Sermon Tone Analysis

Anyone remember learning about Constitutional Convention?

Taking you back to junior high history class here.

Constitutional Convention was meeting when forefathers of country, people like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, got together and wrote up our Constitution.

Constitution is amazing document, set up structure for our country that still exists today.

And we fortunate in that we know a lot about how constitution got written up.

One of the delegates, James Madison, took notes during meeting.

Without his notes, all we would have known is that forefathers got together in Philadelphia, voted on several issues, came out with the Constitution.

But through Madison’s notes, we get insider’s look into this meeting.

We know what happened during the convention and what main debates were.

We have inside look into how Constitution was drafted.

It’s great to get inside look into something.

See and understand what actually happened during important event.

Through notes and diaries people have taken, gotten inside look at how Oval Office works, how important decisions in Congress made or not made, how presidential campaign operates.

All helpful stuff.

However, is one inside look that beats them all.

It’s first inside look anyone has ever been given.

We find it Genesis 1. Genesis 1 gives us insider’s look into how God created world.

We actually get see what was said, what was done, to bring everything into existence - heavens, earth, and all that’s in them.

Now, this insider’s look isn’t totally exhaustive.

What I mean that is our insider’s look comes from one perspective – perspective of imaginary person standing on surface earth, watching and taking notes while God creating everything.

So, for instance, we not seeing this from perspective of modern scientist, who got all his instruments around him, able to take tests and measurements.

Lot of people get hung up on Genesis 1 trying to make it give perspective it doesn’t give.

So, people say, this isn’t scientific correct.

6 days to create everything?

But world is billions of years old?

How did all this happen?

Genesis 1 was never meant to give us that kind of inside look.

So, we don’t know have measurements to tell us if when God made earth he made few billions of years old already, or if he did something else entirely.

The perspective we have is of an imaginary person who got to be there and observe things with their own two eyes.

That’s it.

And what would that person have seen?

Well, v.1-2 - /1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

2The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.

And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters./

/ /

Last week, we looked just at v.1.

v.1 really leads right into v.2.

In other words, in the beginning God created everything.

First nothing, and then boom, we got heavens and earth.

However, was more that needed to happen.

Earth uninhabitable.

v.2 tells us it was without form and void – sense here that it was barren, dark and empty place.

Not suitable for life.

So, God then began to form, shape earth.

What we would have seen, if we had been standing there, is that, seemingly in just 6 days, God shaped earth from place that was dark, barren and empty into a place with light and life.

A perfect place for mankind to live.

Don’t have time tonight to read every single verse here about what happened on each day – why had Jamalee read before so that we can refer to different parts as we go along.

But, if sum up inside look into creation, see pattern:

First 3 days, God forming creation into environment that will produce vegetation and sustain life.

Day 1 – v.3-5 – God says, /“Let there be light,”/ and there was light

Day 2 – v.6-8 – God creates an expanse to separate the waters.

In other words, God creates space and sky and separates the surface waters of the earth from the atmospheric waters or clouds.

Day 3 – v.9-13 – God does some more separating by gathering waters on earth together into seas and let dry land appear.

He then also has the earth start produce plant life – v.11 – /And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.”

And it was so./

Last 3 days, God filling what he created in day 1-3.

Day 4 – v.14-19 – God fills space and sky now with the sun, moon and stars to give light to earth and also help mark time – v.14 – /“And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth.”/

Day 5- v.20-23 – God fills the heavens with sky animals and the seas with water animals.

And here also we see God giving these animals his blessing to multiply and bring more life into the earth.

Finally, Day 6 – v.24-31 – God fills the earth with all kinds of land animals.

And he also brings into existence the climax of creation, man and woman created in image of God.

Couple of weeks look at this special moment in creation on its own, but enough to say for now that everything God did in previous days really sets the stage for mankind to come, for it is only mankind, out of all creation, that gets created in the image of God.

So that’s quickly description of Gen 1, an inside account of creation.

Now, though need to sit back and think about meaning behind what saw.

Miss it, if all did just read through casually.

However, if you sit back and think about, see that creation teaches us some incredibly important facts about God.

 

*1.

God is all-powerful (i.e. he is omnipotent)*

Probably most obvious thing creation teaches us about God.

This what Paul points out in Rom 1:20, /“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.”/

If you honestly look at world around, you can’t help but see that very powerful God was behind it all.

Insider’s account really hits us over head with just how powerful this God actually is.

Notice for instance the repetitions?

Each day, it says, “God said, “Let there be this now,” or “Let there be that thing now.”

And the Bible tells very simply, “And it was so.”

So, for example, v.24 – “And God said, /“Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds – livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.”/

And just like that, /“it was so.”/

God so powerful that he has but to say it, and it happens.

/Ex .-/

Always thought Mom pretty powerful growing up.

Her word would go forth, “Vermon, Melissa, come to dinner!” Ignore her – keep playing on computer, playing our toys.

Quickly learned that mistake.

Mom called, we had to come.

So, pretty powerful.

But power of her word pretty small compared to power of God’s word.

Here is power that able bring light and life where there was no light and life.

Notice that creation involved no struggle from God.

No strain for him.

Not threatened by some rival god.

Other religions often described creation coming out of some great struggle or battle among the gods.

Bible makes clear, that’s not what happened at.

God’s word went out, and it accomplished all that it set out to do.

Creation is testimony to fact that God is truly all-powerful.

*2.

Creation tells us that God in control over everything*

Notice how systematic and ordered every thing is.

God speaks, things created, evening and morning, and a day has passed.

Give us sense that there is ordered rhythm to creation.

God is God of order, not chaos.

He is God who has complete and precise control over creation.

Each part of creation is in its place, and has its purpose.

Each part is in harmony and symmetry.

All of this is according to God’s will and control.