Series: No Series

Sermon File Type

Sermon

Passages

2 Corinthians 8:1-12

Topics

Giving

Tags

No Series

Speaker

Danny Parker

Venue

FBC Yantis

Date

March 9, 2021

New stuff / Change

Scary times.

On Chad’s last Sunday with us.

Scary for them

Scary for us.

What will happen? What if something goes wrong?

Don’t you think Noah felt some of these emotions.

By faith Noah built an ark as commanded by God.

Admirable.

(ESV) Hebrews 11 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

And then everything changed. The flood came. I wonder how he felt on board that boat.

Noah began by faith. But now, in the face of the chaos, he needed fresh faith.

Would the Lord who called him to build and enter the boat, be able to deliver on His promises?

Let’s continue to look at the story. The Lord brought judgment on the world. Would He be able to create a new beginning?

Genesis 8:1-9:20 Fresh beginnings / A new start

Fresh Beginnings – Founded in faith in God

Question to resolve during times that require faith

Does He care?

(ESV) Genesis 8 1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. …

Is He really the God who He has said that He is?

Of course He cares / He remembers Noah – never forgot Him

(ESV) Hebrews 11 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists (IS) and that he rewards those who seek him.

Is He at work when not seen?

(ESV) Genesis 8 1 … And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, 3 and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated,

A long period unfolds. Almost half a year transpires. In a boat without any real access to see what is happening. Is He still at work?

Long before it is obvious, the Lord is at work preparing for what will be ahead

(ESV) Hebrews 11 1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Will there be a new beginning?

(ESV) Genesis 8 4 and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.

Ultimately, the Lord brings about a new beginning

(ESV) Hebrews 11 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists (IS) and that he rewards those who seek him.

Fresh Beginnings – Unfolded in His time frame

The Lord doesn’t work according to our time frame.

His goal is to grow us / build faith in us / cause us to trust Him alone.

Often this involves times. Yes we trust Him – but do we still trust Him tomorrow? Next week? Next year?

Discerning the time **

A need to operate in His time frame. Noah waits for Him

(ESV) Genesis 8 6 At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made 7 and sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth.

8 Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground. 9 But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him.

10 He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. 11 And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. 12 Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore.

40 days resting in one place on the mountain. Open up the windows to let the fresh air in

Let in some air – not yet

Raven – needs only some places to land / eat the rotting flesh / live in the muddy mess – not yet

Dove – discriminating and sensitive / conditions must be right – 2 weeks go by before it does not come back – not yet

Seeing the new adventure

Glimpsed that everything is now new

(ESV) Genesis 8 13 In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry. 14 In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth had dried out.

Open the door --- behold dry – two more months - not yet

New world / same but different / contemplate what is ahead

Responding when directed

Continued to act as God commanded. Time to stop thinking about it - do it

(ESV) Genesis 8 15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”

18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.

Time to start again / leave the past and move forward / Go

Noah went --- others followed

Fresh Beginnings – Centered in Him

The common place – focused on Him – especially reminded when all is new

Choose to focus on Him not own ingenuity

Placing the priority on Him

Him first/foremost

(ESV) Genesis 8 20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

The heart of life / not performance path / but grace / undeserved of God / Constant reminder that he was saved by the Lord and new beginnings will be about Him

Based on the sacrifice

All about the grace of God – in Christ’s sacrifice

(ESV) Genesis 8 20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

Involving total commitment

Demands full commitment

(ESV) Genesis 8 20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

Burnt offering – total animal burnt / no leftovers to eat / no one but God benefits

Fresh Beginnings – Full of God’s blessing

His pleasure

This is sufficient - please Him – produce in us rest

(ESV) Genesis 8 21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.

22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

Pleased with Noah’s worship

His purpose

Not passive but active life – start with dedication / then live out His purpose

(ESV) Genesis 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

Blessing – given purpose

Book ends – mission to fill and display/reproduce the image of God / throughout the world

His protection *

He remains sufficient to care for us - protect

(ESV) Genesis 9:2 The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered.

The world has changed – now danger from the animals – animals kill animals to eat

Were living relationships like Eden until now?

Fear of man to protect man

(ESV) Genesis 9:4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. 6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

A statement to the value and sacredness of human life

Value comes from God – created in His image / not from perceived value to others

Each person the image of God / No one but Him has the right to end a life

From conception / old age –

Nothing allowed to kill it

Eliminates murder / Abortion / Suicide / Euthanasia / Unjust war

Only government, which operates on behalf of God is allowed to take life

To punish wrong doers (capital punishment / war)

His provision

He remains sufficient to care for us - provide

(ESV) Genesis 9:3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.

Permission to kill / eat animals – not equal to man / given for man

His promises

Foundation is in His promises - sure

(ESV) Genesis 9 7 And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.” 8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth.

11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.

16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

The first formal relationship with God

God reaching out to man / One sided

Noah covenant – a creation promise - - a promise of God’s restraint / His grace

Fresh Beginnings – And new life began

And so life continues

(ESV) Genesis 9 18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed. 20 Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.

Ultimately the life of faith must be lived

Begins to live this new life / new failures / new success life goes on – new times of faith / new times of trial / But life in Him