Good morning. Today we are going to continue in our series, The ABC’s & XYZ’s Of The Bible. We have taken a look at A – Abundance, and B – Biblical Mothers. And today, we take a look at the letter C.
But before we do that, allow me to open with a word of prayer. Let’s Pray!
A minister wrote once about a few people he knew. This is what he wrote:
“Sitting in her car, on a dark road just outside of town, a young high school girl looks at her life, and this is what she sees: “I’m overweight, I have no friends, and my future holds no promise.” As she slides the bullet into the chamber of her father’s gun, she thinks, “It’s no use, there is no hope for me.”
A middle aged executive sits alone in a motel room, a day of meetings just completed. He thinks about his life, and this is what he sees: “The kids are all gone, my wife doesn’t seem to care or love me anymore, and my job is a dead-end.” As he reaches for the phonebook to look up the number of a local escort service, he thinks to himself, “Maybe, at least, I can have a couple hours of pleasure.”
A housewife sits at home, alone. As she sits there, she looks at her life, and this is what she sees: “My husband has his job, the kids are all in school, and I am so alone.” As she pours herself another drink, she thinks to herself, “Thank God I have my soaps.””
And so it goes, everyday, we hear about it, or we read about it. People are checking out on life, children running away from home, someone committing suicide, alcoholism, drug addiction, divorce, adultery, and depression. And as this is going on, we have to ask ourselves, “Why? Why are people checking out on life?” And the answer to that question is just as varied as the people themselves.
However, if you were to analyze the answers, there would be one consistency. All of the answers would reveal that most of these people have found that their life, or at least an important aspect of their life is meaningless, it is empty, it is unfulfilling. It’s as if there is a dark hole that they are living in, and they can’t manage to get out of it.
It is a feeling that many of us can relate to. In fact, there may be some here this morning listening to this message right now, and within your own heart, you feel that way about your life, even as we speak. You understand the idea of emptiness, meaninglessness, and being unfulfilled.
Now, it may not be your entire life, it could just be a very important aspect of your life. Maybe it’s your career, or your family, or your marriage, or maybe it’s a relationship with your children or with your parents. It seems as if no matter what you do, you still feel the emptiness, the hopelessness of the entire situation.
Well, let me tell you something this morning, “There IS hope.”
Your life can be meaningful and fulfilling. So can your career, your marriage, and your relationships. Whatever it is in your life, that feels empty, it can be fulfilling.
Take your Bibles, and turn with me to the very first chapter of the very first book of the Bible. And in Genesis chapter 1, it may surprise you to find out that the promise of that hope can be found right there in the first chapter of Genesis.
This is the chapter that reveals to us our beginnings. Today, “C” is for the word Creation. It tells us the story of God’s creating the universe, the earth, and mankind. Now I’ll admit that this chapter has taken a lot of abuse over the past several years. The fact of the matter is that science has gone a long way to prove that everything had a beginning. Most of science has also gone a long way in trying to explain those beginnings without mention of God.
But, one thing we learn from scripture is that everything that exists is because of Him. I know about the Big Bang Theory. I know about the Natural Selection Theory. And I know about the Theory Of Evolution. But any theory that leaves out God is a flawed theory. There is so much beauty, and variety, and precision in the world, that it takes more faith to believe it happened by accident, than it does to believe it happened by the hand of God.
No one would ever say that the Statue of Liberty happened by accident. There is too much beauty and design and precision in that statue.
The same thing is true with the Heavens and the earth. No matter how you think it was accomplished, the inescapable conclusion is that this universe has been intelligently designed by God Himself.
It occurs to me that mankind has set off literally billions of explosions. But only those that are carefully planned by pyrotechnic engineers can be said to be beautiful and creative. And yet we are told that all of the beauty of creation began with a giant and unplanned explosion.
How many of you have sat and watched an incredible 4th of July display of fireworks? You see wonderfully designed and choreographed displays of fireworks everywhere. And each one of those was a small explosion. The only way that those marvelous scenes can be created is by someone sitting down and thinking them out. Unless they are planned and supervised, an explosion leaves nothing but chaos.
We can even sit outside on any clear night and gaze at the stars and wonder all we want about them and where they came from, or we can open up the Bible and read the first sentence and meet the engineer who designed and created it all. It tells us that, “In the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth.”
Now, I’m not here this morning to argue about the truth of this first passage. To me it is a wonderful statement of faith, and must be accepted that way.
When you do accept it, the world takes on a special beauty as you begin to discover the God who loved us so much that He would create such a marvelous place for us to live.
It is the second verse of this chapter that I want you to notice today. Verse 2 tells us, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep.”
Now, as we look at that verse, there are 2 things that strike me about this passage:
1. God did not create the earth to be instantly splendid. And that reminds me of the potter who begins with a big, ugly, wet lump of clay, but in the end, has a beautiful piece of pottery. The Bible says, “…it was formless and empty (or void).” And number …
2. I quickly notice the almost depressing tone that Moses used to describe the beginnings of God’s new creation. He used words like empty, and formless, void, and darkness.
These are tough words, words of chaos and hopelessness. But, maybe that’s the point. All of us, at some time or another have found something about our lives that can be described with words of emptiness and void and darkness. As we go into the world, we come face to face, daily, with others who feel as if these are the words that describe their lives. They feel as if there is no hope. That everything is formless and empty.
If this happens to be true in your life, I have good news for you today. Because, it is exactly at this point that God begins to work.
Listen to the very next sentence, “…and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
What an incredible gift, knowing that in our time of darkness, when we need Him the most, God is right there, waiting for us to turn to Him, waiting to create life in an otherwise empty world.
When we get to the point in our life, when it seems everywhere we look, there is nothing but darkness, right there on the edge, you will find God. And He is always there waiting and wanting to create something extra-ordinary in your life.
And, you know what? If we are willing to let Him, that is exactly what He does. He creates something new in our lives. The Bible tells in II Corinthians 5:17 that, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come.”
So, let’s take a look at how God does it. Let’s look at how God takes that which is empty, and void and full of darkness, and creates life out of it.
The first thing He does is give it form. Follow along with me and listen to God’s creation of the first 4 days. Genesis 1:3-19 says, “1”
Okay, what did God do? Well, on the first day, He gave the earth light. Not the sun and the moon kind of light, but a divine light.
I don’t know if you have ever seen this before, I hadn’t really thought about it, but God brought light to the earth 3 days before He made the sun and the moon and the stars. And that is the first thing God does when He begins to work in our lives, He fills us with a divine light.
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” And in John 1:4 tells us that “in Him was life, and that life was the light of men.”
So, when we turn to God we find the light of Jesus. We discover hope and promise and a future. We discover, much to our amazement, that God has been there all along, and now, as we trust in Him, He is going to do great things in our lives.
On the second day, God created the sky, an expanse to separate the waters from the waters. On the third day, God brings dry land out of the water and caused plant life to grow on the land. And on the fourth day, God placed the sun, the moon and the stars in the sky.
So, what is God doing these first 4 days?
Well, He is preparing His creation for new life.
I’ll never forget the first time I decided to get a fish. At first, mom and dad wouldn’t allow me to have a dog, so I decided that instead of a dog, I would keep fish.
So, the first thing I did was to go out and buy an aquarium. I also had to get supplies: stones, an aerator, a filter system, a background for the aquarium, and of course food for the fish.
Anyway, I took everything home, put the aerator and filter system in, filled the bottom of the aquarium with stones, put the background on it and filled it with water. Then I went back and bought some fish, brought them home, put them in the aquarium, and sat and watched them all die.
You see, I discovered the hard way that the fish would die if the water wasn’t properly treated with certain chemicals. The fish needed an environment that would support their life.
Well, what God created those first 4 days was an earth that was perfect for humanity to survive in. The same is true for our lives today. When we have lived long enough in the darkness and we are ready for God to come in and recreate us and give us new life, He does so by first preparing our hearts.
As He does, He begins to point out the things in our life that will destroy our new lives. That is why confession and repentance are so important. As the light of God begins to shine in our lives, it reveals to us our sin. The sin that Christ died for, the sin that was forgiven on the cross.
I John 1:9 tells us that, “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” When our hearts are clean, then Christ can literally come in and take up residency. He gives us “New Life.”
Now, let’s take a look at days 5 and 6 of creation. Continuing on in Genesis 1:20-31 says, “1”
On day 5, God creates the fish for the waters and the birds for the sky. And on day 6, God creates all the animals of the earth, and then He creates man in His image.
So, God has taken the beautiful work of creation, and has now given it life. When God works in our hearts, He wants to do the same thing. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.”
He didn’t say, “I have come that they may have things, and have them more abundantly.” He didn’t say, “I have come that they may have years, and have them more abundantly.” No, He said He would give us life, abundant life.
You see, life is not measured by the accumulation of things. It is not measured in days or years. Abundant life is measured by our character, by our love, it is measured by our relationship with God.
When God created man, Adam and Eve, He created them to have fellowship with Him. When He gives us this “New Life,” it is again to have that intimate fellowship with Him. If you want to know real love, real joy, and real peace, it can only be found in Jesus. That is the life that God gives us when we allow Him to create in us a new heart.
So, do you want to know what it really means to have life? Do you want to know real peace, real joy, and real love? If so, you must come to Jesus. You see, only the God who created the world can create real life.
But, God isn’t finished yet. In the final 3 verses that we just read, we also see that God doesn’t just give us a new life, He also gives us a purpose.
One of the most discouraging and depressing things in the whole world is a life without purpose. Have you ever met a man or a woman who is going through life just waiting to die? He or she seems to be just going through the motions. There is no sense of mission or purpose in their life.
Adam and Eve were created with purpose. First of all, they were to fellowship with God. Secondly, they were to be fruitful and multiply and they were to subdue the earth. And finally, Adam and Eve were to be the original caretakers of God’s creation.
God has the same purpose for us today. God wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him. That is the principle reason Jesus died on the cross, was for us.
He died so that we could receive eternal life through Him and be adopted into God’s family. God desires that intimate relationship with every one of us. We are created in His image so that we can fellowship with Him.
He also wants us to be fruitful. Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, apart from me you can do nothing.” Isn’t that what we said is wrong with much of the world today? Our lives are empty, nothingness abounds. But, in Jesus, we have purpose, we have meaning.
Let me ask you a very important question, “Is there an aspect of your life that seems meaningless? Is there a part of your life that feels empty, or void and full of darkness?” I ask you that question in all sincerity. You may be sitting here this morning, listening to this message, and to the outside world your life may be looking pretty good. But, inside, you know you are putting on a show.
You appear to everyone around you to be “happy and content.” But inside, you know you are lost and troubled. You feel a little bit like the 3 people I mentioned when we began. Allow me to share with you what that minister wrote about how things worked out for them. He says:
“The married woman with the drinking problem, she is doing much better today. She turned her life over to God. Instead of filling her life with alcohol and TV, she now fills it by helping with a children’s ministry during the day. It is a ministry that provides a service to families where the mother has to work.
The man in the motel, he changed his mind too. Instead of calling an escort service, he called a local pastor for prayer, and then he called his wife. Today, they are happily married. He quit the job he had that forced him to travel so much. He will be the first to tell you, “I don’t make as much money, but because of what God has done in my life, I am a lot happier.”
And the young girl in the car, well, I wish I could say that things turned out well for her also, but I can’t. She went through with it and committed suicide. I knew this young lady fairly well. She rode the school bus that I drove every day. She was a lovely girl, always smiling, always friendly. No one knew she was in such turmoil. I remember sitting at her funeral, wishing I could tell her how special she was and how much God loved her and how He could create a beautiful world in her life.”
And that is what I want you to know today. God loves you, and no matter how desperate you become, He wants to take away that darkness and fill it with light. He wants to take away the emptiness and fill it with life. He wants to take away the void and fill it with purpose. And He will do it, if we will allow Him to. That is God’s desire for every one of us.
And then I love the way the first chapter of Genesis ends. Listen again to these words, “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.”
You see, whenever God creates, that is the final conclusion. It is very good. That is what God does with a person who comes to Him through His Son.
He gives them form, He gives them life, and He gives them purpose. And when He is finished, He says, “IT IS VERY GOOD.”
Let’s Pray!
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