This morning - in case anyone has forgotten what it was like to be in school - remember school?  We’re going to begin with a short quiz.  If you would please take out your mental pencils we’ll see how you do with some questions about the Bible.  Maybe you’ve heard some of these questions before.  In which case you should ace this.

Question number 1:  What kind of man was Boaz before he got married?  Answer:  Ruth-less.

#2.  Who is the greatest baby sitter mentioned in the Bible?

Answer:  David - he rocked Goliath to sleep.

#3.  Who was the straightest man in the Bible?

Answer:  Joseph - because Pharaoh made him a ruler.

#4.  Why couldn’t they play cards on the ark?

Answer:  Because Noah was standing on the deck.

#5.  Who are the three shortest men in the Bible?

Answer:  Nehemiah (knee-high-miah), Bildad the Shuhite (shoe height), and Peter - who fell asleep on his watch.

How are you doing?

Last one:  Where is baseball mentioned in the Bible?

Answer:  In the big inning.  Eve stole first.  Adam stole second.  Cain struck out Abel. 

That’ about as old as dirt.

Which is where we are beginning this morning.  Genesis 1:1.  Which you will find on your Message Notes.  A very familiar verse.   Probably a number of us could recite Genesis 1:1 from memory.  Let’s read it together.

Genesis 1:1  “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

First lines are crucial.  Yes?  You all are doing so good answering quiz questions.  See if you recognize these.  What book is this the first line of?

“Call me Ishmael.”  Answer:  Moby-Dick - Herman Melville

This is a little tougher - the location is a clue:  “Somewhere in la Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember...”  Answer:  Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes.

There actually is a book that starts off with the line:  “It was a dark and stormy night…”  Anyone know the title?  Paul Clifford - written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1830.

Genesis 1:1 has been called one of the most profound statements made in the hearing of men.  Arguably the greatest first line.  Process that idea and its true.  10 English words.  7 in Hebrew.  Hugely profound.

Those few words answer four fundamental questions that every person who’s ever lived - since the day we start noticing the world we live in and start to take seriously our lives and the universe around us - every person starts to think about these four fundamental questions - that are answered for us in Genesis 1:1.

Maybe this morning you’re asking these questions.

Question number 1:  What is all this?  Let’s ask that together:  “What is all this?”

Take a moment and look around you.  This is a great spot.  Isn’t it?  What do you see?  Trees - lake - grass - sky - plants - birds…  Think about this.  How does it feel to be here?  The breeze.  The semi-warmth of the sun.  Maybe a whole lot of semi-warmth of the sun.  What does it smell like?

If we were to be here at 11:00 tonight what would that be like?  Aside from being arrested for trespassing we’d see things like stars - the moon.  There’s a whole different feeling.  A certain stillness.  The evening cool.

The phrase “the heavens and the earth” has the same meaning for a primitive person living in a jungle that has no clue about civilization and telescopes or microscopes as it does for us here today.  It doesn’t matter what our education is or what civilization we’re part of or when we lived.  When we look around us we understand what Moses was describing here in Genesis 1:1 in much the same way that Moses understood it.

The Bible is amazing in the way it communicates to persons with various understandings and backgrounds in different ages and still has significance and inexhaustible meaning.

Someone has said that this phrase “the heavens and the earth” is the beginning of true science because a fundamental part of the task of science is to observe and classify all that can be observed in the makeup of the world of nature.

The phrase is an invitation - a jumping off point - to exploration - to classification - to search for understanding.  There’s no need to check our brains at the door.  If you’ve ever read through some the creation myths that are out there - some female deity giving birth or people coming out of holes in the ground or some magical creature doing something... magical.  And so on.  The Bible avoids all that silliness.

Point being:  Nothing of the Bible needs to be set aside as man’s knowledge increases.

“The heavens” is plural.  Heavens.  There are an estimated 300 to 400 billion plus stars in our galaxy.  Scientist estimate that there are at least 500 billion galaxies.  We say plus because we just don’t know.  Can’t know.  How do we accurately measure what’s infinite?

The Bible was the first to say that the number of stars is beyond computation.  Isaiah 51:13 says that God “stretched out the heavens” into limitless expanse and - Genesis 22:17 - God filled it with stars as numerous as the sand on the seashore.  With our increase of knowledge - since Moses looked up at the stars - with our increase of knowledge we still have to agree with that truth.

“The earth” is singular.  Terra firma.  Which is a study in itself.  What makes up this little ball of dust we call home.

We could go on talking about the Bible and science.  But that isn’t the point.  The purpose of these words “the heavens and the earth” is not to tell us what makes up the heavens and the earth - but to focus our attention beyond the classification and the science to the purpose for the heavens and the earth.

Which was the question.  Right?  “What is all this?”

Psalm 19:1,2 - TNLT - says, “The heavens proclaim the glory of God.  The skies display His craftsmanship.  Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known.”  (Psalm 19:1,2 TNLT)

What we observe around us testifies of God.

David gives us a slightly different perspective on that truth in Psalm 8:3,4 - TNLT.  David writes, “When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers - the moon and the stars you set in place - what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?”  (Psalm 8:3,4 TNLT)

When we observe what is - the more we learn about the universe we live in and planet we live on - we begin to understand that God operates very very very differently than we do.  God is not man.  And yet the heavens and the earth are one huge illustration inviting us to know God.

If we’re going to answer the question - to understand “what all this” is then the place to begin is to realize that God has given to us the heavens and the earth to teach us about Him and about what life is all about.  God desires for us to know Him - to live life with Him - to live life on a very different level than we can even begin to imagine. 

What is all this?  The heavens and the earth are one huge illustration inviting us to know God.

Second fundamental question:  How Did It All Begin?  Let’s ask that together.  “How did it all begin?” 

Charles Darwin claimed he knew the answer.  Darwin theorized what?  Generally speaking - and admittedly this is a huge over simplification Darwin suggested -  that it was all by evolution - a process of division and mutation - that ultimately resulted in the variety of life we see around us today.  Science theorizes that life is the random product of evolution which began with something happening to a crystal or a single cell existing in the primordial ooze.

Our purpose this morning is not to refute Darwinism.  But we do need to realize that there are some serious problems with Darwin’s theory.  Kudos to the scientists - who despite the huge popularity of Darwin’s theory today and the way Darwin’s theory has been hijacked by science - kudos to the scientists who in the name of science are willing to confess a great uneasiness with Darwin’s theory.

Point being:  Man - in and of himself - man has no idea how all this began.

The Bible - at the beginning - faces this great question of origins - boldly stating that God is the creator of the heavens and the earth.

The word “created” - “bara” in the Hebrew - is used 54 times in the Bible.  It is always used of the work of God.  It means “to bring into existence without the aid of pre-existing material.”  Something out of nothing by the direct work of God.

What exists did not need to come into existence because of the gravity of the situation - as some have theorized.  That just kicks the can farther down the road.  Where did gravity come from?   Genesis 1:1 - God - created gravity out of nothing.

Paul writes in Romans 4:17 that it is God Who “calls into existence the things that do not exist.”  (Romans 4:17)

Creation isn’t about growth and process its about God’s word of command and creation - existence - exists - comes into being.

How did it all begin?  Answer:  “God created the heavens and the earth.”

Third question:  When Did It All Begin?  Let’s ask that together.  “When did it all begin?”

The great mystery of time.  “When?”

In a month and a half I’m eaten off the senior’s menu at Denny’s.  We seem to have this thing about time.  Don’t we?  We’re always asking each other, “How old are you?  When’s your birthday?”  If we don’t get answer we begin to speculate.  Don’t we?  Some people don’t want us to know how old they are.

When?  How old is creation?  There are battle lines drawn - huge battles raging - over the answer to that question.

Those who say the earth is very very old have their list of arguments from Scripture and physical evidence from observations of creation - that they use to substantiate their claims.  People that hold to the old earth argument see the earth as being millions if not billions of years old.

Others say the early is relatively young.  Back in the 1600’s James Ussher - who was the Archbishop of Ireland - in what was a very scholarly approach at the time - Archbishop Ussher - using the Biblical record - the history and genealogies recorded in the Bible - Archbishop Ussher calculated that the earth was created on October 23, 4004 BC.

Setting a date like that might seem a bit far fetched for some.  But for about 200 years that date was seen as authoritative.

People that hold to a young earth generally see the earth as being between 6,000 to 10,000 years old.  And they have their arguments and reasonings that they put forward - from Scripture - from science - observing creation.     

The bottom line is that the Bible doesn’t definitively tell us “when.”

The Bible does tells us that time is a mystery to man.  Its not something that we really get.

Psalm 90:4 - TNLT - says, “For you - God - a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours.”  (Psalm 90:4 TNLT)

Peter writes - 2 Peter 3:8 - TNLT, “A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.” (2 Peter 3:8 TNLT)

Jesus told His disciples - Acts 1:7, “It is not for you know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.”  (Acts 1:7)

We don’t know.  Its not important for us to know.  If it was God would have told us.  The more we try to fix dates and try to figure things out the one thing we are discovering with certainty is that we don’t know.

And that’s okay.  It isn’t the point.  Time has to do with man and our history not with the history of creation.

The answer we need for the “when” question is very basic.  Here it is:  When?  “In the beginning.”

Last question - number four:  Who Is Behind It All?  Let’s ask that together, “Who is behind it all?”

The single word answer?  God. 

Do you remember Yuri Gagarin?  Who was Yuri Gagarin?  Soviet Cosmonaut - April 12, 1961 - first human in space.  Gagarin circled the earth for 108 minutes.  Came back and said, “I looked and looked but I didn’t see God.” 

We may think that’s childish.  And it is childish.  But the sad reality is that many people today - some of them very learned and highly intelligent  -many people today make the same kind of statements.     

Its kind of like looking for love with a pitch fork.  Or intelligence with telescope.  Its just the wrong tool for the job.

We’re not going to find God by looking at rocks and fossils and stars - oh my.  Looking through telescopes and microscopes.

To observe creation as if somehow if we look far enough out into the cosmos we’re going to find God someplace out there sitting on His throne holding a big sign that says “You found Me.”  All that misses the whole purpose and meaning of His creation.

Creation testifies of Who?  God.  Creation testifies of God using His creation for His purposes even touching our lives with His presence. 

Someone has probably pointed out that if Yuri Gagarin had stepped outside his spaceship without his space suit he would have found God.

Way too many people looking at creation - but refusing to believe the testimony of God’s creation - people have tried to legislate God out of existence.  They’ve declared His death.  They ridiculed those who believe in Him.  They work very hard at denying someone they claim doesn’t exist.  But He does.

If we’re willing to allow ourselves to go there we realize that man cannot escape the thought of God.  Check human history.  No civilization has existed that doesn’t have some concept of the existence of a deity and the need to worship or honor that deity.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that God has given all of us an inner desire to know God and to be known by Him.  Saint Augustine captured that truth when he wrote in his Confessions:  “Our heart is not quiet until it rests in Thee.” (1)

Man must come to God.  Its an irrepressible part of who we are because everything around us and within us testifies of God’s existence.

A scientist looks to the sub-atomic and has no real understanding of what he’s seeing.  An astronomer looks deep into the cosmos and sees no end - sees tremendous power and energy - and can’t explain it.  A doctor holds a newborn baby in his arms.  Beyond simple mechanics he can’t explain where that life came from.

Hold your child for the first time.  How do we process the meaning of life?  Maybe we hang around here and watch the sunset - something inside us stirs and all our reasoning comes up short.  Someone we love dies and all the our philosophy is useless.

The point is that we can philosophize and theorize and categorize - but the bottom line is that at the beginning and the end - and on every path in between - the inescapable reality behind creation is God.

The Bible doesn’t argue for the existence of God.  It assumes His existence - eternal - independent of His creation - self-existent - before there even was a beginning - God exists.  In this profound opening statement the Bible asserts in simple grandeur that God created all that exists - the heavens and the earth.

Someone has said, “God made a really great planet but the tenants are tearing up the place.”

There are reasons why we set aside places like this.  Or like Yosemite - Yosemite.  Yosemite Park being a slight step-up from here.  But this place is a local treasure.  Hard to find a place like this in LA.  Just look around - see what God has made.  It doesn’t take much to remind us that when we’re left by ourselves we can really make a mess out of things - including our own lives.  Especially our lives.

The contrast between what God has for us and what we make of our lives is pretty huge.  Isn’t it?

Genesis explains what happened in the beginning - after God created all this.  Genesis explains how Adam turned against his creator - the beginning of the carnage that is humanity.  The beginning of the separation that we experience from God and that He has for us - now and forever.

There’s another “in the beginning” in Scripture.  Its on the bottom of your Message Notes. 

John writing of Jesus - John 1:1 - John writes - “In the beginning was the Word - Jesus - and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.”  (John 1:1,2)

Let’s make sure we’re together on what John is saying.  Before anything existed God existed.  God created creation.  Jesus existed before the beginning.  Bottom line:  Jesus is God.

Farther down in verse 14 John writes - quoting the TNLT, “And the Word - Jesus - became human and made His home among us.  He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.  And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”  (John 1:14 TNLT)

As someone has said, “Jesus is God with skin on.”

What we do with our lives apart from God the Bible calls sin.  Sin is our living outside the will of God.  Sin separates us from God.  Sin is self-destructive.  Sin is how the Bible describes the carnage we make of our lives apart from God.

Either inwardly - because of our deepest thoughts - or outwardly in our actions - we don’t deserve God’s attention and care.  His forgiveness.  His love.  His grace.  His mercy.  And yet Jesus came in a body made of flesh like ours - was born in a manger - lived among us - and on the blood stained cross - gave His life to deal with what separates us from God - the ravages of sin in our lives - and to offer us a new beginning with God.  The recreation of our lives.

Astounding.  Isn’t it?  The Creator God - our Creator - takes on what it means to be humanity in order to die at the hands of His creation in order to save those who are murdering Him.

Jesus is at the beginning of our new creation - our re-creation from sinners separated from God - to sinners - who live in the forgiveness of sin and renewal of life in God. 

In a moment we’re going to hear two testimonies and witness two baptisms.  Its important that we’re all on the same page about what that means.

When someone is baptized they’re placed under the water - symbolically identifying with the death of Jesus Christ.  Just as Jesus took all of our sins on the cross - died for them and was buried - they’ve died.  Meaning they’ve turned from following their own path in life.  Died to their old life - sinful and separated from God - that life is dead and buried with Jesus. 

Then trusting Jesus - seeking to be His follower - they’re brought out of the water - out from the grave - into new life.  Just as Jesus was raised from death.  We’re raised to life that is given to us by God.  Life that’s about God and can be lived as God intended our lives to be lived.

That doesn’t mean they’re perfect - sinless - never to mess up again in life.  None of us can truthfully claim that for ourselves.  Baptism is about our new trajectory through life.

Baptism is a symbol of our death.  Dying to ourselves - to our old way of doing life.  It means that - coming to Jesus as our Savior - we’ve allowed God to take everything that we once were apart from God - to have it crucified on the cross with Jesus.

And - baptism is a symbol of our life.  That we live because Jesus lives.  That we have no true life apart from Jesus.  The very essence and nature of our lives is because of Jesus.

Processing all that.  Briefly - a question:  Where do you need God to create a new beginning in you?  What in you needs to die - do you need to let go of - in order to really live in the life God offers to you.

_________________________

1. Quoted by Doug Pollock in “God Space”

General Reference:  Ray Stedman, “In The Beginning” sermon from Genesis 1:1

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®  (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.