It Is Written

Seeing The Voice of God

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: IIW

Program Code: IIW013066A


01:30 ♪[Music]
01:40 ♪[Music]
01:50 ♪[Music]
02:00 ♪[Music]
02:05 >>John Bradshaw: The great American,
02:06 George Washington Carver, once said:
02:08 Reading about nature is fine.
02:11 But if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully,
02:14 he can learn about more than what's in books
02:17 because the woods speak with the voice of God.
02:21 ♪[Music]
02:29 Psalm 19:1 says "The heavens declare the glory of God;
02:33 and the firmament shows His handiwork."
02:36 ♪[Music]
02:42 Today on It Is Written, let's consider what David meant
02:45 when he wrote those words.
02:47 ♪[Music and the sound of water flowing]♪
02:56 There's little doubt nature speaks about the God of nature,
03:01 the Creator God.
03:03 ♪[Music and the sound of water flowing]♪
03:06 The Bible opens with the words
03:08 "In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth."
03:14 And the nature we see, speaks to us of the God we don't see.
03:19 [Sounds from a rainforest]
03:24 I've come to Costa Rica,
03:26 truly one of the most beautiful countries
03:28 on the face of the earth.
03:31 ♪[Music]
03:37 Costa Rica has the greatest density of animal species
03:40 anywhere on the planet, all compressed into an area
03:44 about the size of the state of West Virginia.
03:51 Every year millions of people come from all over the world
03:55 to enjoy the natural beauty of this land.
04:00 Costa Rica's natural beauty is truly breathtaking.
04:05 ♪[Music]
04:11 Remarkable animals, spectacular beaches,
04:19 volcanoes, and rain forests.
04:26 Costa Rica is home to nearly 500,000 animal species,
04:31 an estimated four percent of the total found worldwide.
04:37 The lush expanse of Costa Rica's rain forests
04:40 is hard to imagine if you haven't been here.
04:43 Well over 1.200 species of butterflies
04:45 are found in these forests,
04:47 along with over 8.000 species of moths.
04:53 Perhaps there's no better place to speak of the God of nature
04:57 and to delve deeper into the lessons the natural world offers
05:01 those who seek to know Him.
05:09 Nature is often referred to as God's "second book."
05:13 Inasmuch as nature reveals to us
05:15 so much about the character of God,
05:18 it's our privilege to be able to behold much of the wonders
05:22 and the workings of God in our natural environment.
05:25 In fact, by studying nature you can learn much
05:27 about the plan of salvation,
05:29 about the blessings of patience and hard work,
05:31 and about the results of sin in this world.
05:35 Throughout the Bible, many stories and illustrations draw
05:39 their lessons from the natural world.
05:42 Jesus often referred to nature
05:45 in order to make spiritual points clear to us.
05:50 The Bible presents God as both the Designer
05:52 and the Ruler of the world of nature,
05:55 something that sets the religion of the Bible
05:58 totally apart from the other religions of the world.
06:03 Most religions throughout history,
06:06 particularly those at the time the Bible was written,
06:08 worshipped Gods who were themselves products of nature.
06:15 Sun gods, moon gods, sea gods, weather gods, fertility gods...
06:23 all of these were not only part of the natural world,
06:26 but were part of religious systems which sought
06:29 to fit human beings into the rhythm
06:31 and balance of nature.
06:33 The gods of most ancient peoples worked through the cycles and
06:37 the elemental forces found in the natural world.
06:40 They weren't seen by their worshippers as
06:43 independent of these forces.
06:46 But the God of heaven often showed Himself
06:48 to be in control of nature, sovereign over the elements,
06:53 the One who is in ultimate control of the environment.
06:57 In the Bible we read the story of the prophet Elijah.
07:01 Through the prophet Elijah God told Israel's King Ahab
07:05 that there would be neither dew nor rain
07:07 in the land until God said otherwise.
07:10 In the New Testament you read that Elijah actually prayed
07:14 to God that this would happen so that the people,
07:17 recognizing that God was sovereign over everything,
07:21 would be brought to repentance.
07:23 "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed
07:26 earnestly that it would not rain,
07:29 and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
07:33 And he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain
07:36 and the earth produced its fruit."
07:41 This is one of countless times in human history when God
07:45 demonstrated who, in fact, has power over the forces of nature.
07:48 The worshippers of the pagan gods Baal and Ashtoreth,
07:52 which were being worshipped in Israel
07:54 during the time of Elijah,
07:56 believed that these pagan gods controlled the changing
08:00 of the seasons, the climate, the sun, and the rain.
08:04 But in God's dealing with Israel during Elijah's time,
08:09 He demonstrated clearly who is the one
08:12 that has power over nature.
08:16 By shutting up the heavens and causing the rain to not fall
08:19 those three and a half years,
08:20 God was, in effect, saying to those pagan gods,
08:23 "So you think you control nature?
08:25 You think you can make the sun shine and the rain fall?
08:28 Now's your chance to prove it."
08:29 ♪[Music]
08:36 >>Announcer: In Matthew 4:4, the Word of God says,
08:38 "It is written,
08:39 'Man shall not live by bread alone,
08:41 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"
08:45 "Every Word"
08:46 is a one-minute, Bible-based daily devotional,
08:49 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw
08:50 and designed especially for busy people like you.
08:53 Look for "Every Word" on selected networks,
08:56 or watch it online every day on our website.
08:59 itiswritten.com.
09:01 Receive a daily spiritual boost.
09:03 Watch "Every Word."
09:05 You'll be glad you did.
09:10 ♪[Music]
09:17 >>John: Have you ever noticed how songs,
09:20 get stuck in your mind,
09:21 and sometimes you can't get rid of them
09:23 no matter how hard you try?
09:24 There are times I'll hear a song I haven't heard in thirty years
09:28 and I can still remember every word,
09:30 every key change, every harmony,
09:32 as though I'd been studying the song the day before.
09:35 God understood this,
09:36 which is why He said in 1 Chronicles 16:9:
09:38 “Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
09:41 talk of all His wondrous works”"
09:44 Here's something that will help you get God's Word
09:46 into your mind.
09:47 If you'll sing hymns or songs of praise or learn scripture songs,
09:51 that's Bible verses put to music,
09:53 they'll stay in your mind and you'll never forget them.
09:56 If you fill your mind with the songs of the world,
09:59 you'll be blessed if you reprogram your mind
10:02 with the songs of God.
10:03 Let the power of music work for you.
10:06 Let's live today by every word.
10:11 >>John: One of the most serious subjects in the Bible
10:13 is the subject of hell.
10:14 And it's one of the least understood.
10:17 What does the Bible really say about hell?
10:19 Is there a hell, and if there is,
10:22 how long will it burn?
10:24 You don't want to miss today's free offer:
10:26 “Understanding Hell: Separating Fact from Fiction.”
10:30 It's a practical biblical look at a subject
10:32 that has puzzled a lot of people.
10:34 “Understanding Hell.”
10:36 To receive it, simply call us: 800-253-3000.
10:40 You can write to the address on your screen
10:41 or visit us online at iiwoffer.com.
10:46 ♪[Music]
10:49 God's supremacy over nature, His absolute control
10:53 over nature's forces and nature's laws,
10:56 is one of the very first messages contained in the Bible.
11:02 It's what the creation story is all about.
11:05 "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
11:08 [Sound of rainfall]
11:12 Nature is not God, according to Scripture.
11:15 God is the one who brought nature into existence.
11:20 It's interesting that in the Genesis creation story,
11:23 the sun and the moon are not named.
11:25 This was undoubtedly because these heavenly bodies were
11:29 considered divine in the ancient world and Moses,
11:33 who wrote the Book of Genesis,
11:35 is saying that these created objects
11:36 are not in any sense divine.
11:42 Describing the creation of these bodies,
11:44 the Bible simply states:
11:46 "Then God made two great lights: the greater light
11:50 to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night."
11:56 By refusing even to name these objects in the creation account,
12:00 while simply declaring them to be great lights
12:03 which God made,
12:05 the Bible is denying to these bodies any right to
12:09 reverence or worship.
12:14 This is one reason why the theory of evolution is so
12:17 unacceptable both to God and to the message of the Bible.
12:22 God didn't need evolution
12:24 to bring His creatures into existence.
12:27 He spoke them into existence.
12:30 The Bible makes clear that God is the Sovereign
12:33 and the Master of all of creation.
12:35 In fact, the Bible says this:
12:39 "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made
12:42 and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
12:44 For He spoke, and it was done;
12:48 He commanded, and it stood fast."
12:52 In other words, God didn't just oversee the process
12:56 of bringing nature into being.
12:58 God spoke it into being.
13:01 The power that gives life to this world is not inherent
13:05 in nature itself, rather, it's the gift of the all-knowing,
13:09 all-powerful Creator God.
13:13 As we look around our world,
13:14 we're reminded pretty well everywhere we turn
13:16 that this world cannot be nearly as beautiful
13:20 as was the Garden of Eden.
13:22 But, in spite of the scars that sin has left on our planet,
13:27 all is not ruined and ugliness in the world of nature.
13:32 The rising and the setting sun still warm the soul.
13:35 The flowers of spring and the freshness after the rain
13:39 still remind us of the rebirth and transformation
13:43 promised by the Gospel.
13:45 One author described the season of spring
13:47 as the "theater of resurrection."
13:50 The bursting forth of life following the cold and
13:53 dearth of winter is perhaps one of the loveliest metaphors
13:57 of Christ's own resurrection from the dead.
14:00 In the wake of Calvary's unspeakable agony
14:03 and the dashing of hope inflicted by Christ's dying
14:07 on so many hearts.
14:09 The complexity of the natural world
14:12 is probably one of the strongest proofs of God's creatorship.
14:15 Think of the intricacies of just a single human cell.
14:19 Biology textbooks only a few years ago, were able to produce
14:25 material two inches thick just on the subject on the cell.
14:29 Now they can produce books
14:31 that thick on the individual parts of the cell.
14:34 It can be hard to see how anyone can view the complexities
14:38 of nature and not be persuaded that God put all this together.
14:43 Speaking through the prophet Isaiah,
14:47 God declares of His creation, "For thus says the Lord,
14:51 who created the heavens, who was God,
14:54 who formed the earth and made it,
14:57 who has established it, who did not create it in vain,
15:01 who formed it to be inhabited:
15:03 'I am the Lord, and there is no other.'
15:08 According to God's word, nature doesn't exist to glorify itself,
15:14 rather, it exists to glorify its Maker.
15:18 We read this message over and over again in the Psalms.
15:23 "The heavens declare the glory of God,
15:25 and the firmament shows His handiwork.
15:28 Day unto day utters speech,
15:31 and night unto night reveals knowledge.
15:35 There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.
15:41 Their line has gone out through all the earth,
15:43 and their words to the end of the world."
15:47 In another passage we read,
15:50 "Those who go down to the sea in ships,
15:52 who do business on great waters,
15:55 they see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep.
16:00 For He commands and raises the stormy wind,
16:04 which lifts up the waves of the sea.
16:08 They mount up to the heavens,
16:10 they go down again to the depths:
16:13 their soul melts because of trouble."
16:16 "Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble,
16:19 He brings them out of their distresses.
16:21 He calms the storm, so that its waves are still."
16:28 This Psalm was literally fulfilled
16:30 in the earthly ministry of Jesus.
16:33 One night, Jesus and His disciples
16:35 were on the Lake of Galilee and a tremendous storm rose.
16:38 The Gospel of Mark takes it from there.
16:42 "And a great windstorm arose,
16:45 and the waves beat into the boat, so
16:48 that it was already filling.
16:50 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow.
16:54 And they awoke Him and said to Him,
16:56 'Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?'
17:00 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,
17:03 'Peace, be still!'
17:08 And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
17:12 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another,
17:15 'Who can this be, that even the wind
17:19 and the sea obey Him!'
17:22 Again and again Jesus demonstrated
17:24 that nature is under His control.
17:26 So many times Jesus healed diseases
17:29 and vanquished afflictions for which
17:30 there was no natural or medical remedy then or now.
17:35 Paralyzed limbs were restored to health and vigor.
17:38 Blind eyes were made to see again.
17:40 Even the dead were brought back to life.
17:42 And perhaps greatest of all,
17:45 Jesus' own resurrection demonstrates
17:47 that God is above nature.
17:50 The decay, the eventual oblivion that has become part of our life
17:55 because of what sin has done, are not the final word.
17:59 God has the final say.
18:02 When He chooses to do so, God is able to interrupt the rhythm,
18:06 and the balance,
18:07 and the inevitability of nature and its laws.
18:11 The wind and the sea still obey God's voice,
18:14 even today.
18:15 The God of Scripture is still the God of nature.
18:19 I especially enjoy the stories of faith
18:21 concerning that Christian giant, George Mueller.
18:25 One story has it, George Mueller was traveling across
18:28 the Atlantic Ocean to a speaking appointment in Quebec, Canada,
18:33 when the ship was socked in by fog and the captain announced
18:38 that he had to slow the ship down
18:40 for the safety of everybody involved.
18:42 Mueller explained to the captain that this would not do.
18:44 Surely, he would now miss his speaking appointment,
18:47 so could he please go to the ship's chart room to pray that
18:51 God would lift the fog.
18:52 Accompanied by the captain, Mueller went to that room
18:55 and he prayed that God would take the fog away.
18:57 The captain began to pray too but during the captain's prayer,
19:01 Mueller interrupted him.
19:02 He said, why don't we go up now and see if God has answered
19:06 our prayer because I think He has.
19:09 When the two men went up to the bridge,
19:12 the fog was completely gone.
19:14 God is still the God of nature
19:18 and the captain became a Christian soon after.
19:26 In Costa Rica there are 894 species of birds,
19:31 more than in the United States and Canada combined.
19:35 The beauty of the scarlet McCaw or the Quetzal,
19:38 is perhaps unrivaled anywhere on earth.
19:41 Birds in Costa Rica range in size from tiny humming birds
19:45 barely two inches across,
19:47 to huge birds with a wingspan of up to nine feet.
19:51 It isn't hard to imagine that God cares for creatures
19:54 who display such beauty.
19:55 But on one occasion,
19:58 the Lord took notice of the little sparrows and stated:
20:03 Not one of them is forgotten before God.
20:05 If it had been one of these spectacular birds
20:09 like the ones here in Costa Rica that Jesus was talking about
20:12 His audience might have understood better,
20:14 but Jesus was reminding His hearers that even such
20:18 apparently insignificant creatures as the little sparrows
20:22 command the attention of our loving God.
20:26 He then went on to say,
20:27 "Do not fear therefore:
20:29 you are of more value, than many sparrows."
20:35 Here in Costa Rica,
20:36 stewardship for the land is taken very seriously.
20:39 Costa Rica's "pura vida" image has been carefully cultivated
20:44 and is known and appreciated around the world.
20:47 But stewardship for the land is actually a very biblical idea.
20:51 You go to the Bible,
20:53 you read in Genesis 2:15, that in the beginning,
20:56 "God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden
21:00 to dress it and to keep it," and at the other end of the Bible,
21:04 in Revelation 11:18,
21:07 it tells us that when Jesus returns
21:09 and the final judgment of humanity is complete,
21:13 God will "destroy those who destroy the earth."
21:18 Some years ago a prominent government official in the
21:21 United States, a Christian, said that he believed that it really
21:25 didn't matter how we treated the environment because,
21:28 after all, Jesus was coming back soon.
21:31 Well, I don't know.
21:33 Nature itself has suffered under the weight
21:38 of the sins of humanity.
21:40 Not only do God's people look forward to the return of Jesus,
21:45 but nature itself looks forward to the time the sin problem
21:50 is going to be brought to a conclusion.
21:52 Consider these words written by the Apostle Paul.
21:57 For the earnest expectation of the Creation eagerly waits
22:00 for the revealing of the sons of God.
22:02 For the creation was subject to futility, not willingly,
22:06 but because of Him who subjected it in hope:
22:09 because the creation itself also will be delivered
22:13 from the bondage of corruption
22:15 into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22:19 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with
22:24 birth pangs together until now.
22:26 And not only they, but we also
22:29 who have the first fruits of the Spirit,
22:32 even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly
22:35 waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body."
22:40 Even nature wants Jesus to come again soon.
22:44 This sin-ravaged world will experience its final death
22:48 agonies when Jesus returns to this earth.
22:51 This is what Peter wrote:
22:53 "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night,
22:56 in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise,
23:00 and the elements will melt with fervent heat: both the earth
23:05 and the works that are in it will be burned up."
23:08 The Book of Revelation also describes this moment:
23:12 "And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings:
23:16 and there was a great earthquake,
23:19 such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred
23:22 since men were on the earth.
23:25 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found."
23:32 But that isn't the end of the story.
23:34 After you read about the millennium of Revelation 20
23:37 you then read about what God is going to do to this sin-damaged
23:41 earth, how He is going to re-make His Creation.
23:46 Restoring the glory and the beauty of a lost Eden.
23:51 Revelation contains this fantastic promise:
23:56 "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth;
23:59 for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away:
24:03 and there was no more sea.
24:06 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying;
24:08 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and
24:12 He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.
24:16 And God Himself will be with them, and be their God.
24:22 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes:
24:25 There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.
24:30 And there shall be no more pain,
24:31 for the former things have passed away.'
24:35 Then He who sat on the throne said,
24:38 'Behold, I make all things new.'"
24:41 And then this chapter goes on to tell us about the glorious city
24:47 that God is preparing for His people.
24:51 "And the city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine
24:55 in it, for the glory of God illuminated it.
24:59 And the Lamb is its light.
25:02 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day
25:06 (there shall be no night there)."
25:10 At last, God and nature will be fully reconciled.
25:15 All of creation will be restored to Eden beauty.
25:19 God's people will live in full harmony with nature
25:22 and with the God of nature for all eternity.
25:27 George Washington Carver once said:
25:29 "I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station,
25:33 through which God speaks to us every hour,
25:37 if we will only listen."
25:42 If we'll only listen.
25:43 Are you listening today?
25:46 I want to encourage you to see evidences of a loving God
25:49 in the created world around you.
25:52 When you look at nature,
25:53 look beyond the nature that you see
25:55 and let nature remind you that God is good and God is love.
26:06 [Fire crackling]
26:07 >>Girl: My mom woke up at 11:45 and she smelled smoke.
26:12 >> Man: About maybe 1:30 in the morning,
26:14 the uh, my wife got a phone call.
26:18 And I could hear the voice on the other end of the line,
26:20 and she was basically uh, screaming:
26:23 “there's a fire, it's massive!
26:25 It's headed your way!
26:26 You need to get out and get out now!”
26:29 >>Woman: After I hear fire, I hear in the background:
26:31 “the fire is two to four blocks away from your house,”
26:34 and I panicked.
26:35 We started praying; our prayers didn't last long.
26:38 They were desperate, they were rushed,
26:42 there was a need, it was urgent.
26:44 It was very very urgent.
26:45 I said, "please save my children."
26:48 ♪[Music]
26:51 >>John: Where was God when the fires burned?
26:53 Where was God as people suffered?
26:54 Where was God while people were dying?
26:57 Where was God in the midst of the devastation?
27:00 [Fire crackling]
27:07 >>John: One of the most serious subjects in the Bible,
27:09 is the subject of hell.
27:11 And it's one of the least understood.
27:13 What does the Bible really say about hell?
27:16 Is there a hell, and if there is,
27:17 how long will it burn?
27:20 You don't want to miss today's free offer:
27:22 “Understanding Hell: Separating Fact from Fiction.”
27:26 It's a practical biblical look at a subject
27:28 that has puzzled a lot of people.
27:30 “Understanding Hell.”
27:31 To receive it, simply call us: 800-253-3000.
27:35 You can write to the address on your screen
27:37 or visit us on-line at iiwoffer.com.
27:42 >>John: Thank you for remembering that It Is Written
27:44 exists because of the kindness of people just like you.
27:47 To support this international life-changing ministry,
27:50 please call us now at 800-253-3000.
27:55 You can send gift tax-deductible gift
27:56 to the address on your screen,
27:58 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com.
28:02 Thank you for your prayers and for your financial support.
28:04 Our number again is 800-253-3000.
28:09 Or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com.
28:14 I'd like to pray with you now.
28:15 Would you pray with me?
28:16 Let's take a moment to do that.
28:18 Our Father in heaven,
28:19 thank You that You are the God of nature.
28:21 Thank You that You made this fabulous world
28:24 and the beauty we see in it.
28:27 I thank You that one day soon You will recreate this earth,
28:31 that the blight of sin and the curse
28:32 will never be seen again and that we will live with You
28:35 eternally in a land that is only pristine and beauty.
28:40 Lord, as You have made this earth and will remake it,
28:44 I pray that You will remake us
28:46 and bless us with the presence of Jesus
28:50 and the beauty of His character.
28:53 We thank You today and we pray in Jesus' name,
28:55 Amen.
28:59 ♪[Music]
29:13 Thanks for joining me today in Costa Rica.
29:16 I look forward to seeing you again next time.
29:18 Until then, remember,
29:20 "It is written,
29:22 'Man shall not live by bread alone,
29:25 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"
29:30 ♪[Music]


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Revised 2018-06-15