WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:04.140 Welcome to the Valley Baptist Church Sermon Podcast. 00:04.880 --> 00:08.260 We're so glad you're here, and we hope this message inspires you, 00:08.480 --> 00:12.020 builds your faith, and moves you toward a deep relationship with God. 00:12.580 --> 00:15.160 Today, you'll find great insight into the Bible 00:15.160 --> 00:17.840 and learn how you can apply it straight to your life. 00:18.240 --> 00:20.380 So welcome and enjoy the message. 00:21.140 --> 00:25.600 If you have your Bible, please open it with me to Genesis chapter 1. We're going to 00:26.140 --> 00:32.740 begin in verse number 26 here in just a moment in a message I'm calling, Who Are We? Now, 00:33.420 --> 00:39.200 while you're turning there, I want to celebrate a few attendance records for our church. 00:39.820 --> 00:46.780 Last Sunday, we had 5,068 people in attendance, which is our largest Sunday. 00:47.260 --> 00:49.640 That's a non-Easter Sunday. 00:50.740 --> 00:58.960 Last Sunday in Life Group, we had 3,621 people, which is an all-time record as well. 00:59.560 --> 01:05.420 And three Sundays in a row for the first time ever, we had over 3,000 in life groups. 01:05.540 --> 01:12.180 So God's working in a special way, and I'm so thankful for each and every person who's 01:12.180 --> 01:17.140 given their life to Christ and is now getting connected to the body of Christ here at Valley 01:17.140 --> 01:18.059 Baptist Church. 01:18.060 --> 01:19.700 And so God's at work. 01:20.000 --> 01:25.920 Now hopefully you've made your way to Genesis chapter 1 in a message I'm calling, Who Are We? 01:26.760 --> 01:28.060 Human beings, that is. 01:28.140 --> 01:31.100 Who are we and why are we here? 01:31.780 --> 01:36.580 Now, I was warned after the last service, someone said, this was a little more of an 01:36.580 --> 01:37.960 intellectual sermon. 01:38.520 --> 01:41.800 I didn't mean it that way, but perhaps they're right. 01:42.200 --> 01:43.139 So stay with me. 01:43.140 --> 01:45.480 We're going to connect a lot of dots of Scripture, 01:46.000 --> 01:50.820 and I don't want to lose you, all right? So who are we and why are we here? Are we 01:50.820 --> 01:58.580 a cosmic accident? Are we just animals who happen to be at the top of the evolutionary ladder? Or 01:58.580 --> 02:08.680 have we been created differently, uniquely, and with purpose. In Genesis chapter 1, God answers those questions for us. 02:08.980 --> 02:16.000 We pick up the creation account in verse number 26, right in the middle of day number 6. It says, 02:16.000 --> 02:23.020 Then God said, Let us make man in our image according to our likeness. Let them have dominion 02:23.020 --> 02:25.180 over the fish of the seas, over the birds of the 02:25.180 --> 02:31.340 air, and over the cattle. Many translate that as livestock. Over all the earth and over every 02:31.340 --> 02:37.380 creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. Here's our first principle. We are the masterpiece 02:37.380 --> 02:45.280 of God's creation. Now, if you've ever doubted your worth or your significance, please think again, because you 02:45.280 --> 02:53.980 are God's masterpiece made in the very likeness of God himself. Now, last week we saw a rhythm 02:53.980 --> 02:59.260 within the creation account. God said, let there be, and there was. Let there be, and there was. 02:59.260 --> 03:06.220 Let there be, and there was. But then in verse 26, there's a break in the rhythm, and a dramatic change happens 03:06.220 --> 03:12.880 in the narrative. It's as if God pauses, and he has this divine conversation within the Godhead. 03:12.880 --> 03:22.680 He says, let us. Let us make man in our image according to our likeness. Now, we cannot arrive 03:22.680 --> 03:26.480 at the doctrine of the Trinity from this one verse, but we certainly can 03:26.480 --> 03:33.800 see the Trinity in it, as a Godhead mysteriously converses together. In this heavenly conversation, 03:34.000 --> 03:39.780 it signifies that the pinnacle of God's creative act has arrived. It's the crescendo moment, 03:39.780 --> 03:47.860 the masterpiece of all masterpieces. God makes mankind in His image. Here's our principle. 03:48.580 --> 03:55.560 We are image bearers of God. That's who we are. Now, what exactly does that mean? Well, 03:55.600 --> 04:01.660 admittedly, it's very difficult to know for sure all that that means. When I was in seminary, 04:01.660 --> 04:06.940 I wrote a 20-page research paper on being made in the image of God, 04:06.960 --> 04:11.380 and I recently looked for that to help me with my message today, but I couldn't find it. 04:12.020 --> 04:18.980 Now, I'm sure it was brilliant, you know, but we'll never really know because it's gone. It's gone. 04:19.300 --> 04:21.940 Here's what I remember about that paper, though. 04:22.360 --> 04:26.360 There are all kinds of differing opinions on what it means to 04:26.360 --> 04:32.060 be made in the image of God. So I'm not going to cover all those opinions today. Instead, I'm going 04:32.060 --> 04:37.860 to point out just some of what it means to be made in the image of God. So this isn't exhaustive, 04:38.600 --> 04:48.700 but I hope it's helpful. First of all, broadly speaking, I believe being made in the image of God has to do with one's essence and one's actions. 04:49.500 --> 04:51.920 Who we are and what we do. 04:52.020 --> 04:53.300 Our essence and our function. 04:53.960 --> 04:59.140 We were made to be like God in our character and in our conduct. 04:59.960 --> 05:04.200 Now, our image has been marred by sin. 05:04.460 --> 05:05.920 It's been tainted by sin. 05:06.000 --> 05:08.120 We're going to get to that later in the message. 05:08.260 --> 05:13.740 But we, even as sinners, we are all made in the likeness of God. 05:14.280 --> 05:20.040 Now, in terms of our essence of who we are, it's not that we just have God's image. 05:20.520 --> 05:22.600 We are God's image. 05:23.220 --> 05:25.600 Listen, we are God's image. Now, we are God's image. 05:26.020 --> 05:29.360 Now, we're not God's image in an exhaustive sense. 05:29.680 --> 05:30.920 He's beyond us. 05:31.040 --> 05:31.919 We're the creature. 05:31.920 --> 05:32.839 He's the creator. 05:32.840 --> 05:36.020 It's not exhaustive, but nonetheless, it's very real. 05:37.000 --> 05:42.060 God created us in his image to be a reflection of him and his glory. 05:42.060 --> 05:45.000 Everyone that looks on our lives, we should be reflecting 05:45.000 --> 05:52.940 who God is and what God is up to. Now, on your computer, I am sure you probably have some icons 05:52.940 --> 05:59.680 that you could click on to open certain programs. On your smartphone, you'll have little icon apps, 05:59.840 --> 06:07.700 images that represent a particular app. Now, those images that you can touch represent a greater reality 06:07.700 --> 06:14.680 that later opens up. That's us, human beings. We are the image, the icon that reflects and 06:14.680 --> 06:21.040 represents a greater reality who is God. Now, in the ancient world, it was very common for kings 06:21.040 --> 06:26.100 who ruled over a vast domain to have statutes built of themselves in their image 06:26.100 --> 06:32.280 that they would place all throughout their kingdom. They were called icons, and their image or their 06:32.280 --> 06:40.100 icon represented them to their kingdom. Now, those kings were not the first ones to think about that. 06:40.840 --> 06:47.320 God was. You see, God is spirit. He doesn't have a physical body. And so when He created us, 06:47.560 --> 06:54.600 He created us with a spirit just like He has, but also with a body so that we can be a spiritual 06:54.600 --> 07:02.080 and physical image of who He is. Now, do you remember the second command that God gave in 07:02.080 --> 07:06.660 Exodus chapter 20 among the Ten Commandments. You shall not make for 07:06.660 --> 07:14.920 yourself a carved image to worship. I think God gave that command perhaps in part because we 07:14.920 --> 07:26.880 ourselves are the only proper images of God. And we weren't made with hands, we were made by God himself. And so we are living images of the living God. 07:27.600 --> 07:33.700 Now, not long before Jesus was arrested, the religious leaders came to him and the Pharisees, 07:33.820 --> 07:39.660 the scribes, the Herodians, they came and they were trying to trip Jesus up with some gotcha 07:39.660 --> 07:52.500 questions, asking him about the resurrection, all these different things, and included in that was the question, is it lawful for man to pay taxes to Caesar? And so Jesus said, well, bring 07:52.500 --> 07:56.580 me the tax money. And so they brought him a denarius, and he looked at the coin, and he said, 07:56.640 --> 08:02.420 whose image is this? And they said, Caesar's. And then he said, render therefore to Caesar what is 08:02.420 --> 08:05.320 Caesar's, and to God what is God's. 08:05.680 --> 08:10.200 Now, most of the time, the application for you and I is be sure and pay your taxes to the government. 08:10.440 --> 08:14.140 And it's good to give money that belongs to the Lord to him as well. 08:14.620 --> 08:17.900 But Jesus also said, render to God the things that are God's. 08:18.100 --> 08:20.460 Now, everything is God's, isn't it? 08:20.860 --> 08:27.840 But I think that perhaps Jesus had Genesis 1 26 in mind when he said that. You see, 08:27.900 --> 08:36.080 the coin belonged to Caesar because his image was on it, and we belong to God because his image is 08:36.080 --> 08:42.540 on us. We've been marked by him in a special, unique way that is different than all the rest 08:42.540 --> 08:46.460 of creation. Now, the question becomes, how does 08:46.460 --> 08:51.880 being made in the image of God distinguish us from other life forms that God created? Well, 08:51.880 --> 09:00.420 the first way, I think, it means this, that we have intrinsic value and dignity. Every human life, 09:00.500 --> 09:08.180 including yours, is incredibly valuable and worth so very much because you've been made in the 09:08.180 --> 09:13.240 image of God. Now, the world tries to lie to us, doesn't it? Don't they? Tell us, you're only worth 09:13.240 --> 09:18.500 something if you look a certain way. You're only worth something if you have this kind of money. 09:18.500 --> 09:25.600 But our value does not come from any of those things. Our value comes from the fact that we bear the image of Almighty 09:25.600 --> 09:35.800 God, and that makes us incredibly valuable. Now, this truth that every single human life has 09:35.800 --> 09:47.260 intrinsic value and dignity, this is why we oppose things like slavery and racism and abortion. Human life is not a clump of cells. It's the 09:47.260 --> 09:54.500 image of God, and therefore it's sacred and should be protected. Now, when Adam and Eve sinned, 09:54.740 --> 10:01.920 they remained in the image of God. We all are in the image of God, but that image was marred. 10:02.740 --> 10:07.780 It wasn't lost, but it was distorted. The glory of it was diminished and 10:07.780 --> 10:14.260 tainted, but the value is still there. And we see that from Genesis chapter 9, verse number 6. It 10:14.260 --> 10:20.020 says, whoever sheds man's blood, this, by the way, this is after sin into the world, by man his blood 10:20.020 --> 10:25.780 shall be shed, for in the image of God he made man. So the basis of capital punishment is that 10:25.780 --> 10:32.380 as sinners, you and I, we still bear the image of God. Therefore, there's incredible value in each 10:32.380 --> 10:40.360 one of us so that God looks upon us even in all of our sin, and he still loves us. And he loves us 10:40.360 --> 10:47.940 so much and finds us so valuable that it was worth the price of his son, and Jesus came 10:47.940 --> 10:56.440 willingly to pay for our lives. Now, as image bearers, we also see that we have divine purpose. 10:57.160 --> 11:02.660 The world that's around us tries to make us believe that we're cosmic accidents, 11:03.360 --> 11:05.000 but God says, no, no, no. 11:05.120 --> 11:06.720 You were made in my likeness. 11:07.260 --> 11:08.239 You bear my image. 11:08.240 --> 11:09.179 You're special. 11:09.180 --> 11:11.600 I have a wonderful plan for your life. 11:11.920 --> 11:13.560 You have purpose. 11:15.060 --> 11:18.600 You ever wondered why depression is so rampant within our culture? 11:18.600 --> 11:22.580 Well, it's because people are told their life doesn't have any meaning. 11:23.180 --> 11:24.720 There's no real purpose. 11:24.940 --> 11:28.500 It's just one pointless day after another pointless day. 11:28.600 --> 11:33.600 Get up in the morning, brush your teeth, comb your hair, get dressed for work, go to work, make some living. 11:34.000 --> 11:38.120 So you can have a roof over your head to go back to bed, brush your teeth. 11:38.120 --> 11:40.420 Just do it over and over again. 11:40.540 --> 11:48.680 It's like this endless, mindless, purposeless life. Listen, that is a lie from the 11:48.680 --> 11:58.220 devil. Your life has divine purpose because he made you for a specific reason, to bear his image 11:58.220 --> 12:06.620 to the world. Now, being made in God's image also means that we have the capacity for reason, creativity, and relationships. 12:07.440 --> 12:12.400 Now, these are some of the things that uniquely distinguish us from animal life. Unlike animals, 12:12.480 --> 12:18.440 we have the ability to use logic and wisdom. Now, where did we get that ability? We got it from God, 12:19.040 --> 12:28.440 who's the source of logic and wisdom. John said, in the beginning was the Word. The Word is logos in Greek. We get 12:28.440 --> 12:35.820 the word logic from it. Jesus is a very logic and reasonable person of God. Now, we also have the 12:35.820 --> 12:46.360 ability to create, don't we? Now, some animals are creative as well. Well, take wasps, for example. They have the ability to make a wasp nest, 12:46.940 --> 12:52.800 but actually they do that not out of creativity. They do it out of instinct. A thousand years ago, 12:53.120 --> 12:57.900 wasps were making wasp nests. A thousand years from now, if the Lord tarries, they'll still be 12:57.900 --> 13:07.600 making wasp nests out of God-given instinct to do so. Human beings are different. We have a creative willpower to choose 13:07.600 --> 13:14.000 to make and create all sorts of things. We have a capacity for creativity. Now, admittedly, 13:14.760 --> 13:20.660 everyone's capacity is a little different on creativity. I did not get a real artistic gene 13:20.660 --> 13:27.280 in me, okay? That part of my image has been distorted, I can tell you. And grade school, 13:28.200 --> 13:32.600 arts and crafts were my worst subject, you know? Fold the paper like a taco, and the lines just 13:32.600 --> 13:38.960 never lined up. But we have a capacity in our own way, each and every one of us, to be creative. 13:39.680 --> 13:45.920 Now, we have the capacity for deep relationship, don't we? Deeper relationship than animals have. 13:46.380 --> 13:48.100 You see, God is relational. 13:48.240 --> 13:50.880 We see that in verse 26 within the Trinity, 13:51.300 --> 13:55.240 this divine conversation between God and Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 13:55.240 --> 13:57.700 And so when God created us in his image, 13:57.780 --> 14:02.240 he created us to share a relationship with us because he's relational. 14:02.820 --> 14:05.300 So that every human being, we have this deep 14:05.300 --> 14:14.540 longing for God. We have this craving to know him. Pascal said that within every human life is a God 14:14.540 --> 14:19.760 shaped vacuum. And people try to fill it with all kinds of different things, but it's only shaped 14:19.760 --> 14:27.700 like God. So only God can fill it. Verse number 27, it says, so God created man in his own image. 14:28.160 --> 14:35.320 In the image of God, he created him. Male and female, he created them. Here we learn that we 14:35.320 --> 14:43.560 are either male or female. Now, for millennia, this simple reality wasn't questioned, but recently 14:43.560 --> 14:46.520 there's a widespread rejection of this basic truth, so that. But recently, there's a widespread rejection of 14:46.520 --> 14:51.600 this basic truth so that now people will say there's like over 70 different genders. 14:53.660 --> 14:57.760 What our world is saying to many of our young people is, you're a mistake. 14:58.740 --> 15:06.700 You were made the wrong gender. And you can fix that mistake by becoming something you're not, because biological facts 15:06.700 --> 15:12.980 don't matter. The gender God assigned you at conception, it doesn't matter. Listen, those lies 15:12.980 --> 15:19.860 are creating untold insecurity and anxiety and depression among our young people. 15:20.500 --> 15:27.460 And so if you're a young boy that's listening to this message, you're struggling with the thought of being a young boy or you're a young girl 15:27.460 --> 15:29.020 struggling with the thought of being a girl, 15:29.260 --> 15:31.740 you don't need the world adding to your struggle. 15:32.120 --> 15:37.140 You need us pointing out how God beautifully and wonderfully made you. 15:37.860 --> 15:40.120 You are a result of divine purpose. 15:44.600 --> 15:51.100 I mean, so what if maybe you don't fit all the stereotypes? God made you an individual boy or 15:51.100 --> 15:56.540 a girl with specific interests and passions when he created you, and those differences should be 15:56.540 --> 16:03.640 celebrated, not used as an attack to attack your gender and who God made you. Now, with that said, 16:03.680 --> 16:06.040 I recognize that because of sin and the fall, 16:06.540 --> 16:13.200 and because of the predatory nature of our world upon these young people, there are very real and 16:13.200 --> 16:18.720 significant gender issues that many young people have to work through. And as a church, I want to 16:18.720 --> 16:25.200 let you know that we are here to help you. We have wonderful youth pastors and wonderful youth leaders that are here to help. 16:25.920 --> 16:32.320 Verse number 28, then God blessed them and said to them, be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth 16:32.320 --> 16:37.060 and subdue it, have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every 16:37.060 --> 16:42.960 living thing that moves on earth. You see, both men and women were both created in the image of God, 16:43.040 --> 16:45.500 and we are told to multiply. 16:51.240 --> 16:56.319 Later, we're going to be told to get married and then multiply. Spread out over all of the earth, 16:56.320 --> 17:02.319 have dominion over it, and then together, together, men and women, we exercise dominion, 17:02.320 --> 17:10.400 which means we're caretakers of creation. We should take care of our own individual bodies that are being made in the image of God. We should take care of all creation, which means we're neither to destroy the environment nor worship the environment. 17:10.580 --> 17:14.480 We'd rather rule over it since we care for it. 17:14.780 --> 17:16.159 Here's the principle. 17:16.160 --> 17:20.660 We are representative extensions of God's rulership over the world. 17:21.380 --> 17:25.500 I know that's a wordy point, but it's stated precisely. 17:26.980 --> 17:30.820 Now, God has ultimate rulership over the world, 17:31.300 --> 17:36.760 but he created us in his image in such a way that we share in his ruling. 17:37.320 --> 17:41.860 And really, that's actually part of what it means to be made in the image of God. 17:41.860 --> 17:47.440 We are made as God's image to be God's image. So in other 17:47.440 --> 17:53.800 words, there's action involved in, that comes out of our essence of who we are. So that the rest of 17:53.800 --> 18:00.220 creation, they see us, and when they see us, they are supposed to see our maker, the image of God, 18:01.160 --> 18:07.820 and be reminded of his rule and his reign. Now, remember, in ancient kings, when they conquered 18:07.820 --> 18:13.460 a land, He would have a statue built in His image called an icon. It would be placed in a distant 18:13.460 --> 18:20.020 land to be an image of the king's rule and His reign. We are that image, that icon of God, 18:20.520 --> 18:27.380 made in His image. But unlike lifeless images, we're living images capable of exercising dominion 18:27.380 --> 18:36.400 ourselves, or at least we were. See, when Adam and Eve sinned, everything changed. And this is 18:36.400 --> 18:39.940 where you're going to have to stay with me in this message. I'm going to connect some dots for you, 18:40.640 --> 18:45.320 but I want you to stay with me. We are now born in the image of Adam. 18:46.220 --> 18:49.300 And because of that, our image has been corrupted by sin. 18:49.780 --> 18:51.500 And here's what else that includes. 18:52.160 --> 18:54.440 It includes the consequence of sin, which is death. 18:54.840 --> 18:57.260 That accompanies our very existence. 18:58.060 --> 18:59.680 You see, when God told Adam and Eve, 19:00.240 --> 19:03.140 in the day that you sin against me, you shall surely die, 19:03.920 --> 19:04.659 that's what happened. 19:04.660 --> 19:08.080 When they sinned, death entered into the world. 19:08.460 --> 19:12.760 And all of their babies, all of our babies, are sinners that are now marked by death. 19:12.760 --> 19:18.580 Now, there's two aspects of Adam and Eve's being that was marked by death and died. 19:19.740 --> 19:22.920 Immediately, their physical bodies began to die. 19:23.000 --> 19:24.199 They began to age. 19:24.200 --> 19:27.720 Cells were corrupted, and they eventually died. But immediately, their physical bodies began to die. They began to age. Cells were corrupted, and they eventually died. 19:27.780 --> 19:29.540 But immediately, their spirit died. 19:30.840 --> 19:33.880 Now, death fundamentally is separation. 19:34.340 --> 19:39.100 So that when our body dies, what happens is our spirit is separated from our body. 19:39.380 --> 19:45.660 But when our spirit dies, our spirit and the spirit of God are separated. 19:46.080 --> 19:56.860 So that while in one sense we are living images of God, in another sense, until we're born again by his spirit, we're spiritually dead images of God. 19:57.120 --> 20:06.560 Now we see in Genesis chapter 2 that when God created Adam, he breathed life into him by his spirit. 20:06.900 --> 20:08.180 Genesis 2, verse 7. 20:08.800 --> 20:11.240 And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground 20:11.240 --> 20:15.840 and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, 20:15.880 --> 20:17.920 and man became a living being. 20:17.920 --> 20:20.620 Now, there's a word play in Hebrew that you can't see in English. 20:21.180 --> 20:26.080 The word breath or breathe and the word spirit are the same exact words. 20:26.920 --> 20:33.640 God breathed the spirit of life into man so that he now was fully created in the image of God. 20:33.640 --> 20:42.600 But when Adam and Eve sinned, God's spirit was removed from them, the relationship was separated, 20:43.040 --> 20:47.100 and the glory of God's image was now marred and diminished. 20:48.480 --> 20:53.640 Praise God that's not the end of the story, is it? If you know your scriptures, you know there's so 20:53.640 --> 21:00.340 much more, because the Bible is about God restoring our image of Him through His Son, Jesus. 21:01.140 --> 21:07.220 You see, Jesus Christ is the perfect image of God. He's God himself, and he exercised dominion 21:07.220 --> 21:13.340 over creation in ways that we have failed to do. When you read the Gospels, you see that Jesus 21:13.340 --> 21:19.160 actually exercised dominion over the livestock, over the birds, and over the fish. Remember when 21:19.160 --> 21:25.120 Jesus went into Jerusalem, his triumphal entry, and when he was about to go down the Mount of Olives, 21:25.200 --> 21:29.640 what did he tell his disciples? He said, go get that donkey that's never been ridden. And Jesus 21:29.640 --> 21:35.580 got on that donkey. He rode down the Mount of Olives through the gates of Jerusalem. I can 21:35.580 --> 21:40.880 tell you from experience, donkeys that have never been ridden don't allow you to get on them and 21:40.880 --> 21:46.260 ride them unless you have special dominion over them. Jesus did the same 21:46.260 --> 21:51.260 thing with the fish of the sea. We read about how he didn't have any money to pay the taxes. And so 21:51.260 --> 21:57.400 he told the disciples, here's what you do. Go throw a hook into the water and you pull up that fish 21:57.400 --> 22:02.300 and the fish that you pull up, you look in his mouth, there's going to be a coin lodged in his 22:02.300 --> 22:11.160 mouth. You take that coin out. You use that to pay the temple tax, clearly orchestrating his dominion over the fish. Now we know he did that 22:11.160 --> 22:18.020 with the birds as well. On the night that Jesus was arrested, he told Peter, he said, 22:19.120 --> 22:26.320 before the rooster crows the third time, you're going to deny me. And it's as if Jesus gave permission to the crow 22:26.320 --> 22:33.340 to crow when Peter denied him a third time. Listen, Jesus exercised dominion over all of creation, 22:33.340 --> 22:45.480 and he did so, I believe, in part to reclaim and regain what it looks like for mankind to bear the glorious image of God. 22:50.720 --> 22:54.979 And the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 3 that believers, you and I, 22:54.980 --> 23:01.619 who have come to faith, saving faith through the grace of God in Jesus Christ, 23:01.620 --> 23:07.899 that we are being transformed back into the image of God, back into the image of Jesus. 23:07.900 --> 23:13.060 And he says, from glory to glory. You see, we started out as glorious image bearers of God. Then that glory was diminished and tainted, and now Jesus is 23:13.060 --> 23:23.160 transforming us back into glory bearers, both in essence and in action. So that when we believe in 23:23.160 --> 23:26.720 Christ, this is how it works. When we believe in Christ, 23:27.520 --> 23:32.860 Jesus pays for all of our sin on the cross, and then it's removed from us. It's atoned for. 23:32.860 --> 23:40.800 And God's Spirit then returns to us, and He begins a good work in us, perfecting us once again into 23:40.800 --> 23:47.400 His image. The dominion that was somewhat lost is now restored. 23:48.060 --> 23:51.060 You see, when Satan tempted Adam and Eve 23:51.060 --> 23:52.700 and they sinned against God, 23:53.140 --> 23:56.720 in a sense, when they did that, they gave dominion 23:56.720 --> 23:59.280 that God had given them, they gave it to Satan. 23:59.940 --> 24:03.980 We know that from 2 Corinthians 4, verse number 4, 24:04.300 --> 24:07.880 whose minds the God of the saints, that's the devil, has blinded, 24:08.160 --> 24:11.080 who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, 24:11.400 --> 24:13.980 who is the image of God, should shine on them. 24:14.060 --> 24:15.580 So Satan's the God of this age. 24:15.840 --> 24:21.140 He's exercising dominion over this world that was actually given us to have dominion over. 24:21.540 --> 24:22.999 We gave it away. 24:23.000 --> 24:27.800 So that when Satan tempted Jesus in the desert for 40 days, 24:27.980 --> 24:32.280 he took Jesus at one point up on a high mountain, and he said, look at all the kings of the world 24:32.280 --> 24:39.100 that have been given to me. They can be yours right now if you'll simply bow to me. You see, 24:39.160 --> 24:45.720 what God gave to us, we gave away to the devil. But that's not the end of the story because God sent his son Jesus 24:45.720 --> 24:53.280 back into the world to regain dominion. Now, Jesus did not do so by bowing his knee to Satan. 24:53.380 --> 25:00.180 He did so through paying for sin on the cross and rising on the third day. So, 25:00.440 --> 25:08.660 that in the book of Revelation, the very end of our Bible, chapter 1, verse number 6 that we read Wednesday night, 25:08.720 --> 25:12.360 it just jumped off the pages of me, for me, I think by the Holy Spirit. 25:12.500 --> 25:16.980 Verse number 6 says, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 25:17.080 --> 25:19.659 That's Jesus. 25:19.660 --> 25:24.160 Growing up, I heard Pastor Phil say it this way probably a thousand times. 25:24.240 --> 25:28.760 He said, the Bible is about the king and his coming kingdom. 25:30.200 --> 25:33.360 You see, the king, almighty God, created a world. 25:34.160 --> 25:39.000 And he created us as human beings in his image to exercise dominion, 25:39.000 --> 25:40.320 rulership over the world. 25:41.440 --> 25:48.260 But everything changed when we rebelled against God. The living images of God were now 25:48.260 --> 25:55.500 marred and marked by death. And the world that we were supposed to rule over was handed to the 25:55.500 --> 26:07.160 king's enemy, Satan. So the story of the Bible is that King Jesus is coming back to claim his world, to bring back to life his image bearers, 26:07.200 --> 26:12.360 that's you and I, and to re-engain dominion over the world and to establish an eternal kingdom 26:12.360 --> 26:19.440 on earth as it is in heaven. So let me say it again. I'm on repeat. Make sure you stay with me. 26:20.020 --> 26:27.200 I'm going to summarize it again. We were given dominion. We gave away our dominion. 26:28.140 --> 26:30.280 Jesus won back our dominion. 26:30.780 --> 26:34.360 And now he's sharing his dominion with us forever. 26:35.380 --> 26:36.959 Did you realize that? 26:36.960 --> 26:42.000 The New Testament teaches that for those of us who have, by the grace of God, 26:42.000 --> 26:45.620 surrendered our lives to Jesus in faith, 26:51.480 --> 26:53.320 that we are now joint heirs with Christ through adoption as sons. 26:54.280 --> 26:55.320 Can you imagine that? 26:56.820 --> 27:00.240 Real glorious, glorious truth. We will reign with him forever and ever. 27:00.760 --> 27:02.899 Amen. 27:02.900 --> 27:04.020 Verse number 29. 27:04.960 --> 27:08.140 It says, Then God said, See, I've given you every herb that yields 27:08.140 --> 27:12.620 seed which is on the face of the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed. To you it shall be 27:12.620 --> 27:17.800 for food. Also to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that 27:17.800 --> 27:29.480 creeps on the earth in which there is life, I've given every green herb for food. And it was so. Then God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good. 27:29.860 --> 27:33.280 So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 27:34.180 --> 27:38.840 So it seems like we were all originally created as vegetarians. 27:38.840 --> 27:42.180 Even the beasts of the earth were vegetarians. 27:42.320 --> 27:46.560 Remember, there was no death before sin, so no animals were being eaten. 27:47.520 --> 27:51.260 Now, later, God would give us permission to eat meat. 27:52.360 --> 27:54.700 And I praise God for that because I really like to eat meat. 27:56.220 --> 28:00.980 But that was not the original design prior to death entering into the world. 28:00.980 --> 28:13.900 I guess originally it was more like what it will someday be in the millennial reign of Christ on the earth. The lion laid down with the lamb, and it was all very, very good. 28:15.760 --> 28:30.100 As we begin wrapping up, I want to end where we started today. Who are we? We are the masterpiece of God's creation. We're like Michelangelo's painting on 28:30.100 --> 28:35.380 the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. We're his masterpiece. Now, let's suppose that after 28:35.380 --> 28:43.280 Michelangelo finished painting that wonderful masterpiece of Adam and the last judgment, 28:43.620 --> 28:45.240 and his wonderful masterpiece 28:45.240 --> 28:47.280 on the Sistine Chapel, the ceiling of it. 28:47.500 --> 28:49.020 Let's suppose that someone walked in 28:49.020 --> 28:52.580 and looked at that incredible work of art 28:52.580 --> 28:53.960 and said, man, wow, 28:55.240 --> 28:57.440 look at the incredible detail, 28:57.660 --> 28:59.420 look at the incredible beauty. 28:59.600 --> 29:02.660 Isn't it amazing that that just accidentally happened? 29:09.180 --> 29:16.960 I can't think of a greater insult to Michelangelo than that, to be in awe of the art while completely dismissing the existence of the artist. 29:18.640 --> 29:31.500 Folks, we have an artist, designer, a maker, and he made us really special. Now, the world doesn't revolve around us. 29:31.640 --> 29:37.040 Don't think you're special in that sense. We are the creature, but we are loved, and we have value, 29:37.600 --> 29:51.760 and we have purpose. But here's the deal. We messed it up with sin. But Jesus came back to fix it, to fix us. And he'll fix you. You'll just open your 29:51.760 --> 30:00.220 heart to him in faith and invite him to do a work in your life that you can't do without him. 30:01.520 --> 30:06.740 The Bible says that it's appointed for men to die once and then the judgment. Each and every 30:06.740 --> 30:14.280 one of us someday will stand before our maker and we'll give an account to him for all the ways that 30:14.280 --> 30:26.220 we distorted his image. Remember, our very existence through the relationship we have with God. We are intended to reflect God to all the rest of creation. 30:26.960 --> 30:31.940 We've distorted it. Instead of being loving, we've been hateful. 30:33.560 --> 30:35.940 We have not been what we ought to be. 30:38.000 --> 30:43.080 Now, the Bible teaches that God has written eternity upon our hearts. In fact, I believe 30:43.080 --> 30:45.220 that's part of what it means to be made 30:45.220 --> 30:50.700 in the image of God. God is eternal, and so when he made us in his image, he made us to be everlasting, 30:51.460 --> 30:59.660 so that every single human soul will exist forever somewhere. There was a time when we were not, 30:59.660 --> 31:06.120 but there will never again be a time when we will not be. We're eternal. 31:14.700 --> 31:16.220 So I want to invite you today to come to your maker and be restored by him. 31:17.260 --> 31:20.399 The Bible says, 31:20.400 --> 31:26.659 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, 31:26.660 --> 31:32.199 that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. You say, man, 31:32.200 --> 31:40.020 pastor, you don't know what I've done. You don't know the sin and the corruption. You don't know my thoughts. Listen, I know what Jesus did. I know that Jesus paid for all of your sin, 31:40.960 --> 31:46.320 and it'll be applied to your life, you'll just believe. 31:48.980 --> 31:49.980 And the way you do that is with humility, 31:53.860 --> 31:57.220 to recognize that you've blown it and that you own that and that you admit it 31:57.220 --> 32:00.380 and you come to God in faith. 32:00.780 --> 32:03.220 You see, God, I believe, is pursuing you. 32:04.100 --> 32:06.300 Maybe he's been pursuing you for some time, and 32:06.300 --> 32:11.500 there's been a little bit of an awareness, but maybe right now there's a new awareness 32:11.500 --> 32:19.180 of your own sin, an awareness of God in a fresh way, and I believe that that's the case. That's 32:19.180 --> 32:30.540 the Spirit of God saying, come to me. Come to me. The truth Truth is, Bible says, whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord 32:30.540 --> 32:35.000 shall be saved. I want to invite you to call on the name of the Lord today. Let's bow together 32:35.000 --> 32:41.440 in an attitude of prayer, if you will. This is a holy moment in the life of our church, but 32:41.440 --> 32:45.360 this isn't a formal moment. I think sometimes people think 32:45.360 --> 32:50.540 the invitation time is a formal, it's a holy moment, but in just a moment after I pray, 32:51.200 --> 32:54.940 we're going to stand to our feet and we're going to have pastors and other leaders, 32:56.260 --> 33:00.820 prayer partners scattered all across the front of our worship center. And the reason we're doing 33:00.820 --> 33:05.800 that is because we've been praying for movement in our service. Because I 33:05.800 --> 33:12.680 personally believe that when God is moving on hearts, we physically move. This is like we've 33:12.680 --> 33:19.540 got to encounter him. And so I want to invite you, if that's the case for you, to actually physically 33:19.540 --> 33:28.640 move and walk down one of these aisles, walk down one of these staircases, and say, man, God, there's something happening in my life, and I know I need him. 33:29.440 --> 33:30.760 Say, I want to give my life to Christ. 33:30.980 --> 33:32.820 This team will know exactly how to help you. 33:32.880 --> 33:35.000 You can just step out and come as you are. 33:35.080 --> 33:36.600 In fact, that's the only way you can come. 33:37.400 --> 33:40.700 Sometimes we get the thought, man, I've failed so much. 33:40.700 --> 33:42.280 I need to clean up my life. 33:42.360 --> 33:43.520 I need to do better. 33:43.660 --> 33:44.760 I need to do more. 33:44.960 --> 33:48.719 No, no, no, no. 33:48.720 --> 33:51.320 What you need is the hand of a Savior 33:51.320 --> 33:57.560 to rescue you out of a mess that you can't rescue yourself out of. 33:58.680 --> 34:07.300 And his name is Jesus. I want to invite you to know him, know about him but to know him for his spirit 34:07.300 --> 34:10.480 to touch the depths of who you are 34:10.480 --> 34:12.600 where no one else can touch but him 34:12.600 --> 34:15.900 for his spirit to touch your spirit 34:15.900 --> 34:19.920 and breathe new life into you 34:19.920 --> 34:23.320 in just a moment if God is tugging on your heart 34:23.320 --> 34:25.780 I want to invite you as we stand just to come forward. 34:26.380 --> 34:27.500 Let us know what God's doing. 34:27.700 --> 34:29.459 We're here to help you. 34:29.460 --> 34:32.120 Maybe you want to come to these steps and pray. 34:32.940 --> 34:37.380 It's not necessarily even about what the message was about, 34:37.480 --> 34:40.480 but you need to bring something to the Lord 34:40.480 --> 34:43.320 and you want to allow these steps to serve as an altar 34:43.320 --> 34:45.280 between you and him. 34:46.480 --> 34:53.680 I want you to feel free to come forward and to move as God moves and to pour out your heart to 34:53.680 --> 35:00.800 him. Maybe you want to be baptized like others in our service were baptized earlier. Say, I want to 35:00.800 --> 35:06.580 go public with my faith. It's time. I don't want to be ashamed. I want to identify 35:06.580 --> 35:11.900 with Jesus in the way he asked me to identify with him. You let us know. We would love to talk 35:11.900 --> 35:32.180 to you about your relationship with the Lord and about baptism. Let's pray. Our gracious heavenly I'm so thankful, Lord, for the way that your word is woven together from beginning to end. 35:33.760 --> 35:39.840 That you looked at the mess that we made by our sin and that you didn't leave us in that mess. 35:41.080 --> 35:45.360 But you sent your son, Jesus, and he willingly came on a rescue mission 35:45.360 --> 35:51.780 Lord help us 35:51.780 --> 35:53.400 draw close 35:53.400 --> 35:56.680 not by our own goodness 35:56.680 --> 35:58.320 but by your goodness 35:58.320 --> 36:03.280 Lord we love you 36:03.280 --> 36:07.360 and I recognize that for some, 36:07.480 --> 36:11.600 perhaps this message was more difficult 36:11.600 --> 36:15.020 to stay with me for whatever reason. 36:15.180 --> 36:18.240 But Lord, I just trust that you've spoken. 36:19.540 --> 36:22.520 And I'm asking, Lord, that you do a mighty work 36:22.520 --> 36:24.660 in the hearts of all of us. 36:25.260 --> 36:27.940 If we know you, Lord, help us know you more. 36:28.340 --> 36:31.220 More intimate, closer. 36:32.560 --> 36:37.360 Help us turn from our sin and just walk with you, abide in you. 36:38.260 --> 36:41.020 Lord, if there are people that don't know you, please, Lord, 36:43.300 --> 36:47.940 please do a special work in such a way that you give them the courage to step out and come 36:47.940 --> 36:50.380 and give their life to you in faith. 36:50.900 --> 36:53.620 We pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen. 36:54.700 --> 36:55.960 Thanks for listening today. 36:56.220 --> 36:57.780 We hope you enjoyed this message. 36:58.020 --> 37:01.160 And if you did, we would be so grateful if you left us a review. 37:01.800 --> 37:05.340 Also, go ahead and subscribe to the podcast if you would like to be notified 37:05.340 --> 37:06.780 when a new sermon is released. 37:07.420 --> 37:09.060 If you feel the Lord calling you 37:09.060 --> 37:10.520 to take the next step in faith 37:10.520 --> 37:13.160 through salvation, service, or giving, 37:13.760 --> 37:15.139 don't wait. 37:15.140 --> 37:18.200 Reach out to us by texting podcast to 88988. 37:18.480 --> 37:20.760 That's podcast to 88988 37:20.760 --> 37:23.700 or connect with us on one of our social media platforms. 37:24.340 --> 37:29.460 You can also visit our website, valleybaptist.org, to find even more great resources. 37:30.140 --> 37:33.340 No matter where you are in your journey, know that we love you, 37:33.620 --> 37:37.780 we're praying for you, and we can't wait to see what God will do in your life.