Sitting in her car - on a dark road just outside of town, a young high school girl looks at her life. This is what she sees:
„Y I am overweight
„Y I have no friends
„Y My future holds no promise
As she slides the bullet in the chamber of her father¡¦s 38 revolver, she thinks; "It¡¦s no use - there is no hope."
A middle aged executive sits alone in a motel room, a day of meetings just completed. He thinks about his life;
„Y The kids are all gone
„Y My wife doesn¡¦t seem to care or love me anymore
„Y My job is a dead-end
As he reaches for the phone book 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:
„Y My husband has his job
„Y The kids are all in school
„Y I am so alone
As she pours herself another &ink, she thinks to herself-, "Thank God I have my soaps . . .
And so it goes. Everyday, we hear about it, or read about it. People are checking out on life.
„Y Children running away from home
„Y Someone committing suicide
„Y Alcoholism
„Y Drug Addiction
„Y Divorce
„Y Adultery
„Y and depression
And as this is going on, we have to ask ourselves; Why? Why are people checking out on life? The answer to that question is as varied as the people themselves. However, if you were to analyze the answers, there would be one consistent. 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 get out.
It is a feeling that many of us can relate to. In fact, there may be somebody here this morning ¡V 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 ¡V there is hope. Your life can be meaningful and fulfilling. So can be your career, your marriage, and your relationships. Whatever it is in your life, that feels empty - can be fulfilling. Take your Bibles, and turn with me to the very first chapter of the very first book ¡V the Book of Genesis. It may surprise you to find out that the promise of that hope can be found right here in the first chapter of Genesis.
This is the chapter that reveals to us our beginnings. It tells the story of God¡¦s creating the universe, the earth, and mankind. I will admit that this chapter has taken a lot of abuse over the past several years. The fact of the matter is ¡V 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 God.
But, all you have to do is look at the beauty, the synchronization and the organization of the universe to know that an intelligent, loving and creative God was behind it.
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 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 us have sat and watched an incredible 4th of July display fireworks display? Or how many of us were amazed at the wonderful celebrations around the world as we ushered in the new millenium? Wonderfully designed and choreographed displays of fireworks everywhere. 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 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 the Bible and read the first sentence and meet the engineer who designed and created them. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
I am not here this morning to argue about the truth of this first passage. I am not going to try to persuade you of its truth. 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 created such a marvelous place for us to live.
It is the second verse of this chapter that I want you to notice today.
"The earth was ¡¦formless and void,¡¦ and darkness was over the surface of the deep."
You know what strikes me about this passage? 2 things;
1. God did not create the earth to be instantly splendid. It reminds me of the potter who begins with a big ugly, wet lump of clay. The Bible says, "it was formless and void.
2. The almost depressing tone Moses used to describe the beginnings of God¡¦s new creation. Words like "empty, 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 ¡V 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 void,, and darkness is surrounding the deep.
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 next sentence; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of 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 ¡V 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 us that "anyone who comes to Christ Jesus is a new creation - Behold, the old things have passed away and all things are made new."
Let¡¦s look at how God does it. Let¡¦s look at how God takes that which is empty, void and full of darkness, and creates life out of it.
The first thing He does is give it form. Listen to God¡¦s creating the first four days.
Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
Then God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters. " God made the ¡¦expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. Then God said, "Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear "; and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. "Then God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them "; and it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind, - and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a third day. Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them before signs and for seasons and for days and years; and let them before lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth ", and it was so. God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night, He made the stars also. God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
OK, so what did God do? On the first day, he gave the earth light. Not the sun and moon kind of light, but a divine light. I don¡¦t know if you have ever seen this before, 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 ¡V He fills us with a divine light.
Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." John 1:4 tells us that "in Him was life, and that life was the light of man.
So, when we turn to God we find the light of Jesus Christ. 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 firmaments - an expanse to separate the waters and the sky.
On the third day, God brings dry land out of the water and caused plant life to grow on the land.
On the fourth day, God placed the sun, the moon and the stars in the sky.
So, what is God doing these first four days?
Well, He is preparing His creation for new life.
I¡¦ll never forget when my family and I first moved to Georgia where I was going to finish up my schooling.
When we got there, we moved into an apartment where we were not allowed to have pets - at least the four footed kind. So, we decided that instead of a cat or a dog, we would keep fish. So, the first thing we did was to go out and buy an aquarium. We also had to get supplies - Stones, Aerator, Filter System, and a background for the aquarium.
We 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, we went and bought some fish - brought them home - put them in the aquarium and sat and watched them all die. We 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.
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 our sin. The sin that Christ died for, the sin that was forgiven on the cross of Calvary.
I John 1:9 tells us that "if we confess our sin, God is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and to cleanse 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 look at days 5 and 6 of creation:
Then God said, "Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens. God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind and every winged bird after its kind, and God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth. There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind"; and it was So. God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind, - and God saw that it was good.
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth. " Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed, it shall be food for YOU¡¦ and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food "; and it was so. God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
On day 5, God creates the fish for the waters and the birds for the sky.
On day 6, God creates all the animals of the earth, and then He creates man in His image.
God has taken the beautiful work of creation and 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."
„Y He didn¡¦t say "I have come that they may have things, and have them more abundantly."
„Y He didn¡¦t say "I have come that they may have years, and have them more abundantly."
„Y 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 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 Christ. That is the life that God gives us when we allow Him to ¡§create in us a new heart.¡¨
Do you want to know what it really means to have ¡§life¡¨? Do you want to know real peace, real joy, real love ¡V you must come to Jesus Christ. You see, only the God who created the world can create real life.
But, God is 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.
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. God wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him. That is the principle reason Jesus died on the cross - - for us. 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 Christ - we have purpose - we have meaning.
Let me ask you a very important question - Is there an aspect of your life that seems meaningless? That feels empty - 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 three people I mentioned when we began. Let me tell you how things worked out for them.
The married woman with the drinking problem - she is doing much better today. She turned her life over to Jesus Christ. Instead of filling her life with drink 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. Instead of calling an escort service, he called a local pastor for prayer, 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 tell you "I don¡¦t make as much money, but because of what God has done in my life, I am a lot happier."
The young girl in the car, 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. That is what I want you to know today ¡V 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. He will do it, if we will allow Him to. That is God¡¦s desire for every one of us.
I love the way the first chapter of Genesis ends. Listen again to these words; God saw all that He had made, and behold, 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 Jesus Christ;
„Y He gives them form
„Y He gives them life
„Y And He gives them purpose
And when He is finished - IT IS VERY GOOD.
That is what God will do for you - right now in your life. If it is your desire to begin a new life in Jesus Christ,, let me explain to you how it can be so, for it is as simple as ABC.
A - we must Admit
Admit that we are lost. Admit that we need God. Admit that we have messed up our lives without Him. Admit that we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
B - we must Believe
Believe that God loves us. Believe that God sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins. Believe that through Him, we can have newness of life.
C - we must Confess
Confess our faith in Jesus Christ. Confess that He alone is our Savior. Confess that He is our Lord.
