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Fly Me To The Moon Series
Contributed by Johnny A. Palmer Jr. on Oct 12, 2010 (message contributor)
Summary: Introduction to the book of Genesis, the key word being Existence.
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Intro:
1. "Fly Me to the Moon" a song written by Bart Howard and made popular by Frank Sinatra.
"Fly me to the moon
And let me sing among the stars,
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars;
In other words, hold my hand;
In other words, darling, kiss me."
2. If we could fly to the moon we would discover on that planet, a microfilm packet containing Genesis 1:1 in sixteen languages and a complete RSV Bible, it was deposited on the moon by Apollo 14 LEM commander Edgar Mitchell.
3. Introduction - key word is Existence.
Trans: Gen. 1:1-5
We begin and continue with God in the creation story - The first chapter of Genesis is one of the most God-centered chapters in the Bible. God is mentioned by name 32 times in 31 verses.
Add to that the use of personal pronouns, and He is mentioned no less than 43 times. Thus, on the very first page of Scripture brings us into the presence of God and keeps us there.
I. FIRST, THE SELF-EXISTENCE OF GOD. "In the beginning God."
A. His Nature.
In the beginning God - was already there.
Packer, "Children sometimes ask, "Who made God?" The clearest answer is that God never needed to be made, because he was always there.
He exists in a different way from us: we, his creatures, exist in a dependent, derived, finite, fragile way, but our Maker exists in an eternal, self-sustaining, necessary way—necessary, that is, in the sense that God does not have it in Him to go out of existence, just as we do not have it in us to live forever. We necessarily age and die, because it is our present nature to do that; God necessarily continues forever unchanged, because it is His eternal nature to do that. This is one of many contrasts between creature and Creator...
The word aseity, meaning that He has life in himself and draws His unending energy from himself (a se in Latin means "from himself), was coined by theologians to express this truth, which the Bible makes clear (Pss. 90:1-4; 102:25-27; Isa. 40:28-31; John 5:26; Rev. 4:10)."
Steve Charnock, "God is without beginning. ‘In the beginning God created’ the world,’ Gen. 1:1. God was then before the beginning of it; and what point can be set wherein God began, if he were before the beginning of created things? God was without beginning, though all other things had time and beginning from him...Time began with the foundation of the world, but God being before time, could have no beginning in time; before the beginning of the creation and the beginning of time, there could be nothing but eternity, nothing but what was uncreated, that is, nothing but what was without beginning. To be in time, is to have a beginning; to be before all time, is never to have a beginning, but always to be."
1. First, we should expect some Confusion.
"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!" Romans 11:33 (NASB)
At human birth the brain weighs, on average, 14 ounces. It usually reaches its maximum size at age 15 (proving the size of the brain has nothing to do with intelligence level). At its maximum size, the brain weighs an average of 46 ounces, slightly less than three pounds. In liquid measurement, that’s about a Big Gulp from the soda machine at the local gas station.
There is no way for medical professionals to prove this, but the old theory was that we only used about 10 percent of our brain capacity. If that were true and we only start out with a Big Gulp in the first place, we’re down to about a Quarter Pounder with cheese by the time we’re done.
And we think that with our Quarter Pounder with cheese, we’re going to comprehend the infinite, decipher the mysteries of the millenniums, we’re going to answer all the questions? Right!
Isn’t it logically impossible that we as finite creatures could ever fully understand the infinite?
2. Furthermore, the Conception.
A simple definition of self-existence is "that God exists independently of any cause." He is independent of us and is in need of nothing from us!
God asked Job, ""Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine." Job 41:11 (NASB)
"9 "I shall take no young bull out of your house Nor male goats out of your folds. 10 "For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. 11 "I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. 12 "If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains." Psalm 50:9-12 (NASB)