Genesis chapter 1, and the title of our lesson today, and I'm not sure how long it will be. Maybe I'll have a desire for a cup of coffee here quite soon. But the title of our lesson today is A Most Profound Statement. A Most Profound Statement. And if you'll turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Genesis, chapter 1, it is found in verse 1 of that chapter. It is found in Genesis, chapter 1, verse 1, a most profound statement.

As we look at this, we find out that God did not spend any time trying to prove God. Now, He's going to declare Himself, but He doesn't have to prove Himself. And people today spend a lot of time trying to prove whether God created things or whether God's in charge or whether this or that. Well, that's one of the things about going to the Bible.

We don't find God trying to prove anything about himself. He just simply declares himself and that he does this in Genesis chapter one and verse one, it says, in the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, let there be light. And there was light.

Now that's as far as we're going to read this morning in this book of Genesis. And we'd like to make a few statements as we look at this most profound statement in the beginning God. It is a most profound statement, but we find a number of very profound statements that God makes about himself.

Now, before we get to a few of those statements, would you turn with me to the book of Hebrews chapter 11 this morning? Book of Hebrews chapter 11. In Hebrews chapter 11, we find the word faith mentioned many, many times. And we also find in Hebrews chapter 12 that God, the Lord Jesus, is the author and finisher of our faith.

So it doesn't take us very long to find out where real faith comes from. It has been brought to my attention very clearly since the Lord saved me that He demands perfect faith. He doesn't demand imperfect faith, he demands perfect faith. And when we realize that, we find out that that faith must be outside of ourself. It must be given to us.

So here in the book of Hebrews, chapter 11 and verse 3, we read about this faith that God gives and some of the things that this faith gives us when he gives it to us. It is a profound statement to read in the Bible that in the beginning God, and then it goes on to tell us some of the things that he did as only God could do. Here in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 3, the scriptures say, through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. Now that's what we read about in Genesis chapters 1 and 2, the worlds were framed by the word of God and all the creatures were framed by the word of God. The power that he held in his very voice to do all that activity is most profound.

Then it goes on to say, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. So God began with nothing. That's a profound thought that he began with absolutely nothing. Now, I've built a number of cabinets in my life, and some of them turned out pretty good and some of them not so good, but I always started with some material that was supplied, whether I purchased it or whether it was given to me. That's one of the things about the God of the Bible. He never started anything with anything. He created out of absolutely nothing. He had to make the molecules. So in the beginning God, God created the heavens and the earth.

And then another verse of scripture that I'd like to go to, it really shares with us about the most solemn, most profound statement. And that's a verse of scripture found in the book of Malachi chapter three. Malachi chapter 3 and there in verse 6. As the Old Testament is closed out, we find that this wonderful statement is left for our perusal. Malachi chapter 3 and there in verse 6.

And this is a most profound statement. Also, just as profound as it mentions there in the book of Genesis chapter one and verse one, in the beginning God. And here we have another profound statement. He says, I am the Lord. And this profound statement about himself, I change not. Now he's the only being that can say that. Because I've had to change my mind several times already this morning. We change our mind all the time. And yet God never changes His mind. He never changes His purpose. He never changes His stance. He never changes with what people feel about Him or the thoughts about Him.

But I change not. And then He says here, this is a wonderful benefit about God not changing. That is, therefore ye sons of Jacob, or the church, are not consumed. Because I've made a covenant, I've made a promise, and that promise will be carried out, because I change not, you will not be consumed.

Now we rise and fall, and we sin every day, and we sin some great sins, and we sin some little sins, and we even sin in our sleep. We sin without knowing about it. I was talking to someone the other day about one of the sacrifices in the book of Leviticus was for sins that were unbeknownst to us. That's interesting, that sins we don't even know about, there was a sacrifice for. Well, we find the Lord Jesus Christ took care of that sacrifice in himself on the cross.

So I am the Lord, I change not. Now God makes some profound statements about himself through the scriptures, but we're going to spend most of our time in the book of Isaiah with some profound statements. As we read over there in the book of Genesis chapter 1 and verse 1, in the beginning God, what a statement is made. And we're either going to believe that statement or we're not. We either have the faith to believe that statement, or we question it. And we find out if we question the statement about God, we're going to question the Word of God.

And when we do that, we find out we don't have much to be settled on. Our concrete foundation doesn't have any mortar in it. It won't stick together. It won't stand the shaking that goes on in our life. Even as the Lord Jesus brought up about the wise man building his house on the rock and the foolish man building his house on the sand. And we know how foolish that would be in times of great trouble.

So turn with me if you would to the book of Isaiah chapter 44 and we'd like to read a few of those most profound statements about God. God speaking about himself. God telling us about God. That is so important that God tells us about God. Now God's the only one that can actually brag on himself. The Lord Jesus in his ministry bragged on himself. When he read the scriptures there in the synagogue in Nazareth, he bragged on himself. He said, this is what my ministry is. I came to take those who were in captivity out of captivity. What a statement is made about him. And so it's the good news that he brought, but we cannot have that right in ourselves.

So notice here with the book of Isaiah chapter 44, In the book of Isaiah chapter 44, another great profound statement that God makes about himself. He tells us about himself. In Isaiah chapter 44, and there in verse six, thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel. These are his words about himself. A profound statement is just about to be on our lips.

And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts, I am the first and I am the last, and beside me there is no God. What a profound statement that God makes about himself, that there is no other God. Now, we, in our natural state, have created many kinds of gods. Some of them we don't talk about, and some of them we have a great deal of faith in.

I had a great deal of faith in the church that I was a part of. I had been told as a result of being in that church, I was in the bride. Wow, that's really cool. And then you find out you're only in the bride because of Christ, not because of a church.

Well, here the Lord shares with us, I am the first, I am the last, and beside me there is no God. Now, a lot of created gods, a lot of gods of the thoughts, gods of the mind, gods of religion, but there is no God but Him. And He's making this statement about Himself, a most profound statement. I am the first and I am the last and beside me there is no God. Now, we can take that to the bank. Or we can say, you know, I know some folks that have other gods. Well, it's a wonderful thing about salvation that when God saves his people from their sins, he also takes away the gods that they're trusting.

Another right here in Isaiah chapter 46. Would you join me in Isaiah 46 verse nine? In Isaiah chapter 46 in verse nine, We have another profound statement about God. God talking about himself. God bragging on himself. And in every sense of the word, every time he says words or statements like this, he is sharing the great God that is given to the church. He is sharing the great God that is given in salvation. That he's not just a puny little peanut God, but he is the Lord God Almighty.

So here in the book of Isaiah chapter 46, and there in verse 9, we read these words, So another profound statement that God makes about us, there's none like me. There's none that can do what I've done. There's no creator God like me. There's no saving God like me. There's no God that deals with sin like me. There's no God that deals with my saints like me. I will keep them to the end. They will be lose none of them.

This is the God that we're reading about. And this is the God that makes great profound statements about himself. He has the right to brag on himself because he can stand by his word, fulfill his word, carry his word to the very end. Backing up just a little bit into the 43rd chapter of the book of Isaiah, would you join me there? Isaiah chapter 43. In Isaiah chapter 43, we read about another profound statement about God. Now this is profound in the sense is how many saviors are there? How many different matters or means of salvation are there?

Is it changed by culture? Has it changed by time? Has it changed over periods? Is it changed for those who have never heard the gospel or those who do hear the gospel? Has it changed? Has this changed? Well, we find out here in the book of Isaiah chapter 43 and there in verse 11, the scriptures share this. I, even I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no Savior. So there's no one else.

Now in the New Testament, there's none of the name given under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved, except the Lord Jesus Christ, the name of the Lord. So he makes a profound statement about what savior should we look for? There's only one, and he is this God that makes profound statements about himself. This God that is so powerful, so mighty, so eternal, so, So everything that he can make a statement and say, besides me, there's no savior. Don't look for any other savior. Don't look for any other hope. And yet by nature we often do, and God has to straighten us up when he saves us by his grace. And he says, I am the only savior. They shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Means he's gonna be the savior of his people, the deliverer of his people, the one that sets them free from their sin.

So as we read here in verse 11, it says, I am the Lord. Now, we know that those capital letters mean I'm Jehovah, and this is the very special name for God throughout the Old Testament. I am Jehovah. Well, if we want to find Jehovah in the New Testament, we're going to come to a manger and see a babe born of a virgin, and his name is called Jesus. All right?

There in verse 11, there is beside me, there is no savior. Now he is dealing with Israel throughout the book of Isaiah and Israel of all the peoples, of all the nations, they should have known this because he spent the most of his time dealing with them. We have no record.

Now, whether he did or not, it's his business, but we have no record that he ever sent anybody to the Hittites or the Hivites or the Jebusites. But he sent them to the Israelites. He sent his spirit to the Israelites. He sent his prophet to the Israelites. And yet, even though he spent his great amount of time over the centuries with the Israelites, he continuously had to tell them, there's no Savior beside me.

Why is that? Did he have to say that because there might be a problem? Or did he say that because there was a problem? Well, it's kind of like the Ten Commandments. He didn't bring up the Ten Commandments because there could be that problem down through the ages. He brought up the Ten Commandments because there was already the problem. They had already gone after other gods. They were doing things that were wicked, and he brings that subject up to them. Well, that did not change their heart. Bringing up the Ten Commandments never changed anybody's heart. Now, we may feel sorry that we did some of that, but it will not change our heart.

Only God can do that. Well, let's look at another verse of Scripture here in the 43rd chapter of the book of Isaiah, Isaiah 43, and there in verse 15. 43 verse 15, it says, ''Verily, thou art God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Savior.'' Now, he used a prophet to write this about God. He said, ''You're the Savior.'' What a blessing it is to have that revelation given to a people. that the God that created the heavens and the earth is the Savior. The God that has no ability to change is the Savior. The God who said about himself, there is no other Savior, is the Savior. I am the Lord. Thou art the God that hideth thyself, O God.

Am I in the right place? 43, oh, it was pretty good then. 43 and verse 15, let me back up here. It says there, I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. Just as God created the heavens and the earth, he also had to create Israel. And he does that, spiritual Israel, through the new birth. I am the Lord, your holy one, the creator of Israel, your king.

Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters. So God makes another profound statement about himself, that he is everything the church needs, He provides everything the church needs, everything that he demands. He demands a worship of the king, and then he declares himself to be the king. He demands the position of savior, and then he reveals that he is the savior.

Again, if you turn with me to the book of Isaiah 44 and verse six, Isaiah 44 and verse six, In Isaiah 44, again, we have a very profound statement about God. When we leave the Bible, when we stop reading it for our day, or our week, or our month, or our year, we can never say that God never said anything about himself. He always reveals to us the greatness of God and the greatness of his salvation and the greatness of his saviorship. Here in the book of Isaiah chapter 44 and verse 6, we read this, Isaiah 44 and verse 6, thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts.

I am the first, I am the last, and beside me there is no God. How often he repeats this throughout the scriptures and multiple times here in just the book of Isaiah. I am the first, I am the last. You know, that's what we read over in the book of Revelation about the Lord Jesus. I am Alpha and Omega. I am the first and the last.

And in chapter 45 in verse 12 of the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 45 and verse 12, we read these words, I have made the earth, Isaiah 45 verse 12, I have made the earth and created man upon it. I even my hands have stretched out the heavens and all their hosts have I commanded. So once again, the Lord Demands has this wonderful, most profound statement that all that you see, I have created, all that's been done, I was in charge of. I am the God that sits on a throne high and lifted up, and I perform all these great works on the behalf of the church.

So he makes these profound statements about himself. And we're just reading a very few of them as we look here into this book of Isaiah. But there's a couple other thoughts I'd like to gain from the book of Genesis chapter 1 as we look at another profound statement here in Genesis chapter 1 verse 2. In Genesis chapter 1 verse 2, it reads as though, and I remember when I was in church, we had a chart. It was a chart of the end times. Oh, and we had a nice artist that did it. She was really good. The artwork was wonderful.

The theology about it is terrible. It's not found in the Bible. But this verse was brought up on that chart and it says, they put at this time in verse two, there was all the dinosaurs and all that stuff that was on the earth. Well, that's not what it's telling us here. It's telling us that there, what's it say?

The earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. What a wonderful statement is made here about how God performed his great work of creation. It was as a result of the Holy Spirit. And it also speaks volumes about the resemblance there is between this empty void of nature before light in heaven was introduced and how we come into this world by nature. without form and without void. There is an absolute necessity, a profound work, a profound ministry, a profound statement about God that is found here, that it is He that must perform this great work. It is the Spirit of God that brooded upon the face of the waters, and it is the Spirit of God that must move, must work, must act in the heart of unbelievers in order to give them faith. So the resemblance here is profound. And then it tells us in verse three, God said, let there be light and there was light.

Last night, Sam and I were out here. And when we got here, it wasn't quite dark. And he noticed over here in the West, the banana moon. I mean, it was just a little bit. When we left here, it was dark and that moon was quite bright. And he says, that looks like the smiling moon.

We look at that as light. It's reflected light. Can you imagine light without the sun or the moon or the stars? Because that's what we have right here. We have light before the sun. We have God creating light before the sun, before there were stars, before there were planets, before there was a moon that only reflects light.

It goes on to tell us about the creation of these lights. But this light, God said, let there be light, and there was light. What a profound statement. We read about that. in His profoundness, commanding profound light out of the darkness that was there. Now we think, well with God it would be light. Well for our benefit, He shares with us in verse 3, let there be light and there was light.

Now we're going to find out as we follow this out, the creation of Adam, the creation of Eve, the fall that they went through, that there was a light that was in this world, a special particular spiritual light that they had. As soon as they ate the forbidden fruit, they lost that light and they were in darkness. And we read about that in the scripture. But before we go any further, This profound light that we read about, this commanding of a profound light that God could command it just because he's God. He could command this profound entrance of great light without a sun, without the stars, without the planets, without anything else. There would be a profound light. We find that that is a picture and a type and a shadow of what God does for us when he brings the light to bear.

Would you turn with me over to the book of Matthew? The book of Matthew, as we read this profound statement in the book of Matthew chapter four. Book of Matthew chapter four, we're going to read about this light, a profound light from a profound God doing a profound business. In the book of Matthew chapter four, The Lord Jesus brings this subject up here, and it says here, verse 14, that it might be, oh, verse 13, and leaving Nazareth, he came to dwell in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast in the borders of Zebulon and Naphtalem. that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, The land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtalem, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people which sat in darkness saw great light.

And to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up. For that time, Jesus began to preach and say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. So it tells us in that passage of scripture about a great light coming. Light for the Gentiles. People which sat in darkness saw great light.

Well, that just brings us to a passage in the book of Acts chapter nine. But that's where it happens. But Paul brings it up in Acts chapter 22. So would you join me in Acts chapter 22 as we think about this profound light. It didn't have planets, didn't have stars, didn't have any of the things that we get light from. Planets reflect light, so does the moon. The sun and all the suns have great light.

But here in the book of Acts chapter 22, in the book of Acts chapter 22, we read the words that were given by the Holy Spirit to the Apostle Paul, and he's recounting what happened as he was traveling on the road to Damascus, and we've been spending some time on that in Acts chapter nine. But it's wonderful to go into the scriptures and find out other places where this incident took place.

Verse six, and it came to pass that as I made my journey, and that's Saul of Tarsus talking later as Paul, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, and you know what he had to say is what happened. He didn't have to enlarge on it. He just mentioned what happened. He goes on, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon. Suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. Well, we could just simply say, God said, let there be light and there was light.

And that light shined from heaven, it shined down upon him, and it tells us in verse seven, and I fell into the ground and heard the voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Now we find that Saul of Tarsus was a pattern. The Lord may not, probably didn't, have a great light, physical light, shine down on us when the Lord saved us. But there was a light that was given to us, and that light is the light of understanding the gospel through Jesus Christ the Lord, a light from heaven. He is the light, what he said, I am the light of the world. So he's the one that is shining down upon his people, and that's what we are given when God saves us. It's a light of understanding, it's a light of knowledge, it's a light of salvation, it's the light of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So the profound statement mentioned throughout the scriptures begins in Genesis chapter one, verse one. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. If we go to John chapter 3, we find that so is everyone that is born of the Spirit. And it takes the Holy Spirit to cause the great new birth. And then in verse 3 of Genesis chapter 1, and God said, let there be light, and there was light.

Nothing could hold it back. The darkness comprehended it not. And that word comprehended means you can't hold it back. It's going to shine. There's nothing that can stop it. So I've had people, and I've probably said it many times, I resisted God, I resisted God, not when He shined the light. When the light came, there was no resistance. We bow. So, a most profound statement. In the beginning, God. That's where I have to go for all my beginnings. Beginning of the human race, beginning of life, beginning of all things, and the beginning of my salvation was in the person of God Almighty. We're gonna stop there and be a little extra time for fellowship. So, we thank you for your attention.