Paradise Created
Series: Beginnings
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 13th October 2024
Passage: Genesis 1:1-31
00:00:00 --> 00:00:09 Genesis, which is a Greek word translated from the Hebrew, the original Hebrew, which means
00:00:09 --> 00:00:19 in the beginning. And so what Genesis does for us, it gives us the beginning of the doctrine of God
00:00:19 --> 00:00:25 is what the beginning is. It's the beginning of the doctrine of God, of who God is, but also of
00:00:25 --> 00:00:31 his creation. That is what we know about God, what we know about creation, about ourselves and about
00:00:31 --> 00:00:42 salvation, it all begins right here in Genesis. What I'm saying is that if you read the Bible
00:00:42 --> 00:00:53 correctly, it is not fundamentally about us. It's about God. And it's about who he is and what he
00:00:53 --> 00:01:02 has done and continues to do. It's no accident that God is the very first sentence of the Bible.
00:01:03 --> 00:01:13 And the name of God is referred to 35 times and dominates the first chapter. God is the subject
00:01:13 --> 00:01:20 of the first chapter of the Bible. That's not often how we read it. The storyline of the Bible,
00:01:20 --> 00:01:28 which is a single storyline, is a storyline that moves from creation to the fall, what God has done
00:01:28 --> 00:01:36 to rescue it and renew his creation through grace, which takes us eventually to the end where he will
00:01:36 --> 00:01:43 renew all things. It's a single storyline of the whole Bible. It's a storyline that has its foundation
00:01:43 --> 00:01:50 in Genesis 1-11. And it's our focus, as Jess has said, in the lead up to Christmas.
00:01:51 --> 00:02:00 Genesis 1-11 gives us the earliest of history of the world. It gives us this early history by relating to
00:02:00 --> 00:02:10 us five stories. In Genesis 1-11, consists of five stories that all have the same structure.
00:02:10 --> 00:02:19 The five stories are the fall into sin, the story of Cain, the sons of God marrying the daughters of men,
00:02:19 --> 00:02:27 the flood and the tower of Babel. And the five stories have a fourfold pattern to them that's repeated.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:38 Sin is described. God speaks, announcing the penalty for the sin. God then brings grace to the solution to
00:02:38 --> 00:02:48 ease the misery that sin has caused. And then God punishes the sin. And the amazing thing, as you see in the first
00:02:48 --> 00:02:57 11 chapters, is that as sin increases, so grace increases more and more.
00:02:58 --> 00:03:05 And so therefore, Romans 5 comes to fruition in its very first chapters of the Bible. It's a foundation,
00:03:05 --> 00:03:11 if you like, the pillars of the rest of the Bible, the message of the rest of the Bible.
00:03:11 --> 00:03:16 And so today we're starting in the beginning of creation. And as we have just declared in the
00:03:16 --> 00:03:23 Apostles' Creed, we believe in God Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth. So three things. If you've
00:03:23 --> 00:03:29 got the St. Paul's outline there on the app, you'll see I've got three things there. Understanding creation,
00:03:29 --> 00:03:37 practicing creation, and lastly, experiencing creation, or I've sort of thought this morning, might even call that
00:03:37 --> 00:03:44 enjoying creation. But we'll get there. Okay. Understanding creation. Now, us modern people, especially those of us
00:03:44 --> 00:03:52 with a Western heritage, when we read Genesis 1, we immediately think of the question, how?
00:03:52 --> 00:04:00 How? That's the immediate thing. That's the very first question we impose upon this text. How? And Darwin's
00:04:00 --> 00:04:06 theory of evolution springs to mind. We have questions about dinosaurs and the age of the planet and all
00:04:06 --> 00:04:13 that sort of stuff. One of the crucial issues when we read the Bible, in fact, when we read any text,
00:04:13 --> 00:04:20 is to ask the question, what is the author's intention in writing this?
00:04:22 --> 00:04:29 And the key is to understand his intention in order to understand the meaning. And so as we open
00:04:29 --> 00:04:39 Genesis, there is one thing we can be absolutely certain of. When Genesis was written, the author
00:04:39 --> 00:04:47 wasn't thinking about Darwin's theory of evolution. At all. Not even remotely.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:57 They weren't thinking about the cultural wars of the West. At all.
00:04:57 --> 00:05:07 But since it's often on our minds, as Westerners, and particularly, and we want to impose something on the text,
00:05:08 --> 00:05:13 I want to say something very briefly about it, and then I'm going to park it. I'm not going to mention it again.
00:05:15 --> 00:05:21 Historically, there are at least six different views on what is meant by the six days of creation
00:05:21 --> 00:05:30 in Genesis 1. Through the centuries, there have been Christians who have had a very high view of the Bible,
00:05:30 --> 00:05:38 who have considered the reference to days in Genesis 1 as literally 24-hour periods as we know them today.
00:05:39 --> 00:05:44 And there have been plenty of Christians also with an extremely high view of the Bible,
00:05:45 --> 00:05:47 who have not seen it that way at all.
00:05:47 --> 00:05:55 And to this day, friends on both sides still exist as friends.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:03 The people who have not seen it that way have a variety of different...
00:06:05 --> 00:06:09 They see the Bible as a variety of different types of texts.
00:06:10 --> 00:06:14 They see that there's historical narrative, there's prophecies, there's poetry, there's songs.
00:06:14 --> 00:06:23 Historical narrative makes itself clear with references to things like world events, people, times, eyewitness testimony.
00:06:24 --> 00:06:30 Poetry, on the other hand, makes itself clear by things like repetitiveness and parallelism.
00:06:31 --> 00:06:39 There are a few places, in fact, in the Bible where it's not entirely clear what it is that we're dealing with
00:06:39 --> 00:06:40 when we read the text.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:46 Genesis chapter 1 is one of those places.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:51 Genesis chapter 2 is not one of those places.
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 Genesis 2 is historical narrative.
00:06:53 --> 00:06:56 It reads like an account of what...
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 exactly what happened.
00:07:00 --> 00:07:04 But Genesis 1 has quite a repetitive pattern.
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 Over and over again we read,
00:07:06 --> 00:07:07 He said,
00:07:07 --> 00:07:08 He said, and it was.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:09 He saw, and it was good.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 It was evening, and then it was morning.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 Over and over again.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:19 It has a repetitive pattern that is not the way that historic narrative is written.
00:07:20 --> 00:07:25 I think Genesis 2 is a history of what God did,
00:07:25 --> 00:07:32 but Genesis 1 is a song about God and what God has done.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:36 Another example of...
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 is in Exodus 14 and 15.
00:07:39 --> 00:07:43 Exodus 14 is a historical narrative about the crossing of the Red Sea,
00:07:43 --> 00:07:50 and it's put alongside Miriam's song about the same event in Exodus 15,
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 which is clearly a song.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:57 It is clearly poetry looking on the event of Exodus 14.
00:07:57 --> 00:08:04 The key thing, though, is that wherever you land with this,
00:08:05 --> 00:08:08 it's important to remember one key thing.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:15 It is established fact that godly, Bible-loving people
00:08:15 --> 00:08:18 who have given their lives to God's Word
00:08:18 --> 00:08:23 have differed over the opening chapter of the Bible.
00:08:23 --> 00:08:30 Faithful Bible scholars have landed differently on this issue,
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 and they got on.
00:08:37 --> 00:08:41 It would seem over the last 20 years or so,
00:08:41 --> 00:08:44 there's been much more of a war over these issues.
00:08:45 --> 00:08:49 There are people who disdain those who hold to the literal reading of Genesis 1
00:08:49 --> 00:08:52 as being primitive fundamentalists.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:57 Likewise, there are those who regard as enemies of truth,
00:08:57 --> 00:09:01 those who don't think these are literal 24-hour days,
00:09:01 --> 00:09:06 as if Genesis 1 is the test for orthodoxy.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:12 There is a harshness to the debate
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 that doesn't present gospel humility,
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 and it's not the kind of church that I want us to be at St. Paul's
00:09:18 --> 00:09:21 as we discuss these matters amongst ourselves.
00:09:22 --> 00:09:25 We have a great deal of humility towards one another.
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 If you want to know where I stand on the issue,
00:09:28 --> 00:09:31 then I'm with the people who interpret Genesis 1 as a song.
00:09:32 --> 00:09:37 Now, that does not mean that I give in to the theory of evolution,
00:09:37 --> 00:09:38 because I don't.
00:09:39 --> 00:09:42 It's a theory that has dominated the sciences
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 for just a little over 100 years.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:44 That's all.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:49 And it's a theory that is currently, to our day,
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 amongst physicists and philosophers,
00:09:53 --> 00:09:55 as increasingly discredited
00:09:55 --> 00:10:00 and losing its prominence due to flimsy evidence
00:10:00 --> 00:10:01 and dubious hypothesis.
00:10:01 --> 00:10:07 While Genesis 1 is poetry,
00:10:08 --> 00:10:11 I'm certain that Genesis 2 and onwards is history.
00:10:12 --> 00:10:14 But wherever you stand with this,
00:10:15 --> 00:10:19 our goal should be to read this text
00:10:19 --> 00:10:24 and notice what God is saying.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:28 And what we know is that when God speaks,
00:10:29 --> 00:10:30 the chaos becomes cosmos.
00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 To come under God's word
00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 is to move from disorder to order.
00:10:40 --> 00:10:41 And our key job
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 is to do the hard work
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 of coming under what the Bible actually says.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 And that's it.
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 I'm not going to talk about evolution there again.
00:10:52 --> 00:10:53 Going to move on,
00:10:54 --> 00:10:56 because I don't think it's the issue of Genesis 1.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:00 So let's move on to my second point,
00:11:02 --> 00:11:05 how it is that we practice the doctrine of creation.
00:11:05 --> 00:11:07 And there are at least four things
00:11:07 --> 00:11:11 about this that I think have very practical outcomes for us
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 as we look at the doctrine of creation.
00:11:14 --> 00:11:15 First of all,
00:11:15 --> 00:11:17 we see the goodness of creation.
00:11:17 --> 00:11:20 Notice the repetition of God
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 and he saw and it was good.
00:11:24 --> 00:11:25 God made it,
00:11:25 --> 00:11:26 he said it,
00:11:26 --> 00:11:27 came into existence
00:11:27 --> 00:11:28 and it was good.
00:11:29 --> 00:11:30 Eastern religions say
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 that the physical world is an illusion
00:11:32 --> 00:11:34 and at one day it's all going to fade away.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 Western religions,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 coming off the back of the Greeks and the Romans,
00:11:40 --> 00:11:43 say that fundamentally the world is bad.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 The body and material world are bad,
00:11:47 --> 00:11:49 but the spirit is good.
00:11:50 --> 00:11:51 And only biblical,
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 only Christian faith,
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 Christian faith of the Bible,
00:11:56 --> 00:11:57 has a high view.
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 In fact, the highest view
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 of the physical creation.
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 The storyline of the Bible,
00:12:04 --> 00:12:06 the plan of God revealed in time and space,
00:12:07 --> 00:12:10 is a movement entirely from creation to new creation.
00:12:10 --> 00:12:12 It begins with,
00:12:12 --> 00:12:14 the Bible begins with creation
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 and it ends with a new creation.
00:12:16 --> 00:12:19 The plan of God is to resurrect bodies
00:12:19 --> 00:12:22 into a new heaven and a new earth,
00:12:23 --> 00:12:26 a new perfect physical reality.
00:12:26 --> 00:12:30 Only the Christian faith speaks of that kind of reality.
00:12:31 --> 00:12:35 Only the Bible has a vision of spirit and matter
00:12:35 --> 00:12:38 existing in integrity forever.
00:12:41 --> 00:12:45 And that has many practical implications for the Christian.
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48 The Bible is filled with prophecy
00:12:48 --> 00:12:52 that say the natural world that we live in
00:12:52 --> 00:12:56 is but a shadow of what it is going to be like
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 when the Lord comes back.
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 That is great news.
00:12:59 --> 00:13:02 We're not going to be going to clouds
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04 and floating around as spirits.
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 We will be as alive,
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 in fact, even more alive than what we are today.
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 Isaiah refers to the coming of the Lord
00:13:16 --> 00:13:20 of all creation as a great party.
00:13:22 --> 00:13:24 Jesus reveals that he is, in fact,
00:13:24 --> 00:13:25 the Lord of creation
00:13:25 --> 00:13:29 and enjoys a party at his very first miracle.
00:13:30 --> 00:13:33 where he turns the water into wine.
00:13:34 --> 00:13:35 He's there at a wedding celebration.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 The wine's drying up.
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 It's about to dip.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40 Everything's about to go bad for the wedding.
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 Jesus comes along and kicks it up a notch.
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 He's the Lord of creation.
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 He's the Lord of the party.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:51 Jesus produces so much wine
00:13:51 --> 00:13:53 it would have been impossible for them to consume it all.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 Such is his abundance.
00:13:59 --> 00:14:03 Jesus is not who religion has made him out to be.
00:14:05 --> 00:14:08 God's work in Jesus to recreate his broken world
00:14:08 --> 00:14:12 is centered on joy, celebration, and festivities.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 The goodness of creation
00:14:14 --> 00:14:20 is a profound Christian motive for playfulness.
00:14:21 --> 00:14:24 Profound Christian motive for playfulness.
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 A great kiss.
00:14:28 --> 00:14:31 A fantastic sunset.
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 A satisfying meal
00:14:33 --> 00:14:36 is but a dim picture
00:14:36 --> 00:14:39 of what we're going to eternally have
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 in the new heavens and the new earth.
00:14:43 --> 00:14:45 And we have a fantastic foretaste of it now.
00:14:46 --> 00:14:49 We can receive life gladly
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 and cherish it now.
00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 The second thing we learn
00:14:53 --> 00:14:55 quite practical implications for us
00:14:55 --> 00:14:58 and I think it points to a balance.
00:14:58 --> 00:15:01 And that is the finiteness of creation.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 Again, something unique
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05 about the Bible's creation account
00:15:05 --> 00:15:08 and that is that there's only one source
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 of the creation.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:12 All other ancient accounts of creation
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 have multiple deities
00:15:14 --> 00:15:17 where the world is created
00:15:17 --> 00:15:19 because they've been killing each other.
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 It's some kind of battle.
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 And the humanity was created,
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 the world was created
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 to serve the deities
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 who were trying to kill each other.
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 Here is an ancient account of creation
00:15:32 --> 00:15:36 where all of the elements are created.
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 No element of creation
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 is divine in and of itself.
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44 God alone is divine.
00:15:44 --> 00:15:46 None of the creation is divine.
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 God alone is infinite
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 and to be worshipped.
00:15:51 --> 00:15:54 Virtually all of the ancient religion
00:15:54 --> 00:15:57 worshipped parts of the creation
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59 because they saw them
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 as sources of divine power
00:16:01 --> 00:16:04 linked to different deities.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:07 So in the ancient world,
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 there were some who were
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10 anti the created order.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:13 It was all about appeasing the angry gods.
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 That's why creation existed.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 They were therefore against pleasure.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:18 They were against enjoyment.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:20 They were against playfulness.
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 On the other hand,
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 in the ancient world,
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 there was the materialists,
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 which like modern secularists,
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 who said that it's all that we've got
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31 and so we better make sure
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 that we worship it,
00:16:33 --> 00:16:33 you know,
00:16:33 --> 00:16:35 and worship physical pleasure
00:16:35 --> 00:16:37 and wealth and power.
00:16:37 --> 00:16:42 The modern secularist says
00:16:42 --> 00:16:44 that this is all that we have,
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 this created order,
00:16:46 --> 00:16:49 so consume as much of the material world
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 in possession and experiences
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 as you possibly can
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 before you die.
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 The Christian worldview
00:16:57 --> 00:17:01 doesn't say that the material world is bad,
00:17:01 --> 00:17:04 nor does it say it's all you've got.
00:17:04 --> 00:17:10 You can do without it
00:17:10 --> 00:17:14 because God is the most important thing.
00:17:15 --> 00:17:18 When the Christian grasps the goodness
00:17:18 --> 00:17:22 alongside the finiteness of creation,
00:17:23 --> 00:17:26 then you are able to truly enjoy it
00:17:26 --> 00:17:28 but also walk away from it.
00:17:28 --> 00:17:34 That's why our holidays
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 are so quickly forgotten
00:17:36 --> 00:17:39 because they're not the ultimate.
00:17:40 --> 00:17:42 They're not meant to give you
00:17:42 --> 00:17:44 the rest that only God can give you.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 They're good
00:17:46 --> 00:17:48 but they're not ultimate.
00:17:52 --> 00:17:54 So the Christian is neither an ascetic
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 nor a hedonist.
00:17:55 --> 00:17:58 The third thing we learn
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 is the unity of creation.
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 This is an interesting point.
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 Well, interesting to me anyway.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 Way back in Greek philosophy,
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 there was this tendency
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09 to a dualistic view of creation.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 I've already mentioned it
00:18:10 --> 00:18:12 where there's good gods and bad gods.
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 The material world was bad.
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 The spiritual world was good.
00:18:17 --> 00:18:19 We see this thinking in fact.
00:18:20 --> 00:18:20 Some of this thinking
00:18:20 --> 00:18:22 is behind the New Testament book
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 of 1 Corinthians.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:26 Some Greek religions believed
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 that there were two gods,
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 one good and one bad.
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 The interesting thing is
00:18:31 --> 00:18:33 that this dualistic view of the world
00:18:33 --> 00:18:35 has for some reason
00:18:35 --> 00:18:38 always hung around the Christian church.
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 There's elements there
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 that have always hung around
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 the Christian church
00:18:43 --> 00:18:45 despite the fact
00:18:45 --> 00:18:47 that it's actually not in the Bible.
00:18:47 --> 00:18:50 So many Christians
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 these days
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 are dualistic
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 in their thinking
00:18:53 --> 00:18:55 and therefore
00:18:55 --> 00:18:57 they are consistently fearful.
00:18:59 --> 00:19:01 Fearful of world events.
00:19:03 --> 00:19:05 Fearful that Satan
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 may get the upper hand on me.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 Fearful of the spiritual realm.
00:19:09 --> 00:19:15 They consistently pit
00:19:15 --> 00:19:17 the spirit
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 against the material world
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 and therefore
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 live in fear.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:23 And therefore
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25 they view the world
00:19:25 --> 00:19:25 in both
00:19:25 --> 00:19:27 you're a good person
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 if you have the Holy Spirit
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 and you're a carnal person
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 if you
00:19:31 --> 00:19:34 don't have the Holy Spirit.
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 Have the Holy Spirit
00:19:36 --> 00:19:36 I'm good
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 if you don't
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 then everyone else
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 is wicked and terrible.
00:19:40 --> 00:19:42 God creates both the body
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 and the spirit.
00:19:44 --> 00:19:44 Everything
00:19:44 --> 00:19:47 is his
00:19:47 --> 00:19:49 or wisdom is his
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 or truth is his.
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 And so
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 a great deal of humility
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 those of you
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 who are in Christ
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 because you can learn
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 an awful lot
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 from those who are not.
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 The last thing we learn here
00:20:02 --> 00:20:04 is the importance of creation.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:07 God so loves the cosmos
00:20:07 --> 00:20:09 that is why
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 John chapter 3
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 verse 16
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 says that
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 he sent his son
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 Jesus Christ
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 to save it.
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 God so loves
00:20:17 --> 00:20:17 the cosmos.
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 He is so committed
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 to his creation
00:20:21 --> 00:20:23 that he was willing
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 for the eternal son
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 to take on human flesh
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 and to dwell here
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 amongst us.
00:20:27 --> 00:20:29 He is so committed
00:20:29 --> 00:20:29 to the cosmos
00:20:29 --> 00:20:31 that he will someday
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 resurrect us
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 and create a new heaven
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 and a new earth.
00:20:34 --> 00:20:36 It means that
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 when the Christian
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 sees everything
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 that has gone wrong
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 in our world
00:20:40 --> 00:20:43 God's perfect creation
00:20:43 --> 00:20:45 we ought to be committed
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 to renewing it
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 in the same way
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 that he is committed
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 to renewing it.
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 When we see
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 the goodness of creation
00:20:52 --> 00:20:54 we have a great deal
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 of motivation
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 to enjoy it.
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 When we see
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 the finiteness of creation
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 we can handle
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 not having a lot of it.
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 When we see
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 the unity of creation
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 we can humbly learn
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 from everyone
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 and everything in it.
00:21:07 --> 00:21:07 And because
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 of the importance
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 of creation
00:21:09 --> 00:21:11 we join in
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 with God's
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 renovation project
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 through the proclamation
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 of the gospel
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 and works of mercy
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 and justice
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 in our world.
00:21:19 --> 00:21:21 So lastly
00:21:21 --> 00:21:23 how therefore
00:21:23 --> 00:21:23 do we
00:21:23 --> 00:21:25 experience creation
00:21:25 --> 00:21:25 or
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 potentially
00:21:26 --> 00:21:28 enjoying creation?
00:21:28 --> 00:21:28 creation.
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 This is the last
00:21:30 --> 00:21:30 final point.
00:21:31 --> 00:21:31 I think it would be
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 a mistake for me
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 just to end it there
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 where it was
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 encourage you to go out
00:21:35 --> 00:21:35 and build a life
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 around the biblical
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 doctrine of creation.
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 The last point
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 is how do we
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 actually truly
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 experience
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 God
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 not just as
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 our redeemer
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 but as our creator.
00:21:48 --> 00:21:50 Job chapter 38
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 God
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 asked Job
00:21:52 --> 00:21:54 were you there
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 when I laid
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 the earth's
00:21:56 --> 00:21:56 foundation
00:21:56 --> 00:21:59 while the
00:21:59 --> 00:22:01 morning stars
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 sang together
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 and all
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 the angels
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 shouted joy.
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 Psalm 19
00:22:08 --> 00:22:08 says
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 the created
00:22:09 --> 00:22:09 order
00:22:09 --> 00:22:11 declares
00:22:11 --> 00:22:11 the glory
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 of God.
00:22:13 --> 00:22:15 The reason
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 why
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 nature
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 and the natural
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 world
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 is so
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 moving
00:22:20 --> 00:22:20 for us
00:22:20 --> 00:22:22 is because
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 it is doing
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 what Job 38
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 says
00:22:25 --> 00:22:25 is doing
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 what Psalm 19
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 says
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 it is speaking
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 to us.
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 That's
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 its job
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 it is speaking
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 to us
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 it is proclaiming
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 something
00:22:37 --> 00:22:37 it is
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 what it's doing
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 according to Psalm 38
00:22:39 --> 00:22:41 it is
00:22:41 --> 00:22:43 praising God
00:22:43 --> 00:22:46 and speaking
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 to us
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 consistently
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 about the
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 magnificence
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 of God.
00:22:50 --> 00:22:50 God
00:22:50 --> 00:22:54 but Romans
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 chapter 1
00:22:55 --> 00:22:55 tells us
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 that even
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 though creation
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 reveals God
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 a God of
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 eternal power
00:23:00 --> 00:23:00 and divine
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 nature
00:23:01 --> 00:23:03 humanity
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 in our
00:23:04 --> 00:23:04 rebellion
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 against God
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 has suppressed
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 that truth.
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 It's like
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 we're putting
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 earbuds in
00:23:11 --> 00:23:11 as the
00:23:11 --> 00:23:11 creation
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 sings to
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 us.
00:23:13 --> 00:23:17 every human
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 being
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 knows God
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 but no
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 human being
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 glorifies God
00:23:22 --> 00:23:22 or gives
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 thanks to
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 him
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 is what
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 Romans 1
00:23:24 --> 00:23:24 tells us.
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 We don't
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 acknowledge
00:23:27 --> 00:23:27 our dependence
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 upon God
00:23:28 --> 00:23:30 our creator
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 and we claim
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 independence
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 of him
00:23:33 --> 00:23:33 instead.
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 But here's
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 the thing
00:23:36 --> 00:23:38 again
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 from Romans
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 1
00:23:39 --> 00:23:43 because
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 we are
00:23:44 --> 00:23:44 primarily
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 made
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 by God
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 to worship
00:23:47 --> 00:23:47 God
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 when we
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 reject God
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 we don't
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 just simply
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 stop worshipping
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 we don't
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 just simply
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 stop believing
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 as an atheist
00:23:56 --> 00:23:56 will want you
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 to believe
00:23:57 --> 00:23:59 we don't
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 stop that
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 we just
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 shift our
00:24:02 --> 00:24:02 allegiance
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 to something
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 else
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 and worship
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 it instead
00:24:06 --> 00:24:08 another object
00:24:08 --> 00:24:10 our purpose
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 is worship
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 and so
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 there must
00:24:13 --> 00:24:13 be something
00:24:13 --> 00:24:15 that captures
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 our attention
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 and becomes
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 our hope
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 and our security
00:24:19 --> 00:24:19 and our identity
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 and our meaning
00:24:20 --> 00:24:22 we give
00:24:22 --> 00:24:24 ultimate affection
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 to a created
00:24:25 --> 00:24:25 thing
00:24:25 --> 00:24:27 a good thing
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 made by God
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 rather than
00:24:29 --> 00:24:29 the God
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 who alone
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 is worthy
00:24:31 --> 00:24:31 of our
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 ultimate
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 affection
00:24:33 --> 00:24:35 so rather
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 than worshipping
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 the immortal
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 we worship
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 what he has
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 made
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 and what
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 the Bible
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 tells us
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 is that
00:24:44 --> 00:24:44 everything
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 that's wrong
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 in the
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 created world
00:24:47 --> 00:24:49 is linked
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 to that
00:24:50 --> 00:24:50 issue
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 alone
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 that issue
00:24:52 --> 00:24:54 and the
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 Bible
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 tells us
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 that God
00:24:56 --> 00:24:56 will hold
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 us accountable
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 for it
00:24:57 --> 00:25:00 but the
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 Bible also
00:25:01 --> 00:25:01 tells us
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 that God
00:25:02 --> 00:25:02 has done
00:25:02 --> 00:25:02 something
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 about our
00:25:03 --> 00:25:03 biggest
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 issue
00:25:04 --> 00:25:06 I'm not
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 sure if
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 you ever
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 noticed
00:25:07 --> 00:25:07 this
00:25:07 --> 00:25:09 for those
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 who have
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 read
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 in the
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 New Testament
00:25:11 --> 00:25:11 and John's
00:25:11 --> 00:25:11 Gospel
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 which we
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 finished last
00:25:13 --> 00:25:13 week
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 but John's
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 Gospel
00:25:15 --> 00:25:15 begins
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 in the
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 same way
00:25:17 --> 00:25:17 that Genesis
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 begins
00:25:18 --> 00:25:21 in the
00:25:21 --> 00:25:21 beginning
00:25:21 --> 00:25:24 was the
00:25:24 --> 00:25:24 word
00:25:24 --> 00:25:26 in the
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 beginning
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 was the
00:25:27 --> 00:25:27 word
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 the Greek
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 word that
00:25:29 --> 00:25:29 John uses
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 there
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 for word
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 is the
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 word
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 logos
00:25:33 --> 00:25:35 and the
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 Greek
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 philosophers
00:25:36 --> 00:25:36 the word
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 logos
00:25:37 --> 00:25:37 had very
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 important
00:25:38 --> 00:25:38 word
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 in Greek
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 philosophy
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 at the
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 time the
00:25:41 --> 00:25:41 first century
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 and John
00:25:42 --> 00:25:42 was writing
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 this in
00:25:43 --> 00:25:43 Greek
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 culture
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 the Greek
00:25:45 --> 00:25:45 philosophers
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 looked at
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 nature
00:25:47 --> 00:25:47 they looked
00:25:47 --> 00:25:47 at the
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 created
00:25:48 --> 00:25:48 order
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 they saw
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 balance
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 they saw
00:25:51 --> 00:25:51 harmony
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 they saw
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 design
00:25:53 --> 00:25:53 in the
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 world
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 and they
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 concluded
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 that there
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 was a
00:25:57 --> 00:25:57 cosmic
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 principle
00:25:58 --> 00:26:00 of order
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 behind
00:26:01 --> 00:26:01 the
00:26:01 --> 00:26:01 created
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 world
00:26:02 --> 00:26:04 and they
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 called
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 that
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 principle
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 of order
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 the
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 logos
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 of the
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 world
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 the logic
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 of the
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 world
00:26:12 --> 00:26:15 the logos
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 is the
00:26:16 --> 00:26:16 purpose
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 the reason
00:26:17 --> 00:26:17 the logic
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 behind all
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 things
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 it's the
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 thing that
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 makes sense
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 of all
00:26:21 --> 00:26:21 things
00:26:21 --> 00:26:24 and so
00:26:24 --> 00:26:24 as John
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 begins his
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 gospel
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 he comes
00:26:27 --> 00:26:27 in with an
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 earth
00:26:28 --> 00:26:28 shattering
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 category
00:26:29 --> 00:26:31 the
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 logos
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 is not
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 a
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 principle
00:26:32 --> 00:26:34 it's a
00:26:34 --> 00:26:34 person
00:26:34 --> 00:26:39 the
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 person
00:26:39 --> 00:26:41 is the
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 designer
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 the
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 source
00:26:42 --> 00:26:42 of all
00:26:42 --> 00:26:42 life
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 the
00:26:43 --> 00:26:43 one
00:26:43 --> 00:26:43 who
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 we
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 are
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 to
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 align
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 our
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 lives
00:26:45 --> 00:26:45 with
00:26:45 --> 00:26:45 in
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 order
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 for
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 life
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 to
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 be
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 lived
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 well
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 by
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 us
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 and
00:26:49 --> 00:26:49 we
00:26:49 --> 00:26:49 are
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 told
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 five
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 things
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 in
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 John
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 chapter
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 one
00:26:52 --> 00:26:52 about
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 the
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 logos
00:26:53 --> 00:26:55 the
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 principle
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 the
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 person
00:26:56 --> 00:26:56 behind
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 the
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 universe
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 firstly
00:26:59 --> 00:27:01 the
00:27:01 --> 00:27:01 logos
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 is a
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 person
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 secondly
00:27:03 --> 00:27:03 the
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 logos
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 is a
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 divine
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 person
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 thirdly
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 the
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 logos
00:27:08 --> 00:27:08 is an
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 eternal
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 divine
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 person
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 fifthly
00:27:11 --> 00:27:11 the
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 logos
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 is an
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 eternal
00:27:13 --> 00:27:13 divine
00:27:13 --> 00:27:13 person
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 who is
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 the source
00:27:15 --> 00:27:15 of all
00:27:15 --> 00:27:15 life
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 and
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 did I say
00:27:17 --> 00:27:17 fifthly
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 fifthly
00:27:18 --> 00:27:20 the
00:27:20 --> 00:27:20 logos
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 is Jesus
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 Christ
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 now
00:27:23 --> 00:27:23 walking
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 amongst
00:27:24 --> 00:27:24 us
00:27:24 --> 00:27:27 at
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 his
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 baptism
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 you
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 notice
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 this
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 in
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 Genesis
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 one
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 God
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 saw
00:27:32 --> 00:27:32 and
00:27:32 --> 00:27:32 it
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 was
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 good
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 and
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 then
00:27:34 --> 00:27:34 down
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 in
00:27:35 --> 00:27:35 when
00:27:35 --> 00:27:36 he
00:27:36 --> 00:27:36 creates
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 humanity
00:27:37 --> 00:27:37 made
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 Adam
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 God
00:27:39 --> 00:27:39 saw
00:27:39 --> 00:27:39 and
00:27:39 --> 00:27:39 it
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 was
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 very
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 good
00:27:40 --> 00:27:42 very
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42 good
00:27:42 --> 00:27:45 and
00:27:45 --> 00:27:45 then
00:27:45 --> 00:27:45 the
00:27:45 --> 00:27:45 John
00:27:45 --> 00:27:45 says
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 the
00:27:46 --> 00:27:46 logos
00:27:46 --> 00:27:46 is
00:27:46 --> 00:27:46 here
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 at
00:27:47 --> 00:27:47 his
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 baptism
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 the
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 Holy
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 Spirit
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 descends
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 and
00:27:51 --> 00:27:51 we
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 read
00:27:52 --> 00:27:52 that
00:27:52 --> 00:27:52 he
00:27:52 --> 00:27:52 heard
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 a
00:27:53 --> 00:27:53 voice
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 the
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 voice
00:27:55 --> 00:27:55 was
00:27:55 --> 00:27:55 God
00:27:55 --> 00:27:55 the
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 father
00:27:56 --> 00:27:56 saying
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 this
00:27:57 --> 00:27:57 is
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 my
00:27:58 --> 00:27:58 child
00:27:58 --> 00:27:58 this
00:27:58 --> 00:27:58 is
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 my
00:27:59 --> 00:27:59 son
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 with
00:28:00 --> 00:28:00 whom
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 I
00:28:01 --> 00:28:01 am
00:28:01 --> 00:28:01 well
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 pleased
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 do
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 you
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 know
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 that
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 is
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 the
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 first
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 time
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 since
00:28:07 --> 00:28:07 the
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 garden
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 of
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 Eden
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 that
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 any
00:28:11 --> 00:28:11 human
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 being
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 has
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 ever
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 received
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 the
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 blessing
00:28:14 --> 00:28:14 of
00:28:14 --> 00:28:14 God
00:28:14 --> 00:28:16 it's
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 the
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 only
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 other
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 time
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 it's
00:28:18 --> 00:28:18 happened
00:28:18 --> 00:28:20 where
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 God
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 looked
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 and
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 said
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 I'm
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 really
00:28:24 --> 00:28:24 happy
00:28:24 --> 00:28:24 with
00:28:24 --> 00:28:24 this
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 one
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 this
00:28:26 --> 00:28:26 is
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 good
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 this
00:28:28 --> 00:28:28 is
00:28:28 --> 00:28:28 my
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 son
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 it's
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 the
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 only
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 time
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 you're
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 reading
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 the
00:28:32 --> 00:28:32 Bible
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 since
00:28:33 --> 00:28:33 the
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 garden
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 of
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 Eden
00:28:34 --> 00:28:39 Jesus
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39 Christ
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 God
00:28:40 --> 00:28:40 the
00:28:40 --> 00:28:40 son
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 had
00:28:41 --> 00:28:41 the
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 delight
00:28:42 --> 00:28:42 and
00:28:42 --> 00:28:42 the
00:28:42 --> 00:28:42 love
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 of
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 God
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 let
00:28:44 --> 00:28:44 me
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 fast
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 forward
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 to
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 Easter
00:28:45 --> 00:28:47 but
00:28:47 --> 00:28:47 on
00:28:47 --> 00:28:47 the
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 cross
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 he
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 cries
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 out
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 my
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 God
00:28:49 --> 00:28:49 my
00:28:49 --> 00:28:49 God
00:28:49 --> 00:28:49 why
00:28:49 --> 00:28:49 have
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 you
00:28:50 --> 00:28:50 forsaken
00:28:50 --> 00:28:50 me
00:28:50 --> 00:28:54 on
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 the
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 cross
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 Jesus
00:28:55 --> 00:28:55 Christ
00:28:55 --> 00:28:55 was
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 getting
00:28:56 --> 00:28:56 the
00:28:56 --> 00:28:56 curse
00:28:56 --> 00:28:58 the
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 word
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 of
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 condemnation
00:28:59 --> 00:28:59 that
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 we
00:29:00 --> 00:29:00 deserve
00:29:00 --> 00:29:00 for
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 us
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 worshipping
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 the
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 created
00:29:02 --> 00:29:02 order
00:29:02 --> 00:29:04 turning
00:29:04 --> 00:29:04 our
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 backs
00:29:05 --> 00:29:05 on
00:29:05 --> 00:29:05 our
00:29:05 --> 00:29:05 created
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 God
00:29:06 --> 00:29:08 Jesus
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 took
00:29:09 --> 00:29:09 the
00:29:09 --> 00:29:09 curse
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 so
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 that
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 we
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 could
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 get
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 the
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 blessing
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 he
00:29:12 --> 00:29:12 became
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 bad
00:29:13 --> 00:29:13 so
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 that
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 we
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 might
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 become
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 very
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 very
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 good
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 and
00:29:17 --> 00:29:17 receive
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 the
00:29:18 --> 00:29:18 benediction
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 of
00:29:19 --> 00:29:19 God
00:29:19 --> 00:29:19 the
00:29:19 --> 00:29:19 blessing
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 of
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 God
00:29:20 --> 00:29:22 Colossians
00:29:22 --> 00:29:22 1
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 21
00:29:23 --> 00:29:23 once
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 you
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 were
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 alienated
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 from
00:29:25 --> 00:29:25 God
00:29:25 --> 00:29:25 and
00:29:25 --> 00:29:25 were
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 enemies
00:29:26 --> 00:29:26 in
00:29:26 --> 00:29:26 your
00:29:26 --> 00:29:26 minds
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 because
00:29:27 --> 00:29:27 of
00:29:27 --> 00:29:27 your
00:29:27 --> 00:29:27 evil
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 behavior
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 but
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 now
00:29:30 --> 00:29:30 he
00:29:30 --> 00:29:30 has
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 reconciled
00:29:31 --> 00:29:31 you
00:29:31 --> 00:29:31 by
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 Christ
00:29:32 --> 00:29:32 physical
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 body
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 through
00:29:34 --> 00:29:34 death
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 to
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 present
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36 you
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 holy
00:29:37 --> 00:29:37 in
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 his
00:29:38 --> 00:29:38 sight
00:29:38 --> 00:29:38 without
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 blemish
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 and
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 free
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 from
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 accusation
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 you
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 see
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 if we
00:29:43 --> 00:29:43 believe
00:29:43 --> 00:29:43 the
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 good
00:29:44 --> 00:29:44 news
00:29:44 --> 00:29:44 of
00:29:44 --> 00:29:44 Jesus
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 Christ
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 God
00:29:46 --> 00:29:46 the
00:29:46 --> 00:29:46 Lord
00:29:46 --> 00:29:46 God
00:29:46 --> 00:29:46 coming
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 into
00:29:47 --> 00:29:47 the
00:29:47 --> 00:29:47 world
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 to
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 rescue
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 us
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 from
00:29:50 --> 00:29:50 our
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 rejection
00:29:51 --> 00:29:51 of
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 not
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 just
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 our
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 redeemer
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 but
00:29:54 --> 00:29:54 of
00:29:54 --> 00:29:54 our
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 creator
00:29:55 --> 00:29:57 if we
00:29:57 --> 00:29:57 believe
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 the good
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 news
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 of the
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 Christian
00:29:59 --> 00:29:59 gospel
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 then it
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 becomes
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 God's
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 recreative
00:30:03 --> 00:30:03 word
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 to us
00:30:04 --> 00:30:06 where he
00:30:06 --> 00:30:06 declares us
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 as very
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 good
00:30:08 --> 00:30:10 much
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 loved
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 the word
00:30:12 --> 00:30:12 of the
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 gospel
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 is what
00:30:14 --> 00:30:14 we
00:30:14 --> 00:30:16 receive
00:30:16 --> 00:30:16 from
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 God
00:30:17 --> 00:30:21 because
00:30:21 --> 00:30:21 of what
00:30:21 --> 00:30:21 Jesus
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 has done
00:30:22 --> 00:30:22 for us
00:30:22 --> 00:30:24 in
00:30:24 --> 00:30:24 Jesus
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 and
00:30:25 --> 00:30:25 only
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 Jesus
00:30:26 --> 00:30:26 do we
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 get the
00:30:27 --> 00:30:27 blessing
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 of God
00:30:28 --> 00:30:30 we
00:30:30 --> 00:30:30 finally
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 hear the
00:30:31 --> 00:30:31 affirmation
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 of our
00:30:32 --> 00:30:32 creator
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 you
00:30:33 --> 00:30:33 are
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 very
00:30:34 --> 00:30:34 good
00:30:34 --> 00:30:37 you
00:30:37 --> 00:30:37 are my
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 much
00:30:38 --> 00:30:38 loved
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 daughter
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 you
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 are my
00:30:41 --> 00:30:41 much
00:30:41 --> 00:30:41 loved
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 son
00:30:42 --> 00:30:44 with
00:30:44 --> 00:30:44 you
00:30:44 --> 00:30:44 I
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 am
00:30:45 --> 00:30:45 well
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 pleased
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 forever
00:30:47 --> 00:30:52 you
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 know
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 what
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 the
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 doctrine
00:30:52 --> 00:30:53 of
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53 creation
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53 means
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 the
00:30:54 --> 00:30:54 doctrine
00:30:54 --> 00:30:54 of
00:30:54 --> 00:30:54 not
00:30:54 --> 00:30:54 just
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 creation
00:30:55 --> 00:30:55 but
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 redemption
00:30:56 --> 00:30:58 in
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 Christ
00:30:59 --> 00:30:59 it
00:30:59 --> 00:30:59 means
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 that
00:31:00 --> 00:31:00 none
00:31:00 --> 00:31:00 of
00:31:00 --> 00:31:00 us
00:31:00 --> 00:31:02 because
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 of
00:31:03 --> 00:31:03 the
00:31:03 --> 00:31:03 affirmation
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 we
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 receive
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 in
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 Jesus
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 none
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 of
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 us
00:31:06 --> 00:31:06 needs
00:31:06 --> 00:31:06 to
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 squeeze
00:31:07 --> 00:31:07 that
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 affirmation
00:31:08 --> 00:31:08 out
00:31:08 --> 00:31:08 of
00:31:08 --> 00:31:08 our
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 partners
00:31:09 --> 00:31:12 or
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 out
00:31:13 --> 00:31:13 of
00:31:13 --> 00:31:13 our
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 children
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 or
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 out
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 of
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 our
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 vocation
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 or
00:31:17 --> 00:31:17 out
00:31:17 --> 00:31:18 of
00:31:18 --> 00:31:18 our
00:31:18 --> 00:31:18 travel
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 blogs
00:31:19 --> 00:31:21 or
00:31:21 --> 00:31:21 our
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 assets
00:31:22 --> 00:31:22 or
00:31:22 --> 00:31:22 our
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 education
00:31:23 --> 00:31:23 or
00:31:23 --> 00:31:23 our
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 culture
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 it
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 is
00:31:26 --> 00:31:26 the
00:31:26 --> 00:31:26 affirmation
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 that
00:31:27 --> 00:31:27 only
00:31:27 --> 00:31:27 our
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 creator
00:31:28 --> 00:31:28 can
00:31:28 --> 00:31:28 give
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 us
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 and
00:31:30 --> 00:31:30 it's
00:31:30 --> 00:31:30 the
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 affirmation
00:31:31 --> 00:31:31 that
00:31:31 --> 00:31:31 we
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 all
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 need
00:31:33 --> 00:31:36 the
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 recreative
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 word of
00:31:38 --> 00:31:38 the gospel
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 goes
00:31:39 --> 00:31:39 deep
00:31:39 --> 00:31:39 into
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 our
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 hearts
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 and
00:31:40 --> 00:31:41 it
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 heals
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 us
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 from
00:31:42 --> 00:31:42 our
00:31:42 --> 00:31:44 innermost
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 deepest
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 hurts
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 and
00:31:47 --> 00:31:47 it
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 drives
00:31:48 --> 00:31:48 us
00:31:48 --> 00:31:48 out
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 from
00:31:49 --> 00:31:49 there
00:31:49 --> 00:31:49 to
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 be
00:31:50 --> 00:31:50 people
00:31:50 --> 00:31:50 healing
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 God's
00:31:51 --> 00:31:51 world
00:31:51 --> 00:31:55 in the
00:31:55 --> 00:31:55 beginning
00:31:55 --> 00:31:55 was
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 God
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 in the
00:31:57 --> 00:31:57 end
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 will be
00:31:58 --> 00:31:58 God
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 he
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 created
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 the
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 universe
00:32:01 --> 00:32:01 and
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 he
00:32:02 --> 00:32:02 can
00:32:02 --> 00:32:02 make
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 you
00:32:03 --> 00:32:03 new
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 now
00:32:04 --> 00:32:06 have
00:32:06 --> 00:32:06 have
00:32:06 --> 00:32:06 you
00:32:06 --> 00:32:06 accepted
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 Jesus
00:32:07 --> 00:32:07 Christ
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 into
00:32:08 --> 00:32:08 your
00:32:08 --> 00:32:08 life
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 not
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 just
00:32:10 --> 00:32:10 as
00:32:10 --> 00:32:10 your
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 redeemer
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 but
00:32:12 --> 00:32:12 also
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 as
00:32:13 --> 00:32:13 your
00:32:13 --> 00:32:13 creator
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 it
00:32:14 --> 00:32:14 will
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 have
00:32:15 --> 00:32:15 profound
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 impact
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 on
00:32:17 --> 00:32:17 how
00:32:17 --> 00:32:17 you
00:32:17 --> 00:32:17 live
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 tomorrow
00:32:18 --> 00:32:20 season
00:32:20 --> 00:32:22 of
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 park
00:32:23 --> 00:32:23 the
00:32:23 --> 00:32:23 underneath
00:32:23 --> 00:32:23 Idaho
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 is
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 you
00:32:25 --> 00:32:25 can
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 you
00:32:26 --> 00:32:31 imagine