Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Well, good morning!

I hope you’re ready to dig into God’s Word.

Amen?

Listen, before we get started let’s recite our mission verse together…Matthew 28, verses 19 & 20…the verses, they’ll be on the screen…I’ll get us started.

English Standard Version (Chapter 28)

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

[Prayer]

Alright, if you have your Bibles open ‘em up with me to Genesis chapter 1…Genesis Chapter 1.

We’ve been looking at the first chapter of the Bible for a month now…and what we’ve been doing, is building a foundation for the rest of Scripture and the gospel message.

In verse 1, we really took a deep look at the main character of the Bible.

The Scriptures…the gospel message…it’s all about God…and specifically its about a Triune God that’s always existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

And what we really saw was that all of God’s Word…it’s meant to exalt Jesus.

And then, we looked at verses 1 and 2 together.

While the Bible’s about one God, it’s also about the work he came to do…it’s about his work in redemption…about the gospel…the good news of Jesus Christ.

And what we saw in those verses its that what happened physically…where God created the heavens and the earth…and as he began to transform that new creation and sustain it…he also does in us spiritually when we experience salvation.

We become new creatures in him and then we’re transformed and sustained through the Spirit of God.

And then last week…we began looking at the first few days of creation.

And what we saw, based on those verses in Genesis and looking at what was written in other places…we saw a God that wants to be known.

The first several days of creation, they reveal to us…the character and nature of God.

Not only do we see a God that wants to be known…but we see a God that’s purposeful in what it is he does and we see a God of structure and of order.

Everything he does, he does it with the end in mind and he does it in order to bring about his goodness…all for his glory.

And because of that, we see that purpose and meaning, it’s found in this God of creation.

To know God, it’s to worship God.

The more you know about the person and work of God, the more it draws you to him and the more it causes you to love him.

You can’t hear the message of good news and not be changed by it…because to know God, it’s to worship God.

And listen, what we saw through the first three days of creation…we saw God shaping and molding this place we’d call home.

He gave it purpose and structure and he made it all good.

And what we’re gonna see in the last several days of creation is God begin to give this new world life.

And listen, the picture we get of God here this morning…it’s him as a provider.

Everything he does in the latter parts of the creation story…its to provide for the people he’d make in his image…the people he made to inhabit this newly formed earth.

Listen, several years ago…I came down with Mono…I was in my late twenties and I’m not gonna lie it had to be the worst sickness I think I’ve ever had.

I don’t typically go to the doctor because I’m a kid at heart and I like to just lie around and do the typical man thing and just act like a big baby…but listen, when I got sick with Mono…my throat got so sore and it swelled up so much that my tonsils began touching…it was miserable.

I won’t even tell you all the stupid things I did to try and not go to the doctor…but I finally realized I had to do something, so I went to the ER one night and it was so bad I had them calling other nurses and doctors in just to see how bad it was.

But anyways, I got diagnosed…they prescribed me some medicine and I went home…but listen, those next few weeks, Brittany took the best care of me.

She cooked me everything I liked…She made sure I was constantly warm…she made sure I had drink in my cup and that I had my medicine…she even went out and she bought me a ton of different video games.

She took great care of me…she did such a good job understanding everything I needed…I didn’t wanna be well again.

I milked that Mono for as long as I could…because listen, I didn’t want to be out of her care.

She was a great provider.

Listen, as we walk through these next several verses in Genesis 1…that’s exactly what we see in these next several days of creation…God’s given us everything we need not only to know him but to find real satisfaction and joy in this new world he’s formed.

And he’s taken such good care of us…it should cause us to constantly cling to his nurturing nature.

We shouldn’t wanna leave his presence....because to know God, its to worship.

And so, if you’re there with me…let’s stand together as we read these verses.

Starting in verse 11, “11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.”

And it was so.

12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind.

And God saw that it was good.

13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

14 And 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, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.”

And it was so.

16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.

17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness.

And God saw that it was good.

19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”

21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.

And God saw that it was good.

22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.”

And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind.

And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Thank you, you can be seated.

Listen, as we explore these last few days of creation…there’s three things I want you to see about God as a provider…1.)

God is a nurturing provider, 2.) God is a thoughtful provider, and finally 3.) God is a creative provider.

1.) Day Three: God is a Nurturing Provider (vv.

11-13)

Point number one…God’s a nurturing provider.

Last week, if you were with us…we stopped at verse 10 which was smack dab in middle of day three where God began separating the waters and the land.

Verse 11…God begins to give this new world life.

It says, “11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.”

And it was so.

12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind.

And God saw that it was good.

13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.”

Listen, God was pretty busy on day three, right?

He really gave the earth shape…and now here he is giving it plant life…which for the record…I believe this is one of those additional clues God gives us to show that he created everything in six literal days.

If you’re one of those Christians that believe Genesis 1 has to fit into science and prove science right…then certainly you’re well versed enough in science to know that plants need sun light to thrive long term.

And so this would mean it was impossible for there to have been millions and billions of years between these literal days.

Plants need sunlight to survive, right?

And sunlight, it wasn’t created until the next day…on the fourth day.

Now plants and vegetation surely would’ve been good for a day or so…but for millions of years without the sun?

That’s just not how science works…it’s only possible for this to have been a literal day....or you can’t believe anything else Genesis 1 tells you.

But listen, that’s not the purpose of this verse…the original readers, they didn’t argue about how to read Genesis 1…it’s what God’s showing through Day 3 that’s the purpose…and what it shows us is that God’s a nurturing provider.

When God planted the trees and all this vegetation came up from the ground…you have to remember last week…he does these things with purpose and with structure…he always does things with the end in mind.

Plants are so much more than plants…they provide food…and oxygen for his people and creation to live and thrive…they provide the materials for shelter and it would be plant life that provided the first covering for man…eventually these plants would yield medicine and ways for man to heal themselves .

Even so many of the things that bring us joy and pleasure today, they come from plants and trees.

If you enjoy playing baseball…that bat, most of ‘em, they’re made of wood, right?

Our homes and our furniture…they’re all made of things God brought forth on day 3.

You see…on day 3…God’s showing his people that he was gonna give them everything they needed to survive…and not just survive by thrive and truly find satisfaction in him and his creation.

He’s a nurturing providing.

He doesn’t just give you what you need here and now but he gives you what you need to grow and thrive.

That’s what day 3 shows us…and notice he gives us that long before he brings us into existence.

He wanted to take care of all of our needs before we even knew we needed anything.

Guys, if God did that physically for us…spiritually, why do we struggle with the idea of God doing the same thing?

God knew long before he ever created us…that we’d need a Redeemer.

He knew long before our existence he’d have to come and save us from ourselves…which is why before he created us he chose us in him.