If God Created ....

If God Created ...

Intro.: Beginnings – It is a week of beginnings.

1. Sunday is the first day of the week
2. July 1^st is the first day of the month
3. July 4^th is the day we celebrate the beginning of our country.
4. So today, I am beginning a series on the “beginnings” that define our faith.

Read: Genesis 1:1-2:3

Pray

Trans: Over the next few weeks, we will look at a number of beginnings that define our Christian faith.

1. Today – we will start at the very beginning – creation.
2. Next week, we will look God's creation of man.
3. Then, the following week, we will look at the events that brought sin into the world.
4. Then we will look at Jesus' role at bring our salvation.
5. And finally, we will look at the book of Acts – the beginnings of the church – and the promise and coming of the Holy Spirit.
6. Today – creation.
7. I do wish we were outside again, though I expect it might be to hot to do so.
8. It would serve as a visual reminder of the two lessons that will come from today's message.

T.S. Let's look at two lessons that will help us face tomorrow that can be drawn from the creation story.

1. If God created the world, what I do not understand, He does.
   1. When life gets tough, on of the most heard expressions may be, “I just don't understand.”
   2. At times it may be something physical – a watch, a television, or an automobile. Of course the one who understands it best is the one who designed and built that object – be it the watch maker, the television manufacturer, or men in Detroit who put together that magic machine called the automobile.
   3. But at times it may be the elements of nature – I mean, I expect some physicists can offer some kind of explanation for the rainbow, but I still don't get it.
   4. I don't understand some physical things. I don't understand some natural things. But you know what is really difficult for me – this thing called personal relationships.
      1. I have a friend, a recent college graduate, here in Rochester – who I speak with occasionally on the Internet. And one of the common themes he posts about is his lack of understanding of the opposite sex. He is speaks of being confused – not knowing when a girl likes him or not; or how to communicate he likes a girl or not
      2. I remember back when I was that age as well. There was this one girl I was sort of attracted to. She would go to class in the afternoon – and I knew the general route she would use to get back to her dorm, so I would sit out on the campus quad and wait for her to walk back from class. And, even after I dated her for two or three months, I was just as confused. In fact she might tell you that when I finally first told her that I loved her and wanted to marry her, it came out of my mouth as an accident. I was so embarrassed for having said it.
      3. Relationships are still tough – whether it be coworkers, neighbors, or just people I come across in life.
   5. Now here is the kicker – though I may not understand physical, natural, or relational - God does.
   6. If it is the watchmaker who understands the watch. If it is the computer programmer that understands the computer, if it is the automobile manufacturer that understands the car, doesn't it make sense that the one who made the world would understand it best?
   7. I may not understand it – but I have no problem understanding that God does understand what I do not understand.
   8. When thing feel like they are getting out of hand, I can trust God to get me through – he will understand.
2. If God created the world, He gets to set the rules.
   1. Two and three year olds have a limited vocabulary.
   2. There favorite word may be “MINE!”
   3. They truly want things their way, they are very convinced that everything belongs to them.
      1. The toys are all theirs
      2. The food is all theirs
      3. That blue coat is theirs – even if they wore a red one to school that day
      4. After all “It's mine”
   4. Of course, the child is trying to change the rules. I suppose he can try – but most parents, most teachers, most leaders, will see through it and not let them do it.
   5. But it is a game that not only preschoolers play – we try to play it as well.
   6. People everywhere want to change the rules to make our world fit into our perception of it.
   7. But they are not our rules to change – they are God's.
   8. Question – how do you learn the rules? The easy answer is attend church – you'll learn all the rules. The problem is that this is the wrong answer.

(Ill.) Have you every learned the Monopoly game? There is a rule that says each time someone pays a penalty, it goes into a pile in the center of the board. Then when someone lands on “Free Parking”, they get all the accumulated money. One problem – that rule is not found in any set of official rules. If I were to teach you the rules for Monopoly, you would be learning the wrong rules. The only official rules are included in that little sheet of paper packed into every Monopoly game – that paper includes the rules that define tournament play – that define competitive play. If you want the official rules of Monopoly, you need to read the rule book.

9. Do you want to know God's rules? Don't listen to me – I'll get it wrong. The same could be said about every other pastor.
10. Do you want to know God's rules? Just like in Monopoly, read the rule book. Read the scriptures.

(Appl.) I will do my best as a pastor to give you the truth – but like you, I am broken. The best place to find what God wants is in His word. In it, God lays out his view of the world and will prepare us to serve Him.

Conclusion:

Pray