Good evening. It's good to see you all this evening. I was nervous every time someone announces I'm going to come and speak. No one shows up. Thank you so much. I was a little nervous, but so good to be with you all and be back with you. And you did notice I brought two Bibles. That means you get two, double the messages tonight. Just kidding. Actually, I wanted to show you the latest version or design of the Bibles that we're giving to the legislators. The Thompson Chain Reference Company, the Kirkbride Bible Company, they had been in Indianapolis for more than 100 years. And they recently sold to a larger group and conglomeration. And so we were able to still get the Bibles and it has the state seal on the front of the Bible. And then it has their own name, each legislator's name on it as well. So it's their own Bible. And I know I've probably said this before here, but we have been the very first, we've given the very first Bible that anybody, that some of these legislators have ever owned in their entire life. And so it seems hard to believe here in Indiana, but it does occur. And so this one has their own name with the state seal, very precious and special gift. And so just one of those things that you all are a part of is giving the word of God to the folks at the statehouse. And we don't just give them then a Bible. We then couple that with the teaching, the counseling, the biblical focus that we have as a ministry. And glad to have my friend and colleague from down at the Statehouse, Pam Russell, is with us here tonight as well. And she's been at the Statehouse for 12 years now doing the women's ministry inside the Capitol. And her ministry is just, they love her there. And they love her elsewhere. In fact, she and Jessica, our executive assistant, went to India. several years ago, and that then spawned a weekly Bible study that Pam has led over the past year or so, that she has led a Bible study to India with more than 100 devices every week. And so sometimes there's two or three ladies on that each device. So hundreds of people, a part of this Bible study that Pam is leading in India, sharing with them how they can pray for their leaders. And if you can imagine, you know, you've heard some reports from India Some of these ladies, their husbands are pastors and they're persecuted. And Pam can't record that Zoom call. Nothing's allowed to be recorded. And so it's just live. And then they're able to receive that and watch that live. And so Pam tells a funny story. The speaker needed the chapel. It was a Tuesday morning this past session and wanted to be in there for some reason to use the chapel. And so Pam was bumped and she went out to a phone booth taught the Bible study in India from a phone booth in the State House. So Pam, she is resourceful, but they so appreciate her ministry in the State House. In fact, the past session, the short session that we had over the summer, and you all heard about that short session, and it was intense. And so the speaker, instead of having a pastor come from around the state every time, each time they're in the House and Senate, they always open in prayer. And the speaker said, hey, for this session, instead of asking pastors to come in from around the state, I want you and Pam to alternate days and open the House of Representatives in prayer. And so we did that. And while doing that one day, it was, this just tells you how much they appreciate her prayers. I finished praying, and it was my turn that day, and I finished praying. And Pam was seated over to the side, so I went over and sat there. And every once in a while, a legislator will come by and say they appreciated something about the prayer or something. And so while we're sitting there, a legislator comes over and leans in and says to Pam, I so appreciated your prayer yesterday. That was all they said, and they went on. It's great. I just prayed, but you're welcome. But I think part of it is her British accent. It just raises her IQ level as soon as she opens her mouth. But anyway, she's got an advantage on me. But I so appreciate Pam and her ministry at the Statehouse and ministering to all of the women there. And what a great blessing she has been these past dozen years or so. The ministry itself, many have asked just even coming in, how's it going? And God continues to expand where we're going, what we're doing, and this year we had the opportunity in May, this was the sixth global conference that we've been a part of through our partner Luciano Mangara down in Argentina. We've done these global conferences in Argentina, in Brazil, in Jerusalem, in Washington, D.C., and this time Luciano said, let's go to New York City. And I said, Luciano, don't you realize it's like the most expensive city you can pick? He says, yes, but that's where the United Nations is. And I want to begin to minister to folks in the United Nations. And so he called it the United Nations Reconciliation Conference. And he said, what I want to do is I want to take the 17 sustainable goals that the United Nations has set for 2030, and I want to address five of those. And so that we then address them by saying, what does the Bible say about? And some of the subject matters were poverty, justice, education, climate change. And he said, I want you to be one of the speakers. And Philip Yancey was already one of the speakers. And I thought, why are you asking me? And so he said, but I want you to address. And I thought, well, what topic? You know, he says, well, I want you to address what does the Bible say about climate change? I thought, that's the hardest one on the board, you know? And so then I'm like, Lord, what do you say about climate change? What does the Bible say? And so it really, you know, when you're presented with those types of things, and we as a ministry, we don't go and choose the hot topic of the day to go and then do a Bible study on it. not typically topical. In fact, in our Bible studies in the Statehouse, we just walk through verse by verse through a book that we've chosen, a book in Scripture we've chosen to use. And this year, it was really exciting. We finished the book of Proverbs, and the folks there that have attended that every Friday for the past many, many years were so excited that we finally finished that after 10 years in the book of Proverbs. Hey, I don't go fast, but we go deep. And in fact, I recently started a Bible study with the legislators. Last year, we started a Bible study in Romans. And we get to Romans chapter 1, verse 1, word 1. And we stayed on word 1 for an hour. But we didn't keep that same pace going forward. We're actually moving along in Romans. But I don't mind digging into this. And it's impossible to mine the depths of this word. In fact, one of the things, I mean, I grew up in church. I was going to church nine months before I was born. And so there's so much of this that I've heard and it's been a part of me. And recently I just thought, you know, I wanna know more. And so I went ahead and I enrolled in seminary. So now I'm going to get my Master's of Divinity. In the middle of that, I'm learning right now, learning Hebrew. And so to get my 45-year-old brain wrapped around some new concept is a challenge, but it's good for me. But there's just, there's so much more to learn. I say that going to seminary is like a reviving of my heart and my soul because I'm learning so much more. And it is so exciting to do that. And so with that subject matter, and I know I sent the email to Pastor Jerry, and I wondered what he thought when he opened it up. Psalm, and we're doing what? Climate change? This will be interesting. So thank you all for toughing it out and coming back this evening. And so let's go ahead and turn in the text then. as we turn to Psalm chapter number 24, Psalm 24. And again, this comes out of a study, and so this may feel a little bit, at least initially, somewhat like a lecture, but I will bring it to a point. As we all know, there needs to be a point to the sermon. And so Psalm 24 is where we will start. And then we may wrap up with that same phrase in Psalm 24. And starting in verse number one, let's just read the passage, the 10 verses, and then we'll pray. Psalm 24, a Psalm of David. The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend unto the hill of the Lord, or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul into vanity, nor sworn deceitfully, he shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty. The Lord, mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the King of glory. Salem. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for your word. And Lord, I thank You that we can study it all of our lives and still not fully comprehend the wonders that are held within it. Father, I thank You for the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us, even the person of Jesus Christ. And so tonight, Father, as we study Your Word, may You enliven us, quicken our hearts and minds to hear what You have to say to us through Your Word and Your Holy Spirit this evening. In Christ's name. Amen. All right, so the idea as I was then speaking to this United Nations conference, there were 40 or so nations represented. There were many scientists represented and a lot of other social workers and many things from around the world. And so then this topic of what does the Bible say about climate change? This verse just jumped out at me at Psalm 24 one, as I'm asking the Lord, what do you say? And right out of the gate here, the earth is the Lord's. It is not ours. And as we think about that, we must think about the stewardship that we have been given of the earth. Because if it's his, I liken it to, there was a guy, I was painting the side of our house, or the outside of our house several years ago, and a friend of mine lent me their painter, the paint sprayer. And so, being at least the type of guy that I am, I don't read directions, so jump out there, put it in there, and I start, and I broke the sprayer. And so, of course, I just packed it up and gave it back to him and said, I'm sorry, it's broken. No, I didn't. I went ahead, I had to buy him a new one and all of that. Because when you're taking, it just makes me nervous to borrow something that's not mine. And so if something happens, then you feel bad. And if we think about this Earth being God's, it's the Lord's, we are the caretakers of it. We are to use the Earth and its resources, but we are not to misuse and abuse it. It is ours to care for, but it is not ours to own. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. So then that drives you right back to Genesis 1, 1, right? That's, and so I'm in the middle of memorizing it in Hebrew, Genesis 1, 1. And going through it, just really trying to figure out what does Genesis 1, 1 say? Well, Genesis 1-1 is all about God creating. He is the one that created the heaven and the earth. And it doesn't take long. This idea is really a theology of creation. But I thought if I gave you the topic and the title, Theology of Creation, it wouldn't be nearly as headline-grabbing as what does the Bible say about climate change, right? And so it is really a theology of creation, a theology of stewardship. And what the Lord does is He gives a specific command over in, as He gives man, He says, I want you to tend it and keep it, guard it, protect it. And they were to cultivate the earth. And it wasn't gonna be hard. It was just, that was just their job. And God gave us work before He gave us sweat and hard labor and all of that. It was work and it was gonna be an enjoyable experience. It was not gonna be hard. And yet, Genesis chapter number 3 describes something that occurs, and I would couch it in this way. We know what Genesis 3 is. It's the fall, right? It's the fall of man. And yet what happened as a result of the fall of man? I would submit it as man-made climate change. What happened? The earth cracked. Things changed as a result of the curse. And so climate change is nothing new. In fact, right there in Genesis 3, what happens? We end up getting the sweat of our brows. We end up getting thorns and thistles in the earth. Climate, the earth, fundamentally changed. What we see today in the world is not as God originally designed the earth. It's different. It's flawed, it's cracked, it's cursed. That's a climate change that happened right out of Genesis 3. Then you turn over just a couple more chapters and you find in Genesis chapter number 6 another massive climate change, don't we? It's the flood. It had never rained on the earth. Can you imagine thinking about what it would look like for water to come from heaven? It actually had always come up from the earth, watering the ground. And here is a massive worldwide climate change, unlike any, and it killed everyone on the earth, save for those six in the boat. And so there's another, as I deem it, a man-made climate change as a result of sin, the earth then changed again. And so you have a second climate change, and we haven't even made it out of Genesis through the first few chapters, and already there is massive climate change occurring on the earth. When we look forward, Scripture also tells us that at one point in the way out in the future, we're not sure when, but the Bible says the earth will melt with fervent heat. So it's gonna be another massive climate change that'll be pretty hot, maybe global warming as a result of the earth melting with fervent heat. So there's the premise. Climate change has occurred in the Bible, nothing new. As a result of man's sin, it has happened. So then today, we come to today. What are the things that are puzzling scientists? And I would say, as we're looking at the problems, we need to create innovative solutions. How do we do this? What are ways, does the Bible talk about ways to steward our earth. And we'll go through several, maybe four different management things that the Bible talks about in scripture. The first one would be domestic animal management. Does God talk about domestic animal management? Yes, indeed, he does. He tells us that we're to take care of the things that are domesticated. Proverbs 27, 23 says this, be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks and look well to thy herds. As you're looking at the animals, you need to care for them, be kind to them, and treat them well, and be diligent to know the state. In fact, that was one reason and one way they could go and do something on the Sabbath. If the ox got stuck in the ditch, you go take care of the ox. It's part of caring for domestic animals. And if I'd had time, I got you some pictures this evening of, we have, my daughter now has a service animal and it's a labradoodle. And so its hair is, it has to be cared for regularly. brushed regularly, cut regularly. Otherwise, it's just going to grow and mat and be a massive problem. And we didn't know this early on. And so it gets all tangled up and matted. We take it to the groomer, and the groomer's like, I can't do anything with this. And so my wife said, could you go pick up the dog? So I go to pick up the dog, and they bring out our dog. And I said, that's not my dog. I mean, it was pitiful. I mean, I started laughing, and I couldn't stop laughing. And I get the dog in the car, and I call my wife, and I'm laughing. She's like, what's going on? I said, I can't stop laughing every time I look at her. I wish, if you want later, I'll show you a picture of our dog. Doesn't look anything like it normally does and so that's that's probably misuse of God's creation not quite abuse but certainly misuse of God's creation the poor dog and She just she didn't realize how ugly she looked but we sure did and and so we've worked on that caring for these domestic animals that we've been given charge of and to care for. And so, God cares about our domestic animal, the way we care for our domestic animals and domestic animal management. You know, there's another thing that God mentions in His Word, and it's land use management. right in Leviticus the the Bible he's talking to Moses in Leviticus 25 1 4 and the Lord spake unto Moses in Mount Sinai saying speak unto them the children of Israel speaking to the children of Israel and say to them when you come into the land which I give you then shall the land keep a Sabbath unto the Lord six years thou shalt sow thy field in six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard and gather in the fruit thereof but in the seventh year Who is the one giving this command? It is the Creator. He's the one who owns it, and He's giving specific instructions how to care for the land. Do the children of Israel do it? No. They don't. In fact, they're sentenced to 70 years, 70 years of exile, and that's a direct relation to how they treated the land. See, God cares about how we treat His creation so much so that the Israelites paid heavily for it by spending 70 years in Babylon. And so that's a direct, and if there's plenty of ways to see it, 2 Chronicles says, For as long as she lay desolate, she kept Sabbath to fulfill threescore and ten years." God has given specific instruction how to care for His earth, and we neglect them at our own peril. God cares about His earth. He cares about His creation, and He's given us charge of it and to be stewards of it. The next one I want to look at is wildlife management. Wildlife management. We know that when we, in our recent past, as far as the United States goes, The people came here and began to harvest and harvest and harvest. The problem was harvested too much, right? We have what's known as conservation officers today. We have laws against poaching. I just saw a headline yesterday of somebody catching this massive fish and they had to plead guilty to poaching. And so we have poaching laws. We have actually an endangered species laws, right? Why do we have those? Well, I would posit that the Bible talks about this sort of thing in Deuteronomy chapter number 22, Deuteronomy 22, 6 and 7. If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree or on the ground, whether they be young ones or eggs and the dam sitting upon the young or upon the eggs, what are you to do with this? Thou shalt not take the dam with the young. But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee, that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days. What is he saying here? When you're seeing a bird on the nest, don't take the mother bird. Well, why? Well, the mother bird can reproduce. and make more young. You are allowed to take the eggs or the little ones to yourself and eat them, domesticate them, whatever you want, but do not take the mother bird. God is saying to care for creation and make sure you don't allow animals to go. extinct to care for them, not at least by your hands, that we don't destroy them. And so that's why we have conservation laws today. The bald eagle, we've started to see some come back here into Indiana even. And you go to Alaska, I've been just, I love the fact this past year, I was able to check a big, it was the capstone of my wife and I, our parenthood. We were able to take our kids to all 50 states. And I told the kids when they were young, I said, what I'd like to do is take you out to all the states that we could drive to. And so we did that, all 49 states. And I said, you can do Hawaii on your own. And so we did. We drove to Alaska. And in driving to Alaska, just to give you an idea, from here in Indianapolis to Alaska and back is 10,000 miles. And so we did that in less than a month, there and back. That's a lot of miles, and we do have an old beat up RV, and so it's a Ford, so it's all the whole fix on race day, and all of their, whatever it is, fix or repair daily. I think that's actually what it is, fix or repair daily. But I love it, but it's a constant project to work on it. And we were told before we hit the Alaska highway, make sure you bring spare tires. Your windshield's gonna get cracked, your radiator's gonna get cracked, so bring some black pepper. Why black? I don't know. You put black pepper in your radiator, it actually clogs up the radiator for a few days and you get where you're going. And bring black pepper, bring some extra gasoline. And so we did that, and many of those things occurred to us, because it's not all paved on the way up there. And I'm telling you what, though, it is worth the drive. Ultimately, it really is. the amount of creatures we're able to see, from bears to moose. And then when we were up in Alaska, we saw those bald eagles, we saw the humpback whales, we saw an amazing... And so by going to 50 different states to see God's creation just in the United States is remarkable. And then to be able to have been on five different continents and to see God's handiwork And he cares about it. And then we need to make sure that we're cultivating it, tending it well, not misusing and abusing God's creation. So wildlife management is a very, I mean, it's stated right in the Bible. God cares about the wildlife. And so we didn't need to be caring for it as well. One that's not as fun to talk about would be Deuteronomy 23, 13. So if God cares about domestic animal, management. He cares about land use management. He cares about wildlife management. You know, he also mentions waste management. Really, he does. In Deuteronomy, chapter number 23 and 13, you have all of these people out in the wilderness, all of these people out, you know, camping in essence. They're camping in tents and all of these things. And the Bible says, and thou shalt have a paddle or a spade, if you will, upon thy weapon, a nail or a spike, or some kind of instrument, to make a hole in the ground with, which was fastened to the sword upon their loins, which was to be instead of a spade or a mattock to dig with. And it shall be, when thou shalt ease thyself abroad without the camp, in the place appointed for that use, whenever nature required such an act to be performed, You don't normally hear these verses preached on, do you? Not typically, but we're going to keep going. Thou shalt dig therewith, with the paddle, and hole in the earth. And then the Essenes used, according to Josephus, to make a foot deep with a spade, or mattock, and cover, then it says, and cover that which cometh from thee, their dung with the earth they dug out of the hole they made. And so that's Deuteronomy saying, when you go out, it's waste management, and go out, dig a hole, and cover it back up. That's actually still, there's actually, we just went hiking in Denver or near Denver, out in Colorado with my son recently, and right on the sign. If you need to use the restroom, dig at least 10 inches deep with a shovel or something, go to the restroom and cover it back up. That was actually in the Bible. I don't think those folks know they're quoting the Bible there, but it's there. Waste management. So I hope you're understanding that God, and there's a lot of folks that could benefit from this sort of teaching, especially in the waste management. There's all sorts of problems, diseases, there's all sorts of cleanliness, even smell issues that can be covered if we were able to just look at the scripture. It comes to this, if we're to care for our land well, we have issues, there's problems. We live in a cracked, cursed, fallen world. It's not as it was originally intended. And so with those cracks and curses, it's okay to come up with creative solutions to solve them. Now, theologically, when the folks were trying to come up with anesthesia, a numbing agent, or to put people to sleep so they could work on them and have surgery, there was a theological question that came to be at that time. And a pastor of the day, when that was being invented, said that it was against the Bible to create anesthesia. Because we live in a cursed world, we ought to just deal with it. And yet, if we are to look at the world, and God has given us dominion over it, and to look for ways that we can make life maybe a little bit better, God is good with that, and He actually wants us to do that, and so we are to create solutions. Think of George Washington Carver. He was born into slavery. We know he became a botanist, figuring out plants and all of these things. And what happened then, Booker T. Washington called, he didn't call him up, but he wrote to him. He wrote to him, he communicated with him, hey, we need you to come down south and help us. So because the slaves had been freed, they had land and they began to plant. And they planted what they knew how to plant, and that was cotton. So they just started, but the problem was their yields began to go down year over year over year. They began to get less and less cotton. So Booker T. Washington said, would you please come help us? And that was the thing that George Washington Carver was waiting for, some direction in his life for the Lord to direct him. And he said, I would love to come and help my people know how they can get more yield. And so he arrived and he said, well, the problem that you're experiencing is this cotton takes many minerals from the soil. And what's happening is as it takes the minerals, it's not putting it back, and then that's why you're getting decreased yields year over year. What you need to do is plant something that will reinstitute the minerals. And they say, well, what would that be? He said, well, why don't you do peanuts? Peanuts will do a great job putting minerals back in the soil. This is brilliant, right? And so they go ahead and they plant peanuts. And this widow lady came to him after the harvest was in, and she said, OK, I planted peanuts like you said. But now what? Because I have all these peanuts, I don't have anybody to buy them. And so George Washington Carver, he did something that I encourage every current, modern day, contemporary scientist to do. When confronted with a problem that we do not know the answer to, it might be a good idea to check in with a designer. with the Creator. And he says this, this is his quote of his prayer. He says, Mr. Creator, why did you make the peanut? Simple question. Why did you create the peanut? And then according to the National Peanut Board website, that sounds funny, I don't think I want to be a part of the peanut board. But as the father of the peanut industry, George Washington Carver developed more than 300 uses for peanuts, including chili sauce, shampoo, shaving cream, glue. And he helped save the agriculture of the South. Wow. How did he come up? And now they're crediting him with the 300 uses of peanuts. I think he would credit the Lord for giving him the creativity to come up with 300 uses for the peanut. So if we have problems in our world, in a cracked, cursed, fallen world, what might be a good idea for the scientists to do? I don't have the answer, but let me check in with someone who does. And that would be the creator, the designer, the one who made it. And I've got one more illustration there. But as I was sharing this, and I got done sharing this at the United Nations Reconciliation Conference, biochemists came up to me afterwards like, well, what are we going to do about carbon? And what are we going to do about? I said, well, time out, time out. I'm a pastor, and I'm going to stay in my lane. I have no idea at all. But I will tell you that if God's the one that made it, God could give us the solutions. And why don't you pray about it and see what He would do? He might give you a solution to the problem that you see as not able to be solved. Tony Renato, modern day, currently living. He became a missionary to Niger. And in Niger, the problem was deforestation. and desertification. That's not desertification. That sounds pretty nice. It's desertification. And what was happening was, in Niger, what was once green became brown. You would fly over, and it was just brown upon brown. So Tony Renato, missionary, came to teach Bible classes, is concerned about Niger. And he's wondering how do we get, so he tried to bring in trees, and that's very expensive, trying to bring in trees, plant them. And Niger had passed a law, and if you ever heard of something called a law of unintended consequences? Niger passed a law saying you can't cut down, you can't cut down any trees, any mature trees, you're not allowed to cut down any mature tree. Well, it had a negative consequence. because the farmers wanted the fields and wanted to be able to plant, they decided we're not gonna have any trees grow. And so then everything becomes brown. And so Tony Renato said, what can we do? He tries to bring in trees to introduce them, it's not working. And then he actually did the same thing as George Washington Carver did. He actually went to the Lord and said, Lord, how can we help? And as he was praying, he looked out and there were all of these little green plants, small green plants dotted across the landscape. And as he began to research what those were, they were actually a bunch of miniature trees that had not had a chance to grow. There was a root system still in place throughout Niger. And so he began to challenge some farmers to let some of them grow in their unique trees in that when it's time to plant in springtime, the leaves fall off so the sun can get through and allow things to grow. And today, as a result of Tony Renato asking God to help him, you fly over in his year today and millions of hectares are now green instead of brown. There is a reforestation in Niger. They now have a rebounding of their agriculture. And it's because one man prayed, God, how do we fix this? And God, you know, that guy has, Tony Renato has actually won a Nobel Peace Prize for this. He's getting all sorts of acclaim, but he would say, wasn't me, it was the Lord. If God designed it, he might give us creative solutions to cultivate it, tend it, to keep it, to guard it, and steward it. Climate change. Does the Bible talk about it? Yes, it does. Man made climate change, two of them. And we live in a cracked world, and we need the Lord's help to be able to see creative solutions for it. I don't know a whole lot about science. But what I do know is I know that God created it. In the beginning, God created. And then there we have in Psalm 24, the earth is the Lord's, it's not mine. And so I think we ought to ask him what we should do with our earth, how to care for it, how to cultivate it, how to keep it. And as I begin to close here, I would also say, I want to turn to one more passage. in there's a redemptive nature of this. As I was talking to the United Nations, I didn't get to add this part because I was supposed to just be teaching or saying, what does the Bible say? But there is a spiritual component to this as well. And that is that the Lord is in the redemptive restoration business. And so as we think about our world and it being cracked and cursed and fallen, Revelation 21, one says, John is writing, and I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them. And they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.' And He sat upon the throne and said, He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. God will make all things new. We see a cracked, fallen world that believers are able to step in because I believe that believers have an advantage over non-believers in ways of knowledge and wisdom. You may think that's hubris, it's just Bible. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. I'll take a person that knows Christ as a scientist over a non-believing scientist any day because guess what? They know the creator. It's helpful to know the designer. I think IT folks would be foolish if they were trying to work on a computer and never check the manual or never check with the designer and just try to muddle their way through it. That's the way scientists are who do not know the creator. I know that seems like a bold statement, just standing on the word of God. that the believer has an advantage by ways of knowledge and wisdom. And so we have this creation, let us not worship it. Romans 1 talks about worshiping the creature more than the Creator, so we aren't supposed to worship it, but we are supposed to take care of it. So as I finish my speech there in New York, and maybe you experienced the same thing here tonight, the thought is, well, the Bible pretty much hits the folks on the right and the folks on the left, and there are two different types. of scientists and those that are out there that are looking at the problems of our world by ways of environment and the, I'm looking at my notes here to make sure I get the right, so it's Charles Mann, Charles Mann talks about this and he says, that we have, I think it's Charles Mann, there's two things, prophets, the prophets look at our environment and say, the sky is falling, let's cut off all fossil fuels, stop doing anything that has to do with technology, and it's gloom and doom, that's the prophets, and then he puts this idea, he says, then there's the wizards that say, we'll magically fix it with science or with governing, let's just keep going the way we're going, and it'll fix itself. I would say there's a third, and that would be a biblicist. What does the Bible say and what does God say about his creation and how we are to care for it? Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you that the earth is yours. We recognize it as believers. And then Father, we also then want to ask you how we're to care for your creation. Lord, give us wisdom beyond ourselves. Keep us back from laws of unintended consequences. Give wisdom to our leaders, be they leaders in government, leaders in science, and leaders of the church. Lord, we are in desperate need of you. I thank you that your word speaks to the problems that we have today, and we ask for wisdom in Christ's name.