200. This Is A WAW Episode - How Creation Backs Up Scripture

[00:00:00] Hi friends, welcome to Making Disciples. My name is Chris and I am your host. I hope that you

[00:00:15] have had a good week. I'm praying that you are going to have an amazing week ahead of you.

[00:00:19] In today's episode we are just going to look at two pieces of the created order, the world

[00:00:26] that we live in and just see how they apply to two bits of scripture. This in some ways is a short

[00:00:33] thought, a short thought that I hope makes you go wow, I wonder whether there are other examples

[00:00:39] of this in the world. And so I'm going to just share two stories with you, two things with you

[00:00:43] and link them with two pieces of scripture and I'm really hoping it makes you go wow, isn't

[00:00:48] God incredible. Before we get there, a couple of things, you know, I'm putting this episode out. I

[00:00:56] think it will be something like the 25th of February 2024 with fast approaching Easter and Spring

[00:01:03] Harvest is on the horizon, the conference that I lead now for some of our international listeners. Yeah,

[00:01:10] it's hard for this to apply for you but Spring Harvest is fast approaching. This incredible Bible week,

[00:01:16] Holy Spirit week where we connect with Christians from all denominations in the UK and in Europe. We gather,

[00:01:23] minehead and Skegness and we spend some time in worship, we read scripts together, there's Bible teaching,

[00:01:29] amazing youth work, the conference is fast approaching. I think Skegness is pretty much booked,

[00:01:35] booked, booked out. I think there's only a few spots left there. Minehead has some places left,

[00:01:43] not many. So if you would like to join us this Easter, then do get booked in quick. That will be so much fun.

[00:01:51] I'm going to be Bible teaching in Skegness hanging out in minehead. So if you're a podcast listener and you

[00:01:56] can bring Arvist, then do come over and say, hey, I listen to the podcast and we might even have coffee together.

[00:02:03] Can you imagine that? So Spring Harvest is fast approaching so do get into your diary.

[00:02:09] The Bible book by book has now been out for a couple of years and just had some really good reports

[00:02:17] from podcast listeners who've bought copies and just find it really helpful for personal

[00:02:22] bible study. For your own sermon prep, youth work prep, that kind of stuff, small group prep.

[00:02:28] So just to encourage you, if you've not got a copy of the Bible book by book, I know I wrote it but

[00:02:33] I can't more highly recommend it. I think it's probably the defining book of my kind of writing career.

[00:02:40] So just kind of to mention that. Let's jump in. We're going to look at two different stories or

[00:02:47] two different analogies and connections to the Bible. And what I want to do here is show you how the

[00:02:52] universe is hardwired to agree with scripture. The universe is hardwired to agree with scripture.

[00:03:03] So we're not going to be talking about creation and creationism because I would argue that science

[00:03:10] actually helps us to agree with scripture. We're not going to look at that one but we're going to

[00:03:15] look at a couple of other examples. Now as I look at these, if you go, I'm curious, I think there's

[00:03:19] another one. You miss this one. This is really good and I'll be here. I'd love to hear your

[00:03:22] examples of this because I think I'd love to create a list of these kind of things where we see

[00:03:28] creation backing up the gospel of backing up scripture. So if you know an example,

[00:03:34] send me a direct message through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. I would love to hear your

[00:03:40] examples. So don't go, oh, this was nice and move on. Give me your examples. I'd love to hear.

[00:03:45] So let's jump in as we look at how the created order, the created world backs up scripture.

[00:04:01] So let's jump in then as we look at how creation

[00:04:06] the created order backs up scripture and the first one I want to look at is this.

[00:04:12] Let me tell you a story first. So a number of years ago, a member of our congregation worked

[00:04:18] at the London Zoo, quite a bit of a zoo in London and they said hey, do you want to come with

[00:04:25] the kids and you and Becky would get like a back tour through the back side of the zoo. I'll take

[00:04:35] you into the compounds where the animals are and will show you how the animals live outside

[00:04:44] of what's on show. Oh, how amazing. I was super excited because we were going to get to see some

[00:04:50] armadillos and at the armadillo is my spirit animal. I just absolutely love the armadillo.

[00:04:56] Hard shell in the back, soft on the front. God spoke to me a year ago about how that was how I

[00:05:01] meant to be in ministry. I have a hard shell for the threatening flaming arrows of the evil one

[00:05:07] but soft on the front as you minister and you pass to people. So I was super excited to go to

[00:05:13] the London Zoo and she was taking us around. We got to see really all the enclosures and the

[00:05:19] other side of the enclosures which the kids absolutely loved and as we're going around, there was

[00:05:27] a couple of the enclosures where I noticed that the animals were not on show and they were essentially

[00:05:37] outback away from the eyes of the public. So I just was saying, why is it that the mire cats

[00:05:45] are not on show today? Why is that? Why is it that the elephants today aren't on show but they're

[00:05:52] obviously here and they're not sleeping. They were kind of pottering around out back. So why is that?

[00:05:59] And she was able to say to us, well pre-sunday opening when everywhere had to shut in the UK on a

[00:06:06] Sunday animals were out Monday through Saturday but on a Sunday the animals would have a day off

[00:06:13] from the public eye and it wasn't that the animals were on their own zookeepers were there

[00:06:18] but the animals were able to be themselves. They were allowed to go wherever they wanted in the

[00:06:22] front of the back compound. They could just do whatever they want. On a day when the zoo's open

[00:06:27] they were trying to get the animals out in view of the public. There's nothing worse than walking

[00:06:32] under the zoo where you see nothing because the animals are hiding so you would want the animals

[00:06:36] to be out front Monday through Saturday but then on a Sunday the animals would be away from the

[00:06:43] eyes of the public and when Sunday trading happened and the zoo's start to open on us on a Sunday

[00:06:49] what they noticed was that the animals were getting somewhat depressed. So if that's quite the

[00:06:55] right word, you know there might be a better word in zoology but what they noticed was the animals

[00:07:01] would be getting depressed. The animals were just becoming very lethargic being on view every single

[00:07:10] day of the week and what they realized was animals needed a day off. Like we need a day off,

[00:07:16] animals need a day off. So what they decided was that they would have a rotation where different

[00:07:23] animals would have a day off on different days so although the zoo was open every day of the week

[00:07:29] but the zoo would not have animals on show every day of the week and that the animals would take

[00:07:36] it in turns for their day off. So the zebra you know could say would have the choose day off

[00:07:42] the meerkat would have Wednesday the tortoises of Thursday, you know that kind of idea that lions

[00:07:46] Friday and it would rotate in that way and by doing that what they noticed was the animals weren't

[00:07:53] depressed that they by having time away from the eyes of the public it actually changed their mood

[00:08:00] and it changed the way that they engaged with the public so they realized that hardwired

[00:08:05] into the creation of the animals, the order of the animals, the animals needed Sabbath. The animals

[00:08:14] needed a day off and that hardwired into the cosmos is this rhythm of needing a seventh day off

[00:08:25] Sabbath. Genesis 2 23 on the seventh day God completed his work that he had done and he rested

[00:08:34] on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. God blessed the seventh day and declared it

[00:08:40] holy for on it he rested from all his work of creating so God rests, just got rest because he's

[00:08:50] tired, God didn't get tired, God rest because he's hardwired that actually making creating and

[00:08:58] resting is a rhythm. Within Judaism there were rules around Sabbath and these rules were not just for

[00:09:10] people they were also for animals, animals also Sabbath and the animals were not to be made to work

[00:09:18] on the Sabbath day, the animals would rest like humans. I'm just going to read some text out

[00:09:26] here from a Jewish text so let me just read this to you in both cases it is forbidden to sell

[00:09:33] something to a non-Jew. This is right about the Jewish life rather Jews are prohibited from putting

[00:09:40] Sabbath, observant animals into a position where they will have to break the Sabbath. In other words

[00:09:49] this is not me otherwise it's text in other words this prohibition concerns the animal and not

[00:09:56] just the Jew. Not all animals are used for work small animals such as sheep and goats are not used

[00:10:03] for work therefore in a place where it is customary to sell them to non-Jews as permitted and kind of

[00:10:08] goes on but this idea that working animals were to be given the Sabbath rest just like the humans

[00:10:18] that's hardwired into Judaism. I just find that really interesting that the Jews had this practice

[00:10:26] of Sabbath and the animals were also to Sabbath and now we have a situation where

[00:10:35] Jews are realising actually for the well-being of animals, animals too need to Sabbath. So there's

[00:10:43] something here about the created order that backs up Scripture and I find that really in

[00:10:50] thralling when you see hardwired into the Creator of the Order and therefore the God thing the

[00:10:57] spiritual thing is seen in the Creator of the Order. I want to give you another example

[00:11:01] and then I'll give us something to just kind of go away and think about. So what I want to talk

[00:11:06] about is John 129 this is amazing little bit where John the prophet says this the next day John saw

[00:11:15] Jesus coming towards him this is at Jesus's baptism and John says here is the Lamb of God you take

[00:11:23] away the sin of the world. You know within the biblical world Jesus is the Lamb of God and the blood

[00:11:30] the blood of the spotless Lamb becomes the thing that takes sin away from the world. So it's through

[00:11:36] Jesus's death and resurrection, it's through Jesus's blood that we are cleansed and freed.

[00:11:42] I want to tell you a story I came across recently and I hope you find this as interesting as I did

[00:11:47] because you might come up with a quiz everybody knows this like what you so surprised about

[00:11:53] you may know this I didn't and this is what I found so enthralling. So there was a farmer

[00:12:01] and he tells a story real farming, it tells a story about being a sheep farmer

[00:12:09] and his one of these sheep gets bitten by a rattlesnake

[00:12:14] and he wrote about his experience of what happened with the rattlesnake biting the sheep.

[00:12:23] Let me just read this to you you wrote a rattlesnake bit one of my sheep in the face about a week ago

[00:12:33] kind of small print the rattlesnake is one of the most deadliest of snakes okay so the deadliest snake

[00:12:42] that lives around it says the sheep's face swelled up on her really badly but the old rattlesnake

[00:12:50] didn't know the kind of blood that flows through a sheep anti venom is most often made from

[00:12:57] sheep's blood the sheep's face swelled up for about two days but the blood of the Lamb destroyed

[00:13:04] the venom in the serpent I was worried but the sheep didn't care she kept eating kept

[00:13:13] him drinking and kept him climbing because she knew she was alright often the serpent of this life

[00:13:21] will reach out and bite us they inject their poison into us but they kind of overcome the blood

[00:13:29] of the Lamb of God I'm going to read the next bit in a second but get this so I didn't know this

[00:13:34] that chemically sheep's blood is used to make anti venom and that when a sheep's blood is mixed

[00:13:45] with the venom of a poisonous snake it it creates this anti venom because it's antibodies

[00:13:53] in the blood the Lamb's blood that then is used to create the anti venom that is using human

[00:13:59] being so when a human being gets bit you give them anti venom the anti venom is made from the

[00:14:04] blood of the of a lamb which I just find outstandingly spectacular so it's carried on often

[00:14:12] the serpent of this life will reach out on bite us this is the pharma still they inject their poison

[00:14:17] into us but they cannot overcome the blood of the Lamb of God that washes away the sin of the world

[00:14:23] and the sting of death don't worry about the serpent or his bite just make sure that the blood

[00:14:29] of the Lamb is flowing through your veins actually that was a really interesting kind of observation

[00:14:34] for this pharma so I did some more googling was that really interesting by this and I ended up

[00:14:39] in a medical journal it says this lambs have robust immune systems and produce powerful antibodies

[00:14:45] that combine to snake's venom enabling our own immune systems to be defended from these toxins

[00:14:54] anti venom are obtained by harvesting and then purifying the antibodies from the plasma produced

[00:15:01] by the donor animal snake antivenom is a medication made up of antibodies from lambs the lard so get

[00:15:13] this the blood of the lamb is a antidote to the to the death bite of the snake insane so when we say

[00:15:26] things like here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world literally the blood of

[00:15:31] Jesus the Lamb is the anti venom for sin itself you know where does sin come from it came from the

[00:15:40] lies of the snake the the the bite of Satan the snake intoxicates us with a toxin that will

[00:15:50] bring about death sin leads to death but the blood of the lamb creates a antibody that saves us from

[00:16:00] the bite of Satan himself drop drop the mic moment for me I'm like what so not only do we as

[00:16:09] Christians say the blood of the lamb the blood of the lamb takes away the sin of the world but hard

[00:16:16] wired into the world is that very thing that the blood of a lamb creates antibodies when bitten by

[00:16:25] the snake creates antibodies that then saves the lamb and then can end up saving us when Jesus was

[00:16:35] bitten by death on the cross his blood became the anti venom for death itself which he shares with

[00:16:44] us and now we are saved from death itself because of his blood to hard wired into snakes and lambs

[00:16:56] the behavior of the blood and the venom and the anti venom is what we live out in scripture

[00:17:03] and live out in salvation I love this so you think Satan's bitten your life in your cursed

[00:17:11] you think Satan has bitten your life nothing good could come of it you think Satan's bitten

[00:17:17] your life and sin's gonna win the tomorrow is gonna be the same as yesterday you think Satan

[00:17:24] has bitten your family and it's falling apart your cursed you're in debt there's nothing good

[00:17:30] could come of your life that is it you are done and death is only around the corner but the blood

[00:17:37] of the spotless lamb says there's antibodies here in the blood of the lamb that kills death itself

[00:17:47] you might think that Satan has bitten you and that death is coming but the blood of the spotless lamb

[00:17:54] is an anti venom to death itself dude I am I can't wait to preach this I feel like there'll be a time

[00:18:04] when this is my right hook in a sermon and you're hearing me just for the first time kind of brewing

[00:18:10] this amazing reality that what we see in scripture is seen in the world but it's not just an idea

[00:18:17] it's something that's true it's just true about the world it's true about how God behaves towards us

[00:18:22] it's true about Jesus's death on the cross and if you need to see how the blood of the lamb

[00:18:28] saves us from the snake then just look to what is hard wired in the blood of a lamb that's in a field

[00:18:37] in the Middle East right now friends my question for you is where do you need God's anti venom

[00:18:46] where do you need God's anti venom where do you need the blood of the spotless lamb to speak a new truth over your life

[00:18:56] where are you looking to God right now to be the anti venom for Satan that's got his claws and his tongue into you

[00:19:05] for many of us we feel like we're not good enough we feel like we're falling short we feel like our life is a mess

[00:19:14] I'm going to pray for us in a second I'm going to pray that you may experience the anti venom of Jesus

[00:19:21] flowing through your veins I loved what that farmer written let me read it again often the

[00:19:27] serpent of this life will reach out on biteers they inject their poison to us but they come out

[00:19:33] overcome the blood of the Lamb of God that washes away the sin of the world and the sting of death

[00:19:38] don't worry about the serpent or his bite just make sure that the lamb's blood is flowing through

[00:19:44] your veins make sure friends that blood of the Lamb is flowing through your veins let me pray for

[00:19:51] that to be over you today heavily father I thank you that hard wired into the creator of order

[00:19:58] is biblical truths the reality of what you tell us is true in terms of the gospel scripture is

[00:20:05] found in the world and Lord we thank you that the blood of the Lamb creates an anti venom to death

[00:20:14] we thank you that Jesus has blood creates an anti venom to death

[00:20:19] Lord where we are experiencing the work of Satan and death in our lives

[00:20:25] we speak over in the name of Jesus and we say be gone you have no right in my life because

[00:20:30] my veins are flowing with the blood of Jesus and therefore the anti venom to death is in my veins

[00:20:40] so you are not welcome you're not welcome over sickness where Satan is making you anxious

[00:20:47] where Satan is whispering lies over you where Satan is is got his tongue into your family into

[00:20:54] marriage into your workplace we say no because the blood of Jesus the anti venom of Jesus is

[00:21:03] flowing through my veins you are not welcome here God would that be true for us this week with whatever

[00:21:10] we have got going on may that just be true we pray that a powerful name of Jesus

[00:21:17] oh man friends until next time grace and peace have a wonderful week and give me your examples

[00:21:22] of where you see the truth of scripture lived out in the world until next time grace and peace