In The Beginning God!

Introduction

Genesis 1:1

Man is inherently spiritual. People want to explore, develop, and live in a more intimate relationship with God. There are many who complain about the lack of connectedness or intimacy with the Father. They feel unable to hear his voice or sense his leading.  They are not clear about their spiritual gifts of calling. They are unsure about their spiritual destiny. They struggle to see evidence he is at work in their lives. They wrestle with issues of faith. They have a form of “godliness” but deny the power thereof. We live in a technologically wired culture that is not conducive to intimacy of any kind. But Almighty God, the creator of the universe wants to be intimate with every human on the earth.

"IN THE BEGINNING GOD"

Let’s reason together about those powerful words.

I. THE FACT OF GOD IS ASSUMED BY THE BIBLE.

A. There are no elaborate arguments given seeking to prove or establish His existence

This is a natural and logical assumption. This is an assumption based on faith. Friend, the Bible always assumes, never argues God’s Existence.

The child always asks that profound question, "Who created God?" No one created God, He always was, He is self-existent.

If I were to write an autobiography, I would not attempt to first prove I existed. Why do we feel we have to prove God’s existence?

1. Evidences of His existence all around us and overwhelming.

a. The design and order of the universe.

b. The cycles and perpetuation of life forms.

c. The human body is evidence of the creative power of God.

One of the world’s most famous scientists once said, “To suppose that the eye could have been conceived by natural selection seems absurd in the highest degree”. That was said by Charles Darwin, the founder of Evolutionary Theory. Even he recognized the problem of his theory.

Listen, friends, rejecting God has more to do with sin that it has to do with science. In our post-Christian Western culture, we are primarily materialistic and humanistic in our world view.  Listen, the world has always believed the deceiver.

2. Only a fool could deny the evidence.

a. Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1 both share the same truth:

“The fool has said in his heart,

“There is no God.”

The process of evolution has been described “as fortuitous occurrences of accidental circumstances”. You see, if they can confuse your mind with big words, you think that they are smart. The Bible says those who rely on human wisdom alone are fools.

God was the only one to observe the creation of the Universe, so the only one who can speak with authority how it began. Listen friends, any theory of man must remain just that, an unproven, and unprovable theory. Man was not there to observe it. Man’s thoughts are only theories.

b. In Isaiah 40: 21-23 we read,

"Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing."

B. Sometimes we find ourselves in the position of seeking to defend God.

1. The Bible never does this.

2. The day I must defend God, He's in trouble. He is Almighty God. I am simply a member of his marvelous creation. The Bible says, "Answer not a fool according to his folly..." Listen friends, it is much easier to believe in God than to not believe.

3. If you eliminate God, you must begin with something.

a. A mass.

b. Energy.

c. The thought that all design is fortuitous accidents.

3. If you don’t believe in Almighty God, you must explain how this all happened.

a. How can something come from nothing.

b. How can order can come from chaos.

c. Why is natural selection today creating a deterioration of a species, rather than a highly developed form, something beyond who we are?

d. Who wound the great clock of the universe & started it moving? Did you hear of the scientists who went to God and said, "We do not need you anymore, we have advanced to the place where we can now create man, we can clone so we do not need you anymore. God said, "That is interesting, let's see you do it." So as the scientist picked up a handful of dirt, God said, ,Oh no, you make your own dirt."

e. Where did God come from?

1. He is self-existent. God has always been. Listen, no scientist or historian can improve on “In the Beginning God”

2. This simple statement refutes that atheist who says there is no God. It refutes the agnostic who claims we cannot know God. It refutes the polytheist who worships many gods. It refutes that pantheist who says, “all nature is God”. It refutes that materialist who claims that mater is eternal and not created. It refutes the fatalist who teaches no divine plan.

II. THE FACT OF GOD REVEALED IN THE BIBLE.

A. This is the introduction of the book because the entire book is about God

1. Who is God?

2. What is He like?

3. What does He want?

4 Why did He make me?

5. What is His plan & purpose for man?

6. Why did God create the universe?

Let me just say that He did not create the earth to add anything to Himself, since He needs nothing. These are the things this book, the Bible is to answer.

B. God must reveal Himself if man is to get an accurate picture

Men have created their own ideas of God. This picture of God is largely a projection of themselves. The result is confusion. The Bible purports to be God's Word. God revealing Himself to man. It is true or not true? Friends, so many ignorant men today are speaking without authority on a subject they know little or nothing about.

As I shared with you at the beginning of the message, it is instinctive in man to worship.

This instinct created by God.

So man will worship a God.

So, the question must be asked, “does it matter which God a man worships”?

Yes, positively.

There is an arch-enemy of God in the universe who also seeks to be worshipped. Taking advantage of man's instinct to worship, he has created many gods and systems of worship. His name is Satan or the devil.

Let’s return to the original statement, "IN THE BEGINNING GOD."

C. That means before anything else God existed.

Someone has written an alternative to the creation story of Genesis. In the beginning nothing, out of the nothing something began to form either a dark or light nebula of either hot or cold gases. These either started twirling too fast & spun off or exploded. As one of these masses began to cool the earth was formed. Some chemicals came from somewhere & by remote chance defied the law of possibility and life was formed. This form of life by a strange miracle was able to reproduce itself & as it did, higher orders began to form. Listen, certain scientists have recently postulated that for the DNA & RNA to evolve in the cell would take at least 10 followed by 5,000 zeros years.

I know this sounds pretty far-fetched, but if you don't want to believe in God you've got to be far-fetched.

The Bible states, "IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED."

C. The Hebrew word is "BARA."

Things could not have just always existed. They were spoken into existence by Almighty God.

D. When was the day of creation?

6,000 years ago? Entirely possible. This is called the “Early Earth” Theory

6,000,000 years ago? Perhaps, no conflict. This is called the “Old Earth” Theory

It really doesn’t matter because the Bible says, that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and just how long ago that was, no one really knows. There are many scientists that hold to a young earth theory, they may be right, no one knows for sure. Scientists are now trying to date the beginning as somewhere between 15 and 17 billion years ago. They may be right, all I know that in the beginning, God was already there. I challenge you to believe that.

III. WHAT THE BIBLE REVEALS ABOUT GOD.

A. He existed in sublime glory.

God is eternal. He has neither beginning nor ending. Plants have a beginning and an ending. Man has a beginning and no ending.  God has neither beginning nor ending.  He always was, always is, and will always be.

B. He needs nothing

Our God did not need the material universe or the human race, but he created both.

C. He created man with design and for a purpose

Man designed with capacity for fellowship with God. Man is incomplete & unfilled without God.

D. He is infinite and knows no limitations of time or space.

IV. "IN THE BEGINNING GOD."

This is the opening statement of the Bible, and it is introducing the subject of the Bible, the true and living God. The Bible is all about the true God. Its purpose is to reveal God to man. God is the author; thus, it is an autobiography.  My friend, what a magnificent God we serve! Do you want to be more intimate with Him?  Friend, believe He is Almighty God!