WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.679 So Colossians chapter 1 verse 15 to 21 says this. 00:00:07.980 --> 00:00:14.759 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 00:00:14.759 --> 00:00:29.400 ! For in him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:34.340 All things have been created through him and for him. 00:00:35.920 --> 00:00:40.579 He is before all things and in him all things hold together. 00:00:41.939 --> 00:00:46.140 And he is the head of the body, the church. 00:00:47.500 --> 00:00:55.879 He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 00:00:55.880 --> 00:01:17.820 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross. 00:01:17.819 --> 00:01:29.019 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. 00:01:30.299 --> 00:01:30.719 Amen. 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:34.340 Thank you, Yvonne. 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:38.039 I put a typo on the front of there. 00:01:38.159 --> 00:01:42.260 So you've got an extra verse from Colossians chapter 1, which I had not originally intended. 00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:45.599 But thank you, Yvonne, for following what I wrote on the notice sheet. 00:01:45.640 --> 00:01:47.340 That's my fault entirely. 00:01:47.739 --> 00:01:49.719 I feel like we should read verse 22. 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:59.459 But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you wholly in his sight without blemish and free from accusation. 00:01:59.920 --> 00:02:02.640 Let's pray and ask for the Lord's help as we come to his word. 00:02:02.700 --> 00:02:03.019 Let's pray. 00:02:06.099 --> 00:02:10.099 Heavenly Father, we want to pray and ask for your help this morning. 00:02:10.099 --> 00:02:20.740 Lord, we're conscious of our own weakness, the weakness of our minds, of our concentration levels, of my speaking abilities. 00:02:21.079 --> 00:02:23.599 Lord, we don't trust in ourselves. 00:02:23.699 --> 00:02:24.459 We trust in you. 00:02:25.400 --> 00:02:29.139 Be gracious to us by your spirit and speak to us through your word this morning, we pray. 00:02:30.219 --> 00:02:37.319 Help us, we ask, to leave with a deep sense of your glory and your wonder as we pray in Jesus' name. 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:38.519 Amen. 00:02:38.519 --> 00:02:38.719 Amen. 00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:39.439 Amen. 00:02:40.099 --> 00:02:40.539 Amen. 00:02:41.439 --> 00:02:45.680 Sometimes in my idle moments, I don't know whether you do this, but I imagine time traveling. 00:02:46.340 --> 00:02:51.919 Anyone ever ponder the wonders of time travel and where you might go and who you might see? 00:02:52.319 --> 00:03:04.459 One of the scenarios that runs through in my mind as I imagine time traveling is going back in time and planting in the hands of people stuff that they don't really understand what it is. 00:03:04.620 --> 00:03:05.139 Do you know what I mean? 00:03:05.139 --> 00:03:10.279 You know, say, putting a Roman soldier in a Tesla, for example. 00:03:11.279 --> 00:03:13.119 What would he make of it? 00:03:13.419 --> 00:03:13.899 What is it? 00:03:13.900 --> 00:03:21.379 And the wonder of AI is now that I can show you a picture of these wonderful things that come into my mind. 00:03:21.980 --> 00:03:24.800 What about the idea of giving a Victorian an iPhone? 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:27.480 What would they make of that? 00:03:27.479 --> 00:03:27.919 Yeah. 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:27.919 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:28.559 Yeah. 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:34.500 As I kind of ponder these things in my head, eventually the practical part of my brain takes over, which it often does. 00:03:34.580 --> 00:03:35.620 And then I go, you know what? 00:03:35.860 --> 00:03:37.640 You couldn't only give them an iPhone, could you? 00:03:37.699 --> 00:03:40.979 You'd also have to take the whole mobile phone network with you and the Internet. 00:03:40.979 --> 00:03:45.459 Otherwise, really, the phone would just be a dead thing in their hand. 00:03:45.659 --> 00:03:49.459 And, you know, if you were to take a Tesla to a Roman soldier, you'd also have to take a charging station. 00:03:49.560 --> 00:03:52.120 It's hard enough to find one of those in the 21st century. 00:03:52.199 --> 00:03:55.819 So never mind finding one all that long time ago. 00:03:55.819 --> 00:04:02.739 But if you put those sort of practical concerns to one side, there are some other practical concerns with time travel, it has to be said. 00:04:02.819 --> 00:04:13.620 But if you put those aside for one moment, think, why is it that an iPhone would be so overwhelming to a Victorian or a Tesla to a Roman soldier? 00:04:15.879 --> 00:04:24.899 Well, really, it's not, I don't think, just because of its capabilities, you know, that an iPhone solves a whole set of problems that a Victorian doesn't really have. 00:04:25.819 --> 00:04:31.000 But really, it's because they don't understand where that has come from. 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:34.159 They don't know the story of its development. 00:04:34.939 --> 00:04:38.040 They don't know who created it or why it was created. 00:04:38.579 --> 00:04:41.659 They don't know for whom it was made. 00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:43.399 You know, the point is this, really. 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:53.819 If you're going to understand the purpose of something, you have to also know where it's come from, who made it, what they made it for. 00:04:54.819 --> 00:05:00.339 And what I want us to see over the next few weeks in a much more profound way is that the same is true for our lives. 00:05:01.219 --> 00:05:12.959 I think that it is probably fair to say that many people in our world, maybe some of us here this morning, live our lives rather like a Victorian holding an iPhone or a Roman soldier driving a Tesla. 00:05:12.959 --> 00:05:22.459 Life for us is very, very confusing because we have basically no idea why we're here, who made us, what we're for. 00:05:24.459 --> 00:05:28.959 The Victorians missed out on the launch of the iPhone, didn't they, in 2007? 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:31.899 And we've missed out on the launch of our lives. 00:05:31.979 --> 00:05:32.879 Where are they from? 00:05:33.379 --> 00:05:34.219 What are they for? 00:05:35.319 --> 00:05:38.039 You know, and we see that we're capable of some amazing things, don't you? 00:05:38.079 --> 00:05:39.699 We can love people. 00:05:40.419 --> 00:05:41.680 We can show kindness. 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:43.120 We can heal. 00:05:43.240 --> 00:05:43.819 We can build. 00:05:43.939 --> 00:05:44.540 We can learn. 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:45.199 We can grow. 00:05:45.500 --> 00:05:47.579 We're capable of making art and music. 00:05:47.819 --> 00:05:50.920 We can tell stories that move us. 00:05:51.480 --> 00:05:54.319 We can even make and operate Teslas and iPhones. 00:05:54.319 --> 00:06:03.480 But if we don't understand our origins, life is not just only terribly confusing, but also those brilliant things become meaningless. 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:07.659 Because without knowing our origins, we don't know our purpose. 00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:11.839 Now, of course, you don't have to be a Christian to realize that, do you? 00:06:12.019 --> 00:06:16.819 Anyone, regardless of their religion or their creed, is obsessed with origin stories. 00:06:17.719 --> 00:06:23.139 In the search for meaning and purpose, everyone always has to go back to an origin story, don't they? 00:06:23.139 --> 00:06:28.560 It's why when you read a non-Christian book, a secular book on how to deal with anxiety or loneliness, 00:06:29.079 --> 00:06:35.019 it will tell you stories about how your ancient ancestors lived in tight communities to care for one another. 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:40.560 You read a management book, desperately trying to work out how to look after the people who work with you, 00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:44.680 and they will tell you about how we survived or we lived in caves. 00:06:45.300 --> 00:06:48.939 Or you watch the Blue Planet or Life of Mammals, whatever it is. 00:06:48.939 --> 00:06:52.459 And they take you back to some sort of speculative origin story. 00:06:52.579 --> 00:06:59.019 Because even without the origin story, even the beauty of what you see is sort of robbed of purpose and meaning. 00:06:59.939 --> 00:07:03.439 But the problem is with all those origin stories, it's essentially they're speculative, aren't they? 00:07:03.879 --> 00:07:05.279 They are best guesses. 00:07:06.100 --> 00:07:08.939 Because we weren't there, and so we don't know. 00:07:08.939 --> 00:07:11.980 We're just guessing. 00:07:12.839 --> 00:07:16.439 Like a Roman soldier in a Tesla wondering, I wonder what this button does. 00:07:17.719 --> 00:07:20.800 Now, of course, when you come to the Bible, it's very different to that, isn't it? 00:07:20.839 --> 00:07:28.500 The Bible starts with an origin story, but it is unique and different because it is told by the one who was there. 00:07:29.300 --> 00:07:30.159 God himself. 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:30.460 God himself. 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:37.180 And my plan over four weeks over the summer is to give you four sermons on Genesis 1 to 3. 00:07:37.820 --> 00:07:43.100 And trying not so much to work through the chapters verse by verse, which is what we often do here. 00:07:43.240 --> 00:07:50.500 But rather to come up with and show you sort of four grand origin themes that come from Genesis 1 to 3. 00:07:50.700 --> 00:07:55.420 So that we can, by seeing those together, discover the purpose of our lives. 00:07:55.420 --> 00:07:57.180 Now, these aren't exhaustive. 00:07:57.780 --> 00:08:02.280 Really, Genesis 1 to 3 teach lots and lots of things that we need to know. 00:08:02.520 --> 00:08:05.800 But these four themes, I think, are foundational for us. 00:08:05.840 --> 00:08:08.580 So I want us this week to consider the God of creation. 00:08:09.460 --> 00:08:11.520 Who is it that makes us? 00:08:11.819 --> 00:08:12.860 What is he like? 00:08:13.080 --> 00:08:14.720 What can we know about him? 00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:17.620 What can we see from the act of creation? 00:08:17.740 --> 00:08:18.639 Why is that important? 00:08:19.720 --> 00:08:22.600 In week two, we're going to think about the world that God makes. 00:08:23.100 --> 00:08:24.540 What is this world? 00:08:24.540 --> 00:08:26.140 Where does it come from? 00:08:26.439 --> 00:08:27.760 How does God make it? 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:30.800 What does that mean for the purpose of creation? 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:32.899 How we're to care for it? 00:08:33.680 --> 00:08:36.300 In week three, we're going to think about the people that God has made. 00:08:36.440 --> 00:08:37.580 Us, humanity. 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:40.039 What does it mean to be human? 00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:44.200 We're told in Genesis that we are made in the image of God. 00:08:44.420 --> 00:08:45.399 What does that mean? 00:08:46.139 --> 00:08:48.240 What is that supposed to look like in our lives? 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:52.200 And finally, we're going to consider the corruption of creation. 00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:53.440 What's gone wrong? 00:08:53.440 --> 00:08:53.680 What? 00:08:53.980 --> 00:08:55.920 We all know that we live in a broken world. 00:08:56.020 --> 00:08:56.940 Why did that happen? 00:08:57.840 --> 00:08:58.760 How did it happen? 00:08:58.900 --> 00:09:00.240 And what does that mean for life now? 00:09:01.420 --> 00:09:05.960 And so this morning, we're going to start off by thinking about the God of creation. 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:11.220 And really, we're not really going to get past, really, the first three verses of Genesis chapter one. 00:09:11.220 --> 00:09:18.120 So turn to Genesis chapter one, if you're not yet there in a Bible, page three in your Bibles. 00:09:18.860 --> 00:09:24.180 And I want to try and start for you with a sentence summary of everything that I'm going to say. 00:09:24.179 --> 00:09:30.539 I think sometimes sermons where you're not just working verse by verse can be confusing, can't they? 00:09:30.539 --> 00:09:31.799 You can easily get lost. 00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:34.779 So what I'm going to do is tell you right from the beginning what I'm going to tell you. 00:09:35.179 --> 00:09:37.439 And then we're going to unpack it and work through it. 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:43.100 So here's a sentence summary of what Genesis one to three teach us about the God of creation. 00:09:43.100 --> 00:09:55.100 We find this, the God of creation is an eternal and Trinitarian God who makes everything from nothing for his glory. 00:09:56.259 --> 00:09:58.700 Now, every word in that sentence is important. 00:09:58.860 --> 00:10:00.320 We're going to try and unpack it together. 00:10:00.519 --> 00:10:06.460 The God of creation is an eternal Trinitarian God who makes everything from nothing for his glory. 00:10:07.019 --> 00:10:10.180 So let's start with the eternal God. 00:10:10.179 --> 00:10:19.359 Genesis chapter one, verse one, in the beginning, God, in the beginning, God. 00:10:19.839 --> 00:10:24.259 In other words, Genesis one is the story of the creation of the universe. 00:10:24.819 --> 00:10:33.239 It is not the story of the creation of God himself, because God was already there in the beginning. 00:10:34.339 --> 00:10:38.120 God, the God of the Bible is the one who did not need to be made, 00:10:38.120 --> 00:10:40.419 the one who has no beginning and has no end. 00:10:40.820 --> 00:10:42.259 He is without origin. 00:10:43.399 --> 00:10:45.539 Now, I know that's all really obvious, isn't it? 00:10:45.580 --> 00:10:48.679 But let me try and show you how foundational and significant that is. 00:10:49.580 --> 00:10:52.740 God here is eternal, right? 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:56.840 So it's not so much that before Genesis chapter one, verse one, 00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:03.240 he has been sitting around on a sofa with nothing to do for endless years and years and years, 00:11:03.240 --> 00:11:07.080 and then decided, well, I'm going to make the universe, right? 00:11:07.419 --> 00:11:13.340 He's not like a teenager on summer vacation, bored in eternity, thinking, 00:11:13.539 --> 00:11:16.919 well, what am I going to do with these endless weeks that are expanding in front of me? 00:11:17.159 --> 00:11:19.460 Oh, let me draw a picture, right? 00:11:19.500 --> 00:11:22.039 No, that's not what he's doing. 00:11:22.120 --> 00:11:22.919 That's not what he's deciding. 00:11:23.639 --> 00:11:28.180 Rather, God in Genesis one exists before time itself. 00:11:28.179 --> 00:11:32.899 God is the origin of time in Genesis one, 00:11:33.459 --> 00:11:36.739 existing not so much in an eternal sequence of moments, 00:11:36.899 --> 00:11:40.099 but in eternity before moments themselves existed. 00:11:41.299 --> 00:11:43.019 Now, I know this very quickly gets confusing. 00:11:43.299 --> 00:11:45.459 Eternity is not something that we can get our heads around. 00:11:46.099 --> 00:11:47.500 But without this foundation stone, 00:11:47.579 --> 00:11:51.000 it's fair to say that nothing about our existence will make any sense at all. 00:11:52.419 --> 00:11:54.159 You might be one of those people who says, 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:56.639 or has said, or has friends who say, 00:11:56.639 --> 00:12:01.019 listen, science disproves the existence of God. 00:12:01.259 --> 00:12:02.460 I don't believe in God. 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:04.699 I believe in science. 00:12:05.500 --> 00:12:06.799 Now, people used to say that a lot. 00:12:06.939 --> 00:12:08.319 I don't think people say it quite as much, 00:12:08.360 --> 00:12:10.460 because it is actually nonsense, isn't it? 00:12:10.879 --> 00:12:12.120 Because you know, don't you, 00:12:12.199 --> 00:12:16.039 that science can neither prove nor disprove the existence of God. 00:12:16.220 --> 00:12:18.939 Because by definition, Genesis chapter one, verse one, 00:12:19.279 --> 00:12:23.879 God existed before anything that you could put in a test tube could be there. 00:12:23.879 --> 00:12:27.860 So you can't prove or disprove the existence of God, 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:32.159 because God is the one who has always existed outside of this creation, 00:12:32.460 --> 00:12:33.759 not of this time. 00:12:34.200 --> 00:12:36.259 He is other than this creation. 00:12:37.840 --> 00:12:38.820 He is eternal. 00:12:39.539 --> 00:12:40.340 He was before. 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:43.200 Now, perhaps you're not a Christian this morning, 00:12:43.259 --> 00:12:44.320 or you're just not really sure. 00:12:44.840 --> 00:12:46.720 Perhaps you maybe don't even think it's very important. 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:48.120 You just get on with things. 00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:49.659 Don't think about it that much. 00:12:49.659 --> 00:12:51.419 Well, here's the thing. 00:12:52.219 --> 00:12:54.299 Everything that you just get on with, right? 00:12:54.779 --> 00:12:56.759 Everything that you experience in this life, 00:12:56.879 --> 00:12:58.159 everything that you enjoy, 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:00.480 it comes from somewhere. 00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:07.399 What you can see necessarily has been made by someone or something 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:11.240 that you can't see that is not part of this creation itself. 00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:15.319 And that someone is, says Genesis chapter one, verse one, 00:13:15.459 --> 00:13:16.220 the God of the Bible. 00:13:16.220 --> 00:13:20.740 It's not just Genesis chapter one that tells you that. 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:21.820 We're told in the New Testament, 00:13:22.040 --> 00:13:25.379 this God, despite existing outside of creation, 00:13:25.500 --> 00:13:27.759 outside of time, puts on flesh. 00:13:28.340 --> 00:13:29.660 He's born in history. 00:13:30.139 --> 00:13:31.879 That you and I might know him, 00:13:32.220 --> 00:13:35.759 because it is impossible for us to know things 00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:38.360 outside of the material universe and outside of time. 00:13:38.600 --> 00:13:41.720 He puts on flesh and comes and born in history, 00:13:41.720 --> 00:13:45.060 so that we must not live our lives in ignorance of him, 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:47.279 because he has not given us that option. 00:13:48.019 --> 00:13:50.480 Because he has come into creation that we might know him. 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:53.060 Not that we might discover him by science, 00:13:53.139 --> 00:13:55.779 but that we might discover him by revelation. 00:13:56.420 --> 00:13:57.560 He has revealed himself. 00:13:58.940 --> 00:14:00.759 But God is not just eternal, is he? 00:14:00.820 --> 00:14:03.460 We also find in this passage that he is Trinitarian. 00:14:03.460 --> 00:14:06.620 By that I mean that God is Trinity, 00:14:07.300 --> 00:14:09.879 Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:12.280 One God, three persons. 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:15.620 Look with me carefully at verse one and two. 00:14:15.820 --> 00:14:19.460 It's clear that this is the origin of the heavens and the earth. 00:14:19.660 --> 00:14:24.360 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 00:14:25.160 --> 00:14:28.639 God creates matter in the universe. 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:33.460 But verse two, that creation is itself formless and empty. 00:14:34.019 --> 00:14:36.340 Now the earth was formless and empty. 00:14:36.600 --> 00:14:38.980 Darkness was over the surface of the deep. 00:14:39.699 --> 00:14:42.059 Now we're going to come and think about this a lot in coming weeks. 00:14:42.500 --> 00:14:47.399 But the pattern of Genesis one is that this formless and empty heavens and earth 00:14:47.399 --> 00:14:49.059 that's created by God in verse one, 00:14:49.419 --> 00:14:55.480 is then formed in verses three to 13 and filled in verses 14 to 31. 00:14:55.480 --> 00:14:59.740 In other words, God is not just the source of the creation. 00:15:00.120 --> 00:15:04.500 He doesn't just create matter and set it in motion and then retreat. 00:15:04.659 --> 00:15:07.899 No, he is the source, the sustainer, the designer. 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:10.580 He is intimately involved in all that he has made. 00:15:11.800 --> 00:15:14.620 And he doesn't do that, we notice, as a singular reality. 00:15:14.860 --> 00:15:18.279 But as he is, the triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit. 00:15:18.700 --> 00:15:19.680 So look at verse two. 00:15:20.539 --> 00:15:22.300 It's the Spirit of God, you're told, 00:15:22.680 --> 00:15:24.980 who is hovering over the waters that he has made. 00:15:24.980 --> 00:15:27.680 Literally, the Spirit is brooding over the waters. 00:15:27.980 --> 00:15:32.960 In Deuteronomy 32, it's used of an eagle circling over its young, brooding over them. 00:15:33.560 --> 00:15:35.139 And then in verse three, God speaks, 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:36.820 and God said, 00:15:37.240 --> 00:15:40.220 so that the eternal God who makes the decision to create 00:15:40.220 --> 00:15:42.940 and is the origin of all things in verse one 00:15:42.940 --> 00:15:46.440 is also the Spirit of verse two and the Word of verse three. 00:15:47.860 --> 00:15:50.240 Now, of course, you see it more clearly as you read the rest of the Bible. 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:51.820 If you like the rest of the Bible, 00:15:51.879 --> 00:15:53.600 and this is someone else's illustration, 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:54.800 but I'm going to borrow it for a moment, 00:15:55.200 --> 00:15:56.440 in someone else's illustration, 00:15:56.580 --> 00:15:58.940 the idea is that the New Testament puts the lights on 00:15:58.940 --> 00:16:01.180 so that you can see what's really there in the Old Testament, 00:16:01.180 --> 00:16:03.340 but you can't see it so clearly without the light. 00:16:03.759 --> 00:16:06.279 And now when the New Testament puts the lights on, 00:16:06.379 --> 00:16:08.940 you see John chapter one, verse one, 00:16:09.019 --> 00:16:10.519 in the beginning was the Word, 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:12.139 and the Word was with God, 00:16:12.180 --> 00:16:13.200 and the Word was God. 00:16:13.320 --> 00:16:14.600 He was with God in the beginning. 00:16:15.139 --> 00:16:16.540 Through him, all things were made. 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:18.820 Without him, nothing was made that has been made. 00:16:18.820 --> 00:16:23.200 This is Jesus, God the Son, in creation. 00:16:24.400 --> 00:16:25.560 So in Genesis chapter one, 00:16:25.620 --> 00:16:29.700 there are three distinct persons working together in one creation task, 00:16:29.920 --> 00:16:31.420 in the economy of their persons, 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:32.420 each playing a part, 00:16:32.780 --> 00:16:34.740 but all achieving the same end. 00:16:35.200 --> 00:16:38.060 As the world is formed and filled 00:16:38.060 --> 00:16:40.060 in accordance with the plan of the Father, 00:16:40.800 --> 00:16:41.940 through the Word of the Son, 00:16:42.500 --> 00:16:43.700 in the power of the Spirit. 00:16:43.700 --> 00:16:48.120 Now, I know, some of you are loving this, 00:16:48.180 --> 00:16:49.480 because you love being up in the clouds, 00:16:49.580 --> 00:16:50.840 thinking these kind of great thoughts, right? 00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:51.600 Others of you are like, 00:16:51.700 --> 00:16:52.420 oh my goodness, Steve, 00:16:52.460 --> 00:16:54.080 will you say something that I understand? 00:16:54.740 --> 00:16:57.300 Right, let me try and land this with an illustration 00:16:57.300 --> 00:16:59.500 to try and give you the significance of what's going on. 00:16:59.980 --> 00:17:02.160 I don't know whether this happens in your flat or your home, 00:17:02.620 --> 00:17:05.160 but normally if you go into the kitchen, 00:17:05.299 --> 00:17:08.160 you can tell who's been there by what's left behind, right? 00:17:08.660 --> 00:17:10.059 I would imagine in this kitchen, 00:17:10.180 --> 00:17:11.720 it's probably a teenager. 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:14.500 But, you know, you can see, can't you? 00:17:14.500 --> 00:17:15.180 You can go in and go, 00:17:15.299 --> 00:17:16.660 okay, I know who's been here 00:17:16.660 --> 00:17:18.900 because this is the sort of thing that they create, right? 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:20.839 This is the sort of mess that they make when they're cooking. 00:17:21.640 --> 00:17:23.579 Or maybe you have a flatmate who's a brilliant cook, 00:17:23.620 --> 00:17:24.539 or they bake cakes, 00:17:24.620 --> 00:17:25.920 and you walk into the kitchen, 00:17:26.019 --> 00:17:26.900 you can smell them, 00:17:26.940 --> 00:17:28.240 and you go, oh yeah, they've been here, 00:17:28.299 --> 00:17:28.880 I can see it. 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:31.700 Their fingerprints are all over what has been made. 00:17:32.740 --> 00:17:36.900 Now, that's what's going on in Genesis chapter one. 00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:39.620 You know, you don't have the clearest explanation 00:17:39.620 --> 00:17:41.579 of the Trinity in Genesis chapter one. 00:17:41.579 --> 00:17:43.299 It becomes clear as you read the rest of the Bible. 00:17:43.740 --> 00:17:45.720 But the fingerprints of a triune God 00:17:45.720 --> 00:17:47.599 are all over everything that he has made. 00:17:48.359 --> 00:17:49.659 You know, think about what's going on here. 00:17:49.720 --> 00:17:51.699 This is unity and diversity, isn't it? 00:17:52.039 --> 00:17:55.460 This is one God, but in three persons. 00:17:55.819 --> 00:17:58.639 Not dividing the work into three parts and each doing it, 00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:00.359 but all working together, 00:18:00.519 --> 00:18:01.819 distinct from one another, 00:18:02.299 --> 00:18:03.720 but unified in purpose. 00:18:05.240 --> 00:18:06.939 And that's our world, isn't it? 00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:08.759 Our world is so diverse. 00:18:08.759 --> 00:18:11.319 There's so many different things going on, right? 00:18:11.720 --> 00:18:12.579 You know that, don't you, 00:18:12.619 --> 00:18:14.460 if you studied geography or biology or something. 00:18:14.579 --> 00:18:16.140 This is so complicated. 00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:19.720 There's such a diversity of things going on in our world, 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:21.680 but it's united and it works together. 00:18:22.180 --> 00:18:22.940 Why is that? 00:18:23.480 --> 00:18:25.519 It's the fingerprints of the God who made it. 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:28.339 What about marriage? 00:18:29.259 --> 00:18:31.140 What about the unity of a man and a woman, 00:18:31.619 --> 00:18:32.920 different to one another? 00:18:32.920 --> 00:18:34.720 This is why the Bible's definition of marriage 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:35.680 is a man and a woman. 00:18:36.019 --> 00:18:38.460 It's because they are different to one another 00:18:38.460 --> 00:18:40.200 and yet united together. 00:18:40.360 --> 00:18:43.940 It is an image of who God is and what God is like. 00:18:44.740 --> 00:18:46.680 The Trinitarian God makes total sense 00:18:46.680 --> 00:18:47.740 of what we discover in the world. 00:18:48.100 --> 00:18:50.560 We see this unity and diversity all the time. 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:51.840 And let me tell you, 00:18:52.120 --> 00:18:53.640 there's a really important sense 00:18:53.640 --> 00:18:56.279 in which evolution can never explain that to you. 00:18:57.340 --> 00:18:58.460 Neither can Islam, 00:18:59.360 --> 00:19:00.660 because there's no Trinity. 00:19:00.660 --> 00:19:02.960 And the Trinitarian God's fingerprints 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:05.320 are over all that we see and experience. 00:19:06.320 --> 00:19:07.279 Let me try and put it this way. 00:19:07.400 --> 00:19:08.480 If I said before, 00:19:08.700 --> 00:19:12.680 what you can see implies someone or something 00:19:12.680 --> 00:19:14.759 that you can't see that made it 00:19:14.759 --> 00:19:17.000 or from which it comes. 00:19:17.940 --> 00:19:18.920 If you can say that, 00:19:18.980 --> 00:19:20.480 now you can say even more clearly 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:24.160 that what we can see implies not just any God, 00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:26.880 but it implies the Christian God, 00:19:27.060 --> 00:19:28.800 Father, Son, Spirit. 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:30.879 A God who plans, 00:19:31.460 --> 00:19:32.720 a God who speaks, 00:19:33.159 --> 00:19:34.180 powerfully makes, 00:19:34.619 --> 00:19:36.579 a God who is implied in all that he's made, 00:19:36.879 --> 00:19:40.019 a God who we can know ultimately through Jesus Christ. 00:19:40.779 --> 00:19:41.879 As incredibly, 00:19:42.659 --> 00:19:43.940 in the plan of the Father, 00:19:44.639 --> 00:19:45.779 in the word of the Son, 00:19:46.279 --> 00:19:47.440 in the power of the Spirit, 00:19:48.059 --> 00:19:49.740 he not only makes you, 00:19:50.220 --> 00:19:52.460 but can save you also. 00:19:52.460 --> 00:19:56.019 Now, let's return to our sentence for a moment. 00:19:56.240 --> 00:19:59.380 The God of creation is an eternal Trinitarian God 00:19:59.380 --> 00:20:03.120 who makes everything from nothing for his glory. 00:20:03.220 --> 00:20:05.620 Let's think about making everything from nothing. 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:08.600 Now, we've covered some of this already. 00:20:08.840 --> 00:20:10.799 We saw that God eternally existed 00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:12.500 before anything that he meant. 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:16.140 God was when nothing else was, right? 00:20:16.259 --> 00:20:17.640 Before time, before matter. 00:20:17.640 --> 00:20:20.860 But here the point is that God doesn't create 00:20:20.860 --> 00:20:23.780 by taking stuff that already exists 00:20:23.780 --> 00:20:25.340 and molding it into something. 00:20:25.420 --> 00:20:27.000 That's how you and I make things, isn't it? 00:20:27.380 --> 00:20:29.580 But God instead speaks 00:20:29.580 --> 00:20:33.800 and then what didn't exist starts to exist. 00:20:34.380 --> 00:20:37.920 God makes from nothing by speaking. 00:20:38.920 --> 00:20:41.320 Now, we're going to return to this idea next week, 00:20:41.360 --> 00:20:43.740 but notice that the glory of God in Genesis 1 00:20:43.740 --> 00:20:47.539 is not so much about the speed with which he creates. 00:20:48.019 --> 00:20:49.700 It's not that God is amazing 00:20:49.700 --> 00:20:52.319 because he takes six days and not a billion years. 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:54.640 Really, it seems that the days in Genesis 1 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:55.880 are about the structure 00:20:55.880 --> 00:20:58.380 and the beauty of what God has made. 00:20:58.920 --> 00:21:01.799 The glory of creation is that God makes the world 00:21:01.799 --> 00:21:04.259 from nothing by speaking. 00:21:05.579 --> 00:21:07.660 In Jeremiah chapter 10, 00:21:07.779 --> 00:21:10.680 God is comparing himself to the idols of the nations 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:12.819 that Israel have become so obsessed with. 00:21:12.819 --> 00:21:14.579 They've kind of been dragged away 00:21:14.579 --> 00:21:16.980 to follow the idolatry of the nations around them. 00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:19.119 And his comparison is not, 00:21:19.220 --> 00:21:20.960 hey, listen, the God of the Bible, 00:21:21.139 --> 00:21:22.559 the God of Israel, he's the real God 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:25.519 because he's like much faster than these idols. 00:21:26.259 --> 00:21:28.000 No, his comparison is that these idols 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:30.500 are made from the stuff of this world, 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:34.119 whereas God makes this world from nothing 00:21:34.119 --> 00:21:35.419 just by his wisdom. 00:21:36.619 --> 00:21:39.299 It says this, Jeremiah chapter 10, verse 12, 00:21:39.379 --> 00:21:41.339 but God made the earth by his power. 00:21:41.339 --> 00:21:43.899 He founded the world by his wisdom 00:21:43.899 --> 00:21:46.619 and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. 00:21:48.500 --> 00:21:51.139 Now, theologians call this by the Latin name. 00:21:51.259 --> 00:21:52.899 God creates ex nihilo. 00:21:53.059 --> 00:21:55.319 It's from nothing, out of nothing. 00:21:55.379 --> 00:21:56.679 And this sets God apart. 00:21:57.379 --> 00:21:59.000 You and I create, as we mentioned, 00:21:59.119 --> 00:22:00.819 from the things around us. 00:22:00.939 --> 00:22:02.259 You know, I give you some Play-Doh. 00:22:02.619 --> 00:22:03.740 You can make a snowman. 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:05.159 Some of you might be able to make something 00:22:05.159 --> 00:22:06.500 more complicated than a snowman. 00:22:06.859 --> 00:22:08.639 Others of us, that would be the peak 00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:10.080 of our creative ability. 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:13.140 But God does not need the Play-Doh 00:22:13.140 --> 00:22:14.480 in order to make the snowman. 00:22:15.240 --> 00:22:18.380 He can call it into existence by speaking. 00:22:19.400 --> 00:22:21.940 Romans chapter 4, verse 17 says, 00:22:22.120 --> 00:22:23.920 the God who gives life to the dead 00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:27.820 and calls into being things that were not. 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:32.020 Hebrews chapter 11, verse 3 is exactly the same. 00:22:32.019 --> 00:22:34.119 By faith, we understand that the universe 00:22:34.119 --> 00:22:36.039 was formed at God's command 00:22:36.039 --> 00:22:39.059 so that what is seen was not made out 00:22:39.059 --> 00:22:39.940 of what was visible. 00:22:40.639 --> 00:22:42.339 God spoke it into existence. 00:22:43.500 --> 00:22:47.079 That the verb used in Genesis chapter 1, verse 1 00:22:47.079 --> 00:22:49.900 for create is the Hebrew verb bara, 00:22:50.519 --> 00:22:53.819 which implies making from nothing, right? 00:22:54.259 --> 00:22:56.740 That verb is never used in the Bible 00:22:56.740 --> 00:22:58.519 for anyone other than God himself 00:22:58.519 --> 00:23:02.519 because God alone is the God who can do this. 00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:04.559 And this is hugely significant. 00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:07.819 You know, you and I don't come 00:23:07.819 --> 00:23:09.279 from a sort of eternal gloop 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:10.920 that's been swirling around for eternity 00:23:10.920 --> 00:23:12.660 that God decided to take his hands on 00:23:12.660 --> 00:23:14.400 and kind of form into something, 00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:16.639 existing for no reason with no origin. 00:23:17.299 --> 00:23:21.160 No, we exist because God called us into existence. 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:24.460 He spoke us into existence. 00:23:24.460 --> 00:23:27.920 What was not came to be. 00:23:28.660 --> 00:23:30.539 Now, we'll think some more about the how 00:23:30.539 --> 00:23:32.360 and the days and all that sort of stuff 00:23:32.360 --> 00:23:33.900 in the weeks to come. 00:23:33.980 --> 00:23:35.200 But right now, this is the point. 00:23:35.340 --> 00:23:38.460 You and I are here because God said we would be here. 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:41.400 But let me just show you one more thing about this 00:23:41.400 --> 00:23:43.120 because this is really profound and significant. 00:23:43.259 --> 00:23:45.819 And I want you to turn with me to Psalm 51. 00:23:45.980 --> 00:23:47.200 It's not on the screen, 00:23:47.319 --> 00:23:48.319 so you're going to have to turn to it. 00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:52.380 It's page 573 in your church Bibles. 00:23:52.380 --> 00:23:55.680 It's 573, Psalm 51. 00:24:01.400 --> 00:24:03.140 Now, Psalm 51, you might know. 00:24:03.240 --> 00:24:04.720 If you know a Bible, you will know this. 00:24:04.800 --> 00:24:06.220 It doesn't matter if you don't know it. 00:24:06.260 --> 00:24:09.340 But Psalm 51 is the psalm that David writes 00:24:09.340 --> 00:24:12.360 after he's committed adultery with Bathsheba. 00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:15.880 Bathsheba was married to Uriah. 00:24:16.360 --> 00:24:17.560 Uriah was fighting in the army. 00:24:18.119 --> 00:24:18.960 David saw her. 00:24:19.460 --> 00:24:20.299 He took her. 00:24:20.740 --> 00:24:22.379 He slept with her. 00:24:22.700 --> 00:24:23.259 She got pregnant. 00:24:23.419 --> 00:24:24.799 He murdered her husband. 00:24:25.679 --> 00:24:27.700 And then he is confronted by the prophet Nathan, 00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:30.960 and he repents, and he writes Psalm 51. 00:24:32.099 --> 00:24:33.639 And he's exposed. 00:24:34.359 --> 00:24:35.799 He calls out for God's forgiveness. 00:24:36.359 --> 00:24:37.440 But listen to how he prays. 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:38.539 Pick it up in verse 7. 00:24:38.539 --> 00:24:48.700 You know that sense, don't you, 00:24:48.899 --> 00:24:50.379 of the sin in our lives. 00:24:50.440 --> 00:24:51.359 The things that we've done wrong 00:24:51.359 --> 00:24:53.700 give a sense of dirtiness. 00:24:53.819 --> 00:24:55.519 We need to be washed clean. 00:24:56.599 --> 00:24:58.500 Let me hear joy and gladness. 00:24:58.619 --> 00:25:00.680 Let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 00:25:01.480 --> 00:25:02.519 You see that sort of sense, can't you, 00:25:02.559 --> 00:25:04.420 that he's weighed down by his sin. 00:25:04.420 --> 00:25:06.720 What he's done wrong is weighing on him 00:25:06.720 --> 00:25:07.500 and crushing him. 00:25:08.380 --> 00:25:09.900 Hide your face from my sins 00:25:09.900 --> 00:25:11.480 and blot out all my iniquity. 00:25:11.880 --> 00:25:13.259 He knows that the problem with his sin 00:25:13.259 --> 00:25:16.000 is not just a problem between him personally, 00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:17.480 but between him and God. 00:25:18.340 --> 00:25:20.720 It's the fact that God sees his sin 00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:21.860 that causes him trouble. 00:25:22.300 --> 00:25:23.539 And then he says, verse 10, 00:25:23.940 --> 00:25:26.060 Create in me a pure heart, O God, 00:25:26.100 --> 00:25:28.060 and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 00:25:28.460 --> 00:25:30.200 Do you not cast me from your presence 00:25:30.200 --> 00:25:31.920 or take your Holy Spirit from me. 00:25:31.920 --> 00:25:34.420 Restore to me the joy of your salvation 00:25:34.420 --> 00:25:37.220 and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. 00:25:38.259 --> 00:25:39.660 And there in verse 10, 00:25:39.800 --> 00:25:42.940 David is using that verb, bara, again. 00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:46.019 The Genesis 1 verse 1 verb. 00:25:46.740 --> 00:25:50.779 Create in me a pure heart, O God. 00:25:51.300 --> 00:25:53.140 What he's saying to God 00:25:53.140 --> 00:25:55.140 is not there is something in me, God, 00:25:55.180 --> 00:25:57.860 that you can mold into a heart that loves you. 00:25:58.300 --> 00:25:59.840 He's saying the opposite of that, isn't he? 00:25:59.839 --> 00:26:02.779 He's saying, as I look inside myself, 00:26:03.599 --> 00:26:06.819 I see, God, that there is nothing in me 00:26:06.819 --> 00:26:10.039 worthy of loving you and trusting you 00:26:10.039 --> 00:26:10.799 and living for your glory. 00:26:10.919 --> 00:26:12.839 If I'm going to do that, God, 00:26:12.899 --> 00:26:14.859 you need to create in me 00:26:14.859 --> 00:26:17.039 something that doesn't yet exist. 00:26:17.259 --> 00:26:19.839 Speak into existence a pure heart 00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:21.119 that loves you. 00:26:21.879 --> 00:26:24.099 Listen, if you're not a Christian this morning, 00:26:24.099 --> 00:26:28.259 the wonderful story is that you have been made by God. 00:26:28.939 --> 00:26:32.539 But the brilliant news is that you can be remade by him 00:26:32.539 --> 00:26:34.519 through the Lord Jesus. 00:26:35.379 --> 00:26:36.719 Create in me a new heart 00:26:36.719 --> 00:26:38.159 because there is nothing in us 00:26:38.159 --> 00:26:39.899 as we were weighed down by our sin. 00:26:40.259 --> 00:26:42.240 There is nothing in us that God can take 00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:44.619 and mold into something worthy of himself. 00:26:45.459 --> 00:26:46.679 He needs to start again. 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:51.240 Please do a Genesis 1-1 miracle in my heart 00:26:51.240 --> 00:26:52.120 is what David is praying. 00:26:53.340 --> 00:26:56.180 Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17, 00:26:56.400 --> 00:26:57.980 therefore, if anyone is in Christ, 00:26:58.440 --> 00:27:00.259 the new creation has come. 00:27:01.060 --> 00:27:02.000 The old is gone. 00:27:02.660 --> 00:27:03.620 The new is here. 00:27:03.799 --> 00:27:05.100 All this is from God. 00:27:05.180 --> 00:27:06.220 That's what we need, isn't it? 00:27:07.640 --> 00:27:09.279 God creates from nothing. 00:27:09.460 --> 00:27:11.160 Finally, for his glory. 00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:12.180 For his glory. 00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:15.279 This is why God makes all that he makes. 00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:17.259 See, it's obvious, I hope, 00:27:17.340 --> 00:27:18.779 from Genesis 1-1, 00:27:18.880 --> 00:27:21.160 you can come back there if you're still in Psalm 51, 00:27:21.980 --> 00:27:23.400 you can see, hopefully, 00:27:23.539 --> 00:27:27.039 that God isn't compelled to make the world, right? 00:27:27.080 --> 00:27:28.920 He is not compelled to create the universe. 00:27:29.740 --> 00:27:32.100 There is no external force 00:27:32.100 --> 00:27:36.920 forcing God to make and create the universe 00:27:36.920 --> 00:27:40.420 because there is nothing other than him 00:27:40.420 --> 00:27:41.600 in the beginning, right? 00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:44.279 He is there alone in eternity, 00:27:44.279 --> 00:27:45.019 in the beginning, 00:27:45.179 --> 00:27:47.459 in the person of Father, Son, and Spirit. 00:27:48.379 --> 00:27:50.719 And in his freedom in eternity, 00:27:50.919 --> 00:27:53.019 God chooses to make the world. 00:27:53.359 --> 00:27:53.459 Why? 00:27:54.579 --> 00:27:57.879 Well, because God in himself is the creator. 00:27:58.659 --> 00:28:01.119 This is who God is. 00:28:01.819 --> 00:28:04.219 God is the God who makes. 00:28:04.759 --> 00:28:06.599 He is a creator God. 00:28:07.339 --> 00:28:09.179 How do you know that the God of the universe 00:28:09.179 --> 00:28:10.119 is a creator God? 00:28:10.119 --> 00:28:12.199 Well, because he creates 00:28:12.199 --> 00:28:13.339 and because we're here. 00:28:13.679 --> 00:28:15.079 He has made you and me. 00:28:15.679 --> 00:28:17.019 And so everything that is made 00:28:17.019 --> 00:28:19.319 shows the glory of the creator. 00:28:20.119 --> 00:28:21.779 It's its reason for being. 00:28:22.159 --> 00:28:23.099 We are here 00:28:23.099 --> 00:28:26.359 because our universe is ruled and made 00:28:26.359 --> 00:28:27.799 by a creator God. 00:28:28.979 --> 00:28:30.119 That's why we're here. 00:28:30.379 --> 00:28:31.579 That's why our world is here. 00:28:32.239 --> 00:28:33.619 So the mountains of Switzerland, 00:28:33.799 --> 00:28:34.599 the lakes of Italy, 00:28:34.599 --> 00:28:36.639 the seas and the coast of Greece, 00:28:36.719 --> 00:28:38.639 are here because the glorious creator 00:28:38.639 --> 00:28:39.779 said they would be. 00:28:41.359 --> 00:28:43.039 You might make a painting 00:28:43.039 --> 00:28:45.439 or create a piece of music 00:28:45.439 --> 00:28:46.259 or build a house 00:28:46.259 --> 00:28:46.980 or paint a wall 00:28:46.980 --> 00:28:47.740 or write a story 00:28:47.740 --> 00:28:48.419 or cook a meal. 00:28:48.859 --> 00:28:49.519 And everyone thinks, 00:28:49.559 --> 00:28:50.219 oh, that's amazing. 00:28:51.059 --> 00:28:52.639 I've never tasted anything like this. 00:28:52.639 --> 00:28:53.199 This is incredible. 00:28:53.740 --> 00:28:55.419 You are a great chef. 00:28:56.099 --> 00:28:58.919 You're a glorious chef. 00:28:59.199 --> 00:29:00.299 I've never heard music like this. 00:29:00.299 --> 00:29:02.379 You are a wonderful musician. 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:04.339 You're fantastic. 00:29:06.099 --> 00:29:07.659 In the same way, 00:29:08.099 --> 00:29:09.879 on a totally different scale, 00:29:10.519 --> 00:29:12.240 everything that we experience 00:29:12.240 --> 00:29:13.139 in this world 00:29:13.139 --> 00:29:14.279 and enjoy in this world 00:29:14.279 --> 00:29:17.299 comes from this God 00:29:17.299 --> 00:29:19.240 in his glory. 00:29:20.059 --> 00:29:21.519 And you see it, don't you? 00:29:21.579 --> 00:29:23.399 And you know that God made this 00:29:23.399 --> 00:29:24.799 from nothing, 00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:26.299 by speaking, 00:29:26.819 --> 00:29:28.759 unparalleled glory and greatness. 00:29:28.759 --> 00:29:31.299 There is no God like this God. 00:29:32.180 --> 00:29:33.960 There is no one like this one. 00:29:34.640 --> 00:29:36.339 The one who in eternity 00:29:36.339 --> 00:29:37.359 makes the decision 00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:38.379 to create the world, 00:29:38.460 --> 00:29:40.099 a decision that brings into existence 00:29:40.099 --> 00:29:41.859 all that we can see 00:29:41.859 --> 00:29:43.079 and the heavenly realities 00:29:43.079 --> 00:29:44.259 that we cannot see. 00:29:44.839 --> 00:29:45.619 All from a God 00:29:45.619 --> 00:29:47.299 who did not need to make it 00:29:47.299 --> 00:29:48.619 but is independent 00:29:48.619 --> 00:29:49.980 from his creation 00:29:49.980 --> 00:29:51.720 but revealed by it 00:29:51.720 --> 00:29:52.900 so that we can say 00:29:52.900 --> 00:29:54.579 the God who makes the world 00:29:54.579 --> 00:29:56.379 is an eternal Trinitarian God 00:29:56.380 --> 00:29:57.640 who makes everything 00:29:57.640 --> 00:29:58.220 from nothing 00:29:58.220 --> 00:29:59.680 for his glory. 00:30:01.500 --> 00:30:03.280 Now in each of these four weeks 00:30:03.280 --> 00:30:04.200 I want to finish 00:30:04.200 --> 00:30:06.780 with a big application point. 00:30:07.080 --> 00:30:09.140 What is the point of this? 00:30:09.980 --> 00:30:11.760 What is it that flows from this? 00:30:12.280 --> 00:30:13.380 And here's the question for us. 00:30:13.460 --> 00:30:15.180 If God is like this, 00:30:15.260 --> 00:30:16.880 if this sentence summarizes 00:30:16.880 --> 00:30:18.040 who God is 00:30:18.040 --> 00:30:19.360 as he makes the world, 00:30:19.580 --> 00:30:20.680 what difference does that make 00:30:20.680 --> 00:30:21.160 to you and me? 00:30:21.160 --> 00:30:24.560 What does that mean 00:30:24.560 --> 00:30:26.200 about the purpose of our lives? 00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:27.720 Well let me say 00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:28.759 it means 00:30:28.759 --> 00:30:29.960 that you and I 00:30:29.960 --> 00:30:31.580 are made for the purpose 00:30:31.580 --> 00:30:32.519 of worship. 00:30:33.259 --> 00:30:34.300 That's what we're made for. 00:30:35.320 --> 00:30:35.860 Literally 00:30:35.860 --> 00:30:37.540 your life, 00:30:37.860 --> 00:30:38.400 my life 00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:39.779 has been given to me 00:30:39.779 --> 00:30:41.800 to show the worth, 00:30:42.360 --> 00:30:42.820 value, 00:30:43.460 --> 00:30:43.860 glory 00:30:43.860 --> 00:30:44.720 and greatness 00:30:44.720 --> 00:30:45.600 of God. 00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:48.340 Praise God. 00:30:48.940 --> 00:30:50.560 If you are living your life 00:30:50.559 --> 00:30:52.299 for something else, 00:30:52.859 --> 00:30:54.539 if you think your life 00:30:54.539 --> 00:30:55.839 is about making you 00:30:55.839 --> 00:30:57.119 look great, 00:30:57.879 --> 00:30:58.960 if you think your life 00:30:58.960 --> 00:31:00.240 is about making your kids 00:31:00.240 --> 00:31:01.339 look great, 00:31:01.919 --> 00:31:02.960 if you think your life 00:31:02.960 --> 00:31:05.039 is about acquiring things, 00:31:05.779 --> 00:31:07.079 you will find your life 00:31:07.079 --> 00:31:07.980 deeply confusing 00:31:07.980 --> 00:31:08.980 and dissatisfying 00:31:08.980 --> 00:31:10.579 and ultimately 00:31:10.579 --> 00:31:11.819 it will break you 00:31:11.819 --> 00:31:14.039 because you were made 00:31:14.039 --> 00:31:15.399 to worship. 00:31:16.879 --> 00:31:17.200 Now 00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:18.140 that 00:31:18.140 --> 00:31:19.759 creation 00:31:19.759 --> 00:31:21.019 instinct to worship 00:31:21.019 --> 00:31:22.259 is so deep 00:31:22.259 --> 00:31:23.059 in you and I 00:31:23.059 --> 00:31:24.640 that if we do not 00:31:24.640 --> 00:31:25.460 worship the God 00:31:25.460 --> 00:31:26.140 who made us 00:31:26.140 --> 00:31:26.860 we will try 00:31:26.860 --> 00:31:27.840 worshipping anything. 00:31:27.940 --> 00:31:28.500 Right? 00:31:30.580 --> 00:31:31.140 We've 00:31:31.140 --> 00:31:33.400 got a flat 00:31:33.400 --> 00:31:34.140 where our daughter lives 00:31:34.140 --> 00:31:34.779 which is in there. 00:31:35.279 --> 00:31:36.360 You can hear QPR. 00:31:37.019 --> 00:31:37.140 Right? 00:31:37.180 --> 00:31:37.660 And they were playing 00:31:37.660 --> 00:31:38.080 yesterday. 00:31:38.640 --> 00:31:39.660 They scored twice 00:31:39.660 --> 00:31:40.460 yesterday which is 00:31:40.460 --> 00:31:41.500 like a remarkable 00:31:41.500 --> 00:31:42.940 achievement. 00:31:42.940 --> 00:31:44.799 and you can hear them 00:31:44.799 --> 00:31:46.460 rejoicing, 00:31:46.860 --> 00:31:47.440 worshipping 00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:49.680 the glory of their players. 00:31:50.220 --> 00:31:50.320 Right? 00:31:51.200 --> 00:31:51.759 What is it? 00:31:51.779 --> 00:31:51.960 I mean, 00:31:52.100 --> 00:31:52.720 there's nothing wrong 00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:53.420 in enjoying football, 00:31:53.519 --> 00:31:53.820 is there? 00:31:54.580 --> 00:31:55.059 Probably. 00:31:55.580 --> 00:31:55.799 Right? 00:31:56.940 --> 00:31:58.820 But for many people 00:31:58.820 --> 00:32:00.200 it's a substitute, 00:32:00.400 --> 00:32:00.600 isn't it? 00:32:00.600 --> 00:32:01.720 We are made to worship. 00:32:01.880 --> 00:32:02.759 There's something empty 00:32:02.759 --> 00:32:03.900 and hollow about our lives 00:32:03.900 --> 00:32:05.140 if we're not giving glory 00:32:05.140 --> 00:32:06.360 to someone or something. 00:32:07.080 --> 00:32:08.039 And that is why 00:32:08.039 --> 00:32:09.720 you are made to worship 00:32:09.720 --> 00:32:10.700 this God. 00:32:10.700 --> 00:32:11.559 And if you're not 00:32:11.559 --> 00:32:12.980 worshipping this God, 00:32:13.059 --> 00:32:13.740 the one for whom 00:32:13.740 --> 00:32:14.240 you were made, 00:32:14.580 --> 00:32:15.580 it will break you. 00:32:16.380 --> 00:32:17.600 And worship doesn't mean 00:32:17.600 --> 00:32:18.500 attend a church 00:32:18.500 --> 00:32:19.360 and sing a few songs 00:32:19.360 --> 00:32:19.840 on a Sunday, 00:32:19.900 --> 00:32:20.319 does it? 00:32:20.640 --> 00:32:20.900 I mean, 00:32:21.019 --> 00:32:22.340 it doesn't mean less than that 00:32:22.340 --> 00:32:23.759 but it means a whole lot more, 00:32:23.819 --> 00:32:24.140 doesn't it? 00:32:24.380 --> 00:32:25.259 It means that the point 00:32:25.259 --> 00:32:26.240 of all of our lives 00:32:26.240 --> 00:32:27.259 is to glorify God. 00:32:27.660 --> 00:32:28.759 Everything that we do, 00:32:29.279 --> 00:32:30.240 whether that's at work 00:32:30.240 --> 00:32:30.920 or at home. 00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:32.299 You have nothing 00:32:32.299 --> 00:32:32.920 in your life 00:32:32.920 --> 00:32:33.680 that you didn't receive 00:32:33.680 --> 00:32:34.640 from the hand of God. 00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:36.440 We have no greatness 00:32:36.440 --> 00:32:37.440 that hasn't come to us 00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:38.240 as a gift from Him. 00:32:38.559 --> 00:32:39.559 You have no ability 00:32:39.559 --> 00:32:40.680 that doesn't ultimately 00:32:40.680 --> 00:32:41.600 belong to Him. 00:32:42.100 --> 00:32:43.500 You owe everything to Him. 00:32:43.940 --> 00:32:45.440 All things are from Him 00:32:45.440 --> 00:32:46.380 and to Him 00:32:46.380 --> 00:32:47.380 and for Him 00:32:47.380 --> 00:32:49.019 and to bring Him glory. 00:32:49.660 --> 00:32:50.620 And the extent to which 00:32:50.620 --> 00:32:51.539 you find your purpose 00:32:51.539 --> 00:32:52.720 and your joy in that 00:32:52.720 --> 00:32:53.900 is the extent to which 00:32:53.900 --> 00:32:54.980 you will enjoy life 00:32:54.980 --> 00:32:56.759 and find it meaningful 00:32:56.759 --> 00:32:57.980 and hopeful. 00:32:58.980 --> 00:32:59.799 Let me pray 00:32:59.799 --> 00:33:01.440 and then we'll sing together. 00:33:01.440 --> 00:33:01.919 Amen. 00:33:01.919 --> 00:33:01.980 Amen. 00:33:01.980 --> 00:33:02.519 Amen. 00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:16.019 Heavenly Father, 00:33:16.139 --> 00:33:16.960 we thank you 00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:19.599 that you have revealed 00:33:19.599 --> 00:33:20.839 yourself to us 00:33:20.839 --> 00:33:23.339 that we don't have to guess 00:33:23.339 --> 00:33:26.019 where we came from 00:33:26.019 --> 00:33:27.559 or for what purpose 00:33:27.559 --> 00:33:28.379 we were made 00:33:28.379 --> 00:33:30.460 because you have told us 00:33:30.460 --> 00:33:31.119 in your word 00:33:31.119 --> 00:33:33.019 that you are the creator 00:33:33.019 --> 00:33:34.420 of all things 00:33:34.420 --> 00:33:36.079 eternally, 00:33:36.879 --> 00:33:38.299 Father, Son, and Spirit, 00:33:39.160 --> 00:33:40.940 making from nothing 00:33:40.940 --> 00:33:42.500 by speaking 00:33:42.500 --> 00:33:44.180 for your glory. 00:33:44.180 --> 00:33:46.039 we pray 00:33:46.039 --> 00:33:48.019 that we might find 00:33:48.019 --> 00:33:48.960 our purpose, 00:33:49.200 --> 00:33:49.840 our meaning 00:33:49.840 --> 00:33:51.680 in worshipping you 00:33:51.680 --> 00:33:53.480 and we recognise 00:33:53.480 --> 00:33:54.500 like King David 00:33:54.500 --> 00:33:56.420 that we are incapable 00:33:56.420 --> 00:33:57.299 of that worship 00:33:57.299 --> 00:33:58.220 on our own. 00:33:59.320 --> 00:34:00.600 So create in us 00:34:00.600 --> 00:34:01.680 new hearts, 00:34:01.799 --> 00:34:02.240 we pray, 00:34:03.240 --> 00:34:04.200 that love you, 00:34:05.039 --> 00:34:06.000 that praise you 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:06.880 and worship you 00:34:06.880 --> 00:34:08.500 and live all of their days 00:34:08.500 --> 00:34:09.760 for your glory 00:34:09.760 --> 00:34:10.559 and not their own. 00:34:10.559 --> 00:34:11.980 as we pray 00:34:11.980 --> 00:34:12.820 in Jesus' name. 00:34:13.719 --> 00:34:14.139 Amen. 00:34:14.519 --> 00:34:14.840 Amen.