They save me daily. Daily. I put them on my little MP3 player
and I go running or walking or driving or whatever and get a
great blessing. Genesis 1, read verses 26 through 31. God said, let us make man in
our image after our likeness. and let them have dominion over
the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, over the cattle,
over all the earth, over every creeping thing that creepeth
upon the earth. So God created man in his own
image. In the image of God created he
him. Male and female created he them. And God blessed them and said
unto them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue
it. and have dominion over the fish
of the sea, over the fowl of the air, and over every living
thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have
given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of
all the earth, and every tree into which is the fruit of a
tree yielding seed. To you it shall be for me, and
to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air,
and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth. wherein there
is life, I have given every green herb for meat." And it was so. And God saw everything that he
had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and
the morning were the sixth day. The great Creator saved his greatest
creation, the last man. After creating the celestial,
the stars, sun, the moon, and terrestrial things, plants, trees,
all of these things. He created something much more
marvelous. A creature, he said, in his own
image. That's why man is so much greater
in every respect than all of God's creation. God created him
in his image. The great God. Mankind is the
greatest living proof of an all-wise, marvelous and glorious Creator. Man. David said, I am fearfully
and wonderfully made. Man. God's creation. The waters brought forth the
fish that is after their kind. Every winged fowl after his kind. Verse 24 and 25, God said, let
the earth bring forth creatures, cattle, creeping things, beasts
after his kind. So he made the beasts of the
earth after his kind. Cattle after their kind. creeping
thing, after his kind. And so God said, let us make
man after our kind in our image. Now, obviously, God is more than
one person, isn't he? It says in verse 2
of chapter 1, the Spirit, capital S, of God moved upon the face
It mentions God, it mentions the Spirit of God. And here he
plainly says, let us, that's plural, God said, let us, God
being more than one person, let us make man in our, that's more
than one person, image. in our likeness after our kind,
one who looks like us, like God. I thought God was a spirit. He
is. But God is more than one person.
Triune God, the Trinity of His person. God the Father. Scripture
clearly teaches this. A person would have to be a fool
to not understand this, a blind, ignorant, willfully ignorant
fool. To see, to not see, that God
is a Trinity. The Father, the Son, of whom
this image is speaking of, and the Holy Spirit we just saw.
And I was going to give you, and if you don't have to turn,
I'll turn to them for you. In the very first chapter of
Genesis, The Lord tells us this in the first chapter of John,
in the first chapter of Colossians, in the first chapter of Hebrews,
in the first chapter of Revelation, the first chapter, the first
thing he tells us. that there is a trinity. There's a Father, there's a Son,
who is the image of God. In the beginning was the Word.
The Word was with God. The Word was God. The same, that
is, this person was in the beginning with God. All things were made
by Him. Without Him was not anything
made that was made. And the Word became flesh and
dwelt among them. John went on to say, We beheld
His glory. Who? The only begotten of the
Father. The Son of God. The image of
God. That's who this is speaking of.
Colossians 1 says all things were made by Him, that He is
before all things and the head of all things. Hebrews 1 says
He's the express image of the Father, and even the Father said
in verse 8 of Hebrews 1, under the sun, He said, Thy throne,
O God, is forever. The Revelation 1, the Lord God
appeared to John. He said, I am. I am. He kept saying, I am. I am the
first. I am the last. I am he that liveth. I am he that was dead. Behold,
I am. I am. I am. Who is speaking? Jesus Christ. The very God of
very God. Is it necessary for someone to
believe that Jesus Christ is God? Well, that's a ridiculous question,
actually. It's a foolish question. Foolish. Can you not believe something
and be a believer? This is eternal life, our Lord
said, that they might know Thee, the only true God, in Jesus Christ
whom Thou hast sent. John said, we know that the Son
of God has come and given us an understanding. that we might
know Him, who He is. Thomas said, My Lord and my God. God our Savior, Paul called Him. If you don't believe that He's
God, then you're not a believer, right? If He's not God, He's
not your Savior. Only God can save eternal life
to know Him. That's a foolish question, really.
And so, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, had an image before the
foundation of the world. The Son of God had an image before
the foundation of the world. A gloriously beautiful image,
more beautiful than any creature that God created, more beautiful
than any man or woman since. And God the Father, Son, and
Spirit who created man, male and female, said, let us create
man in our image, in the image of God's Son, the beautiful image
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Male and female, he said, let
us create man. Now, man, the male part of mankind,
has his own distinct physical attributes, doesn't he, that
makes him beautiful. And then the woman has hers,
doesn't she? Well, Christ is said to be the embodiment of
both, the fulfillment, the fullness
of both in a body. It's hard to imagine what He,
I started to say, looked like, what He looks like. It's hard to imagine it, huh? Look at 1 Corinthians 15. Though
sin has marred the image that God created man in, yet there's
still a great deal of beauty in this creature called mankind,
male and female. There's still some of that image
to be seen, but nothing like what it shall be. Nothing like
what it shall be. In 1 Corinthians 15, verse 49
says, As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also
bear the image of the heavenly." And 1 John 3, he says, beloved,
now are we the sons of God. Right now. There's a hidden man,
a new creature creating the image of Christ. But he says, it doth
not yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when he
appears, we're going to be like him. That's hard to imagine it. We look at ourselves and what
do we see? A disfigured, ugly creature. Sin is marred. But God doesn't see that. He
sees this new creature. We have a face, as it were, only
God could love. Man was created in the image
of God, and man was created a God, small g. Go back to our text. Our Lord even said that. Does
not the scripture say that ye are gods? Small g. Man is not
God with all the powers of God and in himself holiness and so
forth. It's all given to him. Man was
given dominion over everything. Verse 26 says, Let us make man
in our image after our likeness, and let them have dominion over
the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, cattle, over every
creeping thing upon the earth, everything on the earth. Man
was given dominion. That means reign, rule over all
things. And you see it even still. There's
the fear of man in every creature, no matter how large or how fierce
or whatever creature it may be, there's the fear of man. Thank
God. Thank God. Brother, you know,
Kelly and Catherine, they deal with horses that, you know, 1,000
pounds, 1,200 pounds. I had some that were almost 2,000
pounds. Man, and they're so agile. Bulls, cattle, Mac deals with
cattle. You've seen those bull riders?
You know what those animals can do? If they want to, a horse
can flick a fly off of your ear like that. I've seen them scratch
their ear with their hind hoof. Bam! Kill you in a moment. Right? But God, in mercy and
grace, we've got to deal with these animals. Oh, God has put
the fear of man in these animals. Thank God. Thank God. Mandy, we lived on the farm.
She was scared to death. She saw a copperhead one day. She was scared to walk in the
woods. I said, honey, they're everywhere. They've been there
ever since we've been here. They see you before you see them. I said, God's put the fear of
man in them. Don't worry about the copperhead.
They're worried about you. That's a fact. Thank God. Thank
God. But man was given this supremacy
over all animals, fish, fowl, everything, mentally, physically,
superior. The animals were in subjection
to man. Look at verse 19 and 20. I'm sorry, chapter 2, verse 19
and 20. It said, Out of the ground the
Lord God formed every beast, every fowl, and brought them
to Adam to see what he would call them. Whatever Adam called
them, whatever Adam called every living creature, that was the
name thereof. Adam gave names to all cattle,
to fowl, to every beast. Adam named them. God brought them to Adam. They
were in subjection to man. They came when he called. That's amazing, isn't it? Now,
you think of how brilliant a creature Adam was. Every animal, He named
it. Every one. Think about that. You think how brilliant He was. How glorious the first man. He's
like Christ. You know that Psalm 8 that speaks
of man, and what is man that thou art mindful of him, and
has given him dominion over everything under his feet. You know who
that's talking about? It's quoted in Hebrews. Talking
about the Lord Jesus Christ. Because man, Adam, is a picture
of the second Adam. More glorious than the first.
Much more glorious. He had dominion. It says God
made man a little lower than the angels. The Son of God. Higher than the angels. Higher
than everything. None. Everything is under His
feet. Glorious. He named the stars. He named the stars. He counts
them. The sand of the sea. Every creature. You know, man
was a brilliant creature. Still is to some degree. Some
degree. But when he starts thinking he's
too wise, God sure does show him his utter foolishness. Doesn't
take much for God to put man in his place. But I often ask
questions like this when I think about things like fire, or things
like the wheel, or things like foods. I wonder when man discovered
this. You ever think that? I wonder
where this came from. Adam. Adam. That's who. Man didn't
start as a monkey and gradually get smarter. He's going the other
way. He started brilliant and he's
become a monkey. He's on all fours now, grumbling. He was created upright in the
image of God. Adam knew everything. If you live 930 years, you're
going to learn something. 930 years. Everybody lived that
long. You reckon you'd learn anything?
He needed a wheel, Sam. Maybe a hundred years it took
him, but he figured it out. Oh yeah, God gave him a mind. We don't need this stuff today.
Actually, that shows you man more ignorant than he used to
be, that he has to have all this newfangled stuff to get by. Didn't
used to, brother Steve. Didn't used to. that need any
of this technology. It hasn't made life easier. It's
complicated things. And probably because we're life's
so short now, because of sin, because of sin, that we have
very little time to live it and less time to learn it. So, and
I do thank God for modern technology. Let's go on. But the animals
came to Him. And I like to think that this
fear is something like the fear we have of our Lord now. The
animals came to Him. They had this fear of man in
them, but they weren't afraid to come to Him. They knew He was infinitely superior
and wiser and stronger. And they're king, but they came
to Him anyway. That's this fear that God puts
in His creatures, His people. Fear. They love Him. Adam was love of all. He created
an image of God as love. Adam was love personified. What
would the animals need to be afraid of? He wasn't going to
eat them. He wasn't going to kill them. So they came to Him. Our God is not going to kill
us. We'll look at that more in the
next hour. He said, Come. Didn't He? Come. Look at verse 28. It says,
God blessed them and said unto them, and remember, what did
man have in the garden. He didn't have a house. He didn't have a car. He didn't
even have clothes. It says God blessed them. They had all they needed. What
do we think are blessings? Oh, the Lord has blessed me.
I have a nice hat. Well, He has blessed you with
a nice hat. The Lord has blessed me. I have
a nice car, three of them. Well, He has blessed you, hasn't
He? I have money, I have this, I have that, nice clothes, I
have a job and all that. That's not a blessing, is it? Adam didn't have any of those
things. The Son of Man didn't have where to lay His head. He
had one suit of clothes. Was He blessed? That just shows
us. But these things aren't the blessing. Remember number six, the blessing,
singular. It's God Himself. We're not going to have a house
in glory. Well, but He said many mansions. I'm looking for my
mansion. If you're looking for a mansion, you're not going to
be there. David said, Whom have I in heaven but thee? It's not
a place. Heaven's not a place. It's not
a place to dwell. It's a person. It's a person. It's like when you get married,
you know. A woman, a man proposes to her and she says, yeah, I'll
marry you, but now let me see your house first. Let me see
your bank account. Huh? Would that man marry her? No. It's not about that. It's
about love, isn't it? It's about love. When I came
here, I had no idea if you paid the preacher anything at all.
I had no idea. I think you did. I hope you did,
but I didn't even ask. I didn't care. I didn't care.
It was love. The same way it is with God's
people falling in love with Christ. A mansion, well, that would be
all right, but that's not why I'd want to go there. It's not
what this is about. Things, religious people are
in it for things, what they can get out of God. God's people
are in it for Him. God bless them. And said, now
here's the first thing He said unto them, verse 28, and I wish
all our young girls could hear this, but they're not. But He said, they've heard it
before. He said, Be fruitful and multiply.
and replenish the earth. Be fruitful. Children are a blessing
from the Lord. Children are for our happiness.
Children are for God's glory. Children are for our future care.
Children are good. Good thing. A wonderful thing. Now, I always think when I deal
with these subjects, I think of those who could not have them. And I cannot enter into that. I know that must have been a
terrible trial and still is. And I think about you every time. But it wasn't God's will, was
it? That's all you can say. That's all you can say. It's
one thing to not be able to have children. That's God's will.
I think of some of our ladies who were not able to have them,
and I think they would have made so much better mothers than some
of these other women I know. But God didn't give them. There's
a wonderful passage that says, the children of the barren are
more than the children of the fruitful. And there's going to be a time
when, blessed are they who don't have them. There have been many
times such as that, the great sorrows that come on those Because
really all of your heartaches and worries and cares are for
your children more than yourself later on. Aren't they? But it's
one thing to not be able to have children. That's God's sovereign
will. It's another not to want them and to avoid having them. That's not right. That's just
without natural affection that 2 Timothy 3 talks about in the
last day. They'll be without natural affection.
It's a natural feeling of a woman to want to have children. If
something's wrong, they don't. And our Lord said this, the first
thing He said to the man and the woman, didn't He? Multiply. Didn't He? The first thing. 1 Timothy 5.
The Lord told Paul to say this to young women, young women,
marry bare children, guide the house. And those who did by God's grace,
those who were given children by God's grace will tell you,
and even those who've had mostly wayward children will tell you,
no greater joy. I'm looking at some who've had
children troubled and they're nodding their head. Nodding their
head. No greater joy to be known except
grandparenting. I'm here to tell you, I can't
wait. I hope Steve and Mary have grandchildren. I can't wait to watch them. I
can't wait. He's going to be a big, massive,
silly putty. Mac can't wait. He's going to
be just like me. It's joy unspeakable. God knew what He was doing when
He said this, didn't He? Multiply. Multiply. Fill it with children. You know,
we went a long time without having babies, didn't we, in this congregation? What would life be like without
them? Then all of a sudden we had seven. Girls, all girls. And then there's
rotten ones like James and Andrew came along. No, we told Rick
yesterday, and James, if all of them could be like that, we'd
have a whole slew of them, wouldn't we? I tell you. Blessing. Blessing. Aren't they a blessing? The same
way, you know, we'd go a while without a new convert, without
a babe in Christ coming. And the Lord brings somebody
in. We start hearing the gospel through their ears. We start
rejoicing in the gospel like, oh, wait till she hears this. I do. I know I do. Oh, you so-and-so
hadn't heard this story of Ruth yet. You just wait. And on and
on it goes. Multiply. Be fruitful. Fill it full of children. Until
the flood, women lived seven to nine hundred years. Six, seven,
eight, nine hundred years. How many children could one woman
have? Henry's mother had how many? Eight, nine? Henry's family?
More than that. My grandfather had nine and his.
I dated a girl in high school, Catholic. Thirteen. Put a woman about five foot tall.
Thirteen kids. Had them all naturally. How many
could a woman have that lived 800 years? And you wonder how
the world could be filled? Easily. Estimates have it that
there were billions of people on the earth when the Flood happened.
Billions. That's not hard to say how that
could be. Abraham didn't live that long. He had 72 descendants. Seventy-two descendants. He said,
subdue it. Multiply. Replenish it. Subdue
it. Have dominion over it. Not abuse
it. Man didn't abuse it. Oh, my. Sin came in. Scripture says a
whole creation groans now. Nothing has been more subject
to the abuse and sin than God's creatures have. It's sad, isn't
it? It's sad, isn't it? Man was created
vegetarian. Verse 29, you know why our teeth
are even? We don't have big incisors, canine
teeth. Why? We didn't eat meat. We didn't eat meat. Neither did the lions and the
tigers. You say, well, I don't believe
that. Look at an elephant. What's he eating? Grass. Look at you all. Well, he didn't
eat meat. The man was a vegetarian. Not now. Not now. That's why animals exist
now. He said, Peter, arise, kill,
and eat. Didn't he? Hold on. I hear them
coming. Whose child is it? It couldn't
be mine. Man was a vegetarian, so were
the animals. Someday, you know, the lion's
going to eat straw like the ox. Someday, I believe, we're going
to cohabit with animals and they don't have a thing to worry about.
My, my. Oh my, and it says, the Lord,
down in verse 31, God saw everything He had made. Behold, it was very
good. Very good. That was the sixth
day. Oh Lord, how manifold are Thy
works and wisdom hast Thou made them all. The earth is full of
Thy riches. Isaiah 6, he said, the whole
earth is full of His glory. His glory. Our great Creator. God the Father. God the Son. God the Holy Spirit. And that
was the sixth day. Now we're going to rest. Now
we're going to look at the Sabbath. It's not a day. It's a person,
like everything else. All right. Come on. Open the
doors. Scared them off.