25-0309a Transcript

Preacher: Scott Reynolds

(1:16) We are in a study on Genesis chapters 1 through 11. (1:22) We’re in chapter 1 now.

(1:25) It is all about the beginning. (1:28) And we’re looking at it as it is written. (1:31) It’s written as a historical account of events that occurred when God brought everything into being.

(1:42) And that’s how we’re going to look at it, as a historical account. (1:47) And as Jesus prayed to God just before being betrayed by Judas, prayed with his disciples, Jesus said, sanctify them in your truth. (2:02) And just so we didn’t miss the point, he said, your word is truth.

(2:09) And so we’re going to look at this account as being the truth. (2:12) This is a truthful account from someone who was there when it occurred. (2:21) Among others, by the way, we learned, even the angels witnessed God’s bringing the physical realm into being.

(2:31) So in our study, we’re in the creation week, a real week, six 24-hour days, about 6,000 years ago. (2:41) And this morning we pause at day three, part one, because two things happen, two major events occur on day three. (2:53) And we’ll talk about part one this morning and part two this evening.

(2:59) So this is the moment in part one that God gathers the waters and calls dried land to rise, laying the foundation for all that follows. (3:11) Let’s take a moment with me and read his word that Roger just brought to us, but we’re going to go over it again since it is the lesson. (3:21) And let it settle in your hearts.

(3:25) Genesis 1, verses 9 through 10. (3:30) Then God said, let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear. (3:38) And it was so.

(3:40) God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters he called seas. (3:48) And God saw that it was good. (3:52) We have at least one observer of what took place there because God saw that.

(3:56) And we also learned from Job that the angels witnessed it also. (4:01) So we have witnesses of what occurred. (4:06) What a marvel this is.

(4:07) God shaping the earth in a single day with the word. (4:15) Before we linger here, let’s step back to days one and two and see how he builds step by step preparing for this moment. (4:25) Then we’ll explore day three with wisdom from the Institute of Creation Research and Apologetics Press.

(4:33) I go to the professionals there. (4:37) Voices that hold fast to scripture. (4:40) This isn’t just history, it’s a revelation of God’s power.

(4:47) A truth that stands firm against the world’s doubts. (4:55) So come with me and let’s see what he’s done. (5:00) Days one and two, a recap.

(5:03) So day one is where God starts his work, and it’s not a small thing. (5:09) It’s a cascade of creation in one 24-hour day. (5:15) Consider this.

(5:16) He begins with two realms, distinct and glorious. (5:21) First, there’s the spiritual heavens, what Nehemiah 9.6 calls the heaven of heavens. (5:29) This is God’s dwelling, where angels live in pure light, a place untouched by darkness, radiant with his presence.

(5:40) Then he forms the physical realm, our universe, the vast canopy of space stretching out beyond what can be grasped. (5:48) Job 38.4 and 7 tells us the angels were there watching in awe. (5:56) Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth, he asked Job, (6:01) when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy, (6:07) and they saw it unfold, God’s hands at work, laying the cosmic cornerstone.

(6:18) Then comes the earth itself, humble and unformed. (6:23) Genesis 1.2 says it’s formless and void, a dark ball wrapped in deep waters, no shape, no land, just an endless sea under the heavens. (6:38) Reflect on this.

(6:39) Isaiah 45.7 says I form light and create darkness, and darkness isn’t an accident. (6:48) God crafts it, a shadow cast against the spiritual heavens' glow. (6:55) Waters cover everything.

(6:57) Imagine an ocean so vast it swallows the earth whole, waiting for God’s next move. (7:07) And then he speaks. (7:09) Let there be light.

(7:11) This isn’t the sun or stars, those don’t come until day four. (7:14) It’s a different light, perhaps his own glory breaking through, a radiance that pierces the dark. (7:21) Genesis 1.4 says he separates it.

(7:24) Darkness becomes evening, light becomes morning, and time begins, one full turn of the earth, 24 hours. (7:34) And Genesis 1.5 closes it. (7:37) There was evening and morning, the first day.

(7:42) Think about that rhythm. (7:44) God sets it, a literal day, not some endless age. (7:49) No atmosphere yet, though space looms cold, minus 457 degrees Fahrenheit.

(7:57) And that water, the top freezes into a global ice shell, a simmering crust over liquid depths. (8:06) Day one is raw, untamed. (8:09) Earth, water, light, darkness, waiting for God’s care.

(8:17) Day two lifts our eyes upward. (8:20) God shapes the space we live in. (8:23) He says, let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters that our sky, that’s our sky, our atmosphere, air to breathe, a shield above.

(8:33) Genesis 1.6-7 unfolds it. (8:36) Let it separate the waters from the waters. (8:39) And God made the expanse and separated the waters below from the waters above.

(8:45) Picture this deep water from day one, and God parts it. (8:50) Liquid below, ice or vapor above, and air slips in between, a firm layer holding the earth together. (8:58) How does it form? (9:00) Perhaps gases rise from the sea, oxygen and nitrogen, building the sky we know.

(9:08) The ice shell traps it, keeping the air close. (9:11) While the waters below, thin or lower, no land yet. (9:18) Just a wet, icy world under that day one light.

(9:22) And here’s something to ponder. (9:25) Day two stands alone. (9:27) God doesn’t call it, saying it was good.

(9:32) Every other day, he looks and says, it’s good, but not here. (9:38) Why? (9:39) Maybe it’s unfinished, a step that flows into day three, like a craftsman molding clay. (9:47) Day two’s the shaping, not the finish.

(9:51) Evening passes, morning comes another 24 hours, and God’s work continues. (9:58) Job 38, 8 through 9 adds, (10:02) Who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb and said, (10:10) Thus far you shall come and no farther. (10:14) Those waters are wild, surging, but God’s voice reigns them in, (10:19) preparing for what’s next.

(10:22) And this is our God ordering chaos, step by step. (10:29) So day three, God shapes the earth. (10:33) This is where the earth begins to feel like home.

(10:37) God’s crafting a foundation, and he delights in it. (10:41) Up till now, it’s been a watery, icy ball with air taking shape. (10:45) Then he speaks, and everything changes.

(10:48) Let’s linger here in part one, where land and seas find their place. (10:55) Imagine the earth as it stands, a vast wet sphere, ice on top, water below, (11:01) and the skies thickening from day two. (11:05) Day one gave us the raw pieces, earth, water, light, dark.

(11:11) Day two parted the waters, setting up the air. (11:15) Now God speaks with purpose. (11:18) Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, (11:21) and let dry ground appear.

(11:25) And it happens just like that. (11:28) Waters rush together into one ocean, and land rises up, dry, firm, (11:34) ready to bear life. (11:36) God names it earth, calls the waters seas, and pauses.

(11:43) This is good. (11:47) The world shifts from formless to formed, and reflect on that, (11:53) that God’s voice alone reshapes it all. (11:56) One ocean, one land, God’s original design.

(12:02) Consider what this might mean. (12:05) Today our earth is a tapestry, seven seas, like the Pacific and Atlantic, (12:10) seven continents, like Africa and Asia, all spread out and divided. (12:17) But here it’s different.

(12:20) Waters gathered into one place suggest one vast sea, (12:25) a single ocean holding all the water. (12:28) If that’s so, the land that appears could be one unbroken stretch of super (12:35) continent, whole and undivided. (12:40) Genesis doesn’t draw us a picture, doesn’t trace the shores, (12:44) but it’s not the scattered earth we know.

(12:47) It’s something unified, something God designed with care. (12:52) The Institute for Creation Research sees this beauty. (12:56) Dr. John Morris writes, (13:00) Day three might show a single land mass surrounded by one ocean, (13:05) a design change later by the flood in Genesis 7. (13:10) Apologetics Press echoes this, pointing to 2 Peter 3.6. (13:14) The world that then was, that early earth they say was one, (13:19) land and sea together, not the fractured world we see now.

(13:24) Wayne Jackson adds, the flood remade it. (13:28) Continents split apart instantly in that great judgment, (13:33) not over endless ages. (13:37) This isn’t mere theory.

(13:40) There’s a spread, there’s a thread of evidence. (13:44) In 1858, Antonio Schneider Pellegrini, (13:48) a creationist with a keen eye noticed plant fossils and coal, (13:54) identical plants buried in North America and Europe, oceans apart. (14:00) He said, these lands were once joined.

(14:04) One land was with one sea around it, then torn apart. (14:09) He saw the flood’s hand in it, (14:11) sketched how Africa and South America might fit together. (14:16) The world scoffed then in 1858.

(14:20) Continents don’t move, they said, but ICR nods. (14:25) That fits day three’s one place for the waters, (14:28) and God’s design was simple, intentional, (14:31) a canvas of unity reshaped by his later work. (14:36) How does the land appear? (14:38) God’s instant command.

(14:42) Let’s pause here. (14:43) What does it mean for the land to appear? (14:47) God doesn’t say, let there be land, as he did with light or the sky. (14:53) He says, let it appear.

(14:55) That’s a quiet, powerful word. (14:57) It was there all along, hidden underneath the water since day one. (15:03) Job 38.4 whispers this.

(15:06) Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? (15:10) That foundation’s been waiting. (15:12) Now God reveals it. (15:16) And how does he do it? (15:19) Maybe he lifts it up gently.

(15:21) Imagine forces deep below, volcanic power stirring, (15:26) magma pressing up, raising the land through the sea. (15:29) Waters part, land emerges, the sea sliding away like a curtain drawn back. (15:36) Or perhaps the water falls, the atmosphere from day two still at work, (15:41) gases rising from the depths, turning water into air.

(15:45) That ice shell holds it, and as the liquid level lowers, (15:52) land breaks through, drying under day one’s sun, under day one’s light. (16:01) Could it be both, land rising and the waters retreating, a harmony of God’s hand? (16:07) Apologetics Press holds this. (16:09) In one 24-hour day, waters fled at God’s voice, (16:14) and it was so.

(16:16) Kyle Butt writes, no millions of years, just his word. (16:21) ICR’s Dr. Henry Morris says, this was instantaneous, divine, (16:26) not slow erosion or shifting plates. (16:30) And day two lacked.

(16:32) It was good because it finishes here, waters ordered, land ready, (16:38) and it’s dry immediately. (16:42) Dr. Duane Gish from ICR reflects, God made it mature, land fit for life, no delay. (16:50) Think of the Red Sea in Exodus 14, 21 and 22, dry land, took hours with wind.

(16:57) Day three, air moments. (17:00) That’s our God, swift, perfect, and purposeful. (17:05) Psalm 104, a poetic echo of the day.

(17:10) And offers us a song of this moment. (17:14) He set the earth on its foundation. (17:17) It can never be moved.

(17:21) You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment. (17:24) The water stood above the mountains, but at your rebuke, the waters fled. (17:31) At the sound of your thunder, they took to flight, (17:34) and they flowed over the mountains, down into the valleys, (17:37) to the place you assigned for them.

(17:40) You set the boundary that they cannot cross. (17:44) Hear this poetry. (17:46) It’s day three in vivid color.

(17:49) Apologetics Press ties it close. (17:51) Water stood high, then fled at God’s rebuke. (17:55) Land appeared, and ICR agrees.

(17:59) Mountains rising, waters rushing to their place. (18:02) At your rebuke, God’s voice demands, and creation listens. (18:06) Sound of your thunder, it’s mighty, shaking the earth as waters scatter.

(18:12) And they flowed over the mountains, down into the valleys, (18:16) and see the peak emerge. (18:18) The low places fill, all finding their spot. (18:23) The place you assigned, that’s Genesis 1-9’s one place, named Seas.

(18:30) And that boundary is never again to cover the earth. (18:34) It’s fixed on day three, a promise of order until the flood. (18:39) Reflect on this.

(18:41) God’s not just creating. (18:43) He’s shaping a world with care. (18:47) So mountains and purpose, a home ready for life.

(18:52) Does day three bring mountains? (18:54) Genesis 1-9-10 says dry land, silent on peaks. (19:00) But Psalm 104 whispers waters above mountains, then fleeing. (19:06) By Noah’s flood, Genesis 7-19-20 speaks of high mountains covered.

(19:13) So they are there later. (19:16) Perhaps they begin here, as hills, ridges, gentle peaks, as the land rises. (19:24) ICR reflects.

(19:26) Lands shaped for life, not empty chaos. (19:30) John Morris says day three is a foundation with purpose, ready for what’s next. (19:37) Apologetics Press lists Isaiah 45-18.

(19:41) He formed it to be inhabited. (19:44) And Eric Lyons adds, earth and seas named God’s building a habitat. (19:50) This isn’t chance.

(19:51) Day three’s division, land up, seas down, prepares for plants, animals, and us. (20:02) It’s mature, firm, ready in a day. (20:06) Consider what this means.

(20:08) God’s care in every detail, crafting a home. (20:15) So God’s work versus uniformitarianism, a clash of world views. (20:21) Step back and see the bigger picture.

(20:24) Day three’s beauty clashes with the world’s tale, something called uniformitarianism. (20:32) James Hutton named it in 1785. (20:35) The present is the key to the past.

(20:39) Look today, rivers cut slow, continents drift an inch a year. (20:45) That’s how it’s always been, he said. (20:47) Billions of years of quiet change, and Charles Lyell built on it.

(20:52) Land rising from molten rock, plates shifting over ages, waves grinding forever. (20:58) Day three, they’d say no. (21:01) Land in hours? (21:03) It needs eons, they claim.

(21:06) But Genesis stands firm. (21:08) ICR John Morris says, God didn’t wait for tectonics. (21:12) He spoke, and land appeared.

(21:15) Apologetics Press adds, evolution says oceans ruled for billions of years before land. (21:22) Day three turns that upside down. (21:25) Land first, instant.

(21:27) Trace the genealogies about 6,000 years ago. (21:31) Not billions. (21:32) One day, 24 hours, and God’s done it.

(21:37) 2 Peter 3, 4 through 5 speaks of this. (21:41) Scoffers will say, all continues just as it was from the beginning. (21:46) But it escapes their notice that by the word of God, the heavens existed, (21:52) and the earth was formed out of water and by water.

(21:56) They miss it. (21:57) God’s voice, not time, shapes this. (22:01) ICR’s The Genesis Flood says, no slow layers, just sudden power.

(22:07) Like the flood shows later, uniformitarianism falters. (22:13) Waters flee, land stands, all by his word. (22:18) And that is our stand.

(22:20) The world sees nature alone, billions of years, no creator. (22:25) And Genesis reveals God’s rule. (22:28) Six days, one week, it’s finished.

(22:32) Day three testifies. (22:36) Earth formed by his command, not endless waiting. (22:41) Psalm 33, 6 sings, by the word of the Lord, the heavens were made.

(22:47) That truth, that’s truth to hold. (22:51) So our conclusion. (22:54) Here in day three, part one, God gathers the waters and raises land.

(22:59) He calls it good. (23:02) One ocean, one land, different, mature, instant. (23:06) Psalm 104 lifts its voice.

(23:09) Water flees at his thunder. (23:11) Earth stands sure. (23:12) About 6,000 years ago, he spoke.

(23:15) No ages, no chance, just purpose. (23:19) This morning, take hold of this. (23:22) God’s power shaped our world, swift and strong.

(23:26) It’s not a fragile tail. (23:27) It’s a firm beginning. (23:30) Psalm 33, 9 says, he spoke, and it was done.

(23:35) He commanded, and it stood fast. (23:38) That’s our ground. (23:40) Not shifting doubts, but God’s truth.

(23:44) The world may question, and we may know, day three’s earth is his, and so are we. (23:54) That’s the lesson. (23:57) We are extending the invitation now, for all those who are subject to it, as we stand and sing.