Sermons
Our God Truly Is An Awesome God
Link to sermon video: Our God Truly Is An Awesome God - V Rossi
OUR GOD TRULY IS AN AWESOME GOD
That short video that we just watched helps put what we will be considering this morning into perspective.
God truly is awesome! But how can we who are the created grasp let alone explain the awesomeness of the creator? God is limitless, He has no bounds. He always was and always will be.
Of all the lessons and sermons that I have put together over the years, I feel most inadequate approaching this subject. The Awesomeness of God. However, I have chosen to challenge myself and you to breach this subject!
The difference between God and myself I can only compare by the difference of a one celled ameba to Einstein!
And I am just the ameba! And here is a news flash, all of us are! If you think highly of yourself, hopefully this sermon this morning will humble you a few notches.
We will begin where God began. If you have your Bible this will not be hard to find, page 1 verse 1. We will be in the book of Genesis for most of this sermon.
“IN THE BEGINNING GOD”
Some books have such famous opening lines that many people can name the book just by hearing them.
Here are a couple examples. See if you can name them.
- “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” (Tale of two Cities)
- “Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.” (A Christmas Carol”)
- “You don’t know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but that ain’t no matter.” (Huck Finn)
- I hope all know this one, “In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the earth.”
There aren’t any more important opening lines than those found in Genesis 1:1!
In the very first words of the Bible, we discover so many foundational and fundamental truths about God which affect our lives.
The first thing we find right off the bat is that it is all about God; it is not all about us. Although we are mentioned, it’s predominantly about God! God is giving us some insight into Himself.
Our Solar System is called by scientists “helio-centric” – (helios = sun).
That means Sun is center. In our solar system everything revolves around the sun – all the planets, everything. The sun gives us light; and without it nothing would live. The sun is central to our solar system. Everything depends upon it to continue.
In the past many believed that the earth was the center of our solar system and everything revolved around us. It was not until it was finally realized that the sun was the center and not us that our understanding of the solar system and the universe could be more fully understood.
One of the big problems people have today is that they have made the same kind of mistake about the spiritual center of our universe.
We tend to be “ego-centric.” Another words, self-centered!
Everything revolves around ME. We want a God that revolves around us;
a bible that revolves around us;
a religion that revolves around us.
If you happen to be one that feels this way, I have news for you. The Bible, God’s word is not all about you or me! It is about God being the center of our existence. He is like the sun of our solar system.
It is all about God, not us. “In the beginning God.”
We will never get life right until we make the effort to put God first, to place God at the center of our universe where He is supposed to be!
Our God is an awesome God! Are you humbled yet!
Secondly: What else can we learn from the first chapter of Genesis?
This is where it gets hard to understand or grasp. We discover that there is a plurality in this one God.
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. I have always looked at this as three manifestations of the same Deity
For example: The word that the bible uses for Him in Genesis 1:1, the Hebrew word “Elohim, is in the plural form. Try wrapping your head around that!
And then- verse 2 speaks of “the Spirit of God” – this is God and yet somehow almost distinct from God but not.
And then- verse 26 Elohim says, “Let US make man in OUR image, according to OUR likeness.”
It almost seems as if God is speaking in a discussion with Himself.
And, He is! We learn from these first few verses that God is a “Triune God” 3 in 1, 3 yet 1 Like we mentioned at the start, God is limitless
We discover this throughout the Bible. And even though the word, “trinity” is not found anywhere, this teaching is found throughout.
The bible clearly teaches in Deuteronomy 6:5 that, “Yahweh” is one. There is One God. But we also find that the Bible teaches that God exists eternally as 3 distinct beings; God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. God who is limitless is giving insight about Himself to us the limited. I guess it would be kind of like trying to explain the theory of relativity to a 10 year old. He might get some of it, but not all of it.
Someone put it this way: “Jesus calls God His Father, God calls Jesus His Son, yet not only is the Father God, but in John 1 it is very clear that Jesus is God, and here in Genesis 1:3 we read of the “Spirit of God.”, Whom the New Testament tells us is God. And yet also is distinct as well!
I think my head is about to go “BOOM” lol
God is so much more than our limited reasoning abilities can define. We can only reason by what we know and experience. We must admit that some things are just beyond our capabilities to fully comprehend. Perhaps I should have passed out aspirins just before getting into this to calm the headaches!
OUR GOD IS TRULY AN AWESOME GOD!
Are you humbled yet?
Let’s think for a moment of the most used verse in all of the new Testament, “John 3:16.” “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.”
God the Father gave God the Son that we might be saved. Right there in the most basic verse on salvation, we have the triune God to bring about our salvation
We learn from Genesis that God is 3 in 1, and 3 yet 1
Secondly: God is creator!
Also contained in this the first verse of the Bible, is this: “In the beginning God CREATED the heavens and the earth!”
He is the creator God! He made everything that is.
Looking ahead to John 1:3, speaking of God the Son, John says, “All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” This is one of those sentences that need to be seen and not just heard. It has the intendancy to float right through.
Another-words, Everything that has come into being He created. Without exception He made everything.
Let me toss this in for your consideration: God never “came into being” He has always been. “In the beginning God.” God was already there! He created everything and did so out of nothing!”
In our verse, Genesis 1:1 the word “created” the Hebrew word is “bara” which means to create new not fashioned from something that already exists. This word, “bara” is only used for God and not for man. Only God creates something out of nothing.
That my friends is “awesome.” Are you humbled yet?
Some scientists believe that everything arose from nothing, but on its own. The famous physicist Steven Hawking wrote in his best-selling book “The Grand Design” “The universe can and will create itself from nothing – Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing. Why the universe exists, why we exist. As an example of spontaneous creation, some scientists have proposed that evolution happens spontaneous as well. Some actually propose that an alligator hatched a chicken. Think about that! Not only would one allegator have to of hatched a hen another one at the same time and in the same area, would have had to hatch a rooster. And both would have to be entirely compatible.
That means they believe that creation just happened. There was nothing, and then, all of a sudden, there was the “big bang.” And creation appeared.
One Christian who used to be an atheist said this. “I just didn’t have enough faith to keep believing that.” People make fun of Christians for believing in a God who created the universe – but their alternative is that it all just somehow arose out of nothing. That is looked at as so much more intelligent.
One person who was also thinking along these lines said of Hawking’s book; “The title of Hawking’s book, “The Grand Design” is very ironic. Because if it is indeed as he says, that the universe just arose out of nothing and created itself, then there is no grand design!” There was no designer, there is no design; there are only accidents and chances, that somehow arose out of nothing!”
We need to understand how important this belief is: what you and I believe about the doctrine of creation means everything, one way or another, because beliefs have consequences.
“If God created us then we are His, then we belong to Him.”
Our God is an awesome God! Are you humbled yet?
If God created us then we are not insignificant!
David knowing that God created him, could say is Psalm 139: “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.”
If God made you, His works are wonderful – therefor you are wonderful because God made you.
If God made us then we have meaning and purpose. On the other hand, if God did not create us and we are no more than an accident of evolution, then we have no meaning or purpose.
There is no true morality, no respect for life of any kind including ourselves. There would be no reason to refrain from any sin because sin would not exis. Life would be meaningless, chaotic, and worthless.
What we believe about creation does have consequences!
I believe that many do whatever they can to reject the concept of a God creation because they just don’t want any restraints on their lifestyle.
Their beliefs are not based on all of science, there are many scientists that have come to the realization the more they learn that there has to be a “Grand designer” ----God.
Therefore, make no mistake; What we believe about the beginning is no small issue. It will affect everything else we believe and do in our lives.
The Bible makes it clear from the start, it leaves no doubt about it; It settles this issue in its very first words. “In the beginning God created.”
That’s awesome! Are you humbled yet?
There is much more that God reveals about Himself in His word that we are considering from Genesis this morning.
We see in chapter 3 that God is judging Adam, Eve, and the Serpent for disobeying His commands.
We read that God was in the presence of His creation and His Spirit walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden. A close relationship.
All that ceased when they disobeyed God’s command to not eat of the tree in the middle of the garden. God gave them everything they would need, but that wasn’t enough for them, like all, they wanted more. They wanted to be like God. We could say they wanted to be gods or at least equal to God.
The serpent told Eve that she would be like God and know good and evil. I often wondered about this temptation that they gave in to. They were living in that which was perfect. Every need met, close to God. No sickness, no suffering of any kind, no hunger and very importantly – “no evil!”
Verse 22 and 23 of chapter 3 we read, “Then the Lord God said, behold, the man has become like one of Us, (There is the 3 in 1 yet 1) knowing good and evil, and now, lest he stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.” Therefor the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden. To cultivate the ground from which he was taken.”
What do we learn from this? That God could not any longer trust Adam and Eve to obey Him. By there attempt to become like God they not only learned what evil is, they have become evil, they sinned against the will of God for them. God then rejected them and in doing so, rejected all of mankind as sinful.
Put simply: God created what was good – Genesis 1&2, we ruined it with our sin – Genesis 3, but God put in place a plan for us to once again be united with Him.
God is awesome! Are you humbled yet?
All throughout the Old Testament these scriptures, beginning with Genesis were pointing forwards to that someone who was coming who would crush the head of the serpent. And who would bring man back to the presence of God!
And that is exactly what Jesus did! Jesus did not come to just be a good teacher. He didn’t come just to sympathize with us, although He did both those things, He was also much more.
Jesus said, “The Son of man has come to give His life a ransom for many.” Jesus came, God the Son came by means of the virgin birth of a woman, He is God and He is 100% human! (“The seed of Eve.”)
He then went to the cross where He faced the evil one who had control over death. He was tortured, humiliated and killed. However, as bad as all that was, the evil one didn’t get the victory. We know that by Jesus’ resurrection. (1 Peter 2:24 read)
Just as God had promised in Genesis the head of the serpent was crushed by Jesus the Christ!
Our God is an Awesome God! Are you humbled yet?
As we begin to wrap up this morning’s lesson all of us need to reflect and consider what God’s plan for us has been since the beginning of time. To live with Him in the garden. We learn that our sin is what separates us from Him.
How mankind fell into sin, but God raised up a people, and taught them, and prepared them for this Promised One who would one day come and crush the head of the enemy and give us the victory over sin!
If we do not get this, we do not get what the whole Bible is about. So many people see the Bible as just a bunch of random stories and verses, and it never really makes sense to them, because they are missing that there is one unifying message which runs throughout.
God created the world good (Gen 1&2)
We ruined it with our sin (Gen. 3)
But God promised a redeemer and delivered!
We could simplify or summarize by saying: God made things good, we messed it up, but He sent Jesus to fix it!
We have to come to the understanding that the Bible is about God and our relationship to Him.
Many of us have come to that conclusion. There are some who have not. I pray this sermon has been helpful to your understanding of where you stand with God. You need the saving grace of Jesus! God made you to know Him and live with Him in eternity. God still loves you and wants the best for you. He sent Jesus to the cross to atone for your sins. To wash you clean and give you a new life where you are right with God!
Our God is an awesome God. Are you humbled yet?
Those of us who have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior consider this. Maybe you have drifted out of orbit trying to do things your own way. You find out that it’s not working, that you need to get back in the proper orbit. The only way your life will work properly is to put God back at the center of your universe
Let us stand and sing!
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