Participants: Terry McComb
Series Code: OR
Program Code: OR000006
00:01 In the beginning,
00:04 the earth was without form and void. 00:07 Then God said, "Let there be light." 00:11 And there was light. 00:14 And God divided the light from the darkness. 00:17 So the evening and the morning were the first day. 00:34 So the evening and the morning were the second day. 00:41 Then God said, "Let the waters 00:43 under the heavens be gather together into one place 00:46 and let the dry land appear, 00:52 let the earth green forth grass and herb 00:57 and the fruit tree that yields fruit 00:59 according to its kind." 01:02 So the evening and the morning were the third day. 01:09 Then God made two great lights. 01:11 He made the stars also. 01:13 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day. 01:21 Then God said, "Let the waters 01:22 abound with an abundance of living creatures. 01:30 And let birds fly above the earth 01:32 across the face of the firmament of the heavens." 01:38 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 01:45 Then God said, "Let the earth 01:46 bring forth living creatures according to its kind, 01:52 cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth." 02:04 Then God said, "Let us make man 02:06 in our image according to our likeness." 02:10 So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 02:16 And on the seventh day, God ended His work 02:18 which he had done and He rested the seventh day 02:20 from all his work which He had done. 02:22 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, 02:25 because in it He had rested from all His work 02:27 which God created and made. 02:31 And indeed it was very good. 02:36 As we begin this evening, let's begin with payer, 02:39 "Holy Father, again this evening 02:41 we commit this next hour to you 02:44 and we invite the Holy Spirit that causes us to understand 02:48 anything spiritual we present tonight. 02:51 To give us a hard understanding, 02:54 so teach us now 02:55 as our prayer in his name, amen." 03:00 We come to the sixth day of creation 03:03 and on the sixth day the creator made 03:06 so many things and so many things 03:09 seem to be happening on this day 03:12 that we're gonna divided into three parts. 03:15 Tonight and two times in the morning 03:18 and then we'll take up 03:19 the seventh day tomorrow evening. 03:22 So have your Bibles I invite you to turn 03:24 to Genesis first Chapter, verse 24. 03:29 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth 03:34 the living creatures according to its kinds, 03:38 cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth, 03:41 each according to its kind," and it was so. 03:47 And God made the beast of the earth 03:48 according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, 03:52 and everything that creeps on the earth 03:54 according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 04:02 That's the part we're gonna take a look at tonight 04:04 and we'll continue with the rest of day 04:06 sixth there in the morning. 04:09 And so God made these creatures 04:12 and God made the cattle according to its kind. 04:15 Notice again the law of generics as it work 04:18 and we noticed in Genesis 2 verses 19 and 20. 04:22 "Out of the ground the Lord God 04:24 formed every beast of the field 04:26 and so Adam gave names to all the cattle 04:30 and to all the creatures." 04:32 Here we discover the creator 04:34 is doing something a little bit different. 04:36 In the creation story, he did this with birds, 04:39 he formed them out of the earth and now we find here 04:43 when it comes to creating the animals of the sixth day, 04:47 both the domestic the wild and the crawling things 04:50 that He formed them and then they began to live. 04:57 And so let's take a look, and the Bible says, 05:03 "And God saw that it was good." 05:08 What I like to suggest for your thinking this evening 05:12 that when God created the domestic cattle, 05:18 I would like to suggest for your thinking 05:21 that the domestic cattle have always been domestic. 05:28 They never were wild, never have been wild, 05:30 that is a teaching of evolution. 05:33 But some of the animals on our planet earth 05:36 have always been under the care keeping of man. 05:39 I am just curious how many of you ever dealt with sheep? 05:43 How many of you think those sheep would last very long 05:46 if it wasn't for the shepherd? 05:49 Anybody's ever dealt with sheep knows 05:51 that sheep do not live long without a shepherd. 05:54 They need a caretaker and according to scripture, 06:00 Able was a keeper of sheep, 06:02 Cain was a tiller of the ground, 06:03 Genesis 4 verse 2. 06:07 And so right in the Bible, 06:08 it tells us that Able was the keeper of sheep 06:12 and that's right there at the very Gates of Eden 06:17 if you please. And it's very doubtful 06:18 that they would not live long if it was not for the shepherd. 06:25 How many grew up on the farm? 06:27 I grew up on a farm in Southern Michigan. 06:30 And you know there's something about cows, 06:34 they are just one of those gregarious creatures 06:37 I also think that they've been around 06:39 with man ever since the gates of Eden. 06:42 And God specifically told Adam and Eve, 06:45 and He said, that mankind have dominion over 06:51 and notice what God specifically said, 06:54 "Over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air 06:58 and over the cattle and over every creeping thing 07:03 that creeps on the earth." 07:05 According to Genesis 1 verse 26. 07:09 Notice that evolution would have you to believe 07:12 that you are monkey's uncle, they would have you to believe 07:14 that we're all kissing cousins with the animals, 07:16 but that's not what God's word says. 07:20 God's word says, that man was to be 07:22 the care keeper of all these animals 07:26 and that they were not the same. 07:28 What did God make in His own image 07:29 in His own likeness? He didn't make them 07:31 in the likeness of animals as we shall see. 07:35 A father's employment greatly influences 07:39 how the family is going to live and what they know. 07:44 And we read there a husbandry of creatures 07:47 has profoundly written human history. 07:51 We read in Genesis 4:20 to 22, 07:54 "Jabal was the father of those 07:56 who dwell in tents and have livestock." 07:58 And that would be assume would be cattle and horses 08:01 and these domestic type animals. 08:04 "His brother's name was Jubal 08:05 and he was the father of all those 08:07 who play the harp and the flute." 08:09 So musicians have been around 08:11 ever since the Gates of Eden 08:14 and their half brother Tubal-Cain, 08:16 was an instructor in every kind of craftsmanship 08:19 in bronze and iron." Genesis 4:20 to 22. 08:23 So the father's employment, 08:25 what he does to earn a living profoundly effects 08:28 how the family is going to live 08:32 and there is something about growing up on a farm, 08:38 away from the fast food, fast living, 08:42 fast cars, fast women, fast everything of the city, 08:46 when you live in a country 08:47 thing go just a little bit slower 08:49 and its just a little more congenial 08:53 to your blood pressure and your heart rate 08:55 if you live outside the gates of the big city. 08:59 Dairy farming made a deep impression 09:01 on my three year old mind, when my dad said, 09:05 "That heavy milk came right on my big toe." 09:08 I still remember and I was only three years old, 09:10 but I do remember that event quite well. 09:14 I like to suggest that dad's cows 09:17 taught me five virtues that I really badly needed to learn. 09:24 And the first virtue 09:26 that cattle thought me was Self-denial. 09:30 You know there's just something self denying 09:32 about at 5 o'clock in the morning when dad yells up, 09:36 "C'mon boy, it's the time to milk the cow." 09:38 There something crucifying about 09:39 that when you want to stay in a warm bed 09:41 and its cold and its chill and its dark 09:45 and you just really don't want to go out there 09:47 and deal with those cows, but cows don't wait 09:52 and they don't like to miss being milked or fed on time 09:57 and so I found that very crucifying to me 10:00 especially when it was 10 below zero. 10:04 It just seems like it was a tough thing to do. 10:08 The second virtue is Faithfulness. 10:12 Cows gave me an opportunity to learn 10:15 and when our family took a vacation, 10:17 my father stayed at home, 10:22 because the cows had to be milked morning and night. 10:26 And as I observed 10:27 my dad's faithfulness to these creatures, 10:31 it made a deep impression on my mind. 10:35 And I read in my Bible that God is faithful. 10:39 That's what the scripture says 10:42 and we discover he's the same yesterday, 10:44 today and forever, 10:46 and that was what I discovered about my dad. 10:48 He was always there for the cattle 10:51 when they needed him and that meant 10:54 he had to sacrifice a lot of time 10:57 with the family in order to do that. 10:59 The third godly quality was Responsibility. 11:03 I believe that some of the crisis facing 11:05 our society today particularly of child abuse 11:08 that's going on is because there are many children 11:10 that have grown up 11:11 and never had to learn the responsibility 11:14 of caring for anything other than themselves. 11:18 When you grow up on a farm, you got to feed the chickens, 11:20 and the dogs, and the cats, and feed the cows 11:24 and go get them and bring them in 11:26 and milk them and clean up after them. 11:28 You learn a responsibility that I think that is often 11:34 missing to the dear children 11:36 that have to grew up in the cities. 11:38 And probably you've already guessed by now, 11:40 I am just the little bit biased 11:42 about where I think God had planned for people to live. 11:47 And you know sheep, 11:48 I remember there was one mother who said this, 11:52 "This little lamb here awakened 11:54 in my young daughter all her motherly instincts 11:57 and as she cuddled 11:59 and cared for this little woolly life, 12:01 these motherly desires blossomed." 12:05 And I think there's nothing that can prepare a child 12:08 for some of the responsibilities of parenthood 12:11 like it is in taking care of some of God's 12:14 friendly little creatures and having responsibility 12:19 that goes with it. 12:20 Well the fourth character quality was Attention. 12:27 I discovered that when you're taking care of these animals, 12:30 you can't treat them all the same way. 12:33 Horses don't eat the same way that cows do, 12:36 and sheep and goats don't either, 12:39 and neither does the dog and cat, 12:41 and so you have to learn how to pay attention 12:45 each after its own kind that did not evolve, 12:48 that each have their own temperaments 12:50 and are controlled and reproduced 12:53 by absolute laws of genetics generation after generation. 12:59 And God created these animals male and female 13:03 to reproduce after their kind. 13:05 And I believe that originally in the Garden of Eden 13:08 all these creatures had their own mate. 13:10 We know that's true 13:11 at least when they went onboard the Ark 13:14 there in Noah's day 13:16 and "You should take seven of each of the clean animals, 13:19 a male and his female 13:21 and two of each that are unclean, 13:22 the male and it female." Genesis 7 verse 2. 13:26 And so we see that God made a distinction in animals 13:29 and they are not all the same. 13:31 There are some that God considered unclean 13:34 and you take those in by a number, 13:36 and the clean you take those in by sevens. 13:39 More of the clean than the unclean 13:42 and when we take a look 13:43 at what they are according to scriptures, 13:46 we can know why He wanted 13:48 more of the clean than the unclean. 13:51 That leads us to the fifth virtue and that's Love. 13:56 You know all these creatures when you are around them 13:58 and you work with them for very long, 14:00 you can discover that they are indeed unique 14:06 and different and they liked to be loved. 14:09 Let me ask you a question? 14:11 Those who have dogs, 14:13 you know dogs are probably one of the very few animals 14:15 that makes his living totally 14:17 just receiving love, may though. 14:19 How many of you ever tried to pet a dog too much? 14:22 Have you ever tried? 14:24 I don't care how many times you pet them 14:26 when you get down what does he do? 14:29 Sticks his nose back 14:30 and c'mon do that one more time. 14:31 There's just something about dog, 14:33 he just loves to be loved. 14:37 And you know cats, they are little bit different. 14:42 Cats are more aloof. 14:45 Anybody's ever dealt with them, they like some petting 14:49 and they will do some purring, but not like a dog 14:53 and yet cats are in their own special way too 14:55 and they do their own special thing 14:58 and they are fun too be around. 15:04 Well my boys, for seven years 15:07 we lived just outside 15:08 the Glacier National Park in Montana. 15:12 And I have to admit once you lived there, 15:14 every other place after that is just, 15:16 you know, its sort of downhill after that it seems like. 15:19 But that was just the neatest place to live 15:21 and our boys, they didn't get to grow up on a farm, 15:24 but there was this little fawn, 15:29 that we heard crying out one morning. 15:31 And by the way a deer can make a noise, 15:34 they can scream just like a wild cat, 15:37 that's how we found this one, his mother evidently had died, 15:40 and so my boys got to raise this one. 15:42 And I tell you can guess what his name was, 15:44 that's right it was Bambi. 15:46 And Bambi became the family pet. 15:49 Bambi went with us wherever we went, 15:52 it know its name. 15:53 He would come when you call 15:55 and it could take a bowl of milk 15:56 so fast that it would almost take the nipple off. 15:59 And by the way if you're ever trying to do that, 16:01 lamb replacement is the milk that deer thrive on, 16:05 don't try to feed him cow's milk 16:07 they will not live on that at all but lamb replacement, 16:11 they thrive on it. 16:13 Have you ever wondered, 16:14 what it would have been like to have a mind of an animal? 16:17 You ever thought about that? You know, I grew up, 16:19 and if I has to look into the eyes 16:20 of those big Guernsey cows, the big brown eyes, 16:23 and he's now looking at you and you wonder 16:24 what are they thinking you know, 16:25 what do they-- 16:27 what are they trying to tell me these animals? 16:29 And so what would it been like to have an animal's mind? 16:33 Well, we don't really have to guess 16:35 because scripture tells there was a man in Daniel, 16:38 the fourth chapter. 16:39 He learned something from the beast. 16:41 What would it be like to have a mind transplant? 16:44 Daniel records the experience of Nebuchadnezzar. 16:49 Nebuchadnezzar was very proud of what he had done 16:54 and God told him that if he didn't straighten up, 16:59 he will become an animal 17:00 and that's exactly what happened. 17:02 "And he let him graze 17:04 with the beasts on the grass of the earth. 17:06 Let his heart be changed from that of a man, 17:09 and let him be given the heart of a beast." 17:12 Daniel 4:15 and 16. Why did he do this? 17:17 Well Nebuchadnezzar lived that way for seven years. 17:20 That's seems like that's an awfully 17:21 long time to me to have the mind of an animal. 17:26 What did Nebuchadnezzar 17:28 learned from having the mind of an animal for seven years? 17:32 We don't have to guess 17:34 because in the Book of Daniel, Chapter 4 verses 34 and 37, 17:38 this is what he says, "And at the end of that time 17:41 I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven 17:44 and noticed my understanding returned to me." 17:47 Evidently animals don't have understanding. 17:50 "But it returned to me and I blessed the Most High 17:52 and I praised and honored Him who lives forever, 17:55 for His dominion is an everlasting dominion 17:57 and His Kingdom is from generation to generation. 18:00 Now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, 18:02 praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, 18:06 all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. 18:09 And those who walk in pride, He is able to put down." 18:18 When we think of these animals and the way they live, 18:23 the atonement plan were set up, the Gates of Eden 18:28 and of all the animals that God chose to represent himself, 18:32 what did He chose? 18:34 A lamb, not a lion, not a tiger, not some-- 18:39 it was a lamb, a lamb of all things. 18:44 And that's why John the Baptist said, 18:45 "Behold, of what? The Lamb of God, 18:49 who takes away the sins of the world." 18:53 God said that he saw 18:54 that it was good for man to live there. 18:58 Domestic cattle are part of the animal kingdom 19:02 and there are more than one million 19:05 known classified species in the animal kingdom today 19:09 and while I just estimated 19:11 there's probably 10 million species, 19:13 most of which have not been classified 19:16 and they range in size from the microscopic creatures 19:19 to the 100 foot blue whale. 19:24 And what does God says about these creatures? 19:27 "For every beast of the forest is Mine, 19:30 the cattle on a thousand hills. 19:32 I know all the birds of the mountains 19:34 and the wild beasts of the field are Mine." 19:36 Psalm 50:10 and verse 11. 19:39 Cattle learn much from man and men learn much from cattle. 19:47 I learned in the farm that the cattle learned their name, 19:49 they knew which stanchion to stand in 19:52 and they could call. And God says you know, 19:55 "The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master, 19:59 but Israel does not know Me, and My people do not consider." 20:04 I like you to believe that 20:05 from the past total history of human history, 20:09 nine tenths of the population have always been farmers, 20:13 care takers of cattle created on the sixth day. 20:17 Today one half of the world's 20:19 some six billion people are still farmers. 20:24 In 1900 the average U.S. farms was 160 acres 20:28 and were self sufficient. 20:30 From 1950 to 1980 the U.S. farm output 20:33 doubled while the numbers on the farm 20:36 fell through one half 20:38 and today the people on U.S farms 20:41 have dropped from 23 million to a mere 6 million. 20:45 Has population shifted from the country to the city? 20:51 And indeed they have. 20:53 And above the din and roar of the cities, 20:57 I believe that God has a message 21:00 for the people living on planet earth, 21:03 "Fear God and give glory to Him, 21:07 for the hour of His judgment has come 21:10 and there is a call to worship Him, 21:13 worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea 21:17 and the springs of waters." 21:20 And when you are out in nature, 21:22 your better nature just gets arouse out there on the farm, 21:28 Revelation 14:6 to 7. 21:33 Now I want to shift gears, 21:35 that wasn't all that God created on that day. 21:39 He also created, 21:41 what we know are the beasts of the field 21:44 is the way the Bible talks about it. 21:47 And I want to spend a little time 21:50 with them this evening as well. 21:54 And you know, man has been 21:55 experimenting with these animals, 21:58 the wild animals we think of them, 22:01 the beast of the field when He created them. 22:06 This first picture I want you to notice 22:09 is what they call a Liger, it's a huge creature, 22:13 it's been sort of genetically engineered. 22:17 It's a cross between a lion and a tiger. 22:19 Its huge, it's quite gentle, 22:23 you can see they're feeding it with a bottle of milk, 22:27 huge creature and very gentle. 22:31 I like to suggest this business the way 22:33 we breed animals today 22:35 are we're getting very close to doing, 22:37 I think what they did in the days of Noah 22:39 and we are about to pay the piper 22:42 I think for what we call genetic engineering, 22:45 but we'll see more about that little bit later. 22:48 Tonight I like you to consider with me, 22:52 this beast of the earth. 22:55 Behold the "Best of the fields" 22:58 is mentioned 10 times in scriptures. 23:01 I like to suggest that animals hear and feel, 23:06 I almost think they think. 23:09 Some people would debate that. 23:10 I let you decide that after you hear 23:12 some of the stories that we're gonna think about. 23:14 I like you to consider it for a moment tigers, 23:18 they're my favorite animals 23:19 and I just some day when things are like 23:24 they were in Genesis, that will be my pet, 23:27 I am looking forward to that. 23:29 I watched the guys playing with tiger at the big zoo 23:32 there in San Francisco and they were romping 23:36 with these tigers in the water and splashing 23:39 and have the best time and I thought 23:41 you know that's the way it was in Genesis, 23:45 when they worked together. 23:49 A. R. Rumford tells of a tiger cub 23:52 who receives kind treatment from a sailor onboard a ship 23:57 and years later as that sailor 24:00 was walking by the tiger's cage, 24:03 all the sudden this tiger let out a big roar 24:07 and what it did the sailor turned around 24:10 and looked through the bars and he said, 24:13 "Billy, is that you old charm?" 24:15 and he reach his hands to the bars 24:17 and gave the tiger a pet on the head 24:21 and the keeper there at the zoo 24:23 just about panic for this tiger 24:25 was not know to be friendly 24:27 to anybody and the sailor said, 24:30 "Who's in charge of the zoo anyway? 24:31 This is my old sailing mate 24:33 and we want to remember some old times" 24:36 and so the zookeeper wasn't sure and he said, 24:39 "No, let me in there." 24:40 And so they opened the door 24:42 and the sailor slipped in and the tiger rushed over 24:44 and he began to sing the sailing songs 24:48 that he used to sing in the ship 24:50 and as he began to keep time with his foot, 24:52 the tiger kept time with his paw 24:55 and his tail and just seem to enjoy 24:58 that and the whole audience was just there are amazed, 25:02 watching this man and this tiger, 25:04 put his arm out and the tiger would jump over, 25:06 then jump back and you could tell 25:08 that tiger remembered the man who have been 25:13 so kind to him onboard that ship many-many years ago. 25:17 Well he went to leave the tiger didn't want him to leave 25:20 and so it just to be a problem 25:22 because he had to get to the ship 25:24 and so finally the zoo keeper threw 25:25 a big chunk of meat at one end and the tiger went over there 25:27 and the sailor was able to slip out again. 25:30 And you know, it was Jim Corbett, 25:36 who was the author of the Man-Eaters of Kumaon 25:39 and it was his opinion that tigers 25:42 unless molested will do him no harm 25:46 and when he checked out all the man eating tigers, 25:49 ever single one of them 25:51 was because they've been wounded 25:54 or in fact he said, "I've not seen a case 25:57 where a tiger has been deliberately cruel 25:59 or where it is blood thirsty or killed without provocation." 26:04 That was Jim Corbett, 26:05 if you want to read a fascinating book, 26:06 just read Man-Eaters of Kumaon 26:08 but don't read it before you go to sleep at night, 26:11 it's quite a book to read. 26:15 Well, let consider lions for a moment. 26:19 Lions, you know, he's called king of the beast. 26:21 I want to tell you a little story 26:24 and this is taken from a book entitled "Little Tyke". 26:28 Margaret and Georges Westbeau, Auburn in Washington 26:33 raised a lioness by the name of Little Tyke. 26:37 What made this lioness unique 26:39 was that it was rescued from its mother 26:42 and she refused to eat meat of any kind. 26:47 Just a drop or two of blood in the bottle of milk 26:50 and the lion will refuse to drink it. 26:53 She was a total vegetarian and here you see Tyke 26:59 and his lamb both drinking bottles of milk. 27:04 This is Little Tyke with Imp, the cat 27:07 and they were the best of friends 27:09 and this Little Tyke, she just loved animals 27:13 and she chewed on rubber boots 27:15 to keep her teeth in place 27:17 and she just loved other animals 27:21 and they would play together 27:23 and during an earthquake one time 27:24 she jump right into the arm 27:25 of Westbeau and Georges said, 27:28 it was at this time I finally realized 27:30 where there is no fear, there is no savagery. 27:34 And man was to "have dominion over the fish of the sea, 27:37 and over every living thing that moves on the earth." 27:40 According to Genesis 1 verse 28. 27:43 In the film Born Free, Joy Adamson raised Elsa 27:49 and if you want to see a neat film. 27:50 If you've never seen Born Free, 27:52 you overt to yourself to watch it. 27:55 An incredible story as they raised Elsa in captivity 28:01 and then took it back out on to the wild and released it. 28:05 And this is what a C. R. Pitman, 28:10 former game warden of Uganda wrote. 28:13 "Despite manifestation of her late inherence savagery, 28:17 Elsa never lost and I believe never will lose 28:21 that perfect trust in confidence in her human parents 28:25 whom she regards with a peculiar devotion, 28:29 a devotion which she never would have 28:31 recorded even her own kind." 28:35 Because in the movie it shows 28:36 that she went back years later 28:38 and again Elsa came right over to her 28:40 just like a tamed kitten and it never lost 28:45 that love that it had for them. 28:48 And so in a remote wilderness 28:51 of Mt. Robinson in Western Canada, 28:56 Robert F. Leslie met a bear that he named "Bosco" 29:01 and you will find that story in the Reader's Digest 29:04 "Animals you will never forget" 29:06 and some of the stories I am telling tonight 29:08 come from that source and it entitled 29:11 "The bear that came in for supper." 29:13 Leslie was out there fishing on a fishing trip 29:16 and it was dark and it was raining 29:19 and he was in his lean- 29:20 to and out of the darkness of the night came Bosco 29:23 and it came in and it set his 500 pounds weight 29:26 right in there beside him in the lean-to. 29:30 And he thought, "Oh, welcome. 29:34 Nice to have you with me." 29:35 And anyway they took up a relationship, 29:39 this bear and this man 29:41 and it lasted for about 10 or 15 days. 29:44 And when he would go fishing, 29:45 he would catch the fish, 29:46 and then he would throw at him Bosco will grab it 29:50 and gulp it down with one gulp, 29:52 so he spend most of his time feeding Bosco 29:55 and forgot about catching fish for himself. 29:57 But he said as he fellowshipped there with that bear, 30:03 he said it was interesting 30:05 that one of their ways of communication 30:09 around the campfire was they look 30:12 each other in the eye and he said, 30:14 you know, when you look into a bears 30:17 big brown yellow eyes. 30:20 He said at first it was terrifying, 30:22 but then he said after a while it got to be 30:24 a very meaningful conversation. 30:25 I don't know what he was thinking, 30:27 I know what I was thinking 30:29 and he said we got along very famous. 30:33 Well one night the bear came in 30:36 and pushed its rump right over in his face, 30:39 he zipped and saying, 30:40 there he saw two embedded ticks in the tail of this bear 30:46 and so he thought, 30:47 okay so he took out his hunting knife 30:49 and he thought, I'll get a mauling for this 30:52 but the bear just seem bewaring 30:54 and just took his knife and quick flip he took 30:58 one tick out of that red inflamed tissue 31:01 and when he did the bear 31:02 let out a roar that shook the whole forest. 31:05 But he came back and pushed his rump 31:08 back in his face again, there is that other tick 31:10 and he flipped it out and again the bear 31:12 let out another roar that shook the forest. 31:15 Then he turned around and licked his hand. 31:19 Do you think that animals think? 31:23 They certainly have feelings that much is for sure. 31:28 Enos A. Mills, was the man who tells us in his book, 31:34 he lived in a Colorado Rockies alone 31:36 and unarmed and I think he discovered 31:39 some of the Genesis piece that the creator had in mind 31:43 when he created the beasts of the field on the sixth day. 31:49 I myself had walked in Glacier Park for a whole day 31:55 and I've seen bear feces all around 31:57 and I knew they were there 31:58 but I never saw one because I made a lot of noise. 32:00 I want to make sure these bears knew 32:02 that I was in their bedroom 32:03 and I didn't want to surprise them or make them nervous, 32:07 because I was there. 32:10 Enos A. Mills, authored 12 fascinating books. 32:13 Just look up in any used books store, 32:16 they're out of print, most of them. 32:17 He was a naturalist of the Colorado Rockies 32:20 and in the prepress of his book entitled, 32:23 "Watched by Wild Animals" he writes, 32:25 "Animals use instincts and reason 32:28 and also have curiosity, the desire to know. 32:31 Many of them more wide-awake species 32:33 do not run panic stricken 32:35 from the sight or the scent of man. 32:37 And when it is safe, notice, when it is safe, 32:40 they linger to watch him. 32:42 They also go forth seeking him. 32:45 Their keen scent detects him from as far and stealthily, 32:49 sometimes for hours, stalk, follow and watch man." 32:54 In his book, entitled "On Wildlife Trails" 32:59 he tells of sitting on a game trail for days 33:06 and his question was, do animals have trail rights? 33:12 In another words if one animal is coming down 33:14 the trail then there's another animal 33:16 that is coming up the trail do these animals 33:19 have trail rights? Well he was watching 33:24 and he sat there on this-- above the game trail 33:27 and watched it for about 10 or 15 days 33:29 and during that time 33:30 he observed some fascinating things. 33:33 One morning he watched and here was this grizzly bear 33:35 and he was just coming down on the trail 33:37 and he was just going along looking neither to the right, 33:41 and to the left and then he noticed coming up 33:43 the trail was a cougar, a mountain lion 33:47 and he thought, oh, this will be interesting, 33:49 I wonder what's going to happen. 33:51 Well they got about 30 yards apart, 33:54 the cougar stop, looked down the trail, 33:56 arched its back, hissed and spit and groan 34:00 and created a big ruckus but he got off the trail 34:05 and he made about a 30 yard ue around the trail 34:08 as the grizzly bear, he's just going along 34:10 and he never even looked to the right, 34:12 or to the left, just started running down the trail 34:15 and then when the cougar got around 34:18 and made the ue and got back in the trail, 34:20 the cougar looked over his shoulder still hissing 34:22 and spitting and groaning, 34:24 got back on the trail and went up the trail, 34:27 were there trail rights? 34:30 Yes there were. 34:31 Well it was a different day when the grizzly bear, 34:33 he was going down the trail as usual, 34:35 just having a good time when coming up 34:38 the trail was a skunk, a black and white stinker 34:43 and he thought, oh this will be interesting 34:45 and sure enough when they got about 3 yards apart, 34:48 the grizzly bear stopped and he looked down the trail 34:54 and the grizzly bear got off the trail, 34:59 about 10 yards or so. 35:01 And sit down in his hunches and he sat there 35:04 and watch as this slow moving black and white stinker 35:08 just went on by the trail 35:11 and as it got on by and just as it got level 35:15 with the grizzly bear, 35:16 he couldn't help to play the clown 35:18 and the grizzly bear did a summersault 35:19 and roll right up to the edge of the trail 35:22 and he watched the skunk go by. 35:25 And when the skunk got by then the grizzly bear 35:28 got back on the trail and he went down the way. 35:32 You know dear people, I wonder if we have 35:33 as much smarts as a bear. 35:37 You know when you see a stinker coming 35:39 you know do we have a sense of get out of the way. 35:43 Well it was a different day 35:44 when he saw a skunk coming down the trail 35:48 and a porcupine coming up the trail 35:50 and he thought, oh this will be interesting 35:52 because neither one is overly smart 35:55 and sure enough they banged right into each other 35:59 and there was some hissing 36:00 and some spitting and some sputtering 36:02 and then the quilt got placed 36:04 then there was very strong perfume 36:07 and there was more scuffing around 36:09 and then finally they both went on the same direction 36:13 and they never learned a thing. 36:18 He watched as the goats came up the trail, 36:22 14 of them and one coming up and 13 coming down 36:27 and they rub noses and spent time together 36:29 there as they lingered back and forth 36:35 and must they had a wedding because he said, 36:37 when they went down the trail 36:39 it was a different number than when they went up 36:41 and so he must had a wedding or something took place 36:45 and they went on up the trail. 36:49 "Animals can almost be human" talks about the elephants. 36:53 They are largest of the land animals. 36:56 There are two species, the African and the Indian. 36:58 African is the largest and can stand 11 and half feet 37:02 high and weight up to six tons 37:04 and these animals are wild, 37:06 they make their home in the jungle 37:07 but they can tamed. 37:09 And he wrote, I loved elephants, 37:12 elephants probably have a kinder feeling 37:14 for other animals than to any other beast. 37:17 There are many-many stories of elephants 37:19 taking up friendships with dogs or cats 37:22 and they become the best of friends 37:25 and they become almost inseparable. 37:28 "Elephant Bill" Col. J. H. Williams says 37:34 that elephant does not work mechanically, 37:37 he never stops learning because he's always thinking 37:41 and he said the ways of the jungle are strange 37:45 but all is not savage, hard and cruel in it. 37:49 Every savage elephant 37:50 that attacks or kills its rider, 37:52 there are 99 that are docile and friendly. 37:56 And he sums it up in this way, 37:57 I find it hard to realize 37:59 after living for 25 years in the jungle 38:02 with the most magnificent of all animals. 38:04 After the first three and half years 38:06 my eyes were blinded by the thrill of big game shooting. 38:10 I now feel that the elephants are God's own 38:13 and I would never shoot another one. 38:16 But the question is, why do elephants have big ears? 38:20 Have you ever wondered about that? 38:22 Kathryn Payne, 1984 tells a fascinating story 38:27 that she was in the Washington Park zoo 38:30 with those animals. 38:32 She felt a strange vibration in the elephant room, 38:36 just a faint vibration, didn't hear 38:38 anything just felt this little vibration. 38:40 And then she thought about it, 38:41 she thought you know this vibration 38:44 that I am feeling is quite similar to the feeling 38:48 that I had when I sang in the church choir in New York 38:51 and she stood right beside 38:53 the big base spikes of the organ 38:55 and when they hit those big bass notes 38:57 she got the same kind of a quivery feeling 39:00 that she had in the elephant house 39:03 and she thought I wonder, 39:06 could elephants be talking to each other 39:09 at a frequency lower than what we can hear. 39:13 And so she took some instruments in there 39:17 and she did some measurements 39:18 and sure enough those elephants were using 39:23 what she coined as Infra-Sound, 30 Hertz and lower. 39:30 And she discovered that they do indeed 39:35 talk to each other by these base sounds 39:39 and you may have noticed, 39:40 you heard these boom box cars as I call them, 39:42 you can hear then a mile away coming down the road. 39:45 And I can only imagine 39:46 how deaf the people must be in them, 39:48 that are listening at that level of noise or sound 39:55 but here's the point, she discover, 39:58 she went over to Africa, did more testing 40:00 and she discovered these elephants 40:01 can talk to each other five miles or more 40:05 through the forest using infra sound 40:08 and that's why they have the big ears, 40:12 because those big ears 40:14 enable them to pick up the sound frequencies. 40:20 Well you know the Bible talks about in Isaiah 65:17, 40:24 "I create new heavens and a new earth. 40:28 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, 40:30 and the lion shall eat straw like the ox 40:33 and they shall not hurt or destroy 40:35 in all My holy mountain," says the Lord. 40:41 Its gonna happen, 40:43 God's gonna create a new heavens 40:44 and a new earth and the world is gonna 40:47 go back like it was originally. 40:49 Well, I want to talk about one more creature 40:52 that God created on the sixth day 40:55 and that's the creeping thing, 40:56 you're looking at the bacterium of the Nitrogen cycle 41:01 and here's the point I want you to keep in mind. 41:03 God uses humble, lowly things. 41:06 In fact notice what scriptures says, 41:08 " God has chosen the weak things of this world 41:10 to put to shame the things which are mighty." 41:14 And here is the point. 41:15 This bacterium of the nitrogen cycle 41:19 and here it is dividing. 41:22 This little creature is absolutely 41:25 essential to your life. 41:27 Notice carefully out of all the animals 41:29 that we looked at created on the sixth day so far, 41:32 we can live without the domestic animals 41:34 and we can live without the wild animals, 41:38 but mankind cannot live without the creeping things, 41:43 because it's these creeping things 41:46 that are absolutely vital for the survival of mankind. 41:49 This creature that you're looking at, 41:51 part of the nitrogen cycle. 41:53 This creature breaks down the inorganic material 41:56 that's in the soil to where plants can utilize it 42:01 and if they ever quit or go on strike 42:03 because they are not appreciated 42:04 or paid enough, it's a dead world, 42:09 because plants can't live without them 42:11 and that's another proof you know interdependency. 42:15 When God created this world, 42:16 He put it all together rather quickly 42:17 because green plants wouldn't have lived long 42:20 without the crawling things, 42:22 because they are the ones that are essential 42:25 and vital to our being able to stay alive and live. 42:31 Well, now there's other microbes 42:33 and I just want you to notice 42:35 that a single bacterium is potentially 42:38 capable of producing 42:40 another 16 million copies of itself a day 42:44 and its thought that about 42:45 only one tenth of the world's bacteria 42:49 has ever been identified. 42:51 90% of them are still unknown. 42:53 We only know what to call them much less 42:56 what they do in the cycle of life. 43:00 And so these viruses 43:02 they've been found in lakes and rivers, 43:03 5 and 10 million per milliliter of water 43:07 and in most sites tested. 43:10 They are there, you don't see them 43:12 but they are doing their little thing 43:14 to make life possible. 43:17 And you know when we think 43:18 of this complexity of design, God says, 43:21 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, 43:22 nor your ways, my ways," says the Lord. 43:25 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, 43:26 so are my ways higher than your ways 43:29 and my thoughts than your thoughts." 43:30 Isaiah 55:8 and 9. 43:35 Well, the largest 43:36 and most diverse group of animals is invertebrates, 43:39 that means they have no backbone 43:42 and that's about 1.8 million species, 43:47 did you get that number. 43:48 That's about 90% of all animals belong to this group 43:52 and of course this is our little friend the lady bug. 43:56 They are growing those now, 43:58 just to put them in your garden 43:59 because they work better than pesticides of keeping up 44:02 where they're controlling the Aphids 44:05 that are grow there. 44:08 And then we have the Arthropods 44:11 and invertebrates with joined appendages there, 44:13 three quarter of all species. 44:16 Spiders, 30,000 identified. 44:21 Estimated 20,000 are still unknown. 44:25 In fact W.S. Bristow 44:29 did a census on a grassy acre in England 44:32 and he found 2,265,000 spiders per acre. 44:38 Many of them are so small you can't even see them, 44:40 they are doing their own little thing. 44:43 And then there are ants. 44:45 Oh, we got to talk about the ants, 44:46 I just can't leave them. 44:48 One day Doctor John Baldwin 44:50 and his wife were out on a walk 44:53 and as they were out on this walk they came 44:55 where the antlion have build its trap 44:58 and the antlion it's a circle that comes down to a point, 45:01 the antlion sits down there 45:02 and he waits for the curious ant to come along, 45:04 he gets down in there 45:05 but when he turns around to go back out its so steep, 45:08 and the sides are so slippery coated 45:10 with his pottery dust, 45:12 its like trying to run on a grease ball bearing. 45:15 And antlion will blew a fountain 45:16 of dust up in the air 45:17 and he watch the little ant down the bottom 45:19 and he eats him. 45:20 Well this person on his walk with them 45:22 said that's too much to believe, 45:24 I just can't believe that any creature 45:26 could be that smart to trick another one. 45:28 And Doctor Baldwin said, well just a minute, 45:30 let me show you and so he reach here 45:32 and he found a little ant 45:33 and dropped in there right in the ant lion's trap. 45:37 Well as soon as the little ant landed 45:38 there he began to scurry and try to get out 45:41 and antlion is blowing the dust up in the air 45:43 and slowly but surely that little ant 45:46 was being washed down to his doom. 45:48 Doctor Baldwin said he felt sorry for the ant, 45:53 when suddenly there came running a bigger ant, 45:56 that bigger ant ran right up to the edge of that trap, 45:58 hooked his feet on some pebbles, 46:00 stretched down in to the pit of death, 46:02 grab that little ant, pulled him out 46:04 and they both went running off. 46:06 He said wow, did you see that, 46:09 that's interesting that raises some question. 46:10 How did the big ant know the little ant was in trouble, 46:13 did he dialed ant 911, didn't hear anything 46:16 but here's the bigger question? 46:19 Where did the bigger ant find the courage 46:22 and the bravery and the self denial 46:25 at the risk of his life to reach down 46:28 in the pit of death to pull up little ant out 46:30 and the little ant is not even 46:32 the same species as the big one. 46:34 Where did he get that? 46:35 Hear me carefully 46:37 that's not Darwin's theory of the survival of the fittest. 46:41 Dear people that is the principal of the cross, 46:46 the law of self denial. And dear people, 46:49 if God can put that into the heart of a little ant, 46:54 do you think he can create that in your heart or mine? 46:58 Well, we can talk about mosquitoes 46:59 you know, well, there's one thing 47:00 you can see about mosquito, ant, bugs and ticks 47:04 and so forth, in spite of man's technology 47:08 and all his wisdom, they still outwit us. 47:12 And in spite of all our skills 47:13 we've not learned how to control them. 47:16 They still outwit us. 47:19 One last story before I draw my conclusion. 47:23 A farmer had a herd of cows 47:25 and they were good friends. 47:27 Every cow knew its name and they dwell together, 47:31 they worked together and one day his old bull died 47:37 and he bought a new bull and put it into the herd. 47:43 And so he went out there 47:44 in his quad one day to check out the cattle 47:47 and see how they are doing 47:48 and as he did that he got to talking to this cow 47:52 and call him by name and that cow 47:54 and he go off his quad and walked over 47:56 and was scratching its ears and they were the best-- 47:59 he forgot about the new bull. 48:05 And he didn't realize that bull came up 48:06 by and just powered into him and knocked him flat 48:10 and that bull came over for the kill, 48:14 but all the cows made a circle around the farmer 48:19 and they wouldn't let the bull get at the farmer. 48:22 But the bull was in rage and he snored and roared 48:25 and he went around the herd, 48:26 he crashed into those cows 48:28 again and again in fact he hit one cow 48:31 so hard that he killed it and the other cows 48:34 but they stood their ground, 48:36 they would not let that bull at the farmer 48:38 and finally he came to his senses 48:41 and he began to crawl towards the fence 48:42 and as he trod towards the fence, 48:45 the cows just moved along with him, 48:47 keeping that shield of protection away 48:50 from bull till they got to the fence 48:52 and he could crawl to safety. 48:55 Where did they get that? 48:57 To lay down their life 48:59 for species not even of their own kind. 49:04 I want to draw a conclusion to this message tonight. 49:21 It was my privilege to live with my family 49:28 for seven years 49:37 at the edge of beautiful Glacier National Park, 49:42 it borders Canada. 49:59 And when I used to pinch myself- 50:02 I was then gonna say just think, 50:04 I get to live here 50:05 and other people have to pay money 50:06 to come here for vacation, and I got to live there 50:10 and take in all that beauty, 50:14 that was there at Glacier Park 50:19 and to go for an afternoon walk 50:23 out there in those 50:29 beautiful snow capped mountains. 50:43 Now, there is something about the plains, 50:48 to smell that air was so invigorating. 51:07 And to be around all those-- 51:14 lovely creatures. 51:22 And at that time, 51:30 it was fun to watch the eagles 51:35 as they would soar. 51:43 There're other animals 51:48 and of course in the evening 51:53 you could hear the jackal 52:01 as it would 52:05 sing its song 52:10 but the wolves return, 52:17 while we were there and began to recover. 52:28 And the wolf, 52:30 if you've ever heard a wolf howl, 52:37 it's a sound of the wilderness that is so haunting. 52:45 As he begins to howl, 52:47 it's a sound that you will never forget, 52:56 it's a moan, it's a howl, it's-- 53:02 it's a sound of the wilderness 53:07 and as it makes its cry, 53:13 it's almost as if the wolf is crying out 53:16 particularly when the moon is there. 53:25 It's almost as if that wolf is crying out 53:33 almost in pain, it's a howl and moan. 53:40 It's almost as if the wolf is crying out and saying, 53:44 I don't want to live this way, I don't want to kill, 53:48 it's a howl, it's a moan as it gives out that cry. 53:53 And it's almost as if-- 53:57 its saying I like to go back, 54:06 it's almost as if the wolf is saying, 54:12 I remember in my genetics there is a time 54:22 when they did not hurt nor kill in all God's holy mountain. 54:29 Its almost as if the wolf is saying, 54:35 I want to go back, 54:38 I want to go back to Genesis. 54:41 And my Bible tells me that, that day is going to happen 54:48 when the wolf and the lamb 54:51 can lie down together and eat straw. 54:58 And Eden will again be restored. 55:02 And so on the sixth day, 55:05 the Creator created these creatures. 55:12 And as we hear the howl of the wolf, 55:16 I think it's a cry to want to go back to the world 55:22 that once knew when it didn't have to kill, 55:25 didn't have to hurt 55:26 and destroy in all My holy mountain. 55:32 Let's pray, Holy Father 55:36 as we've spend few minutes 55:40 at the close of the sixth day, 55:43 pondering the domestic cattle, wild animals, 55:47 the crawling creatures that You created on the sixth day. 55:51 And we know that we're living in a hurting world tonight. 55:54 There is a predator and there is the prey. 55:58 But Lord creation wants to go back to Bible, 56:01 very clear it says all creation 56:03 groans to be delivered to restore back 56:07 and I be long for that day creating our heart of hearts, 56:12 a love to care for, the creatures 56:16 that you put into our hands to care for 56:19 and to look after on that sixth day 56:22 as our prayer tonight 56:23 because we ask you in your holy name, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17