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The Beginning of You
May 19, 2025 · 46 min
In order to understand where we are, we must understand where we've been. So let's go back to the beginning. To our origin. The beginning of our own story, of God's heart and intention for this world.
Series The Beginning of You May 19, 2025 · 46 min · The Beginning of You
In order to understand where we are, we must understand where we've been. So let's go back to the beginning. To our origin. The beginning of our own story, of God's heart and intention for this world. ...more Show the full description Show less In order to understand where we are, we must understand where we've been. So let's go back to the beginning. To our origin. The beginning of our own story, of God's heart and intention for this world.
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In this video 0:00 The Beginning of You: Understanding Creation
The Beginning of You: Understanding Creation 0:00 Welcome to this special feature called the beginning of you. Now, you may be wondering, what does that mean? The beginning of you. Why do a feature0:12 session on origins or the beginning of us, the beginning of the world, the beginning of humanity, the beginning of seeing God's heart for us. And0:24 the reason why we're doing this special session right now, and you're joining us is because nothing is meaningful unless you understand the context. Let me give you an example.0:37 The context for appreciating a great double cheeseburger is that you skipped lunch and were starving. You appreciate that double cheeseburger even more0:49 because the context is is that you skipped lunch and you were starving. Someone who is being rescued, right, they appreciate safety1:02 because they were in danger of losing their life on a mountain or in the ocean. See the context is so important. Right? They appreciate it1:13 more because they didn't know if they were gonna live. Someone who gets better after being sick. They appreciate getting better and1:25 experiencing healing because the context is that they were sick before. So that's why we're doing this series in the beginning of you is that, unless we1:37 understand the context of our creation, the Creator, how we were made, talked about in scripture, the only detailed account1:50 given that describes the beginning of of you and I, then it's hard to appreciate the rest of our experience in God. When you outline the Bible,
2:02 it's 4 main things: creation, then fall, then redemption, and then glory. A lot of us are in the redemption and
2:14 glory phase where we've come into a relationship with Jesus Christ. He's redeemed us, and we're headed to glory. But to truly
2:26 appreciate that, we have to understand, right, the context of creation and fall. And in this session, we just want to
2:38 understand the super story of us. The beginning of you and I, we want to understand the creation story. So I want you to hold that in your mind that
2:50 that nothing, especially in the Bible, is meaningful without context. Redemption and glory is not meaningful without understanding creation and fall, and we're gonna focus
3:02 on the creation, the beginning of everything, the beginning of us. And we're gonna ask the questions that are the greatest questions of all time.
3:14 Who are we? Where do we come from? And more importantly, do we matter? And once we answer those questions, we can then go below the water line and
3:26 say, who am I? Where do I come from? Why am I alive? Again, I'm gonna use this word again. Context. If I lack context
3:38 for my origins, my existence, my truest meaning, I'm gonna go 1 or 2 ways with it. Right? Either if I don't matter,
3:50 because I wasn't created, or I'm gonna start looking for meaning in a lot of other things in false ways offered by culture
4:02 instead of finding my truest meaning and purpose and design for what I was truly created for, which is to know and have a relationship
4:14 with my creator. So let's answer the how, the when, and the why of you. And for such a monumental question, right?
4:26 You deserve a monumental answer. And we find it in the first line of the Bible, in Genesis chapter 1 verses 1 through 3. We're gonna put that on the screen, we're gonna read it together. In
4:38 the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the spirit of God was
4:50 hovering over the face of the waters, and god said. Now we paused the passage right there on purpose, and we want to pay
5:01 attention to just the first line. In the beginning, god created the heavens and the earth. And with that 1 statement, God's word affirms that the
5:13 existence of the universe and everything in it is the product of God's creative act. Now, to get my
5:25 mind around that, I wanna just take you into a normal kitchen. Right? Have you have you ever had the idea to, like, make chocolate chip cookies? Right? It's a
5:37 process of going from, chocolate I chocolate chip cookies sound really good, and then you take that idea, something inside of you says, chocolate chip cookies are a good idea,
5:49 and then you start creating. Right? When something's created, it means that information from an intelligent life giving
6:00 source is required. That's why we see created by or manufactured by. Right? And when it comes to us, the analogy plays well.
6:13 Something inside of God thought, you know what? All of this, the heavens and the earth and human beings, that's a good idea. And then
6:25 what did he start doing? He started creating because he desired to see what was in his mind created. Now that's what we're
6:36 gonna talk about this morning, and we see kind of our first point in terms of thinking about the beginning of you, and I want you to write this down. The beginning
6:48 of you begins with a creative act. That is that is what scholars call the the the proto evangelion. That's a big word. Right? But it's the first
7:00 gospel. Right? It's it's the creator creating and loving what he creates. We'll get more into that as we go along. But for now, the beginning
7:12 of you is a creative act. God simply thinks it's a good idea and he starts creating. If we look at Genesis 1 3 through 25 and just
7:24 summarize it, it looks sort of like this. And God said, light, dry land, waters, vegetation, stars,
7:35 living creatures, and it was good. Meaning, that he had finished it. You don't say, it was good
7:47 unless if something's still in process. So he starts creating, and he starts creating fully mature, fully grown, fully capable of reproducing
7:59 things. Talks about God creating in the Psalms. Psalm 33 verses 8 and 9 says, let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand
8:11 in awe of him, for he spoke and it came to be. He commanded and it stood, past tense, firm. Galaxies,
8:23 nebulae, solar system, grains of sand, bacterial microbes, subatomic particles, energy, cellular, and nuclear structures, this is how
8:35 it happened. God spoke. He commanded, and the Bible says, and there it was, and it stood firm. Talking about
8:47 the person of Jesus Christ in Colossians chapter 1 verse 16, he was there and he was co creating as God in that moment. Talking about Jesus, it
8:59 says in Colossians 1, for by him, Jesus, all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
9:10 rulers or authorities. Listen, all things were created through him and for him. So the beginning of you begins
9:22 with a creative act behind everything in the universe as we know it. As far as the Hubble telescope can see, as far
9:34 as we can see into the cosmos, everything in the universe behind it stands a living God who had an idea,
9:47 and he spoke, and things started coming to be. Right? Now a lot of you are like, Saint Kenny, alright what came first? You know, the chicken or
9:59 the egg when it comes to this creation stuff? And all I can say based on scripture is the chicken fully grown. Right? This was not a process
10:11 over time. Again, you don't say that if something, is in process that it's good. When you say it's good when the process is over, so God speaks and it stood
10:23 firm. In the creation account in Genesis chapter 1 verses, verse 1 through 2 3, in the creation account, God's not
10:35 creating up to this point. It's not like, well, I'm actively creating and then I'm gonna decide to do this thing called the universe. No. It's here in Genesis chapter 1
10:47 where God, at least biblically, becomes a creator of other things. And that word is really important, because
10:59 if there's a creator and we're created, we need to know what that word create really means. Right? And in the the root the root word, Bara,
11:11 in Hebrew is is he created something out of nothing. And again, it just goes to word choice, God speaking to Moses, delivering this
11:23 detailed account to him. And when it says God created, it means that something came from nothing. And that's hard to wrap our minds around if we're not talking
11:35 about the creator of everything, God. And so the beginning of you starts with a God who decides to start creating, and he creates the
11:46 stars and the universe and the land and the sea. But then we turn a corner in Genesis chapter 1, and this is where you and I and humanity
11:58 enter the picture. We pick up the story Genesis 1 26 and 27. It says, then God said, let us make man in our image, after our
12:11 likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So
12:22 god created man in his own image. In the image of god, he created them male and female. He created them. Then the Lord
12:34 God said, It is not good that man should be alone. I will make a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon man, and while he slept took 1 of
12:46 his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man, he made into a woman and brought her to the man.
12:58 Then the man said, this at last, I love that language, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man.
13:11 Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and be united to his wife, and they shall become 1 flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not
13:23 ashamed. I said this before, and I'm gonna say it again because it's worth repeating that this is the only detailed eyewitness account of
13:35 creation, listen, ever given. It's not an allegory, it's not mystical poetry, it's not a literary style. This is purely
13:47 expressed history from God written down by Moses. Why is that important? Because we all want
13:59 an eyewitness account, and the only eyewitness who could give such detail is the creator of the moment himself, and God wants us to know
14:11 about that. And so now that we have at least a basis where we see that the beginning of us, the beginning of you and I is a creative act, that
14:23 there is a creator who has it in his mind that I just wanna start creating. He starts speaking fully formed things into being
14:36 because he's God, and then he gets to a place where it's like, you know, the things I've created up to this point are okay, but let's make man
14:49 in our image. And I love that language too because it's a it's a foreshadowing of of the trinity. Let us make man in our image. Now we're beginning to see
15:01 the context for relationship with God. Creator created. Now let's unpack Genesis 1 and 2, and let's kinda identify
15:13 some of the truest truths about us that come alive in the creation account. And the first truest truth about you, the beginning of you, is
15:25 that we are created with intention. We are created with intention. You and I were intended. In verse 26 of Genesis,
15:37 then God said, Let us make man intentional. It repeats this kind of theme in Proverbs sixteen:four where it
15:48 says, The Lord has made everything for its purpose. Right? You see just that that God creates with intentionality. I mean, it's just it's the same thing
16:00 that we see in in the world. When someone creates a chair, it has a purpose for someone to sit in it. Right? Someone creates a video camera. Its purpose
16:12 is to record people like me, and then broadcasting it out. When someone creates anything, it's created for a purpose. You
16:24 are created for a purpose. In Isaiah 44, it says this, thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb, and will help you,
16:37 fear not. I love that. That when you know that you are created intentionally and deliberately, it delivers
16:49 couple things. It delivers peace. You know, when you know that you're created for a purpose, that gives you peace. That's why people search for that in all
17:01 these different ways. Right? Why? Because they're created for a purpose and people are searching out, do I matter? What is my purpose? 1 of the greatest selling nonfiction books is the purpose
17:12 driven life. Why is that? It's because there's something inside of us that kind of intuitively knows, okay, I'm I'm created for something more. I'm gonna go find out what that
17:24 means. Right? So when you know that you're created with intention, peace takes the place of fear because you found the meaning that you've been
17:36 searching for. So if you're alive right now, you're listening to me, it's because God wanted you to be on earth and he wants you to hear something from him
17:48 through this message in Genesis chapter 1. You're created by me. You're created for me. And 1 day you're going to come to me, but between
18:00 this moment and that day, because of my intention. Right? I want you to fulfill the purpose for which you were created.
18:13 The beginning of you, the truest truth, is that you are created with intention. God planned for you to be alive. Now, I just
18:25 want you to stop and take a big deep breath and just take that in. I'm created by God. I'm
18:36 created for God. And 1 day, I'm gonna return to God forever. But between this moment and that moment, God wants us to fulfill
18:50 the intentional purpose for which he has created us. Right? So the beginning of you is that you're created with intention. You have to let that sink
19:02 in. You matter. If you if there's intention behind your creation, then you matter. Now other messaging might have come to you through abuse, through neglect, through
19:14 abandonment, and it's caused you to believe this lie, like, I don't matter. I was told I don't matter. I was rejected. I would I I'm adopted.
19:25 I was left alone. I was abused. I I was treated like I didn't matter. And then you start to think about yourself. It's like, well, I really I
19:37 really must not matter. That's a lie. God created you with an intention, and even though people might have intended harm, God
19:49 always has a good purpose and good intention for creating you and that's what we're gonna gonna step into. Right? The next truest thing
20:01 after we are created with intention is we are created in God's image. This is so important for you to know as a human being that you are created in
20:13 God's image or scholars like to say, you're an image bearer. Right? The image of God is in you. But what does that that mean? You know, it means that
20:24 our substance and our core is made to resemble God. Right? It refers to the immaterial, nonphysical
20:37 characteristics of what makes us a human being, made in his image. The Bible says in Genesis 1 26, it says, let us make man in
20:49 our image after our likeness. Right? Have you ever looked at the son or daughter of of a friend who's just like, oh, like father, like son? Right? Or you have the family resemblance.
21:01 K? And we say that usually about external things. The Bible teaches that you resemble God in your substance, in your core, in your
21:13 essence, on the inside, in your heart, in 3 specific ways. You're made in God in God's image mentally. In other words,
21:24 humanity was created with the ability to exercise thoughts and reason and choice. And I mean, just think about whenever something is invented and whenever you enjoy a symphony, whenever
21:37 computer code is written, we are confirming the fact that we are made in God's image. We are created with the ability to exercise thought
21:48 and reason and intellect. Mentally, you are created in God's image because he can exercise thought and reason and choice,
22:00 and he can create. Secondly, you're made in God's image morally. Say, what does that mean? Well, humanity was created in righteousness
22:12 and and in it in innocence reflecting God's own righteousness and purity. I mean, whatever you wanna do what's right, and you come to that
22:24 crossroads, and you're like, should I do this? Should I not do this? Right? It's called your conscience. That's a sign that you are created in righteousness and and innocence,
22:36 because God has made you a moral being. We we come to a crossroads and we go, gosh, maybe I shouldn't do that, or if I do, maybe that's
22:48 wrong. Why are we even asking those questions when it comes to making decisions? It's because we're created in God's image. Whenever we wanna do right, we listen to our conscience. Right? Or whenever we're repulsed
23:00 by evil or bad, that's confirming that we are made in God's image morally, right? We're also created in God's image
23:12 socially, right? Humanity was created for relationship, and I think we know this intuitively. We know that human beings don't do well in isolation.
23:23 In fact, the mind starts decompensating and eroding in isolation. But in connection and in relationships, we thrive through
23:35 social connections and fellowships. Whenever we hug someone, whenever we make a friend, whenever we're dating someone, whenever we attend church, we are affirming the fact that we are made in God's
23:47 image and that that is there's a social element to that. I mean, Jesus wanted us in his final prayer in John chapter 17 to have the same
23:59 type of intimacy and and connection as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He said, I in them, you and me, them and us. It's interesting. When I ask people,
24:11 tell me about God, they they throw out all the right words. I mean, he's holy, he's just, he's all knowing, he's all wise, he's all present, and and the list goes on and on and on. But you know what word they don't use?
24:23 Relational. God, almost above all things, is relational. Yes, He's powerful. Yes, He's merciful. Yes, He's holy. But when it comes to the beginning
24:35 of you, He creates you so that He can know you and you can know Him. Woah. And then even Jesus affirms this. Man, I want them to have what we have. Father, son,
24:47 and holy spirit. I want these ones that that live on planet Earth to know you through me and have what what we have, that closeness. And
24:59 whenever we we have that comfort from love, whenever we have, relational intimacy, all forms of intimacy, it is a
25:11 sign that God has not just created us mentally with intellect, that God has not created us just morally, that we have the the capacity to choose what is right and good and
25:23 righteous, but that God has created us socially and for relationships. So the beginning of you starts with the creator doing creative
25:35 acts. We're created with intention. We're we're created in his image. And here's the next truest truth about the beginning of you. We are created with a specific
25:47 identity. In Genesis chapter 1, the Bible says, in the image of God, he created them, male and female, he created them.
25:59 So the Bible gives 2 specific identities. Right? And you could see what is going on here. God is
26:11 is cooking up this idea that we know today as marriage. He creates 2 unique beings who will start making more
26:23 human beings. Scholars call this the creation order. K. Where there is a specific identity, a specific order of creation, and
26:35 in creating that specific identity and order, there's specific outcome. Jesus said this and affirmed this in Mark 10, But from the beginning of creation, so he's referencing the beginning of
26:47 you and I, God made them male and female. Now in today's culture, and in today's age, in the age of of of
26:59 gender wars, and and the blurring of male and female, what can we just affirm from the Bible? What does the Bible say? Some simple things, and you
27:11 might want to write this down. Number 1, each sex is distinct. Male, conjunction, and female. So there's a distinction
27:23 that is made. Right? Second, each sex is valuable. They have instantaneous value, and there's a vision for each sex because
27:35 God makes them distinct, he makes them valuable. Okay? Number 3, both sexes are required to reflect
27:46 God. This is what we know in the differences between men and women, right? There are sides of God that come out in vision and value in men, and then
27:58 there are sides of God that are reflected best in women. But each is distinct, each is valuable, each reflects God. And then here's the capper, both
28:10 male and female are given as gifts to each other. God decides it's not good for man to be alone. He creates
28:22 woman and presents woman to man and their gifts to the other. 1 to the other. So first life,
28:35 second man, male and female, third is this idea of relationship and marriage, a gift to
28:47 1 another. So that's the next truest truth. So we're created with specific intention. We're created with in God's image. We're created with a specific identity.
28:59 Fourth, we're created for intimacy. Now this shouldn't be hard to understand, especially where you see people spend their money. I I mean, the research shows that
29:11 90 percent of all downloaded songs on Apple Music and Spotify have to do with 1 topic. You know what it is? You guessed it, love. You and I were created by God
29:22 to give and receive love. Again, we are social creatures between the 2 distinct sexes, man and woman, because we are a
29:34 gift for each other. In Genesis 2 22, it says, and the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man, he made into a woman and brought her
29:47 to the man. What are God's intentions for man in bringing man and woman together? It's really fascinating, but
29:59 Adam expresses what God's intentions are and there's 3 of them. Alright? Write these down. The first intention God has is for us to be deeply
30:11 invested. Right? He uses language, Adam, to talk about human beings being deeply connected to this is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. Can't get any
30:23 closer than that. Guess what? And then the beginning of you and then how God created you, you need people. There's the man and the woman, and then there's just
30:35 man. It's not good for people to be alone. We're supposed to be invested in each other, not just as married couples, but as human beings, as friends, as family. And I
30:47 think we intuitively feel and know that, but the reason we intuitively feel and know that is because God created us to intuitively and feel and know that we are to be deeply invested
30:59 in relationships. Number 2, we're created to to deeply identify. Right? In bringing Adam and Eve together, Adam says, and for this
31:11 reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife. There is such a deep identification between man and woman in
31:22 Genesis chapter 1. And again, what works in marriage works in all human relationships. It's called being close. It's called sharing life. Now, you can have that in the
31:34 context of marriage. You can have that in the context of friendships. You can have investment in a friend. You can have investment in a spouse. You can deeply identify with a
31:46 friend or you can deeply identify with your spouse. The key thing is that it's intimacy. You cannot live and thrive as a human being without intimacy. So we're called to be
31:58 deeply invested and to deeply identify. Number 3, we're called to be deeply intimate. K. Now this is in a physical context. Adam says, the Bible
32:10 says they were both naked and unashamed. K. In Genesis 1, naked and unashamed. It is fully exposed, but fully accepted. Now isn't that
32:22 true of a perfect environment, right, where you're fully exposed and you're per you're perfectly accepted. That's the Garden of Eden. That was like before the fall,
32:34 everything was right. It's just 2 people, 1 rule, which we're not gonna talk about in this section that was broken. But here we are in this perfect environment, what are God's intentions?
32:46 I want human beings to be deeply invested, to deeply identify with 1 another, to be deeply intimate. What does that mean? Exposed and accepted when fully
32:58 exposed. Now as a principle, biblically and in relationship, this is true from the beginning of us, the beginning of you, the beginning of I, in Genesis chapter 1,
33:10 all the way through to today. You cannot have intimacy without vulnerability. I I can't get close to you unless I
33:22 I make available to you parts of myself that are real and raw and and true. I you know, I'm kinda naked emotionally
33:34 where it's like, okay, here I am. You know, I'm not hiding anything. And then in response, you accept me and you love me even
33:46 though there's there's good and bad before you. That's intimacy. And it's so cool to see this that you
33:58 draw closer together when there is intimacy and and vulnerability present. In Matthew 19 6, Jesus says this, so they are no longer 2 but 1 flesh. What
34:09 therefore, god has joined together, let not man separate. And so the original intention for for man and woman and is to be
34:21 deeply identified, deeply invested, deeply intimate, and those bonds are meant to stay intact. But what we learn is that there will be, at
34:33 least from Jesus' perspective, separating forces. When men and women come together or even when human beings come together, there will be separating forces trying
34:45 to divide God's original intention of of being intimate and being invested in identifying with 1 another. So those are the
34:57 truest truths about you. What's the beginning of you about? Well, you're created. You're a creative act. You're God's idea. God pressed the button on man, and
35:09 then when you came along, he pressed the button on you. You are a created being. You're created with intention. You're created in his image. You're created with a specific identity which is distinct and
35:20 valuable and reflects God, and is a gift to the opposite sex. You're created for intimacy, right, and relationship.
35:32 Those are so important. That's the context of life. And if you miss that context, you don't appreciate fully and sensefully
35:45 your purpose and the reason why you're alive, because you lack context. You know? When and and here here's the cool thing. When when you create
35:56 something, like, I'm just gonna use parents, for example. When parents come together, man and woman come together, and they create kids, Every parent wants their kid to respond to
36:08 them. Okay? I mean, just watch a father and mother talk to their little baby even though he's only a week old, and his eyes can't even make a shape out,
36:20 and they're they're oohing and aahing over. And then, I don't know, like months 2 or 3, the child starts to see them, and starts responding, and starts cooing.
36:32 Okay. When you think about that, I want you to think about God. God created you, and God so desperately wants
36:44 you to respond to him. You know, when you have that, now you feel like, okay, I'm I'm a part of you. You're created in
36:56 my image. I created you. I so desperately want to know you. And it gives god joy just like
37:08 the response of a child to a parent gives them joy. And as as kids go on and and mom and moms and dads, you know this. As they see you and they run to you and as they hug you or maybe you
37:20 go on a business trip or maybe you're a part or maybe you're deployed and and then your kids see you and, you know, I mean, just take a look at some of these Instagram reels of of, you know, re re reunification
37:32 times of soldiers who are deployed or just I mean, it's just the purest joy of a child for a parent that god used to
37:43 cocreate this child and the joy that's there. Now, if that's there in human relationships, it certainly is there in almost infinite proportion and measure with God
37:55 himself. You wanna give God joy? I'll tell you how to do it. Number 1, it's when you recognize that you were created by Him and for Him. Where
38:07 you go, no, I'm not just some random act. I actually there's a signature on me. It's called the image of God, and it's God has written his signature within
38:19 me morally, and socially, and mentally. I'm made in in my creator's image. The second way we give God joy after recognizing
38:31 that we're created, by him and for him is when I respond to him with my heart and life. Again, just think of the child parent relationship. The greatest joys
38:43 are when we just respond to our family. When we respond to mom and dad, the joy that's exchanged in that, the closest of that, We
38:55 respond with our hearts and our lives and our commitment. So we recognize God, we respond with our hearts, and then when we release ourselves fully to his
39:07 intended purposes. I mean that's living, right? That's living. When you're living out the intended purposes for which you were created. And that's what's
39:19 the beautiful thing about knowing God through Jesus Christ, having God's word, is that we can discover through Jesus Christ a relationship with our creator
39:31 and then discover his purposes for us. And as we start living out those purposes, that brings joy to the creator who wanted us to live
39:43 out those purposes. In the Bible, God, in many places, expresses his deep deep desire forShow more
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