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.”
i. When God writes an AND, deliverance is given.
j. When God writes an AND, things get better.
k. When God writes an AND, the enemy is defeated.
l. When God writes an AND, rejoicing comes.
m. God wants to write an AND in your life today!
IV. Jairus’ Daughter
Luke 8:49-55 “49While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. 50But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. 51And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. 52And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. 53And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. 54And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. 55And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.”
a. The girl was dead.
b. Hope ends at Death’s porch.
c. But Jesus wrote an AND.
V. Paul and Silas
Acts 16:16-26 “16And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. 18And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. 19And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, 20And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, 21And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. 22And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. 23And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: 24Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. 25And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.”
a. They were in prison, captives, all for trying to do good.
b. Just them; the other believers had escaped (Luke among them).
c. They didn’t get bitter. They decided to see what God would do if they worshipped in spite of their surroundings.
d. God wrote another AND.
VI. There’s a lot of bad ANDs in all of these stories.
a. Life is full of ANDs.
b. We face difficulty every day.
c. The enemy is working to capture your soul and destroy you.
d. We can’t prevent everything from happening, but we can ask God to write His AND.
VII. The Day of Pentecost
Acts 2:1-4 “ 1And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
a. The disciples had just been through an incredible ordeal.
b. Their hopes had been dashed as Jesus was crucified.
c. Then when they saw him after the resurrection, hopes were buoyed, but now He had told them to go and wait.
d. They faced uncertainty.
e. They didn’t know how long they would have to wait.
f. They didn’t know what was next.
g. God wrote the AND.
VIII. We overcome because of God’s AND.
Revelation 12:10-11 “10And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
IX. God is the author and finisher of your faith.
a. He wants to write an AND into your life today.
i. God has already written so many ANDs here at our church.
1. She was addicted to drugs AND God delivered her.
2. He was away from God AND God drew him in.
3. He was sick AND God healed.
4. He needed a job AND God provided.
b. No matter where you are in your story today, God stands ready to write another AND for you.
i. He was depressed and empty within.
ii. She did not know where to turn.
iii. He had lost hope.
iv. She felt enveloped by darkness.
c. AND
i. He came to this church on a Sunday afternoon.
ii. She heard the word of God preached.
iii. He decided to let the AUTHOR write upon the surface of his life.
iv. She made a choice to receive from the Lord.
v. He reached out to God
vi. AND
1. God healed
2. God delivered
3. God blessed
X. Supplemental:
a. Lazarus
John 11:20-21, 43-44 “20Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. 21Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 43And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.”
b. Disciples in the midst of the sea.
Mark 6:48-51 “48And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. 49But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: 50For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. 51And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.”
