Creation of Heaven and Earth
God created the heavens and the earth. But the earth was formless and dark so He created light. Then He separated the day from the night. Next He said we need space between the waters and called this space sky. Then He gathered the water beneath the sky into one place so that dry ground would appear. He called the dry ground land and the water, seas. Then He created all sorts of plants, flowers and fruit bearing trees. Everything God created was good. He also created bright lights in the sky to separate day from night. Then He made the stars. He filled the waters with fish and the skies with birds.
Then on the sixth day, God said “Let the earth bring forth every kind of animal.”
So He created wild animals, livestock and small animals. Then he looked around and said “Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves. They will be masters over all life...”
God created the heavens and the earth. But the earth was formless and dark so He created light. Then He separated the day from the night. Next He said we need space between the waters and called this space sky. Then He gathered the water beneath the sky into one place so that dry ground would appear. He called the dry ground land and the water, seas. Then He created all sorts of plants, flowers and fruit bearing trees. Everything God created was good. He also created bright lights in the sky to separate day from night. Then He made the stars. He filled the waters with fish and the skies with birds.
Then on the sixth day, God said “Let the earth bring forth every kind of animal.”
So He created wild animals, livestock and small animals. Then he looked around and said “Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves. They will be masters over all life...”
So God created people in his own image, and so the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed.Have you ever wondered why so many people believe that there is a God? No man or woman can look at the stars in the sky, or the beauty of the flowers, or the miracle of a new born baby, without believing that there must be something bigger than the human race. There must be an intelligence that created it all. Even people that don’t believe in God know deep in their heart that all the wonder of the universe could not have happened by chanc
e.Have you ever noticed how a balance scale works? If you put 5 grams on one side and 5 grams on the other side, the scale is balanced. However, if you put 10 grams on one side and only 5 grams on the other, the scale is unbalanced.
Some people think that this is how God decides who gets into Heaven. They assume that if the good things they do, on one side of the scale, outweigh the bad things, on the other side of the scale, that they automatically earn the right to enter Heaven.
But we can never accumulate enough good to qualify for heaven. God is holy and pure and in order to live with him, we must also be holy and pure. But we are not, because of the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Had they not disobeyed God, they would have been perfect and holy as well. But they disobeyed Him and ate of the fruit He told them not to eat. This destroyed their relationship with God and they became sinners. Because of their sin, all humanity is born into sin and we can’t earn our way into heaven. But God loved us so much anyway, that He wanted to provide a way for us to live with Him in heaven.
The Assurance of Salvation
The way to live with God forever is through His Son Jesus Christ. God was willing to send His Son to be born in the form of man and live among us and give us the teachings of God. But that was still not enough for us to have a relationship with God. Jesus gave Himself to pay the debt for our sins.
Let’s look at the scripture.
I John 5:11-14
And the testimony is this: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
We can KNOW we have eternal life—
We have ASSURANCE we have salvation—
We are CONVINCED that he hears us—
This is why the Bible was written. This is why John wrote his letter, the Book of John, to help us realize that we can KNOW that we have eternal life.
When scripture is backed up by experience and logic, then the foundation is solid.
First let me give you an example from pure logic, as an important part of this foundation: The logic of Josh McDowell in his book More than a carpenter:
Jesus said that he was the Son of God, so there are three, and only three possible situations that can explain His claim:
1-He said it and knew it was false, which makes him a liar
2-He said it and thought it was true when it was not, which makes him insane
3-He said it and it was true, making him truly the Son of God.
These are the only possible ways to look at a man who claimed to be God, and offered salvation. The first two make NO SENSE based on the record of His life, and what has happened in the world because of his life.
Only the 3rd option makes sense in terms of logic.
So we know that Jesus is the Son of God, and we know that we can trust His Word.
How tragic it would be if we went through life thinking we were saved and then woke up on Judgment Day to find out we were mistaken!
But the Bible teaches that this will be the case with many people.
The scripture says, in Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” So all of us are simmers, and none of us deserve to go to Heaven.
Can you imagine finding out that you aren’t qualified to go to Heaven? Well, the Bible also says, in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of Sin is DEATH, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
So, you don’t have to go through life without the assurance of salvation. Remember what we first read in 1 John 5:13?
The apostle says, "These things have I written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life."
So, how can we have this assurance?
This is the most important question we will ever face in life because our eternal destiny is at stake! The Bible teaches that those who remain unsaved will spend eternity in a place of perpetual torment.
So we see that if we believe that Jesus Christ is the true Son of God, and we accept him as our personal Savior, He forgives us of our sins.
In John 3:16, we read; “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”
This is the wonderful story that God loved us so very much that He was willing to sacrifice His own Son, on the cross, one time, for all our sins; past, present and future.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we read, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." The Bible also tells us what changes will take place in our life when we are born again.
Let me give you four examples of changes that should take place in your life if you are a true believer in Jesus Christ:
First, we will not habitually commit sin.
This doesn’t suggest that we never make mistakes, or that we never sin, rather it says that when we do make mistakes, we are sorry, and we go to the Lord and ask for forgiveness.
Second, we will seek to live a holy life by obeying God's Word.
This means that when we know Jesus, we want to keep his commandments. Just as in a family, we want to please our parents, so with God, we want to do his will.
Third, we will love others, regardless of who they are or what they have done.
Before we meet Christ, we might show love to others, only if they also show love to us. However, after we accept Jesus Christ as our personal savior, we learn to love everyone; even if they don’t love us in return. This is referred to as unconditional love.
Fourth, our affections will not be upon the things of the world.
If a man or a woman still loves the things of the world, then the love of the father isn’t really in him or her. Now our desire will be to serve God.
These changes aren’t the cause of our salvation, because we are saved by faith; but these changes are the evidence that we truly have been born again.
So, if we believe in God, and we believe that the Bible is true, we can be assured that the apostle John was accurate when he wrote “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
I have laid out the clear plan of salvation and how you can know and be assured that you are going to heaven. But maybe there is someone here tonight that has not asked Jesus to come into your heart. If you want to ask Him into your life, I’d like to give you an opportunity to do that now.
Just say this prayer; with meaning in your heart, and believe that God will hear your prayer.
Lord Jesus, I recognize my need for a Savior; I ask you to forgive my Sins, and come into my heart.
Amen!
So we see that if we believe that Jesus Christ is the true Son of God, and we accept him as our personal Savior, He forgives us of our sins.
In John 3:16, we read; “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”
This is the wonderful story that God loved us so very much that He was willing to sacrifice His own Son, on the cross, one time, for all our sins; past, present and future.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we read, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." The Bible also tells us what changes will take place in our life when we are born again.
Let me give you four examples of changes that should take place in your life if you are a true believer in Jesus Christ:
First, we will not habitually commit sin.
This doesn’t suggest that we never make mistakes, or that we never sin, rather it says that when we do make mistakes, we are sorry, and we go to the Lord and ask for forgiveness.
Second, we will seek to live a holy life by obeying God's Word.
This means that when we know Jesus, we want to keep his commandments. Just as in a family, we want to please our parents, so with God, we want to do his will.
Third, we will love others, regardless of who they are or what they have done.
Before we meet Christ, we might show love to others, only if they also show love to us. However, after we accept Jesus Christ as our personal savior, we learn to love everyone; even if they don’t love us in return. This is referred to as unconditional love.
Fourth, our affections will not be upon the things of the world.
If a man or a woman still loves the things of the world, then the love of the father isn’t really in him or her. Now our desire will be to serve God.
These changes aren’t the cause of our salvation, because we are saved by faith; but these changes are the evidence that we truly have been born again.
So, if we believe in God, and we believe that the Bible is true, we can be assured that the apostle John was accurate when he wrote “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
I have laid out the clear plan of salvation and how you can know and be assured that you are going to heaven. But maybe there is someone here tonight that has not asked Jesus to come into your heart. If you want to ask Him into your life, I’d like to give you an opportunity to do that now.
Just say this prayer; with meaning in your heart, and believe that God will hear your prayer.
Lord Jesus, I recognize my need for a Savior; I ask you to forgive my Sins, and come into my heart.
Amen!
Please contact us
If you prayed the prayer on this page and/or you would like more information, please click on the link below to connect with Calvary Chapel Surprise. You will be able to send us an email or call our office at 623-399-9613.
http://www.calvarychapelsurprise.org/know/
