Summary: A sermon about the mess of failure, or a life and how God can create something out of nothing. For people who want to start over again.

Gen 1:26-28.

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

27. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

A

I want you to notice that:

·We were made in Gods image, that means that we can think, react and choose like God.

·Also man was made, it didn’t evolved.

·Man was created separate and distinct, apart from other life forms.

Look at V27. Here it states three times that God created man

I want to teach you something here today.

I’m going to show you some Hebrew words that will answer lots of questions in your mind.

The three words are:

Bara – means to create something out of nothing

Asah – means to create something into recognisable object out of formless mass.

Yatsar -- means to create something into recognisable, like a potter, object out of formless mass.

Let’s look at the Word (Bible) and see what we can learn in where these names where used.

B

Gen 1:26 "Let Us make man in Our image according to Our likeness.

The word made in Hebrew comes from Asah.

In other words God said:

“Let Us create something into recognisable object out of formless mass in Our image according to Our likeness”

Look at Gen 1:27 “27. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

The word created used here comes from Bara.

In other words God said:

“So God create something out of nothing in His own image, in the image of God He created something out of nothing, male and female He created something out of nothing.

Now go to Gen 2:7

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

The word formed here comes from Yatsar

And the LORD God creates something into recognisable, like a potter, object

out of formless mass of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Last one go with me to Gen 5:1

This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

What do you find here?

Created – Bara

Made – Asah

You may ask: What has that got to do with the prize of eggs?

My answer everything: Don’t let anyone trick you and your children in believing that you came from an ape!

God created you, He made you out of nothing, He Bara

you then He fashioned you Asah, Yatsar and you are who

you are.

Listen to King David

Ps 139: 14-15 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul know right well.

15. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

Wow! Look at this the same word Asah

Well that’s the teaching part done with, I want to use that knowledge now to talk about failure.

What is failure?

When expectations, or a goal wasn’t med with a desirable result

That is the clever way of saying “I’ve messed up!”.

Have you ever come to the point where you look at a situation and you feel this is a mass of a mess?

Some people felt so over their lives.

Mistakes are part of everyday living!

Abraham Lincoln said

He who never makes a mistake never makes anything.

Who knows who Thomas Edison was?

He was the guy who invented the microphone, the phonograph, the incandescent light, the storage battery, talking movies, and more than 1000 other things.

December 1914 he had worked for 10 years on a storage battery.

This had greatly strained his finances.

A Fire broke out!.

Everything was destroyed.

Edison was 67.

With all his assets going up in a whoosh (although the damage exceeded two million dollars, the buildings were only insured for $238,000 because they were made of concrete and thought to be fireproof),

Would his spirit be broken?

The next morning, Edison looked at the ruins and said,

"There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew."

Three weeks after the fire, Edison managed to deliver the first phonograph.

I want to encourage you today:

Don’t let your past determine your future.

People might look at you and say that you are a mess, Know this for sure!

God can create something out of nothing, and something out of a mess.

Go with me to Psalm 37:4-5

Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

5. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

This is only for those who need the Word to help them.

Delight thyself also in the LORD; means that you must make His will the object of your life then and then alone:

and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

5. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him;

and he shall bring it to pass – This whole phrase means +Asah

Here is the promise, doesn’t matter how messed up your life is or was, If you delight yourself in the Lord and if you commit your way to the Lord and trust Him then he shall

Create order out of chaos

Create form out of formlessness

Create direction out of confusion

Peace out of havoc.

Let’s pray