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[0:00] The house of God. How? Because this week I was looking around at the grounds and kind of making a mental list and! it just kept growing and it kept growing and it's kind of discouraging me to be honest of all the things that need to be repaired in this house. So this is not our home. But anyway, get Genesis chapter one this morning. Genesis chapter one.

[0:30] I hope everybody's doing okay. And I hope if you hear anything that's true, you can say amen to it as we go. If you're not doing okay. Genesis one, the first thing we saw last week that God called for when he revived his creation was he called for light. The creation was in darkness. It was submerged under the waters of judgment and the Lord God said, let there be light. And I showed you how Paul used that as an illustration to show what God does in the life of a sinner that's in darkness and under the same condemnation and judgment. And God calls for light. And in that passage, the apostle Paul says it's called the light of the glorious gospel of Christ that shines unto us. And so I gave you a few stories of some individuals that God in his mercies, not willing that any should perish, but in different circumstances and different places and stages of their lives, God brought the light of the gospel into them. One story I gave you was a man on his doorstep that was seeking help. And the Lord shined unto him and he was saved. And so finally,

[1:45] I charged you last Sunday to be willing and to be available to shine as lights in this world, as Paul says in Philippians 2, to allow God to use you to be the light that could shine to somebody else.

[1:58] Now this week, we're going to continue in chapter one. And this time, notice what God did on the second day. And I'm going to warn you, last Sunday was pretty simple. The content of light shining and that relating to the gospel of Jesus Christ, that's a blessing. And it's so true. And I'm thankful that it happened in my life and yours. But what's what we're going to see in day two is going to be, well, just quite a bit more complicated than that. And so there's your warning. You've been warned.

[2:27] Now let's read Genesis 1 verses 6 through 8, the second day of creation. And God said, let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters and let it divide the waters from the waters.

[2:40] And God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. And God called the firmament heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. It doesn't sound like much to you, does it? Just three quick verses and there's a firmament up there, whatever that is exactly. Well, before we continue to comment on the passage we read, I need to first draw your attention to something that we did not read.

[3:13] Something that's missing in this day of creation. Do you remember what we read last week in verse 4? That when God said, let there be light, he saw the light that it was good. There's no mention of anything being good about this firmament. He names it heaven. But he never mentions that it's good.

[3:35] And so what? Not a big deal. And it's not a big deal until you consider the rest of this chapter. In day number 3, you'll see from verses 9 to 13, this is the third day of creation.

[3:48] And in day number 3, at verse number 10, at the end of the verse, it says, God saw that it was good. Okay, so day 1, he sees the light, it's good. Day 3, he sees the dry land and the earth bearing its fruit and all that, it's good. Well, then day 4, in verses 14 through 19, he's calling for the sun, the moon, and the stars.

[4:12] And in day 4, you'll see in verse number 18, at the end of that, God saw that it was good. In day number 5, you're going to see it again in verse 21, God created great whales and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind. And God saw that it was good, and God blessed them, saying, be fruitful.

[4:35] So day 5 is another affirmation that it's good, and there's a blessing upon this. In day number 6, God creates man and animals, and he mentions in, at the end of verse 25, in regards to the animals, he says, God saw that it was good.

[4:56] And then he creates man, he mentions this, and then verse 28, it says, God blessed them. In verse number 31, last verse of chapter 1, God saw everything that he had made, behold, it was very good, speaking of the animals and man upon the earth.

[5:12] And there's the sixth day closing. In chapter 2 is the seventh day, and on the seventh day, God rested from all the work which he had made. In verse number 3, it says, God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.

[5:26] And so in the sixth days and the seventh day of his creative acts, every day there's something good, or there's blessing upon his creative work, except for one day.

[5:41] And so now it's not a coincidence at all. Now it's something to consider and something to study. Why? What about this creative act of affirmament, dividing the waters from the waters and calling it heaven?

[5:57] Why is that not good? I know it's more than a coincidence, because it's not just, I showed it to you, but it's the fact that God stated it each time, except for day two, and it's recorded in the Bible every time, except for day two.

[6:14] God has nothing good to say about this affirmament. One of the idioms of our day, at least of my generation, is saying, it's all good. It's all good.

[6:25] I say it all the time with people. I know, it's all good. It's all good. But considering this truth that we've just uncovered in this chapter, because of day two, I want to preach to you the message I'm going to title, It's Not All Good.

[6:40] It's Not All Good. Let's pray together. Lord, please help us as we study your word. This is some stuff that is, it's a bit much, Lord, and maybe for some it may come over their heads.

[6:50] My prayer is that you'll help us all to receive something that we need, something from you, something that can help us and even direct our attention to your plan for eternity, that we could set our affections on things above and not on the things of this earth.

[7:05] Do a work in our hearts and teach us some things today and apply them as only you can. And I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. It says in verse number 8 that he called the firmament Heaven, with a capital H meaning that's the proper name for it, Heaven.

[7:21] That's why it's capitalized there. It's what he called it. This is not God's holy habitation of Heaven. When Jesus prayed, Our Father which art in Heaven, or as Solomon prayed many times, Hear thou from Heaven, or hear thou from thy holy habitation.

[7:36] This is not a reference to that Heaven. We've studied this in Sunday school a few months ago. This is what we'd maybe call the second Heaven. Going off of what the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12, that there are three Heavens and that God is in the third Heaven.

[7:52] This one, bearing its same name, is though a distinct and a separate new space. This Heaven is created for the purpose of containing His new creation.

[8:06] Now, I want to show you the first reason why this firmament, and why it's not all good, because of this firmament. And what I'm going to say about it is, it's a place of physical separation.

[8:19] In verse number 6, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. The natural world, God's creation, has limits placed upon it.

[8:36] It has an end. There's a barrier, and in this description, there's waters above, and there's waters below. Now, let me show you the Bible on this, so that it's, if you ever watch anybody teaching about the days of creation, when they get to day two, all they, I don't know about 100%, 99% of most, if not all, say, it's the waters of the oceans, and the clouds above.

[9:02] And then they're talking about this firmament being the atmosphere, that the birds fly in, which is described later. But that's not even, that's not even close to the reality of this. Now, I'll show you that from the Bible.

[9:13] Find Psalm 136. I'm going to give you two verses, in the Psalms. Psalm 136 is the first place, and after that we'll go to Psalm 148.

[9:26] Psalm 136. These waters are something far different than the ocean on the earth, or clouds, or some vapor layer above. Anybody here, commentator that tells you that, they're missing something.

[9:39] There's an intense body of water, in Genesis chapter 1, called the deep. That's in verse number 2. Darkness was upon the face of, that's the top, the surface, surface, face, of the deep.

[9:53] And below that, the earth, for whatever cause, and you know, some of it's hidden from us, but God submerged the earth down, deep into this water, this abyss, and put darkness on the face, would not allow his light, to shine down unto it.

[10:09] And then he says, let there be light. And then he says, so the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters, so the Lord moved some of that darkness off, to allow the light to penetrate, in day 1.

[10:21] And here in day 2, he creates a firmament, a division within that body of water, or the deep. So now look at Psalm 138, 136.

[10:33] Alright, so this is the, His mercy endureth forever chapter. Verse number 4, To him who alone doeth great wonders, for his mercy endureth forever.

[10:44] To him that by wisdom, made the heavens, for his mercy endureth forever. To him that stretched out the earth, above the waters, for his mercy endureth.

[10:54] You think that's just talking about dry land, and day 3? No. Look at verse number 7, To him that made great lights, the sun to rule by day, the moon in verse 9. Now he's still dealing with the heavens.

[11:06] And he says the earth is above the waters. Now look at Psalm 148. 148 and verse number 4.

[11:21] Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters, that be above the heavens. So there's an earth, that's above waters, there's waters below the earth, and there's waters above the heavens.

[11:38] So that confirms, what we've read in Genesis chapter 1, in verse number 6, where he placed a firmament, in the midst of the waters. There's waters above, and there's waters beneath.

[11:50] And so there's two passages, that kind of back that up, to confirm and declare, what God did, and both of those, connected to the heavens, things outside of the earth realm, above our heads, or below our heads, in that matter.

[12:02] So God created a firmament, a vast and empty space, that is sandwiched in between, or surrounded by, the great deep. I don't profess to be able, to draw this on a board for you, I don't know the dimensions, of the universe, I don't know the description, or I don't know any of that for sure.

[12:25] But just to help you picture, have you ever seen a globe of glass, that before that glass is cooled, and completely set up, that they infuse an air bubble, like a large pocket of air, down inside of that glass.

[12:40] If you can picture that in your mind, some colored orange or blue glass, but inside is this bubble, you're like, how did they get that in there? Well, there's no holes, there's no, well it's because it was still molten, it's still semi-liquid, like gelatin, and they piped some air into that, and then allowed it to close upon itself, and fully form and harden.

[13:02] And I just imagine, or picture at least that much of it, that within the great deep, that sits below the throne of God, that, won't go into any more of that, just, God created a firmament, he just separated them, and more than probably infusing, or placing air or atmosphere into it, he separated, which created a total vacuum, which they say, I don't believe anything they say, so anyway, let's go on.

[13:33] God created a firmament, that much I believe, an empty space, surrounded by the great deep. It's two days later, in day four, that he decorates that firmament of heaven, with the sun, the moon, and he made the stars also, but at this moment, it's simply space, it's a void space, he divided the enormous body of water, the deep, and inserted a firmament, a place of separation, so why would God create the earth, and why would God place it so far, from his heaven?

[14:10] Well it seems as if he judged that earth, and cast it down into this deep, but now instead of bringing it back, to his heaven, or to connection to him, he creates a firmament, I'm telling you, it's a space of physical separation, it's not all good, because God is keeping man, at a distance, he's keeping man, think about it, this is his design, for what he's seeking to build, and make, and he puts it so far away, relatively speaking, as we would know, from him, I know God's a spirit, heavens is thrown, earth is foots, I know all of that, and whither shall I go, from thy spirit, but physically speaking, he placed us, in such a place, the separation, is so great, that we cannot access, his abode, and God knew what he was doing, when he divided the waters, from the waters, God did this on purpose, creating a firmament, of physical separation, it's for our minds, it's an inconceivable magnitude, but when he did it, it wasn't good, it wasn't good,

[15:19] I don't think there's anything good, about being so far apart, being separated, from an unpassable sea, of emptiness, there's no oxygen out there, there's no water out there, man cannot access, man cannot approach God, man cannot go, and come before the Lord, and bow down, and see him in his glory, high and lifted up, we can't do it, and God made it that way, he made us of the dust, of this ground, that he created, this space around, he put us here, and he confined us, to this place, it's not all good, God did that, man's confined, to the earth, impossible for him, to venture too far, away from it, and if he does, he has to take everything, he gets from the earth, with him, he has to take oxygen, he has to take food, and water, if he's going to get off, this planet, at all, and so, when God created, the firmament, it wasn't all good, because it wasn't for man, and there's a second thing,

[16:24] I want to bring to your attention, the second reason, it's not all good, is because, it's not just a place, of physical separation, but it's a place, of spiritual operation, spiritual operation, in this firmament, there are other beings, that operate, and engage in activity, and I know, this kind of, steps off, into some realm, that we don't fully understand, and I'm not going to try, to exalt it, or get weird with you, but I'm just going to tell you, what the Bible says, and believe the Bible, and not cause you, any reason to fear, or any harm to this, but I'll give you, the references, you can look these up, on your own, I'll just give you, a book and chapter, and save us the time, from turning, but in Colossians chapter 1, the Bible says, that all things, were made by him, and without him, was not anything made, that was made, it describes Jesus Christ, creating things, that are visible, and things, that are invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things, were made by him, and for him, and so the Bible, describes thrones, principalities, powers, dominions, things that are invisible, to the human eye, and yet he created them, and they exist, where are they operating,

[17:45] Ephesians chapter 6, describes, it also uses those terms, principalities, and powers, and it says that we wrestle, not against flesh and blood, human beings, but against, principalities, and powers, against the rulers, of the darkness, of this world, against spiritual wickedness, in what?

[18:04] high places, spiritual wickedness, that we wrestle against, the Bible says, in Isaiah 24, that God will punish, the high ones, that are on high, he's got some judgment, in store for somebody, that's over our heads, in Daniel, I'll read this one to you, in Daniel chapter 10, there are some princes, mentioned, that they're in the spiritual realm, and they're withstanding, an angel, that was sent, with a message, for Daniel, the angel was sent, to deliver a message, to Daniel on the earth, and so between God's heaven, and between man's earth, there's some kind of interference, going on, and I'll read you this passage, just so you hear it, Daniel chapter 10, somebody's interfering, with the mail, from being delivered, this is very interesting to me, and we're not going to, try to park on this at all, but the Bible shows, that Daniel in this passage, was fasting, before God, and he was doing it, for three weeks, and I'm not seeing, that reference, of the three weeks, right, no, where's the reference, of days, later on, it shows you, that there was 21 days, there was 21 days, oh, you know why, because I'm dumb,

[19:54] I'm going to look at chapter 9, just reading it, reading it, and reading it, and reading it, what an idiot, yeah, verse 2, 10-2, in those days, I, Daniel, was mourning, full, three full weeks, three full weeks, he's seeking God, and praying, now look at verse 13, if you're there, verse 12, an angel shows up, he says, then said he unto me, fear not Daniel, for from the first day, that thou didst set thine heart, to understand, and to chasten thyself, before thy God, day one, thy words were heard, and I am come, for thy words, but the prince, of the kingdom of Persia, withstood me, one in twenty days, it took him three weeks, to get past, this, high one, this prince, it's called, and he's not on earth, but lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, Michael's later, and Jude called, an archangel, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I remained there, with the kings of Persia, so these,

[20:54] I don't know what that means, the kings of Persia, but in verse, he's going to reveal, some things to Daniel, and then he's going to leave, verse 21, says, I will show thee, that which is noted, in the scripture of truth, and there is none, that holdeth with me, and these things, but Michael, your prince, I wanted verse 20, that it says, knowest thou, herefore, I'm coming to thee, and now will I return, to fight, with the prince of Persia, and when I'm gone forth, lo, the prince of Grisha, shall come, which is the next empire, that's going to take over, with Alexander the Great, on the earth, this is a bit much, I know, and it's not something, I want to try to tackle, with you, but I'm showing you, that this firmament, that God creates, not all good, because it's a place, a place, a place of spiritual operation, and in the heavens, above our heads, there's things that go on, that I don't understand, I know what the Bible, does say about it, I believe it's real, I believe it's active, I believe it's happening, it's like it's a playground, for some spiritual beings, that have rebelled against God, it's an environment, where they can wage, their activity, and their war, against the work of God, and interfere, with the will of God, and like I said,

[22:07] I don't profess, to understand this very well, but I do believe, what I'm telling you, not only exists, but it's more influential, in your world, than you even understand, why one nation, rises up again, why they hate, the Jewish people so much, you know why, because there's, there's some spiritual wickedness, in high places, by a spirit, that moves, amongst the people, they move in the hearts, and the nations, and they cause, Persia, Iran, to decide, we're going to attack Israel too, what, mind your business, stay in your lane, no, we're going to wipe them, off the face of the earth, and then this nation says, no you're not, there's, there's battles going on, on earth, you need to understand, according to the Bible, there's influence, over our heads, that are, working, to do what, to war, and to mess with the will of God, on this planet, and I know that's a lot, I get it, so I'm going to get off of that, but not only is Satan, called the God of this world, we saw that last week, when it came to the gospel, and him blinding the minds, of them which believe not, but he's also called, in Ephesians 2, he's called the prince, of the power, of the air, over our heads, an elaborate, powerful kingdom, whose operation, and goal, is to deny, the will of God, to withstand, any work of God, in his creation,

[23:30] I taught you, in Sunday school, years ago, in a long series, on Satan, I taught you, his desire, and his purpose, if we could put it, into one phrase, it is to oppose God, it's not to ruin your life, but if God wants to get pleasure, out of your life, then he wants to ruin your life, God wants, he wants to oppose the Lord, the firmament, is his playground, now with that being said, we don't have to fear, any of this, and you don't, if you have God as your, your God, and Jesus Christ, as your savior, God's not flinching at this, he doesn't bat an eye, at any of it, he knows it, he established it, it's there, it's not all good, but we have nothing to fear, the Bible says, if God be forced, who can be against us, the Bible says, that he delivered us, from the power of darkness, and hath translated us, into the kingdom, of his dear son, in whom we have redemption, that means he bought us, so we don't have to fear, this stuff going on, he's fully aware of it, and he's fully in control of it, he just has to speak the word, he's letting some things go, that's because he's God, he lets some things play out, because he's given free will, and that's a, thank God he did that, now and besides that, it's a place of, spiritual operation, it's not all good, so God determined, that his new creation, would be completely separated, from his holy habitation, can you give an answer for that, why did God make this, so far, from him, from his throne, why did he keep that separation, it doesn't appear, that it was like that, in the first time, it doesn't appear, like it was like, that he rebelled, he put, he kicked it out, he judged it, and then he recreated, but he said, nope, we're going to create, a firmament, and we're going to make, a separation, and we're not going, to let them here, and we're going to make, that man out of the dust, of the ground, he's going to be made, a little lower, than the angels, they're not going, to have access, to the third heaven, the sons, there's a day when Satan, the sons of God, came to present themselves, before the Lord, but man, nope, not going to let that happen,

[25:39] God did that, he created that, and kept it at a distance, because it's not all good, it shows you something though, it shows you that, this was not the final, plan, now God did that, he limited man, to this globe, and to receive worship, from that man, he must receive it, in spirit, and in truth, for God is a spirit, and they that worship him, must worship him, in spirit, and in truth, knowing that this, firmament would be accessible, would be controlled ultimately, by falling rebellious, spiritual wickedness, it's not all good, not at all, but that's not the end, of this story, that's not the conclusion, of God's day two creation, this is not, this firmament's not one, to stay forever, let me show you what I mean, come to Revelation, chapter 20, and then, if you can get, 2nd Peter, chapter 3, I want to look at, these two passages, and that will be the end, of our turning,

[26:43] Revelation 20, 2nd Peter 3, this firmament, is not forever, it's not all good, because it's going to vanish away, one day, and it's going to be replaced, I'll start in Revelation, chapter 20, at the end, near the end, of the chapter, start around verse, start in verse 11, let's just read that verse, Revelation 20, verse 11, I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth, and the heaven, fled away, and there was found, no place for them, in chapter 21, in verse 1, I saw a new heaven, and a new earth, for the first heaven, and the first earth, were passed away, and there was no more sea, and the water, the firmament of heaven, the earth, are disintegrated, and abolished, and God, though, he's not just simply, satisfied to eliminate, and wipe them out, he's going to replace it, and do it with something better, but this time, no more sea, it looks as if that, that dividing body of waters, and that separating thing, is gone, and I don't think he had it, from the beginning,

[27:59] I think that was, part of the judgment, and this creation with us, in the firmament, was a new one, it was a way to keep them, at distance, this time around, but when he gets rid of that, and he sets the record straight, we're back, to where he's with men, dwelling with men, now come to, second Peter chapter three, and here's the account of this, and there's one point, that needs to be, made, verse number 10, it says, the day of the Lord, will come as a thief, in the night, in the which the heavens, shall pass away, with a great noise, and the elements, shall melt, with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works, that are therein, shall be burned up, Bible likens that, to a man, taking off coat, a vesture, by God, changing his clothes, he says, I'm going to take them off, and put on a new one, and so he's just, getting rid of this one, verse 11, seeing then, that all these things, shall be dissolved, what manner of persons, ought we to be, in all holy conversation, and godliness, looking for, and hasting unto, the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements, shall melt, with fervent heat, nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth, wherein dwelleth, righteousness, that didn't happen, in Genesis, in the second day, it doesn't say, he created a firmament, and said,

[29:31] God blessed it, and saw that it was good, but when he makes the new one, in that one, is going to dwell, dwell, exist, live, righteousness, that's the one, you want to be in, that's, this, not this one, this one's not all good, this one keeps us, separate from God, this one doesn't even, allow us the opportunity, to get up there, in this sense, this one also, has a, has an extreme, and something, out of our even, understanding, of what's taking place, over our heads, and so when God, gets rid of it, he creates a permanent one, and the creation, of Genesis 1, then makes me think, that it was never intended, to be final, it was never intended, to be permanent, or eternal, what in Revelation 21, that one is, and I want to get, to that one, and the way, I get to that one, is to have my sins forgiven, to have Jesus Christ, as my savior, and to have him, take me to the father, and if I don't have him, and if you don't have him, you're stuck, with this one, and you're stuck, with what, the damnation, that follows this one, and the destruction, creation, so day two,

[30:51] I told you, there's more in there, than you expected, God made a firmament, but he never once, blessed it, and he never told us, that it was good, because it's not, it's a place, of separation, it's a place, of spiritual operation, and something, that we don't even, want to get into, but it's not final, and because we have, Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, we can be with him, and we can envision, in our minds, from the word of God, but one day, be a reality, what it is, that he's developed, and made us for, and going to have us, in his presence, and shine forth, as the sun, and all of that, is going to be ours, and not going to go, that direction, but by the grace of God, we'll get to see it, it makes you, if you think on it, you get to pondering on it, it makes you start to, to see that this one, the decorated with the sun, moon, and stars, is just like, a foreshadowing, of what God's going to have, in the new heavens, and new earth, with us, and, enough of that, but, it's wild, some wild stuff, but we're going to be dismissed, with that, and God willing, hopefully not confuse you, but help you, have a little more handle, on some of those truths, in the Bible,

[32:02] Father, Lord bless your people, help us to live for you, help us to do what's right, to stay in the word of God, to love, and to learn this book, Lord I know, some of this material, just doesn't feel like, it's going to help me tomorrow, but it sure does help me, to know that you know, the end from the beginning, that you have a plan for me, and that I'm saved, by your grace, Lord help us to live, like Peter said, looking and hasting, under the day of God, help us to consider, the eternity, that lays behind this life, and did not set our affections, down here, but on things above, Lord do a work in our hearts, that we might do that, that we might care more, about eternity, care more about the souls of men, and see things, the way you see them, God you're going to have to do that work, because we can't do it alone, so we ask that you would, please be with our brothers, and sisters, those that are sick, speaking of brother Eric, and Genesis, and CJ, and Lord if there's any others, just be with them, touch them, heal them, and bring them back, and Lord help us to shine, as lights in the world, and bring glory to you, and we ask this in Jesus name,

[33:04]  Amen, Amen, you are dismissed today.