For this lesson you will need a Globe and/or a map of the world.
As you look at your globe or map, can you find where you are right now? Can you find where your grandparents live?
How much land is there in the world? How much water is there? Is there more land or more water?
How many states are there in the United States? Can you find the largest state? Can you find the smallest? Can you find the state which contains the Grand Canyon? Can you find the state that borders both Canada and the Pacific Ocean? Where is the White House? Which state is the most northern?
Can you find the following countries? Israel, Iraq, Iran, Germany, Chile, Mexico
Can you find the seven continents? Where is Asia? Where is South America? Where is Africa? Where is Australia? Where is Europe? Can you find the biggest ocean?
Where would you find monkeys? Where would you find kangaroos?
Can you find the Mediterranean Sea? Can you find the Indian Ocean?
How far have you traveled from your home? What other states have you been in? Have you ever been in another country?
What are some of the countries that you have been hearing about on the news? Can you find some of these countries on the map?
Can you find the land of Palestine where most of the events of the Bible took place? Can you find the city of Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified? In what sea did Jonah meet the whale? Can you find the land where the children of Israel were slaves for hundreds of years? Can you find the Red Sea where the children of Israel crossed over and where the Egyptians perished? Can you find Saudi Arabia, a land which has lots of oil?
How many people do you think there are in the world? At one time there was only one person on the earth (Genesis 2:7,20), then there were two people (Genesis 2:22-23), and later there were three people (Genesis 11:1). God told Adam and Eve to "Be F_____________________ and M_____________________" (Genesis 1:28).
Before the great flood there were many thousands of people on the earth; right after the flood how many people were there (Genesis 8:18; 1 Peter 3:20)? ________________________ What did God tell these people to do (Genesis 9:7)? _________________________________________________________________ Did you come from Noah and his three sons? Did everyone else in the world come from Noah and his three sons?
How many different languages can you name? Are you learning a different language in school? On the globe or map, can you find where there are people who speak Spanish? Can you find where there are people who speak French? Chinese? Italian?
Where did all of these languages come from? Was there ever a time when everyone spoke only one language (Genesis 11:1)? _______ Why do we have many languages today (see Genesis 11:2-9)?
Think again about all of the people in the world. These people have different skin colors, different languages, different customs (ways of doing things) and different religions. But there is something that all of these people have in common. They all have the same problem. The Bible says, "For ______ have ____________________ and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). What is the problem that all men have? ____________________________ Do Americans have this problem? _______ Do Chinese people have this problem? ________ Do Eskimos have this problem? _______ Do people living in India have this problem? Do the rich have this problem? __________ Do the poor have this problem? ______ Do you have this problem? ______
What did God do to solve this problem (John 3:16-17)? This is good news! And Jesus said, "Go ye into _______ the _______________ and preach the gospel (good news) to every creature" (Mark 16:15).
Long ago a Greek, Alexander the Great (born in 356 B.C.), tried to conquer the world. He wanted to be able to say, "The whole world is mine. I conquered it!" Alexander died at a young age of 33 and his dream was never realized. Others have tried to conquer the world, but they have all failed. In the future a mighty ruler will come along and he will rule the entire world (see Revelation 13:4). He will be an evil ruler, but God will only let this man have power for _________ months (Revelation 13:5).
Who does the world really belong to? The Bible gives us the answer in Psalm 24:1: "The earth is the _______________ and the fulness thereof; the _____________________ and they that dwell therein." Only God can really say, "The earth and the world is Mine! I created it!"
The world is filled with kings and rulers and presidents. These men rule over their countries. But there is another King whose throne is not on earth. Where is His throne (Psalm 103:19)? ______________________________________ This King does not just rule over one country, He rules over A____________ (Psalm 103:19). In 2 Chronicles 20:6 we learn that God rules over all the kingdoms of the heathen. God rules over every nation! Every living person should "know that the _____________________ ruleth in the kingdom of men" (Daniel 4:17). God is the King of Iran and Iraq! God is the King of China! God is the King of the United States! God is King over all! He is the ____________ OF KINGS and the ______________ OF LORDS (Revelation 19:16).
Who made this world and everything in it (Nehemiah 9:6)? ____________________ In Genesis chapter 1 we learn that God made everything in six days, and He rested (stopped working) on the seventh day. On what day was the earth created? ____________ On what day were the sun, moon and stars created?
Why did God make this earth? What was God’s purpose? What was God's plan for planet earth? In Isaiah 45:12 God says this: "I have made the ____________ and created __________ upon it." God made the earth because He wanted to put man on it! We learn the same thing in Isaiah 45:18:
"He created it (the earth) not in vain, He formed it to be _________________________."
God did not make the earth just to collect rocks and dirt and sand and water. God wanted the earth to be inhabited! If you were to buy a fish tank, you would not want to just fill it with water. Water is not enough! You would want fish to inhabit and live in that tank! God made the world for people and God made people for the world. "The heaven, even the heavens are the LORD'S: but the _____________________ hath He given to the children of ________" (Psalm 115:16).
On what day did God create man and put him on planet earth (see Genesis 1)? ___________________ When God had done this His work was completed! God made the world for man!
Suppose your father were to tell you to go and fill a bucket with water. Suppose you were to do this but as you were returning with the bucket one drop of water spilled out. Do you think your father would be all upset and say, "I told you to bring me a bucket of water. How could you be so careless as to lose one drop?" No, a drop in a bucket does not mean anything! No one cares if one drop is missing from the bucket. If someone were to add a drop of water to a bucket of water, would you notice a difference? If someone were to remove a drop of water from a bucket of water, would you notice a difference? If you were to empty a bucket of water and there was still a drop or two of water in the bucket, would you still consider it as empty? A drop of water in a bucket is as nothing! A drop in a bucket is not very important at all.
In Isaiah 40:15 the Lord says, "Behold, the ______________________ are as a __________ of a bucket." The nations of the world are like a drop in a bucket to God! These nations think they are great but God does not consider them great at all. God sees them as puny and insignificant.
Look again at the globe or at the map of the world. Look how massive (large) some of the nations are! Look how large China is with all of its millions of people! Look how large India is! Look how large some of the other nations are such as the United States, Canada, Brazil, etc. Think of all the people that are in these countries! And yet God says that they are as a drop of a bucket. They are not very important at all! They are not very great at all! They can offer the living God no counsel (advice) at all.
God also says that the nations are counted as the dust of the balance. The "balance" refers to a scale that something is weighed on. Think about the bathroom scale that you have at home which you stand on to weigh yourself. There is dust that falls down on your scale all the time. Does dust weigh very much? ____ Before you weigh yourself, do you take time to dust the scale very carefully so that you remove all the dust, or do you just forget about the dust and weigh yourself? Dust is not very important at all! We do not even think about the dust. God is saying that to Him the nations are like the dust on our bathroom scales! The nations are not even worth noticing when it comes to God's ability to care for the people and problems of the world.
What does God think about the nations? "All nations before Him are as _____________________; and they are counted to Him less than nothing, and vanity" (Isaiah 40:17). Why are the nations "less than nothing"? It is bad enough to be nothing, but the nations are worse than that. Not only are they nothing but they are sinful also. Being nothing is bad, but being a sinful nothing is far worse!
If the nations are as nothing before God, then what must I be? I must be much less than nothing! If the United States is like a drop in a bucket, then how much less must I be? If the nations are so unimportant to God, then what about me?
God's answer is very surprising! Even though the nations are as a drop of water and as dust on a scale, God is very much aware of you and me. Individual people are really important to God! God is interested in individuals! God is very much interested in men and women and boys and girls.
The Bible tells us in Psalm 33:13-18 that God looks down from heaven. Does He see and pay attention to the people that are on earth? _______ In 2 Chronicles 16:9 we learn that "the __________ of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole E_________________." God's eyes are everywhere! Look again at your globe or map. Think of all the people that live in the world. God's eyes are in every place and God is looking at every person on the face of the earth. God is looking for those who will turn to Him and trust Him. God is looking for those who will seek Him: "and ye shall seek Me, and ____________ me, when ye shall search for Me with _____ your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13). The Bible also says that God is "not F__________ from every one of us" (Acts 17:27).
Yes, you are very important to God! He created you and put you on planet earth. About 2000 years ago He sent His Son to die for you and to take the punishment for your sins. Today God wants to save you. Today God says to every person on the face of the earth: "He that believeth on Me hath everlasting _____________" (John 6:47). God is looking for "whosoevers" (see John 3:16 and Revelation 22:17)!
Your life is very important. It is important to God and important to the world you live in.
What happens when you throw a rock into a lake? The rock causes ripples. And the ripples start spreading out—wider and wider. Your life is like a ripple. Even though you are only one person, your life has ripples (for good or for evil) which are spreading out. These ripples begin right where you live and they spread out to the ends of the earth! Your ripples are felt throughout the earth!
Noah was only one man but he did something quite remarkable. He believed what God said and he built an ark, the length of which was 450 feet (one and a half football fields long). It took 120 years to build this amazing vessel. The ripples from Noah's life of obedience were felt in the whole world. The Bible says that "he condemned the world" (Hebrews 11:7). One man condemned the whole world! Why? because he did just what God told him to do. Noah, by his obedience, showed that he believed God, and this helped all the world see that they did not believe in God. Noah's life had ripples and your life does too! Even though you only live in one small corner of the world, your ripples are going forth far and wide! What kind of ripples are you sending forth? Good ripples or bad ripples? Do you show the world that you believe God? How do you show this?
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