Birth Series

Birth

#BecomingTheChurchHeIntends

In the beginning God (the One who is, and was and is to come) created EVERYTHING… HE created;

• Galaxies – millions of them

• Stars – trillions

• HE created our planet and He filled it with breath-taking beauty… sunrises, sunsets, oceans, mountains, rivers, streams, forests…

MGCC - what an incredibly beautiful planet we get to call home!

• AND LISTEN – not only did God fill this planet with breath-taking beauty, He also filled it with LIFE…

I MEAN – everywhere we look there is life… plants, insects, animals, birds, fish…

UNDERSTAND – if you put a shovel to the ground and place the dirt under a microscope it would be teeming with life.

AND – on day six God created man and woman (the crown of His creation… the VERY REASON why everything come into existence in the first place)…

AND HE - created them in His own image and likeness.

PLACING - them in a garden paradise, where they had an up close – personal and intimate relationship with Him…

Yeah, as crazy as it sounds, GOD would literally take walks with them in the cool of the morning.

I MEAN – just imagine what it must have been like… living in a world like that… a world untainted and uncorrupted by sin. IMAGINE - Experiencing intimacy with God like that, “Hey Steve, would you like to take a walk around the lake?”

YEAH – things were good, VERY good. BUT – unfortunately they did not stay VERY good, for VERY long…

YOU SEE – even before Adam and Eve made it out of the 3rd chapter of God’s 1,189 chapter story… THEY - screw up everything (not only for themselves, but for us as well)…

THEY – disobey God… THEY – take that bite…

AND – because of their choice sin, death, corruption and separation invaded God’s perfect world.

BUT LISTEN – that is only part of The Story…

FOR YOU SEE - long before the first couple sunk their teeth into that forbidden fruit…

GOD – already had A to set things right…

A PLAN - to remove the distance…

A PLAN - to give death, sin and separation - a crushing, lethal and once and for all defeating blow.

I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel. - Genesis 3:15

UNDERSTAND…

Since the dawn of creation the overriding theme of human History has been God’s passionate pursuit of a prodigal people. Has been the story of a loving God doing whatever it takes (and I mean, absolutely whatever it takes) in order to bring people back to Himself.

AND MGCC – this plan to ensure that HIS passionate pursuit of us His prodigal people, would one day reach it’s desired endgame - was a 3 phase plan…

Phase One – The Nation Of Israel

UNDERSTAND - through Abraham God built a nation that would begin to show the world what the One True God was like.

A NATION - that was to be different, and to live different than the rest of world. AND – for 2000 years God shapes and prepares this nation for the coming of the Messiah (Christ) BY…

• Making a promise to them through Abraham

The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” - Genesis 12:1-3

• Giving them His Law… HIS - words, commands, decrees on how to live

• Building them a temple (a place where His presence would dwell)…

• Introducing a sacrificial system so that a sinful people could approach a holy God.

• Teaching them about holiness, about sin – teaching them and that obedience leads to BLESSINGS and that disobedience and chasing after things other than God lead to some pretty rough and negative consequences.

YES – for 2000 years God tries to shape this nation… and it is not an easy task. YOU SEE - here's the deal...

WHENEVER - you read the story found in the Old Testament… you just kind of get to this place where you’re like, “Man, nothing seems to be working for God’s people.”

I MEAN…

• God gave them the Law, but they couldn’t keep the Law.

• He gave them a temple, but more times than not it was either forgotten, treated with contempt or forgot whose house it was.