GOD’S POWER OF CREATION
(Parts of this sermon are based upon a sermon that I read but I do not know the name of the author.)
Genesis chapter 1:1-31
Genesis 1:1-2, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."
I love the first chapter of Genesis. In that chapter we see the glory, majesty, love and creative power of Almighty God as he speaks the world into existence and sheds the light of his glory throughout the universe, then descends to the dust of the earth to form man in his own image, then shows his ultimate love and his desire for a creation that would worship him of its own free will by breathing life into the body of man.
I don’t see anywhere in the Word of God that says that God is still creating new planets or stars or new animal species. He has completed his work and then sat back and enjoyed when he has done because it was good in his sight.
Just because God is not creating the universe in an ongoing fashion does not mean that he is not still always active! God speaks today and miracles happen. God has his eyes upon the “apple of his eye” and he is ever watching over his people, meeting their every need and upholding them with the palm of his hand.
So as we look together at Genesis 1 at the very foundation of the world; I want you to see that the same, unchanging God who spoke the worlds into existence, and created all things by the power of his Word and Spirit, still wants to move by His power in your life today, and create something in you, and of you, that will bring him glory.
I want to begin by teaching you a simple lesson in Physics that I learned while I attended the university many years ago. Don’t get too impressed with the fact that I went to a university because I didn’t stay for long. My grades went from a low C to a high D in just 3 semesters and then Uncle Sam decided that I needed to take a few years off and sent me on an extended vacation to Southeast Asia.
Since I had begun a course in Mechanical Engineering at that time, I did have to take some pretty interesting classes. Physics was one of those interesting classes. I don’t remember much of those days in class but this example is one thing that I do remember. I remember the 3 basic Laws of Thermodynamics.
Lest I bore you to death with a lot of needless detail, let me borrow a few simplified definitions of these 3 laws:
1. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed only changed. In other words, you cannot win (that is, you cannot get something for nothing because we don’t have the creative power of God to make something out of nothing. Something must give in order to get anything else. Stated another way – there is no free lunch.)
2. You cannot break even (once you begin you cannot return to the same place where you were, because there is always a change, such as an increase in disorder; and the march toward chaos has begun. Stated another way – there is no going back to the way things used to be).
3. Everything slows down as temperature approaches zero. In other words, you can’t get out of the game of life because you can never reach a point where it won’t matter whether you live or die. Stated another way – no matter how hard you try, or how long you work at it, you can never be completely perfect.)
To begin I want us to look at something that has to do with the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. It’s the 2nd Law that says, basically, that if anything that has order to it is left alone, without any force or influence being applied to it, it will not “improve” but rather it must move closer to disorder and then to chaos.
How can you see that law of physics working in your every day life? It’s simple to see it in action. Your car rusts, your clothes wear out, your house will eventually crumble. Everything in life tends to degenerate over time, not get better.
I wish my Chevy truck could continue to improve to become a Hummer. I wish my 30 year old + house could be evolving into a new, updated and better house. But without my work and investment in time and money it is highly unlikely that any of that will come to pass.
But I want to look at this law of physics for another reason. Whenever we leave God out of our lives, anything that was working in our life with the Lord grinds down to disorder, and ultimately to complete chaos and devastation.
What I’m trying to say here is that when we stop allowing the Lord to work in our lives, we are automatically going backwards. There is no staying where we are spiritually, anymore than we can stop the aging process of our bodies. There is no going back to do it over again and erase our mistakes anymore than we can make ourselves younger, no matter how many face lifts and tummy tucks we get.
We can only look to the future and allow God to change us and to work on us through his Word and the power of the Holy Ghost so that we will become what God wants us to be in this life.
Human history and the rise and fall of NATIONS are a testimony to this. If we examined the condition of the nations of this world we would discover that to whatever degree each nation, throughout history, has honored God, and obeyed His Word, they have experienced the hand of God in blessing. Where Christianity has flourished, there has been law and order, and great freedom and even prosperity. But those nations who have rejected God for idolatry have digressed into gross darkness, anarchy and bondage.
Proverbs 14:34, "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people."
Think about the United States and the countries of the British Commonwealth, which also includes Australia. We have led the world in advancement, and have prospered all because of the gospel light that our societies were founded upon.
Today, that light is flickering at an all time low. The fastest growing religion in Australia today is Islam. Most Australians today are into paganism. Many of our laws, right here in the good old USA are no longer based upon the Word of God or Judeo-Christian concepts.
At the same time, some of the nations that were once in pagan darkness are beginning to blaze with the fires of Christianity. If that trend continues, then the tables will turn – God will exalt those nations to leadership and we will be left in a state of chaos and lawlessness.
But let’s look at this law of physics and look at its effect upon our spiritual life. Just like God created all things out of nothing, if we are willing to submit our life to God, He is able to create something beautiful even from calamity and chaos.
When we bring God into our world here is what will happen!
1. HE TURNS DARKNESS TO LIGHT.
Genesis 1:2-3, "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, let there be light: and there was light."
Have you ever been out in the country, away from any streetlights, when the moon wasn’t shining and the stars were covered by an overcast sky? Or, have you ever been in a deep cave and the lights were extinguished? It is pitch black; so dark that you can’t see your hand in front of your face. That’s gross darkness! It is the absence of any and all light. That kind of darkness gives you such as uneasy feeling. It’s also said that if you remain in that gross darkness for an extended period of time that it can cause temporary, or even permanent blindness.
That’s a picture of what the life of an unsaved man or woman is like. Without the light of God, without His truth, there is just darkness. People don’t know where life is taking them. They don’t know what the future holds. Everything is uncertainty and confusion.
Imagine what the darkness was like on day one of creation, before God had established a single source of light. There was nothing but intense darkness and a state of nothingness. Then God spoke into that darkness: “Let there be light”, and all of creation just came alive with light. Sight and warmth was everywhere in an instant!
That’s what God has to do in our lives. Just like the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:6, "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
Every one of us, at one time in our life, was in spiritual darkness. We had no answers and we couldn’t hear God’s voice. We couldn’t understand right from wrong or discern what was wise from what was foolish. But God spoke and everything changed and the darkness was turned to day.
Some of you have loved ones who’ve heard the gospel countless times, but they’re still away from God. The fact is, you can put the truth right in front of their eyes but they can’t see it because of the darkness. They need God’s light so that they can see it. Don’t try to win the battle by debating and arguing – win it in prayer! Cry out to God until He shines His light into their life and they can see.
The ninth plague that Moses brought upon the land of Egypt, because Pharaoh wouldn’t let God’s people go, was the plague of darkness.
Exodus 10:21-23, "And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings."
You know what that tells me? There may be darkness all around – but wherever God commands the light, it shines.
There are still dark moments in my life. Times I’m confused about what to believe. I can’t see which road to take. But as I seek the Lord, His light comes flooding in every time. I open up the Bible, and “the entrance of His Word brings light.”
When we bring God into our world, He turns the darkness to light.
The Second thing that happens when we bring God into our world is that he turns our chaos into order.
Even though the light is shining, there is still nothing but disorganization everywhere. God speaks again, and this time separates earth and sky so there is an atmosphere. And then he speaks again, and the great continents arise from the oceans. God brings everything together to become an ordered environment because he is a God of order.
Have you ever felt like everything was out of order in your life; like nothing was fitting together properly as it should?
I’ve heard people say things like: “Nothing ever works out right” or “my life is a mess” or “my career’s in shambles” or “this is not how I planned life to be”.
There is only one sure way I know to have your life move from chaos to real peace and order. You need God’s creative power. Put your life in His hands, let Him direct you, and obey what He says completely.
If He can organize everything from revolving solar systems, right down to microscopic organisms – and have it all working in perfect harmony together – don’t you think He has the power and the wisdom to bring peace into your life, and to build the fragments into something that makes sense?
God has a plan for you and it is a perfect plan. Still, I know a lot of Christians who are still chasing their tails. Their family is dysfunctional, their finances are in a mess, they’re in relationship problems, and they’re constantly in upheaval! Why? All of these things are true because too many Christians are trying to live life according to their own wisdom to achieve their own desires and when you’re making your own decisions then God isn’t! God’s creative power is not working the way you need him to.
The good news is that if you’ll repent of that self-sufficiency and seek God’s wisdom then there is no chaos too great that He can’t turn into order.
When we bring God into our world he brings life to our barren land.
Verses 11-13. God has a stable, organized environment now, but nothing’s growing yet. There’s no life until God speaks with creative power again, and immediately grass and herbs and fruit trees appear, and begin to flourish.
I don’t have much of a green thumb. Perhaps it more of a lack of time and concern than ability, but we have a hard time growing flowers around our home. Some people could say the same thing about the state of their lives. No matter what they try, nothing grows. Everything seems such a heart-breaking effort. There never seems to be any fruitfulness for all their hard work.
Is life too hard today? Maybe you need to quit trying to do it by your won efforts, and build that relationship with God whose creative power brings life.
Thirdly, when we bring God into our world HE TURNS EMPTY YEARS TO FULL SEASONS.
Verses 14-18. Before God hung the sun, moon and stars, there was no moving of the waters – no ebb and flow of the tides – no changing of the days. All there could be was the passing of time.
I hear people complain about the meaninglessness of life. Some people get to the place of desperation and hopelessness and they’re even ready to give up on life because life seems to have no purpose. That’s why suicides, even among the youth and children of our nation, are on the rise. Life has no real meaning without Jesus.
Only God can turn empty years into full seasons.
As Christians we still experience difficult seasons – trials and hardships (there’s the winter as well as the spring). But God makes even those times have PURPOSE. You soon learn that “all things are working together for good for them that love God and are the called according to His purpose.” As you look back on tough times and see what God has done in your life through them, you can be like Paul and rejoice in your tribulations and you’re even glad you went through them.
When we bring God into our world HE transforms emptiness into ABUNDANCE.
Verses 20-25. So far there’s only plant life – the earth has no inhabitants. God speaks again, and the waters teem with life – every kind of fish and sea creatures with millions of species and varieties. The air is filled with birds of all kinds. Then animals, God created so many types and they filled the earth. The earth went from a lack of life to an abundance of life by the simple word of God’s mouth.
God has caused the waters, and the air, and the land in my life to be filled with life by the power of the Holy Ghost. The more I yield to Him, the more His creative power can be active in my life, and the more abundance flows.
God opens doors of opportunity in abundance. God give us joy in abundance. God gives us great revelation and truth from his Word in abundance. In God there is abundant wisdom. In god there are abundant blessings. He has promised us life and life more abundant.
Some people have a world that is too small and confined. They never see a new horizon possible. These people need God to speak abundance into their life.
When we bring God into our world HE TURNS LONELINESS TO LOVE.
Verse 27. God finally created man and put him in the garden, but in chapter 2 we see how God decided that Adam wasn’t complete. Up until that point, after every act of creation God’s verdict was “it is good”. But when He created Adam he said: “it’s NOT good” – the creation was wonderful; Adam was a fine specimen. But it was “not good” that he was alone. So God created a woman, and brought her to Adam. God saw the need for love and companionship and He created the answer for mankind.
How can you feel all alone among 6 billion people on this planet? People feel it every day! People who live in huge cities feel isolated and lonely.
But when God is in our world, His creative power can turn loneliness into love. First God filled my longing for love with His own self. Then he gives us other people. He fills our lives with LOVE.
Finally, when we bring God into our world HE TURNS POWERLESSNESS TO CONTROL.
Verse 28. When God had created everything, he gave Adam “dominion” – mastery – over it all.
What an awesome responsibility it was to work for the Lord but Adam did it. He named the animals. He tended the garden. Everything was working. But once again, when he and God were separated by the fall in the Garden of Eden, things were thrown into darkness once more. From that time onward, for thousands of years man has been wrestling to control the great forces of creation that are in upheaval.
Romans 8:22, "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now."
People strive to be in “control” of their lives – to work everything out just as they think it ought to be – to please themselves. And the result is that their lives seem to get more and more OUT of control.
The funny thing is you need to do the opposite. Instead of grasping for control – you need to relinquish control to God. Let Him be the lord and Master.
In God’s plan everything is backwards. Have you figured that out yet? The way to “greatness” – is DOWN – serving. The way to grow up strong in God is to become more and more like a little child. It’s all backwards from the way that man thinks.
When you give up “control” to God and yield your will over to His, He doesn’t manipulate you like a puppet on strings. For the first time in your life, He GIVES YOU BACK real control in your life. He’s going to direct you, and lead you – but He enables YOU to manage life properly, with all His blessing.
Don’t you want our Creator God to come and take control in your world?
Just as God created all things out of nothing - to the degree that we submit our personal world to God, He is able to create something beautiful even from calamity and chaos.
Isaiah 61:3, "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified."
Give your life to Jesus. Put God’s will above your own. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all his righteousness, then watch God bring order and meaning to your life!
Disclaimer:
Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording, including sermon titles, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these sermons. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copied and/or quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
