1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,360 Good morning. Nice to see you guys. 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:04,600 If we haven't met, my name is Cole. 3 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:08,160 I'm the lead pastor here. If you've got a Bible, go ahead 4 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:11,320 and get that open to Genesis chapter 1. 5 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,520 Genesis is the first book in the Bible. 6 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:17,920 It's at the very beginning and we are on verse 2 this morning 7 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:23,120 and we will be covering A spanning and spawning 3 verses. 8 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:26,680 We're going to be verses 2 through 5 as you are turning 9 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:30,480 there. I'm excited. 10 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:33,520 I'm excited this morning. I was, I was looking at my 11 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:35,560 sermon notes. It's a lot. 12 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:39,800 I'm be, I'm be, I'm be very explaining this morning. 13 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:42,640 OK, very explaining. I'm going to break my own rules. 14 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,120 People who know the way that public speech functions really 15 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:49,200 well generally say that, you know, if you've got like a 40 16 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:54,120 minute sermon or message, generally about the load of 17 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:56,640 information that you can pack into that in terms of 18 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:00,400 explanation is like 50% of that. So people tend to tap out at 19 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,920 explanation around 20 minutes in and then you need a lot of 20 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:07,520 proclamation and illustration and application. 21 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:11,360 I'm going to break that rule today is very explaining, very 22 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:13,880 explaining. But honestly, I kind of always 23 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:18,000 get like offended when I hear from pastors who feel like they 24 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,840 need to treat the church as though they can't handle 25 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:23,520 theology. So we can, we can do it like 26 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:30,600 high school teachers teach kids, like advanced geometry so the 27 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:32,800 church can do advanced theology. Amen. 28 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:36,680 God deserves the best of our thinking, the deepest of our 29 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:37,960 intellect. And so we're going to do that 30 00:01:37,960 --> 00:01:39,240 this morning. So if you're able, let's go 31 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:40,880 ahead and stand for the reading of God's Word. 32 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:51,640 In verse one, God creates the heavens and the earth. 33 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:56,080 Verse 2 explains the nature of the heavens and the earth at 34 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:59,160 their conception. Verse 2 says the earth was 35 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:04,560 without form and void and darkness was over the face of 36 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:10,520 the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering like a dove 37 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:13,720 hovering over the face of the waters. 38 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:20,400 And then God said that he said he opened up his sovereign 39 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:26,000 divine mouth, and he said, let there be light, and there was 40 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:29,600 light. And God saw that the light was 41 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:38,000 good, called it good. And then God separated the light 42 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:41,800 from the darkness. And then God called the light 43 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:51,000 day and he called the darkness night and voila, there was 44 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:54,320 evening and there was morning the first day. 45 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:58,240 Heavenly Father, bless the preaching of your word this 46 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:00,280 morning. I pray that it would be 47 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:03,880 challenging, but also helpful and also comforting. 48 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:07,000 I think we all need all of those elements on a Sunday morning. 49 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:11,680 I know I need to be challenged and woken up and stretched and 50 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:16,120 kind of pushed around, and I also need to be comforted and 51 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,240 reminded of the good news of the gospel that Jesus Christ was 52 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:22,880 crucified for me and I am made righteous and sinless in his 53 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,640 sight because of faith alone, apart from any works. 54 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:30,200 And so I pray that our people would get all of that, not just 55 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:34,200 some of it, all of it. So it's in the precious name of 56 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:36,960 God and his Son that all God's people prayed. 57 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:38,960 Amen. You can have a seat. 58 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,520 All right, what I want you to do right at the beginning, I want 59 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:50,760 you. If you've got a Bible and if 60 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:53,360 you've got a pen or a highlighter, I want that out 61 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:55,240 right away. If you don't just do this, make 62 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:58,640 it all mental work, OK, visual visualization, visualize it. 63 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,560 What I want you to do is I want you to circle 3 words in the 1st 64 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:06,760 5 verses of Genesis, circling these 3 words. 65 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:09,000 I'm going to sound dramatic when I say this. 66 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:11,240 It's probably the most important thing you're going to do all 67 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:13,040 morning. Circling these three where it's 68 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,000 probably the most important thing you do all morning. 69 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:19,600 And in my opinion, what I want you to do in verse one is I want 70 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:24,800 you to circle God in the beginning, God, circle God. 71 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:31,160 Then in the second part of verse 2, I want you to circle spirit, 72 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:34,400 hovering over the depths, circle Spirit. 73 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:42,240 And then in verse three, I want you to circle the word said, God 74 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:44,800 said. So as you look at that or 75 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:49,440 visualize it, you should imagine or see three word circle, God 76 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:54,600 spirit and said, I got misnamed at a coffee shop a couple years 77 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:56,040 ago. I maybe I brought this up in a 78 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:59,360 in a sermon, but it was such a jarring experience for me that 79 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:01,200 like I'd still kind of think about it sometimes. 80 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:05,360 I was at a coffee shop, not going to name names my my 81 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:07,200 barista. And she was a great barista. 82 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:11,400 She was nice, but but she, I made my order and she said, 83 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:12,800 what's your name? Because she wanted to call it 84 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:18,560 out And I said I'm cold. And she looked at me and said 85 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:27,440 no, I was like, no, my name is Cole. 86 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:36,880 And she says, Are you sure? I was like, kind of unless you 87 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:41,600 know something, I don't know. I'm Cole, right? 88 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:43,840 And the reason why I bring up the silly story is because it's 89 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:46,680 this is a this is a logical rule. 90 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:48,800 The reason why the story matters is because it points to a 91 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:52,040 logical rule. Unless a person is a liar, the 92 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:56,000 best revelation of a person is that person's own self. 93 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:00,880 And the reason why that matters is because people are like that. 94 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:02,200 But that's also what God is like. 95 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:04,040 That's what life with God is like. 96 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:07,400 Sometimes as Christians, we can be like coffee shop baristas 97 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:11,480 standing before God's word where he reveals himself to us, and we 98 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:15,640 can sometimes say no, Are you sure? 99 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:20,120 I don't think God would ever do this or ever do that. 100 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:23,360 But God is the best revelation of God. 101 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:27,240 His words explain God better than our words. 102 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:30,280 And So what is God like? How does he reveal Himself in 103 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:32,360 his words? And one of the first things that 104 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:34,680 God tells us about himself is that he is. 105 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:40,120 This is big self-sufficient theology Bros. 106 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,240 Theology nerds always talk about the self-sufficiency of God. 107 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:45,080 What we're talking about when we're talking about 108 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:49,840 self-sufficiency is that it means that God has no needs, 0 109 00:06:49,840 --> 00:06:52,360 needs. The reason why God has no needs 110 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:57,400 is because God has everything he needs within his very own self. 111 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:00,840 He's self-sufficient. Consider this in these first 5 112 00:07:00,840 --> 00:07:03,520 verses. What does God need to create the 113 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:06,640 heavens and the earth? Nothing. 114 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:10,280 He didn't use anything to create the heavens and earth. 115 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:13,960 He needs nothing besides his very own self. 116 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:16,280 He doesn't create with pre-existing materials. 117 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:20,040 He creates with his own self, his own word. 118 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:25,160 He opens his mouth, speaks and boom, creation explodes into 119 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:26,880 reality. This is again, this is with a 120 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:29,880 theological revolution. When Genesis was written, you 121 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:32,800 have to understand that up and to that point, the way that 122 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:37,160 ancient people viewed their gods was they viewed their gods as 123 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:40,640 needy, right? The Babylonians for instance, 124 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:46,040 the Babylonian gods, they famously created human beings in 125 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:50,320 order to meet their own needs. The Babylonian gods, they were 126 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:54,320 described as hungry. They demanded human sacrifices 127 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:57,760 in order to feed them. Famously, the Babylonian gods 128 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:01,120 would sometimes faint out of hunger when the human population 129 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:04,120 was too reduced in order to feed them. 130 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:08,920 They were not self-sufficient. But let's enter into the realm 131 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:12,720 of philosophy for a moment. There is a logical problem here 132 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:14,480 that I want to I want to address it with you guys. 133 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:21,240 If there's only one true God, like the Bible claims, how could 134 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:25,960 that God be self-sufficient? It seems like a logical 135 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:28,680 impossibility. For instance, if there's only 136 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:35,440 one God, then he would need human beings in order to feel 137 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:39,600 and experience love. He wouldn't know what love was 138 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:43,799 like unless he created human beings and depended on them to 139 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:47,040 love him. The problem with that is that 140 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:49,520 would make God not self-sufficient. 141 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:52,400 That would make God needy of his own creation. 142 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:56,080 If there's only one God though, then it would seem that he would 143 00:08:56,080 --> 00:09:01,600 need creation to look at and enjoy in order to not be bored 144 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:06,600 all the time. So he would need creation to be, 145 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:13,160 to experience the feelings of joy and being thrilled, right? 146 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:16,200 So how do, how do you, how do you solve this? 147 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:21,880 How could a singular God, one God be self-sufficient? 148 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:25,560 Of course the gods are needy. Of course this God is needy. 149 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:31,280 And here's where the uniqueness of the Christian faith shines 150 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:35,360 with so much beauty in depth. Because one of the first things 151 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:40,240 that God reveals about himself in Genesis is that he is 1 God 152 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:44,000 and not, but he is 1 God and he is Trinity. 153 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:46,880 Let me hear your beautiful voices say Trinity. 154 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:51,600 He's Trinity. What that means is that God is 1 155 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:55,840 God, but he is 3 distinct persons, one God, but he is God 156 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:58,760 the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. 157 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:02,760 Each one, one God, but each distinct from one another. 158 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:05,120 The Father is God, but the Father is not the Son. 159 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:07,920 The Son is God, but he's not the Spirit. 160 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:11,880 They're distinct and yet 11 God because he's one essence, but 161 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:15,560 Trinitarian because each of the three persons are distinct. 162 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:18,840 And this is actually not the invention of the New Testament. 163 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:20,320 Some people will try to like that argument. 164 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:23,160 It's like, oh, the Old Testament's about God the Father 165 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:25,920 and then the New Testament just kind of springs the Spirit and 166 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:29,200 springs Jesus on us out of nowhere. 167 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:32,600 But that would be a poor reading of the Old Testament. 168 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:36,240 For instance, it's one of the first thing that God tells us 169 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:37,960 about himself in these first 5 verses. 170 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:40,480 You circled God in verse one, right? 171 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:44,680 When you look at that, what you see is the mind of God the 172 00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:47,480 Father creating, mapping and ordering. 173 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:51,080 Easy to see you also circled Spirit. 174 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:56,120 In verse 2, we see the Spirit hovering like a dove or like an 175 00:10:56,120 --> 00:11:00,040 eagle over the face of the deep. The Spirit is like brooding over 176 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:03,120 these dark waters. He's shaping them according to 177 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:06,200 the word of the Father, molding them according to the word of 178 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:08,600 the Father. But you also circled said in 179 00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:13,960 verse 3, God said creation comes out of God's saying. 180 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:18,680 And so the creative engine of creation is God's word, his 181 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:21,320 speech, his speaking into creation. 182 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:23,360 And here's where things get really interesting. 183 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:28,040 The word of God, God saying things, the word of God isn't 184 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:31,880 actually just sound bits. Like sometimes we kind of 185 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:35,760 imagine this as like God just doing verbal utterances or like 186 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:39,120 maybe God's word is like his writing in the sky. 187 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:41,760 That's actually not how the Bible presents the word of God. 188 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:48,800 Consider this, this is Old Testament, this is Psalm 33. 189 00:11:50,560 --> 00:11:54,680 Psalm 33 says for the word of the Lord is upright. 190 00:11:56,680 --> 00:11:59,640 So the word of the Lord in the Old Testament, it has virtue and 191 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:03,960 uprightness, almost like the word of God is a character. 192 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:07,800 Keep reading. Word of the Lord is upright and 193 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:11,400 all his work is done in faithfulness. 194 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:16,840 And so the Word of God does work almost like he's a person. 195 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:21,600 Look at this. The Word of God is done in 196 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:25,240 faithfulness. He loves righteousness and 197 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:26,120 justice. Whoa. 198 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:28,440 The word of God has affections and emotions. 199 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:31,640 The word has the capacity to feel and love and approve, 200 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:37,520 almost like a person goes on to say. 201 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:41,120 It goes on to say he loves righteousness and justice. 202 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:43,440 The earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. 203 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:47,800 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the 204 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:50,120 breath of his mouth all their hosts. 205 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:53,080 What I'm trying to say and what I'm trying to show you is that 206 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:55,720 this is not a later development in the Bible. 207 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:59,520 The word that was present in verse one is portrayed in the 208 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:06,200 Old Testament as a person, as a character, not as something, not 209 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:10,920 as riding in the sky, but as someone, someone who lives, 210 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:15,440 acts, feels as a character. And of course, here's the nail 211 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:17,400 itself. The New Testament makes this 212 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:22,040 unmistakably explicit. And John one obviously 213 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:26,760 referencing Genesis 1, John says in the beginning was the word. 214 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:30,400 Yeah, you see that clearly in verse 2. 215 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:34,360 And the Word was with God. Well, of course it was because 216 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:43,000 it came from God's mouth. And the Word was God in the 217 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:46,720 beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word 218 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:49,200 was God. And John tells us later on in 219 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:52,600 John that this word was and is Jesus. 220 00:13:52,680 --> 00:13:56,480 So why did I have you circle the word said? 221 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:01,520 Because right there in the first couple verses of the Bible is 222 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:04,840 Jesus, the word of God and the Son of God. 223 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:07,160 One of the first things God wants you to know about Himself 224 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:11,360 is that He is Trinity. He is Father, Son, and Holy 225 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:15,360 Spirit. And that is my long roundabout 226 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:20,840 answer to why God can be 1 and still be entirely 227 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:27,280 self-sufficient. He doesn't need us to experience 228 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:29,840 love. He has love within himself. 229 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:32,520 The Father loving the Son, the Son loving the Spirit, the 230 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:36,440 Spirit loving the Son. He doesn't need creation to 231 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:39,560 experience joy. The Spirit rejoices in the Son. 232 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:42,800 The Son rejoices in the Father, the Father rejoices in the 233 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:44,320 Spirit. And the reason why this is so 234 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:48,120 important is because it means that God doesn't create the 235 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:54,520 world because he needs something from it, which is like really 236 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:57,560 like freeing. Because if that were not true, 237 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:02,360 then God would be like, God would be like a, like a, like a 238 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:09,000 helicopter parent who refers to creation like a peer that he 239 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:11,720 needs approval from. Like some parents are right. 240 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:15,160 And that puts an incredible amount of stress and anxiety on 241 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:17,480 on the child. In that same way, God is not 242 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:19,880 like that. He is self-sufficient. 243 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:21,520 He has everything He needs within himself. 244 00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:26,080 And that means that creation in Genesis 1 is not out of need, 245 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:30,440 but it's actually out of an overflow of love within himself. 246 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:34,080 He does not need anything and that's why He needs nothing to 247 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:39,880 create besides himself. And what does He create with 248 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:46,600 verse 2? The earth was without form and 249 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:50,240 void and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the spirit 250 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:52,800 of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 251 00:15:52,840 --> 00:16:00,480 And God said let there be light and boom, there was light. 252 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:02,440 God says light and there's light. 253 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:05,600 God creates with his very own word. 254 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:15,600 Words create worlds. That's the way reality is. 255 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:20,640 But notice something creation doesn't explode into being 256 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,240 already perfect. So when God initially creates 257 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:26,640 the world ex Neil or out of nothing, Genesis actually 258 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:29,080 describes it in a primordial condition. 259 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:31,640 It is. Look at the words there without 260 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:38,760 form, void or emptyish, and there's darkness over the face 261 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:41,160 of the deep. None of these words mean evil. 262 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:46,000 This doesn't mean that creation was bad right here it's closer 263 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:52,360 and Hebrew thought to chaos. God creates the heavens and the 264 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:54,960 earth. At first it's chaos, it's 265 00:16:55,720 --> 00:17:01,880 unruly, it's a messy room. It's good, but it's not put into 266 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:04,839 place. The cosmos at this point are 267 00:17:04,839 --> 00:17:11,680 like primordial soup, nasty, spilling over everywhere like a 268 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:14,319 messy canvas that begged to be painted. 269 00:17:14,599 --> 00:17:16,599 It was. If we look at creation in verse 270 00:17:16,599 --> 00:17:21,079 2, it's beautiful chaos with potential. 271 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:24,599 I like, I like that. So nice. 272 00:17:24,599 --> 00:17:29,360 I'm going to say it twice. It would make a beautiful man to 273 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:31,480 name. What's up? 274 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:33,240 We're beautiful, careless, but potential. 275 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:39,160 Now that's a little mouthy. It's beautiful chaos with 276 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:45,200 potential and how does one face that if you're a parent, your 277 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:52,840 kids are that if you're at work Monday morning is that if your 278 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:57,840 room is messy, your room is that how does one face beautiful 279 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:01,880 chaos with potential? How does one order chaos into 280 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:04,400 potentiality? And verse three, I keep on 281 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:09,080 hammering it is the answer. God said this is huge. 282 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:13,080 The way that God orders and organizes the chaos is with 283 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:18,480 words or language or the Greek interpretation of it was logos. 284 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:22,800 The logos was an ancient but important idea that was shared 285 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:24,600 across several different religions. 286 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:28,040 But ancient religions believed in the logos. 287 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:32,160 They looked at an orderly universe and naturally believed 288 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:34,800 that it must be upheld by the word of logic. 289 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:38,040 That's what logos means. It means word or logic. 290 00:18:38,360 --> 00:18:45,320 They noted, rightly, that order cannot proceed from 291 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:51,160 unintelligence. Order cannot, does not proceed 292 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:53,680 from unintelligence. To phrase that argument in a 293 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:57,880 really Iowan way, they noted that humans had the ability to 294 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:01,920 create tractors, but they had never witnessed a tractor 295 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:04,960 creating a human. Human beings can create 296 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:08,960 tractors, order proceeding from intelligence, but a tractor will 297 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:11,440 never create a human, no matter how long you give it. 298 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:14,120 Order will never proceed from on intelligence. 299 00:19:14,120 --> 00:19:17,120 And so the orderly world when they looked out to it with its 300 00:19:17,120 --> 00:19:21,520 laws and logic, seemed to proceed from intelligence upheld 301 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:27,440 by the Logos. Again notice 1st 4 got creates, 302 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:31,920 it's unruly and then God said let there be light and boom this 303 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:36,920 good thing comes into the chaos and God saw that the light was 304 00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:47,120 good and God boom separated the light from the darkness. 305 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:51,520 What we're witnessing here is the creation of time itself. 306 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:56,520 Notably, God creates time by separating the two categories, 307 00:19:56,520 --> 00:20:00,200 separating, boom, the light from the darkness. 308 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:05,480 Notice that God does not annihilate the darkness, at 309 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:09,400 least not yet, Or destroy the darkness, at least not yet. 310 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:11,360 What he does, what does he do to it? 311 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:16,240 God doesn't destroy the darkness, He organizes it. 312 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:20,520 He sets up appropriate boundaries for it. 313 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:24,600 Gives it couple hours in the day, more than a couple hours in 314 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:27,120 the day. He distinguishes it from the 315 00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:28,840 light. And in doing this, God is 316 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:32,360 creating an orderly, predictable universe, one that's 317 00:20:32,360 --> 00:20:35,920 characterized by patterns that are dependable and measurable in 318 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:40,560 a way that points careful observers to an intelligent 319 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:43,240 designer. Alistair McGrath. 320 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:45,600 I don't know if you guys have heard about him, but Alistair 321 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:50,120 McGrath was a famous young atheistic scientist at Oxford. 322 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:53,920 Can you famously believe that Christianity was intellectually 323 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:59,360 hollow and shallow? But while McGrath started 324 00:20:59,360 --> 00:21:04,520 studying molecular biophysics, what happened was that his 325 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:08,160 atheism collapsed under the scrutiny of biophysics. 326 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:11,520 He, after he started studying biophysics, he didn't have 327 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,760 enough faith to be an atheist, collapsed underneath that. 328 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:18,440 He became a Christian. And what McGrath said was I 329 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:22,400 thought that Christianity was wishful thinking, a comforting 330 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:26,960 delusion invented to help people cope with life. 331 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:30,160 But I discovered it was far more than that. 332 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:35,400 It was actually intellectually compelling, and it made sense of 333 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:37,680 things in a way that my atheism could not. 334 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:42,800 Science explains how things work, but it does not explain 335 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:47,520 why they exist or why we should find them meaningful. 336 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:51,240 And so I came to see that Christianity offered a deeper 337 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:56,600 and richer account of reality then my atheism was able to 338 00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:59,360 provide. Why is he right? 339 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:07,200 He's right because within and behind and underneath all of 340 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:13,720 creation is an artistic God at work, speaking, ordering, 341 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:18,600 separating this from that, and creating an intelligible and 342 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:22,680 knowable universe. And This is why ways of thinking 343 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:27,000 like postmodernism are so utterly incompatible with 344 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:28,800 Christianity. Postmodernism, if you're not 345 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:32,720 familiar with it, we live and breathe it's airs, even if we 346 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:34,880 can't define it. But postmodernism is a 347 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:38,080 relatively new worldview that claims that truth is just 348 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:42,600 relative, and there's no such thing as some real objective 349 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:45,080 truth out there. It's all subjective. 350 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:50,600 And what this worldview does is it operates in the opposite way 351 00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:54,400 of God. What God does is he orders, he 352 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:57,480 names things. The darkness is not the light. 353 00:22:57,560 --> 00:23:00,880 The light is not the darkness. This category is different than 354 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:02,960 that category and it's universally true. 355 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:06,640 What postmodernism does, is it like it? 356 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:10,960 Like attempts to throw the universe back into Genesis one 357 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:17,400 verse 2, It attempts to drag the universe back into chaos and 358 00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:20,680 formlessness. It blends categories until there 359 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:24,640 are known categories whatsoever, which creates chaos and anxiety, 360 00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:26,960 right? Postmodern says postmodernism 361 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:28,360 says what? What is truth? 362 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:31,200 Is there really such a thing as truth? 363 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:37,920 What morality is just made-up? If this society over here wants 364 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:42,560 to make human sacrifices and kill human beings, who's to say 365 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:45,760 that they're wrong? We shouldn't do it right over 366 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:48,400 here in our time and space. But it's not like there's not 367 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:52,760 like this moral law out there. It's a blending of of of 368 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:56,440 categories. What is gender 2 separate binary 369 00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:59,320 categories are so unhelpful. No, mix it. 370 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:04,240 Mix it all together and create a big spectrum. 371 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:08,520 And that what the desire of postmodernism is, is it desires 372 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:12,240 to create freedom. It does not do that. 373 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:17,680 Postmodernism doesn't create freedom, it creates anxiety 374 00:24:19,120 --> 00:24:22,360 because naturally when we see a rejection of truth and a 375 00:24:22,360 --> 00:24:28,080 rejection of categories, what we feel internally is a pull back 376 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:33,640 to Genesis 1-2 without form and void, A collapsing end of the 377 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:39,400 universe. And God loves clarity, clarity's 378 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:44,280 kindness. God loves order, structure. 379 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,760 He loves art. Notice verse 5. 380 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:53,440 He loves them. God called the light day, and in 381 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:57,200 the darkness he called night. He's calling them things. 382 00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:00,560 He's naming them, which is more words. 383 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:04,680 God continues to use words. In the ancient world, naming was 384 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:08,720 an act of authority. That's why we practice naming 385 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:11,160 our children because the parents are the authority over them, 386 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:13,320 right? The state doesn't name our kids. 387 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:19,280 That's rooted in this understanding that naming means 388 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:22,680 authority over that thing. So when God names the day and he 389 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:25,680 names the night, he's telegraphing something big to 390 00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:27,760 us. He's telling us that he's both 391 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:30,200 the God of the day and the night. 392 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,640 He's sovereign over all of it, which is another theological 393 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:35,560 revolution. The gods of the ancient world 394 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:40,280 were, they were territorial, they were merely gods over a 395 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:42,720 certain area or a certain geography. 396 00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:45,960 And what God is showing us in Genesis 1 is no, no, no, no, no, 397 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:48,280 no, no. What God is showing us here is 398 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:53,440 that he is the God over all. He's not the king over some 399 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:55,640 certain little geographical area. 400 00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:58,960 He's God over the heavens. He's God over the earth. 401 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:01,920 He's God over the night. He's God over the day. 402 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:06,240 Speaking, saying, talking, naming. 403 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:10,920 This is how chaos is overcome through words. 404 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:15,600 Through words, Words create worlds. 405 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:19,560 It just it makes so much existential sense when you think 406 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:21,560 about it. It's such a satisfying answer to 407 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:23,760 where did the world come from? Of course, the only thing that 408 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:27,640 could face the beautiful chaos of potential and bring it into 409 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:31,880 its potential and beauty is the eternal word, the eternal logos. 410 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:36,800 Theologians say we live in a logo centric world or a word 411 00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:40,320 centered world. That's words that it's how you 412 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:43,440 govern. Have you ever noticed that? 413 00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:47,840 Like it's the way that you govern through politics, it's 414 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:51,000 the way that you govern a country, it's the way you govern 415 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:57,480 and lead a family through words, stories, laws, rules, policies, 416 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:02,440 all words. And that's why 1 philosopher who 417 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:05,720 gets some things wrong, but he also gets some things right. 418 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:08,280 So I'm not like a big fanboy, this guy, but I like most of 419 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:11,160 this stuff he says. Quote Who should leave? 420 00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:16,160 Come out anywhere? Who should lead? 421 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:20,120 Not the person capable of wielding the most force. 422 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:25,040 Not the person who is richest. Not the person who can 423 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:28,840 manipulate most effectively in some Machiavellian manner. 424 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:31,800 Who should lead? I love this answer. 425 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:36,360 Who should lead? The attentive, visionary 426 00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:40,760 communicator? The person who watches closely 427 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:46,720 and tells the best story. It's true. 428 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:49,880 This is why I'm not saying right or wrong or it should be this 429 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:50,840 way. I'm just saying that's why 430 00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:53,800 organizational leaders tend to be people who are really, 431 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,720 really, really good with words. That's why in the business 432 00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:59,280 world, the person who gets paid the most tends to be the person 433 00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:01,320 who's really, really, really good with words. 434 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:03,720 It's because God is the organizational leader of the 435 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:08,880 cosmos, and he governs and up holds it with the word of his 436 00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:10,200 mouth. How are you guys doing? 437 00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:14,400 Are you OK? Good. 438 00:28:15,120 --> 00:28:21,680 You cool with moving forward? Words are how you govern. 439 00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:24,960 You don't really notice this though, until until you can't. 440 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:29,680 Like last last Tuesday, I had this experience where it was 441 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:32,080 like I was like hanging out with the pastors at like 10:30 or 442 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:34,920 11:00 and all of a sudden in the middle of conversation, my voice 443 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:39,400 cracks, right Joseph? Like, like it was there and then 444 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:43,680 it cracked and it was gone and all the guys were like, oh bro, 445 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:49,040 Oh no, you, you have to preach a, an intro sermon this weekend 446 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:52,320 and also lead a wedding ceremony. 447 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:55,320 And I was like, I'm good, I'm good. 448 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:57,400 My God, it's going to come back tomorrow. 449 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:00,040 So I went to bed. I was like, I'm a sleep it off. 450 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,560 I went to bed and I woke up and it was gone entirely. 451 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:10,120 I was like, oh, no, Oh no. But here's what I noticed 452 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:15,240 because I, I, I literally had to do like because I wanted to 453 00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:18,800 knock Ben and Emma's wedding ceremony out of the park, I had 454 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:20,880 to not talk literally for like 3 days. 455 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:24,360 So I was like doing honey and like steam breathing and like 456 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:29,360 taking like 3 baths a day and more honey and hydrating in the 457 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:32,240 saltwater gurgles. Oh, I gurgled so much saltwater. 458 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:35,760 I'm doing all that stuff. And so I literally can't talk 459 00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:38,600 for like 3 days. And what I noticed is that with 460 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:42,000 the loss of my voice, it wasn't, wasn't just like the loss of 461 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:47,320 some tertiary aspect of me, like I just, I didn't lose like just 462 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:50,280 the ability to express myself. No, I did. 463 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:59,080 I lost for those three days my ability to govern and lead. 464 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:03,920 I literally, yeah, I was, I was worthless at home for those 465 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:06,040 three days, absolutely worthless. 466 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:10,360 My entire family, our little, we've got a A5 person 467 00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:14,560 organization at home, five person business. 468 00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:19,520 It all descended into chaos around me, like when I was at 469 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:21,400 home because I couldn't say anything. 470 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:24,160 Have you ever tried to parent without saying anything? 471 00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:27,320 It doesn't work. I was sitting at the table 472 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:31,920 eating and I'm looking at my 2 year old and I'm just like, man, 473 00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:35,760 I just love that kid so much. I'm like looking at his eyes and 474 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:38,320 his face and I'm like, I just so badly wanted to open my mouth 475 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:40,040 and just be like, I love you buddy. 476 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:43,360 And I just sat there and admired him and he looked up at me and 477 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:49,880 when he locked eyes he goes. I was like, that's not what I 478 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:53,480 was trying to say. You lose your ability to govern 479 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:56,880 because like, kids are, they're doing some stuff right. 480 00:30:57,440 --> 00:30:59,200 And you know, it's just like a regular day. 481 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:02,240 Like Russell goes over and he pushes Jack and Jack just starts 482 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:06,800 swinging haymakers and, and all I can do is this. 483 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:16,040 It doesn't work. It doesn't work and so like they 484 00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:19,200 would keep on doing stuff and I couldn't say hey, that's good, 485 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:21,840 that's bad. Don't do this do that, don't 486 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:24,280 talk to your mom that way. Good job talking to your mom 487 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:25,000 this way. Do more right? 488 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:26,600 That's how you govern. That's how you that's how you 489 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:28,400 lead. And instead my leadership was 490 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:35,120 reduced to and like I did this for like 3 days and Della would 491 00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:37,240 just turn and be like, why does that keep climbing out of us? 492 00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:43,840 You can't you can't govern that way. 493 00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:51,680 The The loss of my words was the loss of my power. 494 00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:58,800 It's gone. Who is the loss of my power? 495 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:03,600 To govern To parents, To lead to Father. 496 00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:07,720 And Genesis 1 is so profoundly true because if you think about 497 00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:11,000 it for just a moment, the only rational decision I think you 498 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:14,480 could come up with is like, yeah, of course the world is 499 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:19,160 upheld by God's word. So everybody in our leadership 500 00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:23,160 position governs and could think God never loses his voice. 501 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:26,880 Amen. Could if, If God ever got 502 00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:31,360 laryngitis, the entire world would collapse back into 503 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:34,440 formlessness and void and cease to exist. 504 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:37,080 He upholds the world by the power of His Word every moment 505 00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:39,680 of every day. And if God's voice even just 506 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:46,960 cracked for millisecond cracked, all the cosmos would collapse 507 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:49,560 back into formlessness and void and chaos. 508 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:52,640 But God is sovereign and in control, so we're good. 509 00:32:53,760 --> 00:33:00,720 We're good, But words do create worlds Like I don't even know 510 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:02,840 where to start on making this practical. 511 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:06,960 Even this morning. I had a tough night last night. 512 00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:08,520 I'm not whining, I'm not complaining. 513 00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:12,280 I had like this headache that just like radiated through my 514 00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:15,920 skull and like my jaw was throbbing and I couldn't go to 515 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:18,640 sleep until like 4:00 AM. Like at 3 AMI was finally like, 516 00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:19,960 I'm done. I'm going to take a hot bath and 517 00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:22,760 I passed out on my couch at like 4:00 AM. 518 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:26,680 Again, I'm not not whining, I'm not complaining, but I I told 519 00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:31,680 Joseph that story and he must have told, did you tell the 520 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:35,320 leaders, did you tell the group that I had the headache thing? 521 00:33:36,320 --> 00:33:38,240 Really. Oh, never mind. 522 00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:42,480 This example won't work because suddenly all of a sudden at like 523 00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:46,040 845, I had people like showing up at my door with like 524 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:52,120 ibuprofen and a black coffee and someone showed up with AC4, 525 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:55,800 decided to try that. And I was like, Oh my gosh, the 526 00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:58,920 world is literally being reshaped around me because 527 00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:01,160 Joseph said something to our leaders which he didn't. 528 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:02,960 Hypothetically that would have been true. 529 00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:09,239 What through the Lord? That's right, Sometimes he even 530 00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:11,360 then he's governing through words, but words do create 531 00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:12,639 worlds. And I guess I wouldn't even know 532 00:34:12,639 --> 00:34:15,520 where to start on making this practical, but I would say 533 00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:18,960 probably the lowest hanging fruit that we could reach for. 534 00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:22,120 If this is true, the lowest hanging fruit would be don't be 535 00:34:22,120 --> 00:34:25,320 a liar. We could start there. 536 00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:29,080 We could start there. One of the reasons why the Bible 537 00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:32,840 is so brutal about the way that Christians talk is because words 538 00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:35,000 create worlds. Have you ever noticed how 539 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:39,480 brutal, how much of the Bible and how much of its ethic is 540 00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:42,320 saying don't talk like this and don't use words that way? 541 00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:44,639 The Bible's brutal about not gossiping, not slander, not 542 00:34:44,639 --> 00:34:47,480 bearing false witness against your neighbors, not tearing down 543 00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:50,199 with your speech, not lying. And it's not just a matter of 544 00:34:50,199 --> 00:34:53,639 morals. God has given you the ability to 545 00:34:53,639 --> 00:34:58,200 speak and use words so that you would use them like him. 546 00:34:58,640 --> 00:35:01,960 So you would use your words to govern well, to push that chaos 547 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:05,880 to shape and mold and participate in the construction 548 00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:07,840 of reality. So don't say things that aren't 549 00:35:07,840 --> 00:35:10,440 true. Don't say things that aren't 550 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:13,520 true about God. Don't say things that are not 551 00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:15,680 true about people. Maybe you've never been lied 552 00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:17,080 about. That'll change. 553 00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:19,120 Probably. Maybe you've never been lied 554 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:21,800 about and so you've never felt what it's like to invest 555 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:26,880 yourself in a person and spend time praying for them and step 556 00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:30,280 away from Christmas family parties to field hour long 557 00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:34,040 conversations, helping out with them and feeding them and then 558 00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:36,920 having that person turn around and say things that aren't true 559 00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:42,800 about you. But when that happens, it makes 560 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:46,960 your life a living hell. It does. 561 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:52,200 What does lying do? It does the opposite of Genesis 562 00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:54,680 1. Telling the truth. 563 00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:59,080 Order shapes, creates the world. What lying does is it pulls the 564 00:35:59,080 --> 00:36:03,840 cosmos back into chaos. You tell a lie about somebody, 565 00:36:04,160 --> 00:36:07,720 you spread it, it's going to reshape reality around that 566 00:36:07,720 --> 00:36:09,640 person. People be like, I don't know if 567 00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:11,720 I I don't know if she's that way. 568 00:36:12,120 --> 00:36:14,240 I don't. I mean, maybe she's that way. 569 00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:16,920 And then you start to interpret that person through the filter 570 00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:18,840 of the lie. And when you've got a new 571 00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:20,200 hammer, everything looks like a nail. 572 00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:24,120 So last sudden you're like, maybe she is this and and that 573 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:26,360 it makes life a living hell for that person. 574 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:28,800 It's chaos. Don't do that. 575 00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:32,080 Use your words to create a beautiful the world. 576 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:34,920 Notice again. Notice the relationship between 577 00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:41,280 words and the world. I'm not a manifest guy. 578 00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:46,200 You know what I'm talking about. Like you got to manifest the 579 00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:50,200 life you want to live in. Manifest it, right? 580 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:53,320 I'm not a manifest guy. That's for people who drink 581 00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:59,880 machos. Actually, I like Machos, but I'm 582 00:36:59,880 --> 00:37:01,760 So what I'm talking about the relationship between words in 583 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:03,520 the world. I'm not saying like manifest 584 00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:06,440 like I'm not saying look into the mirror and say you're going 585 00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:10,160 to be the next Taylor Swift, You're going to be the next 586 00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:14,040 Taylor Swift and then somehow God is liable to make you into 587 00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:16,040 the next Taylor Swift. So I'm not saying that. 588 00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:18,080 Are you guys with me? If you're hearing me say that, 589 00:37:18,080 --> 00:37:28,550 shake it off, shake it off. You guys can argue about that in 590 00:37:28,550 --> 00:37:33,680 community Group A lot there, but so I'm not saying manifest, but 591 00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:39,600 I'm saying that the boundary between the world and our words 592 00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:43,000 is just a lot more porous than you think. 593 00:37:45,680 --> 00:37:47,360 It's a lot. The boundary is a lot thinner. 594 00:37:47,360 --> 00:37:49,960 Words create worlds. I thought one of the first times 595 00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:53,520 I really noticed this was as a teacher about 10 years ago, You 596 00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:55,520 know where I noticed that parent teacher conferences. 597 00:37:55,520 --> 00:37:58,840 It was like a revelation to me. All of a sudden I started to see 598 00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:01,000 a theme. There was a huge parallel 599 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:06,600 between students who performed poorly and parents who talked 600 00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:12,040 poorly about their kids. Huge parallel. 601 00:38:12,040 --> 00:38:14,920 A lot of times kids with D's and F's, their parents would sit at 602 00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:17,920 my table. I would be prepared to tell them 603 00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:20,400 the things that I admire about their kids, the things that they 604 00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:21,960 do well. A lot of times they would sit at 605 00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:24,320 the table and they would say things about their kid that 606 00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:27,240 you'd never imagined. My boy Jazeel know his right 607 00:38:27,240 --> 00:38:30,240 hand from his left. Sorry, my girl. 608 00:38:30,240 --> 00:38:32,680 She's an idiot. It's always been that way. 609 00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:39,080 People talk about their kids like that, and of course it's 610 00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:42,120 because that's all they ever hear from you. 611 00:38:42,480 --> 00:38:45,360 Your words created the world that these kids live in. 612 00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:49,080 You can only hear yourself called an idiot so many times by 613 00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:52,320 the person who's supposed to love you and care for you before 614 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:54,920 you start to believe that that's what you are. 615 00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:58,640 And you start looking for evidence everywhere that you're 616 00:38:58,640 --> 00:39:02,120 an idiot. And you try to fulfill their 617 00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:04,680 prophecy by living into an idiot. 618 00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:09,080 Words 11 philosopher talks about how words are living spirits. 619 00:39:10,560 --> 00:39:12,120 I don't believe that in a mystical sense. 620 00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:17,000 I I believe it's true in a practical sense. 621 00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:22,960 Words are living spirits practically, words embedded into 622 00:39:22,960 --> 00:39:26,640 politics, embedded into ideology, embedded into religion 623 00:39:26,640 --> 00:39:30,240 and spirituality, to education. What words do is they operate 624 00:39:30,240 --> 00:39:36,440 like living spirits that possess people and then change the way 625 00:39:36,440 --> 00:39:39,240 that they live their lives, their living spirits. 626 00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:43,320 So you just got to be really not careful with your words. 627 00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:49,800 Use them powerfully and truly. Like again, let me be practical. 628 00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:51,640 Consider parenthood for just a second. 629 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:53,800 If you're not a parent, you can apply this to most of your 630 00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:55,760 relationships. But, and this is what I'm about 631 00:39:55,760 --> 00:39:59,040 to say is true for both parents, but I'm going to speak to the 632 00:39:59,040 --> 00:40:03,000 more statistically probable parent to struggle with this 633 00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:06,240 problem. We've got a lot of dads in the 634 00:40:06,240 --> 00:40:08,440 room. We've got a lot of young dads in 635 00:40:08,440 --> 00:40:10,400 the room right now like fresh dads. 636 00:40:10,840 --> 00:40:13,320 So let me, let me, I'm just going to aim it at you. 637 00:40:13,320 --> 00:40:18,720 Listen really carefully to what I'm saying the. 638 00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:30,440 Least masculine thing you can do as a dad is withhold your spoken 639 00:40:30,440 --> 00:40:36,400 blessing to your family. I got to say it stronger if your 640 00:40:36,400 --> 00:40:38,520 dad. The most feminine thing you can 641 00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:46,040 do as a dad is withhold your spoken blessing over your 642 00:40:46,040 --> 00:40:47,760 family. That's fragile. 643 00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:53,480 Do not make your children anxious about whether or not 644 00:40:53,480 --> 00:40:57,160 they have your blessing and your approval and your love. 645 00:40:57,240 --> 00:40:59,720 Bless your family and do it often. 646 00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:03,880 That's why God gave you words so you could bless people with it, 647 00:41:04,080 --> 00:41:06,880 especially your kids. Don't be the guy. 648 00:41:07,560 --> 00:41:10,480 Don't be the dad who never says I love you to the family and 649 00:41:10,480 --> 00:41:13,160 then huffs and puffs. It's like I don't need to be 650 00:41:13,160 --> 00:41:15,720 their therapist. Well, I put a roof over their 651 00:41:15,720 --> 00:41:16,840 house. Isn't that enough? 652 00:41:18,920 --> 00:41:22,320 Of course it's not enough. Especially if you put a roof 653 00:41:22,320 --> 00:41:24,600 over their head and act like a snake under that roof. 654 00:41:26,680 --> 00:41:30,680 Makes it feel like a all you did was create a mousetrap for them. 655 00:41:32,920 --> 00:41:36,280 Of course it's not enough. Fathers, your masculinity is 656 00:41:36,280 --> 00:41:39,440 derivative. It comes from God. 657 00:41:39,720 --> 00:41:43,560 You only have it in the proportion that your fatherhood 658 00:41:43,560 --> 00:41:49,640 reflects the fatherhood of God. Notice God blesses his creation 659 00:41:49,680 --> 00:41:53,440 often. Verse four, He creates the light 660 00:41:54,400 --> 00:41:58,240 and he says it's good. He creates the first day, it's 661 00:41:58,640 --> 00:42:02,120 good. This becomes a pattern, right? 662 00:42:02,120 --> 00:42:04,400 So if you're wondering like, OK, I need to use my words to bless 663 00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:08,080 my family as a dad, how often should I bless my family? 664 00:42:08,240 --> 00:42:11,640 A lot. I'll be precise and I'll be 665 00:42:11,640 --> 00:42:15,280 aspirational, precise. We can be precise about this. 666 00:42:15,600 --> 00:42:19,760 God blesses his creation seven times in seven days in Genesis 667 00:42:19,760 --> 00:42:21,000 one. Sorry about the spoiler alert. 668 00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:23,800 Every creation of the day. Good. 669 00:42:24,560 --> 00:42:28,440 So let's say to be precise that the bare minimum as a dad is 670 00:42:28,440 --> 00:42:30,880 once a day. Once a day you lick your kids in 671 00:42:30,880 --> 00:42:33,800 the eye, maybe even put your hands on their shoulders. 672 00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:39,800 You pull them in and you say, good, I love you, proud of you. 673 00:42:40,480 --> 00:42:42,920 I think you're awesome. The Lord bless you and keep you 674 00:42:42,920 --> 00:42:46,280 whatever your style is. New dad, start doing it right 675 00:42:46,280 --> 00:42:49,640 now. The temptation is, well, my kids 676 00:42:49,640 --> 00:42:51,880 only two months old, so he's not going to understand it. 677 00:42:52,240 --> 00:42:56,200 Always outpace their maturity with your parenthood. 678 00:42:56,960 --> 00:42:59,440 Always outpace their maturity with your parenting. 679 00:42:59,680 --> 00:43:01,880 Always outpace it. Because the problem is that dads 680 00:43:01,880 --> 00:43:05,400 who wait to say I love you to their kids who wait to say it 681 00:43:05,760 --> 00:43:07,000 until their kids can understand it. 682 00:43:07,360 --> 00:43:10,200 What you end up doing is you end up building a relational dynamic 683 00:43:10,200 --> 00:43:12,800 where it's normal for the dad not to say that. 684 00:43:13,680 --> 00:43:17,680 So you know what he does? He doesn't say it because you 685 00:43:17,680 --> 00:43:19,520 develop these communication patterns and then it feels 686 00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:23,000 awkward to inject something new into it, and so you got to start 687 00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:25,240 saying it right away before they can understand it. 688 00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:26,600 If not, the kids going to grow up. 689 00:43:26,600 --> 00:43:29,720 And at age 55, he's going to implode with workaholism until 690 00:43:29,720 --> 00:43:33,320 his loving pastor helps him see that subconsciously he's been 691 00:43:33,320 --> 00:43:35,840 working himself to death because deep down, he's still trying to 692 00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:45,960 earn his dad's blessing. I want it to be impossible to be 693 00:43:45,960 --> 00:43:50,880 a dad at Frontier who doesn't say I love you to your kids. 694 00:43:52,080 --> 00:43:54,080 True for moms too. It's just statistically you 695 00:43:54,080 --> 00:43:57,720 don't struggle with it as much. I want it to be impossible to be 696 00:43:57,720 --> 00:44:01,480 a dad at this church who doesn't say I love you to his kids. 697 00:44:01,480 --> 00:44:02,560 It's not going to happen at this church. 698 00:44:02,560 --> 00:44:05,880 It's not going to happen here. Words create worlds. 699 00:44:06,680 --> 00:44:13,320 Notice this literary pattern. God speaks, creation responds. 700 00:44:14,240 --> 00:44:18,080 God says good. That word good is profound. 701 00:44:18,080 --> 00:44:20,200 It's God's assessment and blessing over His creation. 702 00:44:20,440 --> 00:44:22,400 That pattern happened 7 times in Genesis 1. 703 00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:24,600 God speaks, creation responds, and God says good. 704 00:44:24,600 --> 00:44:26,320 You know what's going on in the Bible. 705 00:44:26,320 --> 00:44:29,440 If you see a pattern repeated 7 times, the Bible's trying to 706 00:44:29,440 --> 00:44:31,160 say, hey, wake up, this is important. 707 00:44:31,160 --> 00:44:33,480 This pattern. God speaks, creation responds. 708 00:44:33,480 --> 00:44:35,640 God says good is the pattern of reality. 709 00:44:35,640 --> 00:44:37,880 It's how reality is. It's what life is like. 710 00:44:38,280 --> 00:44:40,080 The way things are is the way that He is. 711 00:44:40,320 --> 00:44:45,400 Note, creation does not perform to gain God's blessing. 712 00:44:47,520 --> 00:44:50,240 Creation doesn't even earn to gain God's blessing. 713 00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:52,360 What does creation do to gain God's blessing? 714 00:44:52,400 --> 00:44:58,720 All it does is respond to God's word and exist and boom, God's 715 00:44:58,720 --> 00:45:00,480 gushing over. Love it. 716 00:45:01,080 --> 00:45:04,960 It's good, that word good. Telling you that word. 717 00:45:04,960 --> 00:45:10,040 Good is what you're living to hear, whether you know it or 718 00:45:10,040 --> 00:45:12,960 not. You've been chasing that word 719 00:45:13,320 --> 00:45:16,560 like your whole life. That's why you got so nervous 720 00:45:16,560 --> 00:45:20,960 and anxious at school, right? You so badly wanted your teacher 721 00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:23,920 to look at your work and say good. 722 00:45:25,920 --> 00:45:29,600 That's why even though it's been 20 years since your first crush, 723 00:45:30,680 --> 00:45:32,600 that's why it still effects you so much. 724 00:45:32,800 --> 00:45:35,040 You're obsessed with that girl or that boy when you were a 725 00:45:35,040 --> 00:45:38,480 teenager because you wanted so badly to have him or her look at 726 00:45:38,480 --> 00:45:42,920 you, assess you and say good, good. 727 00:45:44,080 --> 00:45:46,040 That's why some of us are workaholics and we can't rest 728 00:45:46,040 --> 00:45:48,720 and we beat ourselves up like perfectionist because deep down 729 00:45:48,920 --> 00:45:52,440 you're still trying to earn your mom or your dad's approval 730 00:45:52,440 --> 00:45:55,560 because they never looked at you and said you're good. 731 00:45:57,000 --> 00:45:59,680 Everybody is living for that word. 732 00:46:01,320 --> 00:46:04,280 I just want somebody to look at me and be like, dude, you're 733 00:46:07,200 --> 00:46:10,760 good. And I have really good news for 734 00:46:10,760 --> 00:46:14,440 you today. It's the gospel and it's the 735 00:46:14,440 --> 00:46:16,520 good news that you can have God's good. 736 00:46:17,240 --> 00:46:19,640 You can be made right with God, you can be cool with God, you 737 00:46:19,800 --> 00:46:23,080 can be good with God on the basis of faith alone because of 738 00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:25,840 what Jesus has done for you. It's right here in these first 739 00:46:25,840 --> 00:46:27,880 few verses. Here's the gospel according to 740 00:46:27,880 --> 00:46:29,960 Genesis chapter 1, verses 2 through 5. 741 00:46:30,320 --> 00:46:33,680 God speaks, creation responds. God declares it good. 742 00:46:33,920 --> 00:46:35,680 The good news is that God has spoken to you. 743 00:46:35,680 --> 00:46:40,360 You might not feel like it. Some of you. 744 00:46:40,360 --> 00:46:44,120 Maybe you're waiting to hear His audible voice from heaven, and I 745 00:46:44,120 --> 00:46:46,440 hope you do hear it. I do believe God speaks that 746 00:46:46,440 --> 00:46:50,800 way, but some of us are waiting for a handwritten letter to drop 747 00:46:50,800 --> 00:46:53,560 from the heavens with God's autograph and our name on it. 748 00:46:54,920 --> 00:46:58,400 But if that has not happened to you, hasn't happened to me, you 749 00:46:58,400 --> 00:47:00,640 still need to know that God has spoken to you. 750 00:47:02,520 --> 00:47:07,760 How? Hebrews 1 Long ago, at many 751 00:47:07,760 --> 00:47:10,920 times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the 752 00:47:10,920 --> 00:47:14,440 prophets. But in these last days he has 753 00:47:14,440 --> 00:47:20,800 spoken to us by his Son. He has spoken to us by Jesus, 754 00:47:21,160 --> 00:47:23,760 whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom He also 755 00:47:23,760 --> 00:47:27,080 created the world. God has spoken to you by giving 756 00:47:27,080 --> 00:47:30,480 you Jesus. That's his speech to you. 757 00:47:30,560 --> 00:47:34,480 That's him talking to you. The life of Jesus Christ is his 758 00:47:34,480 --> 00:47:37,320 perfect life of obedience, His death on a cross to atone for 759 00:47:37,320 --> 00:47:39,280 sin, His resurrection from the grave. 760 00:47:39,440 --> 00:47:42,720 That was not just a historical event from 2000 years ago. 761 00:47:43,480 --> 00:47:49,280 That was God speaking to you, to you, speaking to you, pleading 762 00:47:49,280 --> 00:47:50,880 with you, whispering to you, shouting at you. 763 00:47:51,680 --> 00:47:55,000 God speaks, creation responds, God says good. 764 00:47:55,280 --> 00:47:59,480 And so if you would respond to God's worth with faith, right, 765 00:47:59,480 --> 00:48:03,920 if you would look at the perfect life of Jesus, his death on the 766 00:48:03,920 --> 00:48:09,240 cross, and embrace it by faith, simply respond to God's word, 767 00:48:10,520 --> 00:48:12,880 then when God looks at you, you know what he'll say to you. 768 00:48:12,880 --> 00:48:21,320 Do you know good, good gosh over you? 769 00:48:22,160 --> 00:48:24,920 By faith alone, apart from works of the law, you're good. 770 00:48:26,480 --> 00:48:28,200 You're good with God. You don't need to hear from Mom 771 00:48:28,200 --> 00:48:29,160 or dad. I hope you do. 772 00:48:30,040 --> 00:48:33,160 But someday you're going to stand before your creator God, 773 00:48:33,400 --> 00:48:35,880 the one who spoke the universe into existence, the one who 774 00:48:35,880 --> 00:48:38,880 makes mountains crumble in the hands of the trees for choice. 775 00:48:39,200 --> 00:48:42,680 And this God will look at you. And if you are in Christ, you 776 00:48:42,680 --> 00:48:44,560 will finally get what you've always wanted. 777 00:48:44,960 --> 00:48:52,200 The lover of your soul will look at you and say, good, you're 778 00:48:52,200 --> 00:48:57,280 good. Welcome the person you are 779 00:48:57,280 --> 00:49:00,680 today. You're just beautiful chaos with 780 00:49:00,680 --> 00:49:04,440 potential. Just like Genesis one verse 2. 781 00:49:04,880 --> 00:49:08,080 One of the cruelest things you can do to yourself is believe 782 00:49:08,080 --> 00:49:10,440 that the person you are today is the finished product. 783 00:49:12,080 --> 00:49:14,360 You're not the finished product. That's the essence of 784 00:49:14,360 --> 00:49:17,000 hopelessness and despair. To look at yourself and say, Oh 785 00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:20,360 gosh, the man I am today is all I'll ever be. 786 00:49:20,680 --> 00:49:22,440 I guess I'll never be a better wife. 787 00:49:22,520 --> 00:49:24,120 I guess I'll never be a better man. 788 00:49:24,360 --> 00:49:26,840 This is all I am. I'll never be more like Jesus. 789 00:49:26,840 --> 00:49:29,040 This is the finished product. Wrong. 790 00:49:30,520 --> 00:49:34,720 Your Genesis 12A little formless, a little void, a 791 00:49:34,720 --> 00:49:38,440 little shapeless, and your job for the rest of your life is 792 00:49:38,440 --> 00:49:43,560 just to listen to God, to hear God's word, to submit to God's 793 00:49:43,560 --> 00:49:46,880 word, to believe God's word. And what does God word, what's 794 00:49:46,880 --> 00:49:50,560 God's word do the same thing it does in Genesis 1. 795 00:49:50,840 --> 00:49:55,680 God's word will shape you, form you, mold you and bring you into 796 00:49:55,680 --> 00:49:59,040 an orderly, fruitful Christ like version of yourself. 797 00:49:59,320 --> 00:50:05,560 Guys, the triune God of Genesis is at work in you right now. 798 00:50:06,880 --> 00:50:09,520 The mind of God the Father looking at you and beholding 799 00:50:09,520 --> 00:50:12,840 you. The Spirit of God hovering over 800 00:50:12,840 --> 00:50:17,680 your soul as he hovers over the deep shaping, molding the word 801 00:50:17,680 --> 00:50:24,840 of God, Jesus himself indwelling within you, remaking you moment 802 00:50:24,840 --> 00:50:28,080 by moment. Thank God that words create 803 00:50:28,080 --> 00:50:29,200 worlds. Amen. 804 00:50:30,200 --> 00:50:31,840 Especially when God says, and let's pray. 805 00:50:32,320 --> 00:50:35,920 Heavenly Father, I pray that people, I pray that we would 806 00:50:35,920 --> 00:50:43,080 hear your word this morning. There would be something in the 807 00:50:43,080 --> 00:50:47,480 preaching, something in the singing, something in the 808 00:50:47,480 --> 00:50:52,040 liturgy, something from somebody else's mouth, some word that we 809 00:50:52,040 --> 00:50:54,480 look at and say, oh, that's God's word to me. 810 00:50:56,200 --> 00:50:58,200 But even if we don't get that this morning, we still have 811 00:50:58,320 --> 00:51:02,000 Jesus and He is God's word to us. 812 00:51:02,320 --> 00:51:05,640 Pray that we would look at the crucified Christ and know how 813 00:51:05,640 --> 00:51:08,680 deeply we are loved and how deeply we are treasured. 814 00:51:09,400 --> 00:51:12,440 So it's in the precious name of Jesus that all God's people 815 00:51:12,440 --> 00:51:14,680 prayed. Amen. 816 00:51:14,680 --> 00:51:16,480 Let's stand and worship this triune God.