And

Genesis 1:1-2 "1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2And 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."

I. And (conjunction)

a. Used to connect grammatically coordinate words, phrases, or clauses -- along or together with; as well as; in addition to; besides; also; moreover: pens and pencils. NOT

b. Added to; plus: 2 and 2 are 4. NOT

c. Used to imply continuation -- also; then: And then it happened.

d. But; on the contrary: He said he was almost finished preaching and then he preached for two more hours.

e. And is the fifth most common word in the English language.

II. God is not content to leave things as they are.

a. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, but He didn’t stop there.

i. He saw that it was without form and void, but the story didn’t stop there.

b. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

i. God is the author and finisher of our faith, and when God decides to put an AND in place, everything changes!

ii. That which is without form and void (empty), that which is covered in darkness is changed when God writes an AND.

iii. God has put an AND in my life.

1. I was without form and void.

2. I was covered in darkness.

3. But God said, “That’s not the end of the story. I’m not finished yet.”

a. Why? Because He’s the author and the finisher.

b. He knows the beginning and He knows the ending.

c. God is not content for you to leave this service today the way you came!

i. We have to be careful not to let the common practice of coming to church be just another And in our lives!

ii. This is God’s special "And" today, not just another church service that comes and goes.

III. God’s people in Egypt

Exodus 2:23-25 “23And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. 24And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.”

a. The Israelites were under oppressive bondage.

b. They were slaves to the Egyptians.

c. There was no hope in sight.

d. But God put an AND in the story.

Exodus 14:22-28 “22And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. 23And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, 25And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. 26And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. 27And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.”

e. What happened!? God put an AND in the story.

f. The enemy was strong, angry and in hot pursuit.

g. It looked like the end, and it would have been, but the Author of Eternity took out his pen and wrote the word AND.

h. Every verse we’ve read so far begins with an AND.

Exodus 15:1-2 “1Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 2The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.”