Shall we bow our
heads for prayer.
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Father in heaven, we thank
You for the awesome privilege
00:00:44.76\00:00:47.65
of being in Your house.
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It's kind of like an oasis
in the middle of the desert
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where we can get
away and come together and
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have fellowship, enjoy singing,
praying, and the study of
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Your holy Word.
00:01:02.83\00:01:04.12
We ask, Father, that
as we open Your Book,
00:01:04.74\00:01:08.35
that You will speak to
us through the ministration
00:01:09.09\00:01:11.99
of Your Holy Spirit.
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I ask that You will
give us glimpses of how much
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You love us.
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That in response, we
will make a total commitment
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to Jesus Christ as our
Savior and as our Lord.
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And we thank You, Father,
for hearing and for answer
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our prayer, for we ask it
in the precious name of Jesus.
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Amen.
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I'd like to begin our
study today in the book of
00:01:38.76\00:01:43.07
Colossians
chapter 1 and verse 16.
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Colossians
chapter 1 and verse 16.
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The main point that I
want to emphasize in this verse
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is the fact that everything
that exists in the universe
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was created by God the Father
through the instrumentality
00:02:03.87\00:02:10.80
of His Son, Jesus Christ.
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It reads this way, "For
by Him," that is Jesus...
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This text makes it
very clear that Jesus Christ
00:02:49.25\00:02:52.53
was the Creator of everything
which exists in the universe.
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You'll notice that we're
told in this verse that Jesus
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was before all things.
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Now this brings me to
another very important point
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as we set the stage
for our study today.
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And that is that Jesus was
not only before all things,
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but Jesus was
eternally before all things.
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He is eternal God.
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Notice Isaiah
chapter 9 and verse 6 on this
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specific point that Jesus
not only created all things,
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not only does He pre-exist
all things, but Jesus also
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eternally pre-exists
everything in the universe.
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This is a very well known verse.
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"For unto us a Child is
born, unto us a Son is given;
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and the government
will be upon His shoulder.
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And His name will be
called Wonderful, Counselor,
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Mighty God," and
here comes the key phrase,
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"Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace."
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In this verse, Jesus is
called, the Everlasting Father.
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Because He's our
Father, because He created us.
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Another interesting fact about
Jesus is that Jesus created
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the universe from nothing.
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Now you try creating
something from nothing.
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You know, when we create,
we use pre-existent matter.
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But Scripture tells us
that Jesus created all things
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when He had nothing to
create these things from.
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Notice Psalm 33
and verses 6 and 9.
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Psalm 33 and verses 6 and 9.
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Here, the psalmist David
is speaking and he says...
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"By the word of the
Lord the heavens were made,
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and all the host of them
by the breath of His mouth."
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And then we go to verse 9.
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"For He spoke and it was done;
He commanded and it stood fast."
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It's what theologians
call, creation ex nihilo.
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Creation from nothing.
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And so we see Jesus, the
Creator of the entire universe,
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eternal God, creating
everything from nothing.
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Now I would like to
take you on a little tour
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of the universe today so
that we can understand the
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magnitude of the
universe that Jesus Christ,
00:06:03.15\00:06:08.37
the eternal God who created
from nothing, actually made.
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What I'm going to share with you
is going to boggle your mind.
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But I'm only going to
share a very few details
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of the research that I
have made on the magnitude
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and the
dimensions of the universe.
00:06:27.93\00:06:30.86
Allow me first of all to
say that astronomers measure
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the heavens in what
is known as light years.
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Basically, a light year is
the amount of time that it takes
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a ray of light to
travel from point A to point B
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at 186,282 miles per second
in the course of that year.
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Which means that a ray of
light will travel in one minute
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approximately 11 million miles.
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In one year a ray of
light will travel approximately
00:07:15.09\00:07:20.23
6 trillion miles.
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In just one light
year, 6 trillion miles.
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I don't know if you're aware
of it, but every time you take
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two steps, light has traveled
approximately 200,000 miles.
00:07:32.95\00:07:41.12
In one light year, the distance
that a ray of light travels
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would be equivalent to the
number of miles that all of the
00:07:49.43\00:07:57.84
cars on planet earth travel
during the same time period.
00:07:57.87\00:08:03.37
In fact, scientists have
reached the conclusion that the
00:08:03.86\00:08:07.16
light year is far too
small a measure to be able
00:08:07.19\00:08:11.95
to measure the heavens.
00:08:11.98\00:08:15.13
Now the moon, that
very close planet of ours,
00:08:17.52\00:08:23.59
is 240,000 miles from our earth.
00:08:24.90\00:08:29.29
Which means that the
light of the moon that we see
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took 1.3 seconds to arrive
from the moon to planet earth.
00:08:32.48\00:08:39.34
Let's talk about the sun.
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Our sun is 93 million
miles from planet earth.
00:08:42.45\00:08:48.28
Which basically means
that the light of the sun takes
00:08:49.27\00:08:52.24
8.3 seconds to
arrive at planet earth.
00:08:52.27\00:08:57.29
Now let me put
this in context for you.
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If you were to hop on
an airplane and you made up
00:09:01.06\00:09:05.41
your mind that you're
going to travel from the earth
00:09:05.44\00:09:07.80
to the sun, at 600
miles an hour, not stopping
00:09:07.83\00:09:13.79
for any reason, to refuel,
it would take you approximately
00:09:14.07\00:09:19.66
17 years to get from
the earth to the sun.
00:09:19.69\00:09:23.79
And the sun is
right around the corner.
00:09:25.94\00:09:28.03
Let's talk about
Pluto, let's move out a ways.
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You know, Pluto
has been demoted.
00:09:34.25\00:09:37.01
It is now called a dwarf planet.
00:09:38.03\00:09:40.69
But dwarfs have rights
too, I want you to know.
00:09:40.72\00:09:43.97
By the way, the jury
is still out on whether
00:09:45.99\00:09:48.18
it's a planet or not.
00:09:48.21\00:09:49.34
Not all astronomers agree
that it's just a dwarf planet.
00:09:49.37\00:09:53.61
But anyway, Pluto is 5.3 light
months away from planet earth.
00:09:53.97\00:10:01.02
Which means that if
you wanted to get to Pluto,
00:10:01.44\00:10:03.34
it would be very easy.
00:10:03.37\00:10:04.57
You just get on some type
of aircraft and you travel
00:10:04.89\00:10:10.38
5.3 months at
186,000 miles a second.
00:10:10.41\00:10:15.96
186,282; I wasn't
going to mention the change.
00:10:16.94\00:10:21.79
And low and behold, you are
at the dwarf planet, so called.
00:10:22.37\00:10:27.09
Let's move out further.
00:10:27.39\00:10:28.85
The closest star to
planet earth is Alpha Centauri,
00:10:29.41\00:10:34.64
which is 4.3 light
years away from planet earth.
00:10:35.16\00:10:40.94
Basically, this is 24.3
trillion miles from our planet.
00:10:41.71\00:10:48.44
Let's go out still
a little bit further.
00:10:49.62\00:10:51.91
Let's talk about our Milky Way.
00:10:52.58\00:10:54.81
Our very own
galaxy that we live in.
00:10:55.17\00:10:59.11
Do you realize that if
you wanted to go from one side
00:10:59.93\00:11:02.87
to the other side of our galaxy,
it would take you 100,000 years
00:11:02.90\00:11:11.05
at the speed of light?
00:11:11.49\00:11:14.51
Just to cross from side to
the other side of our very own
00:11:15.08\00:11:19.74
neighborhood
galaxy, the Milky Way.
00:11:19.77\00:11:22.51
100,000 miles from one side to
the other at the speed of light.
00:11:22.54\00:11:29.95
100,000 light years.
00:11:30.55\00:11:33.63
By the time you got
from one side to the other,
00:11:34.92\00:11:37.34
you would have
traveled 600,000 trillion miles.
00:11:37.70\00:11:44.39
And our galaxy is only
one galaxy, according to
00:11:46.21\00:11:50.86
astronomers, among probably
at least one billion galaxies
00:11:50.89\00:11:58.21
in the known universe.
00:11:58.41\00:12:00.49
Let's talk about Andromeda,
our next door neighbor galaxy.
00:12:01.02\00:12:07.62
Andromeda is a very close
distance from planet earth.
00:12:08.23\00:12:11.86
It's only two million
light ears from planet earth.
00:12:11.89\00:12:15.59
Which means that if you wanted
to visit our next door galaxy,
00:12:15.96\00:12:20.52
our neighbor Andromeda,
you can take an aircraft,
00:12:20.55\00:12:24.01
or some type of air vehicle,
and travel for two million miles
00:12:24.04\00:12:29.42
at 186,282 miles a second.
00:12:29.45\00:12:34.17
And low and
behold, you would be there.
00:12:34.20\00:12:37.02
But do you know that Andromeda
is the only other galaxy that
00:12:38.12\00:12:41.96
we can see with the naked eye?
00:12:41.99\00:12:44.05
It's calculated that
Andromeda and the Milky Way
00:12:44.48\00:12:47.88
each have over
100 million stars.
00:12:47.91\00:12:54.17
You know, man has
invented powerful telescopes
00:12:54.83\00:12:58.30
to try and grasp, at
least in a small measure,
00:12:58.69\00:13:02.78
the dimensions and the
magnitude of the universe.
00:13:02.81\00:13:06.22
For example, there's a telescope
on Mount Wilson which is able to
00:13:06.48\00:13:11.48
discern stars at
500 million light years
00:13:12.14\00:13:17.48
away from planet earth.
00:13:17.61\00:13:19.85
We're probably all
acquainted with the telescope on
00:13:20.32\00:13:23.51
Mount Palomar
here in California.
00:13:23.54\00:13:26.01
According to astronomers,
that telescope is able to see
00:13:26.59\00:13:31.92
heavenly bodies,
stars, which are one billion
00:13:32.62\00:13:37.45
light years away.
00:13:37.48\00:13:39.44
But then the Hubble
telescope was invented.
00:13:40.70\00:13:43.73
And it's actually the first
telescope to look at the skies
00:13:43.76\00:13:47.65
from outer space.
00:13:47.68\00:13:49.86
And according to Tom Siegfried,
who writes the scientific column
00:13:50.21\00:13:54.67
for the Dallas Morning News, he
says that the Hubble telescope
00:13:54.70\00:13:58.60
is able to discern
stars that are between
00:13:58.70\00:14:02.71
seven and ten billion
light years from planet earth.
00:14:02.74\00:14:09.85
If you wanted to put that
in figures, you would have to
00:14:10.53\00:14:13.76
put a nine with twenty-one
zeroes after it to know the
00:14:13.79\00:14:19.03
number of miles
where seven to ten billion
00:14:19.06\00:14:24.32
light years away is.
00:14:24.35\00:14:27.59
And what's more amazing is that
the Hubble telescope has been
00:14:28.11\00:14:31.05
able to determine that the
universe is actually expanding.
00:14:31.08\00:14:36.01
The universe is actually
growing, they've discovered
00:14:36.30\00:14:40.00
through the study,
for example, of quasars.
00:14:40.03\00:14:43.78
And we think of our galaxy, we
say, "Wow, 100,000 light years
00:14:44.48\00:14:49.35
from one side to the other.
00:14:49.38\00:14:50.85
Two million light years
away to go to Andromeda.
00:14:50.88\00:14:54.97
That's pretty large."
00:14:55.00\00:14:57.05
But do you know that there
are galaxies in the universe
00:14:57.50\00:15:00.61
that are 60 times larger
than our very own galaxy?
00:15:00.64\00:15:06.22
It's calculated by scientists
that these galaxies have
00:15:06.89\00:15:10.30
at least 100 trillion stars.
00:15:10.33\00:15:15.20
What's even more amazing
is that astronomers have been
00:15:15.96\00:15:19.50
doing studies about
the universe and they
00:15:19.53\00:15:21.97
discovered that as much
as 90% or perhaps even 99% of
00:15:22.00\00:15:27.83
the universe is composed of what
you might call, dark matter.
00:15:27.86\00:15:31.89
In other words, it cannot
be detected by the telescopes
00:15:33.22\00:15:37.45
that we have today.
00:15:37.48\00:15:38.85
Which means that our
telescopes are only able
00:15:39.26\00:15:42.40
to see perhaps 10% or as
little as 1% of the universe.
00:15:42.43\00:15:51.09
It's amazing.
00:15:51.68\00:15:52.91
You say, "How do they know that
there's so much dark matter?"
00:15:53.44\00:15:56.97
It's because of
the effects of gravity.
00:15:57.00\00:15:59.22
See, they can
measure the gravity.
00:15:59.25\00:16:00.76
They know that the matter
is there, but they can't see it
00:16:00.79\00:16:04.55
with the telescopes.
00:16:04.58\00:16:06.51
Surely, what Job said in chapter
22 and verse 12 of his book,
00:16:06.89\00:16:12.13
"Is not God in
the height of heaven?
00:16:12.45\00:16:18.31
And see the highest
stars, how lofty they are."
00:16:18.93\00:16:24.53
So this is the
universe that Jesus created.
00:16:25.62\00:16:30.37
An amazing universe.
00:16:30.40\00:16:33.05
Practically infinite,
not infinite, but close
00:16:33.08\00:16:36.77
to being infinite, in its
dimensions, in its magnitude.
00:16:36.80\00:16:42.00
But the amazing thing is
that Jesus not only created
00:16:42.55\00:16:45.55
this universe, Jesus
not only is everlasting God,
00:16:45.58\00:16:50.03
not only did He
create this from nothing,
00:16:50.06\00:16:52.86
but the Bible tells us
that Jesus, each instant,
00:16:53.85\00:16:58.44
sustains this universe and
keeps it functioning together.
00:16:58.47\00:17:03.76
Notice Colossians
chapter 1 and verse 17.
00:17:04.10\00:17:07.92
Colossians
chapter 1 and verse 17.
00:17:07.95\00:17:11.00
This is the verse after where we
read that Jesus was the Creator.
00:17:11.16\00:17:15.27
It says there...
00:17:15.80\00:17:16.83
Or all things hold together.
00:17:24.29\00:17:26.61
Can you imagine the
power necessary to keep
00:17:26.64\00:17:30.93
the whole universe
functioning in perfect harmony,
00:17:30.96\00:17:35.56
in perfect synchronization?
00:17:35.59\00:17:37.72
It is beyond the
comprehension of a human mind.
00:17:37.93\00:17:41.77
In Psalm 147 verses 4 and
5, we're told that not only
00:17:42.51\00:17:47.87
did Jesus create the universe,
not only is the universe
00:17:47.90\00:17:51.54
practically limitless, but we're
told there that God is actually
00:17:51.57\00:17:57.92
able to count all the stars.
00:17:57.95\00:18:01.18
Notice what we find in
Psalm 147 verses 4 and 5.
00:18:01.59\00:18:05.27
Not only does He count
the number, we're told...
00:18:10.26\00:18:12.30
Once again, Isaiah
chapter 40 and verse 26.
00:18:24.37\00:18:28.42
We find the same exclamation
as Isaiah is observing
00:18:28.45\00:18:33.33
the universe.
00:18:33.36\00:18:34.59
It says there...
00:18:34.66\00:18:35.75
So is the power and
the greatness and the
00:19:00.13\00:19:04.22
magnificence of
Jesus, the everlasting God,
00:19:04.25\00:19:09.69
the Creator who
created out of nothing,
00:19:09.88\00:19:12.66
who created a universe
which is almost infinite
00:19:12.69\00:19:16.98
with an infinite number of stars
and an infinite almost distance.
00:19:17.01\00:19:22.43
We might say, "Well, the
universe sustains itself."
00:19:22.46\00:19:25.82
No it doesn't.
00:19:26.17\00:19:27.28
Listen to this statement from
Ministry Of Healing, page 416.
00:19:27.63\00:19:31.83
"It is not by inherent power
that year by year the earth
00:19:32.55\00:19:38.65
yields its bounties
and continues its march
00:19:38.68\00:19:42.46
around the sun.
00:19:42.49\00:19:44.16
The hand of the Infinite
One is perpetually at work
00:19:45.01\00:19:50.07
guiding this planet.
00:19:50.48\00:19:53.25
It is God's power continually
exercised that keeps the earth
00:19:53.28\00:19:58.32
in position in its rotation.
00:19:58.35\00:20:01.34
It is God who causes the
sun to rise in the heavens.
00:20:01.64\00:20:06.34
He opens the windows
of heaven and gives rain."
00:20:06.37\00:20:11.51
Amazing.
00:20:12.08\00:20:13.48
In fact, in another
statement on the same page of
00:20:14.42\00:20:17.11
Ministry Of Healing, Ellen White
says that it's not by accident
00:20:17.14\00:20:21.94
that the heart beats
one right after another.
00:20:21.97\00:20:25.73
She says that God
makes the heart beat.
00:20:26.38\00:20:30.53
He makes the lungs breathe.
00:20:30.56\00:20:32.57
He is actively
engaged in sustaining life.
00:20:32.60\00:20:36.49
He's not like that
unmoved mover that was
00:20:37.14\00:20:40.14
spoken of by the philosophers.
00:20:40.17\00:20:42.41
He is actively
involved in His creation.
00:20:42.44\00:20:46.01
He cares for His creation.
00:20:47.09\00:20:49.18
Now do you know
that the number of stars
00:20:49.82\00:20:52.08
is almost infinite?
00:20:52.53\00:20:54.38
We've talked
about the distances.
00:20:54.41\00:20:56.49
You remember that God
told Abraham to go out and
00:20:56.99\00:20:59.14
count the stars of he could.
00:20:59.17\00:21:00.63
Do you know that you can
only count about 3000 stars
00:21:01.38\00:21:04.15
with the naked eye?
00:21:04.18\00:21:05.29
And yet it looked like there
were a lot of stars out there.
00:21:06.74\00:21:10.70
Well, our galaxy has
approximately one billion stars.
00:21:11.39\00:21:16.03
And remember that there are
at least one billion galaxies.
00:21:16.45\00:21:19.60
This means that the number
of stars in all of the galaxies
00:21:20.43\00:21:23.80
of the universe is
10 to the 22nd power.
00:21:23.83\00:21:27.26
Let me tell you
how much that is.
00:21:29.44\00:21:31.05
It's ten thousand
million trillion stars.
00:21:31.45\00:21:36.84
Just to give you a little
idea of about how many stars
00:21:37.34\00:21:39.97
there would be, imagine all
of the beaches on planet earth.
00:21:40.00\00:21:44.27
And imagine that each grain
of sand on all of the beaches
00:21:44.67\00:21:48.35
of planet earth is one of
the heavenly stars or one of
00:21:48.38\00:21:51.38
the heavenly bodies.
00:21:51.41\00:21:52.44
That would be close
to the number of stars
00:21:52.47\00:21:55.03
in the universe.
00:21:55.06\00:21:56.43
Now you try picking
up a hand full of sand
00:21:56.79\00:21:59.24
and counting all the
grains of sand in that one hand.
00:21:59.27\00:22:02.65
It would be
practically impossible.
00:22:03.61\00:22:05.97
And yet we find that this
universe that Jesus created
00:22:06.32\00:22:10.31
was awesome.
00:22:10.51\00:22:11.92
Now let me ask you, how
big do you feel this morning?
00:22:12.73\00:22:14.95
You know, sometimes we
think we're so important,
00:22:16.37\00:22:19.35
and so
significant, and so great.
00:22:19.38\00:22:23.08
And yet in the context of
the almost limitless universe,
00:22:24.05\00:22:29.11
who is man?
00:22:29.39\00:22:32.80
In fact, David
asked that question.
00:22:33.00\00:22:34.91
If you go with me to
Psalm 8 and verses 3 and 4,
00:22:34.94\00:22:39.25
David one night was
looking at the heavens
00:22:39.28\00:22:41.63
and he came back
with this impression.
00:22:41.66\00:22:44.31
Notice Psalm 8 and
verses 3 through 5.
00:22:44.34\00:22:49.20
He says...
00:22:49.50\00:22:50.53
"What is man," is
what David is saying,
00:23:14.56\00:23:17.82
"in the context
of the universe?"
00:23:17.85\00:23:20.40
And yet, listen up.
00:23:21.23\00:23:22.41
When this planet fell
into sin, Jesus, the Creator
00:23:23.20\00:23:29.82
of all the
universe, everlasting God,
00:23:29.85\00:23:33.52
who created
everything from nothing,
00:23:33.92\00:23:36.64
who by His power sustains
the universe and keeps it
00:23:37.04\00:23:40.83
functioning in order, He
said, "I cannot stand the idea
00:23:40.86\00:23:46.07
of losing that little planet."
00:23:46.10\00:23:49.48
And so Jesus Christ,
the Creator, bid farewell
00:23:50.44\00:23:55.30
to the angelic host
in heaven to come down
00:23:55.33\00:23:58.95
to this little rebel planet.
00:23:58.98\00:24:02.52
He came and He was
born with a body affected by
00:24:03.40\00:24:06.38
4000 years of sin.
00:24:06.41\00:24:09.29
He was born in the
likeness of sinful flesh.
00:24:09.32\00:24:12.84
As a child He
studied the Old Testament,
00:24:13.76\00:24:15.99
which He had given.
00:24:16.02\00:24:17.29
As Jesus grew, the
hatred against Him grew.
00:24:19.86\00:24:24.10
Imagine Jesus placing Himself in
the hands of His own creatures.
00:24:24.71\00:24:30.59
To have them slap
Him, and spit in His face,
00:24:31.15\00:24:35.76
and kick Him.
00:24:36.16\00:24:37.71
And yet not opening
His mouth when by His power
00:24:38.47\00:24:42.14
He created the universe.
00:24:42.17\00:24:43.73
He could have simply
spoken the word and everybody
00:24:43.76\00:24:48.27
would have been instantly
pulverized and destroyed.
00:24:48.30\00:24:52.79
But Jesus, the
Creator, came to this world.
00:24:53.84\00:24:56.38
The great God who
was in the form of God.
00:24:56.69\00:24:59.47
He did not consider
equality with God as something
00:24:59.67\00:25:02.30
to be grasped, and He came down.
00:25:02.33\00:25:06.11
In fact, let's read that
passage that we've read before.
00:25:06.50\00:25:08.89
I never tire at reading
this passage in Philippians 2
00:25:08.92\00:25:12.72
beginning with verse 5.
00:25:12.75\00:25:14.32
Philippians
chapter 2 and verse 5.
00:25:14.35\00:25:17.08
Here, the
apostle Paul says this...
00:25:17.63\00:25:19.65
In other words, He did
not consider equality with God
00:25:32.07\00:25:34.76
something to be grasped.
00:25:34.79\00:25:37.15
In other words,
He emptied Himself.
00:25:40.80\00:25:42.72
And now notice.
00:25:50.31\00:25:51.43
In the likeness of a man, we're
told that He humbled Himself
00:25:52.19\00:25:56.04
even more.
00:25:56.07\00:25:57.10
Folks, we can never really
understand this sacrifice.
00:26:02.25\00:26:05.87
Did Jesus
really need this world?
00:26:06.40\00:26:08.97
Not really.
00:26:09.99\00:26:11.30
He can subsist very
well without this world,
00:26:11.53\00:26:15.14
and without each
individual in this world.
00:26:15.17\00:26:17.66
But He loved the world.
00:26:18.01\00:26:20.00
And therefore, He came
here to save this planet.
00:26:20.03\00:26:23.87
You know, you could imagine,
to give you a little comparison,
00:26:25.14\00:26:28.52
you know, there's a lot
of orchards here of almonds.
00:26:29.23\00:26:34.62
You know, sometimes
when I drive north on 99,
00:26:34.65\00:26:37.26
you have acres
and acres of almonds.
00:26:37.29\00:26:38.95
Can you imagine a worker someday
coming to the owner of the
00:26:38.98\00:26:43.17
orchard, almond
orchard, and saying, "Sir, sir.
00:26:43.20\00:26:46.78
I have some news
to report to you."
00:26:47.83\00:26:49.84
And the owner says, "What?"
00:26:49.87\00:26:50.90
"Well, a leaf fell off
of a tree over at acre 83."
00:26:51.03\00:26:55.89
What would the owner say?
00:26:59.06\00:27:00.11
"A leaf? You're kidding me.
00:27:00.14\00:27:03.40
You come to report that
a leaf fell off that tree?
00:27:03.43\00:27:06.26
Who cares."
00:27:06.29\00:27:07.89
The same is true of this world.
00:27:09.75\00:27:11.62
You see, this world is like
a leaf in the orchard of God,
00:27:12.70\00:27:16.80
in the universe of God.
00:27:16.83\00:27:18.17
And when it
fell, Jesus didn't say,
00:27:18.47\00:27:21.39
"Oh, I've got a lot of worlds.
00:27:21.42\00:27:23.67
I've got a lot
of loyal citizens.
00:27:23.70\00:27:25.88
I don't need that little world.
00:27:25.91\00:27:27.69
Let's just snuff
it out of existence."
00:27:27.72\00:27:30.58
No.
00:27:30.91\00:27:31.94
Jesus, the
Creator, became a creature.
00:27:31.97\00:27:37.65
Isn't that amazing.
00:27:38.87\00:27:39.93
The creator became a creature.
00:27:39.96\00:27:42.89
That's how much He loved us.
00:27:43.72\00:27:45.34
And by the way, folks, do
you know that the Bible says
00:27:45.37\00:27:48.56
that He cares so much
for us that He even cares
00:27:48.59\00:27:53.14
for the little sparrows?
00:27:53.69\00:27:55.47
Notice Luke chapter
12 and verses 6 and 7.
00:27:56.18\00:27:59.36
You know, sometimes I
hear people really down on
00:27:59.39\00:28:01.66
themselves and
say, "Nobody loves me.
00:28:01.69\00:28:03.67
Nobody cares about me."
00:28:03.70\00:28:05.40
Well whenever you think that,
remember that there is someone
00:28:05.43\00:28:09.09
who loves you and cares
for you, and would have come
00:28:09.12\00:28:12.43
to save only you.
00:28:12.46\00:28:14.01
Notice what we
find in Luke 12:6-7.
00:28:15.31\00:28:18.77
In fact, in Desire Of
Ages, Ellen White says
00:28:29.94\00:28:32.06
that when a bird falls
out of the tree and dies,
00:28:32.09\00:28:35.38
it touches the heart of Jesus.
00:28:35.41\00:28:39.02
The death of a bird.
00:28:39.50\00:28:41.06
It continues saying...
00:28:43.11\00:28:44.32
And let me tell you,
Jesus has to adjust the account
00:28:48.10\00:28:51.54
with my head every day.
00:28:51.57\00:28:53.11
Notice Matthew
chapter 6 and verse 26.
00:29:03.13\00:29:05.79
You know, this is
not comprehensible to us
00:29:05.82\00:29:07.99
because we're selfish.
00:29:08.02\00:29:09.48
You know, we're not
into this idea of serving
00:29:09.51\00:29:12.13
and helping other people.
00:29:12.16\00:29:13.29
We're into the idea of
serving and helping ourselves,
00:29:13.32\00:29:16.40
and have other people us.
00:29:16.43\00:29:18.39
We have the
problem of upward mobility
00:29:18.94\00:29:21.10
that we've been talking about.
00:29:21.13\00:29:22.27
Jesus showed that
the principle of life,
00:29:22.57\00:29:25.27
the great principle of
life, is downward mobility.
00:29:25.30\00:29:28.80
To serve.
00:29:28.83\00:29:30.32
No matter how great you are.
00:29:30.35\00:29:32.29
The greatest law of
life is a law of service.
00:29:32.32\00:29:36.54
Matthew 6 verse
26, Jesus says...
00:29:36.77\00:29:39.76
Do you know what the
great passion of Jesus is?
00:29:57.04\00:29:59.41
The great passion of
Jesus is to have us where He is.
00:30:00.22\00:30:05.21
He showed that passion
when He was about to suffer
00:30:07.40\00:30:11.50
death on Calvary.
00:30:11.53\00:30:13.21
He says, "I'm leaving,
but I'm going to come again.
00:30:14.10\00:30:18.02
And I'm going to
receive you unto Myself.
00:30:18.34\00:30:20.69
That where I am,
there you may be also."
00:30:20.72\00:30:24.41
In fact, Jesus, just a few
minutes perhaps after this,
00:30:25.23\00:30:29.54
or at much a few hours after
this, He uttered that prayer
00:30:29.57\00:30:33.07
to His Father, that
wonderful intercessory prayer
00:30:33.10\00:30:36.70
of John chapter 17.
00:30:36.73\00:30:38.76
And at the climax of the prayer,
Jesus shows what His great
00:30:39.47\00:30:43.04
passion was.
00:30:43.07\00:30:44.66
John 17 verse 24,
I'd like to read this.
00:30:45.18\00:30:47.95
And by the way, as
you're looking for this text,
00:30:47.98\00:30:50.42
Ellen White says that this
verse is on the lips of Jesus
00:30:50.91\00:30:55.85
on five different occasions.
00:30:55.88\00:30:57.80
The first occasion, of course,
is when He prayed this prayer
00:30:58.96\00:31:02.31
in Gethsemane.
00:31:02.34\00:31:03.50
The second time was on Sunday
morning when He resurrected
00:31:03.94\00:31:06.87
and He went to
heaven to make sure that His
00:31:06.90\00:31:08.82
sacrifice was accepted.
00:31:08.85\00:31:10.30
He went in and spoke
these words to His Father.
00:31:10.48\00:31:13.14
The next time was 40 days
later when He went to heaven
00:31:13.38\00:31:16.87
and He was going to be
enthroned as our High Priest.
00:31:16.90\00:31:19.51
Once again, He
uttered these words.
00:31:19.71\00:31:21.92
The next time, she says,
is at the time of trouble
00:31:22.46\00:31:24.82
when God's people
are about to be wiped out
00:31:24.85\00:31:26.57
from the face of planet earth.
00:31:26.60\00:31:28.26
Jesus will speak
these words to His Father.
00:31:28.29\00:31:31.06
Obviously, Jesus
wants us to be there.
00:31:32.85\00:31:36.17
And she actually says that these
words are on the lips of Jesus
00:31:36.20\00:31:39.48
now when Jesus
intercedes for us in heaven.
00:31:39.51\00:31:42.68
What are the words? Notice...
00:31:44.26\00:31:45.70
What is the passion of Jesus?
00:32:05.59\00:32:07.18
That we be where, what?
00:32:07.56\00:32:08.97
Where He is.
00:32:09.37\00:32:11.33
And then He says...
00:32:12.05\00:32:13.21
Jesus constantly brings
this prayer to His Father.
00:32:21.01\00:32:25.06
"Father, I want My own
to come and to be with Me."
00:32:25.09\00:32:29.64
Do you realize that it
would have been almost an
00:32:30.87\00:32:33.20
infinite humiliation for
Jesus to take Adam's nature
00:32:33.23\00:32:36.56
before the fall?
00:32:36.59\00:32:37.77
Allow me to read you this
very significant statement,
00:32:38.50\00:32:40.77
Desire Of Ages, page 48,
where Ellen White explains the
00:32:40.80\00:32:46.14
great sacrifice of Jesus.
00:32:46.17\00:32:47.63
"It would have been an
almost infinite humiliation..."
00:32:47.66\00:32:50.74
Imagine Jesus
becoming a creature even in
00:33:01.48\00:33:03.51
the perfection of Adam.
00:33:03.54\00:33:04.74
But then she says...
00:33:05.64\00:33:06.72
You see, Jesus is
the great exemplar.
00:33:40.38\00:33:43.05
He could have said,
"I don't need this world.
00:33:44.42\00:33:46.45
I've got lots of other
worlds with loyal citizens
00:33:47.22\00:33:49.99
who never sinned."
00:33:50.02\00:33:51.26
And yet He chose, in
spite of all of His power
00:33:51.69\00:33:54.82
and greatness, to come
down and save the human race.
00:33:54.85\00:33:58.70
A few years ago,
actually many years ago
00:33:59.59\00:34:02.44
when I was teaching in Columbia,
I had an evangelistic crusade
00:34:02.47\00:34:06.82
in the city of Medellín.
00:34:06.85\00:34:08.19
And at that time we would
show movies that were produced
00:34:09.42\00:34:13.53
by Moody Bible Institute.
00:34:13.56\00:34:15.57
And one them was
called, The City of the Bees.
00:34:15.60\00:34:18.03
And I showed the 20
minute little movie.
00:34:18.75\00:34:21.79
16 mm back then.
00:34:22.22\00:34:23.99
And you know, I
was captivated by it.
00:34:24.70\00:34:27.62
I usually would
preach afterwards.
00:34:27.65\00:34:29.47
And I was captivated by
that movie, because it showed
00:34:29.81\00:34:33.18
basically a bee that
was kind of, you know,
00:34:33.21\00:34:38.06
struggling and scrambling
on the ground and couldn't fly.
00:34:38.09\00:34:41.35
And they said that little bee,
the reason why he couldn't fly,
00:34:42.61\00:34:45.81
is because he had miscalculated
the amount of nectar that
00:34:46.34\00:34:49.87
he needed to drink from
the flower to be able to
00:34:49.90\00:34:52.50
make it back to the beehive.
00:34:52.53\00:34:54.59
And so he didn't have
enough energy to make it back.
00:34:55.12\00:34:57.73
And they showed on that
movie that if that little bee
00:34:59.52\00:35:03.85
was given a little bit of
honey, or water that was sweet,
00:35:03.88\00:35:08.61
the bee would restore its
energy and it would fly off
00:35:09.03\00:35:12.23
and be able to make
it to his destination.
00:35:13.15\00:35:15.11
You'll never guess,
but about two days later
00:35:16.45\00:35:18.42
I was coming out of
home on my way to class.
00:35:18.45\00:35:22.68
And I was late for class.
00:35:23.01\00:35:24.63
Not as usual.
00:35:25.42\00:35:26.59
I was usually on time for class.
00:35:26.62\00:35:28.37
But I came down
the steps of the house,
00:35:29.01\00:35:31.41
and low and behold,
what do you suppose I saw?
00:35:32.01\00:35:34.37
A bee.
00:35:35.03\00:35:36.06
And it was on the
ground, you know, it was alive.
00:35:36.96\00:35:39.24
But it's struggling
and it couldn't fly.
00:35:39.27\00:35:41.07
So I said, "I wonder if
this bee has the same disease
00:35:42.00\00:35:44.89
as the one that I
saw in the movie?"
00:35:44.92\00:35:46.68
So even though I was late,
I went up into the kitchen.
00:35:48.26\00:35:50.92
I got a little bit of honey on a
spoon, and I brought the honey,
00:35:50.95\00:35:54.72
and I put it next to the
little mandible of the bee.
00:35:55.39\00:35:58.28
And I could tell that
the bee was sucking away.
00:35:58.39\00:36:00.88
Nothing happened.
00:36:01.93\00:36:03.08
A couple of minutes went by.
00:36:03.81\00:36:04.84
I said, "Well, it must
be suffering from cancer or
00:36:04.87\00:36:07.06
tuberculosis, or
something like that.
00:36:07.09\00:36:08.89
Obviously, he
doesn't have this disease."
00:36:08.92\00:36:11.32
But then all of a sudden,
like he was shot out of a gun,
00:36:11.83\00:36:15.69
this little bee took off
into the air and just flew away
00:36:16.05\00:36:20.83
and disappeared.
00:36:20.86\00:36:22.18
You know, as I was
on my way to class,
00:36:24.24\00:36:26.22
I started reflecting
and thinking about this.
00:36:27.01\00:36:29.54
You know, that little
bee is kind of like us.
00:36:31.26\00:36:35.02
It had a fall.
00:36:36.19\00:36:37.54
Because it disobeyed a
fundamental law of the bees.
00:36:38.19\00:36:41.58
And that is, that you get
enough nectar where you're at
00:36:42.01\00:36:46.78
in order to make it to
where your destination is.
00:36:46.81\00:36:50.43
We had our fall.
00:36:50.64\00:36:52.07
And like that bee, without
external help there's no hope.
00:36:52.59\00:36:58.16
You know, I could have done one
of three things with that bee.
00:36:59.16\00:37:02.60
I could have stood
there and lectured him.
00:37:03.82\00:37:05.87
"Serves you right.
00:37:07.11\00:37:08.16
You disobeyed the
law, and now you pay."
00:37:08.19\00:37:11.40
And I could have
walked off and let him die.
00:37:11.85\00:37:14.62
The other thing I could have
done is look at the bee and say,
00:37:15.56\00:37:18.55
"You broke the law. Tough luck.
00:37:18.65\00:37:21.01
But I see your
suffering, so I'll put you
00:37:21.04\00:37:22.82
out of your misery."
00:37:22.85\00:37:23.90
God could have
done that with us.
00:37:25.71\00:37:27.46
God could have ignored us,
00:37:27.67\00:37:29.16
Jesus could have
forgotten about us,
00:37:29.19\00:37:30.67
or Jesus could have
put us out of our misery.
00:37:30.70\00:37:32.99
But He didn't.
00:37:33.84\00:37:35.02
You see, I didn't need that
bee for anything in the world.
00:37:35.43\00:37:38.95
I'd be alive today if
I hadn't helped that bee.
00:37:38.98\00:37:43.92
But even though...
00:37:45.27\00:37:46.43
And I like to imagine, you know,
I know bees can't think, but
00:37:46.46\00:37:49.51
if he could think, he'd
say, "Whoa, that's a big guy.
00:37:49.54\00:37:53.58
Important guy. I hope
he doesn't step on me."
00:37:54.42\00:37:56.76
That's kind of
like us looking at God,
00:37:58.75\00:38:00.22
"Wow, what a great God.
00:38:00.25\00:38:02.78
Would He actually save me?"
00:38:03.18\00:38:04.91
Well, you know, when
this bee was in need,
00:38:04.94\00:38:07.67
I actually stooped down
and came down to his level,
00:38:07.70\00:38:11.19
and gave him honey.
00:38:12.11\00:38:13.33
And he flew off
into the distance.
00:38:14.14\00:38:16.77
He was saved from certain
death by someone who didn't
00:38:17.33\00:38:22.46
need him at all.
00:38:22.49\00:38:23.84
So it is with us.
00:38:24.71\00:38:26.76
When we fell, Jesus
could have ignored us.
00:38:27.15\00:38:30.00
He could have put
us out of our misery.
00:38:30.03\00:38:31.90
But He came down to our level,
even though He didn't have to,
00:38:31.93\00:38:35.14
so that He could
save us from our sins,
00:38:35.17\00:38:37.70
and so that we could fly
off into the skies and end up
00:38:37.73\00:38:40.92
in the heavenly
kingdom with Him.
00:38:40.95\00:38:42.96
And you know
what's even more amazing?
00:38:44.15\00:38:46.52
Is the fact that heaven
is going to come down here.
00:38:47.38\00:38:50.68
Have you ever stopped to think
that this is going to be the
00:38:51.84\00:38:54.36
headquarters of the universe?
00:38:54.39\00:38:56.32
That actually the New
Jerusalem, the capital of God,
00:38:57.14\00:39:00.33
is going to come down
from heaven and it's going to
00:39:00.36\00:39:02.48
rest on planet earth.
00:39:02.51\00:39:03.71
And this is going to be
the center of the universe.
00:39:03.74\00:39:07.13
And we are going to have
the privilege of living here
00:39:07.67\00:39:10.62
on planet earth with
the Father and with Jesus
00:39:10.65\00:39:14.45
throughout the
ceaseless ages of eternity.
00:39:14.48\00:39:17.35
What a privilege to
live with Jesus forever
00:39:17.70\00:39:22.31
and ever on planet earth.
00:39:22.34\00:39:24.29
Do you know that Jesus
would have done it only for one?
00:39:28.05\00:39:30.46
There was only one lost sheep,
there was only one lost coin,
00:39:32.71\00:39:36.66
there was one lost son.
00:39:36.69\00:39:38.45
If there had been only
one sinner, Jesus would have
00:39:40.61\00:39:42.47
come to save that one sinner.
00:39:42.50\00:39:44.09
I'd like to end by
reading a statement that we find
00:39:44.39\00:39:47.04
in the book, God's
Amazing Grace, page 173.
00:39:47.24\00:39:52.23
"The wealth of earth
dwindles into insignificance
00:39:52.26\00:39:57.56
when compared with
the worth of a single soul
00:39:57.59\00:40:01.35
for whom our
Lord and Master died.
00:40:01.38\00:40:03.95
He who weigheth the hills
in scales and the mountains
00:40:04.20\00:40:07.35
in a balance regards a human
soul as of infinite value."
00:40:07.38\00:40:11.16
Now listen up.
00:40:11.19\00:40:12.22
How do you buy something
that is of infinite value?
00:40:12.25\00:40:14.81
The only way you can do it
is by paying an infinite price.
00:40:14.84\00:40:17.74
So Jesus bought that
which was of infinite value
00:40:18.94\00:40:21.80
by paying an infinite
price; the blood of Jesus.
00:40:21.83\00:40:25.43
Oh folks, let's not walk
away from here this morning
00:40:25.75\00:40:29.06
saying no to Jesus.
00:40:30.16\00:40:32.00
Let's walk away saying, "Jesus,
I receive You as my Savior
00:40:32.32\00:40:35.83
and as my Lord."
00:40:35.86\00:40:37.49