In The Beginning God Created The Heavens And The Earth | Eld Peng Hoe

You're listening to a message to go from asks Church.

We hope this message will light up your day.

I want to share on something that has been put

into my heart basically by a group of campus students

who asked had the opportunity to ask a group of

elders from our plan some questions, and you know, once

in a while we actually have these sessions with our

campus students where we try to answer whatever questions, live

questions that they have. And one of the questions that

was raised to the elders on that day was a

simple question, how do I know God is real?

How do I know God is real?

I didn't get a chance to answer it fully, but

I answer it as simple as simply as I could.

I told them I know God is real basically from

the first verse of the first chapter of the first

Book of the Bible, Genesis chapter the one verse one.

That's all I told them. I didn't fully elaborate it.

I want to do it today. Hopefully it will be

something that opens our eyes and helps us to realize.

Subsequent to that question also was the question of how

do I know how do I understand the Trinity? How

do I make sense of the Trinity, because a lot

of us find it so difficult to understand the trinity,

and we cannot make sense of God existing as a trinity,

and so it's so hard to comprehend. And similarly, I

told them my answer comes from the first verse of

the first book of the Bible, which is Genesis chapter one,

verse one.

So forgive me if I speak a little bit faster.

I actually had about an hour to do this, but

I'll try to do this in half an hour.

So tut training through it.

Okay, Genesis one, verse one, it says one in the beginning,

God created the heavens and the earth. Okay, maybe I'll

give you a paraphrase version. The paraphrase version will be

a long time ago, when nothing else existed. The God

who had always been there, brought into being the entire universe,

everything in outer space and planet Earth.

Okay, you can accept that the paraphrase version.

Maybe it will help us as I go through this

scripture today. I'm not going to appreach a whope chapter,

I'm not gonna preach a whole book. I'm gonna preach

one verse. Okay, Genesis chapter one, verse one. And you know,

as we try to express that verse. In the language

of today, the early chapters of Genesis have been, for

many people the source of argument. It has been a

lot of arguments rather than answers, no questions like who

made God? Questions like did Adam have a nagbel You know,

I've been asked questions like this, No, they Adam have

a nable?

Actually I don't know. Or did he have a gash

on his side? I don't know.

You know, Adam, being the first person ever created technically

was not connected to a mother. Some I've actually read

some different explanations. Something he should be looking like all

of us. Some say, no, possibly it's empty. I guess

when you get to heaven you can live up his

gown and check whether Evan Adam has a neighbor. But

you realize that Genesis one actually has really sometimes created

this whole controversial. It's like a battlefield because people are

arguing about it. So many conflicts have a reason out

of the Book of Genesis itself. But I want to

state this, and I want to state this as a believer.

We need to realize that if the first sentence in

the Bible is a lie, the whole Bible is a lie.

And so we got to at least established right from

the very beginning that this is the truth. But then

someone ask, we really need to go all the way back,

you know, in the beginning. Why need to go all

the way to the beginning? And how does that? How

is that applicable in twenty twenty six? How is that

applicable in light of unemployment, in light of recession, in

light of the fact that there is a nuclear warfare

that's about to take place? Is that really connected? What

is the connection between the beginning of the universe and

me right here, right now? And I want to say

this first thing is this, our beginnings are important because

the past is always the key to the present. Remember

that why we go back and why we look back

to the past, because the past is key to the present.

What you will will determine what you are. And that

is why if you apply for a job, usually what

you will be required to submit is a reference. A

reference of from the referee is something that helps the

present employers sort of know where you are coming from,

so that they will know what you will likely be

where you are at if they do employ you.

Makes sense.

The second thing I need us to realize is this

the past is also key to the future because where

you are where you come from is usually also it

will indicate where you are going. And so an awful

lot of things actually hangs on this. The present and

the future are both tied right back to the very beginning,

and that's why it's important for us to understand and

establish it, because if you don't have the beginning right,

you probably misinterpret the present and you probably hate the

wrong direction in the future.

That is the reality of it.

Does that not cover our entire life, past, present, and future?

And that's why I believe it is very, very important.

Is this not what revival truly is about? Because we

are revived back to God's original plan and intention for

us his creation. That's why I think it's important that

I sort of go into the question it was not

a superficial I don't. I don't look at any questions

asked as a superficial question like, oh, they're asking for fun,

they just want to put you on the spot. No.

I think whenever a person asked a question like who

am I, how did I get here? How did all

this come about? It's real questions and all this Why

is it so important for us to give an answer, Well,

because there is a battle for our minds that is ongoing,

something that Josh shed just now. And people who believe

in the first sentence of the Bible are actually in

the minority.

You think about it. In today's day and age, and

in today's world.

Not many people believe in the beginning God created the

heavens and earth. A lot of them will tell you

it's mumbo jumbo. And there are many other answers to

these live questions. Now you realize that because we are

constantly bombarded by mass media in school, we have taught

different things.

When we go on the internet is different things.

This were all the exact things that Josh highlighted, and

actually it is actually taken from Romans twelve.

You see in Romans twelve, verse two is.

Where he actually mentioned don't be conformed to this world. Basically,

the scripture is telling us, don't be like a chameleon.

You know what a chameleon is.

A chameleon is basically a teacher, a lizard that you

put on whatever colored background that's the color that it takes.

You put it on a black speaker, it will take

the black color. You put it on a brown poolpit,

it will take the brown pool page.

I don't know.

You put it on a multi colored quote probably your explode.

But it essentially takes on the colors of its surrounding.

It takes on the mind of the people around them.

And the Bible says, don't be like a chameleon. In fact,

he actually says, be like a caterpillar. Why a caterpillar. Well,

the word actually is to transform. To transform is the

word that is actually translated matter more for size. I'm

sure Josh would have covered that, right, Yeah, you wanted

to you you're going to miss that. Uh, that's the

part that he is like, oh man, I need cut

it shot. The second part is the word to matter

more for size. That means you're changing from the inside out.

That's what happens a caterpillar, no touching. Then Salid goes

into a cocoon, and from the cocoon, from the inside

it transforms. And that is so important for us. Don't

let our minds be conformed to the world around us,

to the thinking outside of us, but let it be transformed,

let it change from the inside. Why so important because

as a man thinks in Proverbs chapter twenty three, verse

and when it says, so his heart will be The

battle for the mind is actually one of the biggest

battles that is ongoing in the world today, and the

devil is out to battle for what we think and

what we understand and what we believe in. And so

it's so important for us, therefore, to fully understand what

this first verse from the first chapter of the first

book of the Bible really means. Does that make.

Sense so far? So let's try.

Let's try to look at it, because I know, I

know sometimes when we look at Genesis and we're like, oh,

but there's a lot of this difference between the what

the scripture says and what science says, what evolution says.

You know, you know, both science and scripture are essentially

looking at the same event. I want us to realize

that same event. The event is what the beginning of

the world. But the difference is this science is looking

at the visible part of what is happening. It is

looking at every part of the event that can be seen,

and it is describing how they interact, how they affect

each other, whereas the scripture is essentially looking at the

part that cannot be seen. And so if signs should

be saying how and when certain things happen. And isn't

that what science tries to explain? How it happened, When

did it happen? What happened? The scripture is telling you

who is behind it and why it all needs to happen. Therefore,

they are essentially different commentaries. They are talking about different things,

different platform, but both are trying to provide answers to

lives questions. Right, So, okay, maybe another way to explain this.

If a scientist were to analyze a cake, they can

tell you the exact temperature it reached, the chemical reaction

of the baking powder that took place, and the calorie count.

They probably be able to assess all those things through

the observation.

But you know what, no amount of laptox thing.

We will tell you that the cake was big because

it's your grandmother's birthday and she loves you, right, you see,

to know the why, you have to ask the baker.

It's a different question. So you would expect, therefore, that

scripture and science would always agree, but it is not

the case.

They are.

While they seem complimentary, sometimes they are also they look contradictory.

But they are two halves to the same story. So

you know, when we look at scripture, when we look

at science, they're both talking about the same thing, and

the same god we believe made the world, and the

same God that we believe also gave us the Holy Word.

And so isn't God the God of truth? Then why

should science and scripture ever disagree? Why should there be

so much CONTs controversy about Genesis? Because there is, there

has been, and there will always be. And it's essentially

they are battling over facts. So Signs will tell you

that all the earth is billions of years old, and

then Genesis seems to say that in less than a

week human history again, and somehow it does not seem

to tire. And it is a difference of fact because

they both can be right right, And so whenever you

come up against the difference, both sides will ask did

Signs really proved that? Or from the scripture point of view,

did the scripture really say that? So who is right?

But I just want to sum up what the main

battle is. The main battle is this, did something produce

someone or did someone produce something?

Are you still staying with me?

Did something produce someone or did someone produce something? And

you can't sit on the fence on it. You can,

of course, choose not to care. A lot of us

like I don't care whether I came because of a

big bang, No, and then human life came into existence

out of material I don't care whether God made me.

I choose to be indifferent about it doesn't bother me.

You think it doesn't bother you, well, I want you

to know this. You cannot sit on the fence when

it comes to this. You got to believe something or

someone you know, so something, well, something can be, matter,

can be energy, whatever you like. Was that something always

there and produce someone? Or the personality was produced by things?

I mean it's the personality that miss is the person

produced by things? Or we believe that someone was always

there and someone produced something. And that is the simplest

way I can think of to explain the difference between

signs and scripture. And there's another that cat to me

that you can look at. It's between chance and choice.

So when you read the scriptures, we do not believe

it is by chance that the beginning happened. Where in

the scripture does it say it is by chance that

is booms, something happened we believe that it was choice

that got it all started. And so you will actually

find that those who believe that something was always here

and produce someone will live by luck. Right, They will

appeal to chance. They will say the best of luck

to you. But those who believe that someone produced something

will say, this universe is my home and my abor

Father is the creator of the heavens and the earth.

That's the difference. That's just how they are different. So

it does actually have a bearing on your daily life.

Do you understand me?

Now?

You will either get up and say you are in

God's world and he is in charge of it, and

he's in control of my life. All you will gather

up and say, I wish I would have better luck today.

Which one is it? We have to answer those questions.

So let's look at the first verse of Genesis chapter

one and see what it is telling us. Because this

is the sentence that convinces me God is real.

Did you know that.

You will not find this line or this sentence anywhere

else in the world. No other religion has it written

the way it is. So let us look at it

in the beginning, and that is a radical statement.

In the beginning and.

Sometimes we tend to read it like once upon a time,

like as though it's a fairy tale. But no, it

actually is stating that our universe has not been around forever,

and a lot of people believe the universe is eternal.

No, actually it has a beginning.

So right with the first verse, you are faced with faith,

and what is the faith that you have to face?

God was a rady and always that is, even before

there was any beginning. God is the originator that his faith.

And I remember God saying to Job and Job actually

is one of, if not the oldest book in the Bible.

And God actually said to Joe were you there? When

Joe was questioning God, Hey, God, why are you allow

all these things to happen?

Who are you?

Know? He? I mean, he was frustrated. I can't for Joe.

The life that he went through was was challenging. I

think none of us would have wanted a life like that.

But years he helped stay fast. Right. But when he

questioned God, God's respond to him was were you there?

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth.

Where were you when I brought the snow down? Where

were you when I set the limits to the ocean,

and Job was actually humble enough to say, Hey, God,

actually I wasn't there. Hey, thank God he said that,

because I think this kind of humility is important as

we approach Genesis chapter one. We are to come humbly

and say, God, you were there and I wasn't. And

that means I should come humbly to listen and to study. Amen,

because the next word says, in the beginning God, nothing else, No,

just a person called God. The Bible does not try

to prove his existence. The Bible does not try to

argue and try to persuade you that God needs believing in.

It just accepts the fact that in the beginning God,

And that is the first step in understanding reality and

understanding the truth about our rivers is to start with

the hypothesis that God is real. Very important that we

need to accept the hypothesis that God is real. And

that is actually a very scientific approach. I will allow you.

I will tell young people go ahead and start with

the hypothesis that God is real, because every scientific discovery

is dependent on someone who had faith in something first.

That's how they hypothesize. That means they come they have

a research topic Okay, I believe this is this is this,

and this is the outcome. Then they go and do

the research, and then from the research it will eventually

become remain a hypothesis or it becomes fact. So it's

okay for us to study and to research, and it's

important for us to do that. But I think we

need to set the hypothesis first. That means we need

to accept the fact I believe this is the case,

and then go looking for the evidence.

It's important.

I want to help us look for this evidence because

the Bible just starts off by saying in the beginning, God,

you do not have to explain God. You have to

explain everything else. The existence of God is not the problem.

It is the existence of the world that is the problem.

It is the existence of me and my sin that

is the problem. It is not the existence of God.

And that is why the Bible starts with the originator

always being there, and it goes on to describe this

God in the following verses of the scripture. So once

upon a time, I too had to start with the hypothesis. Okay,

the Bible says, in meeting God, then okay, I think

it as God, you are there. Let's see where you

are in the there? What does that really mean? So?

Who is God?

Who is this God that we are dealing with, and

who is the God that made all of this around us?

Because you cannot possibly look around you, look at how

your body functions and not realize that there has to

be something or someone creator that created all that you

see around you. So the first thing that you realize,

just reading the first chapter of Genesis, you realize that

he is a personal god, not it He has a

proper pro now given to him. He he has a

mind that thinks and you know what a thought it

wants to produce the universe, right bhoom. It didn't happen

by chance. God taught it out. He he had a will.

He has a will that decides to do something and

then he acts and he does it. He looks at

what he does and he says, oh boy, that's good.

That's how our God is. And if there is a mind,

there is a heart, there is a will. That means

he is a person. And we are not dealing with

a force. We're not just dealing with the wind. We're

just not dealing with akon blowing out of the unit.

No, it is a person. So the first.

Thing Genesis one says about God to me is that

I'm dealing with a person who thinks, who feels, who acts,

and someone I can understand because I am a person too.

So if you think God you are too far away

from me to even relate to, you're wrong.

He is a person and so are we.

The second thing I found is this God is powerful

because who else can say, let there be light, and

then there is light? He is not just personal, He

is powerful. What else does the scripture tells me? The

scripture tells me that he is a very orderly person.

When I look at the order in the universe, the

way in.

Which things are so beautifully arranged, the way that insects

feed the flowers, the ways that everything is put into place.

My God is a God who is orderly. The next

thing I notice is God must be very creative, because

while we can produce an assembly line of similar things,

but God can make every single snowflake unique.

He can make every single leaf unique.

He can give every single person a unique identity, a

unique green. Think about it. Our God is create What

a powerful imagination. We are all a testament of death.

I also notice that he is a singular person. There

is only one God. Isn't that a relief to know

there's not a million gods that we are worshiping, Because

if you are worshiping a million gods, you be worried

all day long. You be wondering which God I have offended,

or you'll probably be wondering which gods have offended me.

But we only worship one God, and that is why it.

Is a universe, because it is a uni God that

made the universe, and there is only one God that

we have to deal with. But Genesis one also tells

me that he is a plural god. This is where

sometimes you're like, huh, what are you trying to say?

He is one God? But he is a plural god.

You see in Genesis chapter one, verse one, the word

god is the Hebrew word law him. Law him has

a very important connotation. It does not just mean one,

It does not just mean two. There's another word that

carries two. It's called elo him that is dual, but

llo him connotes three or more. And so in Genesis one,

verse one, it should actually read in the beginning elo him,

which is God's technically created You see, he is plural,

but yet the verb that is used is singular.

I know, boom. This is the mystery.

God has a plural name and yet a singular verb

is used.

Then later on.

God had a conference, because it says, let us mean

man in our image. Do you ever notice that how

did one one person but carries all this kind of

different but he's using a different tone on letters. That

means that even before the making the creation of humankind,

that God had had a conference, they met together. What

this tells me, because the rest of the Bible you

will see this mystery of the trinity. It is clear

as you read the Bible. It is clear as they like.

It's a lovely ministry because it just tells me is

that God, God is a family, father's son, holy Spirit.

And it gets me excited because it means that God

had a wonderful family right from the very start, and

that is why He wanted to share this loving bond

with his wonderful family with the rest of his creation.

That's why he created you and I. It is not

for no reason, it is not by It's really him

wanting to share love. And that is what excites me

even more because if God was only one person, he

could not be loved. But yet in one John chapter four,

it says that God is love. How does God is love?

It does not make sense if God is just one,

not in plural form, because you cannot be loving nothing right,

and so love is something that you can only have

with someone else. And it means that when we read

one John one one John four and says God is love,

it tells me that love was always there. Hence, before

any matter was created, love was there from the beginning.

God is plural as well as singular. Does it make sense?

I love there? I know we may not. It's still like, oh,

how but why not? Why not? It makes sense?

It makes sense in his identity and how he refers

to himself. God is love is probably the only other

statement you will not find in any other religion.

No other religion proclaims that God is love.

It may say that God, that God loves someone or

loves some things, but he never says. God is love

is definitive of his very nature. How can it be

definitive of his very nature if he did not exist

as Father's son Holy Spirit in a family unit.

The trinity makes sense.

It's not something that is inexplicable and something that we

will never be able to comprehend. It's not remember this.

The next thing is this, He is this thing from creation?

Very important for us to realize. You know, God is

separate from nature. He can control it, but he's not

fully identified with it. That's why it's very dangerous if

we look at nature and we worship nature, which sometimes

a lot of people do because you're there in awe

of nature. But the scripture actually tells us, don't just

be in awe of nature and to you worship, worship nature.

Be in awe of nature, and then ask the next question,

who created nature?

That's why Romans Chapter one says that you cannot.

Go out and experience all of God's creation and not

elude or refer it to a God who is creative.

It's almost impossible because no one of us can recreate nature.

No one of us can recreate us. Actually think about it.

You can't produce something like this, But be careful. Is

this thing from nature? The next thing he tells me

is this The God who made all this is good.

He's a good God. And Genesis one puts these two

wards together. That means that everything that he touches is good.

Everything that he makes is good, and everything that's good

brings him pleasure, and he pleases him. He likes to

see good things because he's a good God. The next

thing is this, he is like us, and that is

an amazing thought. Right.

I would have thought that God would be so unlike me.

That's why sometimes we feel that we are so far

away from God. I cannot identify with you. You know,

I'm so different from you. Think about it. You got

two hands. The Bible talks about God the hand of God.

You got eyes. The Bible says that the eye of God,

God sees. No, you've got a nostril. You can smell things.

The Bible says that God can smell the sweet aroma,

all the stench. He can actually smell it. The Bible

says that God has ears to hear, just like us,

and he hears. The Bible says that God talks and speaks.

I can go on and on. Does that mean he

has a body, Well, we know that he is spirit.

But it means that every physical function in him is

something that we can fully identify with. But he does

not have a body. Birth say, but he is like me.

But if you read into the New Testament. That is why.

The New Testament also says that today God has a body,

and the body is the Church, and the Church is

made up of.

Us.

We are part of his body. We are the body

of believers. We are called to live for God. And

so really, if you are such a mismatch with God,

he would not be the heat of the church, trust me.

But we are the body and we have a hate,

and the heat is Christ.

Amen.

The next one is that he wants to reproduce him himself.

All of us want to in a way. Reproduce is

human nature. So does God.

You know, I will always remember the day my children

were born. Yes, they weren't like the most attractive thing

when they first come out.

That's the truth.

It's like, okay, but the feeling, the feeling that you

and your spouse will go, oh, man, we sort of

reproduce ourselves.

We created. See. God is like that.

He's like that. He likes to reproduce. He wants to

reproduce himself. He is alive, and he's active, and he's

doing things, and he's busy. And finally he is a communicator.

He learns to talk to others, always talking and Genesis

one is full of him saying things.

Do you realize our God.

If God was not a communicator, we wouldn't know much

about him. But actually we know a lot about God

because he has spoken to us. Oh Lord, thank you

that you are a God who talks, that you speak,

that you have put your thoughts into words and you

have communicated. Amen, let's move on. Give me give me

about ten minutes. I'll try to finish this. In the beginning,

God created is the next word created is the word

that you see here. But in Genesis chapter one you

will see two kinds of created. One is the word

created itself. One is the word made. Okay, Uh, there

is a difference because you will realize that the word

made or made is usually use of men in.

The rest of the Bible, the rest of the Bible. Okay.

That means that you read Noah made and are the

Hebrew slaves in aj made breaks bazila, or made the tabernacle,

but never does it use the word create for men.

So uh, it is unlike the modern English language.

That's in English language, we will say that, Oh, that's

a wonderful composition. Created. Wonderfully, you know, when we create something.

We use the word create, but there is a difference.

The word makes is the word assa. The word create

is the word barra. It's a little bit different. And

basically the word means you manufacture. It is a craft word.

It means you take a piece of wood and you

make a chair of it. You have taken some material,

you change its form, and you have made something that

is something that you can do, and it's also something

God can do. Okay, So the word made is usually

used for both God and men. But you will then

notice that there is another word that is used. It's

called created. That's the word barrah. It's a little bit different.

And what's the different. Well, you see, to make something

you must have a person involved. The wood never changed

into a bench without a person doing it.

That's to make something.

So even the word means that no part of the

universe could have arrived by itself, Nothing could have arrived

without God being involved. But the word create is something else.

To create is something we can't understand because we can't

do it. I have never created anything in my life,

nor will I ever, because to create is to make

something so new that it was not there before, not

in any shape not in any form.

It was just not there.

And the three times Genesis one talks about creation are

in relation to matter, life, and men. At those three

points God was not making, He was creating. All the

other points, he was refashioning what was a rated there.

But for matter, life, and men.

God was putting something so new that only he could

produce out of nothing what is now here. And so

this is what Genesis is saying. Certain things God made

out of materials that were already there, but when he

changed them, he fixed them, and then they only reproduce

after the same kind. And then there are certain things

that He created that were not there before. Matter was

not there. He created it. Life was not there. He

created it. Man was not there. We are his creation,

wonderful creation. That's what I'm trying to get at. We creation.

Only God can take nothing and make something out of it.

So let me draw to the end of the bus,

because it starts off by saying, in the beginning, God

created the heavens and the earth of.

The band can come up.

I'm almost don In the beginning, God created brought into

being what was not there before, the heavens and the earth.

Both heavens and earth actually have double meaning. You find

the Earth refers to the sky, it refers to our atmosphere,

and then heavens also refers to what we call outer space. Okay,

Earth also has double meaning. It can mean the land

and you could also mean the whole planet. Okay, So

the heavens and the Earth means everything in outer space

and everything on planet Earth. That is what God brought

into being and it was not there before. Does this

not just make you want to worship? At this point

when I think and think about it, the size of

the universe, which we are only now beginning to find

out how big the universe is, and then you think

about our planet Earth, Planet Earth is I don't know,

I may be it's about eight thousand miles across. If

you went on a journey through the galaxy at a speed,

at the speed of light, it would take you about

one hundred thousand years to cover.

And that is just one galaxy.

There are many different galaxies, a lot of it still

maybe undiscovered. And then you know how sometimes people ask

where is God in the universe? Tell them that that

is the wrong question. They should ask where is the

universe in God? Because the universe, yes, it's huge. It's humongous.

Our minds cannot fully fathom the size of the universe.

But year God created the universe, just think about it.

God made planet Earth, and from that word onward Genesis

one is entirely concerned with this little planet where you

and I are standing on the surface, And the rest

of the Bible is concerned with this planet.

Don't you find that amazing?

And God says that it is the most important.

Place in the universe to him.

He said to his son, it is where he wanted

him to go, and it was where they were going

to work out the whole future of the universe.

That's where I'm going to put people.

If it was just in the beginning God created the heavens,

I think most of us would have so understood if

we stopped there. But then it suddenly say, God created

the heavens and the Earth. Don't you ever think you

are insignificant. Don't you ever think that you are carrying

no worth? Do you know how significant we are in

God's creation and in his grand scheme and plan of things.

It's amazing And therefore, this is how it all happened.

And this is why I believe our God is our creator,

because the Bible tells me so right.

From the beginning.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

You see, revival happens when you know how important you

are to God's plan and purpose for his entire creation.

Don't ever think revival just a mumbo jumble thing. No,

each and every one of you you are worth so

much more than you can ever imagine. In God's eyes,

none of you are created by chance or accident.

You are all a choice.

And today we can choose to follow Him and to

follow Him all the days of our lives. Or we

can leave it to Kay Sarah Sarah. Whatever will be

will be, But that is not how we are called

to live if we believe who God is to us.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

information on our church, please visit as Church Org. We

are also active on Facebook and Instagram. We're believing that

this week is going to be a good week. I

hit for you. God bless