God's Good Design - Genesis (low quality audio)

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Now the earth was formless and empty,

darkness was over the surface of the deep,

and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God said, let there be light.

And there was light.

God saw that the light was good,

and he separated the light from the darkness.

God called the light day,

and the darkness he called night.

And there was evening, and there was morning the first day.

Then go to verse 26,

which comes to the last part of the creation account.

Verse 26, then God said,

let us make man in our image, in our likeness,

and let them rule over the fish of the sea,

and the birds of the air, over the livestock,

over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him,

male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them,

be fruitful and increase in number,

fill the earth and subdue it,

rule over the fish of the sea,

and the birds of the air,

and over every living creature that moves on the ground.

Then God said,

I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth,

and every tree that has fruit with seed in it,

they will be yours for food.

And to all the beasts of the earth,

and all the birds of the air,

and all the creatures that move on the ground,

everything that has breath of life in it,

I give every green plant for food.

And it was so.

And God saw all that he had made,

and it was very good.

And there was evening,

and there was morning,

the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth

were completed in all their vast array.

By the seventh day,

God had finished the work he had been doing,

and so on the seventh day,

he rested from all his work.

And God blessed the seventh day,

and made it holy,

because on it he rested from all the work of creating,

that he had done.

So,

Michael is going to come and speak,

from us,

from this passage.

So,

I'm going to pray for him,

before he comes.

Let's pray.

Father,

we thank you for

your word to us.

We thank you for this

amazing account

of the beginning,

of your creation,

of you speaking your word,

and bringing life into existence.

And so we pray right now,

that by that same word,

and by the power of your Holy Spirit,

you would speak life to us.

that these words would shape us,

and transform us to live life,

according to your good design.

We pray for Michael,

that you would fill him with your spirit,

and us also,

that we may hear your word to us.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

We read about creation here,

and over six days,

God creating the world.

I've got to condense it into 30 minutes,

so I've got to work hard this morning.

But what are we looking at today?

We're looking at the wonder of God's creation.

Very different to the world in which we live today.

What can we expect in 2014?

That's a good question to ask ourselves

at the beginning.

I've been hearing from the various hundreds,

and the government expects

there could be growth in the economy

up to 2%.

And that, of course,

will benefit employment,

the building trade,

and immigration

may not be quite as necessary.

Hopefully, things will be better

as the economy grows once more.

But we can't be certain

billions are still owed

outside influences,

pressures that we know not of

at the present time.

But what we do know

is that as government meets,

laws will undoubtedly be passed

that are contrary to God's law.

In other words,

we can say that in 2014,

sinners will continue to be sinners.

What can we expect

internationally?

Well, nothing changes, does it?

way back in Matthew 24,

the Lord Jesus speaks of wars

and rumours of wars,

of famines and earthquakes,

of the persecution of believers.

wars.

This will continue

on an international level.

This, I can say,

with certainty.

Because that's the way

that things are.

Of course,

there will be

scientific advancements.

But things will be

much the same

because the world

doesn't seem,

on the surface,

to becoming

a better place.

So we can look nationally,

we can look internationally,

and things are

so much chaos.

How about on the

personal level?

Well, we simply don't know

what lies ahead

for any one of us.

We will all make decisions.

Some of them will be good.

Some of them will be bad.

We will have good

and bad experiences

during the year.

On the health front,

none of us knows

whether we're

the youngest here

this morning

or the oldest.

We don't know.

Young people die,

as well as old people.

So we don't know

what will happen

on the health front.

We look around

and we see

the difficulties

that others have experienced

and maybe we've experienced

during this past year.

And they may,

I'm not saying they will,

but they may get worse

in the year

that lies ahead.

But it wasn't always

like that, was it?

From the beginning,

we see that God

is a God of order.

So we go back to Genesis,

to the very seed plot

of the Bible,

the seed plot

of Scripture.

and we're introduced

and we're introduced

immediately to God's

revelation of himself

and we see

a perfect world.

We see God,

the perfect creator.

And as we continue

through Genesis,

we see sin spoiling

that creation

and we're brought face

to face with God's judgment

upon sin.

and yet,

we also see

that there is grace,

a plan to redeem

a people to himself

through the seed

of a woman.

But let's get back

to basics this morning.

Let's go back to

Genesis chapter 1

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

and God's order.

to see God's order,

to see his blueprint

for our individual lives,

to see his blueprint

for our families,

to see his blueprint

for the nations.

Let's go back

to a world

that is untainted

by sin.

Let's see, then,

the God of order.

And in Genesis chapter 1

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

and verse 1,

we are introduced

to him.

In the beginning,

God created

the heavens

and the earth.

And we're straight away

told with something

of who this God is

that created.

We're introduced

to the God of order.

The word for God there

is Elohim.

It's a plural word.

And some people think

that it speaks

of a plurality

of majesty.

But that's an incorrect view.

We're introduced,

if you like,

in seed form

to the triune God

who's brought before us

in verse 26

where we read of him

saying,

let us make man

in our own image.

it's the first reference

to Trinity,

the Elohim God.

In Genesis,

we have the basic truth.

But further revelation

shows us

that Elohim

is none other

than the Father,

Son,

and Holy Spirit

who were active

in the creation

of the world.

Genesis

doesn't go into

all the details

of who God is.

We need further revelation.

But it lays

a foundation,

an Elohim,

a God of power,

a creator

who is triune,

the one

who created

the world.

Let us put it

like this.

God,

the Father,

is the architect.

God,

the Son,

is the builder.

And God,

the Holy Spirit,

is the animator.

There's no

disharmony

within the Godhead.

And a triune God

worked in unity

to prepare

the world

and was able

to declare

it is

very good.

There's no

chaos

within the

triune God.

no disharmony

in the

created

order.

So we see

God,

the Father,

is the architect.

He is

absolutely

perfect.

And all that

he does

is perfect.

We mustn't

think of

a creation

as a

random

plan.

We mustn't

think as

the evolutionists

do,

of God

working

in time

plus chance

plus time

plus chance.

In the

beginning,

God created

the heavens

and the

earth.

And we

have this

phrase

repeated

again

and again

in Genesis

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

God made

the light

and it

was good.

Verse 10,

God saw

that it

was good.

And in

verse 12

17 and

21 and

25 and

31,

God saw

all that

he had

made and

it was

very good.

How different

to the

created

things we

see around

about us

today.

We all

know about

the Celtic

tiger.

We all

know things

went up

and developers

got their

way in

doing things

as they

wanted to.

We all

saw the

architects

and the

engineers

and the

planners

and the

builders.

And we

saw buildings

that were

signed on

as being

good.

Everything

went according

to man's

plans and

then everything

collapsed.

In many

cases it

was far

from good.

Why?

Because sin

had entered

into the

world.

And we

have seen

the disorder

of these

last years.

In the

beginning it

was so

different.

The

totality

of creation

was good.

But as we

look around

the world

and we

see the

beauty of

creation

we can

still see

order.

It still

shines forth

in all

its wonder

because of

the architect

because he

made it

very good.

And Paul

writing to

the Romans

in chapter

1 and

verse 20

says for

since the

creation of

the world

God's

invisible

qualities

his eternal

power and

divine nature

are clearly

seen.

being

understood

from what

has been

made so

that men

are without

excuse.

How many

of us

have looked

up at the

stars at

night and

wondered at

the magnificence

of them?

God.

I remember

talking to a

young lad

who was

going through

a time of

trial and

wondered if

he could go

on believing

in God.

In our

particular

situation at

a camp

we were

out in the

countryside

not distracted

by street

lights.

And I

told him to

look up at

the stars and

they were

beautiful that

night.

you can see

the Milky

Way our

own

constellation in

all his

grandeur.

And there

was God

before us

if you like

in all his

grandeur.

His invisible

qualities,

his eternal

power, his

divine nature

are seen

in what he

has made.

The divine

architect is

seen in

his creation.

creation.

But as we

think of the

God of

order we

also think

of the

sun as

the builder.

And we

have that

recurring

phrase in

Genesis

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

and verse

3 and

then again

in verse

6, 9,

11,

14,

20,

24,

26,

and God

said.

And God

says and

it is done.

And by

faith we

understand that

the universe

was formed

at God's

command so

that what

is seen was

not made

out of what

was visible.

Hebrews 11

and verse

3.

God it

was who

spoke creation

into existence.

Who was

this one

who spoke?

Well it

was none

other than

the eternal

sound of

God,

the eternal

word.

In the

beginning,

as we

heard at

the beginning

of our

service this

morning,

was the

word.

And the

word was

with God

and the

word was

God.

He was

with God

in the

beginning.

Through

him all

things were

made.

Without

him was

nothing

made that

has been

made.

So John

is making

it very

clear that

the Lord

Jesus is

the one

who built

the world

as it

were,

who spoke

creation.

He is

the eternal

word who

said in

the beginning

let there

be light

and there

was light.

I didn't

know all

the things

that were

going to be

said,

obviously,

during the

service,

but didn't

we hear

from Colossians

1 and

verse 16.

For by

him,

that is by

the Lord

Jesus,

the eternal

word,

all things

were created,

things in

heaven and

on earth,

visible and

invisible.

He is

before all

things,

and in

him all

things hold

together.

And it

seems in the

Bible it's

a place to

show us

the absolute

perfection of

the Lord

Jesus Christ.

And in

his absolute

perfection,

he could

not demonstrate

anything that

was shoddy.

There is no

shoddy

workmanship in

the creation

of the world,

no dodgy

materials.

In his

life here

upon earth,

his perfection

remained.

He did

no sin,

neither was

guile found

in his

mouth.

And it's

the absolute

perfect one

who called

creation into

existence,

a perfect

creation.

He is

the second

person of

the Elohim,

the God

of creation.

So we have

the Father

as the

architect,

the Son

as the

builder,

but we have

the Holy Spirit

as the

animator,

the one

who gives

life.

And if we

go to

Genesis

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

and verse 2,

the latter part

of it,

we find the

Spirit of God

hovering over

the waters.

The Spirit

was active

in creation.

The third

person of the

Trinity

active there,

hovering over

the deep.

deep.

As John

Carvin puts

it,

hovering over

the indigested

mass,

the disorderly

deep,

the chaos.

How could

there be

order?

Only through

the work of

the Father,

the Son,

and the Holy

Spirit.

perfect.

But when

God sends

his Spirit,

things are

created,

and he

renews the

face of

the earth.

So says

Psalm 104

and verse

30.

And we

see the

activity of

the Spirit

in the

creation of

man himself,

made perfect.

The Lord

God, we

read in

chapter 2

and verse

7,

formed man

from the

dust of

the ground

and breathed

into his

nostrils the

breath of

life.

And man

became a

living spirit.

What was

his breath?

There was

none other

than the

Spirit of

the living

God.

For he

is made

in the

image,

man is

made in

the image

of God.

So as we

look around

at creation,

there at

the beginning,

we have a

perfect creation

because it

comes from

a God

who worked

in triune

unity to

bring about

a perfect

creation.

But if we

move on

in our

story,

we see

something of

the order

of his

creation.

In

chapter 1

and verse

2 of

Genesis,

we read

these words,

Now the

earth was

formless and

empty.

Darkness

was over

the surface

of the

deep.

There are

two words

for formless

and empty

in the

original,

abohu

and tohu.

And it

has the

idea of a

confused

nothingness.

Again,

to quote

John

Carman,

a rude

and

unpunished

or shapeless

chaos.

Speaking of

those waters

at the

beginning,

nothing solid

or stable,

nothing distinct,

a surging,

a raging.

It needed

a stability

that only

the triune

God could

bring about.

And Moses

is showing

us the

opposite

of what

was going

to be

an ordered

creation.

So we

have day

one,

and we

have light

and darkness,

and there's

an order,

a separation

between the

one and

the other.

And day

two,

the separations

of the water,

the creation

of the sky.

Those waters

overwaves

the Spirit

at hover.

Again,

there was

separation,

there was

order.

Day three,

verses nine

to thirteen,

we have

the sea,

the dry

land,

and vegetation,

and trees,

and plants.

The sea

and the land

become separate,

and there

was order.

God set

boundaries

upon them.

And when

we see

God making

the stars

in all

their constellations,

in verses

fourteen

to nineteen

on day

four,

there's

nothing

haphazard

about it.

It's not

God flinging

the stars

into space.

But is

God placing

them in

order?

Each in

their orbit,

each working,

constellations

not colliding,

because there

is order

in the universe

that he

made,

and there's

a beauty

in it.

and the

variety

of the

birds

and the

fish

on day

five,

and all

their

beauty

and

magnificence.

And then on

day six,

the animals

and the

reptiles

from verses

twenty-four

to thirty-one.

And after

all this

was done,

God created

men and

women,

made in

the image

of God.

And the

psalmist

refers to this,

of man being

fearfully

and wonderfully

made.

Absolutely

perfect.

And all

of creation

was given

God's

approval.

It was not

just good,

but in its

totality,

it was

very good.

Thus,

the heavens

and the

earth

were completed

in all

their vast

array.

So says

Genesis

chapter two

and verse

one.

So I

repeat

again,

nothing

haphazard

in God's

creation,

all

absolutely

perfect.

God

created

a total

transformation

of that

which was

warmness

and empty.

and as

C.S.

Lewis

puts it,

the universe

naturally

bears the

mark of

God's

personality

and it

does.

Louis

Armstrong

used to

sing a

song,

and I

know I'm

dating myself

now,

I think

to myself,

what a

wonderful

world.

I think

the psalmist

put it

much better

than

Louis

Armstrong

when he

writes in

Psalm

19,

the heavens

declare the

glory of

God,

the skies

proclaim the

work of

his hands,

day after

day they

pour forth

speech,

night after

night they

display

knowledge,

there is

no speech

or language

where their

voice is not

heard,

their voice

goes out

into all

the earth,

their words

to the

ends of

the world,

in the

heavens he

has pitched

a tent

for the

sun,

which is

like a

bridegroom

coming forth

from his

pavilion,

like a

champion

rejoicing

to run

its course,

a great

creation,

created

by an

almighty

God,

who created

a perfect

order,

as the

astronauts

and those

that are

in the

science

world,

make their

journeys

into space,

they can

make

calculations,

because they

know that

there is

an orderly

ness in

the universe,

they put

it down

in figures,

we can

look at

the scriptures

and say,

God created

this world,

we shouldn't

be surprised

at the

orderliness

of the

creation

order,

for we

see it in

the hand

of a

not-triune

God,

who not only

made the

world,

but continues

to uphold

it,

the God

of order,

who orders

creation,

an old

hymn

put it

like this,

heaven

above

is

softer

blue,

and earth

beneath

is

sweeter

green,

that

something

lives

in

every

hue,

that

Christless

eyes

have

never

seen.

We move

on to

our third

point,

and that

is this,

that there's

not only

God who

created,

who was

perfect,

there's not

only an

order to

creation,

creation,

but there

is a

creation

order,

and we

have it

brought before

us,

don't we,

in these

verses.

We have

a God

who rules,

we have a

God who

speaks,

a God

who commands,

a God

who commanded

man to take

care of the

garden,

to refrain

from eating

of the tree

of the knowledge

of good

and evil,

a God

who commanded

man to be

fruitful and

to multiply.

That was a

world as it

was, with

God in

control, with

God stating

what had to

happen.

It is his

order that he

has set in

place, that

God rules,

the triune

God, Lord

over all.

And man

and woman

were to be

in subjection

to God.

They were

to obey

the commands

of God.

And they

were to

enjoy God.

They were

to eat of

the fruit

that God

had provided.

They were

to care

for God's

creation

in the

beginning.

That was

how it

was.

Man

in submission

to God

in an

ordered

world

that God

had made.

And man

was to live

in harmony

with God.

Harmony

existed

between God

and man

and the rest

of creation.

salvation.

In

Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

and verse

8 we

read,

The man

and his

wife heard

the sound

of the

Lord God

as he

was walking

in the

garden in

the cool

of the

day.

Idyllic.

A garden

with no

weeds or

thorns.

A garden

man being

surrounded in

that garden

by the

abundance of

God's

provision.

But I

ask the

question,

how did

the man

and the

woman know

that it

was God

who was

walking

with them?

I would

suggest to

you that

they recognized

his footfall.

They recognized

his footsteps.

Why?

Because there

was fellowship.

There was

harmony between

God and

the man

and the

woman.

It's a

beautiful picture

of what it

was at the

beginning of

time.

A God

who ordered

the world.

Where the

authority of

God was

recognized and

there was

this harmony

between the

one and

the other

in a

perfect

world.

What are

the applications

of what we've

been looking

at this

morning

briefly?

Well let

me make a

number of

applications.

And the

first is

this.

That when we

look at the

world in

which we

live, it's

a call

surely to

worship.

That's often

what happens

if you look

through scripture.

You find the

various writers

speaking the

word of the

Lord as

they look at

creation,

they draw

us out to

look at the

God of

creation.

For

example,

in Isaiah

40 and

verses 12

to 18,

there the

writer says,

who has

measured the

waters in

the hollow

of his

hand?

who has

weighed out

the earth

in a

balance and

weighed the

mountains on

scales?

Who is it

that regards

the nations,

not an

individual,

but the

very nations,

as a drop

in the

bucket?

And then

he asks,

to whom

can you

compare

God?

creation

should call

us out

in worship

and praise

to our

great and

glorious God

who made

the world

in all

its

perfection.

What

will the

song of

eternity

be?

In

Revelation

4 and

verse 11,

we have

these words,

you are

worthy,

O Lord

our God,

to receive

glory and

honour and

power,

for you

created all

things,

and by

your will

they were

created and

had their

being.

You see

the worship

of eternity?

A great

creator

God

should cause

us all

to worship,

to bow

the knee.

The second

word of

application

is this,

we should

ask

ourselves,

what

has gone

wrong?

Why is

the world

in such

chaos?

Why are

there tsunamis?

Why

typhoons and

winds and

mudslides?

Why are

there wars

and famines?

Why are

there the

breakup of

marriages?

Why are

there interracial

tensions?

Why disease

these

and

death?

What has

happened to

this perfect

world that

God created?

did?

And the

answer

surely is

this,

that man

has rebelled

against

God.

The man

has said,

no, I

will not

have you

to run

over me.

The order

has been

reversed.

And because

the order

has been

reversed,

there is

chaos.

There is

chaos in the

nations.

There is

chaos

internationally.

Chaos

nationally.

And chaos

so often

personally.

Sin has

entered

into this

world.

And as a

result,

we have

problems

ourselves

and creation

groans.

And weeds

and thorns

became part

of our

first parents'

life and

they are

part of

our lives.

and we

find Cain

killing his

brother.

And this

wonderful world

that God

made is a

wicked world

because it

rejected

God.

In this

so-called

Christian

country,

we could

ask the

simple

question,

why do

we bother

to lock

up our

cars?

God's

love?

It's as

simple as

that,

isn't it?

The third

word of

application

is this,

that only

the Elohim,

the Triune

God,

can put

the situation

right.

Only the

Lord God

Almighty

can bring

order out

of the

chaos as

he did

at the

beginning.

And thank

God that we

read in the

scriptures again

and again

of a God

of grace.

God,

the Father,

loved the

world,

that he

sent his

only

son.

How do we

know about

these things?

Through the

power of

God,

the Holy

Spirit.

God,

the God,

the God,

the God,

it is the

God of

order that

can bring

order out

of the

chaos of

individual

lives.

And there

is evidence

that he's

already putting

things right

in individual

lives.

The very

fact that we

are here

this morning

is evidence

of that.

although we're

not perfect,

we're not

what we

once were.

And God

is recreating

us into

the likeness

of his

son,

into a

perfectness

that was

lost as a

result of

the fall.

And if that

work has

begun in us,

it is because

of the

Father who

is the

architect.

it is because

of the

son who

built that

relationship

with the

Father through

his death

upon the

cross of

the Calvary.

And it

is by the

Holy Spirit

that gives

us new

life so

that we can

say if

anyone is

in Christ,

he is a

new creation.

All things

are passed

away.

Behold,

all things

are become

new.

And my

final word

of application

is found

in Revelation

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

chapter 21.

And here

I find

great hope.

Why?

Because I

read that

this new

creation

will be

accomplished.

There's no

doubt about

it.

it will

happen.

Turn with

me to

Revelation

21.

And

verse 1

reads it

thus.

Then I

saw a

new heaven

and a

new earth.

For the

first heaven

and the

first earth

had passed

away,

and there

was no

longer any

sea.

I saw

the holy

city.

The new

Jerusalem

coming down

out of

heaven from

God,

prepared a

bride,

beautifully

dressed for

her husband.

And I

heard a loud

voice from

the throne

saying,

Now the

dwelling of

God is

with men,

and he

will live

with them.

They will

be his

people,

and God

himself will

be with

them,

and be

their God.

He will

wipe away

every tear

from their

eyes.

There will

be no

more death,

or mourning,

or crying,

or pain,

for the

old order

of things

have passed

away.

He

who was

seated on

the throne

said,

I am

making

everything

new.

Then he

said,

Write

this down,

for these

words are

trustworthy

and true.

Order

from a

triune

God,

and it

will

happen.

These

words

are

trustworthy.

These

words

are

true.

Let's

pray

together.

Father,

we thank

you for

your goodness

and your

grace.

We thank

you that

as we