October 7, 2021 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Ted N.C. Wilson, President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Greetings, friends! Have you ever had the experience of being out somewhere in nature—perhaps in the mountains, or desert, or some other out-of-the-way place–where there are no buildings, no street lamps, no artificial light to obscure the amazing sight of the night sky. You look up and to your amazement you see hundreds, perhaps thousands of bright stars twinkling in the clear, velvety dark sky. The more you look, the more you see, so you try counting the stars, but soon realize it is an impossible endeavor!
Scientists tell us that in our galaxy alone, known as “The Milky Way,” there are anywhere from 100 to 400 BILLION stars! And that’s just one galaxy! Due to amazing research with space telescopes, scientists now estimate there are at least TWO TRILLION galaxies in the observable universe, which together contain at least TEN BILLION TRILLION stars!
Amazing! No wonder the Psalmist wrote: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard” (Ps. 19:1-3).
And the wonders of space are just one aspect of nature revealing the glories of God’s amazing work of Creation. Those who study the incredible world of molecular biology can testify to the amazing design found within even the smallest of living organisms. When we look at ourselves, we humans have multiple TRILLIONS of cells in our bodies, and even more amazingly, an adult human body is made up of around 7 OCTILLION atoms? Some claim that these amazingly organized and integrated systems resulted from unguided interactions among the atoms!
But the Bible reveals a far more reasonable explanation. Speaking to God, the Psalmist writes:
“You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Psalm 139:13,14 (NKJV)
How wonderful it is to know that we did not simply evolve out of some slime of the sea, but were instead handcrafted by the Creator God Himself!
One way we can remember and celebrate our wonderful Creator and the beauty of His creation is through a special day, called “Creation Sabbath,” which will be held this year on October 22. This event is organized by the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Geoscience Research Institute, also known as GRI. Let’s watch a short video that will give us just a taste of what Creation Sabbath is about.
Friends, I encourage you to visit the website, creationsabbath.net where you will find multiple resources for planning a special and memorable Creation Sabbath event. In addition to the many videos, articles, books and other resources, you will find a place to register your event, so people will be able to find your church and celebrate Creation Sabbath with you!
Creation Sabbath is a special Sabbath set aside to refocus our attention on the central theme of the Bible; our Creator loves us, has earned salvation for us and offers us abundant life. This is why Creation Sabbath is a special time of celebration, a chance to rejoice at what God has done, to praise Him for the rich gifts He has provided and rest with Him as we enjoy the creation He made to sustain our lives and bring joy to those who know Him. We are invited to be like the sons of God who shouted for joy as the creation week unfolded. I encourage you to joining your worldwide church family this year in celebrating Creation Sabbath.
Let’s pray together just now. Father in heaven, thank you for creating this earth, thank you for creating us, thank you for creating the seventh day, this Sabbath to help us to remember you are the creator, you are the one in authority, you are to be worshiped. Thank you, for letting us proclaim this message in the first angels’ message of Revelation 14 and proclaiming the second and third angels’ messages, helping people to return to the true worship of God. Now Lord, bless each church, each area as they focus upon creating a memorable and wonderful creation Sabbath on October 22, thank you for hearing us in this prayer and thank you for the promise of your soon return, in Jesus’ name we ask it, amen.