Rev. Steven S. Billings
Trinity Sunday
Sermon
5-18-2008

Genesis 1:1-2:3

¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. ³ Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. ⁴ And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. ⁶ Then God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." ⁷ And 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. ⁸ And God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. ⁹ Then God said, "Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. ¹⁰ And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. ¹¹ Then God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with seed in them, on the earth"; and it was so. ¹² And 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. ¹³ And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. ¹⁴ Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years; ¹⁵ and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so. ¹⁶ And 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. ¹⁷ And God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. ²⁰ 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." ²¹ And 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. ²² And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." ²³ And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. ²⁴ 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. ²⁵ And 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. ²⁶ 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." ²⁷ And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ And 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." ²⁹ 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; ³⁰ 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. ³¹ And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. ¹ Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. ² And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

Have you ever tried to imagine what the world was like just after God created it? It's described for us by the terms "without form" and "void." We read that the land and water were not yet separated from each other and that there was no life of any kind on the earth.

The surface of the earth today is about two thirds water. Mix that together with the one third that is land, and you know what you have? Mud - thick, slimy mud. That's what the earth was like at the beginning: a vast quagmire, neither land nor water, and over it all was darkness so thick that, even if there had been an eye to see, it couldn't possibly have penetrated that blackness.

You and I might have discarded a lump of mud and darkness like that, but not God; for right in the middle of this picture we see the Spirit of God.

Now, the word used here to describe what the Spirit was doing is used elsewhere to refer to a bird hovering over its nest. What a thought! Only the all-seeing eye of God could penetrate the darkness and see the potential for life lying in this shapeless ball of mud. Only the mind of God could envision the world as we know it.

We see a useless bundle of sticks and straw; God sees a nest to serve as a cradle for new life. There, in the beginning, the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters, ready to give life to this world.

"Chaos and darkness" might well describe the outlook of the disciples as Pentecost approached. Their plans for carrying out the task their Master had given them, namely, to go out and evangelize the world, were "without form and void." In spite of all the instruction Jesus gave them, they still, on the day of His ascension, asked Him: "Lord, will You at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel?" They were a confused, uncertain, frightened little group with little faith and less vision to accomplish the stupendous task of revolutionizing the world in which they lived and to conquer the mightiest empire the world had ever produced.

I wonder . . . would you have considered this a hopeless prospect? To our eyes, I suppose, it would seem that way. But here again we see the Spirit of God hovering over the face of the deep. God saw beyond the immediate present and knew the potential of that little crew. Here was the cradle of the kingdom of God; here was the seed to be scattered by the whirlwind of Pentecost. In time it would spring up in every nation upon the earth. So the Spirit of God hovered over the infant church, waiting to give it power and direction.

"Chaos and darkness" is an appropriate picture of our soul as we are by nature. Something happened to mankind when we became infected by sin.

An otherwise gentle and affectionate dog - if infected by rabies - becomes something completely unrecognizable to its family. It becomes savage, uncontrollable, unreasonable - a danger to itself, its master, and even other dogs! The only thing you can do is destroy it before it infects others.

The same was true with us after the fall into sin. Human beings became savage, unloving, unreasonable, dangerous to themselves and others - in a word, enemies of God. The darkness into which we plunged was so deep that no ray of light could penetrate to our soul. And God's efforts to reach us were met with hostility.

Was this a hopeless prospect? We might have thought so, but not God. He saw beyond the chaos of the human soul and beheld the potential for life. He saw both Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained.

When God wanted men to carry the message of Christ to the Jews, He chose a band of rough, uneducated fishermen and equipped them for the task. When He wanted a man to take that message to the Gentiles He chose one who had been the absolute enemy of Jesus Christ - Saul of Tarsus. He met him on the road to Damascus one day, changed his heart, and empowered him with all the gifts he would need. God saw the potential and the Spirit of God hovered over the darkness of Saul's soul, just as He broods over the soul of every lost sinner today.

So what about the world as we know it? Does darkness still shroud its future as densely as it did at the beginning? You bet! Can anyone predict what will happen next year, next week, or even tomorrow? We all know the feeling of uncertainty, don't we. Who's going to be the presidential nominee for the Democrats? Who's going to be the next President of the United States? What's the price of gas going to be a month from now? Will I get to keep my job, or will I be laid off? Will there be a school here next year? If so, what will it look like? Will I or my family be a part of it? If it closes, how many families will leave? Can the congregation survive if we decide to keep it open? Is there any end to the "chaos and darkness" in which we live? In all the uncertainty of life in this world, is there anything that remains constant - I mean besides death and taxes?

One thing does. Wherever there is need, wherever there is confusion, wherever there is doubt and fear, there you will find the Spirit of God - ever present, always hovering - ready to provide guidance and direction, ready to supply whatever we truly need.

In the beginning, the brooding, the waiting, the preparing came to an end. Over that great, black void God said, "Let there be light." And that was all that was needed to accomplish the miracle: the Word of the living God.

God didn't light any fires to create that light; He didn't have to. He simply spoke, and His Word accomplished His purpose. That's how it was for all of creation. The record of each day's activity begins with the same phrase: "And God said," and it came to pass.

Throughout history the work of the Holy Spirit has been accomplished through the Word of God. The Word came to that little band of disciples on the Day of Pentecost; they saw the light and began to speak that Word to others. The Word came to Saul, who at first was blinded by the light, but was filled with the desire to share it.

Down through the centuries we see a virtual marching band, a countless host of those to whom the Word has come, and always it's the power of the living God which makes that Word effective in their lives.

The Word of God is still the means through which the Spirit works today. When a pastor speaks the Word to you, his voice has no power of itself. Fine phrases, clever argumentation, appropriate illustrations, eloquent delivery, these are all useless in accomplishing God's purposes unless the Word of God is spoken. Then all the power of God's Spirit is unleashed. That same God who in the beginning brought light to the darkness by His Word still brings light to darkened hearts through the Gospel.

Of course, it's not just the pastor who is called upon to speak the Word of God. Parents, teachers, church leaders, children - each of us who has received the light of the Gospel has the commission - indeed, the privilege! - to "Go and tell." I daresay, if every one of us here today were reaching out with the Good News of Jesus Christ, as He has called us to do, budget crises would be unheard-of, for our church and school would be overflowing with those who have seen the light.

Before the final judgment comes to pass, the last soul that's possible to be saved must be illuminated with the light of Christ. Maybe somewhere in the world the Spirit of God is brooding over that soul right now. Maybe it's in India or Africa - or maybe it's next door to you. Maybe today or tomorrow or next week someone will speak to that soul and the Word of God will bring it into the light. Maybe that someone will be you. God give you the vision, the knowledge, and the courage to carry His light into the darkness of our world. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen