"In the Beginning", Part 2

1:29 In case you were not with us in worship on last weekend, we were led by the Spirit to begin a series of sermonic studies that has anchored us in one of the most familiar verses of Scripture in all the Bible. It is a passage that not only introduces us to God, but introduces us to all of biblical faith. and is really a succinct summary of everything you will read in the 66 books of your Bible. That page one, book one, chapter one, verse one, that everybody in here knows, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. that passage is well known to everyone everyone in here has memorized genesis chapter one and verse one atheists know genesis one and one folk who've never cracked open their bible know these words that attribute all of creation to a divine design by our god there and it's well known by all but with its familiarity comes great controversy because you and i know that these 10 words in this one verse that attributes creation to seven days is at odds with the scientific dating of the earth this one verse is in competition with Darwin and evolutionary evidence. This one verse seems contrary to cosmological theories about big bangs. This one verse is at odds with paleontological discoveries of fossilized dinosaur bones.

3:34 And I shared with you on last week as a way of reminder that the problem is that too often Genesis 1 and 1 is taken out of context. Genesis 1 is about the beginning of time, but it was not written at the beginning of time, nor contrary to what you may have learned, was it written in one setting by Moses. Dr. Judy will teach you this on January 29th in Bible study, but the book of Genesis is really a quilt roving together from three different sources and traditions and oral stories that are coming together at one time, which is why you have two creation accounts, one in Genesis 1 and one in Genesis 2, because they're coming from different sources. Teach the Bible, Howard John. And you will recall that what we read in Genesis 1 is attributed to a priestly source that was penned in the 6th century before Christ during the time of the Babylonian exile. Biblical historians, you will recall, Edwin, that the Babylonian exile was a difficult time for the people of God.

4:50 They were in a strange and foreign land. They had wickedness ruling over them. They were fighting daily to embrace their history so that they might embrace their identity of who God called them to be. Their progress for rights had been violated. They were sitting underneath a narcissistic, evil, pathological liar who would promise $5,000 to every American citizen if they kept him in office and his political party. It was a rough time in Babylon.

5:32 And it was there that they were also wondering, where is God? how could God let this happen to me and even more importantly when is God going to bring this to an end and in that moment priestly writers put pen to paper to remind folk in exile in strange places with their identity threatened under wicked rulers to remind them in that moment, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. It was a reminder to them of what it reminds us today, that God is always in creative control over every area of your life. There's not a time, a place, or a thing where God has abdicated God's omnipotent control and sovereign reign over everything in your life, no matter where you are, no matter what you're going through, no matter who's in office, no matter who signs your check, above all of them, there is a God who reigns over this earth and has control over everything that is happening. And don't you ever give up on God. Don't you ever lose faith in God. God is always in control.

7:03 And the whole point of Genesis 1 is to let you know that day by day, by day, by day, by day, by day, every day, God is in control. And God creates. I reminded you last week that that verb create is exclusive to the use of God. It is the priestly way of reminding you that there are some things only God can do. And when you find yourself in exilic existence, underneath wickedness, wondering where God is, Genesis 1 reminds you that every now and then you need to look around your existence and identify some things you know that only God could have done. Only God woke you up this morning. Only God started you on your way. Only God put food on your table.

7:57 Only God gave you safe travel last week. Only God kept you sane in the midst of insanity. Only God gave you strength to face what you face. And when you remember what only God has done, you ought to encourage yourself that if God can do that, then surely God is able to handle this thing right here and right now. Genesis 1, when you put it in context, you are reminded that it was never written to be cosmological data. It was written to make a theological description.

8:42 Genesis 1 is not history, it's poetry. it's not information on how the world came to be formed it's inspiration on how to live in a world that's falling apart The context reminds you why it was written. But today, let me share with you a little bit about what it tells us about God. There are three things we learned about God in this account of creation that I want you to hold on to today as you face this week and whatever will come your way. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. and the earth was without form and void. Dr. Judy will tell you that that verse in its Hebrew grammar is a little unclear and uncertain. And the tension in that verse comes between a misunderstanding of the relationship between two words, form and void.

9:47 Can I teach Bible this morning? in hebrew there are two words in that second verse that are conflicting form which is the word tohu and void which is the word bohu i hope you hear the poetic resonance tohu bohu say it with me tohu and bohu the earth was without form tohu and void bohu the tension between those two words has historically and theologically led to two differing concepts about creation teach our john wesley let me give them to you in seminary Latin terms. There is creascio ex nihilo, which is creation from nothing, and creascio ex materia, which is creation from pre-existing materials. Y'all stay with me for a little bit. This is going somewhere. Didn't you tell me how? There are two differing concepts of creation, ex nihilo and ex materia.

11:01 And each one is rooted in one of those words in verse 2. Either tohu or bohu. Let's start with ex nihilo. Creation ex nihilo is rooted in bohu, meaning void. And creation ex nihilo is the concept that this is how creation went down. In the beginning, God stepped into nothing. God walked into emptiness. God stood in the middle of void. And in the middle of nothing, in emptiness with void, God called into creation everything that exists. God walked into a dark room with nothing. And spoke. And everything showed up.

11:54 walk with me. Day one, God says, let there be light. Aaron Lester, that makes sense to us because we know what light is. But when God spoke it, there was no such thing as light. Light had never existed. Light has no definition. Light is a foreign concept that only existed in the mind of God because God can envision what your eyes have never seen.

12:30 Can I push it? Ross and God steps into emptiness and says, let there be light. Who's he talking to? Because it's void. It's empty. Ain't nobody there. so this is how creation goes down ex nihilo god is so much god that god steps into emptiness void nothing god speaks a word that ain't got no meaning in the hearing of nobody there and when god says let there be light to an emptiness with nobody there with nobody understanding what light is all of a sudden light showed up that's ex nihilo. That's what many of us were raised to understand creation as, God stepping into nothing.

13:27 But there's another concept, creation ex materia. And materia does not hang on bohu, it hangs on tohu without form. And what creation ex materia says, Darrell how creation ex materia says that there was something there that existed it just had no order to it Well, what existed? The waters.

14:00 Y'all say to me, read it carefully. Verse number two says that the Spirit of God hovered above the waters. So the waters exist in verse two, but they weren't created in verse one. God's first creative act is verse 3 when God says, let there be light. But God never said, let there be water. so if God doesn't start saying let there be to verse 3 and the waters already were in verse 2 creation ex materia says that the waters existed in the beginning but the waters had no form okay Bible readers you will know that in Bible water is a metaphor for chaos Water is a sign and a symbol of that which threatens life.

14:56 When you read in the Psalms, you will find how often the psalmists refer to threatening situations as waters. Okay, I ain't got you yet. Come to the Gospels. The disciples are sailing across the Sea of Galilee. They're in waters they've sailed in many a time. and the Bible says that a storm comes up and they are afraid for their lives because they know they've never seen anybody control the waters. And in the midst of the storm, my Jesus, your Jesus, our Jesus steps up in the middle of the boat, speaks to the winds and the waves. and the Bible says that even the winds and the waves obeyed his command, and the disciples were amazed because they ain't never seen anybody control the waters.

16:05 Now, if you can envision Jesus speaking to the water and it obeying, you now understand creation ex materia because the waters existed but they were in chaos and creation ex materia says we serve a God who didn't just walk into nothing but a God who stepped into the middle of chaos and threatening situations and God imposed a divine design on the midst of chaos and even the waters obeyed what God said had to be. Ex nihilo, ex materia. So what you ought to be wondering is, well, Red, which one is it? Is it ex nihilo out of nothing, bohu, or is it ex materia out of chaos, tohu?

17:07 I figured it out. They've been trying to answer it for thousands of years. I figured it out. can I tell you what the answer is it's both of them we serve an ex-materia God a God who can confront the chaos in your life a God who can step in the middle of something that is spiraling out of control a God who can put his hand on what you can't handle and when you put it in God's hand God has a way of bringing order to the midst of chaos I wish I had some tohu folk who know what it was like to be in a situation that was out of control and all you could do was put it in the hand of God and God was able to handle what you couldn't.

18:08 Someone say ex materia. Oh, but he's an ex nihilo God too. I come to tell you about a God who can make something out of nothing. I'm looking for some bohu folk who know what it was like when your life was empty, when you didn't have nothing, when your bank account was void, when you didn't have a pot tub. and a window to throw it out of and God took your nothing and made a miracle of something is there anybody in this Sunday morning worship who can thank God that he took nothing and made everything oh He's ex materia and ex nihilo.

19:08 But here's the shout, whichever one it was, everything that came to be came because God said, let there be. And watch how much power is in the word of God. God said, let there be. And whenever God said, let there be, the Bible says, and there was. Okay, you missed it. You ain't up yet. I'm going to try it one more time. That whenever God says, let there be, the only response can be, and there was. Because there's so much power in the word of God that when God speaks it, it must come to pass. And I just stopped by early on a Sunday morning to take a little sermonic survey and find out if you have ever witnessed the manifestation of the Word of God in your life.

20:07 No, don't lie to me. I'm looking for some folk that know you've seen what God said. Have you ever seen God work something together for your good? Have you ever prayed and seen God answer exceeding and abundantly above all you can ask a thing. Have you ever walked in a room and there was a table prepared in the presence of your enemies? Have you ever seen God stop the weapon and make sure that it did not prosper? I need some folk that can give glory to God that what he said and there was. There's power in his word. Can I push this?

21:07 In the beginning, God created the heavenly earth. The earth is without form and void. Darkness on the face of the deep. The spirit of God hovered above the waters. And then in verse 3, God said, let there be light. Dr. Judy, then the Bible says that God separated the light from the darkness.

21:33 I want to teach the Bible real quick. That verb separate is the Hebrew verb badal. Someone say badal. And badal doesn't just mean to separate. It means to make different. Come here, folks. He created the light and said, be different than the dark. God not only created light, God created difference. God told the light, I don't want you to look like the dark. So I'm going to make you different.

22:17 And that word, badal, different, it shows up again in creation. Shows up on day two when God made different the waters above the sky and the waters underneath it. It shows up again on day four when God made different the day and the night by putting the sun, the moon, and the stars in the sky. God decided that I'm not only going to create the heavens and the earth, but I'm going to make sure it is different. I had to ask God the question, why not leave everything the same? God says, because I'm not honored when everything looks the same.

22:55 I don't know who needs to hear this, but difference is part of God's creative design. Okay, you didn't catch me. diversity is in the creative design of God that God never wanted everything to look the same and act the same and walk the same and love the same but God declared when I make the heavens and the earth I'm gonna architect diversity I'm I'm gonna create equity I'm gonna move in inclusion because that is part of the divine design of God.

23:32 And that is why I am convinced and convicted that this administration is demonic because it's an attack on diversity. It's an attack on the divine design of God that said, I don't want the rainbow to be one color. I don't want all the fish to look the same. I don't want the birds to fly in the same direction. I don't want humanity to be all one color. I want there to be diversity in whatever I have created. please understand that if it all looks the same it ain't god if there's no room to be different it ain't god if we all gotta earn the same amount to join it ain't god that's why this church is inclusive so that we can reflect the diversity of God. That's why it's a safe space for queer so we can reflect the diversity of God. That's why women preach in the pulpit so we can reflect the diversity of God. That's why you can come as you are so we can reflect the diversity of God.

25:06 I gotta go. I promise we wouldn't be long. God makes something out of nothing. God controls chaos with his word. God is the architect of difference. Bible says God creates the heaven and the earth in seven days. He creates in six and rests on the seventh. Y'all agree with me? That's what Genesis 1 says. He creates in six and rests on the seventh. Now, I want you to stay with me. It's going to get a little deep, and I don't want to lose you. Watch the days of creation. Day one, God creates light and darkness.

25:55 Day two, God creates the sky. Day three, God creates the earth and the seas. Day four, the Bible says that God created the great lights in the sky that separated day and night and gave structure to seasons, to days, and to years. Don't miss me. On day four, God created the great lights in the sky that helped you tell the difference between day and night and the great lights in the sky that helped define a day, times, years, and seasons. Pop quiz. What was created on day four that separates day and night and controls days, seasons, times, years? What would that be?

26:55 You're smart. The sun and the moon. Can we agree on that? If you don't just act like you got it. Don't forget, day one, light and darkness. Day two, sky. Day three, earth and seas. Day four, sun, moon, and stars. So here's the problem, Hope Kent. If the sun, which regulates the days, is made on day four, how long was day one? if there's no sun in day two how do we know day two was 24 hours If the sun and the moon don't exist to determine day and night and day three, how do we know how long day three really was?

27:56 Or could it be that the author is using the term day not to describe 24 hours, but to segment the movements of creation in a way that you and I can understand? Your literal reading of Genesis 1 is a misreading. It is not a 24-hour period because the sun don't even exist till day four.

28:26 It's just a way of segmenting what God did in times in which God did it. Remember this, saints, in Bible, time is not chronological, it's theological. the reason the writer puts it in seven days is not seven times 24 but to suggest that God finished what God started because seven is a number of divine completion and it is a reminder to you that whatever God starts God is going to finish in your life we don't serve a God who leaves anything complete we don't serve a God who does not finish what he started the Bible reminds is that he who has begun a good work will perform it in your life. God always finishes.

29:16 And it may not be in the time you want it done, but God's gonna finish that thing. Let me close and show you something. I hope this makes sense to you. Deacon Linda Prelude, watch this. Watch how God creates. I'm gonna show you something. I wanna see if you get it. In the first three days, God creates the realm that in the next three days, he puts things that belong there.

29:47 Don't miss this. In the first three days, God creates the space. And in the second three days, he creates what belongs in the space that was already made. so that when he makes it in the second half, he already prepared it in the first. Okay, okay, okay. I see I'm gonna have to work today.

30:10 Day one, God creates light and darkness. Three days later on day four, he puts the sun, the moon, and the stars in the space he'd already created. Okay, day two, God creates the sky and the sea. three days later on day five he puts the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea because what he made in day five was going in what he already prepared on day two on day three he created the earth and vegetation and then three days later on day six he created animals and humanity to put animals and humanity in day six on what he had already prepared on day three because when God gets to moving in your life God will put you in a place that he already prepared before you even walked in it goodbye church may the Lord bless you real good but that's a good place to shout amen that when you walk into it God had already prepared it and God put in place everything you need Thank you.

31:24 I don't know who needed to hear that this morning. Because you've been praying and wondering why God ain't answered your prayers yet. Why is it still going the way it's going? And when will God move? I can't tell you how long it's going to take. But I can tell you this. That while you are waiting, God is working on your behalf. while you're waiting for God to move God is setting up the space that God's going to put you in and when you walk into it everything you need everybody that God's going to use