Thank you Rev. M. Edge
God Moves, God Speaks
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Gen 1:2 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.
Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Mat 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
Mat 9:36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
Mat 9:37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly [is] plenteous, but the labourers [are] few;
Mat 9:38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
I. Gen 1:2 - "Without form and void"
- Hebrew for "chaotic and useless or empty"
- This world began with chaos, turmoil, emptiness, uselessness
- Scientists tell us the beginning of the earth was one of upheaval, giant explosions, volcanic eruptions, and large scale seismic activity
- There was nothing redeeming about the world, there was measurable value, it was one big giant mess
This world is still in a mess!
- Its filled with chaos, crime, bloodshed, warfare
- People are living turmoil-filled lives with divorce and fornication, greed and pride, corruption and dishonesty
- Marriages are falling apart, families are disrupted, people are empty and without purpose pursuing happiness only to find hollow, unfulfilling voids in their hearts
But "In the beginning God..."
- Before there was a chaotic world, there was God
- Before there was turmoil, there was God
- Before its emptiness, before its convulsing, before its shaking and quaking, God was there
And the Bible says "the Spirit of God MOVED upon the face" of all of the chaos and all of the emptiness and the vast void of nothing that world consisted of
And God is STILL MOVED at the suffering of people!
He is still affected by empty souls, broken hearts, and aimless humanity!
He is a God who can be moved---He has emotions---He has a heart---He is not calloused---He can be TOUCHED by the feelings of our infirmities!
He is sensitive and kind.
He is a God of compassion and tender mercy.
He cares for you---what happens to you---what you are going through.
And He is moved when he sees us cry---when He sees us suffer---when He sees our lonliness---when He sees our despair
He is not far from any one of us---He is near---and He is looking for an opportunity to show Himself strong
II. I am thankful for His great compassion, but I'm thankful that He is more than just a SYMPATHETIC GOD!
When God is moved---He not only is touched and feels for us---He has something to say
God moves and God speaks!
When the Lord moved upon that vast emptiness of chaotic upheaval and tumult--He moved upon its face and He SPOKE
And when God SPEAKS---He SPEAKS order, and purpose, and structure, and uniformity
And when God looks at your troubled life, anxieties and fears---He has a WORD for YOU! A WORD that will bring order and direction, wisdom and understanding.
He can help you make sense out of your suffering!
He can speak a WORD that will bring LIGHT into your DARKNESS!
He can speak HEALING into your SICKNESS!
HE can speak FORGIVENESS into your BITTER experiences!
Whatever your trouble, whatever your confusion, whatever your calamity---Jesus is MOVED by it, BUT He also has a WORD that can bring ORDER to your MESS!
GOD MOVES and GOD SPEAKS!
III. The trouble this world finds itself in is caused by SIN.
Plain and simple---SIN has caused mankind to get himself into ALL of the messes and shambles we find the world in today.
EDEN was a lush green garden created in a perfect world of DIVINE ORDER and CONFORMITY. The perfect will of God was for man to live in paradise, in innocence and purity.
SIN brought disorder to the DIVINE ORDER for this world and caused man to spin out of control ever since!
SIN STILL continues to erode the foundations of DIVINE ORDER and causes great suffering for all of mankind:
- The DIVINE ORDER is for one man to cleave to his one wife and become one flesh
- But the SINS of adultery, fornication and divorce have disrupted the DIVINE ORDER and has caused great suffering for mankind
- The DIVINE ORDER is for a husband and a wife to be the foundation for a family
- But the SINS of Bisexuality, Homosexuality, Living Together, Pre-Marital Sexuality, Extra-Marital Sexuality have brought DISORDER destroying tens of millions in our country alone
- The DIVINE ORDER is for man to believe in ONE GOD and to love Him with all of the heart and soul, mind and strength
- But the SINS of pride, idolatry, greed, dishonesty, covetousness and unforgiveness have brought DISORDER into the world and has wrought great devastation upon countless generations
IV. But God, from the very beginning had a plan to bring ORDER out of DISORDER, SUBSTANCE from EMPTINESS, PURPOSE out of CHAOS
Gen. 3:15 - And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
In the chaos of that first SIN---the fear and the turmoil that it brought to the world---God was MOVED and He SPOKE!
He SPOKE ORDER into the DISORDER of SIN!
"There will be conflict, there will be contention, there will be struggle---but in the end, DISORDER will give way to ORDER, DARKNESS will lose to the LIGHT, there will be ONE who comes who will RESTORE the brokenness of mankind!"
V. And so Jesus came with a DIVINE ORDER, and with it HE brought compassion and POWERFUL CREATIVE WORDS that changed people's lives and destinies!
The woman in the act of ADULTERY: He was touched by her plight and spoke COMPASSION and ORDER into her life: "Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more"!
The PARALYTIC: "Thy sins be forgiven thee, take up thy bed and walk!"
When Lazarus died He wept but He also spoke, "Lazarus come forth"
He was crucified, buried, and rose again and began to restore ORDER back into the world.
Matt. 9 tells us that as He traveled from village to village, town to town, He was MOVED with compassion b/c he saw that the people were scattered, leaderless, without a shepherd.
But He was not only MOVED, Jesus SPOKE and said, "The harvest is plenteous, and the laborers are few, pray ye that the Lord of the harvest will send forth laborers into his harvest!"
The ANSWER to the CHAOS in this world is CHRIST in YOU!
The SOLUTION for the EMPTINESS in this world is the CHURCH of JESUS CHRIST!
The only way ORDER will come into CONFUSED HUMANITY is for the CHURCH to SPEAK the GOSPEL of JESUS CHRIST!
VI. God has a WORD for you!
PERSONAL ILLUSTRATION: When I was a younger minister I was very discouraged and prayed that God would release me from my calling during a youth camp where I was volunteering as a counselor. I went over to the corner of the tabernacle to pray this prayer quietly and privately. As soon as I finished making this request to the Lord an evangelist that I had just met that week walked up to me and whispered, "Mark, don't take me wrong, I don't usually do this type of thing, but God just told me to tell you that He wants you to be a preacher" and he walked away.
There was turmoil in my mind, there was conflict in my spirit, I was discouraged and wondered if I could possibly do anything for the Lord. The Lord cared enough about me and pitied me and was moved with compassion for me. But He not only was sympathetic, He had a Word of Knowledge for me, and forever changed my life!
I have had other days of discouragement, I have had other times of feeling down, but ever since that day I know that I know that I know what I am supposed to do and to be! God brought ORDER to my DISORDERED mind and spirit!
He can speak to the wind and the waves and bring peace to your conflict!
He can speak healing to your sick body!
He can speak deliverance to your bondage!
He is moved by your despair and sorrow---He is the COMFORTER!
But He also has a WORD of DIVINE ORDER for your life, that if you will accept it---believe it---live it---the cataclysmic circumstances in your life can begin to experience LIGHT and LIFE, PEACE and JOY, DIVINE ORDER and PURPOSE!
