The sermon of today will centre on suspension of divine order. In Genesis chapter 1, we were told that God began the creation of heaven and the earth. The bible listed for us in stages the design of the heaven and the earth by the Almighty God. In Genesis 1:2-5, we were told that the earth was formless and darkness was upon the face of the deep and God utter a word "Let there be light: and there was light”, He called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
In this sermon, we want to talk about what can make God suspend His divine order. In 1 Corinthians 14:40, the bible says "Let all things be done decently and in order”
The word "Divine" according the dictionary means "of or relating to a god, especially the Supreme Being", while the word "order" means "an authoritative direction or instruction, command; mandate.
So, from the topic of the sermon, we can deduce by the dictionary meaning that the "Supreme Being (God) can suspend His authoritative direction, instruction or command.
Before we delve into the topic of the sermon, let's quickly take a look at two of the divine order instituted by God on earth. There are many of them, but we will talk about two of them.
The first one we want to take a look at is found in Genesis 1:14-18 when God established the protocol the light and darkness must follow. God called light, the day and the darkness, He called the night and He said that they shall be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.
The Second one is found in Genesis 8:22 where God said that as long as the earth remain, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
From these two, we can see that since the beginning of creation, we were told that everything remains as it is until the time of Joshua when he issued a command in accordance with God's Word in Isaiah 45:11 to stop the divine order God had instituted for light and darkness.
In order to understand the text of the sermon properly, we need to look at the story surrounding it. We were told that when the Gibeonites heard about the destruction of Jericho and Ai by Joshua according to Joshua 9:3 and feared of being destroyed that they approach the Israelites with subtility to deceive them and the Israelites fell for it without seeking God's counsel. And in Joshua 9:15, we were told that Joshua and the princes of the congregation of Israel swore to them to let them live and not destroy them. So, when the five kings of the Amorites heard that the Gibeonites had made peace with Israel, that they were afraid because Gibeon was a great and royal city and their men were mighty according to Joshua 10: 1-2 that they conspired against the Gibeonites to destroy them because of the allegiance they made with the Israelites. The Gibeonites therefore summon for help from Joshua to come to their rescue in Joshua 10:6.
In the battle between the five kings and the Israelites defending the Gibeonites, we can see that God gave Joshua great victory without minding the mistake that they made. So, in order for Joshua to ensure complete victory is accomplished, he issued a command to stop the Sun and the Moon. That is, Joshua suspended the protocol that God put in place for the day and night and God honoured it.
What Can Make God Suspend His Divine Order?
1. When God wants to demonstrate His love for His people. Here we see how God honoured the oath established between the Israelites and the Gibeonites in Joshua 9:18-20 because of the love He had for the Israelites in making sure that they get to the promised land. We can also see how God also stood by the same oath in 2 Samuel 21:1-6. God can overlook the mistakes of His children. The question is "Are you one of the children of God? Do you personally know Him as your Father? Have you completely given your life to Christ?” Are you still living in sin and saying I will soon change? Tomorrow mighty be too late to make that decision! Let all these questions resonate in your heart.
2. When God wants to punish His adversaries. 1 Samuel 2:10, 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12
3. When God wants to demonstrate His Awesome Power Exodus 14:18; and Exodus 14:21. Since the start of creation up until that time, have we ever seen where a mighty ocean was parted into two like that?
In conclusion, if you want God to suspend all protocol because of you, you need to completely give your life to Christ. Are you here today, and you are wondering like Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 1:34-35 on how can this be? Don't worry, the Holy Ghost will do it.
Let us Pray!
I pray that the Almighty God will suspend protocol because of you in Jesus Name. The God who made the axe head to float in a river in 2 Kings 6:1-7 will suspend all protocols concerning you and grant your heart desires in Jesus Name. Amen!
