In many of these homes, from the street you see the garage doors are open, and you immediately come to the conclusion there is no way they could park a car in there because they are filled with what looks like junk. It is even dangerous to walk into some of these carports because you might get snake bit.
As we look at the homes with these carports, you can’t help but conclude that if these carports were twice the size, they would have twice that much junk in them. Why? Because this is the way some folks live their lives. But there are other carports where everything is clean, neat and in order.
Illus: A man who operates a small engine repair shop in Columbia, South Carolina, has a good business and it amazes people that he can work with so many little greasy engines and still keep his shop so clean and in order.
Every nut and screw has its place and it is usually in its container. He keeps his hands and clothes clean as he works on these small engines for his customers.
Some believe he is so neat he could take an engine apart wearing a white shirt and tie without getting his white shirt messed up. HE IS TRULY A NEAT FREAK!
He is so organized that when he needs anything, he can instantly go to where it is located and find it.
We all know some people…
• That have TOTAL ORDER in their lives. They live their lives according to the motto, "Everything has a place and everything must be in its place."
• That have TOTAL DISORDER in their lives. They spend about half of their time trying to find things that are covered under the different heaps that have accumulated over the decades.
I mention these two kinds of people only to point out to you that "God is a God of order." If you do not know this, you do not know the God of the Bible. God controls this universe. Three-hundred-sixty-five days a year everything is exactly where it should be and is doing what it is supposed to be doing.
Illus: If God was like some today who are not orderly, he would be saying,
• "Oh no, I forgot to hang the sun out today!"
• "Now, where did I put all those stars?"
• "It is spring and I have not made the first flower bloom. I'm just going to have to skip spring this year!"
No, every day everything in this universe in which we live that God created IS IN PERFECT ORDER.
Illus: It is because God is a GOD OF ORDER, that scientists are able to make the mathematical computations to guide space vehicles to the moon and other destinations in outer space.
MOST SCIENTISTS KNOW THAT SOMEWHERE THERE IS A GOD AND HE IS A GOD OF ORDER. WHY IS IT SIGNIFICANT that we come to understand that God is a God of order? Because the more we become like Him, the more our lives will become orderly, instead of being in disarray! Sometimes we need help with this.
Illus: For example, the church in Corinth was in total disarray. This church was famous for confusion and chaos, so Paul wrote to them and said that, "...God is not the author of confusion..."
Paul was saying that the devil was causing the confusion in the Corinthian church, and if their lives reflected the God of the Bible, their lives would have been in order, not in disarray!
Their testimony and their lives were a disgrace to the kingdom of God. Paul was telling them that their lives did not exemplify the Lord Jesus; instead they were bringing glory to Satan, who is the author of confusion!
Christians have let the devil trick them into getting their lives so muddled and cluttered up, that no one could ever tell that the God they serve is a God of order.
Let me show you what I mean. There are several ways the devil has cleverly brought disorder to the lives of believers.
We see . . .
I. DISARRAY IN CHRISTIAN’S MARRIAGES
We see chaos and confusion in many areas in the life of Christians. But one place we see it is IN THE CHRISTIAN HOME.
God's Word tells us that when God looked down and saw Adam alone in the Garden of Eden, in Genesis 2:18, He said, "...It is not good that man should be alone..."
What inspired the God of heaven to say such a thing? Evidently, when he saw Adam in the Garden of Eden, alone, He felt Adam was not a happy camper. He said, "...I will make him an help meet for him." In His wisdom, HE CREATED MARRIAGE.
However, when you see all the messed up marriages in this great country, you would think it was the BIGGEST MISTAKE God ever made when He made woman for man. Why? We see so much confusion in the lives of millions, and most of them will tell you that the confusion comes from their marriage.
But, I remind you, when God saw Adam, lonely in the garden, He said, "...It is not good that the man should be alone." Not only is that a spiritual fact, it is a scientific fact. Physically, it is not good that man should be alone.
Illus: Over the years it has been proven that married men live longer than single men. Most men would not argue that fact - they know if anyone had to depend on their cooking skills they would not live long!
Seriously, it is easy to understand why so many marriages across this land are in trouble. It is because the people do not HAVE THIS GOD OF ORDER IN THEIR LIVES.
Christian couples across America should be ROLE MODELS TO THEIR CHILDREN IN THEIR MARRIAGES.
• We can understand why children are confused today. Some of them might go to kindergarten and hear a teacher teach from a book by Leslea Newman, called, "Heather Has Two Mommies," which promotes lesbianism.
• Junior might go to school and hear a teacher teach from a book by Michael Willhoite, called, "Daddy's Roommate," that promotes homosexuality. These authors, along with many others, would love to have our young people believe that homosexuality should be acceptable.
• If that does not confuse them enough, many are in a traditional home but the MOMMY and DADDY are FUSSING all the time.
• Then they go to Sunday school and hear the preacher preach on the joys of married life.
They have to be confused by all the mixed signals that are hitting them from every side.
Illus: One little boy came from a home where there was a lot of conflict. He heard his teacher say,
• "Marriages are made in heaven."
• He said, "Yea, and so are thunder and lightening."
Illus: Listen, we have children today that are very confused about life. Some of them are…
• Males, but they think they are females inwardly
• Females, but they think they are males inwardly
Preacher, don’t you believe it is possible for a person to live in the wrong body? Of course not! When God, the Creator, made mankind He made them male and female. To believe such a thing you would have to believe that GOD MADE A MISTAKE and God has never made a mistake.
Illus: Some said this is what happened to Bruce Jenner when he became Caitlyn Jenner. That is not what happened to him…THIS IS ONE SICK DUDE! And if you think it is a wonderful thing, you are as sick as he is!
To believe in what Bruce Jenner did, you would have to believe that God made a mistake. God did not make a mistake - it is the stupid people who believe this stuff that make the mistake! THAT IS CONFUSION! God is not the author of confusion!
Yes, marriages are made in heaven, but God wants Christians to learn how to live them out here on earth, to be ROLE MODELS TO THEIR CHILDREN. Many married people are sending the signal to their children that marriage is one of the biggest mistakes a person can make, when God said it is not good that man should be alone.
Many today are saying, “WE WILL LIVE TOGETHER BUT WE CERTAINLY ARE NOT GOING TO GET MARRIED!” HOW IS THAT FOR CONFUSION?
Christian couples need to ask the Lord to help them have such a happy marriage, that their children will be looking forward, much like children look forward to Christmas, to one day when they grow up so they can get married also.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger said he looked forward to marriage so much, he would hear the preacher preach on the soon return of the Lord Jesus, and he prayed, “Lord, I want you to come back soon, but not before I get married!”
We must not forget that little ears are listening to everything we say!
Illus: Suppose I bought a Ford and had a lot of trouble with it. In no way would that mean that all Fords were trouble, but it just so happened that I got a REAL LEMON. Suppose, in front of my children, I constantly said things like, "Ford cars are not worth having," or "Fords squeak and rattle."
What do you think would happen? You guessed it! My children would probably grow up thinking they should never buy a Ford.
It is the same with marriage. When married partners are always putting each other down, they should not be surprised when their children grow up having some warped ideas about marriage.
Illus: Someone said, "A mother may hope that her daughter will get a better husband than she did, but she is convinced that her son will not get as good a wife as his father did."
One of the reasons we have so many troubled marriages is because it seems back in the late 60's, people began a trend. Many people decided it was a rotten thing to be married, and their children grew up in those homes thinking that marriage was something like a mouse trap - once you were "caught" you were doomed.
During the late 60's and 70's, when it first became popular for couples to live together without being married…
• They were asked, "If you are going to live together, why don't you get married?"
• One couple said, "We grew up in homes where all mom and dad did was FUSS and CUSS! We do not want to live the rest of our lives that way, so we are not getting married!"
CHRISTIANS WHO ARE MARRIED SHOULD BE ROLE MODELS for their children. The God they serve is a GOD OF ORDER, NOT CHAOS!
Illus: Most people have a difficult time placing eye drops in their eyes. Why? Because as soon as the drop leaves the bottle, the eyelids snap shut. They do not give the fluid time to touch the eyeball. Do you know why? Because the lids are there to protect us from having anything enter our eyes that should not be there, and they do everything they can to keep foreign debris and bright light out.
The lost world in which we live is full of all kinds of evil debris that is trying to penetrate our marriages. We should be doing everything we can to keep that from happening.
God is a God of ORDER, not confusion. The Bible clearly tells us that GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION…SATAN IS! And he (Satan) has certainly brought a lot of confusion to the homes of this nation.
We see DISARRAY IN CHRISTIAN’S MARRIAGES and . . .
II. DISARRAY IN CHRISTIAN’S MONEY
Colossians 3:1-2 says, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth."
When men seek God, they seek the God of order, and their lives should become like His. If we seek the things of the world, soon our lives become like those of the men of the world; confused and filled with chaos.
Not only do we see that the devil, who is the author of confusion, has brought chaos and confusion to Christians in their MARRIAGES, but also in their MONEY MANAGEMENT.
If you ask the average man on the street today if he needs more money to live on, without hesitation he will tell you that he does. Listen, the problem with most people is not that they need more money. They just need to quit WANTING SO MUCH. They live from week to week owing every dollar they make and then some, because they want so much!
Illus: You could give some a five hundred dollar weekly raise and they would soon bring their bills up to meet their income level. THE MORE THEY MAKE, THE MORE THEY SPEND.
They have never been able to comprehend that once they spend all they have, they no longer have it. Then they can’t figure out why they are broke, even though the reason is simple - they get rid of their money as fast as they get it.
Illus: One of the best games I know that families should play together is a game called monopoly. Everyone starts out with the same amount of money, but some do not last very long because they buy everything they can on the board; then soon they start losing everything they have bought.
That is all right when people are playing a game, but sad to say, that is the way some operate in real life.
Illus: People like that remind me of the story of the Indian chief who was known for his lavish lifestyle. On one occasion, he drove to Las Vegas and started spending his money on everything he saw, then gambled away what little was left. He had a wad of money at first, but soon every bit of it was gone. He drove to Mt. Charleston, nearby, and sent up a smoke signal to his tribe asking for more money. Before they could signal back, some scientists from the Atomic Energy Commission detonated an atomic charge in the desert and a tremendous cloud of smoke rose from the earth and darkened the sky. When the chief saw that, he sent this message back, "All right, don't send the money, but you don't have to yell!"
Well, many Christians are constantly having the bill collectors yell at them because they have made such a financial mess.
Illus: Someone said, "It is very appropriate for many to have eagles on their dollars; it symbolizes how swiftly they fly away."
Why does Satan want to bring FINANCIAL chaos into the lives of believers? There are at least two reasons:
A. IT WILL AFFECT THE COUPLE
Every marriage counselor will tell you that FINANCES are the number one cause of divorce.
Illus: Before they got married, they went on dates and had a good time together. Once they got married, they looked around and started coveting things that other couples had, so they went on spending sprees. It never crosses their minds to stay within their budgets because they do not even have a budget.
• Then comes the day they receive a letter from a credit company telling them they have been pre-approved for up to $5,000 at only 17.9% interest if they will fill in the application and return it to the lending company. Instead of feeling insulted that someone would think they were so mentally unbalanced that they would sign for the loan, they are thrilled to death to have a credit card. As soon as they get it, they run it up to the max.
• After doing this several times, one day they see an advertisement on television telling them how easy it is to combine all their bills under one loan. All they have to do is go to the office, fill out an application and that same day they will be loaned thousands of dollars to pay off all their bills at only 19% interest.
Well, the bills pile up and all day long the bill collectors have been knocking on the door and the telephone has been ringing off the hook. The husband comes home, tired from a hard day on the job and the wife has had all she can take of having to face the bill collectors and soon they head for the divorce courts.
Why? They have become slaves to their creditors and they blame each other. They cannot date any more. They do not have enough money to buy a hamburger without taking what belongs to the creditors.
Listen, if you consider marriage to be something good, then do not let the devil cause chaos in your life by letting your OUTGO become more than your INCOME.
Illus: This is one of the problems in Washington, D.C. They keep spending money they do not have. It will not be long in this country when everything that the government takes in each year will be used just to pay the interest on our debts.
Listen, these politicians aren’t smart nor are these couples who in their marriages are doing the same thing. GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION!
B. IT WILL AFFECT THE CHURCH
There are Christians all over this nation whose lives are in FINANCIAL DISARRAY. The devil knows he has them exactly where he wants them. They cannot give to the work of God even though they know they should, so the work of God suffers because they take THEIR MONEY AND THE MONEY THAT BELONGS TO GOD to pay their bills.
Some say, "Preacher, pray for me to get a raise so I can make more money." Suppose they get a job that pays more. Then what happens? God knows it would not help, because they would just go out and spend up to the new income level, which still would leave no money to give to the Lord.
Every church in America could be doing two to three times more for the Lord, if Christian’s FINANCES WERE NOT IN SUCH DISARRAY so they had more to give.
The devil, who is the author of confusion, has muddled up their finances so they cannot represent the God of the Bible who is a God of orderliness.
Not only does the kingdom of God suffer, but eternal rewards are lost that might have been gained had they had money to give to God's work. Their problem is not that they do not have enough money. Their problem is that they COVET TOO MUCH. The God of the Bible IS A GOD OF ORDERLINESS. He says, "Thou shalt not covet...." Do not let Satan cause you to love things instead of loving the Lord your God.
Conclusion:
God is a GOD OF ORDER. If you have chaos in your life, it is because the devil has caused it, not God. GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION!
Each Christian here is an AMBASSADOR representing God and God's kingdom, and we cannot do that unless we have order in our lives.
If the one you serve is a god of DISARRAY, you do not know the God of the Bible. HE IS A GOD OF ORDER. Once you come to know Him to be that way, your life will reflect His ORDER, not chaos and confusion.
We see . . .
I. DISARRAY IN CHRISTIAN’S MARRIAGES
II. DISARRAY IN CHRISTIAN’S MONEY
