Sermon Nuggets Mon April 30
Verses- Gen 9
Rainbow Promises
Robert Ballard
is an explorer who was looking for ancient shipwrecks off the north coast of
Turkey. He decided to check out the flood theory mentioned here in Genesis.
Columbia University researchers Wm Ryan and Walter Pittman have speculated that
when the European glacier melted, the Mediterranean Sea overflowed into what
was then a smaller fresh water lake to create the current Black Sea. Ballard
used a side scan sonar and found an ancient coastline and change from
freshwater to saltwater mollusks dating from about 7,000 years ago. He scooped
up shells from the bottom included both freshwater mollusks from before the
flood and saltwater mollusks from after the flood. They were dated at the
Oceanography Institution in Massachusetts and freshwater shells were about
7,400 years old. The saltwater ones dated to 6,800 years ago. This exciting
discovery encourages them to seek for evidences of stone walls, pottery,
and hearths.
I remember
various documentaries done on previous sightings of Noah’s ark on one of the
mountains of Turkey during a time when there was some melting of layers of ice
and snow. Notes and journals were made
of people of the last century. Some expeditions were made in recent decades and
some photos were found to be a large rock, and others believed to be authentic.
The late astronaut James Irwin had done extensive research on those findings
and has written a book.
The fact that
God’s Word says it, doesn’t convince the world that it is true. I suspect even
if the ark was uncovered there would be debates as to why it was really a hoax.
Some always choose not to believe the Bible. But more secular archeologists are
turning to the Bible to look for finds consistent with the recorded history.
But more
important than the evidences of the flood are some of the promises of God. It
used to be among men that his word was binding. Especially among Christians it
was considered that a man was as good as his word. Strangely, many Christians
have been ripped off by other Christians. Many have learned the ethics of the
world instead of the Bible. Many find they do not have to pay their bills and
obligations legally and that seems more attractive that honesty and integrity.
Many are making vows and going back on what was intended by some loophole or
law that would keep them from paying, or cheating. I am surprised how many
churches are filling court appointments for disputes because agreements are
just no longer kept.
It is
interesting to observe that the infinite, all-powerful, changeless God of the
universe has chosen to deal with men in the form of covenants. The Noahic
Covenant of Genesis chapter 9 is the first biblical covenant of the Bible.
Did you know
the Noahic Covenant, is still in force today? It also provides us with a
pattern for all of the other biblical covenants. As we come to understand this
covenant, we will more fully appreciate the significance of all of the
covenants, and especially the New Covenant instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ.
That is the topic of study this week
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Tues May 1
Verses Gen 8: 21 The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and
said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even
though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again
will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. 22 “As long as the earth
endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night
will never cease.”
Gen 9:15 - 16I will remember my covenant between me and you and all
living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to
destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it
and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of
every kind on the earth.”
God’s Promise to Himself
Have
you ever made promises to yourself? Usually the best promises are the ones we
make to ourselves. It depends on a person’s self will, of course. When you make
a promise to yourself it doesn’t really matter what others think or say. You
are committed to carrying out something you want to carry out for personal
reasons.
This is how we read this paragraph
before Chapter 9. God is making a promise to Himself that he will never again
curse the ground because of the actions of man, and it doesn’t make any difference
to God how evil mankind is He will not destroy him in this way again by a
flood.You can be assured we will have the seasons just like he planned and
ordained in the earth until the end of the earth when he has made another plan
clear in the Bible and heavens and earth will not be like this any longer, but
destroyed.
The reason this commitment is binding it
that it has nothing to do with man. It has everything to do with God. He said
“I am going to treat mankind in a certain way even though they fall back into
the same sins as before.” This is a promise I make to myself.
Now the character of God is far more
trustworthy than the character of mankind. We can make promises to ourselves
and mean them completed but continue to break them. I am told the problem many
alcoholic have is that they make promises never to drink again, but until they
can come to the place in their life it is for them to make to themselves they
will not often success in stopping to drink.
But then we are also told that most
people need to make contracts or covenants with other people to stop drinking.
They need other people to hold them accountable and to encourage one another
and support one another to keep their promises. Because thousands of promises
are broken by an alcoholic who promises his spouse, or family member, or courts
that they will not drink. We hear that the person will never stop drinking
until they are convinced they need to stop for themselves.
God had made a promise not to destroy
mankind, but to save him. God had determined before the world was created to
make a promise to himself. II Thes 2:13;
“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord,
because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying
work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.”
It would be to bring those who by faith
believe in God and put their trust in him to bring them eternally into glory, a
place prepared for him. Although most will not respond to God’s offer of
salvation and will be destroyed by hell, still He will keep his word and not
destroy the earth until Jesus Comes again. So we can count on it because it is
based on his promise to himself and his character is not week. God does not
need a support group. He does what he says. If there is one promise you know
will be kept it is a self promise.
When
it comes to making promises there are some things to be considered. Who made
it? Some people can always be counted on because they keep their word.
Secondly, do they have the resources to carry out their promise? Some might
have good intentions, but promises might be nothing more than hopeful dreams.
Does the person have the resources as well as the abilities to carry out the
promises?
When
it comes to fulfilling promises there are also unforeseen circumstances. That
changes the situations drastically. I have said to my kids I won’t make
promises, but this is what I intend to do. I had to say that after learning the
hard way, that sometimes promises cannot be kept because of unforeseen circumstances.
That
is why I like the promises of God. First it doesn’t depend on mankind. It is by
someone who always keeps his word, he has the ability, he has the desire, there
are no unforeseen circumstances that he doesn’t know about. You can’t goof him
up. That’s worth following.
What
promises have you made to yourself? What do you do when you do not live up to
that promise? What would encourage you to keep your promises? Is it in keeping
with honoring God?
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Weds May 2-
Gen 9: 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’s Promise to Mankind.
Ray Stedman titles these verses “Rules
of the Game,” and I think he has truly caught the significance of this section.
A new beginning, with a new set of rules, is evident by the similarity of these
verses to Genesis chapter one.
If you compare the agreement with Adam
and the agreement with Noah representing mankind you will notice some
similarities and differences. Here and there Genesis 1:28 God blessed His
creatures and told them to be fruitful and multiply. Here and there God
prescribed the food man could eat. There are differences, however, which
indicate that the new beginning is to be different from the old. God pronounced
the original creation ‘good’. The world of Noah’s day received no such
commendation, for the men who possessed it were sinful.
Adam was charged to subdue the earth and
to rule over the animal kingdom. Noah was given no such command. Instead, God
placed in the animals a fear of man by which man could achieve a measure of
control over them.
When we went to the Shedd’s aquarium in
Chicago we watched from the underside a show of dolphins doing their various
tricks. They jumped on cue, and swam and did a variety of crowd pleasing
stunts. Man has a certain control over animals, even wild animals because God
made mankind as ruler over the earth and sometimes those animals fear man who
provides discipline. And other times they are trained by positive
reinforcement, food, or attentions, which some animals respond to better.
There are other comparisons and
contrasts with Adam and Noah. Gen 2:5,6 tells us that no rain was on the ground
before . The mist apparently allowed for the environment to let bodies live
long and warm and not the extremes we experience since that canopy was turned
unto a deluge. That hothouse was gone. Now the semitropical climate of the
whole earth has changed. There are Arctic Zone, Temperate Zone and Tropic Zone.
There is rain to water the earth.
Apparently,
Noah and his descendants could eat flesh and apparently for the first time
animals were now used as food. When we read about the millennial kingdom it
assumes there will not be this same fear or attack of animals for food by both
human and wild. The lion will lay down with the lamb and a young child will
play with poisonous snakes and not be hurt.
There was, however, one stipulation.
They could not eat the blood of the animal, for the life of the animal was in
its blood. This was to teach man not only that God values life, but that He
owns it. God allows man to take the life of animals in order to survive, but
they must not eat the blood. One may puzzle that flesh could be eaten after the
flood, but not maybe protein was now necessary for life. But more likely,
however, man must be brought to the realization that, because of his sin, he
could only live by the death of another. Man lives by the death of animals.
Most important of all, man is taught to
reverence life. Men before the fall were obviously men of violence who, like
Cain and Lamech in Gen 4 had no regard
for human life. This is more emphatically stated in vs 5 &6,: “And surely I
will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man’s brother
I will require the life of man. Whoever
sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He
made man.”
The life of man was precious and
belonged to God. It was God’s to give and His alone to take. Animals which shed
man’s blood must be put to death. Men who willfully take the life of another
must be put to death ‘by man’. In addition to murder, suicide is prohibited by God’s
command in these verses. This passage relates to the subject of abortion also.
Man is not to shed the blood of man.
Shouldn’t we consider at the time a fetus has blood, it has life? That
should stop the partical birth abortions right there, not to mention life
begins at conception.
Since Man is created in the image of
God, murder is much more than an act of hostility against man—it is an affront
to God. Now God provided something else in his promise to mankind. Society is developed under God’s laws take
the life of the murderer. In this act of capital punishment, man would act on
behalf of God—he would reflect the moral image of God, namely, His indignation
and sentence upon the murderer. Government acts in God’s behalf in punishing
the evildoer and rewarding those who do good : here is another new law. He has
the authority over mankind to preserve and protect and punish even put to death
those whose actions are violent against others. God has established civil
government which can do things that an individual cannot and should not do.
“Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is
no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”
Just like the animal kingdom is to be
controlled, to a great extent, by means of their fear of man. Man’s most
violent sinful tendencies, also, are kept in check by his fear of the
consequences. Any society which loses its reverence for life cannot endure
long.
Because of this, mankind can live in
relative peace and security until God’s Messiah has dealt the death blow to
sin. And so a new age has dawned.Because of God’s promise to man we still are
under this covenant and agreement with God and how we are to preserve and
protect mankind until Christ comes again.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Thurs- May 3
Gen 9: 12 And God said, “This is the
sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature
with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in
the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the
clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living
creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy
all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and
remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every
kind on the earth.”
17 So God said to Noah, “This is the sign
of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”
God’s Promise to the World- Rainbow
Kennth Trent tells of his airplane
trip with his family when they encountered a severe thunderstorm. The pilot
announced that he was going to take the plane to a higher altitude in order
that the plane might fly above the storm. As they flew above the clouds the sun
was shining in all its glory which was hidden from the people below. Those on
the plane also beheld a wondrous sight; a glorious rainbow stretching from
horizon to horizon in the shape of a perfect circle. The rainbow, as a
multi-colored halo, was a spectacle to behold!
His young daughter was the most thrilled
with what she saw. She cried: "Daddy, daddy, look, it’s a rainbow and
we’re seeing it from the same side that God sees it from!"
To the people below all they could
vision was storm clouds but we were flying above the clouds, in the glory of
the sunshine and in perfect position to see the rainbow that God had put in the
clouds.
At the conclusion of a shower of rain,
God said that he would put a bow in the sky that would be an everlasting sign
of a promise between God and all living creatures on the earth. This promise
was that God would no longer destroy the whole earth with a flood.
Every time you and I see a rainbow fill
the sky after the rain, we can be reminded of one of God’s awesome promises
that have remained true throughout the ages of time. The Bible associates the
rainbow with a manifestation of divine glory. The rainbow has always been a
source relating to the divine promises of God’s glory and power. The spiritual
significance of Noah’s rainbow was a sign of God’s love and pledge of His
sparing mercy
Every covenant has its accompanying
sign. The sign of the Abrahamic Covenant is circumcision (Genesis 17:15-27);
that of the Mosaic Covenant is the observance of the Sabbath day (Exodus
20:8-11;). The “sign” of the rainbow is appropriate. It consists of the
reflection of the rays of the sun in the particles of moisture in the clouds.
The water which destroyed the earth causes the rainbow. Also, the rainbow
appears at the end of a storm. So this sign assures man that the storm of God’s
wrath (in a flood) is over. What a comfort to know that God’s faithfulness is
our guarantee.
At one time, a group of theologians from
different faiths and religions gathered in London, England, to discuss
religion. On one particular day they were considering the question: “What
separates Christianity from all other religions?” That is a great question. Is
there anything about Christianity that is different or distinguishes it from
every other faith? Quite frankly, the theologians were stumped until C. S.
Lewis walked into the room. C. S. Lewis had a simple answer when he heard the
question: “What separates Christianity from all other religions?” C.S. Lewis
said, “That’s easy. It’s grace.”
After the flood, after the waters had
receded, and after only eight people walked out on dry land, God came to Noah
in Genesis chapter 9 to make a contract of grace. God said, “I will never, ever
do that again. I will never again destroy the earth with a flood.”
And then do you know what God did? God signed
His contract of grace. Have you ever seen God’s signature? Sure you have. God
signed the sky. The rainbow is God’s signature of grace.
Now science would have a real convenient
explanation for the rainbow. Science would say something like this: “Well, as
the waves of light pass through the prism created by the drops of water in the
rain clouds, the light ray is separated into different bands of color creating
the display we see in the sky.” That is what science would say about a rainbow.
But that explanation is so shallow that science might as well be blind.
God takes this occasion to make a
covenant with mankind. It is a visible repeated reminder of that pledge. Never
again will there come a flood to destroy the whole world. And it is a reminder
even in the midst of our storms he will save. Throughout the scriptures, the
rainbow is the emblem of God’s loving faithfulness to His covenant with His
people, and the pledge of sure hope to them.
But it is God’s signature to us as well.
In this world we will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, Jesus said, “I
have overcome the world.” From
destruction comes His glory and new world awaits.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Fri May 4-
Verses- Gen 9: 18 The sons of Noah who
came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)
19 These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were
scattered over the whole earth.
20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to
plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay
uncovered inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked
and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and
laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their
father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would
not see their father naked.
24 When Noah awoke from his wine and
found out what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,
“Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his
brothers. ”
26 He also said, “Praise be to the Lord,
the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem.
27 May God extend Japheth’s territory;
may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.”
28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years.
29 Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.
God’s Promises to Noah
Two of the three promises have
already been completed for Noah. First was the destruction of earth’s
creatures. Secondly, God would save Noah and his family and the animals.
Thirdly, God would make Noah the father of the new people.
Noah would be the seed from the rest of
the world that exists. Yes, we are all sons and daughters of Adam, but it is
equally true we are all sons and daughters of Noah.
His covenant to not destroy the earth would be
lasting until Jesus comes again. It has so far and no reason to doubt it will
be until Christ’s coming.
Notice before the flood men lived to
enormous ages, Animals who fossils are being found under the layers of deposits
by the flood were much larger than similar animals today. Some scientists
suppose that a canopy of vapor of water which was above the firmament may have
shut out some of the infrared rays of the sun and diminished the aging
effect.The long life was also allowed to Noah and his immediate family. Then it
was cut off dramatically. Many of the children of Noah and Shem and Ham and
Jepeth died long before their parents died. But the world quickly populated
from the Fertile Crescent area.
Just like the environment and God’s
command limited human life, so it seems that spoilage of food came quicker
also. Before bacteria was restrained, food did not spoil as soon and fruit
juice did not ferment as readily. Perhaps in the new earth Noah planted a
vineyard and drank wine and was drunk. Or perhaps it shows sin soon after the
ark landed. Either way Noah was drunk and lay naked in the tent.
Drunkenness many times is condemned in
the Bible. The abuse of alcohol has been a problem with many cultures and
societies. But the events that happened after are not really as clear to us as
it might be to the culture which first read it. His son, Ham saw the nakedness
of Noah in the tents and told his brothers. I assume it was not an accidental
opening the tent door and whoops lets leave him be in privacy, or cover him up.
But rather there must have been something not spelled out here. It is likely
according to some commentaries that he mocked or made fun of the situation, or
told his brother to come and watch their father which was disrespect. Either
way, his brothers took a garment and hid their faces and covered up their
father.
Later
there would be very strict commands among the Jews not to observe the nakedness
of father or mother or others of close kin. Nudity leads to lust and adultery.
a lack of respect, a lack of godly fear. So when Noah awoke and became aware
what happened he pronounced a curse on Hams son because of Hams disrespect.
The
curse also is not given in great detail. Canaan should be servant to his
brethren. Children are often punished for the sins of their fathers and Canaan
was no exception.
Let
me make clear a misinterpretation that some people promote to this day. Last
century slave owner would use this verse to say that black race were
descendants of Ham and were meant to be slaves and cursed. Canaan was clearly
the father of the Canaanites who were definitely Caucasian. Historically, the
Canaanites were conquered and subdued by various people, including the
Israelites under Joshua.
Noah lived to a very advanced age. Other
prophets point to Noah and the covenant to illustrate Gods’ patience, God’s
assurance of keeping his promises. Jeremiah speaks of God’s future blessing by
reminding men of God’s faithfulness in keeping the Noahic Covenant.
That covenant in many ways foreshadowed
the new covenant. The new covenant found in Jesus Christ with the sign being
the cup and the broken bread point us to the new kingdom of which our Lord is
King.
One pastor wanted to pull a surprise on
his children and told them We’re going to Junction City Kansas. “We will have
lots of fun there.”
Secretly he was going to spend one afternoon
there and take the kids to Disney World. The Dad kept up the morale by
describing the wonders of Junction City- playgrounds, swimming pool, ice cream
stand, maybe a bowling alley.
When they arrived Dad gave them the
surprise “You know it’s kind of boring here, Why don’t we just drive to Disney
World”
He expected the kids to jump up and down in
delight. Instead they complained wanting to go swimming, bowling and have ice
cream and stay in Kansas.
God’s promises things on this earth,
This is part of the Noahic Covenant. But his big surprise for his kids is
Heaven.
CS Lewis wrote to a friend :”The hills
and valleys of Heaven will be to those you now experience not as a copy is to
an original, nor as a substitute to the genuine article, but as a the flower to
the root, or a diamond to the coal” Our desires are too small. We stamp our
feet and insist on merry-go round in Junction City when Disney World’s space
Mountain lies just down the road.
These promises to Noah and mankind were
shadows the greatest of promises ahead.
Pastor Dale
