Your Significance Before God Through Dominion

Well, with your Bibles open to Psalm 8, let me begin by reading the text. Psalm 8. to the choir master, according to the Giddeth, the Psalm of David. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes to seal the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place? What is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given man dominion over the works of your hands and you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen and also the beasts of the field the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea whatever passes along the paths of the seas oh lord our lord how majestic is your name in all the earth god in heaven your name is majestic lord we're surrounded by your glory we wake up in the morning and we're hit with your glory on every single side from all throughout the earth even above the heavens in the sky as we look at the stars at the planets at the sun rising and setting god your glory is revealed everywhere we cannot escape it nor should we want to we're thankful that you have revealed yourself in your creation because it is our delight, it's our pleasure to say with the psalmist, O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name.

God in heaven, open this word to us, make this truth, make us more sensitive to it. I pray, God, that I would unpack it, Lord, and it would be more real to us so that we would spend our days not in vanity, but we'd spend our days worshiping you and how you revealed yourself specifically. Thank you, Lord, for this hour. Thank you for this time of worship.

Thank you for these few moments that we have to proclaim your word, and I pray that you'd be with the whole thing through your spirit. Thank you for your mercies and grace renewed each day. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, in the Westminster Catechism, or if you want to have better theology in the Baptist Catechism, there is a question that, a shared question that is in there that's what is the chief end of man if you remember last week we we confessed that together and it's a very I remember first reading it and just being struck by it you talk about the very nature the baseline of why do we exist and it's being asked right there that's what's really nice about catechisms it really teaches you fundamental truths that you should build off of and here's this question that has always struck me has always really helped me in understanding what's going on in scripture in which it asks what is the chief end of man in other words what's the main goal what's our main goal what's man's main goal what is our aim what are we doing right what is the chief end of man and the answer in the catechism is man's chief end is to glorify god and enjoy him forever um that's it right man's chief and your your goal is to glorify god and enjoy him forever if that's not your main purpose you're missing the whole point of your life and You're wasting it.

Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. You see, 1 Corinthians 10, 31, just listen as I say it. Whether you eat or you drink or whatever you do, what does Paul tell us to do? Do all to the glory of God. That's simple. That's simple.

Psalm 73, 25, whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. In other words, you're my joy. You're my desire. You are what I go after, O Lord. right and we can see this is truly a proper answer to that question what is our main aim in life well that is to glorify our God and in so doing enjoying him forever those things are connected right there we are to glorify our God and enjoy him we are into to enjoy life in that way I don't know if you notice but it is a very common human desire and need to enjoy life isn't it we all want to enjoy life, whether you are a pagan, a Christian, an unbeliever, a believer, we all want to have joy and enjoy life.

This is something that God has placed within our hearts, to find joy. This is what we should desire to do. So how I want to start this sermon out is since everyone wants joy in life and we were created to have that joy in God, and since the world seems to lack this joy, Have you noticed that? Have you noticed? You turn on the news and the world just seems to lack this joy.

We're created for it. We were created to have it in God. It's there. You know, why doesn't the world have it? Why don't we have joy? What's the problem here?

Since that's the case, it must mean two things, two possible realities. One is God hides his glory. That's one possibility. Perhaps even though we're created to have joy, we're created to have joy in God's glory, perhaps God hides his glory, and that's why everyone seems to lack it, right, in the world especially. Perhaps that's why. Maybe he hides it.

And the other option, the other possible reality, is that something causes us to be blind to it You get the two different options there If we meant to have joy we find joy in glorifying God but yet people lack joy Perhaps God hides his glory or perhaps we are blinded to it Which one is it I think we see here in chapter 8, verses 1, and it's sandwiched with verse 9, that God doesn't hide his glory. If you look at Psalm 8, verse 1, did you see how it started and how it ends? Oh Lord, our Lord, oh Yahweh, our Lord, our Governor, our Supreme, how majestic is your name in all the earth.

You have set your glory even above the heavens. You see, you can't get away from it. It's all the earth, it's even up in the sky, everywhere you look, God's glory is there. He doesn't hide it. He does not hide it. And it's sandwiched in verse 9, the very last statement repeats it.

Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. God certainly does not hide his glory. It is there. It is revealed. Our end is to grab hold of it and enjoy him through it. He does not hide it.

It is everywhere in creation. You cannot escape the glory of God revealed in his creation. John Calvin. Yeah, I'll go to John Calvin. John Calvin says, There is not one blade of grass. that is not intended to make you rejoice you hear that that is so profound there is not one blade of grass that is not intended to make you rejoice you are to find the glory of god in every blade of grass because that's the purpose of those blades of grass jonathan edwards if you read or if you see a biography on him pick him up read a biography on him it is amazing this guy was a master at finding worship in every detail of creation, every minute detail you could imagine in creation.

Jonathan Edwards took hold of that, and he glorified God in it, and he told you how you can too. He was a master at it. Jonathan Edwards was a genius, and the secular people said, you wasted your genius on theology, and Jonathan Edwards didn't think so. He was a genius at seeing every single little detail in creation, and seeing how it glorifies God, and then how we can enjoy that because of it.

John Calvin, going back to him, he says God's glory is, well I'm paraphrasing a little bit here, but he says God's glory is so revealed in creation, anyone who does not worship God as a result of it, and this is his words right here, it's kind of theologically deep, so just prepare yourself, hold on, he says anyone who doesn't worship God as a result of creation, because it's so clear, he says they are, here's the theological term, are you ready? It's really big, they are stupid. They are stupid.

Now, I think John Calvin, I don't think he's saying, we usually use the word as an insult, right? You lack intellectual ability. I don't think John Calvin means it that way. When we call people stupid for not seeing creation and be like, God, you are awesome, they are morally stupid. You get what I'm saying there? Sin has hid it from their eyes and they are stupid as a result of that.

They're not mentally stupid as they are morally stupid. They do not have the ability to see the glory of God revealed in every single ounce of creation because of moral or sinful reasons. Sin hides it from their view. And so if we go back to those two options, either the reason why people lack joy, the reason why perhaps you are lacking joy as you come into worship this morning, is not as a result because God hides his glory.

We see the sandwich going on in Psalm 8. It's everywhere. You can't escape it. It's there when you woke up. if you were holy enough to get up before the sunrise, you saw it as the sun peered over the horizon and screamed praises to our God. It's not because God hides his glory that we lack joy. It's because something causes us to be blinded to it.

Sin is tenacious. It's the enemy. Because it lies to us. It lies to us. And it causes us, even though the glory of God is revealed and it's ours for the taking to enjoy God forever in it, it causes us to be blind to it. Have you ever noticed how natural it is for men and women, for the human race to be amazed by creation?

Have you ever noticed that? That is a universal thing. Have you ever seen someone look at the marvelous sun come up and be like, you know, not that cool. It's actually not, I don't enjoy seeing the sun come up. Have you ever once seen, heard that? Have you ever once saw someone go through the mountains and see the mountains and be like, you know what, to be honest with you, it's just not that cool.

You never hear that. If you did hear that, it would be the most unnatural thing. It would be like a mom not taking care of her infant. You hear news of that, it's like that's the most backwards, evil, twisted thing you could ever imagine that a mother would not take care of her infant. It's so natural for us to see God's creation and marvel at creation.

You go in your backyard and you look at the constellations. You see the moon, it's amazing. You see the mountains, you see everything around you, you see it screams something of a beauty that you just can't quite put your finger on. Reason. What's the reason? Because it points to an amazing, invisible God.

That's what creation does. Creation points to an amazing, invisible, eternal, infinite, wonderful God. God is not of his creation. We cannot handle him. We cannot see him. We cannot taste him.

He is invisible. He is outside of it. If we could do that, he would no longer be God. But he shows who he is through his creation. We get a taste of who God is by his creation. Notice I didn't say we know God fully by creation.

We can't. He's God. We can't fully know him. But we can get taste of him. When we see the beautiful sunrise, we can say God must be beautiful. Eternally beautiful.

Beyond this beautiful. When we see the vastness of the mountains and the ranges and the strength of it, we can't help but think that God must be strong. It's not like we capture all of his strength in there. It's just a taste of it. When we see just how big and vast the universe is God must be infinite He must be larger than I can ever fathom You see creation the reason why we are made to see creation and think wow is because we are made to see that and see and get a taste of who God is.

And whether or not the person understands that that's what's going on, that's what makes it so amazing to look at, because it screams of the existence and the glory and the praises of God. If you listen closely enough, you can hear the sun praising our creator. You can, I promise you. Just listen. You can hear the mountains scream of the wonders and the beauties of God if you just listen closely enough.

That's what it's doing. And so we cannot escape it. God's glory is everywhere. He reveals it everywhere. And it is our delight to grab hold of that and enjoy him in it forever. That is what we are to do, beloved.

This is the great benefit we have of being God's creatures. Look at verse 2 of chapter 8. You see it all through creation. You see it all through the earth. You see it up in the sky. And you even hear it in the scream of an infant.

Out of the mouth of babies and infants, out of sucklings, you have established strength. Look at that. You see, even the psalmist can hear the praise of God in the scream of an infant. There is something profoundly beautiful. when a baby who is formed in his mother's womb is brought out and cut off from her mother with a cutting of the umbilical cord, and all of a sudden you hear that cry, right?

That cry, that scream of autonomy, that this one is now a living being outside of her mother. It is the most amazing thing. And in that cry, you can, if you just listen closely, you can hear in that infant's cry a worship going on of a God who has made this infant able to be living indeed. God is amazing in every single way and even in the cry of the infant we can hear amazing praises going on.

Out of the mouth of babies and infants, the way God orchestrates life and everything how it goes about, we can see that he establishes strength because of it. All of creation shows the glory and majesty and strength of our God. Notice, though, going on in verse 2, how the psalmist considers his enemies, in which he says, you have established strength because of your foes to still the enemy and the avenger.

We can see that God, his glory is so revealed that ultimately his glorious nature in creation will silence his foes. ultimately because God is so glorious in creation because it is so revealed in such a magnificent and potent way ultimately no enemy God will ever have a footing to go on to try to defend their disobedience to our God there'll be no talk of I had a reason to be disobedient to you God because you didn't reveal yourself enough or because of this or that no they will know in that day in that moment of judgment that I am truly deserving a judgment because your glory was revealed in such a way that I could not mask, but yet I did in my sin. I could not mask in an illogical way. We can see that ultimately God's creation is so glorious that his enemies on the day of judgment will not have any footing at all to say, well, what, but, yeah, but, as they go to their judgment.

If you notice in the Bible, I think I've said this a few times already behind this pulpit, if you look at the times the Bible mentions judgment, although these people who receive God's judgment are going to eternal torment, that's what hell is, it is eternal torment forever, they do not make a peep of this isn't fair. Have you ever noticed that in scripture? You'll never see people receive judgment and then say, but that's not fair, and argue with God.

Never once do you see that. They go, and have you ever noticed that the harsher the punishment on someone, the more likely they are to say, yeah, but, right? A little slap on the wrist, okay, I'll take it. Eternal judgment, damnation. Why don't we see ever, yeah, buts? I think it's very clear that whenever God judges the wicked, it's going to be all revealed, and they're going to know that I had no excuse at all, that his glory was so magnificent and wonderfully displayed before me for years and years and years, and I put it down and I suppressed it over and over again. this is rightful judgment they never argue with God and so I think ultimately as we see God's creation to the cry of an infant it shows the glory of God to such a degree that any kind of disobedience to our amazing glory glorious God is absolutely insane to where the only reasonable thing that someone who denies this God can expect is judgment when they're not suppressing it.

And at judgment, there is no more suppression. There's only judgment. And so we see the way that this has. Let's go. Let's go to Romans 1, 18. I find myself going there all the time.

I can't seem to get away from it. Romans 1, Paul explains this, the nature of creation. There is this great heresy, and I'm tired of hearing it, that people who never heard the gospel won't receive judgment. It's not true. It was a heresy that got corrected a long time ago, but yet keeps on rearing its ugly head. people will go to hell even if they didn't hear the gospel because creation is enough to judge them because God is displayed in creation and that is enough to judge them.

It's not enough to save them. We need the gospel, but it certainly is enough to judge them. And we see Paul lay this out. It cannot be any clearer. For the wrath of God in Romans 1 verse 18 The wrath of God is revealed God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. So Paul's saying the truth is there for the unrighteous, the ungodly, it is there.

And what they do in their unrighteousness and ungodliness, you know what they do? They suppress the truth. They keep it away from them. They don't like it, so they ignore it. They act like it's not there, even though it is. For what can be known about God is plain to them.

You notice that? He's not saying the person with the gospel makes it plain to them. He's saying that to all unrighteous, all ungodliness, you know it is very plain to them about God, who God is. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because why? God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, right?

God is invisible, and you see his invisible attributes proclaimed or shown in his creation. Namely, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world. We can see that God is revealed in the creation, right? Everything about him is revealed in creation. Maybe everything wouldn't be the proper way to say it, but he is truly sufficiently revealed in creation, in his glory in creation. and the things, Paul goes on to say, that have been made.

So, what's the conclusion he's making? The ungodly, the unrighteous are without excuse. And it's not just like a little bit of his glory is being revealed in creation. No, there's just a tad bit. It's everywhere, as we've already seen. And they are without excuse, and beloved, as I've already said, they will know it at judgment.

I have no excuse because there'll be no more suppression. It'll be totally out there that God is so revealed. I have no excuse at all for my rebellion. For although, verse 21, they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him. Don't believe the atheists, in other words. Now, if you're sitting before me right now and you say that you're an atheist, you're a liar.

You're not. God is revealed and you're just suppressing the truth. Stop suppressing it and repent and believe upon him. Paul is very clear. They know God. Paul doesn't say maybe they know God.

No, they know God, but they didn't give thanks to him. they become futile nonsense vanity in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened by their suppression of the truth so they claim to be wise we don't see any of that going on today in our own age with the new age atheism do we claiming to be wise they became fools and they exchanged the glory of the immortal god for the images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things and money and all sorts of different idols that we can form in our hearts therefore God gave them up we see it again in verse 26 for this reason God gave them up and we see it again in verse 28 and since they did not see fit to acknowledge God God gave them up to sin after sin after sin you understand that the reason why our society has rejected God and now they are just falling into sin they're falling into this depravity that we see it's because God gave them up to it in his wrath. We have this mindset of God who's powerless. He's just like, I just wish they would love me so much.

You understand that part of God's judgment on the wickedness of denying his glory is to give them up in their debased mind to live in sin. The sinner thinks that he's free in his sin. God gives them up in their sin as an act of wrath upon him for denying him. We can see the point that's being made here is that God reveals himself to such a degree that it silences his foes.

They'll have nothing to say because of just how much it reveals his glorious character. Do not believe the person for a moment who thinks that he does not have enough evidences for God. It is them suppressing the truth. We can see in Psalm 8, this is the point that he's getting at with his foes, is that it silences them, it stills them, it makes them quiet because his creation is so potent with his glory.

Jesus makes mention of this text as well. If we go back to Psalm 8, verse 2, out of the mouth of babies and infants you have established strength because of your foes to still the enemy and the avenger, even in babies as they cry they glorify God. Jesus makes mention of this, so we ought to go there and take a look at it. in Matthew 21. Verse 14, we see that Jesus' enemies are silenced as well.

Matthew 21, verse 14. And the blind men, I'm sorry, and the blind and the lame came to Jesus in the temple. This is after he cleansed it as he's had his entry into Jerusalem for the final time. But when the chief priest, here's his enemies, and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, right? Jesus had created all the universe and here he is taking on flesh and he's doing wonderful things in his flesh.

The children, as if it was so natural to them, were crying out in the temple, Hosanna to the Son of God. And his enemies were indignant. They were angry. They said to him, Do you hear what these are saying? And Jesus said to them, Yes, have you never read out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise? And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

Jesus, now these children weren't quite infants. They were old enough to say Hosanna. But nevertheless, Jesus is making this claim that there is something so natural about these children crying out to me in worship. and really I think what we can conclude here is that you don't because you're an enemy because you are suppressing the truth. There is something so natural often times I don't want to make too much of a point of this because I don't think this is the main purpose of what's going on here in Psalm 8 but you got to understand that God is it is the most natural thing for a human to be in his creation and to worship him.

That is the most natural thing for us to do. But in our depravity, we make it the most unnatural thing. And so it should encourage us as parents, if you have children, young children at home, you know that even though evil and wickedness is bound up in your baby's heart, in your child's heart, if you never heard that before, I know you're probably offended right now, but it's true.

That's why you don't need to teach your kids to be bad, right? They just tend to be bad by nature, right? Even though that is part of Adam's fault, the depravity of a child, you understand that as you teach them to worship and glorify God, you're teaching them to do something that is originally supposed to be so natural to him. You're not doing anything that is supposed to be weird or strange.

That as you train up the child in righteousness and worship to God, you know it's the most natural thing that they were created to do. That's an ally of yours. Take hold of that and And nurture that. And God will bless that. When you pray for his blessing, that you would do it in a way that honors him. But nevertheless, we see that it's the most natural thing, right?

God has created for his glory. It reveals his glory. And we see it even in the mouth of babes as they cry out that it glorifies God and his creative power. And what does it do for the wicked? It stills them. It quiets them, ultimately. ultimately?

What does it do for us? If you're a child of God, what does it do for us? What does it do for us as we look about his universe? Well, that's going to be the subject for the rest of the sermon here, for the rest of this psalm. What does it do for us? How do God's people respond to creation?

You know, you are to have a particular response of worship, right? God tells you to act in a certain way because of his creation, right? You're not just to do whatever you want to do. God tells you how you are to have, what kind of response you are to have in light of his creation, of the glorious revealing of his name. And what's good, what's helpful is so when we wake up and the creation and everything around us, it doesn't have whatever it's supposed to have.

It doesn't produce that effect the way it's supposed to have in our hearts. it gives us something to do right we are as god's people to repent and say god producing me what i'm supposed to have in light of this great creation right what i'm getting at is god tells us here in his word that we are to take this is how we are to respond to his creation not like the wicked not like the unregenerate but those who have been called out by christ this is how we are to respond to his creation and beloved if you follow this the end will be to enjoy him forever this is in other words objective truth okay god's creation is objectively supposed to produce something in you what i mean by that is not subjectively you might wake up and you might not want to worship god at all right but that's not truth god's creation is meant to give objective truth to you to know that i am objectively to take this and respond in a certain way and when you do not you can then repent of that failure what is that well how are we to respond well we've already said that we respond and worship to god's creation but we can get even more specific here and i think it's beautiful if you look at verses three through four let's look at the response see the response of the psalmist psalmist says when i look at your heavens the work of your fingers the moon and the stars which you have set in place? He asks this very good question. What is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you care for him?

There is another universal feeling that we are to have when we're looking up at the universe. And everyone feels this way to a certain degree. When you're in your backyard and you're looking at the constellations, you're looking, if you have the ability, and the northern lights, you see it all in its display of glory, what does that make you feel? What is the natural feeling in your heart?

That I am very, very, very small. I am very insignificant as compared to the vastness of what I see above me. And as we get to know exactly more and more of what's going on in space, in the universe, it is amazing just how small we are in the grand scheme of everything. There's a certain sense, even the psalmist, as they're looking up at the sky, they're seeing the beauties of the moon and the stars and the constellation, and he can't help but think that, God, who am I that you would care about me at all?

You see, God in creation, you know, he could have made space a little smaller. He didn't. He made it infinitely bigger so that it would show just how massive our God is. As we consider just how massive our God is, it should have something in our hearts where we're like, who am I? Who am I? God, you are so big and massive, I can't even fathom it.

Who am I? as we understand that God is bigger than we can imagine, it has this natural effect to make us smaller. And if we, all of a sudden, in humanism and all that, if we think that we're bigger, it has this natural way to make God smaller. It works both ways. Big God, small man. Big man, small God. It has that way.

There is no such thing as we have a, I'm mighty and big and great, right? And then God's huge too. No, no, no, beloved. That's the way it works. as we see that God is massive and huge, it has this sense in which we become very, very small, so insignificant that we even ask, who am I that you would even care about me? This is a very natural response as people look at the universe.

Insignificance I was looking at some documentaries on the universe That what I do in my spare time I guess I don know And some interesting documentaries on it And I saw some comments. It was on YouTube. And I saw some comments on it. One guy says, man, when I think of my problems and everything, when I think of all my issues, I just think about the universe and how big everything is, and I realize that I'm nothing.

I'm just insignificant. And so, therefore, I guess that was supposed to give him comfort to think that he's nothing and that's his problems don't matter at all and people were commenting to him say oh don't say that that's awful and everything like he's like i didn't mean that to be anything bad about me i was just saying my problems don't matter as if that's supposed to really comfort him and you see there's that one response there right where everything's so big i'm so insignificant that nothing matters but you see we don't truly live like that do we humans we can't help it we have to live as if every one of our actions actually really are significant. We can't help but live that way.

And so even though we have the New Age atheists and the Dawkins saying that really we're just insignificant space dust and all that kind of garbage they say, and then they speak out of the other side of their mouth, they say, but we're significant. It doesn't make any sense. Where does that significant come from other than them just saying it? There's no reason for it.

So the point that I'm getting at is that when we look at creation, it makes us feel this big, it makes us feel insignificant, but as creatures, as humans, there's something about us that says, but something really does matter here. My life actually does matter. I don't know how to explain it, but it matters. My actions matter. How I parent matters. How I'm a husband, mother, a church member, whatever it may be, it matters.

Something matters here. So we are supposed to feel small, but there's something that's supposed to then build us up into something that is significant. It reminds me of boot camp, being in boot camp. What they're trying to do in boot camp is they're trying to make you nothing so that they can build you up into whatever they want to build you up into. That's why they treat you the way that they treat you, because they're trying to get you down to nothingness so then they can build you up the way they want to build you up.

And they do it in very, I won't go into details, but I always think about saying a story, but it has nothing to do with the sermon, and I'm not going to do it. But nevertheless, that's what boot camp is trying to do. And there's a certain sense in which I think that's what's going on here. The psalmist is going to the point where he's looking at God's creation.

He's looking at the glory of God and saying, you're amazing. You're huge. You're mighty. You're massive. Who am I? Almost to nothingness.

But we don't stay there. We get built up into somethingness. But that somethingness that we're built up to is determined, defined by God. So the answer, the question first is we are significant. How? How are we significant?

In light of the grand God that created and he's so massive in it that we can't even fathom, it makes us think that we're nothingness. How do we get significance in that? And the name of my sermon is, I think it's something along these lines, I don't know, doesn't really matter, but significance through dominion. Significance through dominion. We gain our significance through dominion.

Now what do I mean by that? Something very important that changes the way we look at everything we do in life. It's very important. And so he says, let's continue on in the psalm, verse 3 and 4. He is so amazed by God in creation that he deems himself, who am I that you would even be mindful or care about me? Insignificant.

But then he goes on to explain why he's significant. And he says in verse 5, yet you have made him, that is man, a little lower than the heavenly beings. That's Elohim. That's God. He's probably talking about angels. You can refer to angels in that way.

And in fact, in Hebrews 2, the writer of the Hebrews, he says angels. And so this is how he gains his significance. He says, yeah, even though I'm insignificant, you have made me, you have made man, a little lower than the angels. So although I am in this physical world, I am not the same as the dog over there or the cat over there. I'm not the same as the cattle over there.

There's something in which I am more significant than that. I'm above that, right? And we know this. We have rational thought. I can look at the sun rising and my two outdoor cats, they don't look at anything. I'm like, there's a beautiful sunset right there and you're looking at me for food.

Look at the sunset for a moment. It's beautiful. But they won't. They just, they can't. There's like as if I'm created higher than that. You get what I'm saying?

Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings, right? A little lower than the angels, higher than the created order, and you crowned man with glory and honor. Well, how did he do that? Because you have given him, in verse 6, Psalm 8, dominion over the works of your hands. That's how we're higher than it, because God has placed us in it, and he says, and this is yours.

You have put all things under man's feet, all sheep, all oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds in the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. So we see that we get our significance. What makes it so? Because God has crowned us with glory and honor by giving us dominion over his creation. But what does that mean?

What does dominion mean? Does it just mean taking care of animals? No. You're missing it if you think it's just taking care of animals. There's something very deeply theologically important about the fact that you were made to have dominion over this vast creation that God has given us. And to see that, to understand that, we've got to go to Genesis 1.

We've got to go to Genesis 1. And if you see, because he is quoting, the psalmist is quoting Genesis 1 here. Genesis 1, verse 26. God is making this beautiful creation to glorify himself and then he makes man And he says in verse 26 then God said let us make man But he does something very significant that he doesn do anywhere else in creation What does he do?

Let us make man in our image, and after our likeness, and let him have dominion. So you see what's going on here, right? He's going to create man at the end of creation. He's going to give him control over his creation, but it's going to be in light of the fact that he's made in God's image. and let him have dominion over the fish and the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and every creepy thing that creeps on the earth.

So, in verse 27, God created man in his own image. In the image, God, he created him. Male and female, he created them. There's something important about the fact that we're made in God's image, I would say, isn't it? And then he goes on to say how in God bless them, and God said to them, be fruitful, multiply. What's being said here?

What's the nature of our dominion? the nature of our dominion is we are to control we are to have a crown of glory to to control earth in light of the fact that we are to represent god to everything the creation we are to be the image of god in creation that is the significance that we have is that we are especially supposed to represent god well here on earth this is the mandate that he has given adam and all after him is that we would be crowned with this authority to have dominion but we would do it in a way that is the image of God. We would image him well to his creation. That is the significance that we can have in this wonderful creation that he's created.

I'm trying to catch up in my notes now. And so that's the whole purpose. That's what we do. That is what we are to do as people here today, as we live and breathe, is that our desire is to image God well to everywhere that we have dominion. We are to go and do it, and we are to do it perfectly well. Now, which one of us does it well?

Which one of us goes and represents God well? Which one of us in our own abilities and our own power are able to go and represent God well? Or how easy is it to represent ourselves, our own desires, our own flesh, our own sins? That's what we want, and that's what we want to represent. That's what we want to hold on to. But we see that God has given you significance, that you would represent him well to all that you have here on earth.

This is what makes us realize our significance in him, is to represent him well. But how many of us actually do it well? And again, we go back to that pesky thing called sin, don't we? Sin causes us to be blinded to the glories of God. Sin causes us to be blinded to the mandate that he's given to us and the significance he has given to us to represent him well. in all of our actions, in all of our relationships, in all of our vocations, in everything we do, it blinds us to that beautiful significance that he's given to Adam and to all his posterity.

So beloved, if you're relying upon yourself to have significance, to fulfill what God has created you to do, if you're relying upon yourself, you are going to be the most miserable creature because you are not able to do it. No matter how hard you try to have significance, you will not be able to do it because we are sinners and we need someone there's someone we talk about often here if only someone would have came something like a god man or something took on flesh and lived a life that we couldn't and took dominion and we can share in it or something like if only something like that were to happen beloved of course jesus christ the god man In our failures, he succeeded. He takes on flesh, and he takes dominion, and he says, now share in it with me.

And so now that purpose, that original purpose, we can have if we repent and believe upon Jesus and share in that glorious purpose of his. This is why Hebrews, as I try to finish up here, Hebrews quotes the same set of verses. as he's talking about the excellencies of Jesus Christ. We see in Hebrews 2. Hebrews 2, verse 5, For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking.

It has been testified somewhere, What is man that you are mindful of him? Or the son of man that you care for him? You have made him for a little while lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor, put in everything in subjection under his feet. But, now I'm putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control, but at present we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.

But, we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the sufferings of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. And so we can see that even though we lose this identity, In fact, if we look at James, I'll just say it to you real quick, or if you want to go there, feel free. But we see in James 3, verse 7, we see James talk about this dominion.

For every kind of beast and bird of reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. See what James is saying there? We can tame animals because we've been given dominion, but we can't even tame ourselves. Why? Because what has dominion over us? Sin.

And so even though we've been given this mandate to have dominion over creation, sin has dominion over us, and so we fail at this original mandate. But then Jesus Christ is the one who came and enables us to fulfill this mandate once more. Jesus Christ is the one who came and he forgives us of our sins by his death and resurrection. So that through the forgiveness of sins no longer does sin have dominion over me but Christ has dominion over me righteousness has dominion over me so now I can truly take hold of this life indeed and serve Christ in it I could truly take this life and have dominion over it, mirroring God, being the image of Christ here on earth.

That original mandate is completed in the Lord through the gospel. Colossians 1, 15, 23. Well, I'll just say the one part. He is the image of the invisible God. Jesus, being the God-man, is the very image. And whenever we believe upon him, he gives us of a spirit, and we can image, and we can mirror, and we can share in that image of God once more.

It is repaired. In Romans 6.14, Paul says, for sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law, but you're under grace. So we can see, what is the beginning? What is the purpose? What is the chief end of man? The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

And what makes sin so bad is it makes us not be able to do that. And so now we take this creation and the glorious nature of it, and we turn our backs to God. And we are not amazed by God. We don't serve, we don't use everything we have to give him worship and service. Instead, we do it all for our own kingdom. And Jesus, in his kindness, takes upon that kind of rebellion upon himself so that when we believe upon him, we share in this new kingdom, this new dominion, this dominion in which we truly do reign in righteousness by his gospel of peace.

And so now we strategize in our life, don't we? Instead of being bored as a Christian, we strategize. How can I take dominion over this area of my life and give it to Christ? How can I, as a father, have dominion over my home and serve Christ in it? How can I do that better? As a mother, how can I be a better mother?

How can I take dominion over this for the sake of Christ and represent him well here? How can I be a better child, a more submissive child, a better daughter, a better son? How can I be a better worker? How can I be a better manager, owner? How can I do all these things in dominion for the sake of Christ? You see how that great purpose comes full circle, and now we can take dominion truly as we are always supposed to.

We can strategize. We can wake up, and we can be amazed by the glories of Christ, of God, revealed. And we can say, God, fill me up with this, and let me take hold of this, and show who you are to all the world. and we can be pumped up by the fact that creation obeys god and doing everything it's supposed to do the sun comes up you know why because god commanded it to everything that the creation does it does in obedience to god and it glorifies him and because of jesus christ you can do everything that you are called to do and glorify him too and so the glories of god is revealed in creation and in you oh christian by believing upon jesus christ what kind of meaning this gives you in your life.

Are you an unbeliever? I can guarantee you that you don't have much meaning. You don't. And you might think you're having fun in your sin, but you're not. I guarantee you that. And I implore you, turn away from your wickedness and turn to Jesus.

He will give you the meaning we were always supposed to have. Stop living in your filth and come out of it. Oh, Christian, are you living in some sort of sin? Stop doing that. Take dominion in your life. And that dominion is Christ's righteousness.

Rely upon him and cry out to him and repent and say, oh Lord, help me. Don't stay there. Repent. Believe upon Jesus and you will live. What a great gospel we have. Let's pray.

God in heaven, I thank you, Lord, that I was able to wake up this morning and breathe your air and breathe out praise. I thank you, Lord, that you made a creation that is just so marvelous. it truly does cause me to think, who am I that you would care for me in light of the fact that you are such an amazingly huge God. But then I remember the gospel.

I remember the significance that you have given me. That together with Christ, as I rely upon him, I can reign with him. That I can use this day that you've given me, this day today, right now, in this moment, and I can do it for the glory of Christ. and this gives me a certain significance that I want to go out and I want to live and I want to worship and I want to speak of your glories to everyone who will listen.

God in heaven, this fills me up with such meaning that I just can't wait to live the rest of my days. I want to be a better father. I want to be a better husband. I want them to see you in me. I want all these things because you are so worthy of it. Lord, let my life be completely submitted to you through the gospel of Christ my Lord.

I pray that the people before me, that they would have a certain unction, a certain tenacity about them. That they want to serve you in a deeper, completed way. That we would be a people constantly reforming ourselves, constantly repenting, asking God, what would you have me do in this day that you have given me in your creation? And let it always be our desire in all that we do, whether we eat or drink, whatever we do, we do to the glory of Christ because he has made the way possible.

He's the righteous one. He's the image of God. He's the one who has succeeded where we fail. And he's the one through his gospel kingdom makes us able. Praise be to his name. So let us worship him in truth for you are truth and we love you.

In Jesus' name, amen.