The Creation, Part 3

We've been studying Genesis chapter 1, trying to help us understand the creation account and all that takes place. In those few verses in Genesis chapter 1 that explain to us the origin of man, the origin of the universe. We look first of all by understanding that the creation illuminates for us the phenomenal work of God.

We went from there to understand that the creation accentuates for us the sensational ways. Of God. And last week we talked about how the creation reiterates to us once again the supernatural word. Of God. God said, and when God spoke, everything that He spoke into existence came. To be. And we talked about the supernatural word of God last week and how it applied to your life and to my life. And ask the question: do you believe that God's word is supernatural? D you believe that God's Word can do more than you can ever ask or think as you read it, as you meditate upon it, as you study it?

Do you believe in the supernatural word of God? If God can speak the universe into existence, What can he do with his word, the 66 books that he's given to us, the God-breathed word? What can it do in our life to transform us? From one thing to another, that is closer into his image. The Bible says in Psalm 36, verse number 9: In thy light we see light.

Proverbs 6, 23 tells us that the law of God is a lamp. The teaching of God is a light. Psalm 119, verse number 30, tells us that the entrance of thy word give light. So we know that the word of God shows us. Once again, truth, because it sheds light where there was darkness, that we might understand the ways of God. One man has said this about the Bible. The Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrine is holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable.

Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is a traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's charter. Here, heaven is opened and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully.

It is a mine of wealth, health to the soul, and a river of pleasure. It is given to you here in this life, will be opened at the judgment, and is established forever. It involves the highest responsibility. will reward the greatest labor and condemns all who trifle with its contents. It's interesting to note that in Revel chapter 22, verse number 18, at the end of the Bible, God tells us that whoever adds to this book or takes away from the words of this book, They will suffer the plagues that are written in the book of Revelation.

God is concerned that we don't trifle with the text, that we don't tamper with the text. And yet, there are many people, theologians, sorry to say, that have tampered with the text of Genesis chapter 1. And therefore, they have misconstrued the creation account. We need to go back once again and understand the supernatural word of God that when God speaks, things happen. And because that is so true. That when we read the Word of God and we study the Word of God and memorize the Word of God, great things begin to take place in our lives.

We talked about some of those things last week. And I want to pick up there and ask you this question because there are many people who say, Well, Pastor, I've read my Bible. In fact, I read it every day. I memorize the Bible. I'm in church every Sunday. I'm here whenever I can get here. I listen to radio programs. I'm in the Word. I'm under the Word. I do all I can to get the word into my life, and yet, and yet, I don't find comfort amidst my crisis. I don't find any relief from my affliction. I don't find any subsiding of the rebellion in my home.

Things are just as bad now as they were before I began to read the Bible. So tell me, how is God's word supernatural in my life? What is God's word doing to me to transform my life? I want to say, yes, God's word is supernatural, but things are just as bad today as they were 10 years ago. Things aren't getting any better for me. Turn me to John chapter 5. John chapter 5. I'd like to answer that question for you this morning, if I could, because I'm sure many of you had that question. John chapter 5, Christ addresses those religious leaders, those Jewish people who were Committed to the text.

Listen to what it says, verse number 39, John chapter 5. You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have Eternal life, and it is these that bear witness of me. And you are unwilling to come to me that you may have. Life. There wasn't any more, anyone more zealous about the text than the Jewish people. That's even true today. But their striving to know was around the idea that they would somehow have intellectual prowess. That they would know exactly what they needed to know. It was intellectual ass.

And Christ says, you search the scriptures, it's a word used of a lion that That hunts down a scent, or a hound dog that follows a scent.

He says, You're following a scent, but you ended up in the wrong place. You need to go back and search the scriptures. Because you see, the scriptures are not an end in themselves, they are a means to an end. The scriptures are they which lead to life. They lead to me. They bear witness of me. You searched the scriptures but missed me. How tragic! Think about this for a moment. How many times do we search the scriptures for solutions instead of search the scriptures for our Savior? There's a big difference, isn't there?

Oh, we want to use the Bible as a rabbit's foot that somehow if I read it properly, if I read it enough, everything in my life's going to change. My husband's going to love me. My kids are going to obey me. I'll get a raise at my job. I'll never have a car accident. My house will never burn down. I'll never experience an earthquake. That's not true. That's not true. You see, so many times. We want to find instructions to our misfortunes instead of find intimacy with the Master. And because of that, We are at the same place today as we were 10 years ago with all of our problems.

You see, the Bible is about God and knowing God. Finding out about him, who he is. You see, if you're going to the Bible to somehow find some kind of remedy for your marriage, you're going for the wrong purpose. If you're going to the Bible to somehow find some kind of remedy for the difficulties I'm experiencing, you're going for the wrong purpose. You go to the Bible that you might know God and understand Him. That's why the prophet Jeremiah said, or God said to the prophet Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter 9, that the thing that you need to boast about more than anything else, don't boast in your riches.

Don't boast in your might, but boast in this: that you understand and know me, that I am the Lord. God, who exercises loving kind and righteousness and mercy upon the face of the earth. You want to glory about something? Glory in the fact that you know me, you understand me. The philosophy and ministry of our church is that somehow our passion might be to know God. Do you want to know God more than you want to have a good marriage? Do you want to know God more than you want to have children? Do you want to know God more than you want to even get married someday?

Do you want to know God more than you want to be physically made well? That's the bottom line. God says, Do you want to know me?

Oh, you search the scriptures. Friend them, you think you have a solution, but you've missed me. How tragic. So many people search the scriptures and miss the Savior. But Christ goes on: not only do you need to search the scriptures, you need to search your soul. Listen to what he says: I do not receive glory from men, but I know you. Think about that. I know you. You don't know me. But I know you that you do not have the love of God in your. You see, God knows whether or not you really love Him with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.

He knows that, doesn't He? Yes, He does. He knows where you stand with him. That's why Christ would say in Luke 14: if any man come after me, he hate not mother, father, brother, sister, husband, wife. You're not worthy of me. Why is that? I want your undivided affection and loyalties. I want you hungering for me. I want you longing for me. More than any other relationship on this earth, I want you to long for me. And if that's not what you're longing for, then when you go to the text. You'll remain as you are, in the same predicament that you were, until you go for one purpose: that you might know God.

Walk in intimacy with Him, you see, because if you know God, it matters not what kind of marriage you have. Did you hear me? If you know God, it matters not what kind of marriage you have. If you know God, it matters not what your health is like. If you know God, it makes no difference whether or not you have money or don't have money. If you know God, that's all you need to know. Jesus is all you need, but Jesus is never all you need till Jesus is all you got. He's all you need. And the Word of God speaks very explicitly to that.

And so, when we talk about the creation account, how it reiterates to us once again the supernatural word of God, that's true. Because when God speaks, God speaks, things begin to happen as only they can happen. And when we are consumed with God, and when we want to know nothing but God, and we want our lives to do nothing but glorify God. God, that everything around us will take care of itself because God will make sure those things happen. But He wants us to have a heart that longs after Him, that seeks Him, that hungers for Him.

Read the Psalms. Those men who hungered after God. They might know Him more than anything else. That's what the creation account teaches. If you missed Genesis chapter 1, you're off on the wrong foot throughout the rest of the books of the Bible. Get chapter 1. Understand how it reiterates once again the supernatural wor of God. The fourth thing that Genesis chapter 1 teaches us, the creation acc, is that it illustrates for us the exceptional wonder of God. It illustrates for us the exceptional wonder of God.

And I see that in the first three days. Creation. Yes, we're finally going to get through day one, day two, and day three, all in one day.

Genesis chapter 1, verse number 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, Let there be light, and there was light. And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness, and God called the light day, and the darkness he called night, and there was evening, and there was morning one day. Now we know that God is called wonderful.

Isaiah 9 speaks to that. He is a wonder-working God. Read through the Psalms, and it tells us once again to marvel at the wonder of God. But there is nothing more exceptional about the wonder of God than Genesis chapter 1. Because it tells us exactly what he did. And on day one, when he created the earth, it was covered with water. And we'll see that when we look down further and how the dry land appears up out of the water. Again, it explains to us the wonder of God. But this earth was created, it was covered with water, and God creates light and separates the light.

From the darkness. Now, note this: the light was created on day one. The sun was not created on day one, nor was the moon, nor were the stars. There are many people who believe they were, and that they would just then appear. On day four. That's not what the text says. They weren't created until day four. But God doesn't need the sun, the moon, and the stars to have light. Why? Because the sun and moon don't create light. God creates light. Revelation 21, verse number 23: the Lamb of God will light the city, the new Jerusalem.

So we know that there does not have to be a sun and moon in order for there to be light because Jesus Christ Himself is the light of the world. So, on day one, God would create light and He would separate that light from the darkness. And some will say, Well, that darkness then is an allegory for evil. No, that's not true. Psalm 19 verse number 2 says that night unto night reveals knowledge. There's something about the night that reveals to us the brilliance of God. There's something about the night that reveals to us the wonder of God and the glory of God as you look up into the stars and see the galaxies and see the wonder work of God.

It reveals to us God's design. What I want you to see is that the day two of creation, like day one, illustrates for us the exceptional wonder of God. God cannot be contained in the heavens. God cannot be contained in the universe. God does not create that which is infinite. He Himself is infinite. Now, could he create that which was infinite? Sure, he could. But the Bible tells us that the heavens do not contain God. So he is outside the heavens. That's how big God is. The wonder of God. It's incredible.

So we see where he creates this expanse, the stretching out of God, the thinness of this Peace in which he creates. He calls it the expanse, the firmament, the heavens. And we see in the text that there are waters below the firmament. And we know that that is the seas, the waters of the earth, as on Genesis chapter 1, verse number 2. And we will see later on when the dry land appears, that that is the water on the earth. What is the water above the firmament? What is the water above the expanse? Answer: I don't have the foggiest idea.

I don't know. Now, you're going to read a whole bunch of books that tell you what they think it is, but after reading them this past week and the week Coming up to this past week, I'm more confused now than I was when I read Genesis chapter 1 about the waters above the firmament. Whatever you want to believe about the waters above the earth, we know that there is moisture in space. We know that there is water in space. And what that necessarily means, I don't have the foggi idea. So I'll let you read and try to come up with what you think it means.

All right? Let 's move on to day number Number three, verse number nine, then it says, Then God said, Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.

And it was so. And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters he called seas, and God sa that it was good. This is fabulous. Again, the exceptional wonder of God. On day one, light is separated from darkness. On day two, the heaven is separated from the earth. On day three, The w on the earth are separated from the dry land. A fabulous account. Psalm 104 tells us how that happens. Psalm 104, verse number 5. He established the earth upon its foundations so that it will not totter forever and ever.

Thou didst cover it with the deep as with a garment. The waters were standing above the mountains. At thy rebuke they fled. At the sound of thy thunder they hurried away. The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place which thou didst establish for them. Thou didst set a boundary that they may not pass over, that they may not return to cover the earth. Amazing what God does. God speaks, and it happens. God says, Let the dry land appear.

The dry land rises up out of the water, and it appears exactly as God wants it. To appear. And then it says, And God saw that it was good. That's the first time that phrase is used, and God saw that it was good.

You know why? For the first time. Earth was habitable. That's why it was good. For the first time, Earth was habitable.

So therefore, God says, it is good. I want you to think of something with me for a moment. God is creating this stage, this are, for one purpose, and that's for man. And next week, when we talk about this, you're going to be in for a tremendous eye-opener as to what God did and when God planned all that He Planned for man. It's amazing to see. But God is creating the stage for man to live on. William Shakespeare said it this way: all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. Each have their entrance and their exits, and each man in his time has many part.

That's true. So we have seen where the creation account, number one, illuminates for us the phenomenal work of God.

Number two, acc for us the sensational ways of God. Number three, reiterates to us the supernatural word of God.

And number four, illustrates for us the exceptional wonder. Of God. It mandates for us the continual worship of God. Let's look at day four together.

Verse number 14. Then God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years. And let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth. And it was so. And God made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He made the stars also. And God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth and to govern the day and the night and to separate the light from the darkness.

And God saw that it was good, and there was evening and there was morning a fourth day. It's on day four that God creates the sun, the moon, and the stars. Contrary to what the progressive creationists teach, that they were created before the six days of creation. One author, very well known, says it this way: that the entire process of stellar evolution is by natural process alone. We do not have to invoke divine intervention at any stage in this history of the life cycle of the stars that we observe.

Dr. Hugh Ross tells us that the stars evolved. He denies Genesis chapter 1, verses 14 and following. He denies that God created the stars. He says they evolved 10 to 15 million years ago and they need no divine intervention. The Bible says that God created them.

On day number four, God was involved in the creation of the celestial body. And God then would create the sun, the moon, and the stars, then to give the light. What was the original Light giver, God Himself, now would attach that light to a star or to stars and to sun and to the moon. And they now would become the cycle by which we would get our day and our night. We've already had three periods of days and three periods of nights. From the original light source, God Himself. Now He's going to attach that light to the Sun, to the moon, and to the stars.

And so they have a physical purpose. And we know. And you know, very simply, that the rotation of the Earth determines a 24-hour day, right? We know that the rotation of the moon's orbit around the Earth determines what? The month. Correct? We also know that the Earth's rotation around the Sun determines what? A year. Let me ask you a question.

What determines a week? Did you ever think about it? What determines a week? There is nothing in the celestial bodies that determines a week. Nothing. Nothing there. So, what determines a week? And yet, universally across the world, we live by weeks. What determines the week? The answer? The amount of time it took God to create the heavens and the earth. That's what determines a week. And everybody knows it. Man just doesn't want to be accountable to it. So, what are the seasons? This is so good.

2 times this Hebrew word is used, and over half the times it's translated festivals by Jewish rabbis. Festivals. And over in Leviticus chapter 23, verse number 4, it's referred to as appointed times. The festivals were appointed times. There were times in which the people, the children of Israel, would come together and they would worship God. And how would they know when to come together? The sun and the moon would tell them when to come together. And that's why we say that the creation week mandates to us the continual worship of God.

That we need to be able to see God as the creator of the world, and that God wants us to bow before Him and worship Him. Read Psalm 95, Psalm 100. Psalm 148, they all speak about praising God and worshiping God and honoring God and glorifying God. Why? Because the creation account leads us to one thing, and that is that we might worship the creator of the world. We might bow in subjection to his name, realizing that he's the all-powerful, infinite God of the universe, and we are subject to him, and we are to honor him and glorify his wonderful name.

That's what it's about. And so when Christ comes on the scene in John chapter 4, he says, The Father seeks what? True worship. To honor his name, to glorify his name. I trust that you learn that. I trust that you know that. That you might leave this place today with hearts filled with reverence toward God. Saying, thank you, Lord God, for all that you have done. I want to bow my knee before you in humble adoration and say, Thank you for all that you have done. Let's pray together.