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In the beginning, God drew near to a dark and empty creation that lacked purpose. He took that empty, worthless, and chaotic creation – and breathed purpose and order into his creation – face to face. The same God that drew light out of darkness wants to have a face to face encounter with you today!
Hello to my favorite church in Plano TX: Redemption Church! Greetings to everyone in the room and everyone joining us online. Thank you so much for being with us. I am going to do my best to share something of great value today.
This is the last Sunday of the year 2020. Let’s be honest. If this year was a movie we would have all walked out of the theater by now… We would have told the movie producers that we do not want a sequel… or a reboot… or a Netflix series. I have been “over” 2020 since April. Who’s with me?
So, as we fix our gaze upon a new year, new opportunity, new goals… it would be good to seek God’s will.
What is God’s will for this New Year? Wouldn’t it be great to know God’s will?
Think about how empowering it would be to know what God will is.
-Raise your hand if you think you could handle this New Year if you knew God’s will.
-Raise your hand if you would have less fear if you knew God’s will.
-Raise your hand if you would have more excitement if you knew God’s will.
-Raise your hand if you are not completely certain on what God’s will is.
Flying Bible Graphic
If only there was a way to know God’s will…
-If only God would just let us know His thoughts on the matters of life…
-If only God would have shared this kind of wisdom with us…
-If only God had… you know… just written down His will… his plan… his purpose for people like you and me…
Your eyes are not playing tricks on you. There is indeed a flying Bible floating in the room right now. If you are seeing this… then just take it as a supernatural sign… a theophany of God if you will… that God wants you to read THE BIBLE.
The Bible
I’ll level with you. Those were just graphics on a screen. There was not actually a Bible floating around the Redemption Church stage… but there doesn’t need to be a floating Bible miracle in order for you to realize that God has given us His Word and that the key to our life is that we read, understand, and follow the Word of God.
-Raise your hand if you know that you should read your Bible.
-Raise your hand if you could have done a better job reading your Bible this year.
Right now at the beginning of my message to you, I want you to purpose in your heart that you will read your Bible this year. I want you to pledge to read your Bible this year…
HANDS UP if you will read your Bible this year! HANDS UP AND KEEP THEM UP! Ok put them down.
We want to help you accomplish this goal this New Year. We will have some reading plans and journals available to you as you leave service today.
If we really want to know God’s plan for the next year… we need to read His Word.
If we really want to feel the empowerment and the excitement of God plan… we need to read His Word.
If we really want answers to the difficult questions… we need to read His Word.
If we want to find purpose and a future… we need to read His Word.
Today I want to talk to you about God’s Plan from the Beginning.
God’s Plan from the Beginning
Please turn with me in your Bibles to the beginning of your Bible: Genesis chapter 1.
Today I would like to reveal 2 things to you…
#1 God’s unchanging plan.
#2 How God’s plan is clearly seen in scripture
We are about to read the Word of God together… but I feel to ask you to stand today as we read the Word. Let us stand as a sign of reverence to the Word of God. Now with all our attention focused, let us read the word of God together.
Genesis 1:1-2 (NIV) 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.
Thank you for honoring the Word of God. You may be seated.
- In the beginning God Created…
Imagine with me. Close your eyes. The nothingness you see with your eyes closed is the closest you can come to the picture of the moment BEFORE God began to create. …and then BOOM! You open your eyes and there are heavens and an earth. It was NOT seen a moment ago, but now it is seen.
Then, in verse 2 the focus of creation moves completely to earth.
God’s Plan from the Beginning
In this 2nd verse of your Bible you will find God’s plan for the rest of the Bible. Right here in verse 2 is God’s plan for all of humanity. Right in front of you is God’s plan for you. Look at this verse again.
Genesis 1:2 (NIV) 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.
The earth is 3 things.
-formless
-empty
-dark
Formless Creation – Tohuw
The ancient word for Formless is Tohuw. The state of the world in verse 2 is tohuw.
The word means formless, but also confusion & chaos. The world was in a state of confusion & chaos.
Try to imagine a world that has no up or down… no differentiation between darkness and light… good and evil… This was the world.
The earth exists in verse 2, but not as we know it now. There is matter & mass, yet there is not form, order, or structure. It’s practically impossible to imagine really, because the only world we have ever experienced models form & structure. Matter & mass cannot exist without form… yet in Genesis 1:2 this is the state of the world.
I cannot think of a single example of what this would look like. I even went to the internet to see what water would look like floating in zero gravity…
Water Zero Gravity
Water in zero gravity will, because of surface tension and microgravity adhere to itself and form a glob.
Formless Creation – Tohuw
We can’t comprehend this “tohuw” world of formless chaos.
The world was also an empty creation.
Empty creation – Bohuw
The earth existed, yet it was completely empty and void. The world was vacuous. You know how you might call someone vacuous to describe a person whose head is empty, void of thoughts and ideas? The earth was vacuous… nothing existed within it. No purpose was found in it.
The earth was “tohuw” formless, and “bohuw” empty. The earth was also dark.
Dark creation – choshek
We can come close to understanding darkness, but imagine if light never had existed. The word “choshek” means dark, obscure, and secretive. This was the state of the world. If the world had a purpose, no one could ever see it. The world was dark & obscure and its purpose was a secret.
This was the state of the World. Formless, Empty, & Dark.
But then something amazing happens.
Genesis 1:2 (NIV) 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.
It says the Spirit of God hovered over the waters… it says that God’s Spirit, the very presence of God… the breath of God… drew near to this creation. One translation says “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
God saw a world that had nothing visible to offer… it only had chaos, emptiness, and darkness… and the God of creation, the God of Your Bible, drew near to have a face to face encounter with creation.
God’s Plan from the Beginning
This is God’s plan from the beginning. This is not just a strange story in your Bible. This is your story.
If you feel like your life is in chaos and nothing seems to work; how could God love you? I want you to see that from the 2nd verse of your Bible; your God sees chaos and is not disgusted and reviled by it. God does not turn His back on chaos… God draws near to the chaotic creation and recreates it.
A Recreation of Chaos to Order
God speaks to the chaotic creation and says “Let there be light.” And immediately God creates an order to the universe.
Genesis 1:3-4 (NIV) 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 creates order and separates light from darkness. He sets up a natural law in a chaotic universe and to this day we see a separation of light & darkness.
Over the first 3 days God creates order in the universe.
Day 1 – Light & darkness.
Day 2 – God creates the atmosphere. He separates the waters above from the waters below. He creates an orderly separation between outer space and the breathable atmosphere of earth.
Day 3 – God separates the seas and the land.
God saw a chaotic creation and created order first.
In your Bible there is an Old Testament and in the New Testament there are 4 Gospels. In the Old Testament God gives commands to people. Do you understand that this is God’s plan from the beginning? The commands – the law of God, is God bringing ORDER to a chaotic formless world.
He commands love. He separates Love from Hate!
He commands truth. He separates Truth from lies!
He commands life. He separates Life from murder!
This is His plan from the beginning.
And Jesus Christ himself, living a perfect sinless life went to the cross to once and for all separate us from the formless chaos of Genesis 1 verse 2. Because of Jesus we can repent of our sin and we can turn from chaos to order, from sin to holiness, from death to life. The God who spoke, “Let there be light,” will speak within our hearts and separate light from darkness.
A Recreation of Chaos to Order
When God views a formless creation, He desires to create order. …but God doesn’t stop there. Once He has created order, he begins to fill His creation with wonderful gifts.
A Recreation of Emptiness to Fullness
In the middle of the 3rd day God began to fill this empty creation.
Day3 – God fills the world with vegetation.
Day 4 – God fills the heavens with the sun, the moon, and stars.
Day 5 – God fills the skies with birds and the seas with fish.
Day 6 – God fills the land with animals and then His crowning achievement: God creates man & woman and gives them the command to be fruitful & multiply… The God who filled and empty world invites us to fill this world with Him.
When God brings order to His creation, then He seeks to fill His creation. God wants more for us than to just have us follow rules – God wants to fill us with His own Being.
God wants for us to be filled with His Spirit. If you are not filled with His Spirit, then you are missing out on His plan from the beginning.
By His Spirit, He will fill you with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, & self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23) God will fill you to overflowing so that you & HE together can fill the whole Earth, eliminating the void. – Just like His plan to work with Adam & Eve.
A Recreation from Obscured to Revealed
The world was dark. Its purpose was obscured and secret. No one could see the purpose of this creation.
But after God sets chaos to order… after God sets emptiness to fullness… He then takes that dark, obscure, purposeless creation and reveals His plan.
Genesis 1 is called the creation account, but I see a creation & a re-creation account in Genesis 1. In verse 1 God created…
In the Beginning God Created…
It was His plan from the beginning to create… but also to re-create.
This is why Jesus looks a religious man and says these words…
John 3:7 (NIV) You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
In the beginning God created… God has been re-creating ever since. He wants you and me, His crowning creation to be re-created! God wants us to be formed, filled, and finally fulfilled.
God wants us to be formed, filled, fulfilled
This is His plan from the beginning. It is right there in your Bible. This pattern is for you to discover for yourself.
We are about to talk to God. I want you to prepare your hearts. Those in the room, I want you to bravely come forward and receive prayer. Those online, I want you to also pray and talk with Jesus. I know He is right there in the room with you.
I want to remind you how God creates & re-creates.
Genesis 1:2 (NIV) 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.
Genesis 1:2 (KJV) …And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
God always draws near to create. He is not a distant God. God seeks to meet you face to face.
Face to Face
From the beginning your Bible has revealed that God seeks to meet us face to face. He met Adam face to face, Abraham, and Moses… He came in the flesh so that we could all see Him.
God wants to have a face to face encounter with you today.
But my life is a mess… He looks at a chaotic creation and draws near.
But I have nothing to offer… He draws near to an empty creation. He will draw near to you.
But I have no purpose… From the beginning He has shown us that He will draw near to those who cannot see in the darkness.
God desires a face to face relationship with His creation. Do you desire this? Come now and receive.