1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,460 Today we are starting a new sermon series for the year. Not sure how long 2 00:00:07,460 --> 00:00:12,000 it's going to go, but we are going to start at the beginning. It's loosely 3 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:18,360 titled, The Whole Idea of It is From the Beginning to the End. And you might think, 4 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:22,560 my goodness, are we doing the Bible in a Year Plan? Well, maybe in your own 5 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:25,760 personal devotions that would be fantastic, and there's a lot of really 6 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:30,200 good options out there. A quick Google search will help you find one. No, what 7 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:37,440 we are going to look at from the beginning to the end is how the 8 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:42,600 beginning of the Bible sets the framework and the foundation for all of 9 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:48,440 our theological discussions after that, and how a lot of what is there is also 10 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:56,320 going to be at the end. The stability of God, the grand and greatness of God, the 11 00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:03,400 love of God poured out into creation and humanity, our response to 12 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:09,600 Him, the mess we have found. Some of these big issues, it's really good to kind of 13 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:13,340 get back to the beginning, but we don't only want to stay at the beginning 14 00:01:13,340 --> 00:01:20,420 because there are implications to the end. When God says, I am, in that fantastic 15 00:01:20,420 --> 00:01:28,040 statement to Moses, I am that I am, tell them that I am has sent you, that I am 16 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:35,200 encompasses He who was and is and is forevermore. And so we're going to look 17 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:41,040 at that from the beginning to the end. And so we are starting at the most 18 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:49,080 appropriate beginning, Genesis 1 verse 1 today. Let's offer one more brief word of 19 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:53,480 prayer and then we will kick it off. Loving Heavenly Father, we are so 20 00:01:53,480 --> 00:02:00,360 grateful that you have shown yourself to us, that you are not a God who stays so 21 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:04,860 distant, but you have revealed yourself. You want to be known. You want us to 22 00:02:04,860 --> 00:02:10,480 search you out. And so as we begin this journey into your Word, this diving deep 23 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:14,720 into these passages, I pray that you would reveal yourself more and more 24 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:19,880 through the presence of your Holy Spirit and especially as we see you embodied in 25 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:27,160 the person of Jesus Christ. We pray these things in your name, amen. There are some 26 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:34,880 fantastic beginnings in literature, some really good opening statements to some 27 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:40,360 of the best writings that have ever been written down and cataloged and kept 28 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:47,640 We can think of the opening to The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. He 29 00:02:47,640 --> 00:02:52,920 was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone 30 00:02:52,920 --> 00:03:00,800 84 days now without taking a fish. Makes you think of a man who's alone but 31 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:08,800 experienced, but right now he's maybe a little down on his fortunes or his 32 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:15,080 successes. We can think of the opening line to Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Who 33 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:23,920 knows it? Call me Ishmael. And off you go. A book about this big started out with 34 00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:31,640 three simple words. Call me Ishmael. And then one of my favorites, the opening to 35 00:03:31,640 --> 00:03:38,000 A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. It was the best of times. It was the 36 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:44,520 worst of times. It was the age of wisdom. It was the age of foolishness. It was 37 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:50,600 the epoch of belief. It was the epoch of incredulity. It was the season of 38 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:57,240 light. It was the season of darkness. It was the spring of hope. It was the winter 39 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:03,040 of despair. And if you were to title a book A Tale of Two Cities and you open 40 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:11,840 with a list of opposing dichotomies, that's a great line and a solid 41 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:18,040 beginning because I would certainly read that and go how does this fill in and 42 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:24,080 finish out through the rest of this tale of two cities. I would propose to you 43 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:33,960 though that the best opening line in recorded literature if you will is what 44 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:41,160 we read in Genesis 1 1. If you have your finger there it's not hard to find. First 45 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:51,200 book, first chapter, first verse we read. In the beginning God created the heavens 46 00:04:51,200 --> 00:05:01,600 and the earth. Why do we start there and why is that the best opening line in 47 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:11,480 recorded literature? It's deep and it's profound and it sets the stage for 48 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:17,480 everything that comes after that. We're talking theology. We're talking 49 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:23,000 ontology, your being. We're talking anthropology, the understanding of 50 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:29,040 mankind. We're talking sotorology, the study of salvation is in there. We're 51 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:34,120 even talking a little bit about Christology, the study and understanding 52 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:40,440 of Christ because John 1 1 takes us right back to here. In the beginning was 53 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:47,280 the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God and it goes on to say 54 00:05:47,280 --> 00:05:55,600 that that Word was God created. So we have all of this encapsulated in one 55 00:05:55,600 --> 00:06:04,800 sentence. It is deeply profound and it is often largely abused. I don't mean by 56 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:10,600 that in that Christians tend to abuse it or those who believe in God's creation 57 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:19,360 but mankind has strayed or misused or worked it around because we are trying 58 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:24,840 to find something other than. If as Christians we believe that we are built 59 00:06:24,840 --> 00:06:28,800 in the image of God, that God has had his hands on us and we're shaped like that, 60 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:34,400 that means a part of us has a spiritual aspect. We're not just flesh and blood and 61 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:39,920 bones and matter. We're not just our emotions and the firing of our synapses 62 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:48,560 in the brain. We're not just that. We also have a sensitivity to spiritual things. 63 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:54,800 Everybody demonstrates that throughout history and where people are searching 64 00:06:54,800 --> 00:07:03,320 for that deeper moral existential spiritual thing, they come to various 65 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:08,400 conclusions because I would propose that even the atheist has a spiritual 66 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:14,840 conclusion. The agnostic has a spiritual conclusion. The various religions 67 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:21,360 obviously have spiritual conclusions. What we have and what we're going to 68 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:28,240 start with though is from Sister White and Testimonies 8 and just bear with me 69 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:34,160 because this is going to get kind of filled in. Those who question the 70 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:39,080 reliability of the scripture records have let go their anchor and are left to 71 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:44,680 beat about upon the rocks of infidelity. When they find themselves incapable of 72 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:48,520 measuring the Creator and his works by their own imperfect knowledge of science, 73 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:54,400 they question the existence of God and attribute infinite 74 00:07:54,400 --> 00:08:02,200 power to nature. Starting with Charles Darwin most famously, I believe there 75 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:06,520 were some rumblings before that, but certainly with Darwin that's what we 76 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:11,640 have and that has permeated our culture and our scientific understanding around 77 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:17,200 the globe. At some point way back when and that number keeps getting larger and 78 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:25,240 larger and larger, what was not there all of a sudden became there and what was 79 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:30,960 empty and void all of a sudden had this flash and things appeared and it had 80 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:34,600 everything that we needed to finally kind of sort itself out all the way until 81 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:40,480 we have now. I've super condensed that. That's basically it. You have to ask 82 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:46,600 yourself well then what caused the spark or you know why or how long was there 83 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:49,640 nothing and then yeah I mean there's more questions that we never really 84 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:54,640 seem to come around to an answer but it seems that with the beginning of kicking 85 00:08:54,640 --> 00:09:00,440 God out of the consideration then it makes sense you would start to kick the 86 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:05,200 rest of Scripture out of the consideration. God as creator means you 87 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:09,760 can start to exclude many many other portions of Scripture and eventually all 88 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:16,120 of Scripture including its objective external effect on us. I believe that's 89 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:22,680 why we've led to a very subjective society today. But then it's also this 90 00:09:22,680 --> 00:09:29,040 because some Christians might also say that we have to exclude all of that 91 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:34,720 scientific stuff and maybe separate it from the Creator and what we see from 92 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:39,280 the Bible. Well there's a harmony. Sister White goes on, in true science there can 93 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:43,280 be nothing contrary to the teaching of the Word of God for both have the same 94 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:48,560 author. A correct understanding of both will always prove them to be in harmony. 95 00:09:48,560 --> 00:09:54,840 Truth whether in nature or in revelation is harmonious with itself in all its 96 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:59,680 manifestations but the mind not enlightened by God's Spirit will ever be 97 00:09:59,680 --> 00:10:05,080 in darkness in regard to his power. This is why human ideas in regard to science 98 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:12,960 so often contradict the teaching of God's Word. Our first look at this first verse 99 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:22,520 brings back into harmony God and nature, God and creation, God and science. Many 100 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:28,200 arguments have been presented for and against the existence of God, many 101 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:32,600 multiples. We're going to consider the one though that has had the greatest 102 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:37,560 influence on Christianity's understanding of God's pre-existence 103 00:10:37,560 --> 00:10:44,280 because if we take note in how this verse kicks it off in the beginning God 104 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:48,360 created the heavens and the earth we have to wonder about the beginning and 105 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:56,680 God already being there because that's what we read. Moses was not inspired, God 106 00:10:56,680 --> 00:11:01,040 did not impress upon him and Moses didn't take it upon himself to start 107 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:09,760 explaining why God was there or how God got there or anything like that. It was a 108 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:20,720 statement of fact that God there. After that don't stress, after that don't 109 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:26,840 consider or contemplate but men like to do that and so you have arguments that 110 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:34,880 try to explain how God could or could not have been pre-existing but our first 111 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:46,200 real takeaway that we'll look at today is that God pre-exists creation. First the 112 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:50,760 greatest influence in favor of God's pre-existence it was first presented by 113 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:56,120 believe it or not Plato and Aristotle. They have some influence on our 114 00:11:56,120 --> 00:12:00,720 Christian understanding of things. It was further developed by Thomas Aquinas and 115 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:06,160 how he has phrased it and concluded has carried through all the way and it 116 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:11,080 actually still stands up. Other attempts at this really haven't been quite as 117 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:18,280 good. We call this the first cause argument, the first cause argument and it 118 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:22,840 goes something like this as you study nature as we look around at the natural 119 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:30,000 world and the order of those laws we observe cause and effect in nature. Is 120 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:36,960 that true? Let's use an example. Rain. We get a lot of rain in this area. We've had 121 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:42,240 a lot of rain this week. Well how does rain occur? Well rain is caused by the 122 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:46,720 moisture in the air as it cools it condenses and eventually becomes so 123 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:51,280 heavy it can't stay up there it falls. Well you have to ask yourself how did the 124 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:56,600 moisture get into the air? What caused the moisture to be into the air? Well 125 00:12:56,600 --> 00:13:02,840 evaporation right as the liquids heat up they evaporate they rise and so on. Well 126 00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:11,080 what causes evaporation? Well heat. What causes the heat on our planet? The Sun. 127 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:18,400 What causes the heat in the Sun to occur? Well I can't tell you the intricacies of 128 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:25,760 that. It's a very complex kind of nuclear thing that's going on in in this ball of 129 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:33,000 a hot and gassy and fiery furnace out there and that generates the heat. Well 130 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:37,880 what causes that reaction to happen? Do you see what what we're getting at? If 131 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:44,680 you follow that chain and all of the multiples of causes and effects as we 132 00:13:44,680 --> 00:13:48,080 can observe in nature if you follow every one of them in the observable 133 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:53,160 universe all the way back as far as you can go you eventually get to a point 134 00:13:53,160 --> 00:14:01,040 where you don't have a cause. At some point you run out of causes. Aquinas 135 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:08,400 proposed that that's where we see God. That's God. In other words God is the 136 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:17,640 first cause. He caused according to his divine will and then every effect after 137 00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:26,880 that occurs. That also means that God is the first cause meaning that he is the 138 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:37,040 uncaused. We see what I'm saying with that. Nothing caused God. Nothing 139 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:44,440 impacted upon him to affect his existence. He just simply is there. He is 140 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:50,800 the uncaused and he's the first cause of every other effect afterwards. And that 141 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:55,680 continues through to today and this is this is carried out in Scripture. We read 142 00:14:55,680 --> 00:15:00,520 from a for example Psalm chapter 90 and verse 2. Before the mountains were 143 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:07,280 brought forth or ever you had formed the earth and the world from everlasting to 144 00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:15,520 everlasting you are God. That is the psalmist's way of describing God as the 145 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:21,600 first initiator of everything else that we see. Before anything was formed you 146 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:28,080 were there and not just that you were there but from way back when until way 147 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:36,640 back until way forward there. This means that as we read Genesis chapter 1 and 148 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:42,720 verse 1 in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth we are not reading 149 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:49,680 about God's beginning and we shouldn't try to read into that because Moses 150 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:54,680 doesn't give us that and neither does God. God doesn't take any efforts at 151 00:15:54,680 --> 00:16:04,480 explaining his pre-existence. He just is or he as he would say it I am. I just am. 152 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:12,680 Rather what we are reading from Genesis chapter 1 in verse 1 is how God inspired 153 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:18,160 Moses to record the beginning of that history which uniquely pertains to man, 154 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:25,640 to mankind. Because in this account in the beginning we already see God that 155 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:31,880 means that God pre-exists the beginning. Go follow it all the way back and you 156 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:36,760 find God. He's already there. 157 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:50,760 Genesis 1 1 if you and I are to want to consider the beginning of us and mankind's 158 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:55,760 history and mankind's beginning and mankind's everything else we would be 159 00:16:55,760 --> 00:17:02,760 foolish to exclude this very powerful best opening line in literature because 160 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:09,880 this right here is not talking about God in terms of the beginnings but about 161 00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:15,680 everything that we know and can observe and can experience and can hope in and 162 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:23,120 can claim and can accept and grasp and receive and touch and smell you name it. 163 00:17:23,120 --> 00:17:28,520 It starts with this record and right at the very beginning God has already been 164 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:35,400 and I love that. I love thinking that God doesn't have a beginning because 165 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:42,480 everything that we know has a beginning and an end and God does not. I also don't 166 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:48,880 lose any sleep over trying to figure it out. I don't lose any sleep over that. 167 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:56,120 What we also find here our second main point that that is extremely crucial to 168 00:17:56,120 --> 00:18:03,720 our from the beginning idea is not just that God is there and that he exists and 169 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:09,360 he pre-exists and he began things but that that beginning of things is unique 170 00:18:09,360 --> 00:18:15,400 to the God of heaven because what we read in Genesis 1 1 is that God doesn't 171 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:23,760 just simply exist and he doesn't just simply make he creates and why why do I 172 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:27,640 draw that distinction why is it necessary to draw the distinction in 173 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:38,360 Hebrew we have two words for making things one is granted to humans so that's 174 00:18:38,360 --> 00:18:48,000 like humans and God that's making building fashioning shaping if you cut 175 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:52,400 down a tree and shave it down and make planks and take those planks and build a 176 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:58,440 table you have made a table that's the verb you would use in the Hebrew it's 177 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:03,080 the verb that is used when God causes Adam to fall asleep and takes the rib 178 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:09,680 and makes Eve out of that rib that is a building a fashioning a shaping from 179 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:18,160 something into something else there is one verb though that is only credited to 180 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:25,560 God bara that is different than making that is different than building that is 181 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:32,880 creating that is the full understanding that God does not require material to 182 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:43,920 then cause or to have more come out of creating bara is only given to God you 183 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:50,160 and I cannot create now we use that word but in the biblical sense we cannot 184 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:56,280 create we can imagine and and make something but we cannot imagine and then 185 00:19:56,280 --> 00:20:02,760 it's there we cannot imagine and speak it and it happens we cannot will 186 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:11,200 ourselves upon something and then it appears God can and that is a very 187 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:24,600 awesome distinction when God creates God does something that cannot be given to 188 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:33,400 anything else and it separates him from other claimed gods you can find this in 189 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:36,520 the structure and you're just gonna have to forgive me I'm gonna be a little bit 190 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:43,720 of a Hebrew nerd for just a moment that was my favorite of that was one of my 191 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:49,760 favorite subjects in my in my undergrad I learned I took three semesters worth of 192 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:54,880 it and then I taught it for two years and then I did teaching assistant with an 193 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:59,120 Old Testament professor who taught me the Hebrew and he's got I believe two 194 00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:04,600 PhDs in ancient writings and so on so I liked it I asked a lot of questions 195 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:08,600 about it I kind of ate it up it's a little bit where I kind of go into a 196 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:15,520 little bit of a literary nerd it was the first verse that I memorized in Hebrew 197 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:23,040 b'reishit bara Elohim et ha-shemayim v'et ha'aretz that's Genesis 1 1 all 198 00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:29,440 right I like it it rolls off the tongue very beautifully to me what we need to 199 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:35,960 see here and this is how in the Hebrew we get a couple of incredible things 200 00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:42,560 that don't really come clear in the English one the use of the word Elohim 201 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:50,160 the word Elohim is the most used name for God in the Old Testament we have L 202 00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:55,320 Eloah and Elohim these are the generic God or gods when you come across them 203 00:21:55,320 --> 00:22:01,000 in your Bible Elohim is used more than two thousand seven hundred and fifty 204 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:06,440 times and it is used interchangeably with the God of heaven and the other 205 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:14,520 gods lowercase G that the Bible talks about as a plural and this is important 206 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:22,720 Elohim is a plural word we can think of you know a person or people people is 207 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:31,360 the plural L is singular Elohim is plural okay as the plural it can refer to 208 00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:38,400 pagan deities in which case the Bible translates it lowercase G gods and we 209 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:43,000 can think of the commandment in Exodus 20 verse 3 that says you shall have no 210 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:52,120 other gods before me that's Elohim okay it can also refer to the God of Israel 211 00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:59,200 well how do we draw the distinction one when the God when Elohim is used with 212 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:08,440 the God of Israel you have a plural word paired with a singular verb and a little 213 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:12,320 into the grammar they don't do that in Hebrew if it's plural one the other one's 214 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:15,840 plural if it's singular one the other one's singular so it would be like it 215 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:25,480 would be like this we is sitting in church we don't do that in English right 216 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:37,000 we are God would be a they is in church and that's why we can see this plural 217 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:43,040 with a singular verb bara the Greeks understood this in the in the 218 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:47,480 Septuagint which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament they 219 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:53,280 use Hothos that's that's the singular word for God they understood that Moses 220 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:58,640 was not writing about the God of heaven in a in a plurality but in a singular 221 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:05,680 ness and the Greeks got that whoever translated it then those scholars what 222 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:10,560 we see if in this and this this is we're gonna we're gonna draw this together we 223 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:16,560 don't want to make something out of it that it's not the use of God here in the 224 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:26,840 plural is not a conversation on the Trinity at all not one bit the church 225 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:32,320 the understanding of the Trinity that triune in one person God didn't really 226 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:37,920 come about until the New Testament Christian era in the Old Testament there 227 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:43,400 is an idea of plurality with God but not trinity Ness with God does that make 228 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:50,560 sense what we're reading here is a very common practice in the Hebrew where the 229 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:55,000 plural it's called the Hebrew plural the Hebrew plural is speaking to the 230 00:24:55,000 --> 00:25:02,760 grandness of God the largeness of God the vastness and the infinite power of 231 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:11,440 God plurality in the Hebrew especially in relation to God is size strength 232 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:19,320 awesomeness of God and that makes really good sense if we understand if we 233 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:23,920 accept that what we're reading is an account not on theological existence but 234 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:32,240 an account on creation the account on creation necessitates a grand and 235 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:40,960 powerful and mighty God it necessitates a God that is pre-existing and larger 236 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:46,840 than what he is about to do and in the Hebrew that comes through by using 237 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:54,360 pluralness it's a literary convention that reflects special reverence in other 238 00:25:54,360 --> 00:26:02,960 words it is fair to say though that the creation account does imply that there's 239 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:06,200 plurality we see that the Spirit of God is mentioned in the next verse you go 240 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:10,560 farther on come let us make man in our image right so we have an 241 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:14,560 understanding that what it's not a single entity in this point but it's one 242 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:24,120 and not the other the regular appearance of Elohim rather than Adonai or Yahweh 243 00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:30,240 the actual you know the name the special holy name of God is due to the 244 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:37,760 theological importance of this verse and that is as creator I don't know I 245 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:47,720 Yahweh is covenantal mostly in use God is creator creation extols God's 246 00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:54,040 transcendence and the power of his spoken word so Elohim is used and when 247 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:58,640 Moses was writing this in the hills of Moab and God has inspired upon him I 248 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:03,920 believe maybe with this panoramic vision of this is happening and God is there 249 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:09,560 and things are spoken and it happens and that was already a time when you had 250 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:16,880 other cultures with other gods and to write it this way is to separate from to 251 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:23,480 sanctify to set apart as correct and holy and reverential the God of heaven 252 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:36,200 who created Barah the heavens and the earth and if God cannot create if God 253 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:43,480 cannot make something out of nothing that has very serious ramifications for 254 00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:48,040 you and I because if it's from the beginning to the end what implications 255 00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:58,760 does that have for us today well God as pre-existing creator is necessary for 256 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:09,320 salvation it's he this understanding is necessary for our salvation if you are a 257 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:15,400 cosmic accident then who cares what moral decisions you make or anybody else 258 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:22,280 makes if if all of what we have around here happened because the cosmos is 259 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:31,040 birthed at some point then really what does it matter if some genocidal maniac 260 00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:37,200 decides to wipe out a race because according to that understanding of how 261 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:44,440 things came to be he would be correct the survival of the fittest if God's 262 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:50,520 pre-existence as creator didn't happen and we were all just kind of here or 263 00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:58,840 God maybe started things but he didn't manage things then pure subjectivity 264 00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:04,920 would also be correct and no one would know what right and wrong is your right 265 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:11,280 is as equal as my right and by that I don't mean rights I mean being right 266 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:16,800 being correct about something and if that's the case you can't have laws you 267 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:21,280 can't arrest people you can't stop murders you can't in fact you shouldn't 268 00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:26,040 because you would be violating nature if you do that because there is nothing 269 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:33,240 that we observe in nature that actually tells us about morality issues or ethical 270 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:40,360 issues you don't really see that I can only come from a God who is apart from 271 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:48,240 nature he is not bound by what he is created and he is not infused into what 272 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:54,320 he has created you get rid of this pan pantheistic and panentheistic idea of 273 00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:58,560 God's being in the chairs that we sit on because if that were the case y'all 274 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:06,100 should stand up that would be a little rude to God God is apart from what he's 275 00:30:06,100 --> 00:30:09,640 created and he is at the beginning but how what does this mean in terms of our 276 00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:23,040 salvation each one of us like we started with have a spiritual aspect to us God 277 00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:37,480 desires us to search him out to find the uncaused God you need to find God at the 278 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:43,280 beginning of all of your considerations because without that beginning without 279 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:49,720 finding God you don't have hope beyond what we currently have if you can go 280 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:53,240 back through your whole life and you can go back through the many different 281 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:59,560 options and you haven't found God then you might as well stop searching and you 282 00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:06,680 might as well give up now the fact that God is already in the beginning and the 283 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:11,640 fact that God creates out of nothing he's the only one who can do that means 284 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:15,840 that at some point in your life go back through all the mistakes that you have 285 00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:22,280 made go back through all the good things you have done go go as go wherever you 286 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:29,160 need to kind of search and look and when you find God he is already there waiting 287 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:33,640 for you to find him and if he's already there in the beginning before you've 288 00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:41,520 made a mess of things then he can also barah in your life the Bible speaks 289 00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:49,000 clear create in me a clean heart that creating can only happen by a God who 290 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:54,480 knew you before the earth was formed who was there before the earth was formed 291 00:31:54,480 --> 00:32:02,800 and before your parents ever found each other you have to find God to find 292 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:09,680 salvation and you have to find a God who can completely fix you root and core at 293 00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:17,160 the beginning of you to actually have victory over sin since sin entered into 294 00:32:17,160 --> 00:32:21,400 this world we understand we firmly believe the Bible teaches it's not just 295 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:29,520 actions it's a part of us we have that nature and only the God who can create 296 00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:36,800 nature out of nothing can can can clean out and overcome and strengthen and save 297 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:44,320 from a nature that we can't shape or or affect on our own we cannot cause upon 298 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:55,280 our sinful nature God can your salvation depends on you discovering the God who 299 00:32:55,280 --> 00:33:04,200 pre-exists creation who wants to reveal himself to you are you searching for him 300 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:12,480 are you looking have you found him are you hanging on to him the theory that 301 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:16,000 God did not create matter when he brought the world into existence is 302 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:21,360 without foundation and the formation of our world God was not indebted to 303 00:33:21,360 --> 00:33:26,320 pre-existing matter on the contrary all things material or spiritual stood up 304 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:32,240 before the Lord of Jehovah at his voice and were created for his own purpose the 305 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:35,800 heavens and all the host of them the earth and all things they're in are not 306 00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:40,480 only the work of his hand they came into existence by the breath of his mouth and 307 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:48,160 so when Jesus claims that all of heaven and earth has been given to him all of 308 00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:53,360 a sudden that means that he is your Lord and Savior he is your creator in your 309 00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:59,760 life and whatever you're struggling with he can burrow in you what you need for 310 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:12,600 salvation for eternity that reshaped and remade nature that we all have it's also 311 00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:17,280 very closely connected to salvation because and we could all say this with 312 00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:27,520 me we are saved by grace through faith and our Lord Jesus Christ if you read 313 00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:35,400 Hebrews 11 3 we also read this through faith we understand that the worlds were 314 00:34:35,400 --> 00:34:42,480 framed by the word of God so that things which are seen were not made of things 315 00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:48,160 which do appear if you are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and 316 00:34:48,160 --> 00:34:54,880 by faith we accept what Genesis 1 1 is saying then by faith that creation 317 00:34:54,880 --> 00:35:02,000 account carries you into your Savior experience and we all need that my 318 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:08,240 friends we all need that the psalmist writes this by the word of the Lord were 319 00:35:08,240 --> 00:35:11,720 the heavens made and all the hosts of them by the breath of his mouth he spake 320 00:35:11,720 --> 00:35:16,560 and it was done he commanded and it stood fast and what am I compared to 321 00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:23,840 the galaxies out there if he can do all of that I can claim he can do it in my 322 00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:31,680 life as well I want to encourage you today from the beginning to the end God 323 00:35:31,680 --> 00:35:40,560 is there from the beginning to the end God creates and he recreates and for his 324 00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:45,880 most loved creation on this planet he will recreate you as many times as you 325 00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:52,600 go to him it is not a one-and-done from the beginning to the end God is 326 00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:58,800 interested in his creation and from the beginning to the end he's going to keep 327 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:06,260 creating on us and in us and and with us until ultimately in the end we get to 328 00:36:06,260 --> 00:36:11,720 observe a new creation of the heavens and the earth I am looking forward to it I 329 00:36:11,720 --> 00:36:18,000 am looking forward to our consideration of God from the beginning to the end and 330 00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:26,720 its implications for us I encourage you today as you are thinking about what you 331 00:36:26,720 --> 00:36:31,040 might do in this new year and the last time I was here we talked about 332 00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:35,440 resolutions and kind of how to make goals I would encourage you today in 333 00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:46,120 fact not not I who am I don't do it because of me God implores you to seek 334 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:53,320 him this year if you're going to make a goal of anything this year if you're 335 00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:58,600 going to choose a literary anything this year and when there are great books out 336 00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:09,840 there it's not pastor Aaron who am I I'm dust God implores you I have revealed 337 00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:18,200 myself to you I have shaped and created everything find me don't find me ten 338 00:37:18,200 --> 00:37:27,680 years from now start searching and find me today begin with the best literary 339 00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:37,760 work the Bible and seek he who created you that is the best goal the best 340 00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:45,040 beginning leading to the best end that you could ever hope or ask for let's 341 00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:51,160 pray heavenly father we thank you again that you revealed yourself to us we 342 00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:57,280 thank you that in your divine will and purpose you saw fit to not leave this 343 00:37:57,280 --> 00:38:06,400 corner of your universe empty and stagnant and in chaos we thank you that 344 00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:12,480 in your divine will you spoke and were present at some point in the beginning 345 00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:18,600 and before the beginning and in your infinite wisdom and your infinite love 346 00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:27,920 you are not satisfied with the void you desired to create to call into existence 347 00:38:27,920 --> 00:38:34,560 to bring about this world and the heavens and all that we not only know 348 00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:40,800 but because of your love we get to enjoy but all of that would be for naught if 349 00:38:40,800 --> 00:38:46,600 we didn't find you so I pray that according to your will you would reveal 350 00:38:46,600 --> 00:38:52,760 yourself to us in a powerful and personal way today and tomorrow and all 351 00:38:52,760 --> 00:38:57,920 the way to the end when you come to take us finally home Lord I pray that your 352 00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:01,680 Holy Spirit would impress upon us to seek after you that your Holy Spirit 353 00:39:01,680 --> 00:39:07,120 would guide us as we seek that he would protect us from distractions and 354 00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:11,960 confusion I pray that your Holy Spirit would bless us with the power necessary 355 00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:18,600 to overcome our stumbling blocks and I pray that you would pour out grace and 356 00:39:18,600 --> 00:39:25,200 faith into our lives that we might seek after you believe in you and claim you 357 00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:31,560 as our own so that because we accept that you have claimed us as your own or 358 00:39:31,560 --> 00:39:42,280 I thank you for hearing our prayer please go with us today we pray amen