Genesis Session 15

Tonight I want to talk about a simple concept… something we see come out of the first half of Genesis 9, and it is something I have come to really appreciate in life.

What we are going to talk about… is the chance or opportunity… to reset.

What does that word mean?

To reset means to set again or anew. It means that everything starts over again from the beginning.

I can remember the Nintendo Entertainment System when it first came out. It was a gray box with a door on the front. Open that door and you will find the place to insert the game you wanted to play.

On the front of the box was a power button… and a rest button.

If things were not going like you wanted them to go in the game… you simply hit the reset button to try again.

Or… if the game malfunctioned you could do the same!

What about other household items? Anyone have power strips in use in your home or GFCI plugs?

When the breaker trips, you have to reset the mechanism in order for it to work correctly.

Computer hard drives can often get bogged down with garbage programs from internet use.

Things like malware, viruses, etc. can get on your machine causing it to slow down and make your private information vulnerable.

The more you surf the web, the more likely you are to pick up stuff that will slow down its ability to process information.

That is why, every year, I reset all of my internet capable machines to make sure the drives are clean of the stuff that might otherwise slow it down.

I’m glad we have the ability to rest things we use on a daily basis!

But what about… us? What about a human being? Does a person ever need to be… reset? And what does that even look like?

A person ABSOLUTELY needs the opportunity to be reset. Consider the examples that we just gave for a moment.

There are times in life when we need a do-over. And when that opportunity arises, a person ought to do what they can to make the situation right.

There are times in life when we get surged with emotions, fear, worry, stress, etc. Our bodies have “breakers” or limits too. And instead of trying to hold the breaker from tripping, we need to stop and reset.

There is junk all around us trying to imprint its software or ways on our minds. Similar to your computer, the more you walk in a polluted world, the more pollutants you pick up. Our hard drive or our minds needs to be cleansed of all the stuff we might pick up in a day’s or week’s time.

It is important that we stop and reset from time to time… it is important that we pause… and get back to what God says is most important.

Resetting means returning to the original standard. It clears out all the extras that might have been picked up and returns us back to where we are suppose to be. What we see in our study tonight is a MASSIVE reset of all that was.

Quick recap...

God regretted having made humans for all the sin they had committed. Violence, corruption, evil were all evident in their hearts. So God decided to wipe out… to reset the world.

Noah found favor in the eyes of God. So God gave Noah the instruction on how to survive what was coming.

Noah, his family, and the animals took refuge in the ark and survived the flood.

The world had been completely reset. Noah was now on the other side of the flood and God had one more thing to do… it was time to reset Noah and his family.

Genesis 9:1–7 NIV

1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. 2 The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. 3 Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. 4 “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. 5 And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being. 6 “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind. 7 As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”

God took the world back to square one. Everything OUTSIDE the ark had been reset… but there was still a little work to be done. And these are the points I want us to see tonight.

God Reset the Blessing.

Look again at verse 1 and verse 7

Genesis 9:1 NIV

1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.

Genesis 9:7 NIV

7 As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”

God resets or reminds Noah of the original blessing He gave to Adam and Eve. Increase in number. Br fruitful. Build a family and fill the earth. God does not deviate or rewrite the original blessing… He simply reset it after the flood.

The world had somehow gotten off track regarding God’s original commands. So in this moment, God reminds Noah and his family of the blessing He had originally given His creation.

Consider again all that this family had just gone through.

Years of building an Ark all while being the laughing stock of the world.

The world was laughing… but they had favor with God.

Months of feeding and caring for he animals while inside the Ark

Months of viewing the carnage of the flood. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

This family had witnessed the world at its worst, the wrath or judgement of God, and the aftermath of the flood. Now, they were the only humans left.

Glad to be alive… but perhaps a bit overwhelmed by the circumstance. So God speaks to the circumstance and reminds them of the blessing.

God Reset the Stewardship.

Next we see God reset the order of the world… if you will.

Genesis 9:2 NIV

2 The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands.

God, once again, makes humankind the stewards of EVERYTHING on the earth.

Who owns it all? God owns it all. But God created humankind to be stewards of all He had created. Once again, God gives them everything.

Now, what’s the difference between an owner and a steward?

The owner truly owns what the steward is caring for. What the steward manages belongs to someone else.

In this case, God owns everything! yet He has given everything to us to take care of as stewards. With that stewardship comes the responsibility to honor the owner through our stewardship practices.

How did Adam and Eve mess this up?

As stewards, God had given them everything except for the fruit of two trees. A boundary was set and for good reason.

The moment Adam and Eve crossed that boundary, they began acting as owners instead of stewards. They took something that didn’t belong to them. And the moment they did this, sin entered the world.

In this case, God has once again given His creation everything… but with that gift came the role of steward once again.

Consider the delicate balance that had to be maintained right out the gate. There were only two of every kind of animal. They had to give life a chance to catch back up in the reset process. Any greed or mismanagement regarding the animals could instantly wipe out a species!

But most importantly, God was resting the stewardship role with His creation. Similar to Adam and Eve’s story, that role came with a boundary as well and that brings up the next point.

God Reset the Boundaries.

Genesis 9:4–6 NIV

4 “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. 5 And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being. 6 “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.

After resetting their roles as stewards, God sets up a system of accountability. God makes it clear that murder will NOT be tolerated. God would demand an accounting for such action.

What does that mean… “I will demand an accounting?”

Think of finances for a moment. What does accounting do? It shows us where every cent was spent and for what reason. It gives a reason of explanation of HOW the funds were used.

If funds are misused, then a person is held accountable or responsible for their actions.

God views life as precious… all life. Therefore, life had better be respected at all levels.

While God gave Noah all moving and living things on the earth, they were not given to be abused. Life is not to be abused. Therefore, an account will be demanded… will we be found responsible or abusive regarding what God has given us to steward?

when it comes to human life, that’s a clear no no. Again, an accounting is demanded and a consequence is given.

God laid out a plan to guard the sanctity of human life and He did so in two ways.

One, He emphasized that all humans were made in the image of God - another reset regarding the way Noah and his family were to view others. Human life is sacred to God.

Two, he declared a method of justice for intentionally taking another person’s life. Murder will be dealt with severely.

The world has been rest! All is back to the way it was in the garden as God intended it to be… or was it???

Why did Sin Remain?

I want us to consider this question for a moment. If the world had been reset, then why did sin still remain on earth?

The answer is simple. The price had not yet been paid. Although Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord, Noah and his family were not without sin.

In order for sin to be wiped out… a payment for sin must be presented. That payment had not yet come. The sins of mankind had not been atoned for yet.

But today… the price has been paid in full.

Consider where we are today.

The world is full of sin, corruption, and evil. Violence is a norm, wickedness is all around us. But a flood is NOT coming. God will not destroy the world again in this way.

However, God did do something in response to our sin problem that gives us the chance to do something remarkable. Because Jesus paid the price for our sin in full, our lives can not only be reset today… they are RENEWED by the blood of the Lamb!

The cross is the calling card and the blood is the key!

The cross stands as a reminder of Jesus’ victory over sin, death and the grave. His blood serves as the covering or atonement for ALL of our sins.

In Jesus, we are BORN AGAIN… more than reset… we are MADE NEW! WITHOUT SIN and without the consequence that comes with it.

Each and every day we have been given the opportunity to walk and live in this renewal! Yes… sin is a BIG problem in this world… but the blood of Christ has the POWER to break you free today!

I pray tonight that we would be forever reminded of God’s power of renewal… of God’s ability to cleanse us and reset us through the blood of the Lamb.

The work of the cross allows us to overcome the sin and spiritual pollutants of this world. Be renewed. Be refreshed today… for the price has been paid in full and your sins have been redeemed.