Latest / Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ) / Equipped 2026: Ladies: "Genesis in the Gospels" by Cherie Vestal

Transcript

Equipped 2026: Ladies: "Genesis in the Gospels" by Cherie Vestal · Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ)

• 0:00
  So welcome, we're glad you're here on a Saturday morning
• 0:03
  I love seeing everybody's smiling faces and getting ready to think think about God and the things of God
• 0:10
  Psalm 115 in verse 1 is important to me
• 0:12
  It's it's on a my daughter wrote it on the edge of a plate and it's real pretty though her calligraphy and I have it
• 0:19
  Displayed in my kitchen, which says not under us. Oh Lord not under us be the glory, but unto your name
• 0:25
  So that's where I want to go I told my little introducer lady that she can just read that verse and I'd be alright
• 0:33
  Because it's not about us is it it's about God
• 0:36
  I've been assigned the topic. Of course, we're doing Genesis this time and it's really
• 0:42
  Very comprehensive a lot of what the speakers are saying overlap one another so you're going to hear some of that for me as well
• 0:49
  I was listening yesterday go. Oh, I'm going to say that
• 0:52
  Because we if there are truth and different, you know, we should be getting the same truth out of this book
• 0:58
  So this is something that you'll probably notice
• 1:02
  Genesis in the Gospels though, and I'd like to start by asking you this
• 1:08
  What and this is a like a question that needs answers
• 1:11
  What?
• 1:13
  Kind of photo albums. Do you have how do you store your images and pictures?
• 1:19
  Do you have photo album on your phone? I
• 1:22
  Do now which is really handy
• 1:25
  Some people my daughter-in-law puts all hers on Facebook
• 1:29
  So then she's got the albums and Facebook that she can go and find at any point in time
• 1:33
  So it saves apparently good the memory on her phone
• 1:36
  Does anybody still have the old kind of photo albums you can pull out of it?
• 1:40
  You know in the baby book or maybe scrapbooking remember scrapbooking and they're so beautiful
• 1:45
  You can pull those out and look at those photos
• 1:47
  so I want you to keep the thought in mind as we go through this entire lesson of pictures and photos and photo albums and
• 1:54
  Whatever yours looks like
• 1:56
  Because photo albums give us some things one thing that they give us a family history
• 2:01
  I've got some albums of things from my own parents and my own mom and my grandparents that that helps me see the family history
• 2:09
  Another thing that photo albums or albums of pictures can do for us is they can show us the growth of something
• 2:16
  So this baby here a little cute little infant baby picture
• 2:19
  So from infancy to maturity now we get to see this in albums, right?
• 2:25
  Every now and then my phone shows me the picture of the day and I pull it up and I'm like
• 2:30
  You know that was six years ago and they look different now
• 2:33
  so there's a growth that albums can point out to us and
• 2:37
  Then another thing that photo albums and pictures can do for us is show us resemblances. Wow, you really look like your grandmother
• 2:45
  You know
• 2:47
  Or you look like your brother. No, you don't you look like, you know
• 2:50
  So people start discussing who the baby looks like and of course it changes 25 times as the baby grows
• 2:55
  Grows and matures, but we see some resemblances. So keep those things in mind a history of the maturing and
• 3:03
  Resemblances and we're going to look at these from Genesis and into the Gospels because Genesis
• 3:10
  Genesis is the first page of God's family album number one
• 3:16
  the Old Testament and
• 3:18
  Genesis is the beginning of that. So when we open this book of Genesis, we're going to see God's hand in the events
• 3:24
  God's hand in the people and this is the infant stage of his plan that he had come up with before time began
• 3:31
  It's starting to take place here in Genesis the beginning of God's family album number one
• 3:37
  This is my travel Bible, by the way, because we fly we don't check bags and I have spaces a premium
• 3:43
  so I've got this tiny little Bible and the font size is like three but
• 3:50
  Anyway, and so then when we flip over to the Gospels
• 3:54
  We're gonna just go about halfway through this book a little more and there's the Gospels
• 3:58
  It's the beginning of God's family album number two
• 4:02
  Okay, and the Gospels are the first pages in family album number two the New Testament
• 4:08
  When we look here, we're going to see some maturity from the infancy in one some maturity in two and we're going to see some
• 4:15
  Resemblances. Oh, wow, that looks like
• 4:19
  somebody from back in the Old Testament
• 4:22
  Then even in our own time in our own day in today's moment in history
• 4:26
  We can still see and recognize the help in the hand of God
• 4:32
  Genesis can be roughly outlined in eight parts
• 4:35
  four big events and
• 4:37
  four big personalities
• 4:39
  So the events creation the fall
• 4:42
  the flood
• 4:44
  the Tower of Babel and
• 4:46
  four big personalities
• 4:48
  Abraham Isaac
• 4:50
  Jacob and Joseph
• 4:52
  so we're going to take these eight as
• 4:54
  we look at Genesis in the Gospels to help us see God's plan from infancy into some maturity and
• 5:02
  See his people with some family resemblances
• 5:05
  So that these pictures can help build our own trust in God for our own place in history
• 5:13
  Which is his story
• 5:15
  Now these are going to be flyover views
• 5:17
  We won't have time to look and analyze and take a bunch of time on each one of these eight things
• 5:23
  So we're going to do a flyover
• 5:24
  So we flew here and when you look out the window that plane you get a nice overview of wow, Nashville is so green
• 5:31
  I'm from the desert. It just hits me Nashville is so green. So we get some big
• 5:37
  Pictures when we're up in a plane, right? We get a big overview
• 5:40
  We want to think of this as a flyover view of Genesis and what we can see in the Gospels and then for us today
• 5:47
  Picture number one out of the four big events number one picture one
• 5:51
  creation
• 5:53
  Creation is God's
• 5:55
  preparation
• 5:58
  Preparation God is preparing and this is from Genesis chapter 1 and 2
• 6:03
  in the beginning
• 6:05
  God
• 6:06
  Genesis 1 1 here we read of God's very first activity in our realm
• 6:12
  God
• 6:13
  Created the heavens and the earth. Let's look closer
• 6:18
  Genesis 1
• 6:20
  We find a spiritual God preparing a physical place
• 6:27
  He prepared a world for us in verses 11 and verses 28 of chapter 1 he prepared a garden
• 6:35
  Chapter 2 in verse 8 this this world this physical realm that God
• 6:41
  Prepared was pristine and beautiful. It was perfect. It was flawless
• 6:46
  the design is amazing and it still is as
• 6:50
  We look at our world today. We can continue to see the designs that our great God created
• 6:57
  Psalm 19 1 and 1 through 4 reminds us to take a look
• 7:01
  Yes, our God prepared this world for us to live in and even now it's still breathtaking
• 7:09
  Then in Genesis 1 and 2 we also read that God prepared people
• 7:16
  the first people Adam and Eve
• 7:19
  People are the crowning part of his creation made in his own image
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  Genesis 1 27 he prepared their physical bodies
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  He breathed into Adam the breath of life and wallah
• 7:32
  living soul
• 7:33
  Genesis 2 and verse 7 by his design our creative God perfectly prepared people, too
• 7:43
  Well, how is God's preparation
• 7:45
  The creation of his preparation seen in the Gospels. So we're going over here to album 2 now
• 7:52
  in the beginning
• 7:55
  John chapter 1 in verse 1 sounds like an echo
• 7:59
  Again, we find in front of everything at the start of it all in the beginning
• 8:06
  Was the Word?
• 8:08
  Which is Jesus and the Word was with God and the Word was God
• 8:12
  In the Gospels and I say Gospels because there's not four different ones
• 8:16
  There's four different writers who wrote it down for us right in the Gospel accounts. We find Jesus God the Word
• 8:24
  Preparing to enter the place that God had created this place our place where we live
• 8:32
  His world our realm
• 8:35
  He would come down come in and experience physical life with us life here
• 8:41
  John 1 14 says and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us
• 8:46
  Yes
• 8:48
  Jesus left his heavenly place of glory to live in the most humble of circumstances Philippians 2 6 and 7
• 8:57
  Then in the Gospels as an echo of Genesis creation. We see God's preparation for
• 9:04
  eternal life for the people
• 9:07
  Potentially all people John 1 in verse 4 in him and Jesus was life and that life was the light of men
• 9:16
  We're all familiar with John 3 16, right?
• 9:19
  So start it with me for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son
• 9:25
  that whosoever believes in him should not perish but would have
• 9:32
  Everlasting life
• 9:33
  so and then John verse 17
• 9:36
  317 goes on to say for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world
• 9:41
  But in order that the world might be saved
• 9:44
  through him
• 9:45
  Jesus came to restore the spiritual beauty of life. That was first granted in the gospel
• 9:51
  He brought us abundant life John 10 in verse 10
• 9:56
  So summarizing this first big picture from the creation record of Genesis we see this we can summarize it in three words
• 10:03
  God over all
• 10:06
  We're here today with the beginning and an eternity because of God's preparation
• 10:13
  So
• 10:15
  What is our response to God's amazing preparation?
• 10:19
  Well, I'm thankful and I'm amazed and I'm in awe of God
• 10:26
  Do you know what the word all means a WB what's another word for that?
• 10:34
  Wonder
• 10:35
  Somebody say something else
• 10:37
  Just being amazed, right?
• 10:40
  Or a little, you know a child where would be wow
• 10:43
  When I see and understand what God has done in his preparation, I can just stop and say wow his awesome creation
• 10:51
  Can we step outside into the beauty of the world out there and still say wow?
• 10:56
  and do we
• 10:58
  One author that I was reading says that the secret to happiness is to have a moment of awe in every day
• 11:05
  And I believe that I believe it is so important God intends for us to still
• 11:10
  Look at what he has created and think about him and about Jesus in the gospel accounts and say wow
• 11:18
  Wow
• 11:19
  so our response to this amazing God is wow and
• 11:25
  thankfulness
• 11:26
  Let's be thankful to him
• 11:29
  Picture number two from Genesis album one God's family. I'm a number one. This is
• 11:34
  Orbit events event number two the fall. This is a problem. This is humanity's problem
• 11:40
  So we saw God's preparation and in the creation, but now we see humanity's problem in the fall
• 11:47
  Genesis chapter 3
• 11:49
  Close on the heels of the perfect world that God prepared we find humanity's failure
• 11:54
  Their fall happens when people thought that their own way was better than God's design
• 12:02
  In Genesis 3 we see that their fall as we commonly call it brought a change of venue a change to the place
• 12:11
  Their self-will and listening to the whispers of Satan resulted in an exit from God's pristine garden
• 12:17
  Verses 23 and 24 and now the people found themselves in a different place a hard place a
• 12:24
  Separated place away from their former closeness with God
• 12:28
  The ground was cursed verse 17 and 18
• 12:32
  The beauty of God's creation became defiled from its original glory Romans 8 and verse 22 tells us
• 12:40
  So the fall changed the place that we lived in it
• 12:44
  Well the fall also changed the people
• 12:47
  Their choice made them flawed
• 12:50
  imperfect
• 12:51
  Broken it brought shame versus 8 through 13, which is the burden of guilt
• 12:57
  Their choice brought pain sweat tears and eventually death
• 13:03
  Verse 16 through 19. What a drastic turn
• 13:06
  The fall brought this devastating problem that would affect humanity from then on
• 13:13
  How sad?
• 13:14
  This ugly picture in album one broke God's heart
• 13:19
  Yet don't forget this. He knew it would happen and he thought
• 13:24
  That humanity was worth it and worth the costly solution that it would take Ephesians chapter 1
• 13:33
  So God back in Genesis 3 spoke a glimmer of hope in verse 15
• 13:38
  Not leaving the people hopeless in their sin, and that's our good God
• 13:45
  Well, how is this fall humanity's problem seen in the Gospels album 2 well
• 13:50
  Jesus came to offer humanity a rescue the choice to accept God's solution to the problem in
• 13:57
  John 14 1 through 6 Jesus begins. Let not your hearts be troubled
• 14:02
  Believe in God believe also in me. He's pointing them to the solution and then he concludes in verse 6
• 14:08
  I am the way the truth and the life. This is the way back to the father
• 14:15
  In the Gospels Jesus offers a new place
• 14:18
  While we live in this physical realm that's fallen and broken in some ways we get to now enter his spiritual kingdom
• 14:26
  Matthew 16 in verse 18
• 14:28
  I will build my church and the gates of hell or Hades shall not prevail against it. Jesus said
• 14:36
  In John 10 in verse 9 Jesus said I am the door if anyone enters by me that sounds like a place doesn't it?
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  He will be saved and go in and out and find pasture
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  Jesus says this a new place for us his church spiritually and then
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  Jesus came to restore the people themselves from the problem of the fall
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  People could be mended and cleaned up and made whole and their guilt their shame of their guilt could be removed by him
• 15:07
  The angel foretold in Matthew 121 he will save his people from their sins and
• 15:14
  Then Jesus personally invites in a well-loved passage Matthew 11 28 through 30 come unto me
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  All you who labor and are heavy laden. I will give you rest
• 15:24
  He's offering a renewal isn't he? I am gentle and lowly and hard and you will find rest
• 15:31
  His offer still stands
• 15:34
  So summarizing this picture to the fall and humanities problem we see this
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  God already with a plan
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  God was already had already had a plan and he was already working his plan. God is not surprised by problems
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  We are I am
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  But even in this most monumental of all the problems God already had the solution Romans 8 and verse 29
• 16:05
  Do we trust him with our other problems by the way? He already knows what they are. He already has the solutions
• 16:13
  So what's our problem? I'm sorry
• 16:15
  What is our response to the problem of sin and the fall and God's action on our behalf in the Gospels?
• 16:23
  What's our response to that well if we're wise what are we gonna do
• 16:27
  We're gonna reach out and accept that solution that Jesus offered
• 16:31
  We're gonna reach out and take his hand as the only rescue from the problem. That is way too big for us
• 16:37
  Think of Peter in Matthew 14 and verse 30 when he's sinking down in the water and he reaches out says Lord save me
• 16:43
  You know a storm like that will help you realize where your only
• 16:47
  Health is coming from and sometimes life takes us to a storm like that doesn't it and we realize there's only one way
• 16:54
  There's only one help from this storm. There's only one person big enough to see us through life's problems
• 17:02
  Picture number three the flood
• 17:06
  The flood can be summarized by God's loving patience and
• 17:12
  Judgment
• 17:13
  This is a two-sided coin God's loving patience and his judgment
• 17:20
  Genesis chapter 6
• 17:23
  Sometimes I think we want to rush straight to the flood his judgment without noticing his patience
• 17:29
  Did you notice that God waited until there were only eight people in the world who even acknowledged him?
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  before he
• 17:37
  decided
• 17:38
  To bring the flood and the judgment
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  The rest of the world had exchanged his design in verse 11 for violent corruption
• 17:47
  That's terrible. The world was terrible before God initiated the flood
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  Now that's a lot of patience
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  God's patience was finally exhausted though and his judgment ensued
• 18:01
  with the flood
• 18:03
  The place changed again the venue changed the cursed earth underwent a drastic upheaval
• 18:09
  By water, did you know that today's archaeologists are still unearthing and I know you know this evidence of the flood
• 18:17
  Just in January of last year
• 18:20
  a bed of about 200 dinosaur
• 18:24
  Footprint fossils were found in the UK the largest yet in that region
• 18:29
  The interviewed professor said this and I quote
• 18:33
  Something must have happened to preserve the fossil record. We don't know exactly what
• 18:39
  but it might be get this that there was a storm event that came in and
• 18:45
  Deposited loads of sediment on top of the footprints that meant they were preserved rather than just being washed away
• 18:51
  That's quoted in the BBC
• 18:54
  Okay, and then last May
• 18:56
  Just last May
• 18:59
  Researchers find compelling evidence of Noah's Ark remains
• 19:03
  Possibly Noah's Ark theory gains momentum as soil tests reveal the organic remains and that's Fox News
• 19:13
  Well, yes a storm event that we call the flood
• 19:17
  Created many of the archaeological discoveries that we find today
• 19:21
  The Holy Spirit gives us a flood commentary in 2nd Peter 2 verses 4 & 5 where he
• 19:27
  Through the through the pen and Peter says God did not spare the ancient world
• 19:33
  But protected Noah a preacher of righteousness
• 19:37
  With seven others now notice. There's just two people groups here the rest of the world and Noah and his family, right?
• 19:45
  When he when God brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly
• 19:49
  Ungodly
• 19:50
  Now it took Noah about 120 years to build the Ark of Genesis 6 and verse 3
• 19:54
  But what was he doing during that time besides building?
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  He was preaching righteousness
• 20:01
  even with the judgment on the horizon
• 20:04
  God's patience provided a message of righteousness
• 20:09
  This is our good God
• 20:13
  So how is God's patience loving patience and judgment seen and echoed in the Gospels
• 20:20
  well
• 20:21
  Jesus foretold a
• 20:22
  Time of judgment on the Jewish nation and it came to pass that's Luke 20 verses 9 through 19 and many other passages
• 20:32
  But Jesus also spoke of a time when God's patience would finally be exhausted for the last time and
• 20:39
  Judgment will again be exercised on the whole earth
• 20:44
  Jesus brought this message, but he also embodied this message as the way out
• 20:49
  the righteous message
• 20:52
  Here Jesus in Matthew 24 37 through 39 when he says
• 20:56
  But concerning that day an hour no one knows
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  Not even the angels of heaven nor the Son but the Father only for as it were in the days of Noah
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  So will be the coming of the Son of Man
• 21:09
  For as it was in those days before the flood
• 21:12
  And he goes on to say so will be the coming of the Son of Man
• 21:16
  There's going to be a repeat here
• 21:17
  And we can find this in Luke 17 Matthew 11 and Luke 10 where Jesus speaks again of God's patience, but his judgment, too
• 21:26
  But then back in Matthew 24 here Jesus urges in verse 44
• 21:30
  Therefore he doesn't just tell us about it. He tells us what to do
• 21:34
  Therefore you must also be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect
• 21:40
  Again we are going to see just two people groups the ones who say are saved who follow Jesus and the ones who are lost
• 21:50
  So how do we summarize picture three well we see God in control
• 21:57
  Disappointed in the people yeah, he was disappointed Genesis 6 and verse 6, but he was waiting
• 22:03
  He was offering mercy and safety and then he was judging perfectly
• 22:08
  God continues to lovingly and patiently wait now, but he won't wait forever 2nd Peter 3 and verse 9
• 22:17
  so
• 22:19
  How do we respond to such a loving and patient and just God?
• 22:26
  Well, I want to live ready. Don't you I want to live ready Matthew 25 Jesus says and working for him and
• 22:34
  Like Noah and Jesus and the gospel writers
• 22:36
  Let's encourage others to enter the safety that Jesus has provided that God has provided in Jesus John 20 30 and verse 31
• 22:45
  So that's picture three
• 22:49
  Picture four from Genesis 11
• 22:52
  The Tower of Babel and in this we see man's
• 22:57
  presumption
• 23:00
  Man's presumption
• 23:02
  man's presumption
• 23:06
  This is a fourth picture from God's family album number one, and it's a fiasco at Babel
• 23:11
  Now back to the photo albums that you have and I have one picture that
• 23:16
  Perfectly embodies what I'm about to say do you have any pictures where someone's eyes are closed?
• 23:21
  Or maybe somebody you know trying to get the whole set like all the grandkids and whatnot and somebody's making a terrible face
• 23:28
  Or you know something that that you'd rather not have but a lot of times if we are going to put one of those on
• 23:34
  Facebook we choose the really best pictures and put those out for everyone else to see and maybe those are the ones that actually do
• 23:40
  Make it into the album
• 23:43
  God shows the bad along with the good
• 23:48
  Because as one philosopher says those who don't remember the past our past mistakes are doomed to repeat it
• 23:56
  It's wise to see mistakes in order to avoid them
• 24:01
  So in Genesis 11 and chapter 4 we read their mistake, and this is what it is presuming to do fine without God
• 24:08
  And here's how they speak come let us build for ourselves a city and a tower whose top will reach into heaven
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  And let us make for ourselves a name
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  Otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the earth
• 24:23
  So they wanted heaven a name and security
• 24:28
  They decided to make their own way to heaven
• 24:31
  These people built a centralized tower it was higher than anything else
• 24:34
  They'd seen before and by stacking up the bricks they were exalting themselves
• 24:39
  They were self-focused. They wanted fame and safety so they came up with a plan that didn't include God at all
• 24:47
  Look in Genesis 11 and verse 4 and let's see how many personal pronouns. Do you count I me we us ours I?
• 24:59
  Counted five
• 25:01
  They're all about themselves
• 25:04
  Do you see any mention of God in verse 4?
• 25:08
  God who?
• 25:10
  No, and this is an ugly picture of humanity God's own creation acting as if he doesn't exist I
• 25:19
  Have to chuckle a little minute when it says that God went down to see this tower
• 25:23
  That's how
• 25:25
  Apart even our best efforts are from our exalted God
• 25:30
  He had to go down to see it, and then he took them down
• 25:33
  He confused and dispersed them to prevent them from continuing in the wrong direction
• 25:38
  Their presumption
• 25:41
  Are there any echoes of this picture from Babel in the gospel accounts is there any babbling?
• 25:53
  In spite of the Genesis account humanity does repeat its mistake
• 25:58
  The ugly mistake are presuming to do fine without God. Let's notice two ways, but there are more
• 26:03
  But let's notice two although we may not build a tower of bricks to the heavens with many trust in a tower of riches
• 26:10
  bank accounts
• 26:12
  retirement plans stuff in Luke 12 verses 18 through 20
• 26:18
  Possessions were being stored up so that this person could take his ease
• 26:25
  Beware the ivory tower of our own comfort
• 26:29
  God required that man's soul of him suddenly
• 26:33
  his tower of riches left him unprepared for eternity in
• 26:38
  Mark 4 and verse 19 Jesus comments on this
• 26:41
  These deceiving and deceptive riches and the desire for other things that will choke our spiritual growth
• 26:49
  Like weeds now. I don't know about you beautiful lush green place where you live
• 26:54
  But in my yard the weeds grow the fastest and the tallest I
• 26:59
  Can mow the grass and live in four days the weeds are this high and the grass is this high
• 27:04
  What is the deal with the weeds those weeds they grow so fast and tall
• 27:08
  Jesus says the weed of trusting riches sprouts tall beware this tower
• 27:17
  So maybe we don't trust in a tower of bricks and we're doing pretty good about not trusting in our bank account and our riches
• 27:23
  Jesus says in Luke 8 9 18 and verse 9 that some trusted in their own righteousness
• 27:32
  We would never do that right
• 27:34
  Their religion pushed God over to the side and became a tower of their own good deeds
• 27:40
  Like Babel of old the devout
• 27:43
  Religious Pharisees wanted a name for themselves
• 27:46
  They wanted to do the righteous acts to be seen by men Matthew 6 and following and the Pharisees prayer in Luke 18 is a
• 27:53
  tower of his own
• 27:55
  accomplishments
• 27:56
  Romans 9 and verse 32
• 27:59
  Upholds that thought he was babbling quite literally about all his good and all his own
• 28:06
  You know
• 28:07
  Accomplishments look what I've done giving himself accolades not giving glory to God
• 28:11
  This is a danger Jesus warns in the same chapter here in Luke 18 and verse 14 whoever exalts himself
• 28:19
  like Babel's tower
• 28:21
  will be humbled and
• 28:23
  Then self-justification is an abomination and that's the word in the text
• 28:29
  to God Luke 16 verses 14 and 15
• 28:33
  To
• 28:36
  Avoid this danger
• 28:37
  We won't create our own tower when Jesus is truly our rock
• 28:42
  But we're on the rock and the rock of ages and he is the chief cornerstone of life
• 28:48
  I think that we can avoid these towers Romans 9 and verse 33 so summarizing picture 3
• 28:56
  We see
• 28:58
  God will
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  Confound
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  God will confound all human based attempts at salvation
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  Jesus is the only way to heaven acts 4 in verse 12
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  We walk in his steps and not our own way Jeremiah 10 in verse 23, so how do we respond to this picture?
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  Here's Babel. They're being all presumptuous trying to get to heaven without God. We see these New Testament examples
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  What are we going to do? How are we going to respond?
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  Well, I put a big caution sign big yellow watch out the floors wet right here
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  beware
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  presumptuous self-reliant religion in any form
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  one writer said suggests stop asking what do I want and
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  Begin asking what will matter to God?
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  That kind of thinking can bring us clarity it can help us hold our blessings with
• 29:58
  Gratitude instead of clinging to them as if our blessings were permanent clinging to the gifts instead of the giver, right?
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  Earth is not the end of the story in this present age is not the final measure of reality man-made towers are distorted
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  Reality and must be torn down
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  Jesus clarifies in Matthew 5 in verse 3 blessed are the poor
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  That means humble that means small in spirit
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  For theirs is the kingdom of heaven we need God
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  So we looked at four big events in our flyover of Genesis and we're halfway through we're going to look at four big
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  Personalities, and I'm going to talk really fast on these last four. They're actually shorter points
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  the other day
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  My daughter who worships with us this year her husband and kids worship with us at Westside of it
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  She brought her six-month-old baby in and she was all had this look on her face
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  I thought what's that look on her face about and then I looked and her six-month-old baby was wearing an outfit that she had worn
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  When she was little and I was like oh
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  You know it's so sweet
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  The outfit is and it was so cute, and it just brought back memories to me, and you know it makes your heart happy
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  so
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  These Bible stories from the past they're going to fit us to let's don't just look at this as a history lesson
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  This is a way to see and know God
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  Jeremiah 9 23 and 24 reminds us
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  That's the whole goal of the Bible and Paul says it to in Philippians. I want to know God
• 31:35
  I want to know Christ and the power of his writings, so let's don't just tune us out. You know all his three tower of Babel
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  Yeah, I know about that. No. This is these are things. They're very very relevant for us today the outfit still fits
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  picture 5 Abram or Abraham and God's promises
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  Our culture has a saying on a wing and a prayer
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  It started in World War two to mean relying on limited resources and luck the dictionary says it means
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  Not much chance of success
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  If you look at Abraham's wife or Abram then at the beginning you might describe it with this phrase a wing and a prayer
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  He left the Calvary's and there he went not even knowing where he was going to go
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  except for one thing
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  Abram did not just have luck he had God and God's promises
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  God's promises to Abram are first recorded in Genesis 12 1 through 7 in that section
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  I love it because God repeatedly says two words. I will I
• 32:38
  will do this and this I will I will and I will God promised a name a
• 32:45
  nation blessings and the blessing
• 32:48
  We read later on in the chapter in verse 10 and following that even when Abram walked
• 32:53
  imperfectly with God, which we all do
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  That and he acted faithlessly
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  That God was still faithful and I love that fact when God makes promises that makes all the difference in life
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  We don't have any need for luck
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  In the Gospels
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  In the Gospels
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  We find the last one of God's promises to Abram later called Abraham fulfilled
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  It's Jesus. He's the blessing and Jesus claims this in John 8 and verse 56 where he says
• 33:29
  Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it from the other side and was glad
• 33:38
  So in Jesus God blesses all nations of the earth
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  That's Genesis 12 and verse 3 and this is the promise that keeps on giving
• 33:47
  So what does picture 5 look like for us God's promises?
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  How are God's promises true for us?
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  in Jesus
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  In Jesus, I quote all the promises of God are yes
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  2nd Corinthians 1 and verse 20
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  Even when we falter
• 34:08
  Jesus remains true 1st John 2 and verse 1 if we are faithless
• 34:14
  Because we struggle or of humans God remains faithful for he cannot deny himself
• 34:21
  2nd Timothy 2 13
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  in Jesus
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  we are connected to the ultimate promise keeper and
• 34:28
  His promises for us are great and precious 2nd Peter 1 and verse 4
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  picture 6
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  Isaac and God's
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  provision
• 34:42
  From Genesis 22 now, there's a lot of things that happened in the life of Isaac, but we're just going to focus on one
• 34:49
  Isaac found himself in an awkward position. His life was required
• 34:54
  Listen to this conversation in Genesis 22 verses 7 and 8 between a young Isaac and his death
• 35:01
  Isaac said behold the fire in the wood, but where's the land for the burnt offering?
• 35:06
  Abraham said
• 35:08
  Who learned a few things by then?
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  God will provide for himself a lamb for the burnt offering my son
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  Abraham's father. I'm sorry Isaac's father Abraham knew that God would provide he learned to trust the promises a little better
• 35:25
  But Isaac he had questions didn't he
• 35:29
  But he complied and sure enough in verse 13 God provided
• 35:36
  God provided Isaac learned that lesson that day
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  in the Gospels
• 35:41
  Jesus speaks of God of God as the God of Isaac Matthew 22 and verse 32
• 35:49
  Abraham and his promised son Isaac were both in the care of God the God who provides
• 35:56
  The Gospels go on to remind us that God provides for his people physically Matthew 6 and verse 33
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  All these things shall be added unto you
• 36:06
  God knows we need physical provision and then in John 6 and verse 35
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  Jesus says that he's our spiritual provision. He provides for a spiritual and he will never thirst our spirits
• 36:18
  He provides every spiritual blessing Ephesians 1 and verse 3
• 36:24
  So it's pictured six true for us. Do we know that God provides?
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  How do we even get to this place where God is providing spiritually because you know, our deaths were required to
• 36:34
  like Isaac
• 36:35
  But unlike Isaac we earned our death by our own choices Romans 3 and verse 23 and
• 36:42
  Echoing Isaac's concern people wonder. Where's our lamb?
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  Will one be provided?
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  Yes, John 1 in verse church
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  29
• 36:52
  Behold the Lamb of God
• 36:55
  Who takes away the sin of the world and that's our Jesus provided by God God gave him up for us all Romans 8 and verse
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  32 we have a God who richly provides
• 37:08
  Picture 7 Jacob and God's purpose
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  From Genesis 25 and following
• 37:15
  Jacob and God's purpose
• 37:17
  Jacob's entrance into the world was marked by struggle wasn't it? He came out at birth doing what?
• 37:23
  Holding on to Esau's heel
• 37:25
  Apparently that was a struggle even in the womb and then he finagled that birthright got that and then he deceived
• 37:32
  For the blessing and then he ran away from home all alone
• 37:36
  then when he got where he was going he had to struggle with Laban over his bribes and his flocks and
• 37:43
  Finally we find Jacob in a hand-to-hand struggle with the Lord in the middle of the night
• 37:48
  Jacob had a lot of struggles in his life that last one though
• 37:51
  It left him limping remember and he finally seemed to learn to walk with the Lord
• 37:57
  At last in all of that struggle God had a purpose
• 38:03
  God taught Jacob to trust and lean on him lean on him capital H
• 38:09
  Not lean on him
• 38:12
  Jacob
• 38:14
  Because God has the best purpose for life, you know and some other aspect about Jacob's life is he had a lot of heartbreak
• 38:22
  When he had to leave home
• 38:24
  To not get killed by Esau he was away from his family. They didn't have cell phones back then
• 38:28
  He was I mean, he didn't know what was happening with his parents back home. He was gone for years
• 38:34
  Separation from them and then the death of Rachel
• 38:36
  His beloved wife and then the disappearance of Joseph
• 38:40
  Whom he presumed to be dead all of these things filled him with disappointment sadness and sorrow, but in all of that
• 38:47
  disappointment
• 38:48
  God had purpose
• 38:50
  God was blessing Jacob's path even before his birth and God directly assured him
• 38:55
  I love this in Genesis 28 verses 12 through 15. I am with you. I
• 39:01
  Will keep you I will bring you back
• 39:06
  There we see God speaking his own purpose
• 39:09
  in the Gospels
• 39:11
  We read Jacob's name along with Abraham and Isaac in the lineage of Jesus Matthew 1
• 39:17
  Jacob's line would produce the promised Messiah. Wow. There's a big purpose and
• 39:22
  Purpose accomplished and one day we'll get to sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven Matthew 8 and verse 11
• 39:30
  So how does the purpose of God picture 7 look for us? Jesus tells us to focus on his kingdom HIS
• 39:37
  Matthew 6 33 even when life has struggles
• 39:41
  God's purpose is bigger Matthew 6 25 through 34 and we don't have to worry
• 39:46
  Even when life brings disappointments and troubles Jesus intends for us to have his deeper and bigger joy John 16 and verse 33
• 39:54
  In Jesus our purpose is clear. Let's follow him Luke 18 22 all the way home
• 40:00
  picture 8 Joseph
• 40:02
  Joseph and God's presence
• 40:05
  Joseph 37 through 50
• 40:08
  You know
• 40:09
  Joseph's boyhood kind of seemed like it was a charmed life as he was his father's favorite
• 40:14
  He got the new coat and all that stuff, you know, here's Joseph and he's doing great
• 40:17
  But we know the rest of the story the brothers hated him and envied him. He got captured sold to slave traders
• 40:25
  Showed up in Egypt bought by a wealthy man. You can't say that's a charmed life
• 40:29
  Can we God provided something for Joseph that was better than a charmed life?
• 40:34
  Genesis 39 resounds with this phrase over and over again. The Lord was with Joseph
• 40:42
  The Lord was with Joseph
• 40:44
  The Lord was with Joseph. The Lord did not give up on Joseph and Joseph didn't give up on him either
• 40:51
  God's presence was there to override
• 40:54
  life
• 40:55
  circumstances
• 40:57
  In the Gospels, you know that Joseph's never mentioned. I mean we have Mary's husband Joseph a namesake
• 41:04
  We have Joseph of Arimathea a namesake, but we don't have this Joseph in the gospel
• 41:08
  But we do find the sequel to the phrase the Lord was with him. The Lord was with him
• 41:17
  Matthew chapter 1 in verse 23, they will call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us
• 41:25
  Jesus is present and
• 41:27
  Jesus left the earth. He assured his followers. I am with you always
• 41:32
  Even to the end Matthew 28 in verse 20. Don't miss it. I am with you. I
• 41:37
  Am with you. Do we have picture seven now? Well, we aren't charmed. We have no idea what life holds
• 41:43
  There's twists and turns, but neither are we abandoned John 14 in verse 18. God is with us
• 41:51
  We have we still have a vine. We still have a shepherd and we still have another helper as a Holy Spirit John 15
• 41:57
  14 and Romans 8 God with us
• 42:00
  So looking at these snapshots, what are we going to do now? Are we going to close this album?
• 42:06
  And go away and forget our own resemblance James chapter 1 in verse 24
• 42:11
  We're gonna stay stuck in our own problems and presumptions or are we gonna get the bigger picture and trust God?
• 42:18
  Getting God's big picture results and seeing his big love and his big power in every event and throughout life. I
• 42:26
  Can't wait to see our pictures because there's another album coming after this one
• 42:31
  God's family album number three yet to be revealed
• 42:35
  The Lamb's Book of Life