God Was Here

1. ENGAGE: The Setup

Illustration * Picture being an explorer: first person on a remote, untouched island.

You travel for an hour from your boat,

Clearing and light

Suddenly, you stumble into a clearing… and see a supernaturally bright yellow light from a clearing in the distance

You continue on deeper into the jungle

You get through the dense trees and find.....

Jungle DG

There’s a fully stocked, Dollar General!

Your immediate thought isn’t about natural processes: erosion must have caused this

or isnt this awesomE how all this just came together by itself!

* It’s “Someone was here before me.”

Or, “Someone ELSE is here!”

* The clear evidence of order, design, and specific purpose screams PERONAL INVOLVEMENT, NOT RANDOM accident.

* Transition: * We instinctively recognize a person behind design. That feeling is universal. * But the tension: looking at the universe (infinitely more complex and beautiful than a Dollar General), our cultural default is often to believe it’s just a beautiful accident with no one behind it.

2. TENSION: The Problem * The Story We’re Told: * We laugh at the idea of an accidental Dollar General appearing fully formed. * Yet, we’re often fed a story even more far-fetched: that this incredibly complex universe (galaxies, sunsets, human DNA, consciousness) just happened randomly from a chaotic explosion.

* Our Unspoken Fear: * The logical result of believing that story is a deep, existential loneliness. * If we’re just random atoms, a cosmic blip on a lonely planet, then ultimately life has no inherent purpose.

Our deepest longings are just chemical reactions.

We are fundamentally alone.

* Transition: * This story of a purposeless, accidental universe leaves us feeling uneasy, adrift. * But the very first sentence of the Bible, the book we hold as truth, confronts this narrative head-on with a powerful, counter-cultural claim.

3. TRUTH: The Biblical Solution (Genesis 1 & John 1) * Alright, church, grab your Bibles. Turn to the very first page, Genesis chapter 1.

* A. The Person Before the Beginning (Genesis 1:1-2): Genesis 1: 1- 2

Genesis 1:1 ESV

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

* Starts with WHO: It doesn’t start with what happened, but who was already there: “In the beginning, God...” Before time, space, or matter – a Person. Personality, will, intelligence are foundational. This implies purpose from the start. Creation is an act. * The Act of Creation: “...created (bara) the heavens and the earth.” This Hebrew word highlights God’s unique power – bringing something into existence from nothing.

Genesis 1:2 ESV

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

* Presence in Chaos: The initial state (“without form and void,” “darkness”) describes unordered potential. * The Spirit’s Action: “...And the Spirit of God was hovering...”

God isn’t distant.

His Spirit is actively present, moving over the chaos.

“Hovering” suggests intimate care, protection, anticipation – like a mother bird

Deuteronomy 32:11 ESV

Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions,

He’s involved from moment one.

* B. The Voice That Creates (John 1:1-5):

John 1:1–2 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

* Echoing Genesis: John deliberately starts “In the beginning...

” He introduces the “Word” (Logos) – connecting to God’s creative speech in Genesis (“And God said...”) and the Greek idea of divine reason ordering the cosmos. * Nature of the Word (v. 1-2): The Word was with God (distinct relationship within Godhead) and the Word was God (full deity). He pre-existed creation.

John 1:3 ESV

All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

* Agent of Creation (v. 3): “All things were made through him.”

The Word (Jesus) is the agent through whom God created everything.

He’s the Author.

John 1:4–5 ESV

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

* Source of Life & Light (vv. 4-5):

“In him was life” (spiritual, purpose) and this life was the “light” (truth, hope, revelation).

This light actively invades and overcomes the darkness.

* C. The God Who Shows Up (John 1:14):

John 1:14 ESV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Finding the Dollar General is a shock, but imagine finding out that the cashier who rangup your Doritos and Toilet paper is also the founder of the company!

John 1:14 is infinitely more staggering:

“The Word became flesh...” The infinite Creator took on human nature. God came to earth Himself as a human.

* “Dwelt Among Us”: Greek (skēnoō) means “pitched his tent,” evoking the Old Testament Tabernacle.

Jesus is God’s presence made fully accessible. The Message paraphrase of the bible says that “He moved into the neighborhood.”

* Visible Glory: “...we have seen his glory...” In Jesus, God’s glory has a human face. * Nature of Glory: “...full of grace and truth.” His character revealed: undeserved kindness + unwavering reality.

* Transition: * This is the foundational claim: The Universe isn’t random; it’s purposeful. It has a Creator. * The Creator hasn’t abandoned it; He has entered into it.

4. APPLICATION: The Choice

* 1. Look Beyond the Dollar General: See Creation Intentionally. * Shift your perspective. See the sunset as the Artist’s painting. See complexity as the “work of His fingers.” * Recognize the Logos behind the universe’s logic. Look for His signature – intelligence, purpose, beauty – everywhere. How does seeing the world as made change how you interact with it?

* 2. Recognize Jesus as the CEO, Not Just a Cashier: Acknowledge His Lordship. * Jesus isn’t just a good teacher. John 1 says He’s the eternal Word who made everything. * If He made it, He owns it.

He understands it. He controls it.

Acknowledging Him as Creator means acknowledging His authority over all of life.

How does understanding Jesus as Creator change how you follow Him?

* 3. Live with the Assurance of His Presence: Combat Loneliness with Truth. * The "cosmic accident" story leads to loneliness. John 1:14 ("The Word… dwelt among us") is the antidote. * The Creator chose to “pitch His tent” with us. He’s Immanuel, God with us, now. His presence is “full of grace and truth.”

How can you intentionally remind yourself this week, “The Owner of the island is with me right now”?

5. INSPIRATION: The Vision * Imagine a life free from cosmic loneliness, grounded in purposeful creation by a personal God who chose to dwell with you. * Imagine living daily recognizing the Creator’s signature everywhere – in nature, in people – and knowing the Artist Himself walks beside you. * Imagine New Beginnings becoming like that unexpected Dollar General—a place of surprising welcome, stocked for life, lights on, doors open—a sign that Someone is here and cares, revealing His glory full of grace and truth.

6. ACTION: Your Assignment for This Week * 1. Look for the Signature: Daily, go outside, look at creation, thank the Artist (Jesus, the Word). * 2. Read the Prologue: Daily, read John 1:1-18. Let the truth sink in. * 3. Share the Good News: Tell someone feeling stranded that the Owner is there, He became flesh, and He wants to meet them.

Closing Line:

So we need to stop living like we are stranded on a deserted island, waiting for a rescue that might never come.

We need to Look around – the lights are on, the shelves are stocked with grace, and the Owner Himself is here, waiting to welcome you home.

hymn- This is my Father's World

Close in prayer

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Memorization Outline: God Was Here * ENGAGE: Island Dollar General (humorous story) * TENSION: Cosmic Accident (our fear of meaninglessness) * TRUTH: God Who Was, Spoke, and Dwelt (Gen 1, John 1 reveal - Creator Word becomes flesh) * APPLICATION: Live in His Presence (see creation, see Jesus, live assured) * INSPIRATION: The Artist Among Us (seeing signature, knowing presence) * ACTION: Find the Signature (look, read, share)

* Simple Sentence: The Island Dollar General exposes our fear of the Cosmic Accident, but the Bible reveals the God Who Was, Spoke, and Dwelt, so we can Live in His Presence, become The Artist Among Us, and Find the Signature.