“GOD” Gen. 1:1
FBCF – 1/1/23
Jon Daniels
INTRO – This is a sermon about God. Obviously won’t be able to cover everything about God in this one sermon. In fact, if God were to allow me to preach every day for the next 100 years, I would not be able to cover everything about Him in all of those sermons.
But today, as we start a new year, we need to be reminded of some important truths about God. We live in a world, & our children & grandchildren are growing up in a world that is increasingly anti-God. More & more people are rejecting God.
- Barna – 20 yrs ago, 11% of Americans identified as atheist, agnostic, or no religion. 81% identified as Christian. (https://www.barna.com/rise-of-atheism/) The number of Americans who identify as atheist, agnostic, or no religion is now about 30% & continuing to rise, & those who identify as Christian is about 64% & continuing to fall. (https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/09/13/modeling-the-future-of-religion-in-america/)
There’s a serious, dangerous disconnect that has happened in our world today as we see more & more people choosing to not believe in God. The Bible makes it clear that this is to be expected.
- Matthew 24:12 – “The love of most will grow cold”
- 2 Timothy 4:3-4 – “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching [doctrine] but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”
- 2 Peter 3:3 – “Above all, be aware of this: Scoffers will come in the last days scoffing and following their own evil desires” (CSB)
So today, let’s start this new year off by establishing or reestablishing our belief in, our faith in, & our commitment to the one, true living God. Let’s start the first day of this new year w/ the first verse in the Bible.
EXPLANATION – Genesis 1:1
This one verse is so important as a foundation to our doctrine & theology – our belief system – our understanding of who God is & what God does. One writer, in talking about the book of Genesis, said this:
i. Genesis gives the foundation for the doctrines of:
· Sin, the fall, redemption, justification.
· The promise of the Messiah and Jesus Christ.
· The personality and personhood of God.
· The kingdom of God.
ii. Genesis shows us the origin of:
· The universe.
· Order and complexity.
· The solar system.
· The atmosphere and hydrosphere.
· Life, man, marriage.
· Good and evil.
· Language, government, culture, nations, religion.
iii. It is precisely because people have abandoned the truth of Genesis that society is in such disarray. (https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/genesis-1/)
This one simple, factual verse forms provides a clear statement about God. He is the subject of this first verse, the dominant theme of the first chapter, & the core theme of the entire Bible.
- He is eternal
- He is uncreated, unchanging, & incomparable
- He is strong & powerful & wise
- He is sovereign, meaning that He has the “power, wisdom, & authority to do anything He chooses within His creation” (https://www.gotquestions.org/God-is-sovereign.html)
“If you can believe this verse, you will have no problem believing the rest of the Bible. The God big enough to have created the heavens & the earth is big enough to do all the rest the Bible says He did & does (https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/genesis-1/).
So, let’s think about our God. Most of us learned a simple blessing when we were kids. Say the first line w/ me: “God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food.” We’ve probably mindlessly repeated that little blessing many times over the years, whether we were kids or w/ our own kids or grandkids.
But let’s use that simple prayer to state some significant truths about our God:
“God is great” – THE GREATNESS OF GOD
“How Great is Our God” – Love this song (sing chorus)! We need to constantly remind ourselves of the immense greatness of our God! Psalm 145:3 – “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom” (NIV).
When we say that someone or something is great, we are saying that that thing or person is preeminent, superior, distinctly above anything normal. The Bible proclaims God’s preeminence & superiority & distinction is dozens of verses throughout the Old & New Testaments.
- 1 John 3:1 tells us how great His love is
- Ephesians 1:19 tells us of the immeasurable greatness of His power
- Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us of His great faithfulness
- Exodus 18:11 tell us of His greatness above all other gods
- Genesis 1 & 2 tell us of the greatness of His creation
Take time to regularly ponder on the greatness of our God. Meditate on Scriptures the proclaim His greatness. Gather w/ God’s people to worship Him b/c of His greatness. Live your life greatly b/c you serve a great God.
“God is good” – THE GOODNESS OF GOD
“God is so good” (sing). Sweet chorus came out over 50 yrs ago. Simple statement of our belief that God is good. His goodness speaks of His kindness, His personal attention to our lives, His passionate desire to have an intimate relationship w/ each & everyone of us.
Reading Genesis 1 this AM. “And God saw that it was good…And God saw that it was very good.” It hit me that the reason that His creation was so very good is b/c HE is so very good.
- All creation is good
- All His words are good
- All His works are good
- All His thoughts are good
Whereas His greatness leaves us speechless b/c of His magnificence & splendor (think about the shepherds), His goodness leaves us speechless to know that this great God wants us as His own. Romans 2:4 – “…His goodness leads us to repentance…” Psalm 23:6 – “Surely goodness & mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, & I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
- His goodness follows you b/c our good God wants to be in sweet fellowship w/ you.
- His goodness leads you to repent of your sins & turn to Him b/c our good God wants to be in sweet fellowship w/ you.
- His goodness is shown to you in a multitude of ways everyday b/c our good God wants to be in sweet fellowship w/ you. He is good & He loves you! He loves you! He loves you! He loves you! He loves you!
“Let us thank Him” – THE PRAISEWORTHINESS OF GOD
Our response to the greatness & goodness of God MUST be to praise Him for all He is & thank Him for all He’s done. Like right now. Finish this statement – “God I praise & thank you b/c you are…”
“For our food” – THE PROVISION OF GOD
As the prayer says, when we talk about God’s provision, many times we do think about Him providing food for us. Certainly important.
But His provision for our lives goes far beyond the food that we will have on our tables today. You’ve heard these verses:
- Philippians 4:19 – “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
- Matthew 6:33 – “But seek 1st the K of G & His righteousness & all these things shall be added to you as well.”
God is a providing God. That is not just what He does – that’s who He is – Jehovah Jireh – “The Lord will provide.”
- Courage in face of danger
- The love of our spouse & family
- The treasure that we have in the Bible
- Wisdom that we need for life’s decisions
- The power that we need to stand against the attacks of the enemy
- The gift & work of the Holy Spirit in our lives – comfort, conviction, revealing truth to us, gifts to serve God & His Church
- The FAMILY of God that we have in the Church, the Body of Christ
Most importantly, the provision for our salvation through the giving of His only Son as our Savior.
CONCLUSION – “This is Our God” (Tomlin)
