Intro: THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!
1. Some people call the President of the United States "the most powerful leader in the world," but more than one former President would disagree. Ex-Presidents have confessed that their executive orders weren’t always obeyed and that there wasn’t much they could do about it.
For example, during President Nixon’s first term in office, he ordered the removal of some ugly temporary buildings on the mall, eyesores that had been there since the World War I era;
When journalists began writing about "the imperial Presidency," Nixon called the whole idea "ludicrous." Presidents may speak and sign official orders, but that’s no guarantee that anything will happen.
2. However, when God speaks, something happens! "For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast" (Ps. 33:9, nkjv).
3. The Speaking of the universe into Existence.
Trans: We can never overestimate the importants of these first few versed in Genesis.
"a. God’s existence disproves atheism and skepticism or agnosticism. Atheism is the belief that there is no God, no Supreme Being. Skepticism or agnosticism is the belief that a person just cannot know whether or not there is a God. Atheism and skepticism are wrong.
The Bible, God’s written revelation, declares unequivocally: "In the beginning God"—God does exist. He is the Sovereign Majesty of the universe, the Supreme Being of the universe.
"The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good." Psalm 14:1 (NASB)
b. God’s existence disproves pantheism. Pantheism believes in God, but not in a personal God. God is nothing more than the force and energy of the universe, the basic, underlying force and energy of all things.
Stated another way, pantheism says that God is not a person, but rather that God is within everything, within everything as the force and energy that gives life and being to all things.
For example, take a tree. The force and energy that makes a tree live and grow is said to be God. God is nothing more than the impersonal energy and force that gives life to the tree and causes it to grow.
The Bible strongly denies this belief. The Bible unequivocally declares that God is a person, the Supreme Person and Majestic Lord of the universe, and that God existed before the universe.
God existed before the forces and energies of the universe ever came into being or were activated. Therefore, God is above and beyond all matter and all energy. God is both before the universe and supreme over the universe.
The Bible make a definite distinction between Creator and the creation.
c. God’s existence refutes and destroys polytheism. Polytheism is the belief that there are many gods. But the Bible is clear: "In the beginning God." There was God and God alone—one God, not many gods. The Lord God is one God. He and He alone is the Sovereign Majesty of the universe.
Polytheism is not the same as the concept of the Trinity. There are not three Gods, but One God in three Persons.
"4 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "an idol has no real existence," and that "there is no God but one." 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist." 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 (ESV)
d. God’s existence disproves and destroys materialism. Materialism is the belief that the universe is all there is; the world and the things of the world are all that exist. The basic, underlying energy and force of matter, whatever it is, is the supreme energy and force.
Materialism says there is no god, not a personal God. The greatest and most supreme thing in the universe is the very basic energy and force that causes all matter to exist and function. Therefore, the universe and its forces and energies are all there is. Beyond this universe, beyond the material and physical world, there is nothing. There is no other world, no spiritual world, and no heaven or hell. There is only this world, only the material and physical world.
The Bible declares "In the beginning God." God existed prior to the material and physical universe. The declares that matter is not eternal, but was created by God at a specific point in time.
e. God’s existence disproves and destroys humanism. Humanism is the belief that man himself is the ultimate being in the universe. There is no God, no supreme being who rules over man and the universe.
Man is his own authority and determines his own destiny, and man has the reasoning power to control and rule over both himself and nature. Humanism declares that man himself is his own supreme being.
The Bible is emphatic: "In the beginning God." God existed before man ever appeared on the scene. Therefore, God is before, above, and beyond man. God is far, far superior to man. The Bible emphatically declares that God is the Supreme Majesty of the universe, not man. Humanism is wrong, dead wrong."
[Preacher’s Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary]
I. FIRST, THE SOURCE...by Divine fiat.
God created - The word created (Heb. bara) suggests God created exnihilo, "out of nothing." It was not a refashioning of previous materials (cf. Rom. 4:17; Heb. 11:3).
"Created, which means ’to bring into existence, to cause something to be,’ is used only of God as subject and thus suggests that to create is the activity of God alone. Created is replaced by the verb "make" in verses 7,16, 25 and 26, but the sense is the same as create." [A Handbook on Genesis, Reyburn and Fry]
How? By His spoken word!
"By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host." Psalm 33:6
"(as it is written, "A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU") in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist." Romans 4:17
"By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible." Hebrews 11:3 (ESV)
There is no hint of any preexisting material used - He did not create the universe out of nothing...But out of Himself! But we look at it in a practical way, there was nothing but God and then God created something besides God.
"This creation of things from nothing speaks an infinite power. The distance between nothing and being has been alway counted so great, that nothing but an infinite power can make such distances meet together...A greater distance cannot be imagined than that which is between nothing and something; that which has no being, and that which has; and a greater power cannot be imagined than that which brings something out of nothing. We know not how to conceive a nothing, and afterwards a being from that nothing; but we must remain swallowed up in admiration of the cause that gives it being, and acknowledge it to be without any bounds and measures of greatness and power.
The further anything is from being, the more immense must that power be which brings it into being. It is not conceivable that the power of all the angels can give being to the smallest spire of grass.
To imagine, therefore, so small a thing as a bee, a fly, a grain of corn, or an atom of dust, to be made of nothing, would stupify any creature in the consideration of it; [How] much more to behold the heavens with all the troop of stars, the earth with all its embroidery, and the sea with all her inhabitants of fish; and man, the noblest creature of all, to arise out of the womb of mere emptiness.
Indeed, God had not acted as an almighty Creator if He had stood in need of any materials but of His own framing...we could not have imagined Him to be omnipotent, and consequently not God." [The Existence and Attributes of God]
The power of God’s spoken Word is awesomely amazing!
The Psalmist says: "You have magnified Your Word above Your Name" (Psa. 138:2) It is—
1. Divine in its Source. To take but one book, the Acts, we find the Word is referred to 35 times: 13 times as "the Word of God" (4:31; 6:2, 7; 8:14; 11:1; 12:24; 13:5, 7, 44, 46; 17:13; 18:11; 19:20); 8 times as "the Word of the Lord," (8:25; 11:16; 13:48, 49; 15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:10); 13 times as "the Word," (4:4; 6:4; 8:4; 10:36, 44; 11:19; 13:26; 14:3, 25; 15:7; 16:6; 17:11; 20:32); and as once as "Thy Word,"(4:29).
2. Dynamic in its Operation. Notice what it says about His Word in the Epistle to the Hebrews:
"And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power..." Hebrews 1:3
"2 For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, 3 how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?..." Hebrews 2:2-3
"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12
3. Definite in its Claim. The Epistles to the Thessalonians illustrate the claims of the Word.
"16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)
4. Distinct in its Prophecy. With it’s 100% accuracy!
" 16 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased"— 18 and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. 20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." 2 Peter 1:16-21
5. Devoted in its Promises.
"Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant." 1 Kings 8:56
Abraham found Gods promise to be true - Rom. 4:20;
Trans: A God who created everything - including you surely knows how to fix every single problem you have!
Allen Golding shared, "When we were missionaries in the Philippines, we vacationed in Baguio City in the mountains of Northern Luzon. While there, we visited the St. Louis Silver School, where silversmiths are trained. We admired exquisite workmanship in the workshop and gift shop, and took home a souvenir—a pure silver money clip embellished with a distinctive design. I carried that clip for the next 24 years. One day it finally broke as I slipped a few bills into it. I then took the two pieces of the money clip back to the silver school in Baguio. One workman, about my age, asked if he could help me. I explained my predicament and laid the pieces in his outstretched hand.
After examining the pieces for a minute or so, he looked up at me and said, "I designed this clip. I was the only one to make this design. I made all of these that were ever made."
I asked, "Can you fix it?"
He said, "I designed it. I made it. Of course I can fix it!"
II. FINALLY THE SCOPE...the universe.
the heavens and earth - that covers a lot of territory! We will focus on the earth in our next passage, which is the focus of this chapter.
It is the Hebrew way of speaking of the universe and all that it contains, it is an idiom made up of two opposites, like the expression "good and evil" and here more is meant then just sky and earth. Heaven and earth is then a figure of speech designed to express the totality of everything. It is the "all things" of Isa. 44:24 (see Psa.103:19/Jer.10:16) includes the sun, moon, stars, planets, etc.
Consider the power and greatness of the One who created the universe and inhabits every square inch.
Begin with our solar system. At the speed of light, 186,000 miles a second, sunlight takes eight minutes to reach the earth. That same light takes five more hours to reach the farthest planet in our solar system, Pluto. After leaving our solar system that same sunlight must travel for four years and four months to reach the next star in the universe. That is a distance of 40 trillion kilometers—mere shoutin’ distance in the universe!
The sun resides in the Milky Way Galaxy, which is shaped like a flying saucer, flat and with a bulge in the center. Our sun is roughly 3/4 of the way to the edge of the galaxy. To get a feel for that distance, if our solar system were one inch across, the distance to the center of the Milky Way Galaxy would be 379 miles. Our galaxy contains hundreds of billions of stars.
Yet the Milky Way is but one of roughly one trillion galaxies in the universe. Says astronomer Allan Sandage, "Galaxies are to astronomy what atoms are to physics."
There are twenty galaxies in what is called our local group. The next sort of grouping in the universe is called a supercluster of galaxies. Within our supercluster, the nearest cluster of galaxies, called Virgo, is 50 million light years away. (A light year is the distance light travels in one year. To get a feel for the distance of one light year, if you drove your car at 55 miles per hour, it would take you 12.2 million years to travel one light year.)
Astronomers estimate that the distance across the universe is roughly 40 billion light years and that there are roughly 100 billion trillion stars.
And the Lord Almighty is the Creator of it all. Not a bad day’s work.
Cambridge University physicist Stephen Hawking, who has been called "the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein," says in his best-selling A Brief History of Time that our galaxy is an average-sized spiral galaxy that looks to other galaxies like a swirl in a pastry roll and that it is over 100,000 light-years across —about six hundred trillion miles.
He says, "We now know that our galaxy is only one of some hundred thousand million that can be seen using modern telescopes, each galaxy itself containing some hundred thousand million stars."
It is commonly held that the average distance between these hundred thousand million galaxies (each six hundred trillion miles across and containing one hundred thousand million stars) is three million light-years! On top of that, the work of Edwin Hubble, based on the Doppler effect, has shown that all red-spectrumed galaxies are moving away from us—and that nearly all are red.
Thus, the universe is constantly expanding. Some estimates say that the most distant galaxy is eight billion light-years away—and racing away at two hundred million miles an hour. Finally, the fact of the expanding universe demands a beginning, though Hawking now doubts that a Big Bang was its beginning.
And Everything is in precision to make earth a suitable home for man!
Writing in the journal Nature, Benjamin Zuckerman, a professor of astronomy at the University of California at Los Angeles, says that one factor contributing to Earth’s ability to sustain life is the size of the largest planet in our solar system: Jupiter. Jupiter, the next neighbor to Earth after Mars, is a giant gaseous planet, with a mass that is 318 times greater than that of Earth and thus a much greater gravitational force.
It is that gravitational force that benefits Planet Earth. When massive objects that could do great harm to our planet hurl through our solar system, Jupiter acts as a sort of vacuum cleaner, sucking comets and asteroids into itself or causing them to veer away from Earth. Without Jupiter, says Zuckerman, Earth would be a sitting duck.
Zuckerman says massive gaseous planets like Jupiter are rare in the universe. Once again we see God’s design in creation. Having a planet like Jupiter nearby may be rare, but it is no coincidence.
"25 "So—who is like me? Who holds a candle to me?" says The Holy. 26 Look at the night skies: Who do you think made all this? Who marches this army of stars out each night, counts them off, calls each by name —so magnificent! so powerful!— and never overlooks a single one?" Isaiah 40:25-26 (MSG)
Tozer, "I am positively sure after many years of observation and prayer that the basis of all of our trouble today, in religious circles, is that our God is too small.
When he says magnify the Lord, he doesn’t mean that you are to make God big, but you are to see Him big. When we take a telescope and look at a star, we don’t make the star bigger, we only see it big. Likewise you cannot make God bigger, but you are only to see Him bigger....
What is the most important verse in the Bible? The most important verse in the Bible is this one: "In the beginning God..." (Genesis 1:1). That is the most important verse, because that is where everything must begin. God is the mountain out of which everything springs, and He is the foundation upon which everything rests. God is all in all."
Con:
1. The Speaking of the universe into Existence.
2. This should cause us to make much of God’s Written Word, and of course of the God of the Word.
3. The key to life is to begin and continue with God and His Word!
Butler, "The first four words of the Bible instruct us in the all important truth of beginning with God. It is the only way to begin. You cannot begin right unless you begin with God.
Much ignorance exists in every age because men do not begin with God. If you want answers to life’s greatest questions, you need to begin with God and His Word. God will give you the right answers. Leave out God and you will walk in darkness.
Do you want to know the origin of our planet earth and of the universe and how man began? Then begin with God and your knowledge will be light years ahead of what the evolutionists teach in the classroom.
Do you want to know the right explanation for the geological findings of the scientists? Then begin with God’s Word and read about the flood which will give the right explanation about the geological findings. This explanation from God’s Word will be a welcomed change from the absurd explanations of the ungodly.
Do you want to know the cause, consequences, and cure of man’s evil behavior? Begin with God, and you will have more understanding of man’s behavior than all the ungodly social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists of the world put together.
Do you want to know why we have so many diverse languages? Begin with God’s Word, and you will discover it was iniquity, not intelligence, that resulted in a great diversity of languages in this world. It was the guile of man, not the genius of man that brought about different languages.
Do you want to know the root cause of the Mideast conflict? Begin with God’s Word, and you will not only know what is the root cause of the problem, but you will also know how it will all turn out—Israel will be the victor when Jesus Christ comes back to earth and rules as King.
Do you want to know how to get to heaven? If you do not begin with God and His Word, you will never know and, therefore, never get to heaven.
Johnny Palmer Jr
www.StrugglingThruScriptures.ning.com
