We're gonna have to put that in the bulletin more often. That's a great hymn. I love that tune. I don't believe you'll have to open your Bibles this morning to know the words of our text. Probably the four most well-known words in the Bible in the world. the first four words of the Bible. In the beginning, God. In the beginning, God. It will be very good for us to remember that our God stands at the beginning of all things.

As we stand on the threshold of a new year, we are in so many ways slaves to time. Can't stop the clock from ticking. Can't stop the pages of the calendar from turning. We don't know what 2026 will bring. But we do know this, that our great and glorious God goes before us in everything. In the beginning, God. Not only will it be good for us to remember that, it'll be better for us to believe that. To believe that. We know that our great and sovereign God is the first cause of all things. In the beginning, God. The Lord doesn't begin his revelation of himself, which is what the Bible is, it's a revelation of God. He doesn't begin by Trying to argue the existence of God, he just declares himself to be God. And to be standing at the beginning of all things.

Turn to me, if you will, to Psalm 31. Psalm 31. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, in Ecclesiastes chapter 3, you remember that chapter, there's a time for, a time for, a time for, a time for, all the different things in life that there is a time for. And then he concludes all of that with that he makes everything beautiful in his time. He goes on to explain that we don't know what's going to happen in time, and we can't control time. But we know who's in control. And we know that all that he does in the time of our lives, in the time of the world, is for our good, and it's for his glory.

Psalm 31, David says in verse 14, but I trusted in thee, O Lord. I said, thou art my God, my times are in thy hand. I trusted in thee. We've come here this morning and gathered ourselves together to encourage one another and to meet with God and to worship him and to open his word. that we might trust Him. Trust Him. That's what worship is. Worship is to trust Him, to rejoice in Him. My times are in thy hand. Deliver me from the hand of mine enemies. Oh Lord, deliver me. Deliver me from myself, deliver me from my sin, deliver me from the ways of this world, deliver me from the powers of evil. Lord, deliver me from evil. And from them that persecute me.

The accuser of the brethren would have me to look at my sin and to wallow in the shame and guilt of my sin to take my eyes off of Christ. The accuser of the brethren would have me thinking that perhaps if I could do better, that I would have more hope of my salvation and more blessings from God and more this or that. No, he would have me look at anything rather than to look to Christ. He's the one that persecutes me.

Make thy face to shine upon thy servant. Save me for thy mercy's sake. Lord, for your mercy's sake. Lord, I have no claim on you. I have nothing to present that would obligate you in any way, but for your mercy's sake, for your name's sake. Lord, that's the only plea I have for Christ's sake. Let me not be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon thee. Let the wicked be ashamed and let them be silent in the grave. Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

Lord, so many voices in my own head, so many Opinions of men in this world, so many lies. Lord, bring me, bring me to the truth. Bring me back to Christ. That's why we're here.

In the beginning. In the beginning of all things. Lord, in the beginning of the week. It's interesting that in the old covenant, worship was on Saturday, the last day of the week. in an attempt to atone for, if you will, the sins of the week. And when the Lord raised from the dead on Sunday morning and the early church began to worship on the Lord's day, we often think of Sunday as being the weekend, but look at your calendar. This is the first day of the week. We start out with grace in the beginning.

At the beginning of each week, Lord, let my heart be drawn to thee. My life is in your hands, I know that. Lord, let me be drawn in faith to Christ.

Turn to me, if you will. You're in the Psalms. Turn with me to Psalm 139. Psalm 139. Our God, not only is the beginning of this week, the beginning of this day, the beginning of all things, the beginning of this year, He goes before us. We look back and we know that all that the Lord brought into our lives this past year was of His purpose. and that he will, David said, David's saying this in Psalm 139.

Oh Lord, thou has searched me and known me. Well, I don't. Yeah. Yeah. Somebody say to you, well, you don't know me. Well, maybe I don't. Maybe that person didn't know you or you didn't know them, but I'll tell you somebody that knows you Oh, he knows everything about you. He knows you infinitely better than you could ever know yourself. Each of us really are three persons, aren't we? We're the person we see ourselves to be. We're the person we see other people see us to be, which sometimes I think the way other people see us is probably more clear than the way we see ourselves. But most importantly, most importantly, we are the person that the Lord sees us to be. and he sees everything. That's what David's saying, Lord, you've searched me and you know me. You know everything about me.

Look what he goes on to say. Thou knowest my down sitting, my uprising, thou understandeth my thoughts afar off. Thou can passeth my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word of my tongue, but O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Not only you know audibly what I said, but you know what I meant by what I said. Thou hast beset me behind and before and laid thy hand upon me. In the beginning, God. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high. I cannot attain unto it. Lord, I know these things are true. I believe them to be true. How to understand them, I know not.

Whither shall I go from thy spirit or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into the heavens, thou art there. If I have a great time of worship and a time of rejoicing in Christ and I'm brought into heavenly places away from all the things of this world. We love those moments of time, but they're often few and far between, aren't they? And then he goes on to say, if I make my bed in hell, if I go in the opposite direction and I'm in a dark place, thou art there. Thou art there. I'll never leave you nor forsake you. In the beginning, God. God. Whither shall I go from thy presence? I'm sorry, verse nine. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there thy hand shall lead me and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say surely the darkness shall cover me, Even the night shall be light upon me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee, but the night shineth as the day, and the darkness and the light are both alike unto thee. Now that's comforting to me. Because there's times that things get dark. Things get confusing. Things get complexing. There are so much we can't understand in this world. He's never in the dark. Never. The darkness is as light unto thee. Our circumstances change our perspective on things. We have times of like, go back to Ecclesiastes chapter three, Solomon was saying there's a time for war, a time for peace. There's a time for to be born, a time to die. There's time for this, time to that. We go through all these different times, not so with the Lord. Move down with me to verse 17 in the same chapter. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O Lord, how great is the sum of them. If I could count them, they are more in number than the sand. And when I wake, I am still with thee. When I let my mind go to its fullest degree, which ain't very far, And I wake out of my musing, Lord, there you are. There you are. Now turn with me to Jeremiah chapter 29. In the beginning, God. He's the beginning. He's the middle and he's the end. How glorious it is that the Lord says to John in the last chapter of Revelation, I come quickly, come Lord Jesus, even now, come, come. Jeremiah chapter 29, look at me verse 10. For thus saith the Lord, And that's all I need. I need a word from God. My opinion and the confusions of this world can't bear the weight of my soul. I need a word from God. Thus saying, here's this word, thus saith the Lord, after 70 years be accomplished at Babylon. Now brethren, this is Babylon. What does Babylon mean? Confusion. Confusion. What happened in Babel? Back when they were building a tower, God confused their language. They were confused in thinking that they could build for themselves a city and create for themselves a name and build a tower that went up into heaven. And in doing so, they had brick for mortar and slime for stone. And God came in and confuse their language. And they were scattered throughout all the world, each with their own opinion as to how to get to heaven, each with their own opinion as to how to build a name for themselves. And the world is infected with the spirit of Babel. And the last thing we see in the book of Revelation is the destruction of Babylon. just the whole system of this world, all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, everything that's in the world, and all the religions of this world, where men have attempted to work their way to heaven by something that they do, denying Christ his glory and salvation. And after you've lived in Babylon for three score and 10, that's the life of a man, And if by manner of strength, your life could be four score, those years are going to be full of trouble, of trouble. Maybe the greatest troubles of your life will be after three score and 10. This world is full of trouble. In this world, you shall suffer persecution. But be of good cheer, brethren, I have overcome the world. The world. I've overcome the world. And so here's the word from God. After 70 years, be accomplished in Babylon. In all the troubles of this world, God is accomplishing his purpose. Everything our God does, he does on purpose. He has an end goal, he has an accomplished end. Man divides his ways, God directs his path. And all the things that we think we're doing, God says, in the beginning, in the beginning, God, God. And after I've accomplished all that I'm going to accomplish, and I will, I'll accomplish everything, I will visit you. I'm going to come. And I'm going to receive you unto myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. I go and prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and I will receive you. Three score and 10, 70 years, you're gonna be in Babylon. There's gonna be trouble, confusion. We don't know what 2026 is gonna bring. Can't believe I'm even saying 2026. Seems like I just got used to saying 2025. For about the first half of the year, I have to ask Tricia what year it is. Before I know it, it's over. One thing I know about 2026 is it's gonna go faster than 2025 went. For every one of us, older we get, even for our children, faster it's gonna go. In the beginning, God. I will visit you. and I will perform my good word toward you in causing you to return to this place. I'm gonna take you home. Oh, that we could live in this world with an eye toward heaven. You know, when we were in, we were in religion, I remember There was a phrase that was often repeated about someone that was a religious fanatic. I've shared this with you all before. Well, they're so heavenly minded, they're no earthly good. It's not true. It's not possible. To the contrary, to the contrary, the more heavenly minded we are, the more earthly good we'll be. The more we'll be able to see the things of this world as they really are. Set your affections on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, not on things of the earth. Oh, how caught up in this world we can become. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, These afflictions, these trials, these troubles, this Babylonian world in which you live, these conflicts, these fears within and conflicts without, they're necessities. Paul called them necessities. Bob and Carla Boyd are back with us again for the month of January from West Virginia. So glad they're here. And both of them have some medical problems. And Bob's had for quite some time now. Every time I ask Bob, how are you doing, his response is always the same. Right on schedule. Right on schedule. We're always right on schedule, aren't we? God's schedule. Our schedule may not be what we thought it was gonna be, but his will always be perfect. I know the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of good and not of evil. There'll be easy days and hard days, but there won't be evil, there won't be bad, All things work together for good for them that love him and those that are called according to his purpose. I know the thoughts. In the beginning, God. God goes before us. That's what David said in Psalm 139. He's gone before me and he sets me behind as well. He guards the rear. He's encompassed me about. These thoughts are too wonderful for me because it seems like other things are in control. Look at the last phrase of verse 11. To give you an expected end. The margin of my Bible, it says, an end of expectation. Expectation. Oh, we have an expectation. Why? Because God has promised and he is faithful to his word. He's always faithful. When we're not faithful, he remaineth faithful. He cannot deny himself. We hang all our hopes on his precious promises. And we know that all the promises of God are yes and complete. Yay and amen. That's what those two words mean. Yes, for sure. and complete in Christ, in Christ.

In the beginning, God. I've given you an expected end. Yes, we ought to redeem the time that we have here for the days are evil. To redeem means to buy. You buy something that's valuable. And if something's very precious and rare, you don't waste it. That we could be reminded of how precious and rare our time in this world is. And that we not waste it.

One thing I'm sure of, I'm gonna waste a lot of time this year. I did last year, I did the year before, I'm good at wasting time. Let us remember how short this life is and how brief it is. Let us look often and be reminded frequently and let us believe that the promises of God are true. And that always, always in the beginning of all things, God.

Who is this God? He gives no explanation or argument or proof for his existence, for his being. He just declares that he's God. All men know that there is a God. The atheist is just lying to himself. Most of them Or going to, like I heard one man said, it's easy to live as an atheist, it's a whole other thing to die as one. And most of them are going to be in a whole different place on their deathbed than they are now, proudly professing themselves to be atheists.

Perhaps a man can tell a lie so often that he could convince himself with a seared conscience that maybe there is no God. That's a scary thing. But the scripture's clear that every man comes into this world with a knowledge of God in his heart. And all the religions of this world are man's attempt to try to figure out who that God is. And everybody's got their own opinion as to who God is.

God has revealed himself in his word. And it's simple, it's clear. In the beginning, in the beginning of all things, God God created the heavens and the earth. He doesn't give any proof or explanation or defense. He just declares himself to be God, the uncreated, unchanging, eternal God, the first cause of all things, the I am.

Lord, what do I tell them your name is? Tell them I am that I am. And oftentimes we've interpreted that name as being self-existent. The Bible never calls God self-existent. Matter of fact, perhaps for the sake of shock value, and I'm prepared for someone to take this one clip out of context, but I would say this to you, God doesn't exist. He doesn't exist. The word exit, we've got it over the doors of our building, come from the word, or the word exists comes from the word exit. It means out of. It means out of, that's what the word exist means. Everything created by God exists because it came out of him. He came out of nothing.

So I suppose it would be a crude way to explain the eternality of God by saying that he's self-existent, but he didn't come out of himself. He is the infinite, eternal, glorious, immutable, sovereign, omnipotent, I am. He's God and he does all things well. He's a God of purpose. He's not trying anything. He's not learning anything. He's God.

All the reminders that we go through every day and the many reminders that we'll have this coming year that we are the furthest thing from being God. We are mutable. We're impotent, not omnipotent. We're powerless. We're sinful. That we have a God who reigns upon his throne, who does whatsoever he wills, And in all the troubles of this world, we can flee to him. I like to think of it as the isness of God. The isness of God. He is. He is. God is holy. God is just. God is faithful. God is love. What a glorious God we serve. And what a great thing it is when we've got no place to go but to him, but to him. We pray and we pray for one another and it's a great privilege to be able to pray. But what blessing it is when in our prayers, we are able to come to that place where what we're asking for, we've got no place else to go for it.

You know, people say, well, there's nothing else to do now but pray. The only time you really pray is when there's nothing else to do. Well, what a great God we have to pray to. And this God who has revealed himself in scriptures. You know, in the Old Testament Hebrew, there's two words for God. There's the word El, which is singular. And there's the word Elohim, which is plural. God is mentioned, I think around 12 or so times in the first chapter of Genesis, is always Elohim. It's the plural form of God. It's God the Father. It's God the Son. It's God the Holy Spirit. And we need all of them, all three persons. The triune Godhead.

Explain this? No, I can't explain it. But this is how he's revealed himself. There are three in heaven that give witness, the Father, the Word, and the Spirit, and these three are one. of 1 John chapter 4. We see at the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ who himself is the fullness of the Godhead bodily, the word which was made flesh and tabernacled among us and we beheld his glory as the glory of the only begotten of the Father, the one who himself is full of grace and full of truth. The one who said, I and the father are one. If you've seen me, you've seen the father, the one who prayed to his father from Calvary's cross and said, father, into thy hands, I commend my spirit.

At the baptism of the Lord Jesus, we hear the voice of the heavenly father saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him. We see the Spirit of God coming in the form of a dove, picturing the anointing of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Christ, the anointed one, the one who came. We have the Holy Spirit in small measure, in small measure, and how thankful we are for the Holy Spirit and how we need the Holy Spirit and how we're to ask God for the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus had the Holy Spirit in the fullness of his person, the fullness of his Godhead.

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, elected by God the Father in the covenant of grace before the world ever began, redeemed by the Holy Spirit, by the Son. as our advocate, as our sin bearer on Calvary's cross, regenerated by the spirit of God as he gives us ears to hear and makes us willing in the day of his power, will not be saved for all three persons of the Elohim, the plural God, one in nature, three very distinct persons.

In the beginning, God, the uncreated one, created the heavens and the earth. And the earth, like us, in our lost condition, is without form and void, and darkness is upon the face of the deep. And God said, let there be light. And the Spirit of God came, and there was light. You see, the first three or four verses of the Bible tell us the whole story of redemption. They tell us the whole story of redemption. If we believe the first four words of the Bible, and all that they imply, we're believers. in the beginning, God. God, the first cause of all things, the end of all things.

Turn with me to Colossians chapter one. Colossians chapter one. Verse 12, giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet. Now that word meet means, it means to be made in the likeness of, to where it could be meshed together, be brought together, made us meet, to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. God made us that way, we thank him.

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his dear son. He delivered us from the lies of a man-made, free will, works religion. He delivered us from the power of sin. Not reigning over us, you know, you're not under the power, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sin, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.

The firstborn of every creature is a reference to the Lord Jesus' resurrection. As he was raised from the dead, so we will be raised from the dead. For by him, by the Lord Jesus Christ, were all things created that are in heaven, 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

in the beginning God. God. January 4th, 2026. Clock's ticking. Calendar's turning. We all have our desires and plans and wishes. God has an unchangeable purpose for time, for time. He created time. What Genesis chapter one, verse one says in those first four verses, in the beginning, the beginning of what? In the beginning of time, before there was time. God created. He created time. What did he create time for? Well, he tells us.

Turn with me to Galatians chapter 4. Verse 4, Galatians 4 verse 4, and when the fullness of time was come, when everything God purposed in time was completed, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying, Abba Father.

Everything that happened in time prior to the cross was for the purpose of the cross. That's what the Lord's saying in the boldness of time. From Genesis chapter one, all the way to the time the Lord Jesus went to Calvary's cross in the fullness of time, God sent forth his son to redeem us, to purchase us. So now what's the purpose of time since then?

Turn with me to Ephesians chapter one, just a page or two over, Ephesians chapter one, verse nine. having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in himself. This gospel is a mystery, it's hidden to the natural man, he can't understand it. How we can be saved outside of ourselves by another. How God could elect a people, how Christ could successfully redeem them all by himself. How the Holy Spirit could could birth us, regenerate us in the miracle of the new birth, and evidence that by faith.

You see, the world thinks that we have to have faith before we can be regenerated. But in fact, faith is the result of regeneration, not the cause of it. But this is a mystery to the natural man. He thinks he's got to do something. That God would do it all? that the Spirit of God will regenerate us, this is His purpose. And He's made known unto us the mystery of His will according to the good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of time. Now this is what God's purpose in time is between the cross and the second coming of Christ, that in this dispensation of time. this period of time between the first and second coming of Christ. We already know what the purpose of the time was before Christ, it was Christ. Now God's telling us what the purpose of time is between the first coming and the second coming of Christ. This is God's purpose right now. What a blessing it is for us that are so slaves to time and so driven by time and so we can't control time. It just keeps moving to know that our God, the God who's seated upon the throne of heaven has a purpose in this dispensation of time and that he's going to accomplish his purpose.

That in the dispensation of the fullness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, which are in heaven and which are in earth, even in him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will, that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ."

Now, who is it that first trusted in Christ? Is Paul talking about himself? He's talking about the Father. God the Father is the first one who trusted in Christ. He trusted in Christ when the Lord Jesus left his rightful place in glory and came into this world, agreeing with his Father that he would accomplish the redemption of his people, that he would be their surety, he would be their substitute. It was the Father who first trusted in Christ.

And what is this dispensation of time between the first and second coming of Christ? That as the Father trusted in Christ, so we might trust in Christ. And when the last of God's elect has trusted in Christ, time will end. Time will end, it will be no more. The Bible says time shall be no more. There's not gonna be any time in heaven. There won't be any rising and setting of the sun. There won't be any getting older, no. It's eternity.

In the beginning, God. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, in a divine purpose created time to bring Christ in the fullness of time and then to bring his church all together into his presence to the glory of God the Father in the fullness of time. And Bob, everything's right on schedule.

Tom, let's stand together and sing. Number 12, let's stand together.