[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you'll be blessed by the preaching of God's Word.
[0:14] Joke your Bibles to Genesis chapter 1 and verse 1. And I want to talk to you about an eternal creator of God for a few minutes tonight. I want to take time to go over some things I think you know, but you ought to have a clear in your heart.
[0:28] You know, time is a very relative thing and it's to us, not to God. Our God has always existed and will always exist.
[0:41] And a gazillion, bazillion years before we ever came on the scene, He was already here. He was already doing things. He is God. And that is extremely difficult for us to accept.
[0:53] It's hard for us to believe, but it is what the Word of God says. It's hard for us to believe that somebody stepped out of nothing and created everything that we know and understand.
[1:04] And as men, we would like to figure out what happened and we would like to be able to quantitatively state that there was this process by which God made us. And so we often reject a very clear biblical teaching.
[1:18] And that is that God is a forever God. And He is a Creator God. And that's what Genesis 1-1 says. And I'm going to just walk you through some more.
[1:30] And we'll finish chapter 1, Lord willing, Sunday night. But I would just like to talk to you tonight about our eternal God in three persons and help you to see what the Bible says about Him.
[1:40] I again tell you that I unashamedly believe everything the Bible says from the first verse of Genesis to the last verse of Revelation. I believe with all my heart that God made man.
[1:52] I believe that God is an eternal God, a forever God. I believe that He spoke. And it's interesting. Somebody came to the office last week and said, I've been taking a course, been listening to things.
[2:02] And they kind of said that Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 weren't exactly literal because the world was billions of years old. And it was foolish to think that God created the world in six literal days.
[2:13] And one of the things they mocked was that if He created it in seven days, why did He need to rest on the seventh day? And so just let me say to you that our God is a Creator God.
[2:25] And if you believe the Bible, there's no other way to interpret that. And you will get more of that Sunday night as we go through it just a little bit. But read with me one more time. Genesis 1.1.
[2:36] Read that with me. And if you have an ink pen or paper somewhere, you might like to take some notes. You can write some things down and be willing or ready to ask some questions. Genesis 1.1. The Bible says, In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.
[2:52] Father, I have no way to make them see how real you are. Some here believe just like we ought to. And some here might doubt that you really created the world.
[3:03] They have heard from liars and false scientists to tell them that you did not create us. They have heard all their lives that there was a process of evolution.
[3:17] They have heard that you are a God that we invented. And I could never, ever get inside their hearts and never, ever convince them of the truth. Only you can do that.
[3:27] I ask you, Holy Spirit, to convict hearts. I ask you to make the word of God come true and loud in their hearts. Help them to know that you are right and you are true. Help them to realize how awesomely this impacts our life.
[3:41] Make it real to your people. And I will give you praise for all that you do in Jesus' name. Amen. Number one, God spoke the world into existence.
[3:52] God spoke the world into existence. And I would like to, you'll get this Sunday night, I would like for you to go through the book of Genesis or Genesis chapter 1 and just find all the times God said and it happened.
[4:07] You know, it wasn't like God was creating everything like some little tinkerer in a carpenter shop. He spoke. Look what the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 3.
[4:19] And you might want to mark that down in the margin of your Bible in Genesis chapter 1 so you'll know what the Bible says. Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
[4:35] There's a whole lot of Bible truth in chapter 11 verse 3 of Hebrews. And just if you got your Bible open or you're looking at it there behind me on the screen, notice some of the things it says.
[4:46] The worlds were framed by the word of God. Well, that's two or three things you could obviously note. Number one, John 1 says in the beginning was the word.
[4:58] And the word was with God and the word was God. And without him, nothing was made without him. Everything that was made was made through him. So the word of God. Also, if you look at Genesis chapter 1, he just spoke and things happened.
[5:12] He said, let it be. It happened. He spoke and things were done. Another thing I want you to notice in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 3, if you would real quickly, it says, things that are seen were not made of things which do appear.
[5:25] That's a pretty deep statement. You know, when you make something, you make it out of something that people can see. The people who made the chairs you're sitting on did not walk into an empty room and take nothing and make those chairs.
[5:37] They found raw product and they worked that product. They bought it from this place and this place where people had put it together and they made those chairs. They can invent. They can't create.
[5:48] They can make something out of something, but they can't make something out of nothing. But your God did. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 3, through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God.
[6:01] So that things which you can see were not made of things that you can see. Things were not made of what you could see. So God didn't take things and make them. God made the things from which he made the things.
[6:14] So God is a creator God. God. Last thing I want you to see before I continue with you. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 3 says, through faith, we understand. Through faith, we understand.
[6:26] And so I will be honest with you. The word of God itself says, I understand how the world was made because I believe God. I am not just a Christian.
[6:37] I am a believer. That's my favorite word for who I am. I am a believer. Too many of us are cultural Christians. We were raised in America and taught a whole bunch of stuff.
[6:48] We know, quote unquote, that God created the world, even though we may not believe that. We may believe more science than we believe God. But we think, well, you know, I'm a Christian. But let me just explain some to you.
[6:59] I'm a believer in Jesus Christ. I believe that God created the earth. I believe that God sent his son. I believe that God wrote a book. I believe that Jesus died on a cross and was buried and rose again.
[7:11] I am a believer. I believe this book. You should be a believer. Look at what it said. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 3. Through faith, we understand. You see, what that means is I'll just take him at his word.
[7:26] I will just take him at his word. God spoke and it happened. He did not need billions of years to take place. It's nothing new that people would make fun of God.
[7:37] It's nothing new that people would make fun of the word of God. It's nothing new that people would scoff and laugh. Look at 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 3, if you would. The Bible says, knowing this, that there shall come in the last day scoffers.
[7:53] In the last day, there will be these mockers, these people who like to laugh at and make fun of the things of God. And they will walk after their own lusts or their own desires. Their life is built around themselves.
[8:04] Their life is built around themselves, which is the opposite of you. If you're a born-again Christian, your life is built around him and not around you. It's not about you and it's not about your family.
[8:15] It's not about your things and your stuff. It's about him and his stuff. And you're living for him. But these guys in these last days, they mock what God says. They mock his word and they walk after their own lust.
[8:25] Verse 4. And while they're mocking, here's what they say. Where's the promise of his coming? You know, he said in the Bible, he was coming. Don't believe that one. They've been saying that ever since our daddy's died.
[8:37] But all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. All things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. They are mocking. Look at verse 5. They are willingly ignorant.
[8:50] Look at what it says. For this they willingly are ignorant of. Would you underline that? On purpose they are ignorant of God and his word and what it says.
[9:01] On purpose they are ignorant of God and his word and what it says. For that by the word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water.
[9:13] Can I get you in verse 5 to circle in your Bible? Again, he said it was the word. God spoke and it happened. In verse 5 he said, For this they willingly are ignorant of that by the word of God.
[9:26] By the word of God, that's how the heavens of old were made and the earth standing out of the water and in the water. Whereby the world that then was being overflowed with water perished.
[9:36] The big question for people who believe the Bible is how do we have such an old earth if it's such a young earth?
[9:54] If things happened without something catastrophic, how did fossils form instead of turning to dust? In Job chapter 34 and verse 15 the Bible says, All flesh shall perish together and man shall turn again unto dust.
[10:10] Yet you have fossils. You have things that happened real quickly that caused different cataclysmic events that took place. Two major ones obviously.
[10:22] One was the creation where God said from 0 to 100 in one second. From 0 to 100 in one second. God said, There's nothing and now there's something.
[10:33] There's no man and now there's a man. God did it. Then there's a flood. And of course these people. And it was interesting. I just thought. I mentioned to you in this room not knowing what you knew.
[10:44] And a young man stepped into my office back there. Into my little cubicle. And he said, I'm listening to some Bible teaching online right now. And they say you can't trust Genesis 1, 1 through 11.
[10:55] And so my response to him was that means you can't trust them. Because they are obviously already liars and have admitted it. If you can't. Because I've got to choose who I'm going to believe.
[11:06] And your credentials don't rank near as high as his do. Amen. So the Bible says in Genesis chapter 7 and verse 11. In the 600th year of Noah's life.
[11:16] And yes, I believe he lived 600 years in case you'd like to know. Guess how long I believe. I believe he was in 600 years old when this happened. He said, That's not possible. Maybe it's not for you. But it was for the guy who wrote the book.
[11:28] It's the guy who created the world. A guy who existed forever. And you're just a little bitty nothing. He made a speck on a planet in a solar system. I doubt you are in a position to tell him what's going on.
[11:39] No matter how many degrees you have from how many colleges. In the 600th year of Noah's life. In the second month. The 17th day of the month. The same day were all of the fountains of the great deep broken up.
[11:51] And the windows of heaven were open. There's another catastrophic event. The flood. Second day I'd like to show you. First thing. And God spoke. And it happened. That's how the world got here. God spoke.
[12:02] And it happened. You say, Well, that's what you believe. That is exactly what I believe. And that's what I understand by faith to have happened. And if you have any doubts of that. It's because you are also a believer.
[12:13] You're just not a believer in the God of the Bible. You're a believer in a scientist that told you something differently. Number two. God created the world or the earth with an appearance of age.
[12:25] God created the earth with an appearance of age. You know, people say, Well, how in the world did everything happen so quickly? Well, you know, when you start full grown, it's not hard to get full grown. It didn't take 30 years to be 30 years old for Adam.
[12:38] It didn't take Adam any time. The trees were created mature enough to bear fruit. Genesis chapter 1 verse 11. Do you have your Bible open? I again tell you that I understand by faith.
[12:50] And I'm just telling you what the Bible says. And I acknowledge that I went to a college that taught everything the opposite of what I'm saying. My biology teacher said, You know, anybody who believes in creation is just foolish.
[13:04] He said, on the evolutionary chain, I believe the next one will be roaches. He said, we can't kill them. They can live through anything. You can put them in a freezer and they'll live through it. And he said, I'll just be honest with you, Austin, talking to me personally.
[13:16] Because I went to his office and I asked him if he knew he died to go to heaven. I asked him if he believed the Bible. And he just started laughing at me. And he said, and I quote, Someday there will be a roach God with a roach Jesus and a roach Bible and a roach like you trying to talk about it.
[13:34] I said, okay. That's all I want to know. I know you ain't going to heaven when you die. Unless you get saved. Amen. And look what the Bible says. He told me I was too intelligent to believe the Bible, which I really appreciated his acknowledging of my great intelligence.
[13:50] And I walked out as dumb as I was when I walked in. Amen. In Genesis chapter 1 and verse 11, the Bible said, God said, let the earth bring forth grass, the herb already yielding seed, yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit, the fruit tree already yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth, and it was so.
[14:14] I don't know if you've ever planted trees. I don't know if you've ever planted any seeds. I don't know if you've ever waited for a seed to grow all the way into a full plant. But when God did Genesis chapter 1 and verse 11, he said, there's a tree and it's got fruit right now.
[14:27] Done. Finished. Next. That's what the Bible says. He created the earth with the appearance of age. Adam was full grown and ready to reproduce 10 seconds after he was made.
[14:41] Wasn't a wife yet. She'll be taken care of in that same day. But Genesis chapter 1 and verse 26, if you have your Bible. Genesis chapter 1 and verse 26. And God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
[15:01] So God created man in his own image and the image of God created he him. Male and female created he them and God blessed him. And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing.
[15:20] That moves upon the earth. Bible truths. If you're a Bible believer, which I am. Unashamedly. In Genesis chapter 1 and verse 18, Adam was already smart enough to name all the animals day one.
[15:35] No kindergarten. No elementary school, high school and college. Nobody teaching him. God made him full grown and smart. Bible says in Genesis, I don't have time to read all of it.
[15:46] But in Genesis chapter 1, 18, he says, Madam, it's not good you'd be alone. Let's let's I want you to check out all the things I've made, all the animals I've made. In verse 19, he brought all those animals to Adam to see what Adam would call them.
[16:00] He brought all those animals to Adam to see what he would call them. I couldn't even make up that many names. But Adam, in verse 20, gave names to all cattle and fowl of the air and every beast of the field.
[16:14] But for Adam, there was not found a helpmeet for him. Next, God created the earth with an appearance of age. Adam was strong enough to tend the garden. Soon as he was made, he was strong enough to tend the garden.
[16:28] Adam was a full grown, strong, intelligent man. Less than an hour after creation. Less than an hour after creation. Trees already blooming. Trees already bearing fruit.
[16:40] Grass already having seeds on the end of the stalk. God made a full grown earth that appeared with age immediately. Though it was had no age, it had all the appearances of age.
[16:54] By the way, if you believe, see, if you're not going to believe Genesis 1, 1, you're going to have to go through all your Bible and throw out a whole bunch of it. And this is really where it really bothers me that nowadays preachers want to make the Bible palatable to your scientific mind so that you'll accept the Bible because they say you've been to college and you know so much.
[17:13] But then if that's the case, then Jesus didn't make wine, did he? Because in John chapter 2 and verse 10, you know what? He took some water and in just a few seconds it was wine. He didn't need the whole process of letting that water be put on the ground and some seeds to be planted and some grapes to grow up and the grapes to get ripe and the grapes to be harvested and the grapes to be pressed and wine to be made.
[17:33] He didn't need that. It just happened immediately when he said the same God who made the earth could turn water into wine. So he made the earth with an appearance of age.
[17:47] Third thing I would like to show you real quickly. You can learn a lot from the creation or general revelation.
[17:58] That's what it's called. You might write that down. General revelation. You see, God speaks to us through nature. God speaks to us through nature. Psalm 19, 1 through 4, the Bible says, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork.
[18:17] Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night shows knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is going out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
[18:28] In them hath he set the tabernacle for the sun. God said in his book, in the book of Psalms, God said that when you look at the creation, the creation, the stars in the heavens scream out, there must be a God.
[18:43] How in the world do planets orbit successfully for 7,000 years? How is it a sun? No matter how much they may talk to you about global warming and all the things that seem to be going wrong to them, how is it that for 7,000 years it's been going pretty good?
[19:00] Because somebody made it. Because somebody made it. The Bible says in Romans chapter 1, verse 19, For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen.
[19:13] You can know things about God because you can see that God has created the world. Being understood that by the things that are made, even his eternal power in Godhead, so they are without excuse.
[19:26] They are without excuse. God made the world. Romans chapter 1, verse 21, Because when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
[19:42] Without a doubt, God's creation teaches us a lot of things, and we should study it. By the way, can I just tell you real quickly, I'm not against science. I love doctors. If a doctor hadn't figured out how to get my kidney out, I would be still very sick.
[19:57] I don't know when I would have died, but I'd still be very sick. I'm very fine with us studying all of God's nature. God gave us wisdom, and God gave us intelligence, but we can't study what we can't see.
[20:10] We can't study what happened a gazillion years ago like they think. All men can see there's something special that took place to get us where we are. It's right to study nature and the creation, but it can never take the place of the Word of God.
[20:26] It's right to study nature, but it can never take the place of the Word of God. If you were Peruvian, and I thought you were just simple-minded enough to just believe God, I'd simply say to you, if you were walking through the jungles of Peru somewhere and you found this watch, not a one of you would think the molecules all got together and started jumping around and made this thing, and got it ticking and got it on the wrong day of the month, it says it's Christmas today.
[20:52] Y'all wouldn't have thought that. You'd have thought some dummy lost his watch, and I just found it. But since you're too intelligent for that, let me just say to you this. God gave us something.
[21:05] It's the foundation of everything we believe. It is this holy book. Everything I believe and everything I teach, it's in this holy book.
[21:15] People ask me all the time, well, how can you defend it? In fact, Piers Morgan or whatever his name is just said that it needs an amendment because it's got some things wrong. And I would say to you, if the Bible doesn't need an amendment, he needs an amendment.
[21:30] The Word of God is greater and should be studied. Look at what it says in Matthew 24, 35. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. I believe with all my heart I have a copy of the very Word of God.
[21:46] Creation fails, disintegrates, and falls apart. The Word of God does not change and will not fail. It's through the Word of God you can understand much of what you actually see and experience in this world and the creation.
[21:58] You understand that you don't come and look at the world and then come check out the Bible to see if it lines up. You start with the Bible and see what the Bible says and check the world and see if it lines up. Because this is right and people are wrong.
[22:09] This is the Word of God. This is where you start. This is what you look at. Natural revelation, the creation is sufficient to condemn sinners, but not to save them.
[22:21] In Romans chapter 1 and verse 20, there's enough about looking around and realizing that God made this world to send you to hell, but there's not enough to send you to heaven. You need the book.
[22:33] You need the Holy Spirit of God to make His Word real in your life. Though we can see and learn a lot from creation, it's the Word of God that's perfect. And I love this. Would you go back with me to Psalm 19?
[22:45] In Psalm 19, he said, The heavens declare the glory of God. And you could easily stop right there and say, look at that. Can't you see that? If you study the creation, you can learn a lot of stuff. But he gets down to verse 7 in that same Psalm, in Psalm chapter 19, where he said, The heavens declare, in verse 7 he says, It's the law of the Lord that is perfect, converting the soul.
[23:07] It's the testimony of the Lord that is sure, making wise the simple. It's the statutes of the Lord that are right, rejoicing the heart. It's the commandment of the Lord that is pure, enlightening the eyes.
[23:19] The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. It's this book. I don't know how to tell you that.
[23:30] You know, honestly, I feel like right now, you know, I mean, I almost feel like I'm, you know, I want to talk to some hardheads. It's this book. It's this book. It's that simple.
[23:41] It's this book. You know, I don't know. I don't care how intelligent you are. You're still a created one. You're not a creator. You're a created one. I don't care how smart you are.
[23:52] Somebody else gave you your smarts. I don't care how much money you have or what position you have. Somebody else did that. That way, again, if you're going to throw away the creation, you'll have to throw away what a lot of other people said.
[24:05] By the way, the creation story and the word of God is the basis for almost everything. Other Bible writers believe the creation story. Where does family truth come from?
[24:15] Where does family truth come from? In Matthew chapter 19 and verse 4, Jesus himself quotes the Old Testament. Of course, he would know it. He was a Jew and therefore he would have been going to synagogue and he would have memorized the word of God and treated it with reverence and respect.
[24:32] But he knew it more than that because he wrote it himself. He knew it more than that because he is the word of God in person. He is the word of God. In Matthew chapter 19 and verse 4, he answered and said to them, have you guys not read the Bible?
[24:45] Have you guys not read Genesis? Have you guys not read what God said? That he which made them at the beginning made them male and female. So God's the one that set that up.
[24:58] From the very beginning, Jesus recognized that. Jesus goes all the way back to Genesis chapter 1 and says, God made them in the beginning and he made a man and he made a woman. Verse 5, he says, that's the reason we'll do family like we do it.
[25:10] Look at what he says in verse 5. And for this cause, for this cause, that should be circled in your Bible. For this cause, for the word of God, for how God did things in the very beginning, a man shall leave his father and his mother.
[25:23] Paul believed that God had called the light to shine out of darkness in the book of Genesis chapter 1. That's how he does it. And he says that same God that called that same light out is the same one that made you be able to see the truth.
[25:36] 2 Corinthians 4, 6. For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
[25:50] People on purpose want to forget, according to Peter, that God created the world by his word. It's a kind of a, you know, humans don't like creation.
[26:01] It's kind of like a thing to mock. But it's on purpose. They willingly want to. We said it, we saw it already. 2 Peter 3, 5. They are willingly, they willingly are ignorant of.
[26:14] They on purpose don't want to know. I don't know and I don't want you to tell me. Because if God made the world, it's going to make some major differences. Here's the major truth.
[26:25] The biggest truth we must learn is this. God was here before the earth. Genesis 1, 1. In the beginning, God already was.
[26:38] Boy, doesn't that put us in our place? Doesn't that remind us who we are? Before the first man was ever created, before the first tree was ever created, before the sun and the moon were made to rule the day and the night before any of it happened, God was already there.
[26:56] He is an eternal God. He is to be worshipped. You can't flippantly come to him. You can't flippantly treat his word. He is the eternal almighty God.
[27:08] In Psalm chapter 9 and verse 2, the Bible says, Before the mountains were brought forth, wherever thou hast formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
[27:21] So what's that mean? From as far back that way forever. Everlasting just means lasting forever. It means as far back as you can go that way and as far forward as you can go that way. He was already there and he is God.
[27:32] He is God. He is God. And before the mountains were ever made, before he formed the earth and the world, he was already here. He's eternal and he's always been.
[27:44] Isn't it a sweet thing if you can, wouldn't it be a sweet thing if you could somehow figure out there wasn't a God? You could live the way you wanted. But it all screams there is a God.
[27:57] He's an eternal God. In Genesis 21, 3, Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God. In Deuteronomy chapter 33 and verse 27, he is the eternal God with everlasting arms.
[28:12] In Romans chapter 16 and verse 26, he's the everlasting God. In 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 17, now unto the king, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God.
[28:25] Eternal, immortal, invisible. Eternal, immortal, invisible. Doesn't die. Eternal, didn't have a beginning, doesn't have an end, invisible. The only wise God.
[28:40] Five minutes. Page 8 out of 14. Matthew 3, 16 through 17. The one true God exists in three persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
[28:53] In Matthew 3, 16 through 17, Jesus is being baptized. And Jesus, when he's baptized, goes down in the water. And the Spirit, he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove.
[29:05] So there's Jesus and the Spirit of God. And then the voice cries from heaven saying, this is my beloved Son. In Matthew 28, 18 through 20, we are told to go and baptize him in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost.
[29:18] In John chapter 3 and verse 34, for he whom God has sent speaks the words of God. For God gives not the Spirit unto him. The Father loves the Son. You got the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
[29:31] John 14, 15. The Father, the Comforter, and the Son are all in the verses. In Acts chapter 2, Jesus hath, and this Jesus has God raised up. Jesus the Son, God the Father raised up.
[29:43] And in verse 33, they have received the promise of the Holy Ghost. In Acts chapter 10 and verse 36, the word which God sent unto the children of Israel. Preaching peace by Jesus Christ.
[29:55] And in verse 38, God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost. You say, why is that important when you're talking about the creation? Because God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit already existed before Genesis 1, verse 1.
[30:12] Always, forever. In Genesis chapter 1, in verse 26, the Bible says, And God said, let us make a man in our image after our likeness.
[30:25] In Genesis chapter 3, in verse 22, the word of God says, And the Lord God said, behold, the man has become as one of us. In Genesis chapter 11, in verse 7, it says, Go to, let us go down and confound their language.
[30:41] In Isaiah chapter 6, in verse 8, it says, Whom shall I send who will go for us? Then Isaiah said, here am I, send me. I want you to understand, Jesus isn't made.
[30:55] Jesus wasn't made. Jesus isn't anything less than God. He is God. He is the creator God. I don't have time. We take forever. So I'm going to finish Genesis chapter 1 Sunday night.
[31:06] We'll go on to Genesis chapter 2 next Thursday, Lord willing. But I just want you to know, just listen to this. Listen to this. Jesus didn't have a beginning and he doesn't have an end. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
[31:18] Tomorrow, he is God. The Holy Spirit doesn't have a beginning or an end. God. God. And God was involved in all the creation. And there's plenty of verses that show that. The last thing I'd like to show you is this.
[31:33] God's in charge. God's in charge. He wrote this book. He had a plan before he ever made the world that he would save us.
[31:44] None of it was by mistake or by accident. In Acts chapter 2 and verse 23, the Bible says, Him, talking about Jesus being delivered by the determinant, counsel, and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and with wicked hands have crucified and slain.
[32:01] You see, God had in his heart to save you when man rebelled. And here's really the key. Adam and Eve are in the garden.
[32:13] Adam and Eve tell God, you can't tell us anything. We will do what we want to do. And they departed and they went their own way. And they deserved to go to hell. They deserved to die.
[32:23] They deserved not to be loved. They deserved not to be saved. But the creator God was also a saving God. And he made a plan before the world was ever formed, that Jesus would come and Jesus would die.
[32:35] So the whole Bible, there's no shock. See, the people that would mock your Bible, they'll mock Genesis chapter 1. And then they'll even tell you that the Jesus of Holy Week, the Jesus of the resurrection, he came to do good stuff.
[32:51] He came to do good stuff. He was trying to do good stuff. And then they grabbed him and they killed him. And they killed him. And it really wasn't, I mean, it wasn't God's plan. And real quickly, the apostles wrote a new story. But the truth of the matter is the same God who wrote the whole Bible knew exactly what was happening and set a plan.
[33:06] And it was his determined counsel based on his foreknowledge of what he would do. So God knew Jesus would die before Genesis 1.1. When did he know it?
[33:17] I don't know. A gazillion, bazillion years ago. That's when he knew it. He's always known it. And could I just remind you, maybe this has been too much. My wife says it's almost like going to school. So maybe this is too much for you.
[33:29] But somewhere in there, you need to know he is God. You need to know that what we preach and teach isn't so you can be a Baptist or you can learn this. It's a word of God.
[33:40] And I know nobody's going to preach it or teach it anymore. I know it's out of style and you need a Dr. Phil lesson. But the truth is you need to know he is God. He made it all. He's the creator God.
[33:50] He was before everything and he's after everything. He's the creator God. And he's the judge of the universe. You just need to know this. He's not somebody we invented.
[34:02] We're somebody he created. And you need to know him. And we need to share his gospel message with the world. He loves us. His son died for us so that we could be saved.
[34:14] It's his plan. It's his work. It's his ministry. He is God. He is an eternal God. He is a creator God.
[34:26] He is before it all. He is after it all. He is everything. Genesis 1.1 could help you straighten up a whole lot of theology. Because in a lot of ways you think God ought to be doing stuff for you.
[34:41] When you are what he made. And you are here for him. Not the other way around. And so your money and your time and your talents and your abilities.
[34:55] They came from him. He is the eternal creator God. Father in heaven I love you. And I pray God that you would strike awesome reverence and fear in the hearts of unbelievers.
[35:10] That they would know that you truly exist. And that you really are real. That you did create this world. And I pray God that you would wake people up to believe what your word says. Holy Spirit the same light that shined.
[35:22] When you call light to shine out of darkness. In Genesis 1 I ask you to cause light to shine in their hearts. And let them see the truth and know that you are real. God save people tonight.
[35:32] And God calls Christians to stand in all of you. Your person and your power. And your purpose for our lives. God show yourself to your people. You have been listening to Austin Gardner.
[35:46] Pastor of Vision Baptist Church. For contact information. Location. Service times. Or more audio and video recordings. Log on to www.visionbaptist.com Send usondern.
[36:00] Thank you. Thank you. Bye-bye.
[36:16] Bye-bye. Congratulations. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.