Enjoying the Journey

(Genesis 1:26-28) Mankind was not only made to bear God's image, but we were also made to labor with Him. Our Creator has designed and assigned tasks for all of us. Learn more about this divine purpose as we continue our series, "Finding a New Beginning." (087240108) 

(2 Corinthians 8:1-12) Discipleship is not a series of lessons. It is the whole Christian life! Salvation is just the beginning of all Christ desires for His followers. Purpose today to pursue Jesus and point others to Him. (086240106) 

(Genesis 1:26-31) From the beginning, God's intent for mankind was blessing. God made you in His image to reflect His glory and live in His goodness. As we study the crown of God's creation, don't miss why God made you!  (085240105) 

(Genesis 1:6-25) As you read through the creation account in Genesis, remember that it is not just a book of information, but it is a book of revelation. Discover in today's episode the power and wisdom of our great Creator. (084240104) 

(Genesis 1:4-5) Do you ever feel overlooked by the world? The Creator of the universe sees you. Do you ever feel overwhelmed by darkness? The Light of the world can divide the darkness from your life. Allow God to apply the first day of creation to your life through today's study! (083240103) 

(Genesis 1:2-3) Imagine witnessing the first day of creation! In the emptiness and darkness, God moved and spoke. If you want a new beginning, or if you want order in the midst of chaos, yield to the work of the Spirit and get into the Word of God. (082240102) 

(Genesis 1:1) Someone has rightly said, "The Christian life is a series of new beginnings." Sin will always bring you to a dead end. God brings you to open doors. As we begin a new series from the first eleven chapters of Genesis, take advantage of the new beginning God is offering you today! (081240101) 
 
Automated Transcript:
Someone has rightly said that life is a series of new beginnings.I love that because I can testify and tell you that life is a series of transitions.Maybe you're living through one of those transitions right now.The reality is, in the transitions of life, when things are changing, one of two things is going to happen.Either it's going to just be the end of something, or it's going to be a new beginning.I'm glad to tell you today, on the authority of the Word of God, that our God is the God of new beginnings.Sin will always bring you to a dead end.The devil closes in on you, and brings you to nothing.But the Lord never brings you to a dead end.The Lord brings you to another open door.You don't hit a wall with the Lord.Instead, a door opens, and God says, alright, here is the way to begin again.And so, I want to take you to the opening pages of Scripture, to the book of Genesis.Now, the opening chapters of Genesis, not just Genesis chapter one, but the first eleven chapters of the book of Genesis are in many ways the beginnings of everything.Someone said and observed that Genesis 1 through 11 is a seedbed of doctrine, that every major doctrine found in the rest of Scripture is introduced, at least in seed form, in the opening pages of the Word of God.Isn't that just like the Lord?God's Word, a progressive revelation, moving from the known to the unknown, starting with the most simple thing and then progressively showing us more and more until it's fully developed and we finally understand what it is God wants us to understand.And so, in this emphasis on new beginnings, I want to go back to the Book of Beginnings, to the Book of Genesis, and study with you the first eleven chapters.Let's get some foundational truth, some beginning truth that will help us to begin again.Today, we start in the most obvious place, you have to begin, where God begins in Genesis chapter one and verse number one, you know it by heart.Say it with me, would you please?In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.And so, in the very first verse of holy scripture, we have introduced to us not only God, but God's great desire and design for all of us.These are the basics, the building blocks, the beginning principles.What are they?Well, first of all, we learn that God is, because the Bible simply states, in the beginning, God.Don't begin with the reality around you, begin with the reality before you and above you.Begin with God.Everything begins with God.Scripture does not seek to prove to us the existence of God.It simply states it.And you will have to either accept it or reject it.You'll either have to believe what the Bible says, or say, no, I don't believe that at all.But if you're going to take God at His word, and I recommend that you do, then you must begin with this.God is, He is the eternally existent one.You see, this world has a beginning, but God has no beginning because He's the everlasting one.The oldest Psalm in the Bible, Psalm 90, written by Moses, says, from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.Literally, the word everlasting means vanishing point.So from one vanishing point to the other vanishing point, God is God.Go back before all of the world was created, before time existed, and God is.Go all the way to the end.Fast forward to the end of the story, when the world burns up and everything disappears, that is familiar to us, and God will still be.He is the eternal God.The parallel to this, of course, in the New Testament, is John.John chapter 1, verse number 1, says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.The same was in the beginning with God.All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.In other words, the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, did not begin at Bethlehem, but he was there before the creation of the world in the beginning.And so we start here.We start with the very presence of God, that he existed, eternally existed, before this world was created.One little interesting thing is that the noun that is used here in the language of the day, the Hebrew language, was a unipleural noun, literally meaning three in one.So think about this, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, our God, Elohim, co-equal, co-existent, co-eternal, the great three in one introduced to us in the very first verse of the Bible.God is.And then a second thing we must observe is that God made everything out of nothing.Because the Bible says God created.The word that is used here literally means to create something out of nothing.It's not to make, taking something that exists and making something.No, it's totally different than that.It is the creation of everything.He created the heaven and the earth out of nothing.And, of course, we're going to learn as we progress in our study.He did all of that with the power of his word.Only God could do that.God is.And then God made everything out of nothing.And then, this is very important, not only is it true that God is and God made everything out of nothing, but God made everything in order for us to know him.Think of this.The visible was created so we could come to know the invisible God.What we see was created to reveal the plan and purpose and power of Almighty God.In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.You see, all of earth and all of the heavens declare the glory of God.Everything around us testifies to the existence of the Creator God.Now, we know that Christ is the final, full revelation of the Creator.He literally brings heaven to earth in order to bring earth to heaven.But in the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.Do you see God's presence?God is.Do you see God's power?God made everything out of nothing.He's the beginning of every good thing.James said in James 1, 17, that every good and perfect gift comes down from above from the father of lights in whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning.And then do you see God's purpose?God made everything with this objective that we would come to know him and love him and worship him.May I just tell you, only God can create something beautiful out of nothing.The first characteristic of God revealed here is his power.I don't know what you're dealing with today, what your nothing is, but I just want to remind you that nothing is too hard for the Lord, that all things are possible with God.Dear listener, those of us who are living right now, it seems on the edge of eternity, on the verge of the book of Revelation, need to start paying more attention to Genesis because the only way to go forward is to go back.And the only way to really understand what's going on in this world right now, near the end of the story, is to go back to the very beginning.The old Bible teacher, A.T. Pearson, used to talk about the law of first mention.Well, Genesis 1 is a chapter about life, and it's a chapter about the God of life for those who want life again.If you need a new beginning, what you need is not more effort, more energy, better intentions, better circumstances, or help from someone else.What you need is a fresh experience with the God who is the creator of it all.And the God of beginnings and the God of new beginnings, because the same God who spoke the world into existence and made every beautiful thing out of nothing is able to come to us in the midst of our difficulty and make something beautiful out of nothing again.Only God can do that, and God only does it when we turn to Him.Would you look to the God of new beginnings today?

(2 Corinthians 8:1-7) What is your relationship to Christ’s church? Being members of the same heavenly family, Christians should not wait until they get to heaven to fellowship with one another! Listen to this message from the Weekend Pulpit to hear about your individual responsibility in God’s family. 

(Luke  21:28) The moment you trust Jesus, your spirit is saved. Progressively throughout life, your soul is being delivered from the power of sin. Eventually, your body will be redeemed from the very presence of sin. Tune into our last episode of "God's Redemption Timeline." (07311231229) 

(Revelation 5:9-14) Would you like to know what we will sing someday at the worship meeting around the throne? Heaven's song is a song of redemption. Jump into the book of Revelation and begin rehearsing eternity's hymn. (07310231228) 

(1 Peter 1:18-19) What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! Apart from the bloodshed of Christ, we could never be redeemed. Learn from today's episode about the essential nature of the blood. (07309231227) 

(Titus 2:11-14) Jesus Christ does not come into your life to leave you like you are! We are redeemed to enter into all that God has for us. Study the book of Titus and allow this theory to become a reality.  (07308231226) 

(Luke  1:68-75; 2:38) Christ's short visit made an eternal impact. It was during His time on earth that Jesus redeemed His people. Learn from today's episode how your eternal redemption can cause a daily change in your life! (07307231225) 

(John 12:1-11) Did Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead to stop Mary and Martha from crying? Did He do it to stop people from mocking Him? He raised Lazarus for the same reason He gives believers new life, to point others to Him! Join us as we dive into "The Rest of the Story." (07306231223) 

(Galatians 4:4-6) God not only redeems us from something, but He redeems us for something. Redemption is not just something you get; it is something you get to be part of. What a glorious thing it is to have a redemptive relationship with God! (07305231222) 

(Psalm 49:5-15) When you die, the one thing that will matter is the redemption of your soul. While no man is able to redeem your soul, God is both able and willing. Listen to today's episode and discover what the Psalms have to say about redemption.  (07304231221) 

(Ruth 4:3-10) Ruth is a book of romance and redemption. Through Boaz, a beautiful type of Jesus, we are reminded of Christ's right, ability, and desire to redeem us. Join us as we continue our study of "God's Redemption Timeline." (07303231220) 

(Exodus 6:6, 15:13) Redemption reveals something to us about who God is and what God wants. God is mighty enough to save anyone, yet He is also merciful enough that He longs to save everyone. Study "God's Redemption Timeline" with us from the book of Exodus! (07302231219) 

(Genesis 15:6-18) Redemption is solely an act of God. Although we have nothing to do with the task of redemption, we are the target of God's redemption. Discover in today's study a beautiful Old Testament picture of a New Testament truth.  (07301231218) 

(John 10:19-30) As we go through the Christmas season, the temptation is to miss what Christ is doing in the world today. In every time and season, God is at work; if you miss Jesus, you've missed it all.  (07300231216) 

(Job 19:23-26; 33:24) Even in the oldest chronological book of the Bible, Job, we find God's great work of redemption. Years later since this book was penned, man's great need remains the same. Praise God, our need-meeting Redeemer lives! (07299231215) 

(Genesis 3:15) All the promises of God culminate in the person of Christ, and there is no greater promise than the promise of redemption. Study this first mention of the Savior today to learn a lasting truth! (07298231214) 

(1 Peter 1:20) Did you know God made preparation for our redemption before He created the world? His great purpose was that we would be redeemed and become more like our Redeemer. In today's study, we find out what our part is in God's redemptive plan. (07297231213) 

(Revelation 13:8) From the very beginning of time, our eternal God had planned the redemption of mankind. The payment Christ made on the cross was not some emergency plan! Tune in for the first episode of a brand new series, "God's Redemption Timeline." (07296231212) 

(Philippians 4:17-23) The Christian life is to be a joyful journey from start to finish. A final look at the closing verses of Philippians reveals powerful promises that we can claim. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." (07295231211)