[0:00] Good, well let's turn to God's Word and to the book of Genesis. And we are just in these early chapters. Willie was introducing Genesis to us last week.
[0:11] And we're returning to chapter 1 this morning. So turn your Bibles to Genesis chapter 1. And we're reading the first chapter and a bit of chapter 2 as well.
[0:30] Genesis chapter 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
[0:42] The earth was without form and void. And darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
[0:55] And God said, let there be light. And there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.
[1:09] God called the light day and the darkness he called night. And there was evening. And there was morning, the first day. And God said, let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters.
[1:23] And let it separate the waters from the waters. And God made the expanse. And separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse.
[1:35] And it was so. And God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening. And there was morning, the second day. And God said, let the waters under the heavens be gathered together in one place.
[1:49] And let the dry land appear. And it was so. God called the dry land earth. And the waters that were gathered together he called seas.
[2:00] And God saw that it was good. And God said, let the earth sprout vegetation. Plants yielding seed. And fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed.
[2:12] Each according to its kind on the earth. And it was so. The earth brought forward vegetation. Plants yielding seed according to their own kinds.
[2:22] And trees bearing fruit in which is their seed. Each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening.
[2:34] And there was morning, the third day. And God said, let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years.
[2:48] And let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth. And it was so. And God made the two great lights.
[2:59] The greater light to rule the day. And the lesser light to rule the night and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth.
[3:10] To rule over the day and over the night. And to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening. And there was morning, the fourth day.
[3:23] And God said, let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures. And let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens. So God created the great sea creatures.
[3:35] And every living creature that moves. With which the waters swarm according to their kinds. And every winged bird according to its kinds. And God saw that it was good.
[3:47] And God blessed them. Saying, be fruitful. And multiply. And fill the waters in the sea. And let the birds multiply on the earth. And there was evening. And there was morning, the fifth day.
[3:59] And God said, let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds. Livestock and creeping things. And beasts of the earth according to their kinds.
[4:10] And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds. And the livestock according to its kinds. And everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind.
[4:22] And God saw that it was good. Then God said, let us make man in our image. After our likeness.
[4:33] And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea. And over the birds of the heavens. And over the livestock. And over all the earth. And over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
[4:44] So God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him. Male and female he created them. And God blessed them.
[4:56] And God said to them. Be fruitful. And multiply. And fill the earth. And subdue it. And have dominion over the fish of the sea. And over the birds of the heavens.
[5:06] And over every living thing that moves on the earth. And God said, behold. I have given you every plant yielding seed. That is on the face of the earth. And every tree with seed in its fruit.
[5:19] You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth. And to every bird of the heavens. And to everything that creeps on the earth. Everything that has the breath of life.
[5:30] I have given every green plant for food. And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made. And behold.
[5:40] It was very good. And there was evening. And there was morning. The sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished. And all the host of them.
[5:52] And on the seventh day. God finished his work that he had done. And he rested. On the seventh day. From all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day.
[6:04] And made it holy. Because on it. God rested from all his work. That he had done. In creation. Amen.
[6:14] May God bless his words to us this morning. God bless his words to us. Well we're back in Genesis chapter 1.
[6:28] And we began our studies in Genesis last week. By noting. The crucial point. That this book. Was written. To teach God's people Israel.
[6:40] About the God that they already knew. As their covenant redeemer. And to teach them. That he and he alone. Is the sovereign creator of all things.
[6:51] And this is a book that sweeps aside. All other views. Of this universe. Whether ancient or modern. Alone. And it tells us. That the God of creation.
[7:03] Alone. In the beginning. Created the heavens. And the earth. In other words. It tells us. That this world. Is not a chance happening. It's not. Here.
[7:13] Because of a collision. Of ancient gods. In the sky. Or indeed. The collision of ancient atoms. By chance. It is the purposeful creation. Of a sovereign God.
[7:25] And therefore. This world. And everything in it. Has meaning. And has purpose. And has value. And has a future.
[7:37] Which is sure and certain. In the hands of God. And so the purpose of this chapter. Is not. To lead us down. In all kinds of blind alleys.
[7:47] Of future. Of fruitless. Speculation. But rather. It's to lead us. To bow before. The person. Of the God of creation. Because this chapter.
[7:58] Is not only revealing to us. The God of creation. It's also revealing to us. The sheer glory. Of his creation. It's here to cause us. Not just to bow to his person.
[8:09] But to rejoice. In his praise. To rejoice with him. In his works. As the psalmist bids us. To do so often. So I want to look at verses.
[8:20] One to twenty seven. In particular this morning. And draw attention. To three things. Because. The very way. That this. Creation story. Is told. Is to lead us.
[8:32] To rejoice. In his glory. So first of all. Genesis one. Teaches us. That God. Has carefully. Ordered. The world. That he created.
[8:43] You can't read through. Genesis chapter one. Without being struck. By the care. The precision. And the order. Of everything that God does. In creation.
[8:55] And the reason for that. Is that. The very structure. Of the account itself. Is part of the message. It's not just haphazard. We don't just get a summary. That says.
[9:05] Well God created it all. And then there's a sort of. Random list of things. That he created. No. It's quite the reverse. That's why I printed out. The sheet. That I hope you all have.
[9:16] Which shows you the text. And helps you to see. I hope. Just how ordered. And how. How carefully ordered. The writing. Has been. By Moses. That intricacy.
[9:28] Of the structure itself. Speaks eloquently. Of the. Intricate. The detailed. Order. Of every single. Facet. Of the created order.
[9:39] Just look briefly. At the form. Of the. Of the whole. Section there. On the sheet. First of all. You have verse one. Which is really a title. Summarizing everything. In the beginning. God. Created.
[9:50] The heavens. And the earth. In a sense. You don't need any more. That's all there is to it. But there is more. In verse two. If you look. Homes in. On the earth. Now the earth. Now that's.
[10:03] The realm of humanity. And that is why the earth. Is the focus. You see the focus. Is all on. The ordering. Out of primitive. Chaos.
[10:14] To a mature. And a harmonious. Ordered. Cosmos. We are from darkness. Verse two. In the watery deep. An entity. That is without form.
[10:25] And void. It's empty. And we end up. In chapter two. Verses one to three. At the bottom of the sheet. With the sheer glory. Of a completed. Cosmos. Heaven and earth. The formless.
[10:36] Has been fully formed. And the empty void. Has been completely filled. With all. The host. Of them. And it is a place. Now of rest. And of peace.
[10:47] And of blessing. And of holiness. Verse three. Of chapter two. God blessed. The seventh day. And made it holy. Now that is in.
[10:58] Total contrast. To all the ancient. Pagan myths. About the beginning. Of the world. Which is all about. God's fighting. And struggling. It's about unplanned.
[11:08] Fallout. Of human beings. That just came by accident. It's about a world. In turmoil. Where human beings. Are fighting the gods. And where the gods. Are in conflict. With the monsters. And all kinds of chaos.
[11:19] Now here is plan. And purpose. And a created order. And complete harmony. And God. God. Does it all. And he does it.
[11:31] Effortlessly. Just by speaking. And he does it with beautiful. And perfect. Order. Everything is in its place. Everything. Is as it should be.
[11:43] And the chaos. Of the beginning. Is utterly resolved. By the cosmic peace. At the end of the account. And you see how the verses. In between. The beginning. And the end there.
[11:54] How they show that. That perfect ordering. That's what the focus is. So first of all. We have. The deliberate ordering. That draws attention. To God's powerful word.
[12:05] Answering. And overwhelming. All the problems. That are there. In verse 2. At the beginning. The earth is. Without form. It's engulfed in darkness. In the deep. The waters.
[12:17] And it's void. It's an empty. Barren waste. But that is not all there is. Look. The spirit of God. God. Is hovering.
[12:28] Over the face of the waters. So what's going to happen? What can this God do? Will this God be able to do anything? Will he be able to fight off. These forces of chaos? In pagan mythology.
[12:40] These forces of the dark. And the deep. They had all sorts of power. Over the world. And even over the gods. So is there any possibility. That this God. Can do anything? Well the answer is.
[12:52] That the chaos. Chaos and the darkness. Of the empty deep. Are not the foes. Of this God. They are the subjects. And at his word. As we sang. Chaos and darkness.
[13:02] Heard. And took their flight. With one act. Look at verses 3 to 5. The darkness is dealt with. Let there be light. And the dawn of day comes.
[13:14] And then with two more acts. The waters are dealt with. Verse 6. There's a vertical separation. The atmosphere above. And the sea below. And then verse 9. A horizontal separation.
[13:26] To produce dry land. And then with three more acts. Beginning at verse 14. The emptiness. Is filled. All by the word. The simple command.
[13:36] Of this God. And God said. And it was so. All three problems. Of verse 2. Are totally resolved. With a simple word.
[13:47] Of God. Or to be exact. Ten. Words. Of God. Ten times. God said. And it was so. Quite a significant number. Don't you think?
[13:57] Ten. For a people Israel. Who at Sinai. Had received exactly. Ten. Words. From God. The words of the covenant. You see the patterns.
[14:09] They're in red. On the sheets. And God said. On day one. And day two. And then twice. On day three. And then once again. On day four. And day five. And then four times.
[14:19] On the sixth day. And that brings us. To the second feature. You see. Of the deliberate ordering. Of the days. And that's the correspondence. Between those two triads.
[14:30] Days one to three. And days four to six. I put that in. In green. On the text there. Again. The two descriptions. Of the earth. Are there.
[14:41] In verse two. It's formless. And it's void. It's empty. Tohu wa bohu. In the Hebrew. It's. It's. Assonance. Well. Days one to three. Deals with forming.
[14:52] The formless. And days four to six. With filling. The empty. That's careful parallelism. Look. Day one. Light. Is formed. And day four. The lights.
[15:03] To give light. Day two. It's the sky. And the sea. That's formed. What on day five. Well. Filling the sky. And the sea. With the birds. And with the fish. And on day three.
[15:13] It's the land. And the vegetation. That's formed for food. And on day six. We have the filling. Of the land. With animals. And then above all. With man. To eat the food. Now that parallelism.
[15:24] Is so obvious. And of course. It's been noted. Since the very. Very earliest days. Of the church. And it's there. For a clear purpose. Because it speaks. Doesn't it. Of the deliberate.
[15:35] And the delightful. Order. Of the creation. That God has made. And there's all sorts. Of other features. That you will begin to see.
[15:45] The more you read this text. Number seven. Already said. Is very significant. Not just seven days. But seven times. God says. And it was so. Seven times. God saw.
[15:56] And it was good. The seven words. In the very first sentence. In Hebrew. There's twice seven words. In the second sentence. Of Hebrew. You can go on and on. Noticing these issues. Number ten. Is very significant.
[16:07] Number three. Is very significant. Ten times. And God said. Ten times. Each according to its kind. There's seventy times. The name of God.
[16:18] Is used. In the first four. Chapters of Genesis. And on and on it goes. And all of these things. You see together. Suggest. That the overwhelming focus. In the creation account.
[16:29] Isn't so much. Just on things like chronology. But it's on order. And design. And purpose. And care. In everything that God does.
[16:39] In laying out this created order. And none of that means that. The days of creation. Can't be. Just twenty four hour days.
[16:51] But it certainly does mean. That to be taken up. Merely with chronology. Is to completely miss. The main point. Of this whole. First chapter. And the message.
[17:02] And that is. That we should see. And we should understand. That God has created this world. With design. And with order. That it's under God's control. That it's good.
[17:13] That it's wonderful. Because. Our God. Is the maker. Of everything. In the heavens and the earth. Now let me draw.
[17:25] Two obvious implications. Of this. Ordering. See. Because God created. An ordered world. That means that human beings. Can investigate the world.
[17:35] They can observe it. We can make discoveries about it. We can build assumptions on it. On what we do see. And discover. And there's predictability. There's order in the universe.
[17:46] And therefore. We can harness that knowledge. In order. To enhance. Our human lives. In other words. The created order of God. Is what makes science possible. If the word wasn't ordered.
[18:00] With intelligence. And design. And stability. If it was just chaos. And utter disorder. And chance. And it wouldn't be so. Would it? If it was all pagan mumbo jumbo.
[18:12] If things happened. At the capricious. Whims of the gods. Well you couldn't get into a car. Never mind an airplane. Could you? You'd have no idea. If it would stay in the air or not.
[18:23] No predictability. In the universe. But you see. Science is possible. Precisely because. Of the order of God's creation. And of course.
[18:34] Science as we know it. Grew out of. A Christian world view. Famous dictum of. Of Kepler. One of the fathers. Of the scientific revolution. In the 17th century.
[18:45] Who said. I'm thinking God's thoughts. After him. As he. Discovered. Described the laws of planetary motion. And so on. Science depends.
[18:55] Upon the order. And the predictability. Of an ordered cosmos. And it's the Bible. That gives us confidence. That because God. Is the sole creator.
[19:06] Of all things. Those same natural laws. Will exist. Everywhere. Throughout our whole solar system. And beyond. That's why you can send a rocket. To the moon. You see.
[19:18] It's these things. That give us confidence. And because. God. Is unchanging. His faithfulness. In his creation. Can be depended upon. That's why you can get into a plane.
[19:30] And know that it won't just. Fall out of the sky. Why? Because the rules of gravity. And the rules of flow mechanics. And all these other things. Aren't going to suddenly change. Because God has ordered this world.
[19:44] Christian faith. Was the womb. Of modern science. In fact. It's radical scientism. The view that says.
[19:55] There's nothing but randomness. Nothing but chance. That actually. Is the enemy. Of real science. Because if the goalposts. Can keep moving. Randomly. Shifting all over the place.
[20:05] How can you possibly. Have any sure foundation. For the empirical sciences. The order of creation. Makes science possible. And the second thing.
[20:17] Is that it's the order of creation. That makes our security. Possible. Striking how. Anxiety. And fear. Fear. Fear of global catastrophe.
[20:30] Is such a feature. Of modern secularism. Just as it was. Of ancient paganism. They worried. That the capricious gods. You see. Might. Might suddenly. Plunge the world.
[20:41] Into chaos. And back into the darkness. Of the deep. That the waters. Would again. Engulf the world. And nobody could. Possibly have any control. Over their future. It was all down. To the whim of the gods.
[20:53] It's not that different. Nowadays. We're constantly hearing. The greatest issue. For humanity. Is the fear of chaos. The fear of rising waters.
[21:05] Melting ice caps. Deserts growing. And all that. No. Says the Bible. This world. Is established. It shall not be moved.
[21:16] Says God. In Psalm 93. Because God has created it. With order. With firm. Foundations. Indeed. God's creation. Is an act.
[21:28] Of covenant. It is a promise. That he cannot break. Jeremiah 33. God says. Only if I have not. Established my covenant.
[21:39] With the day. And with the night. And the fixed order. Of heaven and earth. Then. Will I reject. The offspring of. Jacob. And David. My servant. In other words.
[21:50] What he's saying. Is God rejecting. His people. Is as impossible. As the fixed order. Of creation. Being done away with. It can't.
[22:01] Because it is God's covenant. It is his promise. And that means. We don't have to live. In fear. Of cosmic disaster. Of course. That doesn't mean. That there won't be floods.
[22:12] And droughts. And hurricanes. And all of these things. As there's always been. As a matter of fact. There's been a lot less of them. In the last hundred years. Than there were. In the previous ones. It certainly doesn't mean.
[22:25] That as Christians. We should be careless. About the planet. Or misuse its resources. Or be selfish. Or greedy. Of course not. We're to be responsible. To steward the earth. That's the message. Of Genesis 1 and 2.
[22:36] God tells us. We're to steward the earth. Under his dominion. And for him. But it certainly. Does mean. That we cannot be.
[22:48] Obsessed. With global catastrophe. Or with climate change. As though it was the biggest issue. For the whole human race. If the church of Jesus Christ. Gets obsessed with that.
[22:59] And forgets the real issue. For the human race. Which is the coming judgment. Of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the return. Of his kingdom.
[23:11] Then that will really be. A disaster for the world. The greatest. Potential disaster. Facing this world. Is that the Christian church. Should be sidetracked. From its real message.
[23:21] Of proclaiming the kingdom of God. But God has made. An ordered world. He has a covenant. With the fixed order. Of heaven.
[23:32] And earth. And therefore. We can have security. We need not be terrorized. Either by. Ancient paganism. Or by modern. Contemporary paganism. God ordered.
[23:46] The world. He created. And Genesis chapter 1. Exudes. That divine. Ordering. But that. Ordering. Is not arbitrary.
[23:59] That's the second thing. God has ordered creation. For. Mankind. Mankind. The principal focus.
[24:09] Indeed. The climax. Of the creation account. Is. The creation. Of mankind. And that's abundantly obvious. In this chapter. In so many ways. It's the last. Creative act.
[24:20] On day six. It's the longest part. Of the text. You can see there. Verses 26. To 31. It's the only place. Where God announces. Beforehand. Let us create. And then creates. And it's only after.
[24:33] Mankind's creation. That God says more. Than just. It's good. Do you see? It's very good. Now. We'll come back. Next time. To the creation.
[24:44] Of mankind. But today. I want you to see. Just how the whole. Of the rest. Of the creation account. Is ordered. With a focus. On humanity. The Bible's view.
[24:55] Of the created order. Is anthropocentric. It is human centered. It is human. And that's the total opposite. Isn't it? Of some.
[25:07] Green campaigners. Today. And green ideologues. Who would argue. That the earth. Would be better off. Without humans. At all. Or certainly. With far less human beings. And their value system.
[25:20] Animals. And even plants. Often take precedence. Over human life. And that's why. In some extreme cases. People will use violence. And murder. Against human beings. In order to save.
[25:30] The environment. Now again. The Bible is very clear. As I've said. Mankind has responsibility. For the world. Not to abuse the world.
[25:44] But it is equally clear. That the whole. Created order. Is created. For. Humankind. And that purpose.
[25:54] Also dictates. The way that the Bible. Reveals. The truth about creation. To us. So Genesis 1. Is presented. As laying out. The prerequisites. Of an environment. For human beings.
[26:05] To inhabit. In which they can. Enjoy. Their true purpose. Which is reflecting. God's sovereign rule. In the world. As his image. As his representatives.
[26:18] And not just. Reflecting God. In the world. But relating. To God. The creator. They're the only creatures. Made in the image of God. Who can truly relate.
[26:28] To God. In that way. So if you look. At the first triad. The first three days. There you'll see. That God creates. Time. And space. And sustenance.
[26:39] That is the essential. Elements. For human existence. In day one. In creating light. Well that is the creation. Of time. Einstein's theories.
[26:49] I think will tell us. All the same thing. Don't ask me to explain. All of that. But time is essential. Isn't it? For. For the possibility. Of relationship. We know that. Obviously.
[26:59] In the most mundane sense. Building a relationship. Takes time. Well man's chief end. Is to glorify God. And to enjoy him. Forever. That is to know him. To love him.
[27:10] In relationship. So God creates. Time. Which is essential. For that. Love. And also in day two. Space. Let there be an expanse.
[27:20] Well again. Clever physicists. Will tell us. That these two things. Are intimately connected. The space. Time continuum. And all of that. But there must be space.
[27:31] Wasn't there? You've got to be able to be somewhere. To exist somewhere. In a real place. Think even. Of an expectant mother. She's creating space. Isn't she? As her.
[27:42] As her body grows. As the baby grows. Within her. Creating space. For that baby to exist. So God creates time. And space. And on day three. Sustenance.
[27:53] A place to live. Where sustenance is found. The fruit of the earth. And all of that. Is clearly presented. As leading up. To day six. To the creation of human beings.
[28:04] And to day seven. The communion. Of human beings. With God. God himself. That's one principal reason. I think why.
[28:15] Creation. Is told. According to a weekly timetable. And that's because. It's focused on the nature. And purpose of man. As God's image. God. Man is created.
[28:26] In the image of God. To image God. In creation. As a workman. Ruling for God. In the world. And day. Is the realm. Of man's work. Notice in verse five.
[28:37] That's the first mention. Of day. In Genesis one. And actually. It doesn't refer to a 24 hour day. Does it? It refers to daylight. Well why is that? What is daylight for?
[28:50] Well Psalm 104 verse 23 says. When the sun rises. Man goes out. To his work. And to labor. Until the evening. Day.
[29:00] Is when God works. And so it is for man. The image of God. God. And that's also why. There's such detail. About day four. Look at that.
[29:12] The creation. Of the sun. And the moon. The lights. In the sky. From verses 14. To 19. Well day four. Is very significant. It's the middle day. Day one.
[29:24] Is created. Day. For work. Day seven. Is created. As the day of rest. Day eight. And in the middle. We have day four. And the structure there. Also you can see. Has an intricate parallelism.
[29:34] And the focus is right on the center. In verse 16. On the two great lights. That are there. And what are they there for? To rule the day. And the night. That is the regulation of day.
[29:47] Is absolutely central. To Genesis chapter one. And it's to mark. Signs and seasons for man. Now the chief times and seasons. That are being referred to here.
[29:57] Are not things like spring and summer. And so on. But to Moses first readers. It would be very obvious. What he meant. Was the great seasons. The great festivals. That punctuated Israel's life. Passover.
[30:08] And tabernacles. And Pentecost. And above all. The Sabbath. In other words. The times and the seasons. For human beings. To relate.
[30:19] Very particularly. To God. God creates a world. With an inbuilt order. And rhythm. In both time. In space. And it's all centered. Upon mankind.
[30:31] Who are to reflect. God's perfect rhythms. Of work and rest. The day. When man is to work like God. And the day of rest. When man is to rest with God. So man is to rule.
[30:43] To have dominion. Over the earth. Under God. But. Notice. Man does not rule in the heavens. God put great lights. In the heavens. To rule. To govern the life.
[30:54] Of human beings. On earth. According to God's. Celestial timetable. In other words. Human beings. Are dependent on God. God is the Lord of time. We are not. And the very pattern.
[31:07] Of a seven day week. Is built into creation. To remind human beings. Of that. To remind us. That our chief purpose. Lies beyond. Even this creation. But in the heavens.
[31:19] In God himself. In other words. To remind us. That we are made. Not just for work. But above all. We are made for worship. That's why Psalm 90.
[31:29] Speaks about man being formed. Out of the dust of the earth. But that from everlasting. To everlasting. You are God. So teach us. To number our days. That we may get a heart.
[31:39] For wisdom. That is the wisdom. That understands. Who we are ultimately made for. God himself. So whether you see.
[31:50] The days of creation here. As figurative. Or as actual 24 hour periods. I agree with Robert Godfrey. Who says this. They are not. The days are not a timetable.
[32:01] For God's actions. But they are a model timetable. For us to follow. God has ordered his creation. For man. In order that man will seek God.
[32:13] And know God. And rejoice in relationship with God. And I just think about the. Implications of that. For our human purpose.
[32:25] And our identity. The very order of creation. With its inbuilt patterns of time. Work and rest. And day and night. And labor and Sabbath. They point to us.
[32:37] Don't they? To the purpose of it all. That human beings. Are both to reflect. God's own nature. In the world. In the pattern of our lives. In our work. And in our rest. But above all.
[32:47] We are to relate. To God. Our creator. In enjoying fellowship with him. Communion with him. In his rest. That's what it means.
[32:57] To be truly human. There is to be sure. A realm of. Responsibility and work. That is intrinsic. To our humanity. Works not a necessary evil.
[33:09] For human beings. Work is what we are made for. But works not all. That we are made for. Above all. We are made for God himself.
[33:20] We are to share. God's rest. With him. And we will think about. That more next time. But that does mean. Doesn't it?
[33:30] That we should never. Worship. Our earthly work. As if it was the all important thing. As if that was what defined. Who we are.
[33:42] There must be time for God. Because he is the one. Who truly defines who we are. Important to remember that. If you are a student. Busy studying. For your degree. Or if you are engrossed in a career.
[33:55] Or a goal in life. Or whatever it is. There is more than just that. And if we need reminding of that. God has given us. A weekly pattern.
[34:06] Such that it is impossible. For more than six days. In our lives. To go past. Without the very calendar. Reminding us. Of that gospel of God. Of the calling on human beings.
[34:17] To stop. Earthly things. And to turn our eyes upward. To God our maker. For whom truly. We have been made. God has ordered his world.
[34:28] For man. So that we might know God. So that we might find our true purpose. Not just in our work. Although yes in that. But in our worship of God.
[34:40] In our relationship with him. Our knowledge of him. So next time you see the sun. Might not be that often. In the next few months. Next time you see the sun. Or the moon.
[34:51] Remember. Why they are there. They are there to remind us. Of God's timetable. They're there to remind us. Of God's purpose. For us. And for our lives. With meaning.
[35:02] And with destiny. With him. And that's the only reason. They're there in the sky. Well it's not the only reason. Actually.
[35:14] And that brings us to the last point. Which will be very brief. God has ordered this world. He's ordered it for man. But he has ordered this world.
[35:25] Gloriously. For human beings. God has not just created. The essential environment. For mankind. In which to live and relate to him. He has created an environment.
[35:35] Of extravagant beauty. Of wonder. Of sheer delight. Now in a sense. There is no need. Is there. For verse. For days four to six.
[35:46] Of creation. Why didn't God just create man. On day three. Because there's space. There's time. There's sustenance. Everything we need. The answer.
[35:57] Is because. Our God is a God. Who is able to do. Exceedingly abundantly. More than any of us. Could ever ask. Or imagine. He's the God of extravagant beauty.
[36:08] Of exuberant. Overflowing glory. He's the God who always goes further. Who does more. Who gives more. He's the God of glory. Glory. And that's why he has made a creation.
[36:20] Full of glory. Let me just summarize in four words. And try and catch something of this glory. Of creation. An A, B, C, and D. A.
[36:31] Abundance. Verse 20. Look. Let the water swarm. With swarms. Of living creatures. And same also with the birds. And with the animals. And not just once and for all.
[36:42] It goes on and on and on. Verse 22. Multiply. Fill. Go on. Filling. The heavens and the earth. God creates abundantly. He's a God of overflowing. Abundant generosity.
[36:57] And that's why Christian people will want to be images of this God. Won't we? Never parsimonious. And mean. And niggardly. But generous. And overflowing.
[37:08] With abundance. In everything we do. Because we mirror an abundant God. God. Just like our Lord Jesus. Who came and said.
[37:19] I've come. That you might have life. And have it. Abundantly. Not measly. Bare life. Abundance.
[37:30] B for beauty. God is an artist. He's not content. He's not content. With just. An environment. That man can exist in. And survive in. He decorates it.
[37:41] With breathtaking beauty. For our joy. For our appreciation. Look at verse 14. Let there be lights. For signs. And seasons. Well.
[37:51] All we needed. For signs and seasons. And for lights. Is just one fluorescent tube. In the sky. That could go on and off. But look at verse 16. This God.
[38:02] Lights up his handiwork. With a hundred. Billion stars. In our Milky Way alone. And a hundred billion galaxies. Beyond that. The end of verse 16.
[38:14] There in Genesis. Must surely be. The most understated. Understated. Clause. Ever written. And the stars. And the stars. The beauty.
[38:25] The sheer loveliness of it. And everything else. Think of the beauty. Of this earth. Think of the rugged. Beauty of the highlands. And the islands. Think of the coastlines.
[38:35] The valleys. The rivers. Think of the gold. Think of the diamonds. Think of the rubies. Think of the wonder. Of a sunset. Over the water. And a summer's evening.
[38:46] All of that. God has done. Why? To give human beings. A beautiful home. He's a God of beauty. In abundance. And so Christian people.
[39:00] Will be people who love beauty. They'll never be content. With just the ugly. With the bare. With the sufficient. We want to image. A beautiful God.
[39:11] Don't we? Our God will never be. A fluorescent tube. And no pictures on the wall. Kind of God. Our God is a halogen down lighter.
[39:23] With high color rendition. Index. Spotlights. On beautiful paintings. All over the walls. Kind of God. Abundance. Beauty.
[39:34] Are his hallmarks. And see. See. Creativity. He not only creates. But he builds creativity. Into the very fabric of creation itself.
[39:44] Verse 11. Let the earth sprout. Vegetation. Verse 24. Let the earth bring forth. Living creatures. Verse 24. Be fruitful. Multiply.
[39:55] Fill the earth. Go on filling. There's a self-perpetuating. Creativity. That God has set loose. In this world. And in humanity. Verse 28.
[40:05] Be fruitful. Multiply. Be creative. Like your creator. Christian people can't possibly be people. Who despise creativity.
[40:18] In the arts. In architecture. In music. In literature. In all of these things. Sometimes mistakenly. Christians have been. But God is an artist.
[40:29] Christ. And God has put. All of this. In his world. To reflect him. And above all. For human beings. To reflect his creativity.
[40:40] And he wants that creativity. To be unleashed. And to be appreciated. He wants it to bring beauty. Out of chaos. And to keep on doing that. Of course.
[40:51] It's according to God's. Creative pattern. That's what tells us. What real art. And real creativity is. It has form. It has order. It has beauty. And abundance.
[41:01] It's not formless. And void. Some of what. Goes by the name of modern art. Which comes out of an atheistic. World view. Is more tohu and bohu. It's more chaos.
[41:12] And void. And formless. But abundance. Beauty. Creativity. Is the hallmark. Of our God. And finally. Diversity. That's what this.
[41:23] Repeated emphasis. On separating. Speaks of. There's diversity. There's contrast. All through creation. There's light and dark. There's land and water.
[41:34] There's sunlight and starlight. There's male and female. And the command to be. To be fruitful and multiply. And fill the earth. Seems to imply. The opportunity for further diversity.
[41:46] Further richness. To increase. And to go on. Enriching the created order. Well biologists will tell us. Won't they? Of infinite. Diversity.
[41:57] In the created order. The constant. Evolution. To greater. And greater diversity. Well that's what Genesis 1. Tells us to expect. It's built into the creative order.
[42:08] Not a. Not a chance. Natural. Selections. If it arose all by itself. By accident. No. No. No. But it's God's purpose. Built into his creation.
[42:18] For a flourishing. Organic diversity. To go on. Enriching and blessing the people. Of course it's ordered by God. It's also limited by God.
[42:31] Everything. Is within its kind. Whatever that. Exactly means. In terms of our. Modern classifications. We don't know. But it springs from an already.
[42:43] Created order. He's not talking here as if. Amoebae suddenly turned into horses. Far less into human beings. But God is the author.
[42:53] Of a flourishing. On ongoing diversity. And how different that is. By the way. From the. From the atheistic. Marxist ideologies.
[43:06] All their crushing. Assimilation. Conformity. Think of the. The standardized. Concrete blocks. That filled the. The Soviet Empire.
[43:17] The Soviet Union. Eastern Europe. And so on. The antithesis. Of our God. Of abundance. Of beauty. Of creativity. Diversity. This is our God.
[43:29] This is his creation. Order out of chaos. Yes. Time and space. And sustenance. For mankind. Kind. But all that abundance.
[43:39] The beauty. The creativity. The diversity. This chapter proclaims. You see. The sheer glory. Of creation. And God himself.
[43:52] Repeatedly. Tells us. It's message. It's good. It's good. It's good. It's good. It's good. It's very good. And in doing so.
[44:07] He's calling us. Isn't he? To join him. In praise. In praise of God. And in praise of the sheer glory. Of his creation. That's why this chapter.
[44:20] Is here. And that's its message for us. Today. Well let's pray. The psalmist. Certainly understood this chapter.
[44:30] And it's purpose. In Psalm 104. He says. May the Lord rejoice. In his works. He who looks at the earth. And it trembles. Who touches the mountains. And they smoke. We will sing to the Lord.
[44:42] All our life. We will sing praise. To our God. As long as we live. May our meditation. Be pleasing to him. As we rejoice. In the Lord.
[44:54] So help us Lord. We pray. To rejoice. In the sheer glory. And in the goodness. Of all that you've made. And above all. To rejoice in you.
[45:05] Our sovereign. And our great savior. And so live before you. In this world. As you would have us live. To the praise. Of your glorious grace.
[45:19] And the name. Of your son. Our great savior. Jesus Christ. Our Lord. Amen. Amen.