A Flood of Grace

Introduction

Good morning!

Junior church kids get busy bags

Thank you all for being here this morning.

Today we get to look at the Flood account in Genesis 6-9

So many of us know this story. We have heard it since we were children. We have seen many different depictions of what the ark looked like and how everything came about.

Today we are going to take a mile high view of the account to see how in this the actions God took here, it was a flood of grace.

Have you ever heard of a young lady named Anne Steele?

A young woman named Anne Steele had encountered one trial and disappointment after another. Her mother died when she was three, and when she was nineteen she suffered a severe hip injury that left her an invalid. Eventually she fell in love and was engaged to be married, but the day before the wedding her fiancé drowned.

Later Anne Steele penned the following song:

Father, whate’er of earthly bliss Thy sovereign will denies, Accepted at Thy throne of grace, let this petition rise: Give me a calm, a thankful heart, from every murmur free! The blessings of Thy grace impart, and make me live to Thee.

With a life that many could curse, Anne chose to worship.

Anne was able to see the blessings of God’s grace with a proper perspective. That perspective is one that each of us should seek after and can obtain when we study these passages out.

we are going to be in Gen 6, Gen 7, and Gen 8, so be prepared to turn, scroll, and or click depending on what your using.

Starting in Gen 6:5, follow along with me as I read.

Gen 6:5-10

Genesis 6:5–10 KJV 1900

5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Gen 7:1, 24

Genesis 7:1 KJV 1900

1 And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

Genesis 7:24 KJV 1900

24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

Gen 8:20-21

Genesis 8:20–21 KJV 1900

20 And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

PRAY

I. You can find Grace in the sight of the Lord.

Let me a junior church kid up here to help me.

And, 4 teenagers.

Kid is noah, give beard

4 teens have signs

So here we have Noah. And during Noah’s day there are many people not following the Lord. They don’t believe in God.

They are living for themselves, doing what they want when they want, they don’t listen to God and are just all around people that have angered the Lord.

And then…there’s Noah. The Bible says in verse 8 Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord.

Great job Noah. Now that you have found God’s grace do you like it? Yea. Well, let me ask you…how did you find that grace?

Give them a round of applause.

Noah, I want you to keep the beard and be ready to come back up in a bit…your story is just beginning....teenagers....your story is…well, basically over

When I hear that someone found grace in the eyes of God, I want to know…how did you do that and how can I do that.

In order to answer that let’s get some understanding of what grace is.

If you ever question the meaning of a word in the Bible don’t just go to the most recent definition of the english word, go to the original language and seek understanding there.

חֵן

chên

khane

graciousness, that is, subjectively (kindness, favor) or objectively (beauty): - favour, grace (-ious), pleasant, precious, [well-] favoured.

^^^^^ALL on one slide please

Kindness, favor, being well favored. Notice what it doesn’t say…unmerited favor.

Now, I know that flies in the face of what many of you may have been taught of what grace is so let’s walk through this before you throw something at me.

We said two weeks ago that God is soverign in creation and how this universe operates. I believe it was last week I told you if God had said you are saved by wearing a pink tshirt, he could have. He could have said whip yourself ten times every day to be saved. But He did not.

In his mercy and grace, he made salvation attainable by faith in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

Eph 2:8-9

Ephesians 2:8–9 KJV 1900

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

By Grace, by God’s greace, we are saved through faith.

This passage can be understood, and I do understand it, to mean that it’s by God’s grace that salvation is only through faith not of something we have to do.

Here’s Noah, and he found God’s grace. He found God’s favor. how did he do that? How can you do that?

The same way Noah did.

Look at verse 9

Gen 6:9

Genesis 6:9 KJV 1900

9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

We are told that noah found grace and then I believe we are told how.

He was just, and perfect, and walked with God.

Just means lawful, perfect means blameless, not without sin but lived a life where accusations of sin would not be easily accepted as truth.

Walked with God, he had a relationship with God and lived by faith.

The difference between Noah and the others that were around Him is not just HOW he is living his life but WHY he is living his life the way he does.

It wasn’t the good things Noah did that allowed him to find favor with God, it was his faith.

Now, His faith was, by proof of this passage, worked out. Meaning he was conducting his life in such a way that it was evident he beleived in God.

How does that line up with the idea that grace is the unmerited favor of God?

Whether by faith or by works, we are not entitled to the grace of God. Yet He gives it.

The grace of God can be found when you are looking for it. The question for you this morning is…are you?

If you were alive at the time of the flood, would you be characterized as a man or woman that found grace in the eyes of God?

Why not? What’s stopping you from living by faith?

Do you want to know what is keeping you from living by faith? Do you want to know why you don’t find yourself capable of living a life that is reflective of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Because you choose not to.

I know…that one hurt.

I appreciate pastor R.B. Oulette’s quote on this matter

“You are as close to God as you want to be.”

Noah lived in a vile and wicked generation. It’s referred to by Jesus as a comparison as to how bad things will be in the last days. they were willfully ignorant of God.

Too many Christians in America are finding themselves willfully ignorant of God in their lives.

Heb 11:6

Hebrews 11:6 KJV 1900

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

God says right here, We please Him with Faith AND He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.

When we choose to not live this way we are willfully choosing to not live with the grace of God in our lives.

You can find Grace in the sight of the Lord just like Noah did....will you? If not, why not? Whatever that answer is…that’s an idol.

What does God’s grace look like when you find it?

II. God’s grace may not look like a blessing

Gen 7:1

Genesis 7:1 KJV 1900

1 And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

Gen 7:14-15

Genesis 7:14–15 KJV 1900

14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort. 15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.

What did God’s grace look like in the life of Noah? The ark.

Let’s get Noah back up here, come here buddy. Let me 2 other kids up here.

-Put noah in ark

-give kids squirt bottles

-squirt ark

safe from the flood. From the thunder, from the wind, from the rain, from all that is happening around him. This is God’s grace. Isn’t this wonderful?

round of applause.

Think with me for a minute. You are in this Huge boat that you had to build with your own hands…you have many animals around you so the smell would be…well, you can guess.

You are being tossed around with no control. You have no idea what is going to happen, you have no clue if a leak will spring up, you don’t know if everything will be ok.

Yes, you have faith in God that put you there but as with all of us, living by faith isn’t void of fear. it is seeking God in spite of fear.

Do you think if you were noah in this moment you could see this as God’s grace? Be honest with yourself.

You are uprooted from where you live, knowing everything will be destroyed, sitting in a boat withy our family, while a storm is raging outside…would you be singing songs of praise to God or would you be complaining?

O, even better....How long was Noah on the ark? Not 40 days. it rained 40 days and 40 nights.

Then we read through and discover that in total, Noah and his family, with all those animals, cooped up, spend 1 year and 10 days on the ark.

And we thought 2 weeks to flatten the curve was bad.

But it is the ark and that year on there that is the grace of God in Noah’s life.

See, when we think of the way this story is told as kids…we miss this.

None of us would say we want the flood…but how many would choose the ark?

God’s grace in the life of a believer will not always look like a blessing to us. We see God’s blessings as a promotion, a nice car, a nice home, and all of these other things when in reality the blessings of God are 1. Better and 2. Not always what they seem.

If you were here during our family conference you would have met a friend of mine, Kevin Parker. I’ve told his story before but to recap, in his mid 30’s, gunnery sargeant of Marines, family of 5 with 1 on the way and he got diagnosed with cancer. I saw him in the midst of it. I saw him one day and didn’t know if I would see him again.

He looks back now in remission and sees God’s grace in that.

What are you going through? Have you been living for the Lord and not seeing “wordly’ blessings? Have you been asking yourself why you should keep going?

I challenge you to change your perspective and continue to live by faith. Seek after God and live for Him. He is pleased and a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Remember though, God’s grace may not look like a blessing in the moment.

Whether or not you see the blessing of God’s grace in your life...

3. God should be worshipped regardless of blessings

Gen 8:20-21

Genesis 8:20–21 KJV 1900

20 And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

Noah had just lived for a year in the ark. It wasn’t a luxury liner or a disney cruise. He wasn’t living it up ont he sun deck or falling like Dave Poppel on the wave machine.

And when he gets off this ark…what does He do? He worships.

Notice what lead up to their departure from the ark.

If you know this story, you know that Noah sent out a dove. You know that the dove brought back an olive branch. We kind of leave off there…however, as Billy Mays says…But wait…theres more...

Gen 8:12-14

Genesis 8:12–14 KJV 1900

12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more. 13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry. 14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.

The dove gets let go again and then doesn’t come back…assumed it found a home right? What did Noah do? Run off the ark? nope...

1 month and 26 days later we have it recorded that the ground was dry and then in v 15

Gen 8:15-16

Genesis 8:15–16 KJV 1900

15 And God spake unto Noah, saying, 16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee.

He waited…He waited on the Lord…By faith he waited....I wonder what his wife was saying at this point?

What was his family saying to him once the dove didn’t return and they could see dry land? I wonder if they were supporting him and his decision to live by faith and wait on God?

Parents, spouses, children, when someone in your family believes God is leading them to live by faith and purusue him in accordance with biblical principles for a calling on their life…get out of the way. Don’t stop them.

Provide counsel and wisdom. Seek to support and guide but don’t stop them. I pray God raises up a missionary out of this church to go to foreign lands and preach the gospel. I pray that not only do we see a young person surrender to the mission field, I pray an adult, I pray a family, will say “Here am I Lord Send me!”

Noah lived by faith and found grace in the sight of God. May God help each of you and I to do the same. May we not get in the way of someone when they say they want to pursue God by faith.

You may have heard

Ps 46:10

Psalm 46:10 KJV 1900

10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

There is a time for us to sit back and wait for God but as I preached last weak…there is a time to take steps of faith and wait on God…what do I mean? thanks for asking.

Heb 6:12, Heb 10:36

Hebrews 6:12 KJV 1900

12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Hebrews 10:36 KJV 1900

36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

When God calls you to something, begin taking the steps to make it happen. If God calls you to Africa s a missionary, start working on that passport. If God calls you do anything, don’t sit back and wait for Him to open the door…Go to the door and open it.

We are to not be slothful but follows those who through faith and patience inherted the promise.

Waiting on the Lord should be viewed as just sitting down and hanging out, waiting for something to happen. I believe we should view it as actively living by faith the principles and truths of scripture and waiting upon the Lord to bless the efforts as He sees fit.

Look at the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet. God called him to a fruitless ministry. No one was listening to Him. He faced public humiliation and ridicule yet he kept on preaching.

When the babylonians came, he escaped.

Your willingness to live for the Lord cannot be predicated on the blessings you believe you should get because of it.

The reason you live for the Lord, the reason you live by faith,

1 John 4:19

1 John 4:19 KJV 1900

19 We love him, because he first loved us.

And Jesus said

John 14:15

John 14:15 KJV 1900

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

If you love Him....not if you are blessed in the way you think you should be. not if everything is going the way you think it should. Not if anything other than he loves you and guess what....

John 3:16

John 3:16 KJV 1900

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

He does!

We teach the flood narrative to children and often skip over some of this because it may be more than they can understand. The problem is as adults we don’t go back to study it to discover anything different than the surface level truths we have been taught.

The story of Noah and the flood is a story of God’s grace in Noah’s life. The problem is, we overlook at what life was really like for Noah on that ark.

We overlook the fact that he spent more than just 40 days there. We overlook how miserable life was for Him during that time.

Then we see him get off the ark and make an altar and say “Man, if God delivered me from that type of destruction I’d worship Him to.”

The thing is....God has delivered you from so much more. If you have trusted in Christ as your Savior…then you are saved from eternal torment and damnation. If you are living by faith, then you are pleasing God and most likely have found grace in his sight. Just like Noah though, it may not feel like it.

Maybe your on that ark right now. Life is tough. Things are not going how you think they should. Your consumed with the pursuit of the American dream and not the Kingdom of God. You believe your a failure, unloved and unlovable.

Whatever your situation is remember, living by faith brings the grace of God. God’s grace may not look like a blessing in the moment. Whether it does or not, God should be worshipped.

Time of Response

Christians, are you here this morning and not seeing God’s grace in your life? Ask yourself first “am I living by faith?” then ask yourself “Am i expecting a specific blessing or am I looking for God’s grace?” the two are not the same.

Are you worshipping God no matter your circumstances?

What area of your life should you be living by faith in?

Are you here this morning or listening online and not sure if this was your last year on earth you would go to Heaven?

The Bible says that when we believe by faith in Jesus, we are saved.

John 3:16 KJV 190016 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God does love you. Loves you so much He sent Jesus to die for you.

Now you are faced with a decision…will you continue finding salvation in your own works or in the finished work of Christ?

Ephesians 2:8–9 KJV 19008 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Your first have to admit your sinner

Romans 3:23 KJV 190023 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

I’m sure each of us could do that.Next you believe

Romans 10:9 KJV 19009 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Then confess. Confess Jesus as your Savior and call out to Him

Romans 10:13 KJV 190013 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

IF you’d like to do that today I’d like to help.

“Dear Jesus, I know I’m a sinner, I believe you came to die on the cross and rose from the dead. I put my faith right now in you and ask you to come into my life and change me from the inside out. Amen.”

Lets’ pray