Genesis 1:6-19 "The Universe Takes Shape" - Dr. Steven J. Lawson

[Music] hmm do good morning good morning i want to welcome you to trinity bible church of dallas so glad that you're here so glad if you're visiting with us for the first time welcome we are going to begin our service by standing together and singing the doxology so stand with me praise all god praise oh we need to pray dear heavenly father we thank you for giving us this wonderful day we thank you lord for the freedom that we have to come together to proclaim the lord jesus christ and to read your word and i pray this morning lord that you would help us that you would turn our hearts and our minds to you that lord you would give us the ability to worship you and to give you all the glory lord we pray that you would attend your word with your spirit this morning i pray that you would bless steve lawson in the preparation that you would use him as a vessel that he would say exactly what you want him to say this morning and lord that you would build up your people in faith that you would tune our hearts to you lord in us in a group this size those watching on the internet lord there's certainly someone who does not know you and we pray if you be so willing that you would open their hearts that you would show them their desperate need because of their sin and the righteousness of the lord jesus christ that the lord jesus christ is the only mediator between god and men so lord i pray that you would draw your people to yourself you know the needs of the individual hearts the individual lives the health the financial the emotional needs lord we pray that you would meet the need according to your will bless your people for your glory we pray in christ's name amen have a seat again i want to welcome you to trinity bible church of dallas if you are visiting with us for the first time and you want to know more about the church there are blue visitor cards in the front lobby fill out the back of the card put all your contact information your email and we will make sure that we get you added to the weekly email list we also have for the first time visitors macarthur study bibles they're a gift from us to you please grab one they're in the lobby if you already have one give it to someone that you know that needs one if you have a bulletin we have a lot going on this week i want to call your attention on wednesday morning there will be a meet up if you have any questions about that please contact heather lovell her contact informations in the bulletin that will be from 11 to 1 pm this wednesday the second over at the lake highlands north park on thursday morning the men's bible study will continue across the street from 7 a.m to 8 a.m at herb's house dr lawson will be there continuing his study in the book of romans so that will be thursday morning next sunday the sixth we are looking for more members to be a part of our choir there's a bullet there's a note in the bulletin about that luke berry's contact information is in the bulletin if you know you can sing or other people have told you that you sing well that hasn't happened to me please call luke because we're looking for more volunteers the women's bible study is going to gather tuesday june 8. i said that correctly tuesday the study's been moved from wednesday to tuesday ladies there are ashley joseph will be standing in the lobby after the service giving out books this week and next week the first study is june the 8th across the street at herb's house at 7 00 p.m so ladies mark your calendars for that we need more help audio visual help so if you can volunteer please see paul dykman or jonathan steele in the back after the service next week michael staton will be here from mustang oklahoma we're looking forward to that we will also be observing the lord's supper next sunday so you might be thinking about that that's all i have let's stand together and let's sing holy holy holy which is number 48 in the hymnal holy holy shall rise to thee holy holy holy holy holy around shall we holy holy there is holy holy holy shall praise holy holy holy dear and next we're going to be singing number five how great thou art my songs my savior when i look down from lofty mountain grandeur and see the cross and feel the gentle grace my and when i think that god [Music] my burden he bled and died to take away my sins how great thou art how great thou art then sings my soul my savior when christ shall come with shout out acclimation and take me home what joy shall fill my heart then i shall bow in a more and then proclaimed my god how great thou art then sings my soul my how savior thou art how great thou art man sings my soul my i savior well we have a great passage that we're going to be looking at today but before we look into the word i just need to talk with you just for a moment um you know how important the bible is to our christian lives and to trinity bible church in fact bible is our middle name selah pause and meditate so this church is really built stem to stern on the word of god not on tradition not on majority vote not on what someone's doing down the street but as best we can to be brought into alignment with the word of god and the most important ministries in this church is whenever the word of god is opened and when it's taught such as in sunday school or when it's preached in the worship service regardless of who the teacher or who the preacher is in fact we would agree with the puritans that the primary means of grace is the ministry of the word of god it's the teaching and the preaching of the word of god it's the chief means by which souls are saved and it's the chief means by which we are conformed into the image of christ there are other means but at the tip of the spear is the preaching and the teaching of the word of god and so when the word is taught and preached first corinthians 14 says that the gathering of the church the worship service is it's to be an orderly worship service such that careful attention can be given to the word of god as is as it is expounded and as paul writes that in first corinthians 14 he has to do so because the church at corinth had really become a church of disorder in their worship service and it had fallen into hyper emotionalism that was hindering really the concentration on the word of god and so the reason i mention this is last week we had a dear precious lady who was is and shall be invited to be here part of our church was amending like every five seconds pretty loud and it was a distraction to me as i was trying to think on what i'm going to say and it was also a distraction to others who are trying to listen to the preaching of the word and so this is not to say you cannot say amen you can say amen you just can't say it every five seconds and you just can't yell it so that it could be heard down the block and so i think you understand what i'm what i'm saying and so as god is forming us as a church we are those who give the utmost priority to the preaching and teaching of the word and that always begins with the mind before it goes to the affections or the emotions before it goes to the will and if you ever get that order out of sync you have a church that's going in a contrary direction and so it's everything in the christian life begins with the mind that's why we have to have a renewed mind that's why we're so focused on sound doctrine because it's really um the the needle that's pulling the thread through the fabric of our christian lives and so we don't want anything to be a distraction to that so the elders addressed that last week with a very precious lady and just to let her know that this is not a a pentecostal church where we're running around and and and saying things we are to do things orderly now having said that you're more than welcome to smile at me while i preach you're more than welcome to laugh i don't want this to be a mausoleum i don't want to have to put a mirror under your nostrils to see if you're still alive as the word is as being preached but all things are to be done orderly and that would even include crying babies i mean that would even include talking to the people around you while the words being preached just anything that takes away from a concentrated focus on the unadulterated unvarnished truth of the of the word of god so having said that that's sermon number one now sermon number two if you take your bible and turn with me to genesis chapter one and as you're turning i i do want to just say this to continue that train of thought i'm so thankful for the elders in this church and the way they act with spiritual maturity and with a level-headedness and to provide spiritual leadership for this church so genesis chapter one i want to begin by reading the passage the title of this message is the universe takes shape genesis chapter one beginning in verse six and if you're new to trinity we just started a verse by verse study through the entire book of genesis and the last two sundays i've been able to preach through the first five verses and so today we're gonna look at verses six and we'll see how far we go this is god's word beginning in verse six then god said let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate the waters from the waters god made the expanse and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse and it was so god called the expanse heaven and there was evening and there was morning a second day then god said let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place and let the dry land appear and it was so god called the dry land earth and the gathering of the waters he called seas and god saw that it was good then god said let the earth sprout vegetation plants yielding seed and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them and it was so the earth brought forth vegetation plants yielding seed after their kind and trees bearing fruit with seed in them after their kind and god saw that it was good there was evening and there was morning a third day 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 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 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 he was good there was evening and there was morning a fourth day this is the reading of god's word let's go to the lord in prayer father we recognize that this is your word it is divinely inspired and as moses was in his wilderness wanderings you had him record this book the next four books the law the pentateuch and lord you revealed to moses this account such that moses would write it down and it has been preserved for almost 3 500 years it's been passed down through the centuries and now here it is it has come to us it is placed in our lap and it is our privilege now to study and to dig into what was recorded so long ago a recording of what took place even further long ago so we thank you for this record we would not know how the world began except you as the creator reveal it to us through your servant moses father we ask now for your assistance as we study your word in jesus name amen no one would ever pick up a bible and read genesis 1 and come up with the theory of evolution it would just be totally impossible and no one would simply read genesis 1 and conclude that genesis 1 took place over billions of years that would never enter anyone's mind if the bible is your source of truth no one would ever conclude from genesis 1 that particles became slime and slime became tadpoles and tadpoles became apes and apes became humans where on earth would that come from certainly not from the bible certainly not from the mouth of god no no one would ever concoct a theory like that you would have to appeal to a higher authority in your life than to look to god you would have to look to man certainly not to god who has recorded in his word because if all you did was pick up the bible and read just genesis 1 just this one chapter and if you had a clear head and a receptive heart you would conclude that the bible means what it says and says what it means that the universe was created directly by god in six consecutive 24 hour days if you believe that the bible is the infallible record of the living god then you would take this at face value for how god has written it you may say well what about science listen science cannot even decide if mass work self pause and meditate science cannot even decide if the vaccine works science cannot even decide if two mass and the vaccine work why would you be appealing to science to be the authority over your life when god has spoken in crystal clear fashion it's not hard to understand genesis chapter one which is hard to swallow but once you come to the fourth word in the first verse if you'll buy into the fourth word nothing is hard for you to accept once you believe in god once you believe that there is a god who exists once you believe that there is a god who speaks and it comes to pass once you believe in a god who has a sovereign will and omnipotence that nothing is impossible for him then genesis chapter 1 is really very easy for you to accept as it is written without any need to rewrite this chapter now as we've been looking at genesis chapter one we've already noted the first five verses and they describe the first day of creation day one morning and evening day one one day and now as we come to verse six we come to day two and i want you to first the first heading is day two the expanse in the sky day two the expanse in the skies versus six through eight so verse 6 begins with a very important word it's the word then right then not a billion years later not billions of years later then right then after god concluded the first day right then god said let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters god immediately continues his his process of creation and he says let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters the word expanse here literally means something that is spread out it means the spreading of something so that it overlays something else it's in a extended surface and in the margin of your bible it may have uh a synonym for expanse it you may have ferment firmament permanent out in the margin and what this is is a vast layer above the earth it is the atmosphere surrounding the earth the breathable atmosphere and in verse 8 it will be called heaven but when we get to verse 8 i'm going to distinguish that there are three layers of heaven according to the new testament this would be the first layer the second is outer space and the third layer of heaven is where god dwells upon his throne and so when we read in for example in verse eight where the expanse he called heaven it's not referring to the third heaven it's not referring to the second heaven remember paul in second corinthians 12 verse 2 said he was caught up into the third heaven and he had visions in heaven now this is what we would call the foundational level of what is above the earth and that is the atmosphere and in verse 20 it will be called where the birds fly so it's it's the the atmosphere above the earth god says let there be an expanse an atmospheric condition in the midst of the waters there'll be a separation of the waters now there are waters at this point that are covering the earth a global ocean everything is submerged under water there is no land that is appearing anywhere at this point in the sequence of creation but let there be an expanse in the midst of the water so that there'll be a separation between the waters that are on the globe surrounding the globe and waters that are like water vapors up higher so there is a a separation and he goes on to say in verse six let it referring to the expanse separate the waters from the waters let it separate the waters that are on the earth engulfing the planet everything submerged under water let it be separating those waters from the waters that are in the atmosphere above such that it is creating now a a breathable condition for plant life animal life and human life to be able to to function and to live and so what god is doing at this point is god is preparing the planet for life so in verse 7 god made the expanse expanse again refer referring to the atmospheric uh level surrounding the earth and he separated the waters which were below the expanse that would be the uh the the global ocean that encompasses the whole of the planet from the waters which were above the expanse and there would be possibly something like a protective water vapor like canopy that was in the sky above now what's interesting when we later turned to genesis 7 and the account of the flood a flood that would drown the entire human race and would cover the entire earth it says in genesis 7 verse 11 the floodgates of the sky were opened and then in the next verse verse 12 it says the rain fell upon the earth for 40 days and 40 nights so there was so much water up in the atmosphere that in the days of the flood not only were the bottoms of the deep opened up and water inside the planet came shooting up but literally the floodgates were opened above and there was so much water coming down out of the above atmosphere that it literally submerged the entire planet and so verse 7 alludes to the fact that this expanse this this atmospheric condition separating the waters from below on the surface of the earth and the waters that were vaporized up in the atmosphere and at the end of verse 7 we read and it was so and by saying this and it was so it speaks to the immediacy with which it was so the instantaneous nature that it was so the suddenness with which it came to pass like the the twinkling of an eye this didn't take place over billions of years it happened in a split second and it was so because god's word will not return to him void and so verse 8 god called the expanse heaven this this expanse this atmosphere around the earth with breathable gases god called it heaven and just to reference what i told you a few minutes ago when you turn to second corinthians 12 verse 2 it says paul was caught up into the third heavens into the the palaces of glory above and he was shown such dazzling things that he was not permitted when he returns to the earth in his spirit to tell anyone what he saw because it was so extraordinary that's the third heaven the second heaven would be outer space where god will hang the planets on the next day but this is the first heaven as i've already said which is the atmosphere now the end of verse 8. and there was evening a literal evening and there was morning a literal morning a second day a literal second day so god is preparing the earth to be the place well he where he will carry out his most important activity out of all of the planets out of all of the galaxies out of all of the solar system systems this tiny little planet upon which you and i live that is the myoptic vision of god for his redeeming purposes to create a race of people out of which he will save a people for himself and give them to his son to be his chosen bride who will sing his praises and sing his glories forever and ever and ever and be conformed perfectly into the image of his son it'll all take place right here on planet earth god has tunnel vision for what is taking place here upon the earth not venus not not saturn not the sun not the moon it's right here on planet earth where god in with inscrutable wisdom has chosen to carry out his masterpiece in which he will put his glory on display so that's day two and god's just putting everything into place now day three we come to verse nine the second heading is day three the land on the earth verse nine then god said i draw your attention again to the word then the immediacy of what will now take place on the exact next day where there's evening and where there is morning then god said this tells us how powerful is the voice of god it tells us how powerful is the word of god that god speaks sovereignly and powerfully and wisely and and irresistibly when god speaks it comes to pass then god said let the waters below the heavens that that is again the the the waters that were mentioned in in verse 2 the surface of the waters at the end of verse 2 but the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place now at this point they cover every square inch of the planet there is not a dry square foot on planet earth at this point the entire planet earth is under water and god says that the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place and so it is as if god by the power of his word is able now to reposition all of the water into it says one place where it's one massive body of water because he again now is preparing the planet for what will take place next and we read in verse 9 and let the dry land appear to this point there has been no dry land that to this point the entire planet is under water as i've said and as god says let the dry land appear the continents will begin to rise and the shorelines will be defined exactly by god god will begin to put everything in its place when he says let the dry land appear out of the global ocean now comes rising up dry land that is higher than the level of the water and please notice dry land it's not mud and it's not slime and it's not bogs it's instantly immediately dry land it has to be dry land because god will create vegetation and plant life that must have dry land to grow and we read at the end of verse 9 and it was so you think that's hard for god to do this is like a little child in the backyard with a sandbox and just moving things around this is just finger work for the almighty who who has all power and all authority in heaven and in earth and so verse 10 god called the dry land earth and the gathering of the waters he called seas now please note c's is in the plural s-e-a-s just previous in verse 9 we read that it was one large c now we read in verse 10 the gathering of the waters he called seas plural these are multiple bodies of water that are distinct from the other seas yet they are interconnected as one large sea doesn't take much imagination to understand what god is doing here as there will be the pacific there'll be the atlantic there will be the various seas plural but you can get in a boat and sail around the world in just one sea and that is what god is putting together and at the end of verse 10 god saw that it was good the word good here meaning excellent meaning pleasing for god to behold it as god sees his his masterpiece taking place like an artist putting the paint onto the canvas though the masterpiece is not yet completed yet even here in day three as god observes what he is creating it is very pleasing to god it is being done with excellence it is being done with perfection it cannot be improved upon at all it was good verse 11 god said let the earth sprout vegetation it's the first time now god commands that there be life to this point god has been working with inanimate objects and now for the first time god will speak life into existence on this planet here this vegetation is is plant life with all this complex biological systems and think of the infinite genius and wisdom of god as he just speaks the vegetation into existence and all the variety of trees and flowers and plants and and herbs that there are and in a moment they will just all appear he says in the middle of verse 11 plants yielding seeds now what should be important to us here is that god did not create seeds he created plants that produce seeds and again here we see that god is creating a planet that is fully mature though it is only seconds old god is creating a planet that has all of the appearance of of age yet it's only day three and god in his brilliance and god in his his his power he he's not creating seeds that will take a long time a growing season to eventually become plants no immediately out of the gates god creates plants fully mature that are able to produce seeds for there to be the reproduction of life and then we read in verse 11 and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit again god does not create apple seeds he creates apple trees he's not creating peach seeds he's creating peach trees that are immediately mature and blossoming and full of reproductive ability that's why when you when scientists tell us well the planet earth has to be billions of years old they don't one believe the bible number two they don't read the bible number three they don't understand that when god created the planet he created it fully furnished when he created adam he didn't create a baby he created a mature man when he created eve he didn't create uh an infant he he created a spectacularly beautiful adult woman the moment he created her and so god has created this planet with the appearance of age but it does not have that age because god created everything out of nothing to be instantaneously immediately fully functioning just like what god does in your spiritual life when you are born again god adopted you into his family as a fully mature adult and god from the moment you were born again from the moment you were regenerated god instantaneously he gave you the mind of christ he immediately gave you a new heart of flesh he immediately wrote his word upon the tablet of your heart he immediately deposited the holy spirit inside of you that's how god works you're not saved and then 10 years later you go to a men's conference and you get the mind of christ and then 15 years later you go to a ladies bible study and now you get a new heart of flesh that's not the way god works no at the moment of the new birth just like we see here with god's first creation god gives it all on the front end you may say oh i want more of the holy spirit the holy spirit needs more of you god gave you the fullness of the holy spirit when you were converted that's how god works now notice the next thing in verse 11 and this is a hugely important point as we would have a christian world view the next three words after their kind do you see that in verse 11 bearing fruit after their kind the word kind is a hebrew word men am i in which means species and here's one of the most fundamental principles of life like produces like how simple how profound plants do not produce animals animals do not produce humans this cuts the legs out from under every evolutionary theory it's a hoax that gullible mines have bought in too no as god created the planet he created plants and animals and even mankind to reproduce after their kind and so this refutes the heart of evolution that a lower species can evolve upward to become a higher species this is a denial that one species would evolve upward into another species that that's really a frontal assault on the creator because god has told us how he has created and all reproduction occurs within that species and so when he says after their kind that's a very important statement and he concludes verse 11 and it was so it was done it was completed immediately it wasn't an ongoing process it was instantaneously finalized at this stage verse 12 the earth brought forth vegetation please note immediately on this third day immediately before we even get to the fourth day immediately the earth now is is sprouting forth with vegetation and the garden of eden is now in the process of of being produced suddenly plants yielding seed please note after their kind in other words within their own species and trees bearing fruit with seed in them here it is again after their kind how many times would god have to say it before it rings true god only has to say it one time and it is true for god to say it three times in the course of two verses is to underscore the importance and the veracity of it and we read at the end of verse 12 and god saw that it was good that it was good indicates that it was completed god wasn't watching a moving picture of the process of this evolving upwards no god said let it be and it was and god saw it he didn't see a moving picture god saw a snapshot of a completed project all at once and it was good it was very good verse 13 lest anyone think this would take place over ages and epochs and long periods of time lest anyone fall into that trap verse 13 there was evening and there was morning comma a third day now we come to day four and verse 14. day four the lights in the heavens now verse 14 begins now with the now familiar phrase then god said that there's no time gap in between the third and the fourth day then god said let there be lights now there was already light god had said in verse 3 let there be light and there was light as there was like a a disembodied glow that that lit up the universe until we come now to day four and that disembodied globe might have even been the shekinah glory of god just lighting up the universe but now on the fourth day god says let there be lights and god will now create planets that will radiate light and will reflect light the word lights here is in the plural so it'll be more than just one source of light and the word lights literally means luminaries it means bright shining bodies of light that are in outer space far higher than just the earth's atmosphere way out in the in the in the upper space god says let there be lights and according to verse 16 which we'll look at in one second he's referring to the sun he's referring to the moon and he's referring to the stars which are all luminary lights god said let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens plural and heaven's plural there referring not to the first heaven plural but to the second heaven the outer space above to separate the day from the night so the sun would shine by day and the moon and the stars would shine by night and god with his infinite stunning brilliant genius is putting the universe together verse 14 in the middle of the verse and let them be for signs them referring to the the sun the moon the stars let them be for signs and the word signs here literally means like beacons of light or signals of light we could think of it today almost like lighthouses on a dark jagged coastline but they are permanent markers that god is putting in place up in the heavens and it's for a purpose and he tells us what the purpose is for the seasons and for days and years that's why god put the sun the moon and the stars there for seasons for days and for years so what does that mean well he put it there for the seasons because the sun affects the changing of the climate in different seasons the earth orbits around the sun and the sun divides the year into seasons there are times of the year in which our exposure to the sun creates heat greater heat for us in the summer july august september there are other seasons when we're at a different angle to the sun and for us that is winter and that would be like december and january and this now creates growing seasons and it creates dormant seasons and so god just hangs the sun in place and its effect upon the earth is extraordinary in fact he he put it at exactly the right place it's 93 million miles apart by the way and if we were any closer to the sun we would all burn up if we were any further away we would freeze and with the tilt of the angle and the rotation of the globe that is already now in place god has built in the sun to be a marker for the seasons and then he says and for days and the sun and the moon are markers for daytime and night time and then he says in years well the earth revolves around the sun once every 365.25 days that's why we throw in a leap year and so god is already like a like a master designer is putting everything in its place and everything is in its orbit and everything is is is revolving and with this now our seasons are being set our day and night is being set our years are being set and in revelation i mean in genesis one in the first part of two even our week is being set as god created on six days and on the seventh he rested here at the very beginning our calendar and the the pace of life is being perfectly set okay can you imagine if it was daylight for three consecutive days and you had to work for three consecutive days and then it was night time for three consecutive days and what how disruptive that would be god in his goodness and god in his brilliance has orchestrated this exactly as it is so that there would be a rhythm to life of working and resting and working and resting even in the way he has hung the stars in the moon and the sun in place verse 15 and let them referring to the planets i just mentioned let them be for lights that's why they're there they're they're for lights in the expanse of the heavens in outer space heaven's plural here here it is now look at at in verse 15 to give light on the earth god's not so concerned about the sun and the moon and the stars as he is the earth the earth is so tiny that do you know that if the sun was hollow you know how many earths would fit into the sun that's right 1.3 million that's very good the value of a cell phone on the front row 1.3 how how much larger is the sun yet god is not concerned about the sun in the sense of what he will do in redemption everything though the earth is revolving around the sun nevertheless god's redemptive purposes the sun is revolving around the earth because earth is ground zero it's the point at which god will send his son into this world and so note the result at the end verse 15. you you've got to love this and it was so some of you may want to name your next child and it was so and it was so there's no process there's no passage of time there are no ages there are no epics where would you get that certainly not from the bible and it was immediately so that's how awesome god is verse 16 god made the two great lights great here hebrew word for huge extremely large god made the two great lights the greater light referring to the sun to govern the day it's a figurative language indicating the the sway and the influence that the sun will have on life here upon the earth as it will relate to plant life animal life human life in that sense it will govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night and that is referring to the moon and the moon is smaller than the sun and the moon is smaller than the earth and then this is just thrown in as a throwaway line he made the stars also the stars are far larger than the sun the the stars are so large that we can't even get our calculators around it but from a human perspective looking up because they're further away they seem to be smaller but in reality they're larger and they're really not stationary they're actually constantly moving but it's so they're so far away they're stationary to us so much so that sailors for thousands of years have charted their course in navigation by the stars above so you made the stars the the vast starry systems god did out in our courtyard where my wife and i live we've got tiny little area we can sit there and talk to one another in the evening and one of our sons got a string of lights and just hung them from one tree to the next to the next and we can go there in the evening and these little light bulbs just light up the courtyard i mean that's kind of what god was doing he he was putting up the lights that would provide light for people down here on the earth to be able to walk with him and follow him and live their life in a way that would glorify him so verse 17. god placed them in the expanse of the heavens plural meaning in outer space to give light on the earth the whole principle focus of creation is what god will do on the earth this planet verse 18 into govern the day and night and to separate the light from the darkness and god saw at the end of verse 18 it was good no need for a redo no need to let me try that again no need for an eraser god did it perfectly the first time because everything that god does is perfect and then the familiar refrain verse 19 there was evening and there was morning a fourth day the skill the precision the power the wisdom of god creating all this out of nothing and everything in its perfect place do you think god can answer your prayers do you think god can handle your troubles do you think you should hang on to your problems or do you think you should commit them to god this god is so awesome that we should humble ourselves beneath his mighty right hand and cast all of our cares upon him for he cares for us how much does god care for us well in psalm 8 david writing this psalm says oh lord our lord how majestic is your name in all the earth you have displayed your splendor above the heavens from the mouth of infants and nursing babes you have established strength because of your adversaries to make the enemy in the revengeful cease i consider your heavens the work of your fingers the moon and the stars which you have ordained what is man what am i what are you that you take thought of him and the son of man that you care for him yet you have made him a little lower than the angels and you crown him with glory and majesty as we would compare ourselves to god we're less than nothing but god has chosen to create us in his own image unlike the animals and unlike the plants he's made us in many ways like him where we have a mind and affections and and a will and he's made us to know him and god has chosen to plant us on this earth to do his work and of course as we will find out in chapter 3 man chooses to go his own way there's a way that seems right to a man but the end thereof is the end of death it's the story of adam the story of eve it's the story of each and every one of us it's the story of every person who has ever been born on planet earth we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of god and the wages of sin is death but before time began before god created all of this god already had the solution to our dilemma jesus was the lamb of god who was slain before the foundation of the world it was in the foreordination of god that god had already purposed the plan of salvation knowing full well that that we would choose to go our own way and god already had the way of salvation in place long before we ever sinned long before we ever entered onto this planet god already had the redemption and the reconciliation that we that we all need and so i want to ask you have have you ever come to grips with this fact that you have sinned and fallen short of the glory of god that there is none good no not one that we all like sheep have gone astray each one of us has turned to his own way that's your story that's my story that's everyone's story and that there is only one way of escaping the coming wrath of god upon sinners god has sent his son jesus christ into this world to be born of a woman to be born under the law to go to a hill called calvary there where he would be lifted up to die and there upon the cross god would make him who knew no sin god made him to be sin so that we could become the righteousness of god in him and this is the only way of escape from the final judgment in the coming day of his wrath and that is to believe in his son jesus christ who is the only savior of sinners and jesus says i am the way and the truth and the life no one comes to the father but through me some of you here today have not yet committed your life to christ some of you here today and we thank god that you're here but some of you are just trusting in your own works and your own goodness in your own morality and your own righteousness in your own churchianity i just want to remind you that jesus said truly truly i say to you except you be born again you will not see the kingdom of heaven and there is only one way for you to go to heaven there is only one way for you to enter into the new heavens and the new earth and that is for you to come to that decisive place in your life where you say in my hands no price i bring simply to thy cross i cling and you come to that place where you commit your life into the saving hands of jesus christ and trust him alone to save you your church membership will not save you your baptism will not save you your good works will not save you your mother and father's faith will not save you your spouse's faith will not save you you personally and individually must meet jesus christ and you must meet him in a very personal way and in meeting him you must say have mercy upon me the sinner jesus only died for one kind of person sinners he came into this world for only one kind of person those who have fallen short of the glory of god you must confess your sin to holy god and receive by faith his son into your life and him who comes unto me jesus said i will in no wise cast him out the kingdom the gates of the kingdom of heaven are swung wide open this very moment for you and you may enter into the kingdom of god by taking a decisive step of faith whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved may you do that and the only way to go from this planet to heaven above is for you to have a personal relationship with the lord and savior jesus christ may that be so in your life may that be true in your life and what a day today would be don't leave here today if you've not yet committed your life to christ come up and talk to me talk to one of the elders talk to whoever brought you talk to somebody most important thing talk to god behold now is the accepted time behold today is the day of salvation let us pray our father this is really mind-boggling to see how you created the entire planet it's it's beyond our comprehension and what little we know is only what you have chosen to pull back the veil and to reveal impart to us so god we are very privileged to be able just to ease drop on these first days of creation to see how you took really extreme care and putting it all together and you said and it was good father bless everyone here today bless them in christ and may anyone who is out of christ run to christ take that step of faith to christ may they do that even now in their heart in jesus name amen let's let's stand and sing number 126 behold our god who has held the nation's rises to rejoice behold our god on his throne come let can us back come let us given counsel to the lord who can question any of his words who can't teach the one who knows all things come let us adore him nothing can compare come on of sinful man jesus our god seated on his throne come let us adore him behold nothing can compare come on let your glory fill the earth behold our seated on his throne come let us adore him behold our king nothing can compare come let us adore him steve i wish you all could be in the green room sometimes before we come out here we always pray with steve this morning you know everybody i think knows or most of you know austin duncan he asked mark becker the other day who's taken the first three lessons or the first three messages of genesis to start the book mark said uh dr lawson and he said has he gotten past in the beginning god yet so obviously he knows him i want to just say one one thing uh steve brought up in the in the very beginning of his message something that's extremely important and that is this man is the one who often brings things into the scriptures that just aren't there stop me if you've heard this jingle wonderful things in the bible i see things that have been put there by you and by me and i think it's so important that as steve urged us we read the bible as it is simply the unvarnished word of god i'll never forget dr boyce describing the difference between a theologian and a bible scholar theology is what man makes religion it informs what he believes our goal my goal your goal should be to be a bible scholar you study the bible and let the bible inform your theology not come to the scriptures and overlay your theology upon it and so thank you steve for the clear teaching of the word of god if you're here for the first time we're so glad you're here as mark said there are some visitor cards up front if you're a first-time visitor we would urge you to grab a macarthur study bible and the foyer thank you so much for being here let me close this in prayer dear heavenly father we leave here with full hearts full hearts filled with gratitude for what you've done creating the earth in seven days creating man in your image and doing it all with the mighty power and glory that you so richly have we pray for greater wisdom and understanding as we begin and continue through this journey in genesis thank you for this seminal book which teaches us so much about you about ourselves and about the planet that we live on as steve said the focus of your worldview is earth and the redemptive economy and the redemptive plan of mankind to save sinners and to transform them into righteous saints father tomorrow we celebrate memorial day and we're so grateful for the men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice for this country that we might live and be able to come here in a free country to worship you and to study these great truths so we're thankful for all the veterans and those who paid the ultimate price for these freedoms that we often take for granted bless memorial day bless the balance of our lord's day and thank you for steve's ministry to us and for the trinity bible church of dallas we pray in christ's name amen do do you

Channel: Trinity Bible

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Length: 57min 34sec (3454 seconds)

Published: Sun May 30 2021