If the YouTube video above is not available, here are two other ways to view:

081005AM

BYT-33

 

Creation is central to the Bible as the Creator Himself opens the pages of the Scriptures and introduces Himself.

The Gospel of Salvation from Genesis to Revelation is all about the Creator coming to save those created in His image. So, there is always in God’s Word the Bible—a link between Creation, the Creator, and Salvation. With that in mind turn with me to the first ten words that open the Bible, Genesis 1:1.

What would be the most important message to every human on Earth[1]?

I believe that foundational to EVERYTHING we believe and hold as true are the first ten words of Genesis. These words are vital to all parts of life, and crucial to the destiny of our souls.

 

Ten Words That Determine Everything

In order that we never miss those vital words, God put them at the front of the Bible.

These are the first words Jesus and the Apostles read at their mother’s knees. For all Jewish children were taught to read starting with the Torah, the first five books of Moses. Why don’t we read them together this morning! Please stand with me and listen to the Voice of God the Creator, speaking out to us through His Word:

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (NKJV)

PRAY

In the last book of the Bible, at the end of the world, as the earth is crumbling, and demon monsters are stalking humans, and people are dying faster than at any moment since the great flood of Genesis 6-8—what does God do?

God the Savior dispatches 24 legions of Jewish evangelists (14:1-5) numbering 144,000; and if that were not enough, God dispatches another global evangelist, an angel that flies around the world loudly telling those who will hear the only hope of salvation from the tsunami of death around them.

Have you read those words of hope lately? What message does God give to people hopelessly trapped on this doomed planet? If you look carefully at His message of salvation in Revelation 14:6-7, it is the message of salvation given by the Creator Himself.

Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— 7 saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

 

God Has Spoken

Before each of us this morning, are not only crystal clear details on the opening day of the Cosmos in Genesis 1-2, but also the Creator’s personal revelation to His creatures about everything else we would ever need to know. God’s Word is the doorway to life as God intended for it to be. Genesis is the start of the pathway to the Divinely revealed secrets of:

  • How to live forever (John 10);
  • How to have a joy-filled marriage (Proverbs 5);
  • How to experience real love (I Corinthians 13)
  • How to be prosperous and successful (Josh 1);
  • How to never fear the future (John 14); and
  • How to conquer any and every bondage (Hebrews 2).

The Immense God: who is vastly beyond all that exists, and has always been, before the Universe began—has revealed Himself in the Scriptures.

The Awesome Creator: who has attested to His might by the countless stars, galaxies and mysteries of the Cosmos out there—has opened His mind for us to explore.

The Endless of Days: who sees us who are as frail as dust and fleeting as shadows, has placed before us His Eternal Word to have, to hold, to love and to live.

And that God has written down exactly how the Universe in totality, and each of us humans individually, came to be. That is the content of the authoritative, absolutely trustworthy Bible’s Creation Account in Genesis 1-2.

But we have a choice before us:

  • Either we take God at His Word—or we do not.
  • Either we believe what Christ and His Apostles and Prophets believed and taught, and have a Bible we can trust—or we do not.
  • Either we believe His direct, immediate, and quite recent creation of this world, and the surrounding Universe—or we do not.

But before you dismiss Creationism as impossibly unscientific consider again the facts of science seen in what may be described as the:

 

Designer Dependent Features of Planet Earth[2]

There are less than a trillion galaxies in the known universe. Each galaxy has about 100 billion stars. So, in the entire known universe there are less than: 1 trillion x 100 billion stars that could have a planetary system.

Scientists of our world have observed the parameters of life–the ingredients that must surround us so that we can live here on Earth. Before we sent men to the moon we had to find exactly what they needed to live out in space. Those parameters can also be applied to this world in which we live.

There are hundreds, probably thousands of different elements needed to sustain human life on earth. But let me just list off enough elements that are so complex, so reflective of Divine Design, they could never evolve anywhere in the known universe—there are not enough stars out there to give enough chances for life to arise.

Life on Earth is tied to the Sun, the Moon, and the Galaxy, as well as this planet. The following are the minimum parameters of a planet, its moon, its star, and its galaxy that must have values, falling within narrowly defined ranges, for life of any kind to exist. What we find is that in every way our planet is made perfectly for human life to exist.

Our Solar System is Amazingly, Precisely, and Perfectly designed for supporting life on Earth.

Consider the number of stars in the planetary system: if more than one: tidal interactions would disrupt planetary orbits; if less than one: heat produced would be insufficient for life.

 

Our Sun is Amazingly, Precisely, and Perfectly designed for supporting life on Earth.

 Our Sun’s age: if older: luminosity of star would change too quickly; if younger: luminosity of star would change too quickly

  1. Our Sun’s mass: if greater: luminosity of star would change too quickly; star would bum too rapidly; if less: range of distances appropriate for life would be too narrow; tidal forces would disrupt the rotational period for a planet of the right distance; UV radiation would be inadequate for plants to make sugars and oxygen
  2. Our Sun’s color: if redder: photosynthetic response would be insufficient; if bluer: photosynthetic response would be insufficient.
  3. Our Sun luminosity relative to speciation: if increases too soon: would develop runaway greenhouse effect; if increases too late: would develop runaway glaciation.

 

Our Planet is Amazingly, Precisely, and Perfectly designed for supporting life in every way.

 Earth’s surface gravity (escape velocity) is perfect for life: if stronger: planet’s atmosphere would retain too much ammonia and methane; if weaker: planet’s atmosphere would lose too much water.

  1. Earth’s distance from our Sun is perfect for life: if farther: planet would be too cool for a stable water cycle; if closer: planet would be too warm for a stable water cycle.
  2. Earth’s axial tilt is perfect for life: if greater: surface temperature differences would be too great; if less: surface temperature differences would be too great.
  3. Earth’s rotation period is perfect for life: if longer: diurnal temperature differences would be too great; if shorter: atmospheric wind velocities would be too great.
  4. Earth’s magnetic field is perfect for life: if stronger: electromagnetic storms would be too severe; if weaker: ozone shield and life on the land would be inadequately protected from hard stellar and solar radiation.[3]

Each of these 23 parameters cannot exceed certain limits without disturbing a planet’s capacity to support life. So just these elements would probably make Earth the ONLY planet suited for human life in the Universe.

But there are dozens of other parameters, such as atmospheric transparency, pressure, and temperature gradient, other greenhouse gases, location of different gases and minerals, and mantle and core constituents and structures, that currently are being researched for their sensitivity in supporting life. So, on the basis of just the above listed factors, what are our: Chances for Finding a Life Support Planet

We can say with a nearly statistical, and mathematical certainty that only much fewer than a trillionth of a trillionth of a percent of all stars could possibly possess, without the divine intervention seen through anthropic design, a planet-capable of sustaining advanced life.

Considering that the observable universe contains less than a trillion galaxies, each averaging a hundred billion stars, we can see that not even one planet would be expected, by natural processes alone, to possess the necessary conditions to sustain life.

These factors would seem to indicate that the galaxy, the sun, the earth, and the moon, in addition to the universe, have undergone divine design. If divine design is essential to explain the properties of simpler systems such as the universe, our galaxy, and the solar system, how much more necessary is God’s involvement to explaining systems as complex as organisms, including human beings?

That is why the Scientific accuracy of the only eyewitness account of Creation is so vital to each of us. Within those words we find all that there is: God, the Universe He made, and the end He describes.

That’s it, God has spoken, His Words are true, and everything is encompassed in those words. And from God’s Word flow all of guidelines God has given for us to meet Him, and to know Him, and to please Him.

In other words, no book of the Scriptures matters more because EVERY BOOK OF THE BIBLE RESTS ON THIS ONE!

 

Genesis is the Foundation for Everything

If the God of Genesis 1 is unreliable so is the One in every other part of the Scriptures.

Either you utterly trust the God you meet in Genesis 1, or you have nothing else. He is the same. He does not change. The book of Genesis is the foundation for the doctrines that follow. Everything you base your Eternal destiny upon starts in Genesis:

The Doctrine of INSPIRATION teaches us that: it was the Creator in Genesis who WROTE the Scriptures!

Colossians 1:15-17 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. (NKJV)

 Hebrews 1:1-2 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by [His] Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; (NKJV)

 

The Doctrine of the DEITY OF CHRIST teaches us that: it was the Creator in Genesis is the One who DIED for you and me!

 John 1:3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (NKJV)

 Hebrews 1:3 who being the brightness of [His] glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (NKJV)

 

The Doctrine of FINAL JUDGMENT teaches us that: it is the CREATOR in Genesis is the ONE we will all someday face to enter Heaven or Hell!

 Acts 17:24, 31 “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 31 “because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” (NKJV)

 

The Doctrine of SALVATION teaches us that: the CREATOR of Genesis is the ONLY ONE who could have died in your place on the Cross!

 Romans 5:12-15 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned — 13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift [is] not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. (NKJV)

 

So what should our response be to our CREATOR we meet in the first pages of this absolutely trustworthy book of of God’s Word the Bible called Genesis?

WE MUST WORSHIP OUR CREATOR

Revelation 4:11 “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.” (NKJV)

And this morning that is exactly what we are going to do at this Communion.

We are going to lift our hearts and voices in worship filled praises to our Wonderful, Merciful Savior who created us, found us in our lostness, and saved us forever by His grace.

Please bow, and as the Table is prepared, prepare your hands and hearts to partake and worship our Creator.

 

1: Wonderful Merciful Savior

Wonderful merciful Savior, Precious Redeemer and Friend

Who would have thought that a Lamb could rescue the souls of men

Oh You rescued the souls of men

 

You are the One that we praise, You are the One we adore

You give the healing and grace our hearts always hunger for

Oh our hearts always hunger for

 

Counselor Comforter Keeper, Spirit we long to embrace

You offer hope when our hearts have hopelessly lost the way

Oh we hopelessly lost the way

 

You are the One that we praise, You are the One we adore

You give the healing and grace our hearts always hunger for

Oh our hearts always hunger for

 

Almighty infinite Father, faithfully loving Your own

Here in our weakness You find us falling before Your throne

Oh we’re falling before Your throne

 

You are the One that we praise, You are the One we adore

You give the healing and grace our hearts always hunger for

Oh our hearts always hunger for

 

2: Before the Throne of God Above

Before the throne of God above I have a strong a perfect plea

A great High Priest whose name is Love, Who ever lives and pleads for me

 

My name is graven on His hands, My name is written on His heart

I know that while in heav’n He stands, No tongue can bid me thence depart

No tongue can bid me thence depart

 

When Satan tempts me to despair And tells me of the guilt within

Upward I look and see Him there Who made an end to all my sin

 

Because the sinless Savior died, My sinful soul is counted free

For God the Just is satisfied, To look on Him and pardon me

To look on Him and pardon me

 

Behold Him there the risen Lamb, My perfect spotless righteousness

The great unchangeable I AM, The King of glory and of grace

 

One with Himself I cannot die, My soul is purchased with His blood

My life is hid with Christ on high, With Christ my Savior and my God

With Christ my Savior and my God

 

 

 

3: Living for Jesus

Living for Jesus a life that is true

Striving to please Him in all that I do

Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free

This is the pathway of blessing for me

 

O Jesus Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee

For Thou in Thy atonement, Didst give Thyself for me

I own no other master, My heart shall be Thy throne

My life I give henceforth to live, O Christ for Thee alone

 

Living for Jesus who died in my place

Bearing on Calvary my sin and disgrace

Such love constrains me to answer His call

Follow His leading and give Him my all

 

O Jesus Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee

For Thou in Thy atonement, Didst give Thyself for me

I own no other master, My heart shall be Thy throne

My life I give henceforth to live, O Christ for Thee alone

 

Living for Jesus wherever I am, Doing each duty in His holy name

Willing to suffer affliction or loss, Deeming each trial a part of my cross

 

O Jesus Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee

For Thou in Thy atonement, Didst give Thyself for me

I own no other master, My heart shall be Thy throne

My life I give henceforth to live, O Christ for Thee alone

 

Living for Jesus through earth’s little while

My dearest treasure the light of His smile

Seeking the lost ones He died to redeem

Bringing the weary to find rest in Him

 

O Jesus Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee

For Thou in Thy atonement, Didst give Thyself for me

I own no other master, My heart shall be Thy throne

My life I give henceforth to live, O Christ for Thee alone

 

These and many other discoveries that men have made are prodigious Scientific achievements and the result of a very high order of intelligence. But since they parallel what nature has been doing for thousands of years, nature’s phenomena must also be the result of a very high order of intelligence.  The computer, for example, was conceived by man’s own ‘computer,’ the brain.  But who conceived the brain?  It too would have to be conceived and designed for its special work, otherwise the complexities of thinking would just ‘happen” and would therefore be unreliable.  Consequently, there must be a prior claim to man’s mind.  And that claim can only be the mind of the Ultimate Creator, God

[1] 960602AM BYCT-04

[2] Hugh Ross., Table 15.1: Evidence for the Design of the Galaxy-Sun-Earth-Moon System for Life Support.

[3] Just skim these:

  • Earth’s thickness of crust is perfect for life: if thicker: too much oxygen would be transferred from the atmosphere to the crust; if thinner: volcanic and tectonic activity would be too great.
  • Earth’s inclination of orbit is perfect for life: if too great: temperature differences on the planet would be too extreme orbital eccentricity; if too great: seasonal temperature differences would be too extreme.
  • Earth’s albedo (ratio of reflected light to total amount falling on surface) is perfect for life: if greater: runaway glaciation would develop; if less: runaway greenhouse effect would develop.
  • Earth’s oxygen to nitrogen ratio in atmosphere is perfect for life: if larger: advanced life functions would proceed too quickly; if smaller: advanced life functions would proceed too slowly.
  • Earth’s carbon dioxide level in atmosphere is perfect for life: if greater: runaway greenhouse effect would develop; if less: plants would be unable to maintain efficient photo-synthesis.
  • Earth’s water vapor level in atmosphere is perfect for life: if greater: runaway greenhouse effect would develop; if less: rainfall would be too meager for advanced life on the land.
  • Earth’s atmospheric electric discharge rate is perfect for life: if greater: too much fire destruction would occur; if less: too little nitrogen would be fixed in the atmosphere.
  • Earth’s ozone level in atmosphere is perfect for life: if greater: surface temperatures would be too low; if less: surface temperatures would be too high; there would be too much UV radiation at the surface.
  • Earth’s oxygen quantity in atmosphere is perfect for life: if greater: plants and hydrocarbons would bum up too easily; if less: advanced animals would have too little to breathe.
  • Earth’s seismic activity is perfect for life: if greater: too many life forms would be destroyed; if less: nutrients on ocean floors (from river runoff) would not be recycled to the continents through tectonic uplift.
  • Earth’s global distribution of continents is perfect for life: if too much in the southern hemisphere: seasonal temperature differences would be too severe for advanced life.
  • Earth’s soil mineralization is perfect for life: if too nutrient poor: diversity and complexity of life forms would be limited; if too nutrient rich: diversity and complexity of life forms would be limited.
  • Earth’s gravitational interaction with a moon is perfect for life: if greater: tidal effects on the oceans, atmosphere, and rotational period would be too severe; if less: orbital obliquity changes would cause climatic instabilities; movement of nutrients and life from the oceans to the continents and continents to the oceans would be insufficient; magnetic field would be too weak.

Slides


Check Out All The Sermons In The Series

You can find all the sermons and short clips from this series, The Power of the Book You Can Trust here.

Looking To Study The Bible Like Dr. Barnett?

Dr. Barnett has curated an Amazon page with a large collection of resources he uses in his study of God’s Word. You can check it out here.