March 6 | Genesis 1:14-25 | The God of Creation Forms and Fills, Part 2
Majestic Lord, our only Sovereign one Creator and eternal sustainer of all things. We praise you today, for you alone, are God, Father and Son, and Holy Spirit, you alone are God. And as the one who gave light to the Earth, by the power of your words, speak, we pray. The light of Illumination of understanding into our souls this morning. As we open your precious word and see what you would have for us in Genesis. Your word is life-giving. Your word is precious, and it is true in every sense of the word. In Jesus name, I pray, amen. Amen. Won't invite you to take your seats and open your Bibles to page one. The Book of Genesis. I hope that doesn't get tiring. That's actually where it is, or open your Bible app to the Book of Genesis this morning. We're going to see right out of the gates that God who has created all things from nothing is to be praised as Creator even before he is to be praised as Redeemer. God who created all things from nothing is to be praised as Creator even before he is to be praised as Our Redeemer often. We, we praise God for saving us and that's good. And it's right. You'll hear me actually turn that page at the end of our message today. That's good, and it's right. And we ought to but before we praise God, for what he has done for us. We are always to praise God for who he is.
The fourth and fifth Chapters at the end of your Bible. In the Book of Revelation contain, just a wonderful hymn of praise to God. I've got a couple of them actually, 45 wreath, hymns of praise to the Lord and God is praised by living creatures. And by the 24 Elders, beat for being just God's being And for creating listen to verses 8 and 11. In the four living creatures, each of them with six wings. Are full of eyes all around and Within These are creatures that don't walk around the earth. These are creatures that don't swim under the sea. These are creatures that God created the god in the Angels, see in the spiritual places that we don't even say except for has their described for understanding and revelation.
Full of eyes all around Within.
Day and night, they never cease to say. Holy holy. Holy is the Lord God Almighty. Who was
Who is? And who is to come? Converse 11, the 24 Elders. Say worthy. Are you? Our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power for or because you created all things and by you or will they existed and were created. And so we praise God Francis Schaeffer in Genesis and time and space says our praise to. God is not first of all.
David heads up. I'm coughing a lot today. I'll try to turn it off when I can, but I won't be able to catch em all. We're surely going to be busy editing week. Francis Schaeffer said our praise. The God is not. First of all, in the area of soteriology or the doctrine of salvation. If we're being fully scriptural. We don't praise him first because he saved us, but because he is there and he is always been there and we praise him because he willed all other things including man into existence. So God is to be praised as Creator even before has to be praised as Redeemer in ancient Hebrew days. This is a very polytheistic people. They worship many gods. Why? Well, because they conquered them up in their imaginations and they worshiped them many gods lowercase G because there is only one God They would conjure up these ideas and they would worship creation and end and Davina. Fi, if that's even a word is made it up God's creation and God takes issue with that. Is a grave error. Friends are purpose and understanding the word of God is first and foremost to understand God, as he has revealed himself to us and to worship and praise him for the Creator that he is. God gave light givers the one who created the light on the first day also gave us like a member initially got created lights that wasn't attached to a source because God is the source as though there was as you might think of it as Ambien lighter or something of that effect, but not like that was coming from a son cuz there was no sun at this time. And in verses 14 through 19. We see that God create light Giver, that God said, let there be lights in the expanse of the Heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be these lights for signs and four seasons in four days and four years. And let them be as lights in the expanse of the Heavens to give light upon the Earth. And it was so she's going to see that pattern over and over again. God said it and it was so God said it and it was. So God saw it and it was good. And God made the two great lights for 16. The greater light to Rule the Day and the Lesser light to rule the night and the stars and got set them to give light on the earth to rule over the day and drool over the night. And two, separate the light from the darkness and God saw that it was good in, there was evening and there was morning the 4th day. God is for the Earth, according to his perfect intentional design. And now we see that God is filling the Earth, first and foremost here with, with light givers on the fourth day. God gave his light-bearers. These luminaries as beacons are is as signals of light, right? Think about it. If you're out on the Out on the Ocean and and you look at the shore and you see these and you see these lighthouses, right? The sun in the moon are like lighthouses on a jagged. Sure, but let you know where you are to give you perspective. Help us understand time to separate the day for the night, from the night, and, and four seasons and four days and four years.
Think about how the Sun just work. Was just think with our natural Minds here with what God is helping us to see the sun changes, the climate, we've experienced that drastically in the last 10 days.
The sun affects the climate, the Earth orbits around the Sun, once every 365.2 days which one we have leap years. I don't like figure out how to best catch up time with. So there are seasons in our days and our years have consistency to them. Are the side effects. It brings growing seasons?
And with the Earth on a tilt. Spinning and moving around the sun, we have dormant seasons. I remember, I'm But let me just say this first, the sun is 93 million miles away. It's exactly the right location that you've heard people talk about this frequently. If we were any closer or I should say much closer, we burn up. We were further away. We freeze. We're at just the right location to have life-sustaining heat and cool at just the right temperature for just the right amount of time. Just thinking about the axis of the earth. Remember, living in Alaska for my high school years and I love living up there. We lived in outside of Anchorage and It would have done, you may know that in Alaska. You have this. Of time. That's much darker for much longer, right? Basically between winter solstice and summer solstice, Solstice. He gained about 6 minutes of daylight for a day and then obviously the reverse is true between summer solstice and winter solstice you lose about 6 minutes of daylight per day. And so the shortest days we really don't see the sun come up. I mean, it just would come up but just kind of dip across the Horizon and we go to school and come home in the dark. So, you know, I know, I know some of you think I live my life in the dark, but there was a time. When
I live in Logan, where Darkness.
Spiritually.
But it was it was why on the ground like all over was white? And you know, people have asked me how was it, you know living in that Darkness for that amount of time and it didn't really affect me. Some people really wrestled with you know, what they call a seasonal affective disorder or sad and it and it does affect people it, it does affect people for the illogical. I just was never really affected me so I don't think about it too much. I just simply say, what was a lot of white everywhere and the moon was closer. And I know that sounds really weird to say the moon is closer. But if you live in those kinds of areas far enough, North or and, and so everything just seemed brighter because it would reflect off of this beautiful white snow everywhere and you can use you could really see just fine. It just felt like dusk all the time. And then on the longest days, right? You just see the sun kind of go riding the sky and you know, Mom and Dad have to learn real quickly when we moved up there, you know, well K come home at dark.
Got it.
That works like once. That's it, but I was always looking for the loophole. God is fixed his Sovereign on the earth. He has created the heavens and the Earth, and he has begun to focus his attention on this massive to us, but you consider The galaxies.
Fit on a pan of a head. It would seem like and God continually moves, closer and zooms his focus in on on planet Earth and even more. So, I'm creating life and sustaining life and on, as we'll see. Next week mankind.
And it was so don't ever read over simple phrases like God said, and it was so sort of like just matter of fact, I mean that's just sort of stopped you in your tracks. Every time you read about it or read it in Genesis. It happens several times. And in these passages, right? We've seen it for the fourth time now and it happened 6 times, but when you read your Bible. Just in the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth, you know, how God, created the heavens and the Earth.
Exactly Christian. That's exactly right. That auto Wallace every time. Every time.
God said, occurs 10 times here and this is the first of seven of these was followed by a creative command to get in with this imperative. Let there be at the command and God commands. It happens, and comes into being just as he will and where to worship him, where the praise him, where to stand in all of him. Sometimes I said this a couple weeks ago, but not the application is just a step back, be quiet and stand at all.
Heard a preacher went, I'm talking about pornography and and the like and that when you're tempted, when you're facing a temptation, just get out of the dark room that you're in, get out of the dark space. You're in, go outside and look at the sky and immediately. You'll realize just how small you are.
You interested mess around with that kind of Darkness.
Look at the big, Nestor Majesty of God. By seeing God's creation and worship him. And he knows, we think about the Earth. The Bible says your God made two great lights. The the the great light to rule the day and a lesser light to rule the night.
We're religious is talking about to be the primary source of light giving. In that time. Right? The purpose is to give light on the earth. I just think about your size for a minute. I could give so many things here. But I was going to give you one or two here. Mount Everest on the China. China, Nepal border. We know right zeroes. Tallest mountain stands about 29 this over 29,000 ft tall. They have some debate about 12 feet on how tall it is. Unlike 29,000, sounds good to me, but
29000 ft at its Summit in every year about 800 people who have spent years preparing and training and studying this mountain, apply for permits to climb Mount Everest about 10 other mountains on Earth. Within about 1,000 feet of the height of Mount Everest, that is a lot of Majestic Beauty. Only tell you to pause the place to be from that standpoint. That is a lot of Majestic Beauty just end on that side of the earth. The earth is massive talkin about these mountains and I've seen mountains much, much, much smaller that are math, and did, you know that about 1.3 million Earths 1.3 million Earth with about 10, 29,000 ft mountains, 1.3 million, earths would fit in the Sun.
And the Sun.
You can say is thousands of times smaller than many of the other bodies, like the Lord, God spoke into existence out there on the Earth. Imma do some of that place.
And then I love the end of her 16. He's crazy slides and I talked about it a great deal. When you look at how creation is described. There's some very quick things that are said but Moses been a little bit of time here on these two great lights and in the end of her scent, and of her 16th, the last phrase and the Stars. Animal starts with a thousands upon thousands, upon thousands, upon thousands of time. Many of them larger than the earth and the Stars.
Tomato. Every single one had a name them. I could have got time for that. Well, it doesn't take the Lord time to do things that would take us time to do the name. Then he he knows the Stars.
And God made the the Moon. The whole focus is what God will do with her and God gave that the sun in the moon as lights. Now, we know that that these two sources of light, one of them's, not really a source. How many gives us light at night? It appears like it's a source of light, but all it's doing is reflecting the Majesty. The the, the, the magnanimous light, that flows, from a ball of flames up in the sky and it reflects off the moon. And it's enough to like the Earth.
And God says, you and I are to reflect the glory of the son, son.
The Source doesn't come from within us. We don't find it from within ourselves, but we reflect the beauty of Christ as the Lord indwells us and God works in ways that we could never fathom through us as we reflect the Sun. Now notice the language I said is is focusing us unequivocally on what God is doing with Earth here. For his Majestic power and His glory. Primarily because had the way he speaks about creation is that these polytheistic member, they worshipped all kinds of lowercase gods that they would formulate in their minds, right? The mythology of these pagans the Spade, Sun gods, and moon gods in this whole astrological arrangement from the worship of the pagans, right? They thought that these Heavenly orbs. And as a thought of these, as objects of worship, not God. He said, they saw the sun and they worship the Sun and the Moon. God, didn't you name it? It was created. And they would find a way to worship it seem like write like a like a Genie in a Bottle. That would say, we don't understand life. So we're going to worship this thing that causes things to grow. And then they stopped growing and they formulate a reason for why this guy goes away for a time. Or or dies or whatever the case might be. But then comes back Allen Ross. Wonderful, Taylor. Theologian concludes rightly how? And I choose the word ridiculous here about a half hour diculous. It was to follow the astrological charts of the Babylonians or to look to the son, god of the Egyptian thinking.
Thinking that the answers to Destiny. Were there, rather Israel member Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy is written for Israel as they're getting ready to go to Canaan. And God is saying. Wait, don't worship all those thoughts. Until God says to Israel, that must trust in the personal God who created all of these stars and planets by his word. And he must give no confidence or creams or respect to the god of these pagans. Listen to what what the Lord speaks through. Moses and Moses gives this command. And Deuteronomy speaking about Mount Horeb in the end the end the Ten Commandments and Moses going up and down and up and down and breaking things. And people say well, you know, they made me do it or we just threw in this gold and out came a calf. I may just love that. That's how we do it too, by the way, but we just now came a calf. And the Lord reminds them of this is there for watch yourself very carefully. Since you saw no form on a day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the Mist of the fire. Beware lest you acted corruptly by making carved images for yourselves. In the form of a figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of an animal that is on the earth of likeness of wings, birds that fly in the air, the likeness of any thing that creeps on the ground. The likeness of fish that is in the water, under the Earth, and beware lest. You raise your eyes to heavens, and when you see the Sun, and you're the moon, and the stars, all the host of how many CDs do is just my thought, is we going through everything that God has created and worship.
Beware, lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun in the moon and the stars of Heaven, that you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted.
Given. signed to has a lot of to all the peoples under the whole heaven.
Friend, I need to ask. What is there?
Under all the hosts of Heaven. That you bow down to in this world.
Auto works at Moon. God. That's silly.
You worship money.
What I can bring you.
You worship a relationship. That's a created thing, by the way.
You worship a job status?
A substance.
Feeling.
Church.
It was good. There was evening and there was morning the fourth day. And on the fifth and sixth day, God gives life and blessing. Dog lives, the blessing of life. God said, let the waters swarm of swarms of living creatures, and let the birds fly above the Earth and across the expanse of the heaven. So, God created the great sea creatures in every living creature. That moves with, with which the water's warm, according to their times. And every Wings word, according to, its kind and God saw that, it was good and God bless them. Thanks, be fruitful. And multiply, and fill the waters in the seas and let Birds multiply on the earth. And there was evening, and there was morning the 5th day and then God said let the Earth bring forth living creatures. According to their kind lives, docking creeping things and beasts and beasts of the Earth, according to their kinds. And it was so, and God made the Beast of the Earth, according to their kinds and the livestock, according to their kind and everything that creeps on the ground, according to its kind and God saw that, it was good.
The Lord God continues, he's feeling the Earth was D creatures and with birds and we see this great variety of creatures that God has made. He made him at the same time on the 5th day. God made them.
And he made them grown enough to fly to swim to walk, whatever. It was that they were purpose to do. God made him. He spoke it into existence, all of their internal organs and how they function. And, and just the whole Hui tou and how this all works. God made them all according to their kind, they did not evolve over thousands or millions of years. Now, we all know that within a particular kind, there are, there are transformations or growth within kinds. But one animal does not become the animal of another kind that never happens. Fossil record demonstrated that that's never happened, or I should say. They have never found any fossil record that support. Their stories is the way I should say that they're fabrication. God says they're on the 5th today.
On the fifth day, when there's morning and evening are rather evening and morning. God made them.
Plant life. You may be thinking what what about playing that we heard about last week that he didn't consider plants living things. So it's not spoken of in the same way this word that means life or become later. Become nephesh me refer to his living or our soul. Didn't think of that with the plants at that time. As living things. God, created animal live separately. Not not animals, didn't come from plants or any other form. What God wanted there to be. He said, and there was You think about how a watch has made or or have such a chair that you're sitting on his made or how this building comes together? You think there's a designer. We just naturally know somebody put it together.
And this is true of God. Think about the great sea creature because the pagans worship great sea creatures as dragons and his monster that that were in rebellion, and that needed to be subdued, right? That are the Canaanites. It's, it's sort of, like, what we would call the Leviathan, they worship the creature in and The Torah, the first five books of the Bible is putting that view in its right place saying no. No God created everything. That was, if it's in the oceans and its massive, God made it. It's not to be subdued by any Pagan worship. Not to be worshipped as Gods. Just another part of God's perfect and harmonious, beautiful, wonderful creation, and God gives hear the blessing of a fertility.
God is the one who is the source of all life, and all fertility. It's God. There is no fertility. God. There's the almighty, God, the Majestic God, great and small. God, made them all. And every animal is created, according to its kind, you think about the blue whale which is in the ocean and it weighs 198 X nearly 100 ft long, just their tongues weigh as much as an African elephants. Their hearts weighs as much as a car. God made it.
They're creatures. So small that the human eye cannot see it on their own.
We're at a drop of water in a ditch. Would hold 500 million microscopic creatures. That are so small, that a teaspoon of water would seem to them as the Atlantic Ocean does to you. And I
That before you try to figure out what to do with all that. I'll just tell you.
Is the song we done in in Vacation Bible School couple years and it's just called the god of wow. You're the god of, wow.
Peezy.
How could this be your the god of? Wow?
You're more than I could ever ever dream. The more I think about you! About! Amazing.
The more I think about you! About to the god of wow.
Sometimes adults need to bring down our language a little bit. Just say worship fear, reverence you at all of us things. Wow.
Sometimes, our pursuit of knowledge for its own end. For humanistic purposes can be a god unto itself.
As we try to understand, he who is. Incomprehensible and yet has made himself known.
There was evening and there was morning the 5th day. Then I'm a sick day. God continues his work of creating and creating life and blessing it with land animals and you notice here.
This pattern that continues from the god whose to be praised as a Creator even before he's to be praised as Our Redeemer. And God said, where is 24? And it was so, and God made verse 25. And God saw that. It was good. You think about animals? Those verses talk about verses 24, and 25, the other living creatures, according to their kind Beasts of the earth. These are animals that are not easily tamed large mammals, a large animals that walk across the face of the Earth lives, dog. These are the animals that are more easily, attained and creeping things. Animals are short legs is bellies are really, really close to the ground as they walk and Jesus picks up with. You takes a cue from creation here in Play Matthew 6, but Jesus picks up on God's creative work which by the way, remember Jesus. Will engaged in creation. Colossians 1:16 tells us for by him. Speaking of Jesus. All things were created in heaven and on Earth. Visible invisible, weather Thrones, or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things, all things, all things say it all things were created through him or buy him and for him.
So speaking about worry and anxiety, Jesus brings people right back to God's grace, look at the first of the year. Fluttering around.
Is birds of the air that I made?
I don't so I don't read them gather into Barns and yet your heavenly father feeds them.
How are you? Not from The God, Who created the heavens and the Earth, Anand A1 and A2 and A3 and A4 and A5 and A6 and then they 6 which will look at more next week. He created mankind. Are you not of more value than These parts. Course you are, is a rhetorical answer. So don't worry about tomorrow. Let me take care of it. I'll take care of you today. Look at me and worship me grazing. Comes to its Climax and second part. If you will have day6, this will look at next week, but friends the same message that God gave Moses to communicate to Israel. Some four thousand or so years ago. God gave to Paul at say messages is true as Paul communicates it as he ministered and it is true for us today. God is to be crazed, desert praised its creator. Even before he's praised his Redeemer practically. God is to be praised for who he is before. What he does. Always every time you might say that God must be praised as Creator before you can praise him as Redeemer. I want you to listen to Romans 1 and I'm going to read a lengthy Passage.
Romans 1:18 through 32 for the wrath of God. I just need tell you that the word wrath of God means God's righteous anger. That must be fiercely poured out on sin. It doesn't mean God's slight displeasure. It means rest and everything. You think it might mean it means.
For the wrath of God has revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of man who by their unrighteousness suppress. The Press is never passive. Suppress means God's truth, It keeps coming to us. We keep pushing it down. God's truth comes to us. We push it down. God's truth comes just weeks to press it. We won't let it come into. Our lives are hard for what can be known about how God is plain to them because God has shown it to them for God's invisible attributes. Mainly his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world way back. Then, in the things that have been made. So they mankind are without excuse. For although they they knew God, they didn't honor him, his daughter give thanks to him, but they can get they became futile.
Who darkened claiming to become wise, they became fools. And they exchange the glory of the immortal images. Resembling mortal man, and birds and animals. And people creeping things. I read that poorly. They changed the glory of the immortal, God suppressing the truth for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things and therefore God gave them up. You want this so bad? You going to keep suppressing truth? Okay. I'm going to give you up to it. In the lust of their heart, the passions of their heart to impurity to dishonoring of their bodies among themselves because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and they worshipped in nature of the creature rather than the Creator who's blessed forever. Amen. And for this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions for their women, exchanged natural relations, to those who are contrary to Nature and the men likewise gave up natural relations. And women were consumed with passion for one, another men committing Shameless acts with man in receiving in themselves. The due penalty of their error.
I think they didn't see fit to acknowledge. God. God. God, gave them up to debased mind. To do it. Not be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness and evil and covetousness, malice. And if they were full of Envy murder Strife to see, maliciousness.
I'm going to keep going, but I just want you to notice at times. We focus on some sin. And we overlooked as we suppress the truth in unrighteousness.
All of these everyday acts of unrighteousness that are in this very same list.
Full of Envy murders Drive. Maliciousness. They are gossips. Landers haters of God insolent hottie, boastful, inventors of evil. Disobedient to parents.
Get the kids. It's right in the same list.
Foolish faithless heartless, ruthless.
Do they know God's righteous to create at those who practice such things deserve to die.
They not only do them. But they give approval to those who practice them.
Frenzy Israelites needed this reminder.
That God Alone is to be worshipped as Creator even before he can be worshipped as Redeemer.
I totally.
You either on this side of creation and on this side of the cross. So we worship God is greater. Yes, but if your trust is Solely in Jesus, as your hope of Salvation, you worship God as your Redeemer.
We're not left. To be controlled by these passions. This list your your covetousness.
No longer needs to be your lowercase G, God. Cuz Jesus is dealt with the penalty of that, on the cross.
Your sexual impurity.
If you're nervous about that, or you're not sure if I'm referring to you, it probably means that God is addressing you.
You sexual impurity of many, many times.
Your haughtiness.
Your gossip.
Your slander.
All of this. And those who do these things know they deserve to die.
For this reason, God sent his son. Because he loved the world. Love this creation that he had made.
His only begotten Son of God sent into the world that whoever believes in him. Should not perish would not die this. Visit this death that Every one of us deserves to die. I've ever might believe in him and not die. But have everlasting life.
So we worship God as creator.
And I pray that if you're here today, you worship God as your Redeemer. The Israelites neither reminders, that the Christians, and Paul's day needed the reminders. And you and I need to reminders, which is why. When Jesus was on this Earth, he gave us the Lord's Supper. Remember Israel. Spoke through Moses who was their visible visible visual visible representation of God's word to them. Moses went away and I like we need to make a god.
We need to make a god, a god like. Does not in my nose, by the way, I'm kind of bad living at this point, but it's hilarious because it's true. It's sad because it's true. God says, Moses. We're going to finish this later because they're crazy.
Moses goes down, brakes at Ten Commandments. What are you guys doing? What? Our boy just took the gold. We tossed it in and out, came a calf. You didn't contribute to the making of This idle, that you are worshipping.
As we'll see you in a few weeks. Says to Adam. Where are you? What was hiding because I was afraid. Why? Well, this woman you gave me. What? Tell me what's going on?
Tell me what's going on. Well, the Serpent's you see, we just passed the buck all the way down. That's why we need the Lord's Supper to remind us that Jesus, the perfect. Holy Creator came to this earth. Not born of a of of any man that contributed to Mary's pregnancy, but through the Holy Spirit was born, perfectly live, perfectly did everything, right? But he was supposed to do, didn't do anything that he wasn't supposed to do and I was own, will gave up his life on Calvary so that we can put our hearts and worship and praise to him today. If that's what you believe. And you confessed this to the Lord come and enjoy celebrating the Lord's Supper. Thank him for this reminder. Use it to to to push you toward worshipping him as a wholehearted follower of Christ. It's a lord. What am I worship? Being of your creation? You made it all for your glory and yet, I've taken it more fit into what I think I needed to be because I am not walking in faith and I worship. This thing, this person is pretty sure. But only you are to be worshipped. The two stations upfront. You're welcome to come to give gluten-free communion here. And then we've got two stations in the back. You may want to just take a few minutes and pray and say, Lord You're convicting me of some things in my life.
You may want to run and come and take me to save all boy. I need this reminder. Thank you Lord. You may have something that you need to get right with somebody in this church family. You may have been gossiping about somebody was not gossip. It's true. That's actually the very definition of Gossip the other slander, but Not mince words or something. You need to repent. You may need to go up, make it right with the one you sent against. Melanie just encouraged me. All of these things are appropriate for us during communion. Let's use this time as the Lord has put it on your heart and is the holy spirit. Moves, you animation your heart to worship him. Let's pray together. Father. We praise you.