← ArchiveGenesis (Foundations)Sunday, May 22, 2016DateMay 22, 2016Speaker—TextGenesis 8Passages in this sermonGenesis 80:00Genesis 8:202:57Psalms 5117:28TranscriptClick any line to jump there.0:00If you have your Bibles with you today, your electronic devices, if you would turn to Genesis chapter 8, Genesis chapter 8, and we will begin in verse 20 this morning. Let me catch us up. We are nearing the end of our series in Genesis chapters 1 through 11. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And after God created light from darkness, he separated the sky from the land, he separated0:28the waters from the land, and then created everything green on the earth, and then created things to eat the green stuff, animals, and then took time to specially create fashion man. And the Bible says that he actually breathed breath, his spirit, into man, and in his image we are created. And quickly after that, we see man in the Garden of Eden, eating fruit that God said, look,0:55you may eat anything, right, youth? Anything in here you can touch but that. And so what do we want to touch? That. And Adam and Eve disobeying God brought forth into our lives now sin, and the natural tendency we have to disobey and rebel against God. So it's not their fault. They gave us a tendency, but you and I act upon that tendency.1:24And they gave birth to a son, Cain, and then another one named Abel. One was the farmer, and one was the shepherd, the sheep herder. And one got jealous because his offering was not accepted because he did not offer the first of his, he offered something else. Lanyap was left over, and he killed his brother. And then quickly we see the descent that we now live into sin in Genesis, which led God1:49to look down upon the earth and see the heart of man is evil continually. All thoughts of man in his heart are continually evil. And then God looked at a man whose name means comfort. You know him as Noah. And what we see in Noah's life is that when God judges, there is still grace. Because in one family, God said, you are blameless, you are upright, I will protect you, build2:15an ark, a vessel of salvation. The ark was not a sailboat. It's a very rarely used word, which always means it's a place of salvation. It's a boat without a rudder, without a sail, without a steering wheel. It's a boat you and I wouldn't want to get into if the Lord wasn't watching over. And in that, we see that when the flood comes in our life, God's grace still protects us. And so today, if you've been waiting for a long time of a sermon of rainbows, today is2:45your day. We're going to look at what happens after the flood in our lives. What happens after the flood. So let's look at Genesis chapter 8, verse 20. Let me remind you, this is not a child's story. This is not an ancient fairy tale of, oh, there was this man and a boat and all these animals and there was water. But it never happens today. The flood was God's judgment against sin.3:14And the flood in Noah's day presupposes a flood, a judgment in our day. That what once was judged with water will eventually be judged with fire. So what God judged in Noah's day, Jesus Christ will judge in our day. And the second judgment is a lot worse. None of us will escape. Thank God for his grace. Genesis 8, verse 20. Then Noah built an altar to the Lord.3:44Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took of every clean animal and every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled something, a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in his heart, I will never again curse the ground for man's sake. Although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth, nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.4:12Let's pray. Father, I thank you that by your grace, we can worship. Though we are not here today on our own doing. Father, we are not worshiping that we may get divine favor, that we will win your approval. Lord, we just want to experience your grace in a new and fresh way this morning. Lord, as we see in Noah's life, Father, may your salvation, may your grace from the flood4:41lead us into worship. Lord, as we worship, may you open up the doors of heaven in our life, that we may see you work. That we may covenant with you. That we may reach the world who so desperately needs your salvation. Father, stir us in a way that we will be uncomfortable if we are living in sin. That will lead us to sorrow, which will lead us to repentance, which will lead us to your throne where we find mercy.5:07Lord, we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. First, we see this in Noah's life. In verse 20, then Noah built an altar to the Lord. Now, let's just think about where this is taking place. Where is the altar built? Now, those of you who have been here for the last three weeks, you should know this and it should be odd for you. Where is the altar being built?5:36You don't have to give me the exact country. We don't know. You don't have to give me the town, the zip code. Where is the altar being built? Well, let's just say this. Not in the boat, right? Not in the ark. As it wasn't a trick question, we'll work up to those. Why is that unusual then? Because for the last 370 days, where has Noah been?6:05He's been in the ark. And the first thing Noah does when he emerges, look at verse 18 and 19. I purposely skipped those. Now, we're going to back up. So, Noah went out and his sons and his wife and the sons' wives with them. And verse 19, and every animal, and every creeping thing, and every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth,6:26according to their families, went out of the ark. Was there anything on the ark that did not survive? No. Everything that God wanted to be there, he protected. And the very first thing that Noah did when he finds God's grace from saving him from the flood,6:53the very first thing, look at verse 20. Then Noah. And so that word then, it has a lot to it, doesn't it? 370 days on the ark. Possibly 120 years building the ark. After all of this, after all of this grace that God has finally bestowed on Noah, Noah gets time to breathe, and he doesn't say, let me rest. Phew, the lake looks really good.7:23Let me dip my toe in the water. Noah says, let me worship. And this is what God's grace does in our life. God's grace leads you and I to worship. Worship doesn't lead us to God's grace. God's grace leads us to worship. So, no longer do I worship because I have to. I worship because I get to. And if we're not careful what we forget, and this is what Noah completely understood.7:49We dip our toes into the swimming pool of God's grace. We'll go to church. We live in the south where we teach that if you believe in the Lord, you will be saved. And we just, most of us were born thinking we believe in the Lord. And so that's us dipping our toe in the shallow ends. Like, I've dipped my toe in church, now I'm a believer. And we have fooled ourselves that we are thinking that we are swimming in God's grace.8:16And yet, sometimes we don't know how to swim because we have not surrendered to God. And Noah shows us, when you and I experience God's grace, we worship. And I believe what Noah teaches us, the more deeply we drink from the fountain of God's grace, the more deeply we worship. So, if our worship is shallow, if my worship is shallow, what does it tell me about the grace that God has poured out on me?8:41That means I don't truly know what God's grace is. If I leave here thinking, well, I didn't get anything from it. I couldn't worship today. God is saying, well, Josh, have you not experienced my grace and mercy? Because if you have, then my mercy leads you to worship. Look at verse 20. Noah built an altar to the Lord.9:08It's not emotion. It wasn't obligation. It wasn't manipulation. Noah bust out of the ark and said, let me worship the only one I can. His name is the Lord. Be careful. And each time, someone tries to manipulate you in your worship. If I ever stand up here and say, you know what? I just don't feel like we've been worshiping today. You know what we should do? Let's turn the lights down low.9:36And then you'll worship. In case we think that's the answer, then the next week I say, well, you know what? We're not worshiping. Let's turn the lights up. Or you know what? The music's not right. Let's play this song or let's add this instrument. Let's do this so we will worship. That is not biblical. What do we see in Genesis? It is God's grace that leads you to worship. Anytime someone tries to manipulate worship, it is not of God.10:07It is of the devil. It is not of the light. It is of darkness. Our grace, God's grace on us leads us to worship. And it must be of verse 20. It must be of our own initiative. In verse 20, the Lord, then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took of every clean animal. Who made Noah worship? The Lord. No one tapped Noah on the shoulder.10:37It wasn't his wife that said, hey, Noah, you forgot something. You need to worship Noah. Or his children pulling out of his leg. And let me just kind of take time. I've been, this is my fourth or fifth graduation service I've preached at this week or this month. Anyone that could graduate in St. Clair County, I preached at it, I feel like. But youth, let me just take time and adults are going to listen when I speak to you. There will be a time in your life where you're here at worship because your mom and dad woke you up.11:07I was talking to a man today and he said that he used to pour water on his kids to get them up for worship. But there will be a point in your time where you must realize on your own. It's great that you're here hearing God's word, but your faith has to be your own. It's not your parents. Worship that is not from your own initiative is not worship. It is lip service.11:37And adults, I hope you were listening to that because some of you are still riding your parents' coattails. My dad was a preacher or my grandmother was just a wonderful woman of faith. And I just believe that I will worship because of her. There must be a time where we have to look God in the face and say, I will worship you because of my faith. It is my initiative because it is your grace. We worship because of God's grace. And if we think that worship is free, if it is not costly, look at verse 20.12:03Noah took every clean animal and every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. Our worship is costly. Our worship is costly. How costly was it for Noah? It cost these animals their lives. Seven clean animals and seven clean birds. Now, let's think about that. Noah just didn't grab some random animal and kill it. Even if that was all that happened, how difficult must that be?12:33Noah had spent 370 days, give or take, feeding these animals, watering these animals. Can't you imagine that his kids and grandkids are attached to these animals now? So no longer is it I'm going to offer a sheep, but I'm going to offer fluffy to the Lord. I mean, whatever the name, it was probably a Hebrew name. It wasn't fluffy.13:03Tov, which means good or something. But can you imagine taking that animal after spending a year on the ark and saying, Lord, I am going to offer this to you. And then your children saying, Dad, what are you doing? Let's make it more difficult. Grandparents, your grandchild saying, pops, nene, mamaw, what are we doing with these animals?13:25And the response is, we're giving them to the Lord because our worship is costly. And the greatest sacrifice ever made for our worship was Jesus Christ on the cross. And without that sacrifice, you and I cannot worship. May we never forget that Jesus Christ, as a lamb, the Bible says, led to the slaughter,13:53was the sacrifice for us. That if we believe in our hearts, so what is belief? It's not just being born into a church, being born thinking we believe. If we believe in our heart, if we confess with our mouth, then we will be saved. And then Acts asked of that, what must we do to be saved? Well, repent and be baptized. Why? Because your mouth matches what your heart says, and your obedience matches what your mouth says.14:18Because faith without action is not faith. It is not worship. And you have not tasted of God's grace. God's grace leads us to worship. Secondly, look at verse 21. The offering is put on the altar. It's the burnt offering, which is the whole burnt offering. It's the same. The next time we see this burnt offering is in Isaac's life, when Abraham is commanded to,14:48in obedience, offer up his son. Then verse 21. And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. The Lord smelled a soothing aroma. And the Lord said in his heart, I will never again curse the ground. And I think something we see in scripture here is this, that God's grace leads us to worship. But when we worship in spirit and in truth, then your worship opens the door for God to work in your life.15:15Worship opens the door for God to work in your life. And I prayed over this point all week. I said, Lord, let me phrase this in a way. I don't want us to think that we can worship and manipulate God. So, pastor, what you're telling me is if I give today, God will open up a door for more. No. Maybe God is just telling you, pastor, you sacrifice and I'll protect you. But what we do see here in verse 21 is that our worship opens up the doors.15:44And what a wonderful thought it is to know that our worship can be and is accepted unto the Lord. Have you ever thought about that? How do you know? How do you really know if what we're doing right now is pleasing to the Lord? I mean, just go through that mental process. What sign am I going to give you? What sign is the Lord going to give you to say, you know what? Josh, today was a good day.16:14I approve. Thumbs up emoji. We don't have that, do we? I was playing with our daughter last night. It was a long day and they had an early nap. And it was about seven o'clock and we were fighting bedtime. She's one. And she was pestering her four-year-old brother. And if you know our kids, that's not going to end well for the youngest. There's only a certain point where he can tolerate. And so I rescued him. You know, I pulled her off of him and we were just playing.16:42I had her on the ground and I was tickling her. And I pinned her arms down and was tickling her. And it got to a point where I couldn't figure out if she was crying or laughing. So I stopped. You know, and you know what she did? She looked at me and I'm thinking this is, she's about to bust out crying. I'm going to get, I'm going to get in time out for mom. She started laughing and she threw her hands up above her head again, as if to say, tickle17:09me, as if to say, dad, this is, this is a good thing. I enjoy this. Dad, this is acceptable to me. Now, how does the Lord show us then that our worship is acceptable? Well, we have a promise in Psalm 51 that says this. Verse 16, for you do not desire sacrifice or else I would give it. You do not delight in burnt offering.17:38Sound familiar? Where is that word used? Verse 20, you do not delight in burnt offering. Well, we see in Genesis that God does delight in burnt offering. So what is going on? Verse 17 says, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. These, oh God, you will not despise. We are promised by the Lord if you worship in spirit and in truth. With a broken and a contrite heart.18:08Where you say, Lord, I can't do it, but I know you did. Father, I don't know if I can sing well today. I don't know if I have much to give, but whatever I give, I'm going to give to you. God looks upon us and says, I will accept your worship. And how great is that to know that God accepts what we do in our worship. Not just here, not right now, but throughout the week. And the opposite is true. That if we ever come before the Lord and my heart is not right, God looks at us and says this,18:38Pastor, I have not accepted your worship. And how hurtful and damning can that be for us to know that our worship cannot be accepted if we do not do it with a heart that is open towards his grace. The Bible is very clear, too, that not all of us are children of God. That's a great thought to think, well, we're all children of God. Well, we all, if we just worship, then God will accept it.19:08But God says this, broken spirit, contrite heart. It is my grace that saves you. It is through Jesus Christ. There is one name under heaven that by which men can be saved. Our worship, if it is the spirit and truth, can and will be accepted. Our worship opens the door. Look at verse 21 again. The Lord smelled a soothing aroma. It's as if, it's as if that Noah's sacrifice soothed the broken heart of God.19:35If you go back and look at chapter 6 and verse 6, it says that God's heart was broken over the sin. And in verse 21, the Lord smelled a soothing aroma as if the Lord said, man, that's good. Man, Noah's worship is good. I'm enjoying it because his heart is right. How lovely will that be, that thought one day when we, when one day whether I die or God calls me home some other manner20:05and God says, Josh, I want you to know, on the 22nd of May, your worship soothed me. It was wonderful. Not because your message was great or because your voice was strong, but because your heart was right. Lord, open the door in our lives because of our worship. After the flood, God's grace leads us to worship.20:34God's worship in our lives opens a door for him to be used by us. For us to be used by him and for God to just pour forth his grace. And then look at verse 11 of chapter 9. Now we're going to get to God's covenant, the good stuff. Some of you are waiting for the rainbow. It's here, I promise. Verse 11. God said this. And God said this is a sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you for perpetual generations.21:03I will set my rainbow in the cloud and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. After the flood.21:33First, we see this. God's grace leads us to worship. God's worship opens the door. And then God says this. I will covenant, Noah. I will covenant with you. A covenant was a solemn agreement between two people. I could go up to Christian today and say, look, Christian, I promise we'll do this. I promise we'll play bubble soccer one day. That's an agreement between two somewhat equal parties, right? But who can make an agreement with the Lord?22:02Not me. Not you. Who can make an agreement with a God that is so holy that if we were to walk into his presence, we would be eradicated? Only God himself. And isn't that what verse 11 says? God says, I will establish a covenant with you. It is my covenant, the Lord says. Only God can initiate a God-sized covenant.22:29Only God can initiate a God-sized covenant. Only God can look at you and me and say, I will forgive you of all of your sins. Everything you've done in your life. Everything you did today. And everything you will do for the rest of your life. If you give those to me. If you put those on the altar and let Christ. Colossians says that he has wiped away the handwriting of your sins and nailed them to the cross.22:55Who can do that but God? And only the Lord in our life can do God-sized things. And I think sometimes we ask God for little things. We expect God to have little covenants with us. Well, God, I stubbed my toe today, so help me with my toe. But what is the covenant that God gave to Noah? Just think about this. What a wonderful thought.23:25What is the covenant that God gave to Noah? I promise you, there are no trick questions today. Verse 11. I will not destroy the earth. Now, this is how we selfishly pray and think sometimes, isn't it? Lord, just protect my home. Well, just don't flood the basement again and we'll be good. Or God, just protect my neighborhood. I'm really struggling, so just protect my little world.23:56And God says, Josh, I can do better. I have the power to look at the earth and say, I will not flood anything ever again. I will not consume the world with my judgment. Are you looking for things in your life that only God can do? Because if we're not careful, we limit God to our mind, to our heart. We say, God, only do this. And God says, Noah, I will not destroy the earth again. And we also see this, verse 11.24:25I will establish my covenant with you. Never again shall all flesh be cut off. Well, cut off from what? This is a word, it's a very specific used phrase in the Bible. This is the same word that when someone from God's covenant Israel would sin, God would tell Moses, look, cut them off from the community. As if God is looking at us and saying, I will not cut you off for your sins24:55if you're in a covenant relationship. And that covenant relationship is only found through faith, hope, and trust in Jesus Christ. And we will learn shortly that God gives us signs of the covenant. And the greatest signs we have of God's covenant in this world are twofold. One, the church. That the church is called the bride of Christ.25:24So why is the world trying to stamp out the church? Because we are the church, the invisible church, and the visible church is a sign of God's covenant. It is a sign of God's grace to a world who is evilly wicked. Because we have wicked people in here that God has made graciously righteous. You say, well, where are those people? Point them out. I'm the leader of that band. As Paul says, I am the chief.25:54We are a sign of the covenant to the world that's so desperately dark. And there is a fight against the church right now. Because the world doesn't want to look at the covenant. The world says, Noah, don't build the ark. We'll just ignore the flood when it comes. And Noah is sharing with us, screaming at us. No, God has graciously given us his covenant if we enter through Jesus Christ. And that is the only way. But there's a second sign on this earth that's so very clear to the world and to us.26:22Do you know that marriages are called a covenant? That men, if you are married right now, if you're engaged, going to get married, or one day you want to be married. The Bible says this in Ephesians. Husbands, love your wives. Like Christ loved the church. That our marriages are a picture, not just of love, but our marriages are a picture of a greater covenant than ourselves.26:49It's a covenant that our Heavenly Father has with us. And just let me kind of share this practically. If God's made a promise, who can break it? Who can break a God-sized promise but God? And He promises us that because Jesus Christ died on the cross, He will not break that. Wives, submit to your husbands. And you say, well, I'm not going to do that.27:18Well, why don't you try loving us like Christ loved the church? You have the easy part. But our marriages are a picture of the covenant to the world. And guess what is under attack? Signs of the covenant. So, Pastor, what is that sign? God has graciously given us His covenant. And then verse 12. And God said, this is the sign. This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you for perpetual generations.27:48God-sized covenant. Everlasting. Far-reaching. That is the power of God's grace in our life. Here's the truth from Scripture. God does not ask us to blindly follow. He does not ask you and I to blindly follow. Hebrew says that faith is the evidence of things. And we just kind of recite that, right?28:18Faith is the evidence. How can faith be evidence? And how can something be evidence if it's not seen? God is saying, look. Look around you. I have given you signs. Noah, look at the rainbow. Open your eyes. And we say, God, I just don't know if I can trust. I just don't know if I can blindly trust. And God says, Josh, I am not asking you to blindly trust. Open your little beady eyes and see my grace all around you. The fact that I am here today is nothing but God's grace because I do not deserve to stand before you.28:49The fact that Noah survived was a sign of God's grace. And if you're here this morning and you just say, Lord, I will trust in you if you give me a sign. Sometimes it might not be God, give me a sign, but it might be God, open my eyes that I may trust. Maybe you feel like you're in the flood. God's word is hopeful to say one day you'll be out of the flood.29:19But if you're in the flood, maybe your prayer is, God, let me swim and God, open my eyes that I may see. God, give me a sign. If you're praying for a sign, the sign is not the answer. The answer is a sign giver. And his name is the Lord God. The Lord is the covenant name of God. What do you need in your life to believe? What do you need in your life to say, Lord, I'll trust you if dot, dot, dot.29:47Because I think for most of us, God has already given us that. Really, our prayer should be, Lord, I know I'm stubborn. I know I'm hard-headed, but Lord, get through to this heart of stone. Lord, I know I'm a believer, but I struggle with trust. Lord, I'm building the ark and there's no flood. Lord, help me believe. Or maybe you're just looking at the clouds and you see the storm rolling in in your life.30:15Maybe it's cancer. Maybe it's death. Maybe it's sickness. And all you see is our storm clouds. And God says, Josh, I know this life is difficult. But look. Look up in the clouds. Verse 13. I will set my rainbow in the cloud. Lord, give us a sign. And he says, look at the clouds. I already have.30:45Faith is the evidence of things not seen. Now, some believe that the rainbow did not exist until this time. Scripturally, we don't have to interpret it that way. It could be that the rainbow has already been there. And God gave it new meaning. God gave it great meaning. And the same way Jesus Christ lifted up the cup and said, this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood. As often as you do this, do it in remembrance of me. And I want to end on this point. God's grace leads us to worship.31:16And it leads us to a point where we can say, Lord, I believe. Just show me. And sometimes we look for the rainbow. You know, the one that's really pretty with all the colors. And that we'll find Skittles or something at the end. A pot of gold. But you know, that's the human perspective of the rainbow. You know, the Hebrew word for rainbow is not rainbow. It is bow as in a bow and arrow.31:43As if for Noah, every time he saw the rainbow, he thought about war. He thought about judgment. He thought about difficulty. We look at rainbows and we say, Lord, how pretty. I believe Noah looked at that bow and said, Lord, I know that you are the God. You are the warring host. Savot. You are the Lord of hosts that fights against sin. When we rebel, you fight against us.32:12And I think Noah looked at that bow and arrow and said, Lord, I see your wrath. But thank God you promised because of your grace, you will not pour out your wrath again. Only God can take a sign of wrath and make it a sign of grace. And the greatest sign that we have a wrath that the world has ever known was the cross. It was a picture of destruction. It was a picture of death.32:42No one walked to the cross and made it home. And yet Jesus Christ walked to the cross that he may nail our sins upon it and wipe our sins clean. If you and I not just believe in our hearts, but confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord. That Lord is the same word that Noah called God, Lord. He took the sign of the cross that if we believe a sign of hurt, a sign of judgment, a sign of destruction.33:11And said, Josh, for you, this will be a promise of my covenant that there is grace, that there is mercy. If you believe. If you're here today and you need a sign, may God open your eyes. If you're here today and you feel like you're in the flood, I want you to know one day that ark is going to stop. And those doors are going to bust forth. And I pray when your feet hit the ground, that his grace leads you to worship.33:38Let's bow our heads and close our eyes as we enter into a time of prayer.← Previous in Genesis (Foundations)Sunday, May 15, 2016Next in Genesis (Foundations) →Sunday, May 29, 2016More sermons on Genesis →
