A God Of Order, Not Confusion Series

INTRODUCTION

 A couple had two little boys, ages 8 and 10, who were excessively mischievous. They were always getting into trouble and their parents knew that, if any mischief occurred in their town, their sons were probably involved. The boys’ mother heard that a clergyman in town had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The clergyman agreed, but asked to see them individually. So the mother sent her 8-year-old first, in the morning, with the older boy to see the clergyman in the afternoon. The clergyman, a huge man with a booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly, "Where is God?" The boy’s mouth dropped open, but he made no response, sitting there with his mouth hanging open, wide-eyed. So the clergyman repeated the question in an even sterner tone, "Where is God!" Again the boy made no attempt to answer. So the clergyman raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy’s face and bellowed, "WHERE IS GOD!" The boy screamed and bolted from the room, ran directly home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him. When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked, "What happened?" The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied "We are in BIG trouble this time, dude. God is missing - and they think WE did it!"

 We are in a time where people are wondering where God is.

 Did we lose God somewhere along the line?

 Our society seems to be in chaos. I will not make the false statement that it is the worst society ever, but nevertheless, our society seems to be busting out at the seams.

 We are seeing more and more school violence. We are seeing more drug and alcohol abuse. Society is becoming increasingly violent. The family structure is under attack by those who are trying to redefine what God calls a marriage.

 Those who do stand for righteousness are called intolerant.

 We have churches on every corner, but that does not seem to make much of a difference.

 We have churches that are in chaos, they are dying, and some not having reached lost people with the gospel for years. In some of the churches there is infighting and turmoil.

 Personal morality among Christians is not much different than that of the world.

 It is not God’s will that the world, church and our personal lives are in a state of confusion and chaos.

 Wherever God is not present, there is chaos and confusion. Just imagine what would happen to the universe if God were to remove His hand from it. Think about how society would be without God being a part of it. Think about what would happen to the church when God is not at the center of it. How would you life be without God being a part of it?

 Today we are going to look at another attribute of our awesome God. Our God is a God of Order, Not Confusion.

SERMON

I. GOD BROUGHT ORDER TO THE UNIVERSE GENESIS 1:2

A. Genesis 1:1-2 (READ)

 In the passage in Genesis we find that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

 Verse 2 tells us that the earth was formless and void. In the original text, the terms formless and void were meant to convey the idea of confusion and disorder. God created the earth to be inhabited, but for a brief time before he created plants, animals, man, light and so forth, the earth was void of anything.

 If God had just left things the way they were in Genesis 1:2, there would be no life.

 The Psalmist in Psalm 8:3-4 said, When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him?

 God set the universe in order. Many people think that the universe happened by accident. Think about a couple of things with me.

B. Some Facts to consider

(Notes for this point come from the book “Christianity Stands True, by Lynn Gardner Published by College Press 1994)

 The universe is set up in an orderly manner. When was the last time that one of our plants ran into another one? There are billions of stars and plants in the universe, yet they are all in orderly orbits. What are the odds?

 The movement of the planets of our solar system is so precise, scientists can calculate exactly where a planet will be hundreds of years in advance.

 The Naval Observatory, United States’ timekeeper makes continual observation of the stars and adjusts its master clock accordingly.