Evening again, I miss you all this morning as you were made aware of my, we had an emergency with my aunt. She called this morning and said that she felt like she was dying, but not that she just felt like she was dying, she was sure that she was dying. So we went over and come to find out she was in a hospital this past week and she actually felt fractured on her ribs and so they transferred her and she's been in a lot of pain, she's been treated with just, you know, pain medicine and she's been on oxygen, sorry, but I'm thankful for your prayers, continue to pray, I know we all have been in the same situation so I thank God for the body and we thank God for God, he's faithful and so we trust him no matter what. So thank you for your prayers. My scripture again is taken from Genesis chapter 1 and we'll read verse 1 and before we do that, let's pray just once more, a gracious God and Heavenly Father, Lord, once again we come before you. And we ask now at the special time as your word goes forward, as you speak to your people, Lord, we pray that again you'll give us ears to hear your word, remove me, Lord, and let the people see you, see Christ lifted up, help your people God to know you more and God, we pray, Lord, that as we eat on your word, you'll strengthen us, you'll feed us, we'll grow. And we thank you for this time, it's in Jesus' name that we pray, amen. Amen. Again, Genesis chapter 1 and in verse 1, we read in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Amen. May God bless the reading and the hearing of His holy word. Here we have 10 words, just one verse, very short verse, but in it, we see a whole lot and we see that it's inexhaustible, the truth that we're given and these 10 words in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Here the scientist is challenged, this verse confronts the atheists, it enlightens the agnostic and it reminds the believer or it should, brings comfort, brings hope, but it reminds us. Now, the background of any portion of scripture is important for understanding that passage and a lot of times as you look at the background, it kind of opens up some things that you might not have seen before and that's with all of scripture. The same is true here with Genesis chapter 1, verse 1, it's about understanding the context. The context is seen in many different ways, but the background is a big part of that. The background helps us see the bigger picture, so the background of Genesis 1, what we need to keep in mind as we look at this passage and as we read Genesis chapter 1 is this, Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible which includes Genesis, so Moses wrote Genesis, and Moses surely wrote it after the children of Israel's exodus out of Egypt. After 400 years of being enslaved to the Egyptians, 400 years they lived among the Egyptians and for 400 years they bathed in the culture of Egypt, in their philosophy, in their ideology and in their religion, the children of Israel, that's all they knew, but then they left Egypt by God's saving grace, they marched out of Egypt and they wandered, they wandered in the wilderness and they wandered, wandered. Now they didn't wander if evolution, the theory of evolution was a better theory or explanation or if it was more credible the creationism, nor that they wander and try to harmonize scientific observations with their faith, you know what they wonder? They wandered if our God is the true God. After being enslaved in Egypt for over 400 years, hearing other gods over and over and seeing the rituals that the Egyptians practiced, seeing them prosper, while they were enslaved, they wandered, it's our God, the strongest God, it's our God superior to the people who made themselves superior to us, it is our God superior to their God. So when Moses writes in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, science isn't on the people's mind, God is, God is, Moses tells Israel who their God is in Genesis. In Genesis, one one tells us who God is. So at least seven things that I believe Genesis 1, 1 tells us about God, about who he is and what he is, seven things that we'll see at least. The first is this, in Genesis 1, 1 as we read in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. This is the first thing, God is assumed. In Genesis 1, 1, God is assumed. A lot of times, I would go out and evangelize and when I did it, you know, you always nervous, we have to give that message, it's a message that this world just isn't accepting to because of our condition, but you go out and there's a lot of people when they evangelize, they feel like they have to give this brilliant, intelligent presentation on the existence of God. They have to start there before they can go anywhere else and present the truth of the gospel. And sometimes they'll get into debates, but many times the atheist or the unbeliever would want circles or will want circles around your argument. Moses, as Moses pens the words in the beginning, God, Moses is assuming that God exists and that God is real. He doesn't write anything to prove the existence of God. He doesn't start off with an apologetical argument. He doesn't start off with any kind of polemics. Any explanation of God himself, he assumes that God exists. He assumes that his readers will understand it. He assumes that the people of Israel will understand that God exists. And in saying that we were saying that he assumes the existence of God himself. Moses just knows that God is. Moses isn't in on any secret that the rest of humanity has been left out on him. We all know and we all understand that God exists. All men know that there is a God. And I know that the atheist, they claim that they are just convinced that there is no God. I know that the agnostic uses the excuse that they're just unsure and they're uncertain if there is a God but they're lying to themselves. They're lying to us every time they say it. They are lying because they know that there is a God. And you know why? Because what else would it be that the atheist is arguing against? If there is no God, how is it that he's arguing against a God that doesn't exist? How can he agnostic be unsure about this God if there is no God? The things that are not real to us, we don't explain them away. We don't even talk about them because we don't know anything of their existence to talk about them. But the fact that some will argue against the God or claim to just not be sure that there is a God that goes on to prove that there truly is a God. There's many theologians including R.C. Sproul who said and talking about the ontological argument for God is that you cannot not think God. One of the proofs that God exists, you cannot not think God. And our problem isn't that we don't have knowledge of God. It's not that our problem is that sin has made us enemies with God. And because of that, we want to get as far away from God as possible. I think of couples, people who date. And when they're dating, those first stages, they're staying fatuation stage and their head over hill for the person, they fall asleep on the phone literally, fall asleep on the phone, they wake up sometimes, tap and check and see if they're still on. They won't hang up. They play the you hang up first game. They can't stay away from each other long enough. But when they break up, if they break up, there's a 180. They can't stand a bee around the person. They can't stand a talk about the person. And sometimes they try to make the person go away. They try to act like the person never even existed. Have you talked to so and so, so and so, who, who is that? In a relationship, we see that we see the same thing with God, our relationship with God, sin has pulled us so far from God that we don't even want to acknowledge his existence. Now Paul sums this up for us in Romans chapter 1, in verses 18 through 20. Paul tells us the condition of man who wants to deny God. It's not that he doesn't exist and we have no knowledge. We don't know that God exists. If we only knew what they knew, then we would understand and we will believe. If I only knew that there was a God, then things would be different. Paul tells us, no, it's not that we don't know that there's a God who exists. In verse 18 of chapter 1 of Romans, we read, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of man who, by their unrighteousness, it's not that they don't know the truth, they suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them. Because God has shown it to them for his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived, perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse, the atheists, the agnostic, the I don't care if they're without excuse because nature bears the fingerprint of the creator, the painting holds the signature in every tree, every human being, every baby born of the painter. So in Genesis 1 1, Moses tells us that God, in the beginning, God, he's assuming God. He's assuming God because God has given perfect knowledge of his existence to everyone who has breathed the breath. But secondly, in Genesis 1, God is, God is assumed, but also God is the subject. God is the subject. Now I don't want to give an English lesson right now, my seventh grade English teacher is also a sister in Christ, Mrs. Horton, who's in her honors class. But every sentence and she can bear witness has at least two parts, a subject and a predicate in my right, at least a subject and a predicate. And then sometimes we get a little special treat and object, we get an object. In Genesis 1, verse 1, we see the subject, we see a predicate, something that's, that the subject is doing or being, and we also have an object, something that is impacted by what the subject does, or is. Now the problem that we have and what's happened is that fallen people were selfish and we always want or think that the attention should go to us. And so what we'll do is undermine every lesson that we've learned in English class to make it about us and its plain. In Genesis 1, 1, we see perfectly in the beginning God created the heavens and the God is the subject. It's about him. So he does, he creates it, he does something, the simple predicate. And as he does something, as he creates, it affects something. The heavens and the earth, the object, us. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1, 1 tells us that God is the subject and he's the subject in at least three ways Number 1, he's the subject of his word, of the scriptures. As we read the Bible, there may be preachers all across America, all across the world this morning and throughout the week who will preach this as our instruction manual to better our life, to fix problems, to gain prosperity, and to make us the object of this book. They make us the object, I'm sorry, the subject of the scriptures, it's all about us. But we see that God is the subject of his word. It tells us his unfolding plan to redeem man. But secondly God, he's the subject of history. Where everything that happens, again, is a part of his unfolding plan, even outside of scripture. But then thirdly God, he's the subject of our lives. Now that's true in two ways. He's the subject of every human being's life as a falling creature, because it's God who judges, who will judge, and who has appointed death for sin. He's the subject, it's about him. But for those of us who have been snatched out of the fire, he's the subject and he should be and we pray that we'll make him more and more of the subject as we live to please him. Is God the subject when you read your Bible? Are you seeing Christ in every part of the scriptures? Are you seeing his word unfolding his plan to redeem man who didn't deserve it? Is he the subject when you read his word? Is God the subject in history so that everything that has happened? It doesn't just happen coincidentally, it doesn't just happen in vain for no reason. But we see it through a different type of lens. We understand that there's a God who in the beginning created heaven, the heavens and the earth. And so we know that all that unfold is a part of his plan. He's the subject. Are you seeing Christ or is God the subject of your life so that in everything that you do as believers, you do it to his glory? Genesis 1 1 tells us about this God that it assumes. It tells us that he is the subject but thirdly, it tells us that God is triumphant. God is assumed in Genesis 1 1. God is the subject of Genesis 1 1 of the scriptures of history of our lives but thirdly, God is triumphant. Now I'm not fluent in Hebrew, Greek. I know I may spit out a little bit of it at some points in sermons, not fluent in it. So please remember that, minister Singleton, talked about ordination and how he would ask questions and ask for Hebrew and Greek references. So please don't hold this against me. One thing I do know, I know here in the Hebrew, originally in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Those 10 words are actually three in Hebrew, beta sheet, barah, Elohim. Again, I'm not fluent in Hebrew but I also happen to know that Elohim here in Genesis 1 1 is plural, it's in a plural form, Genesis 1 1 that it's pointing out, a plurality. When it comes to God in the beginning, God, plural, it's not a small thing that we see the Trinity here because it affirms the truth that we hold as Christians that we see throughout the entirety of Scripture. And that's this, that the Father, the Father here, and we see him clearly, we'll walk through it in just a second. But this is what we learn, this is what we know as Christians. We serve a God who is different from all the other gods as the children of Israel, again, wandered throughout the wilderness for 40 years and they, their minds wandered on the things back in Egypt. They won't remember the many gods that the Egyptians served. And as they worship their God, they may have been very, very tempted, maybe even done it, to worship more than one God. Moses here, he's kind of making fun of the fact that while all these other religions, worship, all these are the gods who are not even real, we worship a triune God, a God of three. But in a different sense, and we'll come to that in our next point, point number four, but it shows us this, this, this triune God that consists of the Father. The Father who here is willing that there be a creation. He's willing later on in Genesis 3 that there will be light. He's willing that there will be the sea and the sky, that there will be fertile land. Then he wills that there will be rulers to jump into those, those habitations that he created. A son and a moon to dwell in the day and the night. The fish and the birds to dwell in the sea and the sky that he created. Land animals and the best of his creation, man. We see the Father willing. We see the son as the word, as we learn in John 1, the word who was there in the beginning with God and who was God. We see the son who is the word through which the Father creates. Then we see the Holy Spirit who actually makes it all happy. Now that's a truth that becomes more and more clear as we go throughout redemptive history. It's more clear to us maybe than it was to some back then, but we see just how connected the scriptures are, that even in the first verse of our word, of God's word, we read of a God, Elohim, a triumphant God, and we'll work our way through in verse 1 again. In the beginning, God, He created the heavens in the earth and we know that creation is described to the Father throughout scripture, throughout the Psalms. But then we read in verse 1, actually we read in verse 3, that God spoke. He said, and if we go over to John 1 again, we read about the word who was with God, who was God, in Him, everything was made. There's nothing that exists that wasn't made through this word. But then in verse 14, John tells us exactly who this word is. He said this word who was with God, he's the one who wrapped himself in flesh and dwelt among us, Jesus Christ the Son, we see that in verse 3 and in John 1, and then we see in verse 2, the Holy Spirit hovering over this creation, that the Father will, that the spoken word Christ is bringing forth and the Holy Spirit empowering it. Genesis 1 1 gives us a truth that is not just found in a New Testament, a truth that makes us Christian, a truth that we serve a God who is triune, but briefly point number 4, this God who exists in 3 is 1, God is triune, but fourthly, God is at the same time 1. And just briefly, we'll pass over this, while Elohim is in the plural, the word for created, Betta Sheet, Barat, Elohim, Barat created is in the singular. We don't serve more than one God. We said that the children of Israel will wander through the wilderness and they will see these other gods. And Moses will tell them in the beginning our God who was three persons, it's more than one in person, he's one, he created, he did this act as one. And there we see the Trinity, again, working as one, as we see it all throughout Scripture, the one true and living God, exist in three persons. And aren't you glad that there's the Father who wills? He wills everything that he's done, all creation, he's willed, our salvation. And aren't you glad that there's a sign who's the spoken word that through which the Father creates life. He's created physical life, John one tells us that in him, the word was life, but we also know that in Christ, we've been given spiritual life and our existence, and there's a new creation that has come through Christ and aren't you glad that there is the Holy Spirit who empowers us, who makes it all happen. God is assumed in Genesis 1-1. God is the subject of Genesis 1-1, of the Scriptures, of history of life. God is triumphant, but at the same time God is one God, and fifthly, God is self-existent. His last three points will kind of tie together, so I'll give them to you at one time. God is self-existent. God is eternal, and then finally, Genesis 1-1 tells us, God is sovereign. God is self-existent, and often we mess up, and we think of God in human terms. And so because we're created, and we depend on something, someone for life, we put God in the same box, we have a birthday, we assume that God has a birthday. We have a mother, we assume God has a creator, a mother, and we're not just talking about Christ who existed before born through Mary, but we're talking about God. We assume these things, we put them in a human box, I think of life support. We look at ourselves, we see how feeble, how frail we are, if you've ever seen anyone on life support. I love one, a friend, aches your heart, but it makes you realize just how dependent we are on the source outside of ourselves for our very existence. They depend on the machine to pump, life into them. We depend on oxygen to live, cells to live. God is not like us. Genesis 1-1, it tells us that it tells us of a God who is self-existent. When it says that in the beginning, God created, doesn't tell us that he was first created. It doesn't tell us that he came about, and then after he came about, he started to create, again, it assumes that God was there before there was anything created. Any Adam, any molecule, God was there, doesn't depend on the matter that we depend on. He had none of it before he created, and out of nothing he created everything, but this God is a self-existent God. Again, Egypt served God's that were created by the human hands and imaginations of Egypt. So the Israelites, the children of Israel, again, would be tempted. And as we see did, tried to create, in a sense, a God in worship, a God created by human hands. And even today, brothers and sisters, we live in a world where people serve God's that are made by the hands of man. We do. We serve the money that's printed. We serve the cars and the clothes and the careers that were serving God's that are made. But we serve a true God who's uncreated. We serve a God who didn't come from anywhere and he's not going anywhere. And if we stop worshiping this God, he'll cease to exist. He doesn't live off of our worship. He doesn't need it to exist. He's happy in himself. We serve a God that if all earthly sources run out today, he still has the source of life in his hand and he'll continue to be God is self-existent. But also he's that before, after, in the beginning, in the end, always, he's eternal. He's an eternal God. And that's good to know also because we see, again, the depth coming to the world, we see depth snatch our loved ones out of the world. We see the money dry up. We see the cars crash and burn. We see the clothes go out of style. These things that we worship. And so when things fall apart and leave, we have nothing to hold on to. Brothers and sisters, what the children of Israel were to know when they read that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth was that they had a self-existent God who didn't depend on them to exist. And that's good. But they had this same God who was from everlasting to everlasting. He was eternal and he is eternal. So they had a hope that the Egyptians didn't have. Likewise, we have that same hope in the world where everything is running out. Brothers and sisters, isn't it good to know that our God, he's an eternal God. And then finally, we said that God is sovereign. The same God who is self-existent, eternal. He's sovereign overall. And we read that finally when we see in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Looking at those two opposites, heavens and the earth, it's just the way that the writer is telling us, God created everything that exists. And you know what that means. Everything is to bow at his feet. Everything is dependent on him. Oh, it's breath to him. He's sovereign. But now finally, I'm going to give you a bonus. I said seven. There's one bonus that we need to see here. And we don't just see it here in Genesis 1. It's good to know that again, the Scriptures is one story that connects. In Genesis 1, as we look at the background, as we see God as all of these things. And as we attribute the last three points that we looked at, God is self-existent, God is eternal, and God is sovereign to each person of the Trinity. God, the Father, He's self-existent, eternal, and sovereign. God, the Son, self-existent, eternal, and sovereign. God, the Holy Spirit, self-existent, eternal, and sovereign. One thing we should know is the eighth thing. God is Savior. He's Savior of it all. We see that God created in the beginning everything that is. But we know the rest of this story. He said, God is the subject. And as we look at his story, we see that man we fell. We fell. We sent against a God, brothers and sisters, that same God here in Genesis 1, in the beginning who created everything, he didn't step away from his creation, even after it rebelled against him. He's in it. And we see that with the first people who received this word, the Israel likes. We see him saving his people, a stiff-knock people, out of slavery and bondage. And as we read of this God, Elohim, who was plural, we think of the second person of the Trinity, who God, the Father, sent, who was empowered by the Spirit. And we see God, that's why it's good to know that our God, our God, it includes Christ. Because in Christ, we have a Savior. And Christ is God and so God, the God of Genesis 1, 1, who in the beginning created everything, that God is Savior. Brothers and sisters, God is. As we open up the scriptures, God shows us who he is. And again, we said that here, the scientists has challenged the agnostic that they're enlightened. But for us, it's a reminder. It's a reminder of who our God is. I pray that we will take joy in the fact that we serve this great and awesome God, who is almighty, all powerful, and he's all of that even to save. Amen. Let us pray. Our gracious God and Heavenly Father, Lord, we bow our heads now and we ask God because just as rebellious as Israel was, just as imperfect as they were in and of themselves, we are too. And God, we hear in Hebrews where the Holy Spirit says, to not harden our hearts when we hear the word. And so God, we pray that as your word goes out, Lord, you'll help us to receive it. Help us to know who you are, God, even in these ten words. This one small verse help us to see how mighty of a God we have, that even as we see the gods of this world, as impressive as they may seem, as impressive are the houses that money builds. As impressive are the careers and the cars that the careers give. Lord, we pray that we won't turn to those gods and trust in them. We pray God that our full trust will be in you and you alone. For we know God that you, you are the God who is eternal. You exist on your own. You have not been made by human hands. God, you will always be. You have all power. And in you, Lord, we have salvation. Let's us to know this. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.