Intro:

• This series
  • Jesus, the catalyst for change
  • Change your mind, change your world
  • The ultimate goal is for us to change our world! 
• Today’s Word - Changing the world through ORDER

John 20:6–7 (NLT) — 6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there,  while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings.

• He took time to fold up his head cloth. 
  • Most of us don’t make our bed when we get out
  • Much less would we worry about the the head cloth if we RAISED FROM THE DEAD! 
• It’s indicative of the nature of God
  • He steps into NOTHING and makes SOMETHING 
  • He steps into CHAOS and makes PEACE
  • He steps into CONFUSION and makes ORDER
  • He steps into MESS and makes CLEAN
• Contrasting Satan and God, Good and Evil
  • Satan - Confuses truth, Distorts reality, Perverts purity, Pollutes perfection
  • God - Clarifying, Balancing, Purifying, Perfecting
• What I’ve noticed about the world
  • True Godliness brings order into chaos
  • When you take society to the extreme, and are in 3rd world, the distinction is profound. 
  • Disorder communicates the presence of: 
    • Hopelessness
    • Lawlessness
    • Poverty
    • War
    • Apathy 
  • Godly people come in and shine
    • Their compounds are like light and darkness

Let’s see the greatest illustration of this in creation

• Genesis 1:1–2 (NLT) — 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

8 Things Order Does:

1. Day 0 - Order has a VISION
   1. The Father sat there and pondered on what could be, filled with faith and vision. 
   2. Order sees potential in chaos
   3. God does this
      1. He saw potential in a world of water
      2. He sees potential in each one of us. 
   4. Humans do this. 
      1. People can go into a property and see what needs to be done
      2. People can go onto a blank page and create beauty 
   5. Vision to see potential
   6. Vision to see opportunities
   7. Ultimately this is faith! The ability to believe something great is here
2. Day 1 - Order has an ACTION
   1. “Then God said, let their be light!”
   2. You can’t live in the dream and vision stage forever, you must take action. 
   3. His first action was to turn the light on! 
   4. The first action is always the hardest
   5. Use physical space
   6. Human tendency is - keep the chaos in the dark! 
      1. I dare you to turn the light on! 
3. Day 2 - Order creates SEPARATION
   1. “Let there be a space between the waters”
   2. This is the ability to distinguish what is good and bad, the forming of two piles
      1. The good wheat and the bad weeds
      2. The wheat and the chaff
      3. The good fish and the bad fish
      4. The sheep and the goats
   3. You must be able to separate
      1. The important from the non-important
      2. The pure from the impure
      3. The necessary from the unnecessary
   4. Use possessions
4. Day 3 - Order plants SEEDS
   1. “So dry ground may appear...sprout with vegetation and seed bearing trees”
   2. God’s strategy to bring order often is in the form of a seed! 
      1. His plan to bring order to his creation was planting a man in a garden
      2. His plan to bring order to fallen man was to plant his son in the earth.
   3. When we go to bring order into our lives, we need to look for a place to plant a seed! 
   4. Use relationships
   5. I’d like to use chaotic relationships as an example:
      1. James 3:18 (NLT) — 18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.
      2. A gift is a seed
      3. A kind word is a seed
      4. Time spent is a seed
5. Day 4 - Order builds SYSTEMS
   1. “God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good”.
   2. God creates systems
      1. Solar systems, Water cycles, human systems of nervous, cardiovascular, digestive
   3. If you really want to create sustainable order in your world, create systems. 
   4. Use schedule - calendar
      1. Date night
      2. Exercise
      3. Family night
      4. Vacation and retreats
6. Day 5 - Order creates BEAUTY
   1. Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.”
   2. God is an artist with a profound appreciation for beauty! 
   3. It’s not all about functionality with God.
   4. Part of bringing order is beautifying
   5. Use physical space again
7. Day 6 - Order establishes STEWARDSHIP
   1. Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
   2. You can’t just create order with no plans to see it maintained. 
   3. When you set order into a thing, system, or place, make sure that it has a plan of stewardship.
   4. Use finances
      1. Get into that chaos and turn it into ordered systems.
      2. Create budgets that steward and watch over your finances.
8. Day 7 - Order produces REST
   1. The ultimate goal of bringing order is REST
   2. Create a place that you can Rest
   3. A few principles:
      1. Don’t stop before your done. “Don’t sabbath on day three”
      2. Call it good at the end of every day so you remember that the pain is worth it
      3. Rest is the fruit of order. Until you achieve order, there is no true rest. 

I want you to think about your world right now. Is it chaos or is it rest? 

• Don’t worry about trying to change the world, change your environment first. 
• Your physical space
• Your relationships
• Your schedule 
• Your finances 
• Your possessions