Introduction:

1. Scriptures for this sermon

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Psa 19:1 For the director of music. A psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Psa 19:2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
Psa 19:3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
Psa 19:4 Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

Rom 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
Rom 1:19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

2. We learn most about God from reading the Bible. However, everyone in the world does not yet have a Bible. What can we learn about God from merely looking at Creation? At least six things....

I. We learn that God must exist.

A. Psalm 14:1 "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."

B. Sir Isaac's Solar System (Newton 1642-1727)

Sir Isaac Newton's work represents some of the greatest contributions to science ever made by an individual. Most notably, Newton derived the Law of Universal Gravitation, invented the branch of mathematics called Calculus, and performed experiments investigating the nature of light and color. Einstein said of Newton: "Nature was an open book whose letters he could read without effort...He stands before us, strong, certain and alone." He also was scholar of the Bible and devoted much time to its study.

Sir Isaac had an accomplished artisan fashion for him a small scale model of our solar system which was to be put in a room in Newton's home when completed. The assignment was finished and installed on a large table. The workman had done a very commendable job, simulating not only the various sizes of the planets and their relative proximities, but also so constructing the model that everything rotated and orbited when a crank was turned. It was an interesting, even fascinating work, as you can image, particularly to anyone schooled in the sciences.

An unbelieving scientist friend of Newton's came by for a visit. Seeing the model, he was naturally intrigued, and proceeded to examine it with undisguised admiration for the high quality of the workmanship.

"Oh My! What an exquisite thing this is!" Newton's friend exclaimed. "Who made it?"

Paying little attention to him, Sir Isaac answered, "Nobody."

Stopping his inspection, the visitor turned and said, "Oh? Evidently you did not understand my question. I asked who made this?"

Newton, enjoying himself immensely no doubt, replied in a still more serious tone, "Nobody. What you see just happened to assume the form it now has."

"You must think I am a fool!" the visitor retorted heatedly, "Of course somebody made it, and he is a genius, and I would like to know who he is."

Newton then spoke to his friend in a polite yet firm way: "This thing is but a puny imitation of a much grander system whose laws you know, and I am not able to convince you that this mere toy is without a designer and maker; yet you profess to believe that the great original from which the design is taken has come into being without either designer or maker! Now tell me by what sort of reasoning do you reach such an incongruous conclusion?

(Adapted from Sir Isaac Newton Solar System Story (from the book: The Truth: God or evolution?, by Marshall and Sandra Hall, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI)

II. We learn from creation that God is infinite in His power.

We believe we have achieved power when we look at the power of the hydrogen bomb. But our sun, created by God, is like a billion hydrogen bombs exploding over and over again for thousands and perhaps millions of years. Not only that, but our sun is only one of a billion suns in our galaxy, called the milky way. Not only that, but our galaxy is only one of a billion such galaxies in the known universe. God brought it all into being, and His power is beyond our comprehension.

III. We learn from creation that God is infinite in His wisdom, knowledge and intelligence.

A. Romans 11:33 "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!"

B. The universe not only exists, but it exists in an orderly system. There are laws that govern the motions of the planets. There are laws that govern the motions and qualities of the smallest molecules and atoms of which all things are made. The smallest living cell in the human body works in ways that no scientist has ever been able yet to comprehend. If the grains of sand on all the ocean shores of the world represent all the bits of knowledge of the universe, we are mere children building sand castles.

IV. We learn from creation that God is Immortal. He is the ancient of days.

A. I Timothy 6:15-16 says, Jesus..."is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see..."

B. Astronomers tells us the universe came into existence about 15 billion years ago. How do they know? By the speed of light (186,000 miles per second.) The sun is 93 million miles from earth, and the light from the sun takes about eight minutes to reach us. (If the sun disappeared right now, we wouldn't know it for eight minutes.) It takes light four years to arrive here from the nearest star. Careful measurements show that it takes light 15 billion years to arrive here from the farthest stars we know of. So the universe that we can see is at least 15 billion years old. God made the universe, and He is older than the universe, so He is at least 15 billion years old.

V. We learn from creation that God is good and kind.

A. Psalm 145:15-17 says, "The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made."

B. It is true that there is pain and suffering in the world. Much of that we bring on ourselves.

C. But it is also true that this world is a good place. We like it here. We enjoy life. God made a world of beauty. God gave us eyes to see the beauty and hearts to appreciate it. God made a world where we get hungry, but He also made a world with fried chicken, apple pie, lemonade, coffee, ice cream, mushrooms, salt and pepper, bacon and eggs, bread, macaroni and cheese and so on. We love God's world so much that most of us, given the choice, would prefer to stay here forever, if we could just keep our strength and good health.

VI. We learn from creation that God is just and righteous.

We see all around us that "what goes around comes around." Those who live by the sword die by the sword. Those who live sinful lives pay for their sins in many ways. Those who lead peaceful and productive lives, are blessed with peace and plenty. We also have a built in "conscience," and all human beings know that there is such a thing as right and wrong. All these things tell us that our Creator is just and righteous.

Conclusion: Every person in the world who is seeking God can know all these things simply from looking at creation, and thinking a little bit. God exists. He has almighty power. He is immortal. He is infinitely wise. He is good and kind. And He is just and righteous. We have been further blest by God, in that He has given us His Word, and told us of His love in Christ. May God help us to love Him, and learn more about Him every day. Amen.