Trust and Obey

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0:00 So today we're going to look at the story of Noah and Genesis. And let me set the stage before we turn to that chapter in Genesis. So you all remember Genesis 1 and 2 was the creation account, the creation story. God created the heavens and the earth, He created all things. And what did He say after He created the heavens and earth? He said it was good, right? What did He say when He created Adam and Eve? It is very good, right?

0:33 So Genesis 1 and 2 creation. A short while later Genesis 3 happens and we know what happens there. Adam and Eve fall. The relationship between His people, His image bearers is severed because of sin and evil. Genesis chapter 4 and 5 is the fallout from the fall. This is when evil entered the world and there are accounts of bigamy and rage and anger

1:05 and murder that's happening as a result of the fall. So today we're going to spend some time looking at Genesis chapter 6 and 7. And we're going to look at three things. How does God act? How noah responds? And then lastly we'll look at what are the key takeaways for us today. So let's pick up in Genesis chapter 6 verse 5.

1:40 And the word of the Lord says this, the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth in that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on earth and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, I will blot out man whom I've created from the face of the land. Man and animals can creeping things, birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have

2:10 made them. But noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. As I mentioned a few minutes ago, God had just completed his creation and said that it was good. The first thing to notice here in the text today that I just read was that the action that God had. The first thing that he did was he saw. God saw something. He saw the wickedness of mankind.

2:43 It was great. He saw the corruption and the wickedness and all of that was he saw that. And verse 11 in chapter 6 it says this, now the earth was corrupting God's sight and was filled with violence. So that's the landscape. That's what we're looking at. And that's what God is looking at. He saw something else as well. What did he see in verse 8? He saw Noah.

3:13 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. So God is doing two things at once. He's chewing gum and talking at the same time. He sees the wickedness and corruption happening, but he also sees Noah. What he saw led him to feel something. So the next thing we see is he feels, he feels deeply. When God saw that his image bearers were doing wicked and violent things to other image

3:46 bearers and even his creation, it made him feel something. And what did it say in verse 6? That the Lord felt regret. And he also feels another.

4:20 We can deduct that he's felt another emotion when he saw Noah. He felt compassion when he saw Noah. So we see there's a God who sees, there's a God who feels, and there's a God who acts. His feelings led him to act. And what was he going to do to his creation?

4:51 The thing that he once said was really good and was very good, he decides to say what and do what. I'm going to destroy it. Destruction. You remember that classic toy, this little red tablet before it was electrified, it was like a little red tablet with two little knobs on it. The Etch-A-Sketch, right? You draw things on it and then you make little designs and then when you mess up or you're

5:22 done you shake it up. What's the point, Mike? You got to start all over again, you shake it up. And for the young people in the room, it's like you're playing your Xbox or PlayStation and you're getting beat and you're losing the game and you're like, nope, I'm going to quit and restart. That's what God decides to do to his creation. He decides to shake it up, hit restart and do it all over again. Verse 7 in chapter 6 says this, so the Lord said, I will blot man, blot out man whom I've

5:58 created from the face of the land, man, animals creeping things, the birds of the heavens, for I'm sorry that I've made them. Verse 13 of chapter 6. And God said to Noah, I have determined to make an end of all flesh. For the earth is filled with violence through man, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Verse 17, for behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh,

6:31 which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on earth shall die. That's pretty dark, right? And that's what wickedness and corruption had done. Meanwhile the other emotion that God had was compassion. And he showed his compassion towards Noah by providing a way of salvation, deliverance.

7:03 So let's look at verse 9 of chapter 6. This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time. And he walked in close fellowship with God. And Noah was the father of three sons, Shem Ham and Japheth. So one day is Noah's walking with God, this blameless, faultless, righteous man, the

7:39 only one on the face of the planet according to God and according to the scriptures here. As Noah's walking with God, he told him his plan to destroy the earth and he invited Noah to do something. He invited Noah to do something. In verse 14 it says this of chapter 6. Make yourself an arc of gopher wood or in some translations it says build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar.

8:11 So God's act of salvation through compassion, his compassion, it led him to call Noah, invite Noah to join him in the act of salvation. He gave Noah the invitation to join him in the work of salvation. So how did Noah respond to that invitation? We all know the story, right? He responded with unquestioned obedience.

8:42 So in chapter 6 and 7 God talked to Noah seven times, like he gave him seven commandments, but really distinct and specific instructions and seven times Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him to do. Like in verse, as I said, several verses, verse 22, Noah did everything exactly the way God had commanded him to do it. So what does that mean for us?

9:12 And there are times in our lives today where we're simply called to let God be God and to follow him without question, just like Noah did. There are times we have to let God be God and just obey without question. So Noah I assume in his sons built the art the way that God instructed him to do it. He just followed instructions and did it and did it.

9:44 So let's pick up in the story in chapter 7 verse 11. In the 600th year of Noah's life, so back in those days they lived to be like a thousand years old. So Noah is 600 years old at this time. In the second month, on the 17th day of the month, on that day the fountains of the great deep burst forth and the windows of the heavens were opened and the rain fell upon the earth

10:16 40 days and 40 nights. Destruction. God saw the wickedness and corruption of the world and he's like, I've got to get a do over. This is my mulligan. I'm doing it over. And he brought rain and flooded the earth. So the waters rose high above the earth, covered the mountains and let's pick up in Genesis chapter 7 verse 21.

10:48 It says this, and all the flesh died that moved on the earth. Birds, livestock, beasts. All the swarming creatures that swarm on earth, all of mankind, everything on dry land whose nostrils was the breath of life had died. And it goes on to say, only Noah was left and those who were with him in ark and the waters prevailed on earth for 150 days in verse 24.

11:18 But God provided a way out, a way of salvation through the boat. For Noah, his family for us. So what is the good news for us in this story? I know it's a story we all know. We've heard it. And for me, as I was preparing and thinking about this and reading the story, I was thinking about the world we live in today. And God, he sees.

11:50 He's not blind to what's happening. He sees it. And he feels a certain way about it. And he's acting. And he invites us to join him in that act of making all things new. All he's asking of us is to experience the salvation and freedom and connection by letting God be God and just obeying him simply.

12:23 It's a simple message for today. Just trust God, obey him. Even when we don't have all the specifics, we don't have, it's too big of a task for us. Simply just obey him, trust him. Where might you and I be called to do that today? If you're like me, I ask myself the question, what do I do in my inner mind? Inadequacies. He's calling me to do something or go somewhere and talk to someone.

12:55 What I'll do in my inadequacies. I don't have the words. What do I do with my incompetence? What if I can't predict the outcome, how things are going to go, how this conversation is going to happen? What do I do with those? I like control. Like I mentioned before, I'm going to type one on the Enneagram. I'm kind of a perfectionist. What do I do with being out of control? Because when you trust a God who sees and knows all things, sometimes He calls you out

13:25 into some deep waters. What do we do with that? My prayer for us is that we can join God in His work of making all things new through just trust and obedience, like Noah. Taking the time out, each and every day, to listen to His voice and to join Him in the good work of making all things new. Letting God be God, even when we don't know what He's up to or what the outcome will be.

14:03 Each and every week, we're going to be looking at stories of people in the Scriptures who God calls them to certain things, to do certain things, to become certain people. And there's going to be a small takeaway for us in that each week. And I just encourage you to think about what is God calling you to that's stretching you, that's calling you, He's calling you into the chaos, so to speak, to bring order. Let me close in a word of prayer here.

14:34 Heavenly Father, You are Creator and a Sustainer of all of life. You're active in the world that You've created. Help us to see You at work Lord. May we be like Noah who walks humbly with You and who trusts You completely. Thank You for inviting us as Your children into Your grand story of redemption and making

15:06 all things new. This and God is about the power of Your Spirit. Today we pray. Amen.