God Remembers

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God Remembers

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No one escaped, the Lost World perished in the Genesis Flood engineered by God. This is the event we will read about in God’s Word. And this event directly caused the death of every man woman, and child on Earth, except 8. It devastated all the forests of earth. It drowned, or suffocated every land animal on earth. It killed every massive and powerful dinosaur. It destroyed every human being. And it left its footprints globally. Noah and his family rode out the first global catastrophe in a wooden boat! They were locked inside and had no way to see what was happening. Can you imagine the emotions they experienced? Fear, dread, anxiety, stress, claustrophobia, nausea, sea-sickness, second thoughts and so much more. But abandonment may have been the worst thought.

Try to think of the most alone and forgotten you have ever felt. Think about what it would have been like to have felt that for a year. Now you are only starting to feel what Noah felt as we examine his life this evening!

Tonight as we open to Genesis 8 we are opening to the darkest hour of Noah’s life. As far as Noah could tell they were all alone and adrift over fathomless swirling black waters. They had no rudder, no sail, no chart and no compass.

God had personally spoken to them and asked them to come in and join Him inside the Ark. They had responded and had been in here for over a year, but there had been no word from God for over a year. Every member of his family was dead except his 3 boys and their wives. Every inch of his hometown was under a mile of rock and three miles of water. Noah’s world was gone, ruined, wrecked. Noah was alone and felt forgotten and abandoned. On top of that the door was sealed shut, and the ark was floating somewhere that none inside could see.

The good news of this chapter is that God had not forgotten them. They were not abandoned. God has a perfect plan for the universe and me. He is working out that plan with infinitely accurate timing. God moves at the correct moment even if we don’t.

Welcome to the Brave New World of Noah and His sons. As they stepped off the Ark as far as they could see was the devastation of a flooded earth. The hills, valleys, mountains all were scarred. The trash that floats in a storm was strewn across the hillsides. The bloated and decomposing bodies of doomed creatures that were carried about by the waters were dotting the landscape just starting to green up with trees and grasses. Then there was the ominous sound of the new world with the storms, thunder and lightning of the hydrological cycle. The Brave New World of Noah and His sons was a world where everything reminded them that God had destroyed the Old World that Perished in the Genesis Flood.

So why did God remember Noah? Because of His grace. Before the Flood God made a sovereign choice, He chose to love Noah. Look for a moment at Genesis 6:9. And when God puts His grace upon us, He loves us. So the theme of Genesis 8 is God remembers, and He remembers in LOVE. Here is a quick outline of the chapter:

God’s Love Remembers. v. 1-5

God Remembers Noah

Lessons from Noah remembering God.

Lessons from the Resting Ark

God’s Love Purifies. v. 6-14

Lessons on holiness: Ravens feast on uncleanness and doves don’t. No qualms about resting in an unclean place.

Lessons on waiting

God’s Love sacrifices. v. 15-22

Lessons on giving: Noah gave the first and best 14% to God.

Lessons on Remembering God

Lessons on God’s Promises

First, god’s Love Remembers. v. 1-5

God Remembers Noah

Lessons from Noah remembering God.

What did Noah remember about God?

God deserves our obedience so he obeys (8:18)

God deserves our attention, so he built an altar (8:20a).

God needs a substitionary offering to be approached, so he shed blood and offered it to God (8:20b)

God loves sacrifice, so he gave him 1/7^th (8:20c)

Lessons from the Resting Ark.

The ark rested because it had been working for 5 months saving Noah and his family from a sinful world and God’s Holy Wrath.
God RESTED (finished) the work of Creation. Gen 2.2-3. The Ark RESTED (finished) the Work of Rescue Gen. 8.4 (Christ rose on the 7^th month and the 17^th day according to Exodus 12.2). Christ Rested (finished) the work of Redemption. John 19.30

Love Purifies. v. 6-14

Lessons on holiness: Ravens feast on uncleanness and doves don’t. No qualms about resting in an unclean place.

Lessons on waiting

They were in the ark for 371 days or exactly 53 weeks. Why? God has perfect plans! Ararat is the geographic center of earth’s land areas.

The schedule of the flood is clearly given in the record. If we count the year of Adam’s creation as 1 then Noah was born in the year 1056 after the Fall. Gen. 6:3 indicates that God gave Noah 120 years to preach and build the ark (I Peter 3:20), which means he was 480 years old when he started (7:11). This would be the year 1536 after the Fall. The flood came in Noah’s 600th year, which would be 1656 after the Fall; and on the 27th day of the second month in the year 1567 AF, Noah and his family were back on dry ground (8:13ff). The daily schedule would look like this:

Month 2 (November) Day 10 They enter the ark (7:1-9)
Month 2 (November) Day 17 The floods come (7:10-11)
Month 3 (December) Day 26 The rains end (7:12)
Month 7 (April) Day 17 The ark rests (8:1-4)
Month 10 (July) Day 1 Mountain-tops seen (8:5) waits 40 days
Month 11 (August) Day 11 Sends out raven and dove (8:6-9) waits 7 days
Month 11 (August) Day 18 Dove brings branch (8:10-11) waits 7 days
Month 11 (August) Day 25 Dove fails to return (8:12) waits 36 days
Month 1 (October) Day 1 Noah opens ark (8:13) waits 8 weeks
Month 2 (November) Day 27 Then God opens the door, they leave the ark (8:14ff)

Love sacrifices. v. 15-22

Lessons on Obeying God’s Call

There is a striking parallel between God’s calling Noah out of the ark – GENESIS 8:15-20	And God’s call of Abraham GENESIS 12:1-7
a. Then God said to Noah (8:15)	a. The Lord had said to Abram (12:1)
b. Come out from the ark (8:16)	b. Leave your country (12:1)
c. So Noah came out (8:18)	c. So Abram left (12:4)
d. Then Noah built an altar to the LORD (8:20)	d. So [Abram] built an altar there to the LORD (12:7)
e. Then God blessed Noah (9:1)	e. “And I [God] will bless you” (12:2)
f. “Be fruitful and increase”(9:1	f. “I will make you into a great nation”(12:2)
g. “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants” (9:9)	g. “To your offspring, I will give this land” (12:7)

Lessons on giving: Noah gave the first and best 14% to God.

Lessons on Remembering God

Lessons on God’s Promises

God wants us to remember Him all through our lives:

WHEN WE ARE YOUNG: Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them”:

WHEN WE ARE ALONE: Jeremiah 51:50 You who have escaped the sword, Get away! Do not stand still! Remember the Lord afar off, And let Jerusalem come to your mind.

WHEN WE ARE Nearing the END: Jonah 2:7 “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple.

WHEN WE ARE transformed: Luke 17:11-17 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.12 Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.13 And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”14 So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.17 So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?

WHEN WE ARE struggling: Habakkuk 3:17-19 Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls — 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. (NKJV)

Imagine with me some of worst events our present high tech society could get. How would we respond as Christians if confronted with utter economic, political, social catastrophe .. and personal adversity? In the format of Habakkuk’s declaration:

Though I lose my life’s savings through a crash, down turn, bad investment or bank failure, or never have saved anything,

Though America has another Depression, my company folds, restructures or downsizes me out the door,

Though I lose my job, my husband loses his, or I am single and unemployed and our government’s safety net fails, my benefits run out, and there is no one to care for me in old age, sickness and aloneness,

Though global famine wipes out food supplies in supermarkets, and my cupboards are bare at home and my family is suffering,

Though my loved ones never get saved, and my children turn from God, get pregnant, on drugs or in jail,

Though earthquake, flood, famine, fire, tornado, hurricane, drought or mudslide sweep away all that is precious to me,

Though my car quits and I can’t afford a new one, used one of even to repair it,

Though my health fails, insurance folds, marriage ends, or I get cancer,

Though my mate has a heart attack, and I suddenly find myself alone,

Though America falls to a foreign power, our liberties cease and we are plunged into chaos,

Though Christianity is outlawed, our property confiscated, our loved ones arrested and we are incarcerated without hope in prison,

Could I still say, YES, LORD,

I accept Your loving, sovereign hand on national affairs and in my Personal life?

Could I affirm, YES, LORD, come what may, I believe Your promise: ” I know the plans I have for you … plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future… ” (Jer. 29:11).

“The Lord is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him” (Andrew Murray).

God will work all things for my good and for His glory!

How do we remember God?

TREMBLE AT HIS WORD Habakkuk 3:16 When I heard, my body trembled; My lips quivered at the voice; Rottenness entered my bones; And I trembled in myself, That I might rest in the day of trouble. When he comes up to the people, He will invade them with his troops. (NKJV)

Like David Psalm 119:120 My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments. (NKJV)

Like Isaiah 6:5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.” (NKJV)

Like Jeremiah 23:9 My heart within me is broken Because of the prophets; All my bones shake. I am like a drunken man, And like a man whom wine has overcome, Because of the LORD, And because of His holy words. (NKJV)

Like Daniel 7:15, 28 I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. 28 “This is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed; but I kept the matter in my heart.” (NKJV)

Like John Revelation 1:17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. (NKJV)

PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME. The Scriptures teach us to praise God by two special activities:

Echoing his attributes. Praise expresses the character of God. Some Christians study the New Testament almost exclusively because it reveals many truths that were mysteries in the past. But one great reason to study the Old Testament is that it powerfully reveals the character of God, enabling us to praise Him better.

Habakkuk praised God for is character, that He is a Holy, Almighty, Eternal, Covenant Keeping God (Hab. 1:12-13) -and that praise solved a great problem in his own heart. He didn’t understand why God was going to judge Israel by sending the evil Chaldeans to conquer them (1:6-11). Habakkuk wanted God to revive and restore His people, but they had overstepped the limit of His patience.

In the midst of his confusion, Habakkuk remembered this: God is holy-He doesn’t make mistakes. God is a covenant keeping God-He doesn’t break His promises. God is eternal-He is outside the flux of history. Following his praise, Habakkuk affirmed what we have been learning throughout this chapter, that “the righteous will live by his faith” (2:4).

He felt better even though his circumstances hadn’t changed. God did allow the Chaldeans to overrun Israel for a time, but Habakkuk knew his God was strong enough to handle any circumstances.

Instead of worrying about problems we cannot solve, we should say, “Lord, You are bigger than history. You own everything in the entire universe. You can do anything You want to do. You love me and promise I will never be without the things I need. You-said You would take care of me as You take care of the birds and the flowers. You have promised that Your character and power are at my disposal.” That kind of praise glorifies God.

Echoing his actions. God’s attributes are displayed in His works. The psalms are filled with lists of the great things God has done for His people. They praise Him for parting the Red Sea, making water flow from a rock, feeding His people with manna in the wilderness, destroying their enemies, making the walls of Jericho fall, and many other powerful works.

After reevaluating his problem, Habakkuk praised God for His works, trembling at the power displayed in them (3:16). He affirmed that he would rejoice in the Lord even if everything crumbled about him (w. 17-18). Why? Because God had proved Himself in the past. That’s why the Old Testament contains such an extensive history of God’s works-so we can know specifically how God has proved faithful.

If you have a problem facing you that you don’t know how to solve, remember to praise God. Say to Him, “Lord, You are the God who put the stars and planets into space. You are the God who formed the earth and separated the land from the sea. Then You made humanity and everything else that lives. Although humanity fell, You planned our redemption. You are the God who carved out a nation for Yourself and preserved it through history, performing wonder after wonder for that nation. You are the God who came into this world

FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE OF HABAKKUK

WHEN Burdened talk to God.

When Bended listen to God.

When Blessed Praise God.

Why should we remember God?

Because God rewards FIVE ACTIONS. These are things God remembers for good! In order written in Bible:

GOD CROWNS THOSE WHO DENY THEIR FLESH: 1 Cor. 9:27 Follow Him, not self.

GOD CROWNS THOSE WHO BRING HIM PEOPLE: 1 Thess. 2:19 God crowns those who bring Him what He wants. God wants people, not houses, plaques, collectibles. “No U-Haul behind a hearse.”

GOD CROWNS THOSE WHO WATCH FOR HIM: 2 Tim. 4:8 Look for Him.

(I’LL ALWAYS REMEMBER THE PARSONAGE WINDOW IN Rhode Island. When I drove up to the garage Bonnie would have the little ones watching. With wide eyes they would sound the coming home of dad. My joy is such a tiny example of God’s longing for our attention!

GOD CROWNS THOSE WHO LOVE HIM: James 1:12 God crowns those who love Him. God wants your heart!

Love only counts to God if it’s first place, priority #1 love, more than hobbies, money, professional achievements, scholastic honors, sports victories, possessions.
Do you place a higher priority on God or:

– your job
– your house
– your recreation
– your finances (spend more time with investments on earth or heaven?)

GOD CROWNS THOSE WHO SERVE HIM: 1 Pet. 5:4 Serve Him.

Seven stages Bible overview, summary= creation, corruption, catastrophe, confusion, cross, church, consummation

Just as significant as the associations of this passage with the Creation account, however, are the several close associations between Noah’s altar and Moses’ altar at Mount Sinai following the Exodus (Exod 24:4-18). A brief list of some key parallels gives a sense of the verbal and thematic similarities:

(1) The building of the altar in both accounts follows a major act of God’s salvation–God’s rescue of Noah from the Flood and God’s deliverance of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt;

(2) the altar and the offering in both accounts mark the establishment of a “covenant” (berith) with God (Gen 9:9; Exod 24:7);

(3) the outcome of both covenants is God’s “blessing” (wayebarek Gen 9:1; uberak Exod 23:25);

(4) the central provision in both covenants is protection from “beasts of the field” or “wild animals” (hayyat ha’ares Gen 9:2; hayyat hassadeh Exod 23:29) and human enemies (Gen 9:5-6; Exod 23:22);

(5) specific mention is made that the “earth” will be preserved from destruction (Gen 9:11; Exod 23:29);

(6) in Genesis the visible “sign” of the establishment of the covenant is the rainbow in the “clouds” (be`anan 9:13-17), and in Exodus the conclusion of the covenant making is marked by the appearance of the glory of God in the “cloud” (he`anan 24:15) that covered the mountain;

(7) in both covenants stipulations are given to which the people must be obedient (Gen 9:4; Exod 24:3).

The Facts and Lessons of the Flood

The Heart of God	He Grieves for Fallen Man
The Wrath of God	He Destroys by Holy Judgment
The Love of God	He Saves by Sovereign Choice
The Truth of God	He Reminds by Divine Revelation: the rainbow, conscience, creation and the Word!
The Sin of Mankind	Reminds us we are sinners
Deafness to the Message	Warns us to Listen because we lack sensitivity.
Response of Noah	Challenges our Availability
Second Chance for Mankind	Offers Hope for All to be pure and new!