Colossians 1:15-17

Is to basically go from Genesis to Revelation in an overview.

! And my hope is that we can really see the magnificence of God's creation.

and what His plan of redemption is, and really how we fit into that.

So, to begin with, I'd like to read out of Colossians 1, starting in verse 15.

And read that.

It says, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

For everything was created by Him in heaven on earth, the visible and the invisible,

whether thrones or dominions, or rulers or authorities.

All things have been created through Him and for Him.

He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.

Lord, I pray that today, as we study Your Word,

Lord, that we would gain a better understanding of who You are,

that we may glimpse at how big and how holy You are.

Thank You for Your Word, and I pray that today, You would speak through Your Word,

and speak through me.

Lord, may You open ears and hearts, and open my mouth to speak.

I pray this in Your name. Amen.

As we begin in Genesis chapter 1,

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

it doesn't take long to get to the first verse.

It says,

In the beginning, God.

And that is the foundation from which we have to start,

is that before time, before creation,

that God existed,

He is infinite,

He is holy,

and that He has created us,

therefore we've started as His creation.

We have to start from that point,

that He is the Creator,

and that we are creation.

Let's see.

God created time,

and space,

and matter,

and He created the earth,

and humans.

And so when we see God creating man,

it says that He created man in His own image.

And there's a lot packed into that,

because what that means is that man is spiritual.

Man has a spirit,

and is able to interact,

and to have a relationship with God.

As we look in the beginning in Genesis,

that Adam was placed into the Garden of Eden,

that God was physically with Adam,

walking in the garden with him,

that God gave him a mandate.

He gave him the mandate to care for the garden,

and to take care of it,

and to work in it.

He also told Adam to name the animals.

And so we see that there's this relationship

between God and Adam.

It's unhindered.

There's joy there.

There's peace on the earth.

And that's where we started.

That's what the creation was created as.

It is holy,

and full of joy.

There's no sadness,

no death.

And so that was God's vision of creation,

that it was good.

It was very good.

And so then we move into Genesis chapter 3,

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

and we see that sin enters the world.

And sin,

when Adam sins,

it is his taking God's authority

that God gave to him,

and he rejects that authority,

and makes himself his own master.

When we look in Genesis chapter 3,

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

it says that the serpent came

and tempted Eve,

and then Eve gave to Adam,

and Adam disobeyed the direct command of God,

and it separated them.

When God came,

Adam fled from God's sight.

There was a separation there.

And so then as we move in from there,

God removes Adam and Eve

from the Garden of Eden.

They are now separated from him,

and we see that God does not leave Adam without hope.

It says in Genesis 3.15,

that I will put hostility between you and the woman,

and between your seed and her seed.

He's talking to Satan here.

And he will strike your head,

and you will strike his heel.

So from the very beginning,

there was this promise.

Man was now separated from God and lost.

There was death.

There was this spiritual separation.

God said,

one day,

I'm going to crush Satan's head.

I'm going to kill this evil,

and there will be this bringing back

of the way things were before sin.

And so then we see that that goes into Noah,

and we see how vile and how wicked the earth became

when sin entered the world,

and this separation that was there,

that it took a very limited amount of time

for God to literally wipe out most of creation.

And yet,

even in that,

we find that

with God starting with Noah and his family,

it wasn't long before the Tower of Babel,

and just proof that man was fallen

and in need of a Savior.

As we come into the Abrahamic covenant,

to the law,

we find that Israel came into being

or into God's plan,

and that God had a plan for Israel,

that they were the beginning

of restoring man to himself.

He promised through Abraham

that the nations would be blessed,

and yet he pulled Israel out

to be a light to the nations,

to be a light to those,

the rest of the nations,

to see God.

And we see that beginning with Egypt,

that God said,

I raised up Pharaoh.

He says this,

I believe it's in Hebrews,

that God raised up Pharaoh

that he might show,

show his glory,

his majesty.

I guess just realizing

the depth of the need

that man had for a Savior,

and then looking as the law was given,

it says that the law

was a tutor to bring us to Christ,

that basically the law,

it's in Hebrews.

Let me go to Hebrews.

Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

It says,

Since the law has only a shadow

of the good things to come,

and not the actual form

of these realities,

it can never perfect the worshipers

by the same sacrifices.

They continually offer

year after year.

Otherwise,

wouldn't they have stopped

being offered,

since the worshipers,

once purified,

would no longer have

any confession of sins.

But in the sacrifices,

there was a reminder

of sins every year,

for it is impossible

for the blood of bulls and ghosts

to take away sin.

And so you see the nation of Israel

longing for the Savior.

They knew that they were sinful.

The law brought about

a consciousness of sin.

Paul talks about how

the sin-taking opportunity

of the law

works in him,

that it just shows

the corruption that he has.

And then the sacrificial system

was a picture

of things to come.

It was incomplete,

but they knew it was coming.

And so you see God's plan

being worked out

as he shows man

his need for him,

his holy law,

and what his standards are.

He commanded Israel

over and over and over again

throughout Leviticus

to be holy as he is holy.

The standard was set

at perfection,

but only one sin,

James 2.10,

he who keeps the whole law

and yet stumbles

at one point

is guilty of all.

And so man was in this

great need of a Savior.

And all throughout

the Old Testament,

we see as man failed

to live up to God's standards.

We have in the book of Psalms

a great example

of God's,

of a heart of a godly man

that knew his sin

and yet had a relationship

with Christ

and knew,

or a relationship with God

and knew what was coming.

You see there's just

the praise that he had

for God working

through his law

and through his spirit.

And so that brings us

into the prophets

who were shouting out,

basically,

the need for repentance

and the Isaiah,

the prophecy

of a coming Savior.

And so Israel

was looking forward

to this coming Savior

that would save them

from their sins

and that would bring

redemption

and reconciliation

back to them.

The temple was set up

in such a way

that God dwelt,

his Shekinah glory

dwelt in the temple

in the Holy of Holies,

but man was separated

from that.

There was a veil

that separated man

from that.

And so these people

had to go through

a priest

who entered once

a year

into the holy place

and his offering

was the atonement

or the,

it was the,

yeah,

it was basically

the atonement

was what was the shadow

of things to come

until Christ came.

and so,

I just,

I wanted to make clear

through this

that we have examples

of Daniel,

of Jonah,

the Psalms continually

talks about

shouting out

to the nations

that God raised up Israel

to be a light

to the nations.

They weren't designed

to be this little

separate group of people

that never had any

interaction with the

outside world,

that they were to be a light

to which other nations

were drawn to God,

not to them.

And yet,

so often,

Israel failed

to live up to that standard.

They rebelled,

they worshipped foreign gods,

they allowed the nations

to affect them,

and yet,

God was faithful to them,

He was merciful to them

over and over again.

He judged them,

but He always brought them back

in mercy and love,

and so,

it's often stated

that God is different

in the Old Testament

than He is in the New Testament,

but just looking at

how God dealt

with the nation of Israel

and His love

and His mercy

towards them

is incredible.

And so,

getting forward,

let's just go straight

into Christ.

That's really what

we're here for today

is Christ.

He is the answer

to the Old Testament.

He's just,

it's amazing.

As I was studying for this,

it's just,

it really is amazing.

So,

let's,

let's see here.

Let's look at

John chapter 1.

John 1 · chapter mention

We find that

in the beginning

was the Word,

and the Word was

with God,

and the Word was God.

He was with God

in the beginning,

and all things

were created through Him.

Once again,

we have that Christ

was the Creator

of all things,

and through Him

all things hold together.

All things were created

through Him,

and apart from Him

nothing was made

that was made.

He,

when Christ came,

we've got to remember

that He was fully God.

He was fully man,

but He was also

fully God,

and so as God

came to earth,

man who for 4,000 years

had been separated

from God,

finally was able

to see God

in human flesh.

That should blow

our minds right there,

that God who was

unable to be seen

has come

in human flesh,

veiled His glory

so that we could see Him

in human flesh.

And it says

He came into His own,

and His own

did not receive Him.

we have a tendency,

I think,

or at least I have

a tendency

to say

shame on people.

Shame on those people

because

if I would have been there

and that was God,

I mean,

how amazing

would that have been?

But yet,

we,

Ephesians 2, 1

says we were dead

in our trespasses

and sins.

We love darkness

rather than light.

He came into His own,

and His own

did not receive Him.

And so we see

Christ's life

lived out in perfection.

He was tempted

as we are

in all ways.

He was fully human

yet without sin.

And so what He did

for us

is amazing.

What we could never do,

James 2, 10,

if we keep the whole

long yet stumble

at one point,

we're guilty of all.

We all have sinned

and fallen short

of the glory of God,

and yet He came

and He lived

a life without sin

in the midst

of a world

that hated Him.

He was persecuted.

He was tempted.

Just,

yeah.

Isaiah 53, 11

talks of,

let's go there

for a second.

Isaiah 53.

Alright,

this is,

Isaiah.

He will see it out

of His anguish,

and He will be satisfied

with His knowledge.

My righteous servant

will justify many,

and He will carry

their iniquities.

Therefore,

I will give Him

the many

as a portion.

He will receive

the mighty as spoiled

because He has submitted

Himself to death

and was counted

among the rebels.

Christ came

out of love for us,

but He came out

of a love for the Father,

to do the Father's will.

He said,

I didn't come to do

my will,

but the will of the Father.

It is God's,

been God's plan

since the beginning

that He would redeem

a people to Himself.

We have been

separated from God,

and yet God

sent Himself.

He sent God Himself,

Christ,

to reconcile us.

The cross

is the focal point

at which God

absorbed the wrath

that God had for us

upon Himself.

The crucifixion

was horrible.

It was the worst death

imaginable,

that it was nothing

in comparison

to the wrath

of God being

poured out upon His Son.

God,

that's amazing.

I heard it said once

that only an infinite God

could pay an infinite price

for our sins

in a finite amount of time.

But for us,

as finite individuals,

it would take an infinite amount

of time to pay

for an infinite debt,

amount of wrath.

God absorbed an infinite amount

of wrath

upon that cross.

Praise the Lord.

That should drive us

to a love

for Christ

that should totally

transform our lives.

That's what we've been called to

as believers,

is to love the Lord our God.

And I think when we get

an image of the cross,

of what Christ did for us,

it will transform our lives.

When Christ died,

we know from the New Testament

that the veil was torn.

And just to view the...

For 6,000 years,

men had been separated from God

from what they were created to do.

Remember that when we were created,

we were created

with the relationship with Christ.

Man was designed

to know and to glorify God

through a relationship with Him

and through obeying His law.

For this 4,000 year period,

man had been separated from God

and had been proving

over and over and over again

how corrupt and how vile

he was apart from Christ.

And now,

the veil had been torn.

And no longer did man

need to go through a high priest,

but he could go

through Christ

directly in

to God.

And so often,

we,

I,

become

so focused on

what I'm doing.

How am I

living my Christian life?

The ins and outs,

the details and all of that.

And Jesus rebuked the Pharisees.

He said,

you look in the Scriptures

because you think that in them

you have eternal life.

And He rebuked them

because they forgot Him.

And I think so often,

we get caught up,

and it's really legalism,

but we get caught up

in pleasing God

by our actions

when in reality,

Christ is saying,

I didn't,

I came and I fulfilled the law.

He said,

I didn't come to abolish the law,

I came to fulfill the law.

And in that,

we can know Him,

we can have a relationship

with Him.

He said in John,

He said,

this is eternal life

that you may know Him

and Jesus Christ

to His Son,

that you may know God

and Jesus Christ.

We've been created

to have a relationship

with Christ.

To know Him

and to know His voice,

He said that,

my sheep hear my voice

and they know me.

I would,

I would just encourage you

and encourage myself,

learn to know

the voice of the Lord.

to hear from His Word,

to hear the Spirit within you.

As you live life,

Paul said,

whatever you do,

whether you're eating

or whether you're drinking,

do all of the glory of God.

Realize that everything

that we do

is some form of worship.

We're either worshiping ourselves

or we're worshiping someone else

or we're worshiping God.

That we,

everything we do

is an act of worship

of some kind

to someone.

And so,

call us,

the exhortation is

to do all to the glory of God.

Your daily living,

it's not religion and life,

it's life,

is spiritual.

We are spiritual.

We are created

in the image of God.

And so,

as we live life,

let us live

in a relationship

with Christ.

with the death of Christ

and came the,

or with the beginning

of the church

came the,

the coming of the Holy Spirit.

We now have God

dwelling within us.

Once again,

it's that picture

of reconciliation

where no longer

is man separated from God,

but now God dwells within us.

And so,

as we live life,

we're not left

without a helper.

That if you are a believer,

you have God

living within you.

That we're no longer

alive to ourselves,

but we're dead to ourselves

and alive to Christ

as His Spirit comes in

and changes us.

Sanctification is this

process of

leaving behind,

of putting to death

the deeds of our flesh

and living according

to the Spirit.

That's a process.

We've been saved,

we're being saved,

and we will be saved,

we'll be glorified.

But that the Holy Spirit

is working within us.

And as believers,

it says that we're

not to be drunk with wine,

but be filled with the Spirit.

The idea there

as of a ship

in Paul's day

would have a sail.

And basically,

that the sail,

as it was turned

to the right way,

would be filled with the wind

and driven along.

And so this idea of

as we live the Christian life,

to metaphorically,

to turn ourselves

into God

and to be driven

by the Holy Spirit.

And so it's,

it's our,

it should be our joy

and our,

our privilege as Christians

to,

to die daily to ourselves,

to take up our cross daily

and follow Christ

and to turn

into the Spirit

and the Word of God.

Let Him fill us

with His Word

and with His Spirit

as we're moved along.

Moving from that point,

this is our Christian life now

that we should be,

our place now

is to bring glory

and honor to God

that He's left us here

for a purpose

and that's to

make His name known.

Matthew 28,

18 through 20

is the Great Commission.

Go into all the world

and preach the Gospel

to every living creature,

baptizing in the name

of the Father

and the Son

and the Holy Spirit,

teaching them

all that I've commanded you.

For lo,

I'm with you always,

even to the end of the age.

And He's saying,

My Spirit will be with you.

I've given,

given you what you need

to do this.

I will be with you.

And He's saying,

as you're going,

is literally how that's stated.

It's not that we,

once again,

segmented,

that we segment,

we go,

I'm going to be headed overseas

in a week and a half,

that,

oh,

I go and then I come back

and life is normal.

It's as you're going,

living a life

that is

filled with the Spirit

and as you're going,

telling others about

what Christ has done

in your life.

And then,

moving forward

to the end of the age,

to Revelation,

there's some amazing things

in Revelation.

Let's turn to Revelation 21.

Let's go to Revelation 22.

Then we'll go back to 21.

It says,

in verse 3,

and there will no longer

be any curse.

The throne of God

and of the Lamb

will be in the city

and His slaves

will serve Him.

They will see His face

and His name

will be on their foreheads.

When we look at heaven,

the overwhelming thought

that should consume us

is that we will dwell

with God physically.

that's,

if you know Christ

and you love Him,

what an amazing thought

that this,

that the God

who dwells in you now

will one day dwell

with us physically

in a new heaven,

a new earth

for eternity.

that should drive

our lives

as we have

this eternal focus

of where we're going.

But what a glorious thought

that one day

we will dwell

with God

in perfection

without a curse.

It says the curse is gone.

And so we will return

in a way

to the Garden of Eden.

Life will be perfect.

The curse will be gone.

The fellowship

will be there.

We will live life.

It's not,

it's eternal life.

It's not

that time stops

and we don't,

it's kind of this

floating out

in the clouds mentality.

But that we'll live

with God

in human,

in our human form.

We'll have a resurrected body

but it will be

without the curse.

And sin will be gone.

What a glorious thought.

The greatest enemy

that we have within it,

or is the greatest enemy

that we have

is within us

and it's our flesh.

Paul said,

I know that in me

dwells no good thing.

He knew that his flesh

had been corrupted,

completely corrupted

by sin,

but that God

was redeeming him.

And he said,

I've died to myself

and I'm living to Christ.

And he looked forward

to that day.

He said at the end

of Romans 7,

O wretched man

that I am,

who will deliver me

from this body of death?

Thank God

for Christ Jesus.

When we

come into heaven,

we will have

that resurrected body

that will be freed

from this body of death,

this body of sin.

And so we will

be able to

once again

fully worship God

to our maximum capability

without the hindrance

of sin

and our flesh

in this world.

What a glorious thought.

Going back to

Revelation 21.

Did I read the,

I read the wrong passage,

didn't I?

Revelation 22.3.

No, okay.

Let's go back

to Revelation 21.

It will be

1-7.

This is a,

this is an image

of what the new heaven

and the new earth

will be like.

Just let this,

let this come into your heart

and realize

this is where we're headed.

Then I saw

the new heaven

and the new earth

for the first heaven

and the first earth

had passed away

and the sea

no longer existed.

I also saw

the holy city,

the new Jerusalem

coming down

out of heaven

from God

prepared like a bride

adorned for a husband.

Then I heard

a loud voice

from the throne

saying,

Look!

God's dwelling

is with humanity

and He will live

with them.

They will be

His people

and God Himself

will be with them

and be their God.

He will wipe away

every tear

from their eyes.

Death will no longer exist.

grief,

crying,

and pain

will exist

no longer

because the previous

things have passed away.

Brothers and sisters,

that's where we're headed.

That,

that is

what God

has redeemed us to.

That is eternal life.

It says that,

well,

before,

that eternal life

is this,

that you may know Him

and Jesus Christ.

This,

this is where we're going.

that this time now

is limited.

Maybe 60,

70,

80 years

for most of us.

Maybe less for some.

But that we're,

we're headed towards this.

And so,

what are we to do now

as we're moving

towards this time

of dwelling with God

for eternity?

I just,

I want to

exhort you

to live with

a heavenly focus.

Live with a mindset

of knowing

that we,

apart from Christ,

are dead

in our trespasses

and sins.

That our wrath,

the wrath against us

is infinite

because we have sinned

against an infinite God.

But that Christ

has come

and that He has paid

an infinite price

for our sins

so that we can now

be reconciled

to Him.

That's the story

of creation.

That's the story

of redemption.

Beginning in Genesis,

just in summation,

that we began

with God

in a relationship

with Him.

That man felt

that there was now

this barrier

between God and man.

That man has sinned

awfully

through the Old Testament

and was in need

of a Savior.

But that there was

this promise

that a Savior would come.

That Christ has come

and He has absorbed,

taken the wrath

of God upon Himself.

And by His wounds,

by His wounds

we are healed.

And that now

we've been given

the ministry

of reconciliation.

That we now

are to go

and tell others.

If God has changed

your life

and His Spirit

dwells in you

and it says

that my sheep

know me

and they hear my voice

and by this

you'll know

that you love me

if you keep

my commandments.

are we striving

to keep God's commandments

out of a love for Him

or are we striving

to keep God's commandments

to get a love from Him?

God's love

is unconditional

upon us.

He came

while we were yet sinners

Christ died for us.

It's a love

that we're called to

but it's not a human love.

If your goal

is to love people

with a human love

people aren't very easy

to deal with.

But that if you love

people with God's love

you begin to see them

not as a physical

human being

but each person

is a soul

that has worth

and that each person

is lost

in the need of a Savior

and that should

that should drive us

to tell the nations

to declare

to declare His glory

among the nations

that He is worthy

of praise

and of adoration

for what He's done.

And so as we see

a lost humanity

we see a world

that is

basically

insulting Christ.

What we do

is a direct

insult

against Him

and yet

Christ has forgiven us

in that.

And so my

plea

is for us

to have a

greater love

for Christ

realizing what

He's done for us

with the greatness

of our sin

sinning against

the infinite God

and yet the greatness

of His love

towards us

and that should

drive us to worship

and praise

and love.

I want to

close with

kind of

an illustration.

I was in

Mexico

about a year

ago

talking to a

missionary

and he said

Daniel

it was really funny

I'd asked him

I said

are we on schedule

and we were

doing some things

and some

distractions

had come up

and he said

Daniel

we're always

on schedule

and I said

what does that mean

and he said

let me explain it

to you

he said

Daniel

when you get up

every day

you have a choice

he said

let me liken it

to this

there were

three servants

in a king

and the one servant

would get up

every day

and he would

go out

into the kingdom

and do whatever

he wanted

he just

you know

if he wanted

to do whatever

he would do that

and do something else

he would do that

and if he did nothing

that was fine too

he said

and that was one servant

and then there was

another servant

there was a servant

that went out

every day

and he ran around

as fast as he could

as hard as he could

and he did

everything he could

that he thought

the king wanted him

to do

and he worked

and he worked

and he worked

and he worked

and the king

sat in his kingdom

and shook his head

and went

why

why

why

why

but there was

a third servant

and the third servant

would go before

his king daily

and he would

come and kneel

before his king

and say

sir

say king

here I am

I love you

and I know

that you love me

what would you have

for me to do today

and

he said

Daniel

that's the servant

that truly loves

his king

the other two servants

the one servant

didn't have a relationship

with the king

he was

he was all caught up

in what he thought

he needed to do

he said

and the third one

didn't care about

the king

at all

he said

Daniel be that servant

and he said

as long as you're

that servant

and you're daily

coming before the Lord

realizing that you

are not your own

that you've been

bought with a price

therefore glorify

God in your body

that each day

Romans 12

1

off your body

is a living sacrifice

holy and acceptable

to God

that's your reasonable

act of worship

that

as

you are God's servant

his bond slave

as Paul would say

that your

that your duty

as a

Christian

is to

to come before

the Lord daily

and say

I'm not my own

I am yours

what do you have for me

and he said

Daniel as long as

we're doing that

then we're right on schedule

because we're doing

what God has called us to do

and realizing that

our

schedules

and our

routines

or what we think

God wants us to do

is often not at all

what God wants us to do

he wants us to have

ears to hear

and hearts that are

humble and listening

to the Lord

saying here I am

I've been created

to do

whatever it is

that you want me to do

and just

as a believer

when your heart

is that way

your joy

will be

immense

peace will be

immense

because

you will know

that it

it is not

you

but that

it is

God

that lives

in you

that's

working

and willing

to do

his good

pleasure

there's

great joy

in that

if you

struggle

with

always

wondering

am I doing

what the Lord

wants me to do

or am I in

the Lord's

will

and that

if your heart

is humble

before the Lord

and you are

broken before him

saying Lord

here I am

use me

that's what

God's asked of us

and he will

use you

he says

that those

who call on him

he will no wise

cast out

his spirit

dwells within us

live life

in a way

of listening

to the spirit

within you

and of

listening to the

word of God

and then realize

that we have

the immense

blessing

of being able

to come boldly

before the throne

of grace

and to speak

to him

at any time

that he is

he is

there

that when we

are humble

and pure

before him

repenting of our

sin

when we

turn back

to ourselves

that God

is

the path

is clear

there is no

separation

there anymore

that God

has taken

that away

and we

truly

can be

in a relationship

with him

so I would

encourage you

to

first of all

to

come before him

daily

and say

Lord here I am

what would you

have me to do

today

that that's the

heart that God

calls us to

and then second

of all

to put the

gospel on your

lips

and in your

life

to be

a

living testimony

of who God

is to those

who have never

heard

about a

I guess about a

month ago

three or four

weeks ago

I had the

opportunity to

go down to

Buford

and do some

door to door

witnessing

so I began

to tell this

lady

about how

she was

really caught

up in this

idea that

she wasn't

worthy of

God

and I said

well ma'am

here's the

gospel that

you aren't

worthy of

God

but that

God has

come

and that

he has

paid your

sin and

that you

can now

have a

relationship

with him

and know

him

and she

said I've

never heard

it that way

before

I've never

heard that

before

so I

just want

to encourage

you

there are

people here

we tend

to think

that oh

they've

heard the

gospel

many people

have heard a

version of

the gospel

but it's

not the

gospel

the gospel

is not

that Jesus

is just a

savior

and that he

came and

died for our

sins so we

have a free

ticket into

heaven

he came for

so much more

than that

so that we

can know

him

and in

that there's

joy and

fulfillment in

life

so just

those two

things

to live

a humble

life

before

Christ

and to

live a

life

of

worship

and of

proclamation

of who

he is

and what

he's done

I had a

whole lot

more notes

than that

but that's

what came

out so

let's pray

a