Welcome to Ontario Community Church,
where we're dedicated to encouraging,
equipping, and engaging lives for Christ.
Located in Ontario, Oregon,
Pastor Patrick Daley preaches
insightful sermons from the Word of God,
offering practical applications for modern living.
We're delighted to share this sermon with you.
Our God is a great God, isn't he?
He is the God of miracles.
He is the God of light, life, and truth.
When we hear about miracles that are happening,
where people are being healed and restored,
it's a testament.
It's a testimony to show the power of our God.
God can heal and will heal people.
So I want us to take a moment,
as we're beginning our time of here.
I have this picture of,
it's kind of a really graphic.
I didn't draw this, mind you.
This picture of Jesus here.
And we're going over week two of our sermon series
of Christ as the Creator,
the Redeemer, and the Sustainer.
So we are in week two,
where we are going over Christ as Creator.
Before we do any of that,
I want to remind all of us
that the same God that created the heavens and the earth
loves each and every one of us.
He loves us and cares for us,
and calls each and every one of us
to have a relationship with him,
to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord,
and to be on this path of holiness,
to come to the Lord and grow in the Lord.
I want us to keep in mind of the Holy Trinity.
When we're going into this sermon,
I want us to know the understanding
that we have God the Father,
we have Christ the Son,
or God the Son and God the Spirit,
the three who are in one.
As a kid, I always remember watching
the short little Bible cartoon stories
where a good representation,
a visual representation is the three leaf clover,
where you're seeing the three parts and they're all one.
I know it's a childish representation,
but it is a representation nonetheless.
Just one example of the Holy Trinity.
I'm reminded that thinking of something so simple,
but yet so complex,
three in one,
the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
When we read these passages,
there's going to be passages
that make mention of Christ being the Creator,
being at the foundation of the universe.
What does that mean?
That's something that is maybe difficult for some of us.
And then the fact that Christ took part in the creation.
We must consider the presence of the triune God,
the Holy Trinity.
So building on our understanding of the Trinity,
it is important for us to focus on Christ's role
as the Creator in the creation.
In your notes, you're going to see a lot of reference notes,
reference verses.
We don't have time to go through all of them.
So there are reference verses
that I will be mentioning in this sermon,
and then of course, we are going to open the Word of God.
Genesis 1.26, we think about that,
let us make man in our image after our likeness.
This is but a reference of the Trinity.
And to imagine that they were there,
let us make man in our image.
And I want you to think of that question.
What does that mean when you hear that?
Let us make man in our image.
What does that reveal about the Holy Trinity?
It should help us with our understanding
that they work together as different parts.
Much like how we are the body of Christ,
we play different parts in the church.
We have different talents and abilities,
just like how we see in the Trinity.
Before we go any further, I want us to take time
to come to the Lord.
Let's pray, and then we'll go further.
Father God, we come before you today as the body of Christ,
as the community of people who come before you.
No matter where we are at in life,
we wish to come to you in our current state as we are,
and we ask for transformation in our lives,
to know more about you,
and to know more about what you have done for us.
I pray that for those who do not know you,
that they have that saving knowledge of who you are,
and believe in you,
and receive in the gift of salvation
through faith in Jesus Christ,
for faith comes from hearing the word.
And for those of us who do know you,
I pray that we grow in our faith
and our understanding of your word.
May your word work in and through us.
May we be motivated, encouraged,
and moved to become more Christ-like,
and to go out into the world and do good in your name.
We ask that you are with us,
and help us to have our minds and our hearts open
to listen to you, to believe in you,
and to live and love like you.
It is in Jesus' name that we pray together, amen?
So I wanna put a question on the screen here.
When was the last time that you were in awe
and in wonder of God?
This morning, amen.
Every morning, right?
We should be in awe and in wonder of who God is.
You know, this weekend, my family and I,
we went up to McCall in Idaho,
and we love going to Cascade or Donnelly and McCall,
and just really enjoying the nature,
looking at the mountains,
experiencing the just taking it all in,
and being in the present moment.
There's something beautiful about God's creation.
Seeing the sunrise or seeing the sunset,
it's taking that intentionality, it's having that effort.
Sometimes it's okay to detox from technology.
It's okay to take time and say, you know what?
It's all right if I'm in an area
where there's no cell phone service.
That's perfectly okay.
And don't even get me started
about the internet speeds, right?
I don't always, it maybe,
maybe it's good that we don't always know
what's happening on Facebook.
Maybe it's good that we don't always know,
we don't seamlessly scroll through TikTok or Instagram
or we go through all the tweets on Twitter.
If you're still on Twitter, I am questioning that.
You know?
I mean, I guess if you are, that's your choice,
but sometimes it's good to detox from technology.
And certainly good to take it all in,
and to consider the present moment,
and to be with the Lord.
Maybe that's a time for you to pray to God.
Maybe it's a time for you to open the word
and just allow for the word of God
to work in and through you.
You know, when I'm mentioning that my wife and I
and our kids, the five kids,
when we all went to McCall,
we took moments where they were just playing out of park.
We took moments where we hiked together.
Now not all of them can hike very well.
And a lot of them want frequent breaks
and they may even seem boring at times, right?
And I know when they get older,
they'll probably be like, dad, this is boring.
But it's showing them, it's being intentional with them,
spending that quality time with family
and having them experience the beauty of God's nature.
That that is something that us as families, us as Christians,
we can see the glory of God through nature.
We can see God's work.
I always think of God as the master craftsman, right?
Think of the intricacy.
Have you ever looked at a plant or an animal
in a microscope?
Any of us ever done that before?
And see all the intricate design in that?
It's truly remarkable.
Or if you look at a telescope sometime
and you look at Saturn with its rings,
or you look at Jupiter, it's really amazing.
And you're thinking for a moment, God did all that.
I'm convinced.
I can't get myself to believe
that all of this was made by chance, my friends, I just can't.
Because the more you look at the beauty,
the splendor of the heavens,
and even the beauty that is in all of us,
see finding God in nature, in the present moment,
it's remarkable.
Taking time and reading our Bible,
seeing that sunrise or the sunset, the stars in the sky.
I'm reminded of, it's in your notes,
Psalm chapter 19, verse one, right?
The heavens declare the glory of God
and the sky above proclaims his handy work.
To be in awe and in wonder of the Lord,
that is the fear of the Lord.
As a child, I was always, what do you mean?
I need to be afraid of God?
Well, certainly afraid of God if you don't know him.
But when we're thinking of the fear of the Lord,
it's having the sense of awe and wonder of who God is.
How in the world did you make that flower?
Right?
How in the world do you make the crops grow?
When we think about this community,
we think about farming for a moment.
We water the plants, we make sure the soil is good, right?
Make sure there's adequate sunshine,
but at the end of the day, who controls the crops?
Really think about that.
Who really allows for the crops to grow?
We can give it all the sunlight and water that we want
and the finest soil and still have a bad crop.
It is God that allows for,
that is working in the crops that we grow.
It's very amazing to think about that.
So to have the fear of the Lord, the reverence of God,
it's that sense in the awe and wonder of who God is.
For the God that we worship is holy.
The God that we worship is sovereign
and he is the maker of all things.
To think of the creation of the universe
and even who you are, that God made you.
We are all made in the image of God.
Genesis chapter one verse 26 through 27
makes mention of how we are in the image of God.
Now this idea that Christ was there,
the creation of the universe is,
can be a little difficult,
but it's remarkable and it's biblical truth.
We will learn today about how Christ took part in creation.
I wanna put the title slide up as a second.
Christ as Creator.
That statement is something of,
should be something of great comfort,
a beautiful statement that reveals to us
the truth of God's word.
To think of the idea of Christ being creator is,
it's challenging, isn't it?
But that's okay.
Sometimes we read the word of God
and we're challenged by it, aren't we?
Sometimes we read something like,
what in the world are you saying God?
Allow for God to speak to you.
And in 1 Corinthians, we're gonna turn our Bibles here.
Let's turn to 1 Corinthians chapter one verse 24.
It's gonna be on page 1131.
Okay.
Find it very interesting how we find in scripture,
how it talks about Christ being the word, right?
In the beginning was the word
and the word was with God, right?
We know those verses.
But what's interesting here,
we'll find in these 1 Corinthians passages,
the personification of wisdom being Christ.
Now that's an interesting one.
It's a little bit difficult, but that's okay.
All right, so it's 1 Corinthians chapter one verse 24.
And then we're also gonna look at 1 Corinthians chapter one
verse 30, you should find that in your notes. Let's see here.
All right, so verse 24.
But to those who are called, both Jews and Greek,
Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.
So that's your first part.
You find reference of Christ being wisdom.
And then in verse 30, if we go further,
and because of him, you are in Christ Jesus,
who became to us wisdom from God,
righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
So that as it is written,
let the one who boasts boasts in the Lord.
So contextually, we're seeing in 1 Corinthians here,
the apostle Paul is addressing the divisions in the church.
It's the question of who do I follow, right?
That's a question that was asked back then,
and we certainly can ask now, do you follow Jesus Christ?
Or do you follow some teacher or some theologian?
Or I know that gets really hard
because we follow the word of God.
We follow Christ first and foremost.
When we think of celebrities,
or we think of very famous pastors,
sometimes people are going for the pastor
and not for the word.
And we as Christians have to be very careful about that.
It's keeping that, it's kind of honing it in.
What is your intention for coming to church?
Is it to learn about God?
Or is it the glory of God?
Or is it the glory of man?
If it's the glory of man, you need to check yourself,
check your heart and know that we come to hear
from the word of God.
It's about Jesus Christ.
It's not about me.
It's not about some celebrity.
It's about Jesus and it's about his word.
It can be noted then and even now that, look,
there is no name that is higher than the name of Jesus.
And as Christians, we are followers of Christ.
We should be disciples of Christ or students of Christ.
For we are saved by belief in Jesus who is the Messiah.
Not any other name.
For there is no other way that leads to salvation
except through Christ.
And I think that's a big reason why when you have
very, very popular celebrities,
why we have to be careful of that.
When you have so many pictures on your wall of a celebrity,
there comes a point where it begs the question,
is that you're God?
I hope it isn't.
Just at least be mindful of that.
So Paul goes on about the idea between worldly wisdom
and godly wisdom.
For in worldly wisdom,
the world sees the wisdom of God as foolish.
That's always a difficult one.
We think about that.
Sometimes the things that we learn in the word of God,
it's being revealed to us through,
through God's word speaks to us wisdom and life.
But to those who don't know the Lord,
they might not get it.
Have you ever shared a verse with someone
and they just don't get it?
I know that's happened to me before
and that's something we have to keep in mind
that they're not there yet.
The truth of the word,
or at least the more deeper things of God has been hidden.
And that's a very difficult passage.
So the idea of these two verses is that Christ
is the wisdom of God that was hidden, right?
The God's wisdom was manifested in Christ
and it transcends human understanding.
How many of us try to put God into a box, right?
We try to say God is X, Y and Z.
God can't do this, God can't do that.
Well, I'm here to tell you that
God is beyond our understanding.
Could you imagine seeing water turning to wine?
Can you imagine seeing someone being raised from the dead?
Is that logical?
A lot of people, they would hear that or see that even
and they wouldn't believe.
Think about in the Gospel account,
all of these people who heard or saw the miracles of Jesus
and they still didn't believe.
That's a difficult one.
I know for me personally, if I saw somebody walk on water,
I'd be pretty amazed by that.
But can you imagine if you saw some of these miracles that happen?
Making a blind man see and still not believing.
The love of God, it transcends our understanding of love.
The knowledge of God, it transcends our earthly wisdom.
In 1 Corinthians, chapter 18, the word of the cross is folly
for those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved,
it is the power of God.
It's an encouraging word to know that when we receive the gift of salvation
through faith in Christ, we can learn the deeper things of God.
That is the process of going from milk to solid food,
where we grow in our knowledge, in our discernment.
In order to understand the things of God,
we need to seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness.
We place our faith in our trust in God,
and because of this saving grace, we should be moved and encouraged
and motivated to continue to seek God in His Word.
For in the Word is Christ, and in Christ is wisdom.
Knowing Christ being the wisdom of God and Christ is the Creator,
it leads us to this passage that I want to share with you.
It's going to be in Proverbs chapter 8, verse 27 through 30.
Beautiful, poetic language in here.
Page 632.
I keep forgetting to change my slides.
Page 632.
Let's start with verse 27 here.
When He established the heavens, I was there.
When He drew a circle on the face of the deep,
when He made firm the skies above,
when He established the foundations of the deep,
when He assigned to the sea its limit.
Now that's pretty cool language.
The limitation of the sea.
I mean, the sea is pretty wild.
To know that's just the limit is pretty remarkable.
So that the waters might not transgress His command.
When He marked out the foundations of the earth,
then I was beside Him, like a master workman,
and I was daily His delight, rejoicing before Him always,
rejoicing in His inhabited world
and delighting in the children of man.
And even if you look before, in verses 22 leading up to 27,
the beginning of His work, the first acts of old,
ages ago I was brought forth, I was set up.
Before the beginning of the earth there was no depths.
I was brought forth.
There were no springs abounding with water.
Such beautiful poetic language.
And a question I want to ask you is,
what stands out to you about this poetic description?
We can build a case from this.
I mean, who else would be there at the creation of the world?
It could be the Spirit.
It could be mentioning specifically the Holy Spirit,
but it also can be mentioning Christ.
And because we believe in the Trinity,
the three in one being present,
we know Christ was there at the foundation.
And to me that language is just,
it's astonishing, if you will,
to think that Christ was there taking an active role.
So take a moment to think about that.
What stands out to you about this poetic description
of Christ's presence at the creation of the world?
The language, it's poetic, it's wisdom literature.
It's certainly difficult for us to understand.
But it seems to be pointing to the idea that the Trinity was there.
Isn't that wonderful?
Isn't that remarkable?
We can see from the previous verses in 1 Corinthians
that because Christ is the wisdom of God,
then this language is making mention of Christ being there
with God the Father and the Spirit being there as well.
Isn't this a prefiguration of Jesus Christ?
For those of us who are here in the Jonah series,
we talked about how Jonah, the language in the book of Jonah,
describes the prefiguration of Christ with the death,
the burial, and the resurrection.
And this would appear to be an echo,
a prefiguration also in Scripture of Christ.
And I always enjoy when I read verses like this,
this forth-telling of Christ.
You know, John 8, verse 58, is also a famous verse
that speaks to Christ's presence before the world.
You find this in your notes.
Very famous passage.
Truly, Jesus said to them,
truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.
What a remarkable statement.
Think of the great I am, right?
And then further, how Christ says,
I am the resurrection and the life.
Think of all the I am statements
and how they are connected with the great I am.
The very idea of Christ being there at creation
and taking part is something that was hidden.
It was secret.
It was the hidden wisdom of God.
In 1 Corinthians 2, verses 7 through 8, it speaks to this.
We impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God
which decreed before the ages for our glory.
None of the rulers of this age understood this,
for if they had, they would have not crucified the Lord of glory.
That verses saying that if people knew that Jesus, the Christ,
was the Messiah, they wouldn't have crucified him.
So there had to have been this mystery element to it, if you will.
I find it fascinating when that God hides things in Scripture.
And it is for us to discover those things in the Word of God.
There's a famous proverb.
It's not in your notes. I didn't put it in there.
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter.
It is the glory of kings to discover that matter.
And that verse is saying that God will hide things.
What a beauty, what a beautiful discovery is to discover the truth of Scripture.
And of course, these discoveries must be in line with the rest of Scripture.
We don't want to find something that goes against Scripture.
You may need to check your work when you're doing these things.
God needed to hide this wisdom of God so that God's plan could be carried along.
In Isaiah chapter 14 verse 24, it makes mention that God's plans will happen.
I love this verse.
The Lord of hosts has sworn, as I have planned, so shall it be.
And as I have purposed, so shall it stand.
Isn't that beautiful?
What a remarkable verse. As God has planned, so it will be.
For we know that the Word of God is living and active,
and we are privileged to know what this mystery is.
The mystery of Christ, of having salvation available to all who believe in Him.
How privileged we are to know this truth.
And to also know that Christ was there in the beginning,
just as John chapter 1 verses 1 through 3, in the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
So there's these verses that show Christ being there.
All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything that was made.
In the John passages, all things were made through Him.
That's wonderful.
It's just like the Colossians passage, right?
All things were created through Him, and for Him.
And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
Although we're not going over the sustenance, right?
How God holds us together, it is all connected.
That the same God who made us is there for us, never abandoning us.
How can we not talk about that?
All we need to do is believe in Him.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ?
The creation is designed to glorify God, to glorify Christ.
For Christ is the air of all things, as mentioned in Hebrews chapter 1 verse 2,
and goes to show the beauty, the power, and the grandeur of Christ.
For the stars in the sky shine bright in the night.
They reflect the beauty of God's creation.
The grandeur of the immense mountains, right?
The towering mountains, they show the mighty works of the Almighty God.
The power of the ocean waves, and the fact that the ocean had to be limited.
That's crazy. That is wild, because we know how powerful oceans already are.
But there's so powerful, God's like, you need a limit here.
We don't want it getting too out of hand.
The power of the ocean waves, and the depths of the sea reveal the strength,
and the constant of God.
For God never fails.
He is everlasting to everlasting.
And I find great connection and similarities between John and the Colossians passage.
When we are reading the Word of God, we focus on the context of what is going on in the specific book,
and also the connections, where is this connected in other parts of Scripture.
The main thing that sticks out in the Colossian passage is that the world, the creation was made through him,
but for him, for God's glory, two words that have big meaning.
Everything was created by the triune God, and everything that is created is for Christ.
That is amazing.
This is significant, because everything that was made is uniquely designed with intentionality and with purpose.
Therefore, God did not make a mistake when he made you.
I want to make that very clear.
God did not make a mistake when he was making his creation.
From the day and the night, to the stars and the sky, from the land and the sea, the animals, and even you and even me.
God created all of this with intention, with intricacy.
Even the Word of God is life, because all Scripture is breathed out by God.
The Word of God being living and active, it has purpose, much like how we have purpose.
Many of us know the famous verse in Psalm 139.
You formed my inward parts, you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
Many of you have heard this one before, yes?
That God knit us together in our mother's womb.
Job chapter 33 verse 4 is another verse that is very similar in nature.
The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
God breathing life into you.
Such descriptive language that we have the breath of life, much like how God breathed life into his Word.
And I know in the book of Job, it's always a neglected book, but there's such beautiful wisdom that is found in Job.
It's not the only verse that makes mentions of God making us before we were born.
Another verse in Job chapter 10 verses 11 through 12, it's a little bit more descriptive.
You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones.
Wow.
We talk about the knitting, but the clothing of skin and flesh.
It's very specific, it's actually almost grotesque, if you will.
But at the same time though, it's showing that the flesh that we have, the skin that we have, was given to us by God, and it's all part of this design.
It also goes on to say, you have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit.
So understanding that Christ as Creator should help us to come to know who Christ is, to know that we were all designed with such intentionality and such purpose,
God did not make a mistake when he made you.
When you feel lost, whenever you feel alone, whenever you feel disconnected or overwhelmed by culture or work or social media, the constant fog of culture, if you will, with so many voices telling you what's right and what's wrong,
we need a constant.
How much has culture changed? You don't need to answer that.
I'm looking at all of your faces, right? How much has culture changed within the last year?
The last two years?
2020?
I mean, we can keep going with this.
We don't need to.
We know that the world is always changing, but our God is constant.
And I don't know about you. I wish to trust in that which is constant, that which is eternal, and that which gives life as opposed to the culture of death, the constant change of culture.
The decision is yours.
What do you believe in?
Who do you follow?
Do you follow Cephas or Apollos?
Or do you follow Christ?
That's the question that only you can answer.
When you need direction in your life, let us know or come to know that Christ played such a critical part in the creation of the universe.
He had an active role in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and he knows you.
He knows who you are.
Don't you think that the person who made you in your womb knows who you are and loves you and is there for you?
Our creator is there for us.
He loves you and desires for you to make that choice to believe in to believe in Christ or to not.
Is it love if God forces us to believe in him?
Think about that.
There's a lot of people out there who said, well, why can't God make everyone believe in him?
Well, if God makes all of us believe in him, that's not love.
For God gives us the choice to choose or to not choose to believe or to not believe.
But when we believe, we receive the gift of salvation.
Whosoever believes shall not perish but have everlasting or eternal life, depending on the translation.
John chapter 6 verse 47.
Truly, truly I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
And I always go back to the thief on the cross.
Jesus, remember me.
Have you asked for Jesus to remember you?
Have you asked for Jesus into your life?
Have you taken time to believe in him?
Think about that.
And if you ever, if you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved.
That is the beauty of Christianity.
That is what makes Christianity very different than any other faith tradition, any other religion, any other movement, if you will.
Is there a continuous list of things that you have to check off?
Did you say your 10 prayers today?
You know?
No, all you need to do is believe for all who believe will be saved.
And as we conclude our time in God's Word and many of these connections, I know there are a lot of verses in this.
A lot of these verses, they point to the truth of Christ being Creator, creating the heavens and the earth, but also being the Creator of our lives.
And for us to know that we are made in the image of God, it should help us know that we are not made by mistake.
And I know sometimes we have those moments where we think that we are worthless or we think that there's no purpose in our life.
Come to the Lord, believe in him.
There is so much purpose and direction and fulfillment and peace and joy that comes from the Lord.
In your notes, there's a final key takeaway section.
We are made in the image of God.
We are given unique purpose and potential through him.
And God is the source of life, the source of truth, identity and salvation in him.
Our salvation comes from the Lord.
We receive new life and new identity in him.
Believe in Christ and be saved by receiving the gift of salvation.
Christ as Creator was therefore before the creation of the universe and he exists as part of the Triune God.
And we know Christ better through the Word.
It is an encouragement to let the Word of Christ dwell within you.
So I want us to think about all of these things today.
And I want us to close in prayer.
Will you pray with me?
Let's pray together.
Father, as we conclude our time here today, we ask that your Word dwells with us today.
We thank you for your Son, Jesus, the Christ, the way, the truth and the life,
but also the Creator of the universe who played a significant role,
not just in this world, but in the creation of each and every one of us.
We are made in your image and we are in awe and in wonder of who you are.
I pray for those today who do not know you.
May they have the saving knowledge of you and believe in you.
May they receive the gift of salvation.
For your scripture says that we receive the gift of salvation for those who believe.
I pray for those who need to rededicate their lives to you.
May they feel your love, may they feel your comfort and peace.
For you call us to come to you ready for us to come back to you when needed.
We know that life can be very overwhelming and burdensome.
We just pray that for those who need to rededicate their lives,
you may you give them that comfort and that peace.
And I pray for those that believe in you and have received the gift of salvation.
If there's anyone who needs to be baptized,
may you move in their heart, work in their heart to make that public proclamation of an internal decision.
I pray for this church and I pray for this congregation that they may grow in the knowledge of you
going from that milk to that solid food.
Be with us as we go from this place to know you, to grow in you and to live and love like you.
It is in Jesus' holy name that we pray and we all say together, amen.
Thank you for tuning in to the Ontario Community Church sermon podcast.
For more about our church and how you can get involved or support our mission,
please visit ontariocommunitychurch.org.
May God's blessings be with you.