The Light Is Coming

Sermon Title: The Light Is Coming

Prayer

Father, we need a word from the Lord. Just one word, will move all doubts

And cause the sun to shine And give peace of mind Speak Lord.

Open up our ears that we may hear your word,

Open up our eyes that we may see your word,

Open up our minds that we may understand your word,

And open up our hearts that we may receive your word.

It’s your time father, do what you do, in Jesus name, Amen.

Main Text: Genesis 1:1-3

Genesis 1:1–3 ESV

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

For the next few moments I want to speak under the subject entitled:

The Light Is Coming

Introduction

Illustration: The Astronaut and the Window of Darkness

In 1968, Apollo 8 became the first spacecraft to leave Earth’s orbit. Three men… Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders traveled into the deep unknown. For days, all they saw was darkness.

No sunrise. No stars bright enough to comfort. Just black space pressing in on every side. Anders later said the silence was so heavy, it felt like the whole universe was holding its breath.

Then, on Christmas Eve, they turned the capsule, and for the first time in human history, someone saw the Earth rise over the horizon of the moon: a blue marble floating in blackness.

In that moment, they realized, light still existed, it just hadn’t reached their window yet.

And church family, this right here maybe someone’s reality right now in your life. There are many of us who have been navigating life and all we have experienced is darkness. No sunrise, no stars, no bulbs, it just feels like black space pressing in on every side.

Life has a way of escorting us into dark places. Whether it’s the demand of the job, the craziness of the kids, the emotional tear of the marriage, the stress of the finances, or the sickness of the body. Life has a way of escorting you into dark places.

And while many of us have come into this house of worship or even took the time to turn on our digital devices and attend through streaming, we perhaps are looking lit up on the outside. We’ve walked into this church and said hello or happy sabbath with a smile.

Some of us online have taken the time to write in the comments, hello or happy sabbath.

Many of us have covered our bodies in nice material and design. We perhaps have hugged one another today, had conversations with one another today, and we have even presented our best opinions and scriptural references in bible studies or sabbath school today.

However, while many of us have presented ourselves in a manner where it appears everything is alright, the truth of the matter is that there are so many of us under the sound of my voice who have all week long been dealing with darkness.

Yeah, we’ve become professional make up artist where you and I have masked the hurt and pain we are going through and have shown up today looking great. But on the inside, we are struggling.

And I want you to know today that the Lord has a word for you. I want you to know that you don’t have to mask yourself. The Lord see’s you and He has a message for you.

Transition - Background of Genesis

Here in the book of Genesis, we are invited to the very beginning of life itself. This book is overwhelmingly agreed upon by scholars that Moses is the author.

This book was written about 1,500 years before Jesus was born. And it is believed that Moses wrote this at the time, the Israelites were living as slaves in Egypt. Moses wrote Genesis to remind God’s people who they were, where they came from, and who their God was… especially while surrounded by Egyptian gods and culture.

Genesis covers a huge amount of time… from the creation of the world, to Noah and the flood, to Abraham and his descendants. It’s not like a normal history book with daily events or timelines; it’s more like a divine summary showing God’s work in the world over generations.

It’s like watching a highlight reel instead of the full game, Genesis records the key plays that shaped human history.

Genesis is a story about where we come from and why we exist. It reminds us that even in a world filled with confusion, corruption, and competing cultures, God is still in control. And for Israel, it gave them identity in a land that tried to erase it.

And I believe, even in 2025 we can find Genesis to be relevant in our lives as well. For many of us are experiencing similar situations as God’s people did here in Genesis.

See church family, like the Egyptian culture that enslaved the Israelites and attempted to erase their history, we are dealing with a Maga culture that desires to return us to a slavery environment while currently putting in the time and effort to erase our history.

We are seeing in these yet to be United States of America, an effort to increase actions of hate, amplify language of division and create even new layers of marginalizing people.

As we look at the news, we are seeing ICE elevate their efforts of not just looking for undocumented individuals, but now targeting anyone whom they deem as shouldn’t be in this country. Just this past week in Chicago, ICE detained a young black man who had just graduated from high school and is a U.S. citizen… and if it wasn’t for the citizens nearby video taping the encounter, no telling what would’ve happened.

These are the realities we are experiencing today. And I want to just say something right here...

Dear Adventist, I know we mean well, however, as we see what is taken place in our country, it is not enough to respond to the pains and injustices we are seeing and experiencing by saying “It’s the Last Days.”

While it is true that we are living in the last days, this cannot be our crutch or excuse for not getting involved, advocating and stepping up for those who have no voice. It is in these times where we should be stepping up to the plate and speaking up and out against the evils of this world.

See church family, we are in dark times, personally, and collectively. And when experiencing darkness, it is easy to feel hopeless. However, like Apollo 8, perhaps light still exist, it just hasn’t reached our window yet.

And on today I’d like to invite you to the very first few verses of the Bible. Because God gives us an example, right at the beginning on how He deals with darkness.

Subject

So the question must be asked today, what can our dark seasons or experiences, teach us about God?

Compliments

God Is Not Intimidated by It.

Here in Genesis 1 verse 1 we are given insight into the power of God. The text says, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Now everybody knows this text by heart. In most cases, I assume people who don’t go to church or don’t consider themselves Christians know this text.

So I know you all have memorized this since you were in the womb of your mother, but please don’t miss the power in these first verses of the Bible. 

Homiletics

God is the Beginning

“In the beginning” doesn’t mean God began. It means time began.

God was not created; He existed before creation.

God was present before your story and before you ran into any problems.

God Created

The Hebrew verb here is בָּרָא (bara), meaning “to create out of nothing.”

Only God “bara.” Humans can build, arrange, or design — but only God can create where nothing existed.

The Heavens and the Earth

The Hebrew phrase “the heavens and the earth” is a merism — two extremes representing everything in between.

So when the text says God created “the heavens and the earth,” it means: God made everything.

Application

God is not limited by what you go through, what you go through is limited by God.

Now look at where we are here when we get to verse number 2.

The Bible says in Genesis 1:2

Genesis 1:2 ESV

2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Now, church family, don’t miss the beauty of this right here. So often, we look over the little things in the Word of God

Understand, at this point, Earth doesn’t have a form, and it's pretty much a dark mess. 

The earth is a dark glob of nothingness. The Hebrew paints the picture of the earth being chaotic and desolate. Lacking value.

But look at what the Bible says right after… It says, “And the Spirit of God was moving upon or hovering over the darkness. 

Please don’t go by that so fast...

The Bible says, “And the Spirit of God was moving upon or hovering over the darkness.“

Notice what the text did not say...

The Bible does not say that God saw the earth and was disappointed in it.

It did not say God saw the void and left it there.

The Bible doesn’t say that the Spirit of God walked away from the darkness,

It does not say that the Spirit of God gave up on this dark, chaotic mess…

The Bible says that the Spirit of God was moving and hovering over this dark mess. 

And here it is, in other words, God cared about the situation. 

Pause

And this is important because there might be many of us right now who feel like life is a dark mess of nothingness. 

You might be feeling like life is chaotic right now, and it’s so dark in your life right now that you feel like you’re not even worth it at this point.

You might even have the mindset at this point that you are alone in this mess.

But let me tell you something, God cares about the darkness you are experiencing, God cares about what you are going through. Matter of fact, because He’s the beginning, He’s been in the mist the whole time!

He is not afraid of your darkness. He’s not scared of your chaos. He’s not hesitating in response to your situation. God cares and He is near!

The Bible says, “He’ll never leave you nor forsake you.”

The Bible says, Cast all your anxiety and stress on him because he cares for you…

God cares about what you are going through. 

Pause

But let’s take it further… If you look more intently at the text, you will find some deeper revelation on how caring God is. 

See the text says, “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters...”

Don’t miss this... The text gives us something to shout about because it says where God was. 

See, the text says, He was hovering OVER this void and darkness. In other words, He was above the situation. 

Illustration - Flying on a Plane over Chicago vs. Driving through Chicago

But that’s not all...

The text doesn’t just say He was over it, but it says He was hovering over it. 

See the Hebrew context for this hovering or the moving of God’s Spirit paints the picture of what a female bird does with its eggs. See a bird hovers over their eggs, watching it. 

But understand that the bird isn’t watching to keep them particularly safe. The bird is actually watching in anticipation and excitement for the hatching of their eggs. 

In other words, the female bird is hovering over the eggs in anticipation of what’s about to come out!

I feel like preaching...

See the Hebrew suggest that the Spirit of God was hovering over this mess, this darkness, chaotic situation on earth in expectation or anticipation of what was about to take place! 

In other words, God was excited and anticipating what was about to come out of this situation!

And I came by to tell somebody, don’t allow yourself to sink in frustration and depression about some of the dark, chaotic times you’re dealing with in your life, because often the dark places and circumstances are what escort you to what God is about to do in your life!

See church family, people will run from your chaos, people will give up on you because of what you may be experiencing, people will throw you aside because of what you’re going through, but God sees differently. While others look at your situation from below, God looks at your situation from above, and He gets excited because He can see what can come out of your situation. 

God starts anticipating and expecting when He sees our chaos, because the Bible says people look at the outward appearance, but God sees something on the inside!

The Bible says when we are weak, that is when He does His best work!

One songwriter says, He saw the best in me!

Pause

God is not intimidated by your situation; God is not in the business of abandoning us!

God cares about you, and even more so, He sees something in you that you may not even see in yourself!

And I think it's a good time to pause right here and give God some praise right where you are, because if it had not been for the Lord on our side, where would we be? 

We ought to thank God for being a God who can take the worst moments in our lives and make them the ladder that launches us into higher heights.

Pause… Ok, but please don’t miss this…

Not only does the Hebrew paint the picture of God hovering over the darkness like a bird in anticipation of the hatching of an egg, but the Hebrew also reveals that the Spirit of God hovering has another element of meaning.

See if you dive deeper into the Hebrew, you will find that the Spirit of God hovering over the darkness is the breath of God. 

Ok, here it is… 

The anticipation that God has as He observes this nothingness, this glob, this darkness, is not necessarily based on what He can do, but actually, the excitement is based on what God is about to say!!

Oh, I can’t wait till the church gets here…

Look at your bible… Read Genesis 1:3

Genesis 1:3 ESV

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Understand what is going on. God sees the dark chaos, the mess, the nothingness, and He responds by investing His word into the situation. 

Oh, y'all missed it…

God does not call a meeting to see if this is worth the project. 

God does not ponder if something can be done. God just gives the word, and things happen!

See, not only is God not intimidated by your darkness, but God can get something out of your situation with just His word!

And this may be difficult for us to truly enjoy because, in theory, we know how powerful God is, but when we look at the situation, it's hard to believe that God can transform things just like that.

But I want you to know that’s the type of God we serve. God can take your darkest moments and bring forth your best outcome. 

God can say, “Peace be still, and the storms will cease.”

God can say, “Get up and walk, and all of a sudden your broken, unmovable legs will start walking.”

God can say, “Go wash in the pool of Siloam, and you can go from blind to being able to see.”

God can say, “Come forth, and you can go from being dead to walking out of a grave.”

We serve a God who can transform our dark situations with just a word!!

See, God is so amazing and in control that He sees darkness and nothingness and gets excited about Himself. 

Because He knows He’s ultimately the answer to the problem.

See, I’ve learned something about God over the years. I learned that we serve a God who gets joy in stepping into the darkness.

Closing

And church family, I know what it feels like to be suffocated by the dark circumstances and chaotic situations in life. 

I know the experience of feeling alone and by myself, 

I know what it feels like to question my circumstances,

And church family, I know it doesn’t seem like anything can come from the situation, but I’ve got news for you...

God loves stepping into our dark moments! And as a result, The Light is Coming!!!

Don’t be discouraged, God has your back!!!

Oh, you don’t believe me, well let me give to some proof in the word of God.

(Daniel and the Lion’s den)

I remember Daniel found himself in a dark place...

(The Three Hebrew boys)

I remember Shadrach Meshach and Abednego was in a dark place...

(Lazarus resurrection)

I remember Lazarus found himself in a dark place...

(David when Absolon wanted to kill him)

I remember when David found himself in a dark place...

(Woman caught in adultery) 

I remember when the woman caught in adultery found herself in a dark place... 

But I also remember when mankind found itself in a dark place... For 2000 years ago... 

Because God loves to step into our dark moments. 

And I just came by to encourage you not to give up, and Don’t let go... 

I know things might not look bright right now... 

But my Bible says, He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases their strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary and young men shall utterly fall,

But they that wait upon the lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up on wings like an eagle, they shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint!

I know things may have you feeling like you won’t make it...

But the Bible says, No weapon formed against you won’t even have the chance to prosper!

I know you maybe feeling like nothing makes sense right now,

But the Bible say, All things work together for the good of those who love Christ Jesus.

See I’ve learned over the years that He’s the Lilly of the Valley, He the bright and morning star,

He’s a burden barrier and a heavy load sharer.

He’s a doctor in the sick room and a lawyer in court room,

He can pick you up and turn you around and plant your feet on solid ground!

We serve a God who loves to transform our situation!

For The Bible says, He’ll never leave me nor forsake me,

The Bible says, My God shall supply all my needs according to his riches in glory

The bible says, God is my refuge and strength a very present help in trouble,

The Bible says, Be still and know that I am God,

The Bible says, trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not into your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall make straightway your paths...

Our God loves to transform our dark situations!

Appeal