God Remembered Noah

31 July 2016 PM – Genesis 8:1-22 – Scott Childs

Purpose: To encourage Christians with the fact that God will never forget them.

Introduction: Have you ever felt like you were forgotten?  It isn’t a very pleasant feeling is it?  When I was in Papua New Guinea years ago, my co-worker and I flew into a remote village by helicopter.  The pilot promised to return to pick us up just two days later at 8:00 a.m.  When the agreed time came, the pilot did not arrive.  At 9:30, just as clouds were settling in making visibility difficult, we heard the helicopter.  We thought the pilot had forgotten us.

Genesis 8:1 records that “God remembered Noah.”  The word does not infer that God forgot Noah, but that God still remembered him when circumstances were bleak.

If you are a child of God, you ought to realize that God will remember you just as He remembered Noah.

Transition: I want us to see from Genesis eight exactly how God remembered Noah and this will remember us that God will remember us too.

1.        God Remembered Noah by Providence (v.1)

Providence speaks of divine guidance and care.  We see God’s protection and care throughout the flood. He took care of Noah and met all his needs even when the flood was at its worst.  Noah was never alone.

a.         God providentially protected Noah during the prevailing of the flood (Ge 7:24).

1)         This word prevailing means “violently churning.”

a)         God was whipping and destroying everything outside the ark, but inside God comforted Noah.

b)         One of the greatest blessings God’s children enjoy is His providence during trials.

2)         Though we are not exempt from trials, God comforts us in them.

b.         We see God’s providence during the longevity of the flood (Ge 7:11, 8:13-14).

1)         Noah was in the ark for more than one year (1 yr 10 days). As the days, weeks, and months passed, God assured Noah that he was not forgotten.

2)         He remained in good physical and mental health through it all.

c.          We see God’s providence in the landing of the ark (Ge 8:4).

1)         The ark did not land on the peaks of Mount Everest, or on the frozen glaciers of Antarctica, or in the sands of the great Australian desert.  They landed in the mountains of Ararat, not far from where they began.  God’s providential plan is always best for our lives.

2)         We see again in God’s plan for Israel when they left Egypt (i.e. not through Philistia but to a peninsula where they were trapped).

3)         As Christians, God deeply cares about our needs and wants us to cast them on Him.  “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (1 Peter 5:7).

2.        God Remembered Noah by Provision (v. 13-19)

a.         We see God providing by drying the land (v.13).

1)         For nearly a half year God churned the waters which covered this sphere and it took another half year for the waters to resend.

2)         With His mighty hand, God pushed the oceans to their depths providing room for the waters.

3)         In turn, the pressure of this act forced the yet soft mountain peaks skyward causing the vertical strata and mountaintop fossils.

4)         Finally, dry land could provide food to sustain life.

b.        We see God providing a welcomed release from the ark (v.16-19).

After 382 days, I’m sure Noah, his family, and all the animals were delighted to be on dry land again.

c.          We see God providing a fresh start, a new beginning.

1)         Life had a new beginning.

a)         Plant life had a new beginning.

b)         Animals began again to multiply.

c)         Noah and his family became prolific.  God had destroyed sinful humanity.  The new beginning was up to Noah and his family.

2)         After severe trials, God often gives us a type of new beginning as well.

a)         We must leave the mistakes of the past behind and look to the fresh new future.  “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14).

b)         The scars from the flood remind us of God’s judgment yet today (e.g. fossils, Grand Canyon, oil, coal).  So also, the scars of our past will remain as memorials to remind us of the consequences of sin.  These scars serve to warn us of backsliding.  We must take the warning given in Luke 17:32, “Remember Lot’s wife.”

3.        God Remembered Noah by Promise (v. 21-22)

a.         God sympathetically promised never again to destroy the human race by a flood.

1)         The rainbow is God’s visible reminder of this promise.

2)         God does not enjoy punishing people for their sin.

a)         In fact, it grieves Him so much that He willingly gave His Son to die for all people that they may escape judgment.

b)         “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9).

b.         God lovingly promised consistent seasons (v. 22)

1)         Planting & harvest, cold & heat, summer & winter, day & night would all continue till the end of time.

2)         Other than day and night, these sequences did not exist before the flood.  Though there have been temporary alterations, this sequence has and will remain accurate until the end of the world.

c.          God also gives Christians a promise

1)         In 1 Corinthians 10:13 we read, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

2)         No temptation or trial will be more than we can cope with.

a)         God lovingly promises strength.  In  Hebrews 13:5 Jesus said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” In Philippians 4:13 Paul was confident that he could endure all things through Christ.

b)         He also promises grace if we will lean on Him.  “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”  2 Corinthians 12:9).

Conclusion: We all face trials.  Sometimes they are minor other times they seem more than we can bear.  If you are a child of God, just remember, God has not forgotten you in all your trials.  He will protect and care for you, provide for you, and He promises never to allow you to be tempted above His provided grace.  Don’t forget that!

If you have never become God’s child, these promises do not apply to you yet.  You must face the floods of trials without God’s help.  You do not need to.  God wants you to come to Him for salvation.  There is no better time than today.

Song: Only trust him 252 or Burdens are lifted 218