1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:03,040 Welcome to the Illuminate Church podcast. 2 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:05,640 We hope today's message is encouraging to you. 3 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:12,640 Well, today we begin a new series, and the new series that 4 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:16,000 we are beginning today is called Faith Begins. 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,680 And the first message that begins the new series that we're 6 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:21,360 beginning today called Faith Begins is called In the 7 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:23,480 Beginning. To which I have to ask you, Are 8 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:26,840 you ready to begin? Are you ready to begin 9 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:29,760 Mezzanine? Hi. 10 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,160 Yeah. Not only are we beginning a new 11 00:00:34,160 --> 00:00:36,000 series today, but we're beginning the journey that will 12 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,800 take us through almost the rest of the year and what's called 13 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:42,080 the biblical meta narrative. Look at you and every say meta 14 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:44,760 What? Meta What? 15 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:48,600 Yeah. A meta narrative is the thread, 16 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:52,600 the grand overarching story that brings all the smaller stories 17 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:55,040 into focus and gives them purpose. 18 00:00:55,240 --> 00:01:06,680 So you have Luke and you have Leia and Yoda and Darth. 19 00:01:06,960 --> 00:01:10,440 Somehow over the all those movies, the Star Wars universe, 20 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:14,000 there's an overarching story that's happening, not just the 21 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:17,120 individual stories. You have Harry and Hermione and 22 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:20,240 Ron. Seven books turned into 8 movies 23 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:25,600 and into 53 puke inducing rides at Universal. 24 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:28,280 Anyone? Hallelujah. 25 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:30,560 Velocicoaster. Oh, that's not a Harry Potter. 26 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,360 Anyway. OK, I love that ride. 27 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:40,160 But what ties it all together? What about Adam and Eve and Noah 28 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:44,280 and Moses and Ruth and Esther? In the first service I combined 29 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:51,840 them and called them Rooster. David, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and 30 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,040 Daniel and Jesus and Paul and Peter and Ringo. 31 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,280 How do they all? It's a Beatles joke. 32 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:01,320 Some of you don't get it. OK, I get what? 33 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:03,560 What is it that ties all of it together? 34 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:05,600 That's the marinara. The marinara. 35 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:10,039 Some of y'all. I just decided your lunch for 36 00:02:10,039 --> 00:02:13,280 you. Like oh, what? 37 00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:16,320 What is the meta narrative? The biblical meta narrative, I'm 38 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:18,600 just going to tell it to you right here from the jump, is a 39 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:22,840 messianic narrative. That's the overarching story. 40 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:25,440 It's not a ROM com. It's not a war story. 41 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:30,720 It's a Messiah story, which means it's a story of a people 42 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:33,040 that have been trapped in the plague of darkness and a hero 43 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:36,320 that comes to rescue them. That hero is called the Messiah. 44 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:40,320 The word Messiah, the name Messiah, actually means deliver 45 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:42,720 or savior. People don't need delivering or 46 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:44,320 saving unless they're in trouble. 47 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,080 And the story of the Bible is there's trouble and there's a 48 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:49,480 savior who's coming to redeem it. 49 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:52,560 And I would tell you that the Savior, the Messiah, is not just 50 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:57,600 the star of the story, but it's the heart, the motivation of the 51 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:02,200 Savior that becomes this grand ark that we see from Genesis all 52 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,640 the way through Revelation. The heart of the Savior, His 53 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:10,960 desire unrelenting to be with his people that he loves so 54 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:17,240 much, even though these people revolt against him, even though 55 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:24,480 these people are hell bent on destruction, even though we 56 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:26,400 often choose our flesh instead of the Father. 57 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:31,600 Yet there was not a price he would not pay to try to ensure 58 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:34,640 this oneness. The lengths that he would go so 59 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:37,040 that he could have oneness with humanity. 60 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:41,040 And all of this begins in the book of Genesis, which as we 61 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:43,600 explore Genesis in this series, you're going to find it's not 62 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:46,960 just about faith beginning. It's about recognizing the 63 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,480 always faithfulness of God from before the beginning. 64 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:53,720 We're going to see a singular thread from Genesis into the 65 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:55,960 parables that we'll study this summer into the Book of 66 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:57,960 Revelation that we'll look at in this fall. 67 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:01,000 This thread is painted and Crimson. 68 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:04,520 It's woven together in love. And I pray that as we study this 69 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:08,040 great and grand thread of our Messiah, that you will fall more 70 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:11,360 in love with him than you ever have before to the extent that 71 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:14,040 you, you learn to worship Him by serving him. 72 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:17,160 You learn to worship him by honoring him with your choices. 73 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:20,959 You learn to worship him by bringing other people to know 74 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,640 this great God that has saved you and the saved myself. 75 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:28,160 Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Genesis. 76 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:34,240 Amen. All right, so why don't you do 77 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:36,440 this, open your Bibles to Genesis chapter one. 78 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:38,760 That's where we start because that's where it all starts. 79 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:41,280 If you need a Bible, raise your hand and our ushers will be glad 80 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:44,200 to bring you a Bible. We gave out 131 last week, but 81 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:48,760 we have more an endless supply of Bibles in Jesus name. 82 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,040 As you're getting your Bibles ready, I want you to know that 83 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:54,800 Genesis is our, is the story of our spiritual family. 84 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:59,040 It's where and who we came from. These often asked biographical 85 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:00,880 questions. When you're at a gathering with 86 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:02,480 people you don't know. They're like, where'd you come 87 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:03,760 from? Who are your folks? 88 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:07,040 Like our ancestors are in the book of Genesis. 89 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:10,000 All of us can look back and have the same answers. 90 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:11,360 Where are you from? Who'd you come from? 91 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:16,400 It all goes back to Genesis. Genesis, the actual word, is 92 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:20,120 derived from the Greek word, which means origins or birth. 93 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:21,520 We still got, we still need Bibles. 94 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:23,600 I see your hand. You're being so patient. 95 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:25,240 Thank you. Anyone else? 96 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:27,160 We're here. We're coming. 97 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:29,680 Andy's coming right in the middle. 98 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:33,480 I see you, ma'am. Right in the middle, too. 99 00:05:33,840 --> 00:05:35,760 And he's literally running and Usher running. 100 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:37,880 Chunk it, Andy. Right in the middle. 101 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:41,160 There we go. Getting people. 102 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:43,080 The Bible matters to be. So we just slow down here. 103 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:44,120 Is that all right with everybody? 104 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:47,840 We're coming to you. Kerry's got you still back 105 00:05:47,840 --> 00:05:49,320 there. We got it. 106 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:52,360 Everyone good. Say yes, Yeah. 107 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:55,840 The word Genesis means origins of birth, which means that the 108 00:05:55,840 --> 00:05:59,960 book of Genesis is the origin of everything except God. 109 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:03,680 All the vast force of Scripture that come after Genesis have 110 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:06,160 their seedlings inside of Genesis. 111 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:07,400 Right here. We got facts. 112 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:09,320 We got first. We got faith. 113 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:12,160 Interestingly enough, at least to me. 114 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:13,360 Maybe it isn't to you. We'll see. 115 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:16,760 I've been knowing about this series since last August when I 116 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:19,240 go away with the Lord and listen about what are we going to what? 117 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:21,280 What do you want me to preach on in 2026? 118 00:06:21,280 --> 00:06:23,160 And I pray and I listen and I write and I pray and I listen. 119 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:27,080 So since last August, I've been kind of thinking about Genesis. 120 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:31,240 And then during spring break, I went and spent a week just 121 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:34,360 studying Genesis, sitting at the table, reading the commentaries, 122 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:37,400 reading Genesis, praying, writing, taking notes, soaking 123 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:39,280 in Genesis. I just can't get enough of 124 00:06:39,280 --> 00:06:42,520 Genesis. Well, Christine, myself, Eli, we 125 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:45,720 flew up to visit our daughter Audrey at Liberty University. 126 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:49,480 Any fans? Yep. 127 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:53,400 And we go to what's called Convocation. 128 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:55,640 I've never been to 1:00. They have them on Wednesdays and 129 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:57,880 Fridays. The entire student body comes. 130 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:01,480 There's like 10,000 people packed in the Vine Center and 131 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:03,560 they worship. And it's incredible worship led 132 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:05,880 by the students. And then you think it's a church 133 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:08,800 service and it kind of is and it kind of isn't because then they 134 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:12,080 bring up all these different kind of presenters, like famous 135 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:14,320 politicians that may or may not be believers. 136 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:16,440 Vivek Ramaswami, he's not a believer, but he was there, 137 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:20,240 right? They have athletes and actors. 138 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:23,320 They have influence. We have pastors. 139 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:26,240 They have all sorts of different people stand up and speak. 140 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:28,320 This last week they have Webb Simpson. 141 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:32,440 Anybody. He's a golfer and it's the 142 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:34,000 Masters week, so they have Webb Simpson. 143 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:35,720 Anyway, you don't care. I could. 144 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:40,600 I thought it was cool. So we go and the first time I've 145 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:42,600 ever been there and I don't know who's going to be to speak, but 146 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:46,560 randomly the guy speaking just three Fridays ago right before 147 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:51,000 I'm about to preach this series happens to be 1 of, if not the 148 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:57,200 foremost theologian in the world in regards to Genesis. 149 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:02,200 His name is Doctor Ken Ham. Maybe you've heard of Doctor Ken 150 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:04,480 Ham. He founded a ministry called 151 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:10,040 Answers in. Answers in Yeah. 152 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,600 He's a guy who created the Creation Museum and the 153 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:18,560 life-size biblical scale arc called the art Exhibit in 154 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:21,480 Kentucky. Because where else would the ark 155 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:26,200 be in Kentucky? Yeah. 156 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:29,320 So I'm like, I cannot believe that the one time I come to 157 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:32,039 convocation randomly, not randomly as I'm about to preach 158 00:08:32,039 --> 00:08:37,400 Genesis, it's Ken Ham and he exposited for the next tower 159 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:40,280 long about Genesis. His main point is this and it's 160 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:43,440 the main point of the series. It it coincides with exactly 161 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:46,320 everything that the Lord has put in my heart, which is everything 162 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:50,880 we need to know about anything has its roots in Genesis, 163 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:52,800 specifically the 1st 11 chapters. 164 00:08:53,560 --> 00:08:56,360 Genesis is the foundation for everything. 165 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:58,920 It's the basis for our Christian worldview. 166 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:01,840 If we want to know where all our doctrines come from, you find 167 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:04,000 them in Genesis. If you want to know where the 168 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:06,320 Gospels begin, it begins in Genesis. 169 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:09,920 Everything finds its origin, its design, its purpose. 170 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:12,560 In Genesis. You got questions about 171 00:09:12,560 --> 00:09:17,000 creation, Genesis. You got questions about 172 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:20,360 marriage? Yeah. 173 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:21,440 Thank you. Thank you. 174 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:23,680 You got questions about the sanctity of life? 175 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:26,000 Way to go. I heard you. 176 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:29,960 You want to know why there's sickness and broken things and 177 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:31,880 death in the world? It's all in. 178 00:09:32,560 --> 00:09:35,080 You want to know where the cure is coming for all that 179 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:36,360 brokenness and sickness and death. 180 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:41,880 It's found in the second book of the Bible is no got you. 181 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:58,320 The second book of the Bible is yes, after Genesis, Genesis, 182 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:00,200 yes. Let's begin Genesis chapter 1. 183 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:02,400 And as you look at the scripture, I don't know how you 184 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:05,320 can possibly comprehend this, but I try to, when I read 185 00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:08,600 Genesis 1, feel the poignancy of the moment before it all 186 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:15,120 started, the stillness, the expectancy of the Lord God and 187 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:19,280 what's about to happen. It all begins here. 188 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:21,080 Genesis chapter 1 verses one and two. 189 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:26,160 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 190 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:30,000 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the 191 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:34,720 surface of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over 192 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:41,360 the waters Here church from moment one God and all the 193 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:44,160 fullness is present. Verse 3 begins and God said 194 00:10:46,680 --> 00:10:50,800 before history exists, God is. In fact, many people want to 195 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:55,440 debate the seven day timeline as its found in Genesis. 196 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:59,400 Is it 7 literal days? Is it one day Is 1000 days? 197 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:01,880 Is it one day? Is 1,000,000 a million days? 198 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:06,120 Or is it one day is an age like the Ice Age or the Mesozoic age 199 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:08,400 or you name it. All of these ages, What is it? 200 00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:10,480 Well, we can have those discussions. 201 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:11,760 I think they're worthy discussions. 202 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:14,040 Go to answers in Genesis. You'll get some very clear 203 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:17,600 answers about the timeline, but what I want to focus on today 204 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:21,560 that is absolutely clear in Genesis, that Genesis wants us 205 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:25,000 to know is not so much concern about the exactness of the 206 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:29,160 timeline as this. From the beginning, it was God. 207 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:34,520 Nothing existed without God. Everything is Genesis from the 208 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:39,560 person of God and God alone. All of our stories, no matter 209 00:11:39,560 --> 00:11:42,960 how far you look back in your story, your family's history, 210 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:46,520 all the way back, no matter what path you walk down, go to the 211 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:50,120 beginning of that path and we'll all find the same thing. 212 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:55,440 The Lord God, benevolent God, the loving God, the all powerful 213 00:11:55,440 --> 00:12:01,560 God at the beginning, He's an ever existing God and he creates 214 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:06,120 everything that you see, the chair you're sitting on, all the 215 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:10,600 things you smell and hear, everything he created. 216 00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:17,160 Listen to this from absolutely nothing in Latin is called ex 217 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:18,720 nihilo. From nothing. 218 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:25,360 The Hebrew word is Bora. Can I Bora a dollar? 219 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:29,240 That's not what it means. Bara is Bara. 220 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:35,280 In the beginning, God borrowed the heavens and the earth. 221 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:39,120 He creates from nothing. This word is found about 50 222 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:41,920 times in the Old Testament. It's a verb create. 223 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:46,000 And every time that we see this word Bara, God is the subject. 224 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:49,440 And if you remember grammar, the subject is always the one who 225 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:53,720 performs the verb. So Bara create is always 226 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:57,440 connected to God. It only happens when God does it 227 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:00,560 every single time. When David prays in Psalm 51, he 228 00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:06,720 says create in me a clean heart. The Hebrew is Bara me a clean 229 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:09,840 heart. David has some sort of knowledge 230 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:13,840 that in him was nothing, able to regenerate his soul and his 231 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:17,960 spirit, and so he had to look to an exterior agent, a 232 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:21,800 supernatural agent, the Lord God, who can and does create and 233 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:25,920 say God says I can't, I know that you can, so you borrow, 234 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:29,520 create in me from nothing, because there's nothing in me. 235 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:32,160 A clean heart. Only God can do this work of 236 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:33,880 creation, and he's done it from the beginning. 237 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:37,200 It has always been this way. Only God, no other being, no 238 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:41,400 other Angel, no other human, no one else borrows except for the 239 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:43,840 Lord our God. Amen. 240 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:47,680 Indeed. Maybe you've heard this 241 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:49,320 illustration before. I love it. 242 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:58,400 But God is in the sandbox creating aardvark palm tree, 243 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:00,600 right? Human. 244 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:08,240 And Satan walks up. He's like, anyone can do that. 245 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:11,400 What's up? Anyone can do what you do, God. 246 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:13,400 I could make an aardvark. That's this. 247 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:16,280 I could do that. I may, I think I can make a 248 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:19,360 human. And guys like, OK, you think you 249 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:23,920 can make these things and go ahead and make them and Satan 250 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:28,080 steps into the sandbox and God's like, wait a second, first you 251 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:33,400 need to make your own sand. Do you understand what I'm 252 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:37,800 saying? He creates from nothing. 253 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:40,760 There was nothing and now there is everything by his own will 254 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:44,880 and nature from the beginning God creates and therefore God 255 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:51,680 owns everything. This ever existing, all creating 256 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:55,760 God is in fact the Godhead present at creation, the Person 257 00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:59,640 of God, the Word of God and the Spirit of God, Creator, Agent 258 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:03,200 and Presence, the three in one Trinity of God. 259 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:09,040 A special note here, the Spirit is present and we begin to see a 260 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:12,400 biblical theme from the beginning that extends all the 261 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:15,440 way through Scripture. Know this from the beginning, it 262 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:20,840 is the Holy Spirit that brings order, excuse me, out of chaos. 263 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:25,800 It's part of the meta narrative. It's part of the overarching 264 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:28,200 story. In Luke chapter one, verse 35, 265 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:32,560 it is a spirit that once again hovers over Mary and suddenly 266 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:35,480 where there is nothing, there's the Messiah. 267 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:40,800 It is the Spirit of God that comes and hovers over Jesus when 268 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:43,480 he is raised out of the waters of baptism. 269 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:47,960 All four gospels record this. The Spirit alights on him as if 270 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:52,080 to say I'm anointing the one who will bring order out of the 271 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:57,680 chaos in the tomb. In the chaos of death, Jesus is 272 00:15:57,680 --> 00:15:59,000 raised to life. How? 273 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:02,400 Romans chapter one verse 4. He was shown to be the Son of 274 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:06,240 God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy 275 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:08,280 Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. 276 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:11,840 From the beginning. The Holy Spirit has brought 277 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:13,560 order out of chaos. I'm wondering how your 278 00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:14,880 relationship with the Holy Spirit is. 279 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:18,320 It's not the point of the message, but it's a point of the 280 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:23,360 story. This ever existing, all 281 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:31,120 creating, three in one. God then makes the earth and 282 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:32,800 everything in it. And let me just pause here. 283 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:36,840 You're going to feel like you're eating, drinking from a fire 284 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:39,600 hose today. There is a ton of information 285 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:42,480 coming and I want you just to think I'm receiving all these 286 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:45,000 things like it's going into a pot and we're cooking something, 287 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:47,840 all these ingredients and we're headed somewhere. 288 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:52,240 And here's where we're headed. We want to understand why on 289 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:57,920 earth did God create the earth. We want to understand why in the 290 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:00,800 world that God put us in the world. 291 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:04,160 What's He up to in Genesis 1 and 2? 292 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:05,800 Because it's the beginning of the story. 293 00:17:06,280 --> 00:17:08,160 It tells us the why for everything. 294 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:10,079 And if we don't understand it, the rest of the story is just 295 00:17:10,079 --> 00:17:12,839 like some episodes. You can watch this one and that 296 00:17:12,839 --> 00:17:14,640 one, but they're not connected together. 297 00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:17,359 You have to understand it from the beginning. 298 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:20,319 So here God goes creating. I'm going to read these very 299 00:17:20,319 --> 00:17:21,280 quickly. They're going to come on the 300 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:23,640 screen very quickly. If you take your notes, it ain't 301 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:26,680 going to happen. Day one light and darkness are 302 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:28,920 created. Day 2, the sky, the expanse, the 303 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:31,920 atmosphere is created. Day three, dry land, seas, 304 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:34,600 vegetation. Day 4, the sun, moon and stars. 305 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:36,880 Day 5, the sea creatures and birds. 306 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:39,880 Day 6, land animals and us humans. 307 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:44,040 And then day 7 God creates rest. He creates the Sabbath. 308 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:50,280 Now you may know this, but there are plenty of creation myths in 309 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:52,640 antiquity. How the world came to be. 310 00:17:53,360 --> 00:17:55,160 Which one is correct? Let me tell you a few of them. 311 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:58,080 The Egyptians believe that there was an egg in an ocean. 312 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:00,400 They never explained where the egg or the ocean come from. 313 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:04,960 They don't have how they made their own sand, right. 314 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:07,920 This egg births somebody. And that somebody is the sun 315 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:09,800 God. The sun God has four children. 316 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:15,400 Geb or Jeb Shoe, Tefnut and Nut. I want to see is there anyone 317 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:17,760 here who is descended of the tefnuts? 318 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:23,200 You Pastor Kim Tef? Yeah, Anyone here descended? 319 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:24,480 Just. I'm from the nuts. 320 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:29,360 Any ladies here say I think I descended from shoe. 321 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:38,800 Not funny. I I Yeah, I feel the. 322 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:41,360 The story goes that these children fought in sibling 323 00:18:41,360 --> 00:18:43,280 rivalries. And as they fought, continents 324 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:47,760 were formed. Oceans were dug up by their feet 325 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:49,640 and swiping. The same thing with the 326 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:52,160 Babylonians. The Babylonians believed that 327 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:54,440 there were gods and these gods would war together. 328 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:57,760 There are plots and subplots and as they fight, when they strike 329 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:02,640 their sword over Yosemite and denial, right? 330 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:06,800 The Greeks believe that there's a God who holds the earth, but 331 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:08,280 they don't tell us how they created the earth. 332 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:10,520 Atlas just has the earth on his shoulders. 333 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:15,240 That's all we know. The Hindus believe that the 334 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:17,880 world is rested on three elephants, and those elephants 335 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:20,760 themselves are sitting on top of a giant tortoise, and the giant 336 00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:23,280 tortoise swims around in a cosmic ocean. 337 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:29,720 And here we are. The point is this. 338 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:32,680 Genesis 1 stands as the only document that comes to us from 339 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:36,040 ancient history that is seriously considered. 340 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:39,960 When the origin of the universe is discussed, it's typically the 341 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:45,160 Bible or The Big Bang, and we can have the discussion that the 342 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:51,960 two of them might be both true. So which do you believe? 343 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:54,920 I'm going to give you a proof of why maybe you should believe the 344 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:59,520 creation story. Doctor Peter Stoner, he lived in 345 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:01,640 the 50s. He was a mathematician, 346 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:04,920 theologian. In 1958, he came out with a 347 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:08,600 study that says essentially, there are 13 essential 348 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:13,480 components to creation. For Earth to become into 349 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:16,920 existence. And he notes that not only did 350 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:21,000 Moses, who was not a scientist, had no telescopes or 351 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:24,040 microscopes, could not understand what an atmosphere 352 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:27,280 was, lived his entire life in a small portion of the world, 353 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:29,240 doesn't even know the circumference of the world, 354 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:32,080 hasn't even seen the magnitude of the oceans, of the mountains, 355 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:36,800 the stars flowing in the sky. Moses got all 13 components 356 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:39,360 right, and he got them in the correct order. 357 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:46,280 Like, what's the big deal? Doctor Stoner estimates that in 358 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:48,960 order for Moses just to have guessed this, like, I'm just 359 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:52,840 going to throw something out there, see if it's right because 360 00:20:52,840 --> 00:21:03,720 Moses was southern. Yeah, Southern Israel, in order 361 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:07,280 for him to have just guessed it right by chance, it would be one 362 00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:14,320 chance in 31 sextillion. That's a 31 with 21 zeros behind 363 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:17,800 it. He goes on to say, I, I don't 364 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:19,080 think you understand what I'm saying. 365 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:21,680 And he goes on to say that the chances of this happening 366 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:24,960 because we don't understand how big a #31 sextillion is, is like 367 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:28,960 finding one lottery ticket marked with the right creation 368 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:33,280 order in a bucket of 31 sextillion tickets. 369 00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:35,040 You reach in your hand and find one. 370 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:37,640 You still don't understand how big 31 six trillion tickets is, 371 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:42,600 he goes on to say. It would take 8 million printing 372 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:54,320 presses, 8 million hello, 8 million printing presses, 373 00:21:55,600 --> 00:22:02,480 printing day and night, 2000 tickets a minute for 5,000,000 374 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:06,800 years to get 31 sextillion tickets. 375 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:11,560 Then you put them on the earth somewhere and you fly around, 376 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:15,560 you drop in one place, you reach in your hand and pull out the 377 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:20,480 right one. So all I'm trying to say is 378 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:25,040 there's no way Moses just guessed it, and he wasn't a 379 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:28,840 scientist, so there's no way he reasoned it, for it was not 380 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:31,440 reason. He has a creation story because 381 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:36,560 it came to him by revelation. The one who created downloaded 382 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:39,840 it to Moses, who wrote the book of Genesis, and we have it now 383 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:42,440 into antiquity. It's when, when, when you think 384 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:45,080 of something this incredible happening in this revelation 385 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:47,080 happening, it begins to help you understand me. 386 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:52,240 Maybe, just maybe, the creation account in Genesis is the actual 387 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:56,880 account that we ought to put our faith and trust in. 1st the Lord 388 00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:58,920 frames everything. He gives us light and limits and 389 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:01,000 land, and then He fills everything beyond lights, 390 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:03,480 limits, and land. Then he gives us life. 391 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:09,080 Animals, birds. Do you know that animals display 392 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:13,360 the glory of God? Not a lot of pet people in here, 393 00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:16,200 I guess. Yeah. 394 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:18,240 The variety, the colors, the uniqueness. 395 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:23,760 In fact, do you know that all of creation speaks of His glory the 396 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:26,840 way He intended it? Romans chapter one. 397 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:29,480 For since the creation of the world, God's invisible 398 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:31,560 qualities, He's spirit, we cannot see him. 399 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:36,680 His eternal power and his divine nature have actually been 400 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:40,960 clearly seen, being understood from what has been made so that 401 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:45,320 the people are without excuse. God created a sunset so that we 402 00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:54,040 would say Oh my God, intelligent design, purposeful design. 403 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:58,800 Even Darwin looked at the eyeball and it said he it's 404 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:00,480 recorded that it made him shudder. 405 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:03,800 Darwin, who believes in evolution, looks at the eyeball 406 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:10,240 and like maybe, maybe we didn't come from pond scum. 407 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:19,840 How about that we think that David and Solomon built the 1st 408 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:25,080 and most fanciful temple in human history, but God in 409 00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:30,080 creation built a temple for himself more glorious than 410 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:33,000 anything humanity can or ever will build. 411 00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:38,120 And you have to begin to ask yourself why? 412 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:41,480 Why do you do it? We're headed somewhere. 413 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:43,800 Stay with me. Why did he create the earth? 414 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:46,080 And secondarily, why did he create humans? 415 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:48,800 Why? What's going on? 416 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:53,000 Let that simmer as we continue next in the book of Genesis in 417 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:57,320 chapter 1 and continuing on in the chapter 2, we get some major 418 00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:00,920 themes of origin, the origin of humanity, the origin of 419 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:02,680 marriage, the origin of rulership. 420 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:06,760 And I want you to know that all of these speak to one thing as 421 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:09,160 God's creating this, what you should when you read Genesis 1 422 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:14,160 and two, what He's also creating is order through humanity, 423 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:17,720 through marriage, through rulership, order. 424 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:19,960 In Genesis, God gave order to creation. 425 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:23,920 Meaning I'm going to set this up so that it's going to thrive. 426 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:28,440 I'm going to have you participate with me under my 427 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:33,360 instructions so that the earth and you all as humans will 428 00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:37,120 thrive. Let's see how He does that 429 00:25:37,120 --> 00:25:40,960 together in Genesis chapter one. Look down at 26 verse 26. 430 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:44,880 Then God said, let us make mankind in our image and our 431 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:48,200 likeness so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the 432 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:50,560 birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild 433 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:52,960 animals and over all the creatures that move along the 434 00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:55,960 ground. So God created mankind in his 435 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:58,880 own image, in the image of God. He created them, male and 436 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:00,240 female. He created them. 437 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:04,080 God blessed them and said to them, be fruitful and increase 438 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:05,880 in number, fill the earth and subdue it. 439 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:08,800 Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and 440 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:11,200 over every living creature that moves along the ground. 441 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:14,440 Then God said, I give you every seed bearing plant on the face 442 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:16,800 of the whole earth and every tree that is fruit with the seed 443 00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:18,920 in it, they will be yours for food. 444 00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:21,760 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the 445 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:23,720 sky and all the creatures that move along the ground, 446 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:27,280 everything that has the breath of life in it, I give every 447 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:33,520 green plant for food. And it was so God creates humans 448 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:36,240 in his image. Then he gives order saying be 449 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:40,000 fruitful and multiply so that you can rule the earth. 450 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:45,560 It's going to take more and more image bearers to carry my heart 451 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:52,880 into the world and rule it, Keep it in order, not in chaos. 452 00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:56,440 Then we get another angle in chapter 2 of the same story but 453 00:26:56,440 --> 00:27:00,120 very much the same themes. Genesis chapter 2 is a zoomed in 454 00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:04,960 snapshot of creation day six. Genesis 2 gives us more detail 455 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:08,320 and what we as image bearers are and what we are to be. 456 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:13,480 Verse 7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the 457 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:17,640 ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and 458 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:24,240 the man became a living being. Hey come on, it gets me too. 459 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:28,080 I want you to know that image bearers, us humans are created 460 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:30,120 differently than all of the creatures and were created 461 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:32,680 personally. Maybe it's because we're created 462 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:34,520 personally that we are created differently. 463 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:37,520 Everything else is spoken into existence. 464 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:40,440 Humans, however, are formed from the dust. 465 00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:45,840 The Potter's hands, personal, intricate. 466 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:49,680 Psalm 139 says that he knit me together in my mother's womb. 467 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:56,640 His hands personal, intricate. And then he bends low in a very 468 00:27:56,640 --> 00:27:59,720 intimate moment. And he breathed his own breath 469 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:03,400 of life into our lifeless bodies, which he does for no 470 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:07,200 other creature, at least that we read of Hallelujah. 471 00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:10,520 He's a personal God creating you differently. 472 00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:14,840 In chapter 1, his name is God. And God said and God said God 473 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:15,800 created the heavens and the earth. 474 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:17,960 God, God, God, God. This is the name Elohim. 475 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:21,160 Everyone say Elohim. Elohim is the name of God. 476 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:25,200 That means God as power. God is the generator of 477 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:28,240 everything. And then you move to chapter 2 478 00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:32,240 where we zoomed in snapshot of the creation of humanity and we 479 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:35,000 go from God. And now Moses says Lord God. 480 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:39,120 Look at your Bibles chapter 1, God chapter 2, Lord God. 481 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:44,600 Lord God is a different name. It's the name Yahweh. 482 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:50,400 Everyone say Yahweh. Yahweh is the personal name of 483 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:52,920 God. In chapter 1 it's God as power. 484 00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:55,000 In chapter 2, it's God as person. 485 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:58,560 You're made intimately, you're made differently, you're made 486 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:02,400 personally. Every single human being 487 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:11,840 reflects the image of God in the womb, out of the womb unto 488 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:14,080 death. It's why the sanctity of life 489 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:15,960 should matter intensely to the Church. 490 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:22,440 In the womb and out of the womb and on to death all the way 491 00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:25,200 through. Each person has his image 492 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:27,120 bearer. We're to personally reflect his 493 00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:30,400 character, his conviction, his calling, his culture, his 494 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:34,400 community. This account of humans creation 495 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:38,840 in Genesis chapter 2 is not primarily, if at all, a 496 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:42,000 scientific description of how we were made. 497 00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:47,160 We don't read in Genesis 2. This is how I made an aorta or 498 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:51,120 your amygdala, or your hypothalamus are just other fun 499 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:53,480 words to say. We don't get that. 500 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:56,800 What we do get is a theological account about who we are in 501 00:29:56,800 --> 00:30:01,760 relation to God. We are valued because He made us 502 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:05,520 personally, but we are humbled because we're made from the 503 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:08,880 dust. We are physical because we're 504 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:12,160 made from the dust, yet we're spiritual because He's put His 505 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:13,920 breath into us, which again, He's done for. 506 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:19,840 No other creature valued A humbled physical, yet spiritual. 507 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:25,440 You are created differently and personally this matters. 508 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:30,160 I love it. Genesis chapter 2. 509 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:33,120 Now look at verse 8. Now the Lord God had planted a 510 00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:36,000 garden in the East in Eden, and there he put the man he had 511 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:38,800 formed. The Lord God made all kinds of 512 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:40,880 trees go out of the ground, trees that were pleasing to the 513 00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:43,360 eye, good for food in the middle of the garden where the tree of 514 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:45,800 life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 515 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:48,640 Now skip down to verse 15. The middle verse is about a 516 00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:52,000 bunch of rivers. Verse 15, The Lord God took the 517 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:55,560 man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of 518 00:30:55,560 --> 00:30:57,520 it, and then the Lord God commanded the man. 519 00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:01,000 You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must 520 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:04,320 not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for 521 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:07,200 when you eat from it, you will certainly die. 522 00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:14,080 I don't know if you're picking up on this, but first Adam is 523 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:17,840 created and the next thing that happens is he's commissioned. 524 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:23,520 It means that every person is born with purpose, means that 525 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:28,200 nobody is born on accident. Nobody is created without the 526 00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:31,120 commissioning that God has given to Adam, and thereby all of 527 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:35,480 Adam's descendants, of which we are, many of them, lots of them, 528 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:39,040 billions of them. Your purpose is this image 529 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:41,880 bearers are created to rule under rule. 530 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:49,360 We are to rule under His rule. Genesis chapter 2 uses the word 531 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:53,120 work. We are to work the land to care 532 00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:54,880 for it. What does this word mean? 533 00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:58,720 The best way I can describe it to you is if you look ahead to 534 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:00,480 Numbers chapter 3, you don't have to turn there. 535 00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:03,560 And Numbers chapter 3, God is building the temple where He's 536 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:06,520 going to bring His presence, and He appoints the Levites as 537 00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:09,360 priests over the temple. He says you're going to work in 538 00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:11,360 chapter chapter 3, verses 7 and 8. 539 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:15,880 You're going to work at this temple and it's not just like I 540 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:18,720 got to go punch the clock and do my job. 541 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:21,080 My trabajar? Is that how you say it in 542 00:32:21,080 --> 00:32:26,000 Espanol Trabaja Trabajar Trabajo. 543 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:31,640 I'll just stop. I'm quitting Duolingo today. 544 00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:42,160 Useless 285 day streak, OK? He says work it and it's not a 545 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:47,600 job, it's an honor. Is the responsibility to care 546 00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:53,760 deeply for the furnishings and the practices of the temple, The 547 00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:58,920 responsibility of it, the reverence in the work to care 548 00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:01,880 for this temple and this word work is the exact same word that 549 00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:04,600 God uses for Adam here in Genesis. 550 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:07,400 I want you to care for this place like the priest will one 551 00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:13,680 day care for my temple, diligently, reverently care for 552 00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:16,360 it. God wants us to care for this 553 00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:20,520 creation. This is His first order to us, 554 00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:26,080 this temple that he has built for himself, our first 555 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:28,200 responsibility. And just a major note here, 556 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:30,440 every time that God gives orders and which starts here in 557 00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:35,000 Genesis, the first thing He tells us to do is to care for 558 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:38,960 the earth. Every time that He gives an 559 00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:42,680 order, He is saying to us, this is how it will go well on the 560 00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:45,240 earth. This is how you can sustain this 561 00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:48,960 temple. I'm putting it in order and I'm 562 00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:52,560 entrusting it to you. And note this, every time that 563 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:56,840 we do not follow the orders, some not good stuff happens, 564 00:33:56,880 --> 00:33:58,080 which we'll talk about in a minute. 565 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:01,640 God continues His instructions. First of all, He leads with what 566 00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:04,120 we can do before stating what we can't do. 567 00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:07,080 He says you may eat from every of these bazillion trees that 568 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:09,800 are here, but you can't eat from this one. 569 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:14,080 And don't you know that the devil will often have us fixated 570 00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:18,040 on God's prohibitions at the expense of His permissions? 571 00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:22,600 Everything that He has said that we can do, that He wants to do 572 00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:25,719 in US. Love, peace, joy, all of these 573 00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:30,280 permissions, life, freedom, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and a 574 00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:34,639 few things those aren't good for you, withhold from them. 575 00:34:34,639 --> 00:34:37,159 But our minds, through the devil, through our own minds, we 576 00:34:37,159 --> 00:34:41,159 fixate on the prohibitions. I wasn't going to do it anyways 577 00:34:41,159 --> 00:34:45,639 until you said no, and now I think I might. 578 00:34:46,199 --> 00:34:48,960 I wonder if Adam and Eve would have just been satisfied with 579 00:34:48,960 --> 00:34:52,880 what they were permitted to do as opposed to what God limited 580 00:34:52,880 --> 00:34:55,000 them from doing, if the whole story would have been different 581 00:34:57,160 --> 00:35:01,080 for them and for us. By the way, the permissions and 582 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:04,520 the prohibitions of God were for their good and for our good 583 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:08,160 today, both of them. What He says we can do is for 584 00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:10,160 your good. What He says we can't do is for 585 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:12,720 your good, and not just your good, but the good of the place 586 00:35:12,720 --> 00:35:16,200 that God created. It's the order of God for how 587 00:35:16,200 --> 00:35:19,280 things will go well on the earth if we do them. 588 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:23,440 And if we don't, we get Genesis chapter 2, verse 17, the first 589 00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:26,360 mention of death. It's the outcome of 590 00:35:26,360 --> 00:35:29,760 disobedience. We are going to need help here 591 00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:33,560 lest we die. We're going to need a Messiah. 592 00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:37,840 You put this all together, our Trabajo. 593 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:43,720 Our job here on earth is to rule the earth for the benefit of all 594 00:35:43,720 --> 00:35:47,280 humanity of the earth, of all the animals, according to the 595 00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:50,600 rules of God. He's calling us the stewards. 596 00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:53,400 That's the modern day word, to care for another person's 597 00:35:53,400 --> 00:35:58,160 property of the earth so that it will all go well with humans and 598 00:35:58,160 --> 00:35:59,800 animals. And if we don't, if we don't 599 00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:03,560 abide by His rules and His orders, then we and the earth 600 00:36:03,560 --> 00:36:08,480 will experience death first spiritually for us as humans and 601 00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:11,800 for us and the earth, eventually physically death. 602 00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:15,920 I want you to know that death is not the punishment of God for 603 00:36:15,920 --> 00:36:20,320 disobedience. He's not up there to say, oh you 604 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:22,800 messed up, guess what, you're going to die. 605 00:36:24,720 --> 00:36:32,060 What kind of guy would that be? Did I miss something? 606 00:36:35,620 --> 00:36:38,820 Death is an outcome of our choices, not a punishment of 607 00:36:38,820 --> 00:36:42,860 God. If I went home and chose to eat 608 00:36:42,860 --> 00:36:48,820 my laptop, it would not go well for me, nor for my laptop. 609 00:36:50,060 --> 00:36:53,600 It sounds silly, but there's a design and we know the way that 610 00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:56,520 things should work and if we don't use them as they were 611 00:36:56,520 --> 00:37:00,720 designed to work, it's painful, it's destructive. 612 00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:04,960 I've told you this before, if you put milk in your gas tank of 613 00:37:04,960 --> 00:37:07,560 your car, it's not going to go well. 614 00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:15,520 It's not a punishment, it's just an outcome of consequence of 615 00:37:15,520 --> 00:37:19,320 what you've done. And when we don't live according 616 00:37:19,320 --> 00:37:23,000 to the order that God has given us in Genesis, the roots, the 617 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:26,280 design, the purpose in Genesis, that it all begins to fall 618 00:37:26,280 --> 00:37:28,840 apart. It begins to break down, which 619 00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:31,200 we'll talk about next week. Aren't you excited to talk about 620 00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:33,760 sin entering the world next week, Everybody? 621 00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:38,600 No, Here's an example of God's order and rulership. 622 00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:40,160 The next thing that happens, marriage. 623 00:37:40,160 --> 00:37:42,800 Genesis chapter 2, verses 18 to 24. 624 00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:45,400 I'm not going to read the creation of marriage account, 625 00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:48,400 but I want you to know it falls under the same wisdom. 626 00:37:49,080 --> 00:37:52,920 God created marriage as he created it, a husband and a wife 627 00:37:53,040 --> 00:37:56,520 and he put them in place as part of the created order so that the 628 00:37:56,520 --> 00:37:59,440 new creation will continue to operate well. 629 00:37:59,720 --> 00:38:05,200 Go and produce more image bearers and allow them to 630 00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:07,720 flourish on the earth. To continue to rule over the 631 00:38:07,720 --> 00:38:09,720 earth, to care for the earth. When you hear the word rule, 632 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:12,840 it's really to care to steward the earth well. 633 00:38:13,400 --> 00:38:17,440 But anytime that we live outside of that, any aberration of his 634 00:38:17,440 --> 00:38:23,080 created plan leads to the same place, death and the need for a 635 00:38:23,080 --> 00:38:24,800 Messiah. You, you better believe it's 636 00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:29,520 from the garden that the devil start attacking marriage. 637 00:38:30,520 --> 00:38:32,640 The devil didn't show up till Adam was married. 638 00:38:37,160 --> 00:38:39,960 Any aberration of his creative plan leads to the same place, 639 00:38:39,960 --> 00:38:44,560 death and the need for Messiah. But let's have some good news. 640 00:38:44,760 --> 00:38:47,560 Genesis 2 ends in a very great place. 641 00:38:47,560 --> 00:38:51,040 We get the perfect picture of things as they should be for all 642 00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:54,080 image bearers. Genesis chapter 2 verse 25. 643 00:38:54,080 --> 00:38:56,960 Adam and his wife were both naked and they felt no shame. 644 00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:09,280 Image bearers rest with God, at ease in creation with the Lord 645 00:39:09,280 --> 00:39:12,960 our God. And Genesis chapter 2 verse 25 646 00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:16,560 where it's like an aha moment. I see it now. 647 00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:20,880 It's all becoming clear. Why did God create the heavens 648 00:39:21,280 --> 00:39:23,680 and the earth? Why did God create humans? 649 00:39:23,680 --> 00:39:28,280 What's going on here? This is the original design from 650 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:33,600 the beginning, the intent of God to forever dwell in a glorious 651 00:39:33,600 --> 00:39:38,600 place with a glorious people. This is what's happening in the 652 00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:41,360 beginning. This is Genesis chapter 1. 653 00:39:41,960 --> 00:39:45,880 Genesis chapter 2, we see the heart of the Father say I'm 654 00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:49,320 going to create a beautiful place and I'm going to go and be 655 00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:53,840 there with these people that I love intensely and spend all of 656 00:39:53,840 --> 00:39:57,520 eternity living like this in this place with these people. 657 00:39:57,960 --> 00:40:00,720 I can't wait. And he starts creating and now 658 00:40:00,720 --> 00:40:02,040 y'all take care of it. It's going to go great. 659 00:40:02,440 --> 00:40:04,440 Just take care of it. Do what I say, it's going to be 660 00:40:04,440 --> 00:40:08,880 great. This is another view of Sabbath 661 00:40:08,880 --> 00:40:12,640 by the way, not just time set apart for the Lord, but it's 662 00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:18,120 time set apart with the Lord. Genesis 1 says that he rested on 663 00:40:18,120 --> 00:40:20,960 the 7th day and he's not like laying back in a hammock 664 00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:22,440 drinking lemonade. He's not tired. 665 00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:26,560 The word rested here. Is better understood as like, I 666 00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:31,400 took my glory, my presence, and I rested it in this space. 667 00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:35,680 I created all this and then I rested. 668 00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:40,720 I decided to make this my home. I'm resting my glory here. 669 00:40:41,120 --> 00:40:44,040 I'm setting it down. His intent to dwell with 670 00:40:44,040 --> 00:40:48,240 humanity in a glorious place is the single driving theme of the 671 00:40:48,240 --> 00:40:51,160 entire meta narrative. You'll see it all throughout 672 00:40:51,160 --> 00:40:53,800 from beginning to end. It's here in Genesis in the 673 00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:55,760 garden. His intent to dwell with us in a 674 00:40:55,760 --> 00:40:59,520 glorious place. You'll see it in the wilderness 675 00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:01,200 Tabernacle. Exodus chapter 40. 676 00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:07,320 They build this beautiful movable temple and God comes and 677 00:41:07,320 --> 00:41:10,560 he rests his glory there. They build this the temples 678 00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:13,520 David and Solomon the one that Solomon inhabits First Kings 679 00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:18,560 chapter 8 Second Chronicles 5 and God rests his glory there. 680 00:41:19,520 --> 00:41:23,800 John chapter one verse 14 says that the word Jesus became flesh 681 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:28,200 and dwelt among us. He made his glory present here 682 00:41:29,680 --> 00:41:32,520 Matthew chapter 28 verse 20. Jesus says I'm going to be with 683 00:41:32,520 --> 00:41:34,240 you forever. Lo, to the end of the age. 684 00:41:35,240 --> 00:41:38,280 I'm going to be with you, my intent to dwell with you. 685 00:41:38,280 --> 00:41:41,920 And then he backs it up in Acts chapter 1 and 2 by imparting the 686 00:41:41,920 --> 00:41:47,720 Holy Spirit to the church to be with us now until the age to 687 00:41:47,720 --> 00:41:50,960 come, which is in Revelation chapter 21, verse 3. 688 00:41:50,960 --> 00:41:53,720 This is the end of the story from the beginning. 689 00:41:54,960 --> 00:41:59,400 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, look, God's 690 00:41:59,400 --> 00:42:03,800 dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with 691 00:42:03,800 --> 00:42:05,880 them. They will be his people and God 692 00:42:06,080 --> 00:42:08,920 himself will be with them and be their God. 693 00:42:10,120 --> 00:42:20,040 From the beginning, God has just wanted to be with you, and in 694 00:42:20,040 --> 00:42:22,200 the end, he'll do everything necessary to ensure it. 695 00:42:23,480 --> 00:42:29,200 And one day, pray it, soon he will return. 696 00:42:30,800 --> 00:42:33,840 And these bodies, these temporary failing tent suits 697 00:42:34,080 --> 00:42:38,360 that we wear, this earth which has now been corrupted by sin, 698 00:42:39,200 --> 00:42:44,040 will fade away and we'll be given glorified bodies. 699 00:42:45,440 --> 00:42:49,960 It'll be a new heaven and a new earth and Revelation 21 three 700 00:42:50,400 --> 00:42:55,880 will look like Genesis 225. We will be with God naked and no 701 00:42:55,880 --> 00:42:56,960 shame. Amen. 702 00:42:57,160 --> 00:43:04,200 Go ahead. When you hear the word naked, 703 00:43:04,200 --> 00:43:06,440 don't think about the removal of clothing. 704 00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:08,800 Think about the removal of anything that would keep us from 705 00:43:08,800 --> 00:43:12,480 the presence of God. No sin, no shame, no guilt, no 706 00:43:12,480 --> 00:43:15,800 condemnation, no regrets, no tears, no cancer. 707 00:43:19,800 --> 00:43:25,320 Just you and the Lord and the cool of the evening and His 708 00:43:25,320 --> 00:43:29,520 intent fulfilled. We get a snapshot of it briefly 709 00:43:29,520 --> 00:43:34,680 in Genesis, and we'll live it eternally when He returns. 710 00:43:36,520 --> 00:43:41,560 So just a question for you. What do you choose to believe? 711 00:43:44,560 --> 00:43:48,280 Because the creation story, the creation of marriage, the 712 00:43:48,280 --> 00:43:50,440 creation of order all gives us a choice. 713 00:43:50,440 --> 00:43:53,960 Do I believe that God has set up this earth as his temple with 714 00:43:53,960 --> 00:43:57,560 Eden as the most holy places, throne room, And his intent was 715 00:43:57,560 --> 00:44:00,280 for us to always be with him in this throne room. 716 00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:03,840 And then sin comes, which we'll talk about next week. 717 00:44:03,840 --> 00:44:06,840 And we're kicked out because of our own choices, not because 718 00:44:06,840 --> 00:44:14,080 he's you're out. But in the design, our reward, 719 00:44:14,680 --> 00:44:18,640 what we've earned is a removal from Eden, the removal from his 720 00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:23,680 presence. And then the Messiah comes and 721 00:44:23,680 --> 00:44:28,920 it restores the ability of any human to enter in to Eden again, 722 00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:33,000 enter into the most holy place in the throne room and begin to 723 00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:36,440 live life even today in His presence, where He will be your 724 00:44:36,440 --> 00:44:41,040 God and you will be His person. All He's ever wanted is to be 725 00:44:41,040 --> 00:44:43,480 with you. Sin separates you. 726 00:44:44,280 --> 00:44:47,120 Jesus makes the way that you can be with him again. 727 00:44:48,840 --> 00:44:51,920 Thanks for joining us today. We hope God is speaking to your 728 00:44:51,920 --> 00:44:54,520 heart through this message. If you'd like to connect with 729 00:44:54,520 --> 00:45:01,720 us, you can text connect to 407-588-0115 or visit Illuminate 730 00:45:01,840 --> 00:45:04,320 dot church. Have a great week.