"The Beginning" | Week 1 | Bellevue Women Bible Study

hi ladies and welcome back we are so excited to be starting our first day of our fall bible study the beginning his story in genesis 1 through 11. that's right you know technically paige our first day was last wednesday right and what amazing night it was wasn't it ladies didn't y'all love the kickoff it really was ladies i know a lot of you were able to join us that night but if you were not able to we invite you to check out the video from last wednesday night it's found on our website bellevue.org women or you can find it on our facebook page you really should it was so great to have charlotte guffin back with us as our guest worship leader and to hear some of the testimonies of our very own like charlotte sterling and audrey lawrence audrey i know your group's in here where are you ladies where's audrey how are you good morning we're so excited to have you and we also got to hear from vicki and laci hancock those of you who may not know lacie is the artist who painted this beautiful piece that's on the front of our workbook this semester and she was such a joy to work with paige she really was y'all honestly everyone who took part of putting the study together it has been an amazing experience it has been in the works months and months and we are just so excited to finally be able to get together today and dive into genesis 1 through 11 together hey i'm just thankful to be out of my house right and to see all of your beautiful faces it has been a great summer and we hope that whatever this summer held for you whether it was family time vacation or whatever that it was a great summer but now it's time for us to get back together and to get into the word and we can't wait to get started yes okay so those of you who are in person with us today you just finished your small group time and what an amazing experience it is to be back together and fellowship one of one another and you can hear to be back in the room let's hear from you everybody say good morning good morning it's so exciting to have all of you here together in the room and hello to all of you who are joining us online today we're so thankful that you're taking time out of your busy schedule to tune in and we just want you to know that you are just as much a part of this group as those ladies who are here in person so welcome yes y'all just to comment with you online whether you're here in person it is so great to be back together and i'm not going to lie last wednesday evening i was a hyper mess to be in the room with all of you just completely energizes me and hopefully i didn't get on anybody's nerves never and just get too excited you should see how hyper she is after you leave it's the truth it really is but i love it it's really great and really the fellowship and the excitement of just being together to worship together and to be in the word it's just really great to have this time today it is and like i said to be able to go through the first 11 chapters of genesis together is really exciting you know nobody no matter how many times i spend in god's word he never fails to kind of show me something fresh or just kind of reveal something to me and so y'all honestly to get back together to do that when we were editing and i noticed that our first week was going to be on genesis one versus one and two i was really kind of concerned i'm like how are we going to come up with five days worth of material to go through right and as you all saw in your lesson this week there really is so much to unpack and how much god reveals about himself just in those first two verses of scripture yes there is a quote from our introduction that really just sets the tone it says genesis is the book of beginnings the beginning of all beginnings so as we start at the very beginning i should have worn my dress i knew i should have dressed up as a von trapp child today okay if you have not watched it yet we had a blast making our professional video for this study so you're going to want to go see that and let me tell you it's a very good place to start it really so myself indeed but as i was saying it really um is exciting to study where everything started because it just sets the foundation for the rest of scripture and we're looking forward to not only what we'll be studying in our workbook but also what donna and jean are going to be teaching us each week yes so if you are tuning in for the very first time today and watching us online and if you have not already i really want to encourage you to register for our study and the way you can do that is go to bellevue.org women and there you'll find our registration and for our fall bible study at the beginning and i really want to encourage you to do that because if you go ahead and do it right now you'll not only get the lecture notes for today and have that ready for you but you'll get important updates from us throughout the semester once a week i send out a link to all of our ladies that has that week's lesson our lecture notes and a link to our podcast afterward which we are very excited is back on weekly updates but honestly right now i'm just so excited to get started ladies so let's get our bibles ready let's get our notes ready those of you in the room let's go ahead and get stand up as we get ready to worship our lord and ladies i'm talking to you at home too worship together with us this morning as we praise our lord the author of our stories [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] well good morning ladies we're so excited to be gathering together today to celebrate that our names are written down in the lamb's book of life today so join us as we sing new name written down in glory [Music] i was lost in shame could not get past my pain until he called my name i'm so glad he changed me darkness held me down but jesus pulled me out i'm no longer found i'm so glad he changed [Music] [Music] and it's mine yes it's mine i am the author of my story and he's mine yes he's mine [Music] it's all over me i'm so glad he changed [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] there is [Music] [Music] tells me who i am is [Music] yes [Music] yes [Music] [Music] i am who i am [Music] here this morning has met the author of your story can i hear it yes amen and his name is jesus amen have a seat well welcome to bellevue women we are beginning a new study today the beginning his story in genesis 1 through 11. and whether you're joining us here in the room or online we want you to know how very happy we are that you are with us here today as we journey through the story we will see that from the very beginning god was writing a story the story of redemption and as he writes god is weaving our stories into his grand redemption story and it is grander and greater than anything that we could even begin to imagine paul puts it this way no eye has seen no ear has heard no mind has imagined what god has prepared for those who love him your story and my story are a part of his larger story a story that is not merely about us it's more about him in storytelling language god writes from an omniscient point of view he sees the beginning the end and everything in between our perspective is limited to what we know right now but what you see happening right now is not the whole story and it's not the end of the story god knows exactly where your story is headed every plot twist is there for his reason every character has meaning every chapter is to advance his purpose god wastes nothing in your story but you know if we're honest sometimes we struggle to trust the author of our stories job knew what it was like to trust the author of his story he struggled with what god was writing after losing his ten children his health and his wealth job finds himself searching for meaning in his struggle and his suffering god then reminds job of his greatness of his power and his sovereignty he recounts to job that he is lord over all creation to which job replies i know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted i had declared that which i did not understand things too wonderful for me which i did not know i had heard of you by the hearing of the ear but now but now my eye sees you therefore i retract i repent in other words job says god you're right you are faithful you have all power you are good i trust you to write my story you know it's unlikely that your story is as dramatic as job's but it is also likely that your story just like mine has had some painful chapters in it that may be where you are today and if it is you can know with confidence that he's faithful he is good you can trust him to write your story let's pray father we come before you kneeling in our hearts in your presence surrendering everything that we know about our story today to you father we take the pen out of our hand and we place it into your holy omnipotent omniscient righteous hand and ask you father would you please right away right away exactly the way our story needs to go to bring you honor and glory and for the sake of your kingdom and father we pray that your kingdom would come and your will would be done in this place today as it is in heaven it's in the name of your holy son jesus that we pray amen [Music] in the darkness we were waiting without hope without light till from heaven you came running there was mercy in your eyes to fulfill the law and prophets to a virgin came the word from a throne of endless glory to a cradle in the dirt [Music] praise the father praise the son praise the spirit [Music] praise forever to the kingdom [Music] to redeem the whole creation you did not despise a cross for even in your suffering you thought to the other side knowing this was our salvation jesus forsake you died [Music] praise the sun praise the spirit [Music] praise forever [Music] and the morning that you rose all of heaven held its breath till that stone was moved for good for the lamb had conquered death and the death was from their tombs and the angels stood in all for the souls of all who come to the father are restored and the church of christ was born then the spirit lived now that is [Music] for the love of jesus christ who has resurrected me [Music] the son praise the spirit [Music] praise forever the [Music] thank you well good morning it is an absolute delight to get to see you this morning and if you're like i am you are so delighted to be back together it seems like it's been such a long time and i am so excited about our study i think every semester we say okay this is the best one we've ever done but i'm really blown away by this one genesis 1 through 11 is the foundation of our faith and as we dig into this i think you are going to be as surprised as i have been with just how foundational it is and how much god has revealed about himself in these first chapters of the book of genesis so as we get started this morning let's go to the lord and ask him to be our teacher through his spirit heavenly father we do thank you we thank you that you have chosen to reveal yourself to us through your word and through our savior through your spirit who bears witness with our spirit that we belong to you father even as we sang this morning if we are in christ we have met the author of our story and he is mine yes he's mine a glory to grand for me to grasp but a truth upon which i build my life so spirit of the living god we invite you and we ask you to be our teacher to open our hearts and our minds to your truth and to give us ears to hear what your spirit is saying father we commit this time and we commit ourselves to you in jesus name if you've got your hand out you have a quote at the top that is i believe is going to be even more meaningful as we go along it is by sandra richter and it's from her book the epic of eden she said the bible is the saga now let's pause there just a moment what's a saga the definition is a long story of heroic achievement so we're talking about the bible here is a saga of yahweh god and adam the prodigal son and his ever gracious heavenly father humanity in their rebellion and god in his grace this narrative begins with eden and does not conclude until the new jerusalem is firmly in place it is all one story and if you're a believer it is all your story what great news now as we begin in genesis 1 1 and 2 and i know you did an entire week of study on genesis one one and two and you were probably like paige said this morning wondering how are we going to get an entire week's worth of study and you realize we just scratched the surface of what we could have gone into as we study genesis one and two but what does it say in the beginning god created the heavens and the earth the earth was formless and void and darkness was over the surface of the deep and the spirit of god was moving over the surface of the waters so we see from the very beginning that we are introduced to god in the beginning god the one who existed before the beginning the one who exists outside of time but as we see in genesis 1 in the beginning tells us there is an end so god is beginning the story of revealing himself to mankind and of his purposes in creating us in fact um francis schaefer said in his book genesis and space and time the beginning is the beginning of man and time and space not the beginning of god that is before in the beginning the personal was already there love and thought and communication existed prior to the creation of the heavens and the earth we know that there was love and communication within the godhead within the father son and holy spirit and as you were doing your study this week you read that it's very possible that moses actually saw the beginning much like john saw the end and recorded it for us in the book of revelation and as we were meeting together and looking at the study and kind of dividing it up and praying over it it just hit me when moses was on the mountain the lord said to him about the tabernacle create the articles of the tabernacle and erect it exactly as i have shown you on the mountain now we know that when moses was up on the top of that mountain that mountain was covered in fire and smoke that he met with god for 40 days and 40 nights and god revealed things to him that so changed him that when he came down from that mountain he was literally growing he glowing he had been transfigured i think probably much like jesus appeared on the mount of transfiguration gleaming although he was even brighter and whiter than anything the earth could ever manufacture but moses was changed and we know that god revealed to him many times god will remove the veil or as john said open a door and allow someone to see into the spirit realm and i believe that's exactly what happened to moses on the mountain with god god allowed him to see and experience the articles of the tabernacle that actually exist in the throne room and as i was just really reviewing and thinking about that all of a sudden it hit me god if you showed him the throne room is it possible that you allowed him to see the beginning as you revealed to him for him to write down because we know moses the bible credits moses would be in the author of the first five books of the bible what the bible and jesus call the law the books of moses jesus called them so how amazing is that and then we get to in the beginning god created and the word for create there in hebrew is b-a-r-a and it literally means to create ex-helio out of nothing so it is a word only used with god because god is the only one who can create without pre-existing materials when man makes something we make it out of pre-existing materials not god now if you struggle believing that god created and god spoke and as we get into even looking at the days of creation was it you know did was it seven literal days did he really create in six days was it morning and evening was it a 24-hour day does it really matter and would that be impossible for someone someone who can speak and everything that we know comes into existence no that would not be an impossibility for him and it's very difficult for us who are created and who are bound by time and physical space to grasp one who is not and who can speak and all that we know comes into being in fact hebrews 11 3 says by faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of god so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible so the bible affirms the fact that god creates differently than man creates or makes now in genesis chapter or verse 2 of chapter 1 we see the holy spirit so we have god the father in verse one elohim is the word that's used there and it's actually a plural now theologians disagree over whether or not that's actually an introduction of the trinity but it has to be a foreshadowing if nothing else because it is a plural for the godhead and we understand the trinity more fully when we get into the new testament obviously for us looking back it's very clear to us that we're seeing right here in genesis chapter 1 1 2 and 3 god the father son and holy spirit we see the holy spirit in verse number two and it says the spirit of god was moving over the surface of the waters he hovered over them is what it means and it's much like a mother bird hovers over her nest so it's intimate it's personal it's relational the spirit was hovering over the deep before god spoke and said let there be that word for hover is also used in deuteronomy 32 11 to describe the eagle's movements and stirring its young into flight this aspect of intimate contact contact must be kept in mind throughout as we're doing our study deuteronomy 32 11 says like an eagle that stirs up its nest that hovers over its young he spread his wings and caught them he carried them on his pinions now what a mother eagle does is she stirs the nest to get her youngsters if you will to get out of the nest so that they can learn to fly when it's time for them to leave the nest and what he's saying here god does is he did that over israel he hovered over the nest and he pushed them out when it was time for them to be out of the nest but the mother eagle doesn't leave her babies if they're unable to fly or they're struggling you know what she does she swoops under them and she literally picks them up on her wings and carries them on her pinions that's the visual picture that moses is giving us of god the father and how god was that mother hovering over israel and protecting them and teaching them to fly well in verse 3 which we don't actually get into until next week because it begins the actual creation account but we're going to stop with and then god said because that's where we see jesus that's where we see the sun in fact john 1 1-5 says in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god he was in the beginning with god all things came into being through him and apart from him nothing came into being that has come into being in him was life and the life was the light of men what did god say let there be light right we know jesus christ is that light the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it and then hebrews 1 1 and 2 says god after he spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways in these last days has spoken to us in his son whom he appointed heir of all things through whom also he made the world so we see from the very beginning when god is introducing himself because that's what the bible is the bible is a book about god it is god progressively revealing himself to us his creatures those who have been created in his image to be like god he created us different from the rest of creation he set us apart and he created us for relationship so we have seen in these first three verses the trinity right god the father then we see the spirit then we see the sun in verse three now in your homework you had the picture the illustration of three intersecting circles that are often used to represent the trinity they are one but they are distinct they are the same and equal and yet we experience them as father son and holy spirit once again a concept to grand for some our minds truly grasp i've heard people try to describe the trinity like water you've got water steam and ice but even in that's not the same i realize they're made out of the same things but this is three in one the godhead three in one trinity but it's very important because it represents great truths about how god has created us in his image so god is a trichotomy three and one god's desire from the very beginning has been for relationship to dwell with us and we see it first in the garden okay now i i really need your utmost attention as we track through the bible we're going to go from genesis to revelation tracing this theme of a trichotomy and of god's desire to dwell with his people all right now this is important but i think you're going to love it as we work through it so think about the garden the garden was actually the first temple because god was there god's presence he walked among the garden he talked with adam and eve they experienced god's unveiled presence because there was no sin there was no sin to separate them from god or from each other until genesis chapter 3. so we see that god had relationship with adam and eve they experienced intimacy with him there was no separation there was i mean they were not intimidated they experienced god in all of his unveiled glory until genesis chapter 3 and then god removes them from the garden to protect them because what does he say lest they reach out and take from the tree of life and eat from it and live forever in this sinful state so god is protecting us by moving adam and eve out of the garden sealing the way back in but he gives a promise he says that he's going to send one through the seat of woman who will crush the head of satan that's the curse put on satan and so from that time on don't you know every woman was wondering every time she gave birth to a son will this be the one will this be the promised one i believe eve thought that when she gave birth the first time second time the third time they're thinking will this be the promised one so the garden was the first temple but god wasn't able to dwell with his people unveiled anymore because of our sin his holiness would destroy us and we know that because when god gave moses the picture the instructions for the tabernacle and he told him do it exactly the way i have shown you on the mountain it was very important because the bible tells us those articles are a shadow or a picture of what actually exists in the throne room of god so that's why god was so particular about it and also he gave them and established from the beginning when he killed an animal and clothed them with skins that it takes a shedding of the blood of the innocent on behalf of the guilty to cover our sin in the tabernacle with the sacrifices that were offered on the altar their sins were covered and the high priest would go in one day a year on the day of atonement and he would take the blood of the sacrificial lamb and he would sprinkle it on the mercy seat the ark of the covenant which represents the very throne of god and their sins would be covered for another year but only the high priest could go in behind the veil only the high priest who had prepared himself exactly the way god had told him to who had fasted who had on the white linen garments he's the only one who could approach the presence of god that dwelt in the holy of holies what the bible calls the shekinah glory of god god dwelt in the holy of holies and the tabernacle is a trichotomy it has three parts it's the outer court the holy place and the holy of holies so it is a trichotomy and the presence of god dwelt in the innermost part in the holy of holies god was able once again to dwell among his people without his holiness consuming them because he dwelt within the holy of holies of the tabernacle and man was given very specific instructions for how he was able to approach god and have his sins covered every year over and over and over so we have the tabernacle then we have the more permanent structure of the temple erected in the same way you know john 1 14 says when jesus came that the word actually became flesh and dwelt or tabernacled among us and we beheld his glory glory as at the only begotten from the father full of grace and truth jesus came and tabernacled dwelt the very presence of god he came the promised one through a virgin and lived a sinless perfect life so that he could take my place and your place on the cross because the bible is very clear the wages of sin is death the sacrificial system revealed that to us we understand that it takes death to cover sin so jesus came the lamb of god slain before the foundation of the world now let that sink in god created us knowing we would choose to rebel but he gave us that choice because coerced love is not love he created us for relationship the trinity the godhead decided it was worth it to create man who would rebel and christ would come to purchase us back to right relationship with the father that it was worth him becoming one of us and dying in our place so that our sin debt could be paid and not only was our sin debt paid not only were our sins covered they're erased they're removed and once for all not every year like the high priest had to do on the day of atonement but once for all when jesus gave himself for us on calvary the sin debt was paid and when jesus cried out it is finished paid in full what happened to that veil it was torn from top to bottom forever opening the way for us to have access to the father through the son and the power of the holy spirit that is the miraculous work of calvary that we sang about this morning there's a new name written down in glory and it's mine it's mine and if you're in christ your name is written down too and it's written down because jesus christ paid your sin debt and he paid my sin debt by giving himself on that cross by being buried by conquering death hell and the grave and coming out with the keys when god raised him back to life on that third day and he came out of that grave a conqueror so that we too could be overcomers that's why we're able to overcome because we live in resurrection power it's not in our own power we live now according to the power of god which grants us access hebrews 4 16. therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need we are able to approach and when with confidence it literally means with boldness with freedom of speech you don't have to prepare yourself to go into his presence you run into his presence and you cry out for help when you're at your weakest when you're at your worst he welcomes you romans 5 8 says that while we were still sinners christ died for us not when we got our act cleaned up not when we were doing our best when we were at our worst jesus christ laid down his life for us so we see god as three and one we see the tabernacle where god dwelt a trichotomy we see man created in his image also a trichotomy we are spirit soul and body in fact first thessalonians 5 23 states now may the god of peace sanctify you entirely and may your spirit soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our lord jesus christ so we are spirit soul and body and we are sealed by the holy spirit at the moment of salvation so what happens as jesus described to nicodemus in john chapter 3 is when we are regenerated when our our spirit man who's been dead we are dead in trespasses and sins ephesians tells us when our spirit man is regenerated when it's brought back to life it's literally we're born of the spirit the spirit comes back to life and then god's holy spirit comes to dwell within us and ephesians tells us that we are sealed in him until the day of redemption we have the spirit within us that romans tells us now bears witness with our spirit that we are children of god no longer slaves no longer servants but heirs co-heirs with jesus christ that's what christ has purchased for us and that's part of what it means to be created in his image he fills us and he's fulfilling his promise by doing that of not just dwelling with us but in us and the new testament tells us that we are now our bodies are temples of the holy spirit because of calvary because of the blood applied to us at the point of salvation he can now indwell our physical bodies without destroying us without his holiness consuming us because when his blood is applied remember what we said it doesn't just cover your sins it removes your sins can we pause there just a moment and ask ourselves how we would live if we truly believed that if we truly believed we were the righteousness of god in christ jesus would we make different decisions if we believed we were righteous in him completely forgiven absolutely loved delighted over i went by to see my memphis grands yesterday because we were out of town last week we were in vermont and it was beautiful i had never been to vermont before steve and i were invited up to speak at a church planters conference an encourager's retreat for pastors and wives in new england and it was an absolute delight to be with over 200 pastors and wives and to be able to encourage them and teach them and just love on them it was a wonderful experience but that's a beautiful state i mean i had no idea in the green mountains we were in manchester vermont and the villages are quaint beautiful new england homes it was just quite an experience but i missed my grands you know the local ones you get to see them more often and so i had called yesterday and offered to bring by lunch just so i could come you know come see them and did that and i got sitting there with ainsley i was playing with ainsley and grayson we were having a tea party and we were playing and i was sitting in that little bitty chair that little bitty table um and i got ainsley by the face and i put my hands on both sides of her face and i said look at me in the eyes look at me in the eyes i love you i love you if i could grasp you by the face this morning i would love to do that and tell you god loves you he delights in you he was more than willing for the son to come to pay your sin debt because he loves you oh if we lived loved how different would we live how different would our perspective be on the valleys that we sometimes walk through and the difficulties that we experience in this life because of sin because we live in a creation that has been cursed we live in a in a creation that is suffering because of sin and it will all be restored one day but until then we can live above it by walking in the spirit and believing what god has revealed to us in his word it changes everything it completely changes our perspective jesus prayed in john 17. in fact i want you to turn there because it is so powerful in john 17 we call this the high priestly prayer and jesus is praying for his followers and he's not just praying for his disciples there he's also praying for all those that would believe that means us he was praying for us and we know now he ever lives to make intercession he's praying for us right now but look at john 17 jesus spoke these things in lifting up his eyes to heaven he said father the hour has come glorify your son that the son may glorify you even as you gave him authority over all flesh that to all whom you have given him he may give eternal life this is eternal life that they may know you the only true god and jesus christ whom you have sent do you realize that this god that we've been talking about this holy one allows us to come to know him intimately through the son through jesus christ and that is eternal life knowing him is what imparts life to us now i want you to drop down to verse 13 but now i come to you and these things i speak in the world so they may have my joy made full in themselves i have given them your word and the world has hated them because they're not of the world even as i am not of the world i do not ask you to take them out of the world but to keep them from the evil one they are not of the world even as i am not of the world sanctify them in the truth your word is truth as you sent me into the world i also have sent them into the world for their sakes i sanctify myself that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth i do not ask on behalf of these alone but for those also who believe in me through their word now listen to this that they may all be one even as you father are in me and i in you that they also may be in us so that the world may believe that you sent me the glory which you have given me i have given to them that they may be one just as we are one i in them and you in me that they may be perfected how in unity so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you have loved me father i desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where i am so that they may see my glory which you have given me for you loved me before the foundation of the world a righteous father although the world has not known you yet i have known you and these have known that you sent me can we pause here just a minute do you realize what he's praying that we can be one with him just as he is one with the father now think back to that picture of the trinity father son holy spirit interconnected one and yet three but because we have been sealed by the holy spirit we are now one in essence we have been given the very nature of god through the holy spirit who lives within us and so we have been by invited into that trinitarian relationship that's the kind of intimacy we can experience because we are in christ we are now a part of through the holy spirit being one with god the father and god the son when we die to our flesh and come alive in christ that's what jesus was saying if you want to come after me you've got to deny yourself that means death to ourself death to the flesh deny yourself take up your cross daily and follow me when we do that we're walking in the spirit and we are in unity oneness with god but he also prayed that we would be unified with one another i don't know in my lifetime if i have ever seen the church more unified than it is right now and it is because we are focusing on issues that are not gospel issues if it is not about the gospel proclaiming the gospel seeing people saved through the gospel and blessing and loving our fellow man and especially brothers and sisters in christ because what did jesus say they're going to know you're my disciples my followers by your love for one another are we showing the world that that's what jesus said in john 17 he wants the world to see so that i in them and you and me in verse 23 that they may be perfected in unity so that the world may know that you sent me how is the world going to know if we're listening to the voice of the enemy instead of the voice of the spirit if we're allowing our flesh to be caught up in all these tribal wars that are going on on social media and out in the culture that's just a tool of the enemy what does the enemy do he's the one who divides jesus said a house divided against itself can't stand the enemy is the one who comes in to steal kill and destroy he is the one who lies he is the one who incites our flesh he is the one who comes in to divide so if we're going to stand firm against the schemes of the enemy we're going to choose love we're going to choose unity we're going to choose to believe the best about brothers and sisters in christ we're going to go to them in person if there's a real disagreement or an issue that an issue that maybe they're not being true to the word of god then what does scripture tell us we go to them in person we don't blast them on social media that is not what god has called us to shame on us shame on us for falling into the obvious traps of the evil one and instead may we choose today to enter in through the beautiful the precious priceless blood of jesus into that oneness of relationship with the trinity may we commune with him today through the spirit and the son may we have the presence the manifest presence of the father in our midst he will not manifest his presence to people who are not united around the gospel may we choose to unite may we choose to love because that is the way of jesus it's first corinthians 13 love and then oh my goodness let's turn to revelation chapter 21 because we know the end of the story how cool is that we get to look at the beginning and study it knowing what happened in between and knowing what we have to look forward to so when you get to revelation chapter 21 let's look at verses one through seven then i saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth passed away and there is no longer any sea and i saw the holy city new jerusalem coming down out of heaven from god made ready as a bride adorned for her husband and i heard a loud voice from the throne saying behold the tabernacle of gods that sound familiar is among men and he will dwell among them and they shall be his people and god himself will be among him once again the unveiled presence of god and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and there will no longer be any death there will no longer be any mooring mourning or crying or pain the first things have passed away and he who sits on the throne said behold i am making all things new and he said right for these words are faithful and true then he said to me it is done i am the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end i will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost he who overcomes will inherit these things and i will be his god and he will be my son now drop down to verse 22 i saw no temple in it he's talking about the new jerusalem for the lord god the almighty and the lamb are its temple and the city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine on it for the glory of god has elimined it and its lamp is the lamb the nations will walk by its light and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it in the daytime for there will be no night there its gates will never be closed and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it and nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever come into it but only those whose names are written in the lamb's book of life there's no need for a temple it'll once again be like the garden in genesis chapter 2. and you understand that genesis 1 and 2 are creation genesis 3 is the curse at the end of the book revelation 20 is death to the curse the enemy satan it's all he's all thrown into the lake of fire and all those whose name names are not found in the book of life and revelation 21 and 22 are the new creation the new heavens and the new earth the new jerusalem and it will be us living an unveiled presence in the unveiled presence of god the father son and holy spirit for all of eternity the way god originally intended for us to experience him in relationship that's what he has prepared for those who love him and i want to ask you this morning is your name written in the lamb's book of life we can't read about all that god has done for us and the majesty of what awaits us all that he has prepared for those who love him without pausing and making sure that we know our names are written in the lamb's book of life all you have to do to have your name written down is receive the free gift of salvation it's free because jesus paid the cost he paid your sin debt and all we have to do is repent and believe and to repent means i turn from my old way of living i turn from my sin and i turn toward god and i cry out to him and tell him i believe lord save me and the bible is clear that if we will call upon the name of the lord we will be saved that's all you have to do this morning is call on his name and i pray that you will do that before you leave this place if you're not certain that your name is written in the lamb's book of life now before we close in prayer i want you to go back and look at that quote at the top of your handout i think it's going to make a lot more sense to you now the bible is the saga remember a long story of heroic achievement the saga of yahweh and adam the prodigal son and his ever gracious heavenly father humanity in their rebellion and god in his grace how great is his love this narrative begins with eden and does not conclude until the new jerusalem is firmly in place it is all one story and if you are a believer it is all your story hallelujah what a savior let's pray father our hearts are so full lord i i have so enjoyed this study i have already gleaned so much it's so hard not to come and just dump it all on the very first time we're together because i'm so excited about today and even what's yet to come but lord i'm asking this morning that you would help us begin to grasp the truth of the grand narrative of scripture that this life really is about you but god in your grace and your mercy you have chosen to write us in father how we want to be about your business how we desire to advance your kingdom oh lord forgive us when we have allowed ourselves to be divided lord or when we've been divisive god i ask you to help us monitor our speech and may we speak only those words that edify that encourage that build up that point others to jesus lord may we choose love over judgment may we choose to serve as we follow the example of our savior who came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for us father may we live like christ that's what it is to be a christian it's to be little christ's how i pray that as we study these foundational chapters of your word that we will have such a rock solid faith in you and in your goodness that we will have no trouble trusting you fully and completely in our present and for our future so father i bless the woman the women that are joining us in this study i bless every woman in this room right now in the name of jesus christ and i'm asking that you would make our hearts good soil father i'm asking you through the holy spirit to show us anything that would grieve or quench your spirit in our life that we might confess it and forsake it that we might be cleansed of it lord that it might be washed away so that we have unhindered fellowship with you that we might walk in the power and the anointing of your spirit that we might be used by you to glorify the name of jesus and see others come in to your kingdom to see others names written in the lamb's book of life let us be about those things that are eternal and lord i bless the women this semester i pray that you will give them focus that they will dedicate the time to study that you will give them ears to hear what your spirit is saying and i pray for each one of them that they will prosper and be in good health even as their souls prosper god that you'll protect our health as we're studying and that you will use us as vessels of honor in your hand for your glory lord we love you we thank you for this incredible privilege of being able to gather together in fellowship and study your word we commit this semester unto you as we commit ourselves unto you father thanking you in the name above all names the name of our lord and savior jesus christ amen amen [Music] let's worship [Music] would you stand as we respond in worship sing holy holy holy holy holy [Music] lord god almighty early in the morning our song shall rise to thee holy holy holy merciful and mighty god in three persons [Music] blessed trinity [Music] holy holy holy all the saints adore thee casting down their golden groans around [Music] falling down [Music] shall be [Music] holy holy holy though the [Music] thy glory may not [Music] there is [Music] [Music] holy holy holy [Music] all thy work shall praise thy day in earth [Music] [Applause] [Music] holy holy [Music] three persons [Music] blessed [Music] well ladies what a glorious morning it's been in god's word and in worship are you beginning to see how beautiful it is that god's story is your story will you trust him to write your story george mueller a 19th century evangelist and the founder of several orphanages wrote these words in the greatest difficulties and the heaviest trials in the deepest poverty and necessities he has never failed me but because i was enabled by his grace to trust him he has always appeared for my help i delight in speaking well of his name i just love those words i delight in speaking well of his name regardless of where each one of us is today we can choose to trust him and as you go the places god would have you go this week as you meet the people he would have you meet as he brings people across your path would you share with them the story that god is writing in your life will you delight in speaking well of his name let's pray father i pray right now a blessing over these sweet ladies holy spirit we ask you to seal the message that was delivered to each one of our hearts this morning holy spirit would you continue that work that washing of the word that was begun today would you continue that work in our lives even as we leave this place today as we walk where you would have us to walk this week as we encounter those that you bring across our path i pray father that the theme of our life this week would be we delight in speaking well of your name and it is in that name the name that is above absolutely every other name the name of jesus that we pray amen

Channel: Bellevue Baptist Church

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Length: 66min 54sec (4014 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 14 2021