Sermon Manuscript

[Video: “Made for Mission - Bumper” - 0:26]

This morning we continue within our series entitled Made for Mission where together we’re examining who we are in order to better understand what we are called to do. God created us for a reason. He created us for a purpose. You and I were not created arbitrarily or by chance. When God spoke and created you He did so for a reason and He did so not just to fulfill a “role”. Sometimes we think that we were created to be a parent or a grandparent or an employee or a “Pastor”. But those are roles in life. And you and I were created for more. We were “made for mission.” God has a mission that He wants to accomplish in this world and He has called us to be part of it. We were made for mission.

And in order to embrace this truth within our lives we need to complete some tasks. Within this series we’re exploring six of them. And the first was to know the story. As God’s people we are called to know His story. Last week we saw how when Paul was challenged by a group of Jews who were upset with him for speaking about Jesus that he quoted from Isaiah 49:6 where God said to His people, “I have made you a light to the Gentiles that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” In other words, God had always desired for His people to be part of His mission to reach the world. That was true of Israel then and of the Church now. And Paul knew that truth because he knew Scripture and he knew God’s story. So we talked about our need to know the story in order to be made for mission. We need to know God’s story.

But all of us have gaps in our understanding of God’s story and so we have to grow in our knowledge of it. Think of it this way. Imagine that I told you a story and it went like this: Once upon a time there was a kind, young girl who went to attend a royal ball. And she was dressed in a beautiful gown and glass slippers. And while she was there she caught the attention of a very handsome prince. So the two of them danced the night away. But at midnight she had to leave because it was time for her to go. And as she left unfortunately she left one of her glass slippers behind. The prince then found the slipper and was left wondering who she truly was.

Now, if I told you that story what story would I be telling you? That’s right. The story of Cinderella. But if I told you that story and you knew it then you would also know that I left some parts out. Right? Because I never gave you the beginning and the end. I never told you that Cinderella was actually a kind, young, girl but also a slave. And she longed to go to the royal ball but was unable to do so because she was so poor. I also didn’t tell you how when she met her fairy godmother that the fairy godmother magically transformed her and gave her the gown, glass slippers, and even a stage coach created from a pumpkin! But she also told her that she had to be home by midnight because it was at that point she would be created back into her former self. Details that should have all been part of the introduction. I also didn’t tell you that after she left that night and left that slipper that the prince used the slipper to find her and that they were eventually married and lived happily ever after. Details part of the conclusion. So you would have been given only a piece of the story. Only part of it.

And the same is true for the story of the Bible. Some of us tell the story of the Bible without including the beginning and the end. The introduction and the conclusion. We know about sin and salvation but not about what happened before and afterwards. It’s like we jump right into the part of God’s story where He creates a people for Himself called Israel and how God uses Israel to bring about the Messiah whose name is Jesus. And we then explain how Jesus died on a cross, three days later rose from the dead, and then ascended and went back to be with God. Then Jesus told His followers to be His witnesses and the Church was born. His people who still exist today. And we stop the story there.

But when we only tell this part of the story we’re actually missing out on the beginning and the end. Critical parts of the story which are important for people to know if they are going to truly know who God is and what He has done within their lives. So today we’re going to talk about God’s story and really examine what we might call “the beginning and the end.” We’re going to examine the introduction and the conclusion. The parts where we learn what happened before and after Jesus comes. The parts which happened before and after Cindrella went to the ball. And as we do so we’ll discover a second task that is part of our being made for mission.

Alright. So with that in mind let’s go to the beginning. The beginning of the story. And the beginning of the Bible. Genesis chapter 1. Turn with me in your Bibles there. Today we’re going to be in verses 24-31 and as always if you would like to follow along with us online you can do so by using our app. It’s called Church Center. So if you open it up and click on Sunday Services followed by Message Notes you will find everything that you need for our time together this morning.

And as you do so let me share with you a little about the book of Genesis and the first 23 verses. The book of Genesis is the book of “beginnings”. In fact, that’s what Genesis means. And within this book we learn about the beginning of mankind, the beginning of the nations, the beginning of Israel, and the beginning of sin and salvation. But before we jump into all of those topics it starts with the beginning of the world. And in Genesis 1 and 2 we read the story of how God created the world. So Genesis 1:1 says this. It says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Verse 2 then says, “And the earth was formless and void and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

So verse 1 speaks of God the Father. Verse 2 speaks of God the Spirit. And from verses 3 and forward we are introduced to God the Word. Because God will speak and bring all things into existence. Theologians call this “creation ex nihilo” or “creation out of nothing”. And in verses 3 through 23 we read about the first five days of creation. On Day One God says, “Let there be light” and there was light. And God calls the light Day and the darkness He calls night. Then on Day Two God says, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God calls the expanse above Heaven. Then on Day Three God says, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together and let dry land appear.” And God calls the dry land Earth. The Earth then sprouts plants and vegetation. Then on Day Four God says “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate day from night. And let there be signs and seasons and days and years. And so God creates two great lights - one to rule the day which we call the Sun and one to rule the night which we call the Moon. He also creates the stars. Then on Day 5 God says, “Let the waters swarm with living creatures and birds to fly in the sky.” And so the fish of the sea and the birds of the air are created. And at the end of each day we read that God saw that it was good. It was good. It was good. It was good.

But then something important and significant happens on day six. Here’s how Moses describes it in verse 24. Verse 24 says: 24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Alright. So Day Six becomes the highlight of creation because if we continue within Genesis 3 we see that God will rest on the seventh day and it will become the Sabbath. So the sixth day is the final day of creation where God is creating creatures. And it begins in verse 24 with the creation of land animals. Livestock. As well as other mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and other creatures. Everything that creeps and lives on the earth is created on day six. And once again God looks upon all that He has created and He says, “It… is… good.” It’s all good.

But then in verse 26 the highlight of all creation takes place. Because we’re told God creates mankind. He creates human beings. And human beings are special. They are different. They are truly set apart from all other forms of creation because they are made in God’s image. They have qualities that are “God like”. Qualities that no other form of creation has. God says, “Let us make man in our image.” The plural form showing how God is community. He is three in one. He is God the Father, God the Spirit, and God the Word who will later be Jesus when “the Word becomes flesh” in John 1:14. But mankind is made in God’s image. He is made in the image of his Creator. And so he is unique and different from all others. He will have an ability to think and reason and feel and have emotions and desires and make decisions and create within his world by bringing things which do not exist into existence. Now he cannot create like God can create by simply saying the word. But he can create. He can build. He can think and dream of something in his mind and then he has the ability to bring that into existence.

And because he has these God-like abilities God goes on to say that He also has God-like responsibilities. He is going to be held responsible for the world he lives within. Because God says, “Let him have dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over the livestock and everything that creeps on the earth.” And in verse 28 God goes on to command man by saying, “Be fruitful and multiple and subdue the earth and have dominion over it.” Subdue. Have dominion. To subdue something is to take it under control at first. And to have dominion over something is to maintain control. So God is saying, “I’m commanding you to take charge of this world and rule over it. Just as I have power and authority over all of creation I’m giving you authority over what has been created on this planet. You must rule over all of it.” Then in verse 31 we see that God saw all that He had created - including mankind - and He saw that man had been placed over all of His creation on earth and we’re told that in that moment He say that it was “very good”. No longer good. It was “very good”.

So the Bible begins with the story of creation. The story of how God created all things including mankind. And how on Day Six God looked upon His creation and all that He had created and He said, “It is very good.” But it would not stay that way. Because in Genesis chapter 3 we read about the Fall. The story of how Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and sinned against God. And when that happened everything changed. Sin affected everything. And from that point forward God’s world changed. All of it. The heavens and the earth. The sun and the moon and the stars. The plants and the animals. And, of course, human beings. God’s world changed because the ones who were made in His image betrayed Him. They turned against Him and broke His law. And from that point forward sin began to ravage God’s perfect world.

And it is this sin that has led to pain, sickness, disease, and our greatest enemy in death. Because God said that the penalty for sin is death. And as a result death reigned supreme because all would die. But God had a plan. Through Abraham He created a people for Himself and through the nation of Israel He brought forth the Promised One or the Messiah whom we learn in the New Testament is Jesus. Jesus is God’s Son and we discover God’s Sacrifice. He is fully God and fully Man. And as a result, because He is fully God and fully Man He has the unique ability to pay for the sin of mankind for all time. An infinite number of sins because He Himself is infinite. And it is through the death and resurrection of Jesus that our sins are once and for all, finally, paid for. Then Jesus ascended and went back to God the Father. But before He leaves He tells His disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit. And on the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit does come and He begins to dwell within believers. Empowering them to go and be the witnesses Jesus has called them to be. This becomes the Church and through the book of Acts they do witness to the very end. And the rest of the New Testament continues this story as the Gospel advances and more and more lives are saved.

But how does the story end? Do you remember? How does the Bible come to a close? Well, we read this in Revelation 21:1. The apostle John, while exiled on the island of Patmos, says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more.” Later in verse 5, John writes, “And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ And he said, ‘Write this down for these words are trustworthy and true.’” So John sees a new heaven and a new earth and he hears God say at the end, “Behold, I make all things new.” All things. A new heaven. A new earth. New fish. New plants. New animals. And new human beings. All things are made new. Wait. That sounds like creation? So at the end of the story God is going to go back to the beginning and recreate all things? Yes. That’s exactly the point. Genesis 1 and 2 show us a perfect picture of a perfect world. A world where God says, “It is very good.” Genesis 3 then introduces sin and suddenly God’s perfect world is marred, flawed, damaged, corrupt, and imperfect. And the rest of the Bible is all about going back to the beginning. The rest of the story is about what it’s going to take to bring us back to the way things were in the beginning. Because God doesn’t want to renovate and restore His world. He wants to recreate it! He wants it to be perfect! He wants everything to be perfect. A world free of all forms of wickedness, evil, and imperfection.

You see the story of the Bible begins and ends with creation. And that means that the story of the Gospel does too. The story of salvation when seen in a different light is the story of God bringing us back to a place where our humanity is truly restored. Where we are once again made in His image but without any form of sin or a sinful nature. The story of the Bible is the story of God’s recreation of His world. And the Gospel and our salvation is what happens in the middle. God starts and ends with creation but in the middle is our salvation. And while it’s true that the Great Commission calls us to partner with God to reach the world for Jesus. It’s also true that God’s first “Great Commission” was the instructions He gave to Adam and Eve. To subdue the earth. To have dominion over the earth. To work and keep the earth as God tells Adam and Eve in Genesis 2:15. In other words, to care for His creation.

God’s first command and first mandate and first “commission” was, “Take care of my world. I’ve made you in my image. And I’m giving you the responsibility to take care of my world.” So this leads us to a second task in order to be made for mission and that is: We care for creation. We must know the story of God and we must remember that God’s story begins and ends with creation. And in the beginning God told us to care for His creation. It was a command that He never changed or ever modified. So as His people we are called to care for His creation.

In his book called Planetwise Dave Bookless says this. He says, “The great commission given us by Jesus in the New Testament must be held alongside the very first great commission God gave us at the start of the Bible. In Genesis 1, God’s very first words to human beings are about ruling over and caring for creation: the fish, the birds, and all the other living creatures for God’s sake. This is, if you like, a universal job description of what it means to be human. To the 6

question, ‘Why are we here?’, the ultimate answer has to be: To worship and serve God.” And the first element of that worship and service that the Bible talks about is creation care.”

Do you hear what He’s saying? He’s saying in order to understand the story of Cinderella you have to understand both what happened before and after the ball. And in order to understand the story of God you have to understand both what happened before sin came into our world and what happened after Jesus paid for our sins. You need to understand that we were created to care for our creation. That was God’s commandment from the start. And in the end God will bring us back to a place where all things are made new. But until that Day occurs we have been called by God as part of our mission on this earth to care for His creation. To care for His world.

So let me wrap up by giving to you three reasons for why we should care for God’s creation. The first reason is this: We serve God by doing what He says. As God’s people we are called to obey God. That has always been the case. And what God told Adam and Eve has not changed. They were told to be fruitful and multiply. They were told to fill the earth and subdue it. They were told to have dominion over the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. They were also told to work the Garden of Eden and keep it. In other words, they were called to serve God by ruling over His creation. And the same is true for us. We serve God by obeying Him. When God made us He made us in His image. And He gave to us responsibilities that He did not give to creatures who were not made in His image. So He expects us to obey Him. He expects us to serve Him by caring for His creation. And we do serve Him by doing what He says.

Second, we worship God by honoring what He makes. As God’s people we are called to worship God. And worship in the Bible is not just singing in a worship service. It’s honoring and respecting God. It’s bowing down before Him. It’s lowering ourselves in order to raise Him up. That’s worship. And when we care for God’s creation we are honoring what He has made. When we care for plants we are worshipping God by caring for His creation. When we care for our pets and when I care for my dog Lucy I am worshiping God by caring for His creation. When we support clean-up efforts in our neighborhood or pick up trash off the street or recycle paint, aluminum, or plastic then we are worshiping God by honoring the world that He has made. God expects us to worship Him each and every day. And we do worship Him by honoring what He makes.

Third, we love God by cherishing what He values. As God’s people we know what God loves and what He values. God loves people. So we love God by loving people. But God also loves this planet so we love God by loving our planet as well. When God created Adam and Eve He made them in His image. He basically said to them, “I’m going to make you special by giving to you qualities and characteristics that only I have. But here’s the thing. Here’s the deal. By making you like Me I’m also going to require you to act like Me. I’m going to require you to cherish what I cherish and value what I value. I’m going to require you to love what I love. And I love what I have made. I love the people you see all around you because they, too, are made in my image. But I also love the world I’ve created. The mountains and the oceans and the plants and the animals. I love it all. And I’m counting on you to take care of all of it for Me.” 7

That was God’s expectation from the beginning. And we will always show God our love for Him by loving what He loves and cherishing what He values. And God cherishes His creation.

He has so from the beginning. But as we saw in the Bible, sin has wrecked God’s perfection. And as a result there will come a Day in which God will create all things new again. But until that Day comes we should care for His creation because it’s a big part in how we serve, worship, and love God. And so if we want to love our Creator we will care for His creation.

And we will remember that the beginning and ending of God’s story, the start and the finish, is creation. Jesus Himself was there in the beginning as the Word of God. But when He came into our world and suffered and died on a cross God reconciled all things to Him. All created things. The sun, the moon, and the stars. The plants, the animals, and the insects. The trees, the mountains, and the seas. All things. Paul explained it in this way to the church in Colossae in Colossians 1:19-20. This is what Paul said about Jesus. He wrote: 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Jesus Christ has reconciled all things to Himself. His death on the cross brought redemption for all living things. This entire planet. And we can never, ever, forget that. Focusing on the cross of Christ without a proper understanding of sin’s effect on creation misses part of the story. It’s like hearing the story of Cinderella that starts in the royal ball. Creation is critical. It begins and ends the story of God. And people need to know the whole story. So that they can understand both the fullness of what happened and the fullness of what Jesus has done.

They need to know the fullness of God’s love for them and the fullness of our love for Him. And they need how we love God through the way we love His creation. The bottom line is this…

Demonstrate your love for God by caring for His creation.

Let’s pray.

[Prayer: For God to help us to love Him by loving what He loves - His creation.]

Copyright 2025 by Fountaintown Christian Church. All materials presented by Joshua Hahn are copyrighted material. No material may be copied, reproduced, epublished, uploaded, posted, or distributed in any way, without the express written approval of Fountaintown Christian Church. One copy may be downloaded for your personal, noncommercial home use provided that you 1) retain all copyright, trademark, and proprietary notices, 2) you make no modifications to the materials. For any other use, written permission is required. (Fountaintown Christian Church; c/o Joshua Hahn; P.O. Box 87, Fountaintown, IN 46130).