21 he said unto me depart for I will send thee far hence from the Gentiles and then verse 22 and they gave him audience onto this word and they lifted up their voices and said away with such a fellow from the earth for it's not fit that he should live they they listened to him up to a certain point but when they when he said what they didn't want to hear what they didn't agree with that's when they plugged their ears they started nah nah nah I don't want to hear it and they just closed to it.

Now, I I've never had anybody in church actually plug their ears, okay? I I've never had that happen. I I've never had anybody in church start, you know, n I don't want to hear you start that way. But you can see a lot of people that they've shut their ears. You can see a lot of people that they are not going to listen to what you have to say. And and it's kind of funny when I'm up here preaching, you're watching me. I'm watching you. And I I love watching people when I'm preaching. I I love the people that are there with me. You know, they're sitting forward a little bit. You can see they got eye focus on me.

You can see they're taking notes and they're nodding their head and and things like that. Now, some people are nodding their head like this. You know, that's not good. But they're nodding their head like, "I I agree with what you're saying." They're even saying an amen or or something along that line. And and those are great. And and I'll tell you, when you're doing that, you're you're you're like a magnet pulling the preaching out for me. It's so much easier to preach people like that. You you want to just give them more and and really be a blessing. And then there's other people that kind of sit there and like they're like a lump on the log, you know?

They just kind of sit there looking at you and it's it's like their eyes are open, but their brain's not in gear, you know? They're they're kind of sitting there not paying attention. Then there's others. You can see by their body language. They do not want to be here. They do not want to hear. Uh, I can think of one young lady, Faith. You know who she is. Uh, when she first came, not Faith, but her friend Abby, uh, when she first came, Faith, you were that way a little bit too, weren't you? And, uh, but anyway, Abby came in. She sat back over here in the very back row. She had a hoodie on. She had arms crossed.

She gave me the dirtiest look you could ever see. And, and when she did look at me, and she did not want to be here. I mean, she was just not want to be here at all. And you could tell she was just closed. She didn't want to hear a word that I had to say. Now Abby since then has gotten saved and loves being in church and loves the Lord and that's all changed. But you can see there's just some people they just don't want to and their attitude is I'm not even going to listen to what you have to say. And look at so we see that here and then uh letter C there lack of knowledge is a result of lack of fear of God in Psalms chapter 14 and verse number five.

There were they in great fear. For God is in this generation of the right righteous. And when you don't want to learn, it's because you have no fear of God. Because if you had a fear of God, you say, "I I want to know what God wants me to know because I don't want to go to hell. I don't want to make him mad. I I don't want to disappoint him." You know, the fear of the Lord is the beginning knowledge. The Bible teaches us. And And there's not a fear of God. Look at Proverbs chapter 1. And verse number seven, Proverbs chapter 1 and verse number seven, the fear of the Lord is the beginning knowledge, but fools despise wisdom instruction.

And when you're not fearful of God, and not just in the way that God is going to send a lightning bolt down, but you just don't want to disappoint him, you don't want to fail him, you realize that you need God. And when there's no fear of the Lord, that's when knowledge is not there as well. Look at Psalms chapter 36 and verse number one. Psalms chapter 36 and verse number one. Psalm 36:1. The Bible says, "The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart that there's no fear of God before his eyes." And and so the fear of the Lord is beginning of knowledge. And and and that's where we find it.

So there's a fear of God. So the antagonist says, "No, God. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to know it. I don't want to listen. I don't want any knowledge here." And then you have the one that says, "No, God." In Psalms chapter 14 verses 5-7, "There were they in great fear, for God is in the generation of the righteous. Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor because the Lord is in his is his his refuge. Oh that the salvation of Israel will come unto out of Zion when the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people. Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be go glad. That's the person that says you know I want to know God.

I want to know him. Uh look at Romans chapter 1 and verse number 19. Romans chapter 1 and verse number 19. Romans 1:19. because that which may be known of God is manifest in them for God has showed it unto them and and they want to know God. I I love people that just have this desire to really know God. And what a blessing that is to see it. You can see it in their body language. You can see it in their eyes. You can see it in in their response. You can see it that they're going home and Acts 17:11, they're they're they're more noble because they're open to the word of God to search the scriptures.

They're coming back and they're asking questions because why? They want to know God. And then look at um where am I at here? Lost my place. Galatians 4 8 and 9. Galatians chapter 4 and verses 8 and 9. Galatians 4:8 says, "How be it then, when you knew not God, you did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that you have known God, or rather have known of God. How turn you against the weak and beggarly elements, where unto you desire again to be in bondage. You know, you're saved. You know God, you know the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. And yet, as Christians, we don't seek God out.

We don't read our Bible. We don't come to church. We don't do all these things. And and and God says, "Listen, you need to know me." And God wants to know you. And he says, "I want you to know me." And we cannot know God unless he knows us. We cannot know God unless he knows us. Matthew chapter 7 verses 21- 23. This is the passage where you know they came to him and said, "Lord, have we not cast out devils in thy name?" Uh verse 21, "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter in the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven." Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied thy name?

In thy name have cast out devils. Thy name done many wonderful works. And then what I profess and I never knew you. Depart from me that work iniquity. So you cannot know God if he doesn't know you. And there's a lot of people say, "Well, I know God. I know who Jesus is." But they don't know God doesn't know them because they've never received Christ as their savior. Uh look at John chapter 10 and verse number 14. John chapter 10 and verse number 14. John 10:14. I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and I'm known of mine. So God has to know you so you can know him. Now we can trust in God because we know he will keep his commitment to us.

Go to 2 Timothy 1:12. 2 Timothy 1:12. For the which cause also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed. For I know whom I believed and persuaded is he able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. Because I know God and because I know that I am saved. I'm going to heaven. My sins are forgiven because I know I've committed my soul to him. That opens the door for me to know him in so many other ways. And so it's that it's that foundation of knowing for sure that you're saved and going to heaven. And then we know that he's coming again. Back in Psalms chapter 14 and verse number 7, it says, "Oh, that the salvation of Israel will come out of Zion when the Lord bringeth back the captive of his people.

Jacob shall rejoice and Israel will be glad." Now the psalm is referring here to when Israel is restored as a nation. But yet he's I think he's also referring to for us when we when he comes again in the second coming. Uh look at Matthew chap 24. Matthew chap 24 and uh verses 36-39. Matthew chap 24 beginning with verse number 36. But of that day and hour knoweth no man know not the angels of heaven but my father only. But as the days of Noah were so also the coming of the son of man shall be. For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving a marriage, until the day that Noah entered in the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away.

So shall also the coming of the son of man be. Now, we don't know when Jesus is coming again. Anybody tells you to do, run away from him. We don't know that. And uh many people say, well, how can you, you know, today what we see in the news, we we see going on in the world, he's got to be coming against him. and and that is true. But people have thought that during World War II because of what was going on with the Jews and the World War II, everybody thought the Yentis were there after then over and over again. Even when I was young and and uh and new in the ministry, I thought the Lord was going to come again before I ever got a pastor, before I got married.

We don't know when he's going to come again. But what we do know is he's coming again. And and that's the knowledge that helps us to continue on for him. We know he's coming again. So we know we should be believing in John chapter 14 and verses 1-6. John chapter 14 verses 1-6. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And whether I go, you know, and the way you know.

Thomas saith them, Lord, we know not whether thou goest. And how can we know the way? Jesus saith to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh on the father but by me. So we know we should be believe. We know that we're we have a home in heaven. We have a place prepared for us. We know all this. And that should change how we live in our lives. And we know we should be waiting. Look at Romans chapter 8 and verse number 23. Romans chapter 8 verse 23. And not only they but ourselves also which have the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption of our body.

You know, I'm looking forward to that day. Uh I'm 70 years old. I know that my life is, you know, only got so much longer to go. I'm really praying the rapture comes before I die. I'd rather go to heaven that way than the other way. I know I'm going to heaven either way, but I I'd prefer just, you know, I'm here and now I'm with the Lord. But the point is, we should be waiting for that and not waiting like we're sitting in a doctor's office waiting, but waiting actively waiting for the Lord, looking forward to that. Look at 1 Corinthians 1:7. 1 Corinthians 1:7. So then you come behind us in no gift waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He said listen you should be ready for that. And and that means not only should we be waiting in the sense we should be serving. We should be involved. He says you got the gifts of the spirit. You've got the gifts of God. Why aren't you using those? I I just don't understand Christians that are not involved in serving the Lord. You ought to be doing something. If you're not, you ought to be busy as you wait for the Lord. Look at 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 and verse number five. 2 Thessalonians 3 and verse 5. And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God into patient waiting for Christ. You know, even so come Lord Jesus.

We should be waiting for that day and knowing it's going to happen. And we know we should be ready. 1 John chapter 3 and verse number three. 1 John 3 and verse three. And every man that hath this hope in him purify himself even as he's pure. I know Jesus is coming again. So I should be ready for that coming. Revelation 22 and verse number 20. Revelation 22 and verse number 20. He which testifith these things say, "Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus." And so the psalmist is just saying in Psalm chapter 14, listen, the fool said there's no God. A atheist, agnostic, antagonist, instead of saying no to God.

We should say, God, I want to know you and I want to know you and your power in my life and I want to know these things as I prepare and wait for your coming. All right, so that's Psalms chapter 14. And so let's go to the next lesson here and we're going to skip over to Psalms chapter 19. Like I told you, I'm not going to go through every psalm, but I'm going to try to hit some highlights. Uh some of them very familiar. And this is one of the psalms that's probably more familiar. Um especially because of the first verses there and uh and and and so you may re know it more. In Psalms 19, let's look at verses 1-6.

It says, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day utter speech, and night unto night shall acknowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom cometh out of his chamber, and and rejoices as a strong man to run the race. He is going forth is from the his going forth from the end of the heaven, and a circuit under the ends of it, and there's nothing hid from him, from the heat thereof.

And and and you know when we say no God, we have to deny creation. To say there is no God, you have to deny creation. Uh anything created has to have a creator. And that's what the psalmist is talking about here in Psalms chapter 19. So the heavens declare the glory and the grace of God. We have the privilege of living here in Hawaii. Sunsets that are amazing. Sunrises that absolutely are are awesome. The rainbow in the sky. These things ought to just call out to us. There is a God in heaven that made all of this. And and so creation declares the glory and the grace of God. Now, where in the New Testament is this same principle taught?

Psalms chapter 19 is is taught in the New Testament. Now again, if you have a study Bible, you probably have uh some notes there, maybe cross references, um uh maybe uh some notes down at the bot bottom. I have a cross reference to verse number one to a New Testament passage. And so you may have that as well. Does anybody have a cross reference in the New Testament where this same thing is taught? Anybody try Romans chapter 1? Romans chapter 1 and verses 19- 20. turn over to there. Romans chapter 1 and verses 19- 20. Now, it's not directly quoting Psalms 19, but I I got to believe that when Paul wrote this, Psalm 19 was right there in his mind.

There are a lot of things that do come sound like they come from that passage directly. But verses 19 and 20 says, "Because that which may be known of God." Kind of goes back to Psalm chapter 14 is manifest in them. For God has showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even as eternal power and godhead. So they're without excuse. They can see God in creation. And and so he's very much taught there as well. Now notice, by the way, in verse 19, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them.

The first place we should know there's a God is right here. Don't even have to look at a creation. Right inside of us, there's a emptiness, a a a a hole there that only God can fill fill. And when somebody becomes agnostic and atheist and denies God and says there is no God, he has to deny that very knowledge of God within him. But then also has to deny creation and the amazing creation that God has put before his eyes. Now going back to Psalms chapter 19 and look at verse number one says the heavens declare the glory of God. So when you look at creation what you first thing you should see is very this very glory of God.

And and so what attributes of God can we see in creation? What are some attributes of God? Think about it. Again, we're online. It's a little hard to have our discussion time here, but I want you to think about it. What are some attributes of God? Some things that are true about God that we can look at. You can look at a sunrise. You can look at the ocean waves crashing on the on on the uh rocks. You can you can look at the mountains and you can see these very attributes of God. What are some of those things that we can see? What's that, Frank? Omnipotence. his omnipotence, his power, the the all powerful God that could actually create those things and uh and scoop out the oceans with his hands and and and the very power, omnipotence, omni power of God is one thing.

What's something else you can see there? Omnire. His omniresence. He's in He's in creation. You can see him everywhere no matter where you turn. What else can you see? What are some other attributes? What's that? his omniscience, his is all knowing. Okay? And I think another term you can put in there is his immutability in that he doesn't change. You know, creation you has been there for hundreds of years, thousands of years. God doesn't change and um his eternality, our eternal God and and his glory. I mean, you just see these things. You can see God in creation. And by the way, when's the last time you did that?

When's the last time you just stopped and look at that sunrise or sunset? When's the last time you looked at that rainbow in the sky? When's the last time you were driving down the the the ocean road there and watched those waves crashing on those rocks and thought, "God, that's what should come to our mind, especially as Christians. You should see the glory of God in creation." Now, what are God's handiworks? The heavens declared the glory of God and the firmness showeth his handiwork. So what does it mean by his handiworks? Go to Psalms chapter 8. Psalms chapter 8 and look at verses 3 and four.

When I consider the he thy heavens and the works of thy fingers, thy handiwork, the moon and the stars which thou has ordained, what is man that thou are mindful of the son of man that thou desireest him? So God's handiwork is the heavens, the moon, the stars, men. Recently, we just sent a spaceship up to the moon, you know, travel around the moon. And and I Were any of you alive when they first landed on the moon? I was. Frank was. A few of us were. I I remember watching that. I remember that. It was just amazing for, you know, for for us at the time. You got to understand how how absolutely amazing this was to see the the rocket ship take off to see the the the pictures coming back from

the moon and one step one small step for mankind one giant leap for one small step for man one giant leaf for mankind just the amazing of it but even today I mean just watch that was it's just amazing to think that we're sending men to the moon but you know the moon is just our next door neighbor God created the heavens He created the the sky above us. He created the space above that. He created the the very heavens above that. And we see the very handywork of God in creation. And then um number three, what is a firminant? Uh going back again to Psalms chapter 19, he talks about the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmness show this handiwork.

Um how many of you know what a a firm is? Anybody here know what that is? I'm not going to ask you to answer the question, but do you know what it is? Uh, again, when you go in your Bible and you read words that you don't aren't familiar with, there's some words that you have, they're just words that we never even use before. You know, words that are just uh concupisites is one of the words in the Bible. That's not a word that I use in my everyday vocabulary. And so, that's a word I always have to you have to go look up because you don't know what the word means. But there are other words that are what I might call familiar friends.

They're words that we've heard before, but we really don't know what they mean, especially in a biblical context. And so, if you don't know what a word means in your Bible, take a black marker and blot it out because all it is is ink on a page. It's no more use to you than a black splotch on your Bible if you don't know what the word means. So, it's always good to look up the words. And so, the idea of the word firminant, it means to spread out. To spread out is what the word means in the Hebrew language. Look at Genesis 1. Genesis 1 and:es 6-9. Genesis 1 6-9. And God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."

And God made the firmament, divided the waters which are under the firmament from the waters which are above the firmament was so. And God called the firmament heaven and the evening and the morning were the second day. And God said that the waters under the heaven be gathered together in one place. Let the dry land appear. And it was so. Now again, this is where a study Bible comes in handy. I've got a study Bible. It's got some notes down here. And for verse number six, it says, "A firminant is an expanse between the waters suspended by God and vapor formed above over the earth. Most likely approximately half the waters upon the earth were super supernaturally elevated above the atmosphere perhaps in the form of invisible vapor canopy.

This would have trapped the earth's uh heat with a greenhouse effect and would have provided a uniformly tropical environment everywhere until it collapsed upon the earth during the universal rainfall at the time of the great flood. So a lot of Bible scholars believe before the flood that you had this this vapor barrier all around the earth. You know, nowadays they talk about the green, you know, about the the greenhouse effect and how that we're destroying that vapor and that's why we're getting a lot of the uh problems with our environment, everything. And uh that may be true, but before the flood, there was these this thicker vapor and it was water, a water vapor all around the earth.

And that made for a much more lush earth. That's why men lived so long back then. uh and and when the flood came that vapor collapsed and and that's the idea of this firminant is what he's talking about. Uh look at verses 14-1 17. And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night. Let there them be for signs and for seasons, for days and years, and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth." And it was so. And God made two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.

And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth. So firmness not only is water vapor but it's referring to the sky above us referring to the space above that. Uh these are the firminants and um we have you know and sometimes we'll refer to as the heavens. Remember Paul talked about how he went up to the third heaven. Uh and and the first heaven is the sky above us. The second heaven is space above that. And the third heaven is of course what we normally call heaven and where God dwells. And and so we have the firmament is is kind of referring to all this idea. So it does refer to these water this water to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the sky.

So probably that vapor, but it also refers to where we see the sky and the sun and the moon, the stars, all that's involved with the firminant. Okay. Now, um let her be there. Can anyone say they have not heard God speak to them? Go to go to Romans chapter 10. Romans chapter 10 and verses 17-18. So then faith come by hearing and hearing by the word of God. But I say, have they not heard? Yes, verily their sound went out to all the earth, their words unto the end of your world. But I say, did not Israel know? Verse Moses say, "Thou provoke jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger."

Nobody could say they have. You know, sometimes people say, "Well, what about the person in in Africa's never heard the gospel?" What about the person, you know, and and yes, one of our challenges is getting the gospel to all the world. Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel." That's why we're here. There's no other reason God left you on earth except to preach the gospel. Everything else that God wants us to do as Christians could be done in heaven. Everything else. The only reason God did not take us to heaven when we got saved is because he left us here to preach the gospel.

And we should be doing that and we're not and we're utterly failing. But is that an excuse? No. Because they knew God first of all by that God consciousness within them through the there's a a they have a knowledge of God that they were born with. Secondly, through creation. The heaven is declare the glory of God. And and thirdly, through Christ, the word of God, the living word and the written word as they can know. And I believe when somebody responds to to God in those first forms, God will send him for their witness. We see an example of that of Cornelius in the Bible. Cornelius realized there was a true God.

he began to worship that God and God sent Peter to him to give him the gospel. I've heard stories from missionaries and I remember one story in particular that that I read about a missionary who went into his um village in Africa that no white men had ever been to before and the gospel never been there. He got there and he met a man and he said, "I'm here to tell you about God, about Jesus." And he says, "Well, about time you showed up." And he said, "Well, what do you mean?" And he says, "Well, I used to worship this tree out here, but one day I looked at that tree and I realized that that tree is not God.

That tree was created by God. And I began to pray to the creator of that tree. And that's why he sent you here. It's about time you got here." And and I believe that when you respond to the knowledge of God that he's given you, God will send you further revelation of himself. But it's still our responsibility to go and tell them that gospel. All right. Then letter C there. Why does he use the sun as an illustration? Back in Psalms chapter 19 and beginning with verse number four. Their lying is gone out through all the earth and their words of the to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the son, which is as the bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices as strong men to run a race.

Uh, I believe he uses the sun number one there because it's a picture of Christ. It's a picture of Christ. Go to Malachi 4. Malachi 4 and verse number two. Malachi chapter 4 and verse number two. But unto you that fear my name shall the son of righteousness arise with healing his wings, and you shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall. And the spelling of the word here is su n. It's capitalized because we know it's referring to Jesus as the son su n of righteousness. The son of God is the son of righteousness. And then um Revelation chapter 21. Revelation chapter 21 and verse number 23.

Revelation 21:23. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God did light in it, and the lamb is the light thereof. He will be the sun. Now, I don't know what happens to the sun. I've kind of wondered that. I I think the sun is kind of cool. Uh well, hot, but uh I think it's kind of, you know, neat to look up in the sky and see the sun. I'd love when uh when I have my new body to be able to go, we can't get close to the sun. And when I have the new body, maybe I can go over and see a little closer. And it'll be there during the millennial period, but after that, when God creates the new heaven and earth, the sun's no longer necessary.

Does he keep it? Does he get rid of it? I I don't know. But you know what? We don't need it because he is the light. He is going to be the literal light of the world. And uh he's the sun. Uh the sun is a picture number two of power. Going back to Psalms chapter 19 verse number five which is the as as a bridegroom come out of his chamber and rejoices a strong man to run a race. It's a picture of power and faithfulness. Verse six, his going forth is from the end of the heaven. is circuit on the ends of it and there's nothing hid from the heat thereof. You know, one thing we depend on, sun's going to rise tomorrow.

Sun's going to set. We It's always going to be there. And that's Jesus Christ. We can depend on him. Look at Psalms 113. Notice, by the way, comparing scripture with scripture. When you're reading your Bible, it's always good to look up other scriptures. It's why cross references are great. What other Bible verses help me understand what's being said here? Psalms 113 verse number three. From the rising of the sun onto the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised. You know, when you wake up in the morning, you see that sunrise, you ought to praise God. When you're night and you're standing on your deck looking out at the sun setting, looking at those beautiful clouds and the the amazing colors up in the sky.

And what I really love is when you see those streaks coming down like spotlights. Boy, I love that. And it ought to be just God who says, "Praise God because his son is the light of the world." And it ought to cause us to praise the Lord. And and the other thing about the sun is you can't hide from it. And and again, Psalms chapter 19 and verse number six, his going forth from the end of heaven, a circuit on the ends of it, and there's nothing hid from the heat thereof. You cannot hide from the sun. You cannot hide from the light of it. Go to John chapter 3. John chapter 3 verses 19- 21. And this is a combination that light has come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh light, lest his deed should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. You know, I've talked about this before. You you can't turn on the darkness. You can only turn off the lights. And when the light is there, you can't hide from it. And and that's what we need. That's why he uses illustration of the sun as the light. Now, what can creation then tell us about God? You look at creation, you can see the attributes of God. He's omnipotent. He's immutable.

He's eternal. But what else does it tell about God? I think it talks about I think when we look at creation we see the love of God. God loved me so much. He gave me the beauty around me. That ought to tell us about the love of God. It ought to tell us about the mercy of God. Wake up tomorrow and take a deep breath of air. That's only by God's mercy. It ought to tell us about the judgment of God, the mortality uh of man, about salvation. All these things are seen in creation and this is what we ought to see and that's what Psalms 19 starts out telling us. But you know it doesn't stop there. So you know most people when they think of Psalms 19 they think of verses 1-4 primarily maybe into verse number six.

But then he goes into the scriptures. He says, "Listen, you look at the the sun and the creation and all that's around us, that ought to turn you to want to open your Bible. It ought to turn you to the scriptures." And he goes in and talks about the scriptures here. And I love the rest of Psalms 19. There's so many great verses in here. And we'll look at that next week. We're going to stop now, but we'll look at that next week and continue on and studying