AND GOD SAID

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I go to my gym every day to exercise and swim. There is another pastor there each afternoon. I often speak with him. A few weeks ago I gave him one of my books on “decisionism,” which he read with enthusiasm. He asked me for another book I wrote on that important subject. When I took it to him, he gave me a beautiful poem he wrote titled “A Simple Story.” I am going to read it tonight, with his permission, because it gives the essence of the passage of Scripture which our deacon, Dr. Chan, read a few moments ago, from the first chapter of the Book of Genesis.

A Simple Story

by Albert P. Pugliese

God thought about the world one day,
And in His mind began to say,
“The heavens shall declare My glory!”
And that’s just how this simple story
Began, one night, so long ago,
When God’s own Spirit here below
Awoke the earth from its dark sleep;
And dawn broke early that first week,
Because God said, “Let there be light!”
From day to day, and night to night.

And then God saw in His mind’s eye
A perfect place to put the sky;
Between the water high and low
A mighty wind began to blow,
And, soon, the heavens did appear
The second day of that first year;
God then cupped water in His hand,
And in its place He formed dry land;
The earth was named, and then the Seas;
And with it all God was well pleased.

The third day grass began to sprout,
And seed was scattered all about;
And from the roots of every seed
Grew all the food we'd ever need;
Then God perfumed the morning air
With plants, and flowers everywhere;
Now, as the light began to fade,
God looked, again, on what He'd made,
And from the forest where He stood,
God thought the earth looked pretty good.

Day four took no one by surprise
When God strung lights across the skies,
And, from His pockets, pulled two spheres
To mark the days and count the years;
For signs, and seasons, night and day,
The sun and moon came out to play;
And, in the twilight, one could see
A trillion twinkling stars that He
Hung in space to tell the story
Of Creation, and His glory.

Now, in His wisdom, God sure knew
Just what, exactly, He would do
With all the water here on earth;
And, that is why, He soon gave birth
To all the fish within His dreams;
Then dumped them in the ponds, and streams,
And lakes, and seas, and riverbeds,
And scattered birds above their heads;
“Be fruitful now, and stay alive!”
And that’s what happened on day five.

Well, if you think day five was good,
Just take a look at what God would
Accomplish on a sixth day fling;
Beasts, and cattle, and creeping things!
Man in His image and likeness made;
Male, and female, and then He bade
Them multiply, and tend the lands
That He was placing in their hands;
Every green herb would be their food;
Then, God said, “It is very good!”

Heaven and earth will pass away,
But 'till that time, the seventh day
Is sanctified, and truly blessed;
And, God commands us all to rest,
For on that day His work did end;
The Sabbath is a time to spend
Remembering what God has done,
His mighty hand, the victory won;
So, now, ends this simple story;
And to God be all the glory…Amen!

The author of that poem is not a Sabbatarian. He simply puts in poetic form what Genesis 2:2-3 says about the seventh day. But tonight I want to focus your attention on three words, which appear over and over in that first chapter of Genesis:

“And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters”
(Genesis 1:6).

“And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so” (Genesis 1:9).

“And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass…and it was so” (Genesis 1:11).

“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night” (Genesis 1:14).

“And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind…and it was so” (Genesis 1:24).

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26).

“And God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth” (Genesis 1:28).

“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth” (Genesis 1:29).

Praise the Lord, for He hath spoken;
   Worlds His mighty voice obeyed.
Laws which never shall be broken
   For their guidance He hath made.
(“Praise the Lord! Ye Heavens, Adore Him,” from Psalm 148,
      “Foundling Hospital Collection,” 1796).

But how did God speak? And by whom were those words uttered? I tell you, tonight, that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity – He was the one who spoke those words! The Apostle John revealed it:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3).

That is Christ – the eternal Logos, the Divine Word, the only begotten of the Father.

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence”
(Colossians 1:15-18).

He was the Creator of the world. He then came into the world. But the world did not know its own Creator!

“He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not” (John 1:10).

They arrested Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. They beat Him in the face with the palms of their hands. They spit in His face and pulled out swatches of His beard. They bound Him and scourged His back to shreds. He stood before them in a pool of blood. They cried out, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” He was nailed to a Roman cross. He died in agony and shame.

See how patient Jesus stands,
Insulted in this awful place!
Sinners have bound the Almighty hands,
And spit in their Creator’s face.

With thorns His temple gored and gashed
Send streams of blood from every part;
His back with heavy scourges lashed,
But sharper scourges tear His heart.

Nailed naked to the accursed wood,
Exposed to earth and heaven above,
A spectacle of wounds and blood,
A sad display of injured love.
(“His Passion” by Joseph Hart, 1712-1768;
to the tune of “‘Tis Midnight, and on Olive’s Brow”).

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ, my God,
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
(“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,”
by Dr. Isaac Watts, 1674-1748).

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Romans 5:8-10).

Christ, who spoke the universe into being, died in thy place to save thee from eternal wrath. That is the message of Genesis. That is the message of the whole Bible, from end to end. That is the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Come to Him Trust in Him.

(END OF SERMON)
You can read Dr. Hymers' sermons each week on the Internet
at www.realconversion.com. Click on “Sermon Manuscripts.”

Scripture Read Before the Sermon by Dr. Kreighton L. Chan: Genesis 1:1-2:3.
Solo Sung Before the Sermon by Mr. Benjamin Kincaid Griffith:
“Praise the Lord! Ye Heavens, Adore Him” (from Psalm 148, 1796).