The Wandering Shepherd

Seven Truths About Mistakes We Make - Genesis 9:20-29

Noah was a generally good guy. He built three things in his life that were recorded in Scripture and all were directly because of his walk with God. He built an ARK, an ALTAR and an ARBOR. The ark story is famous, the altar less so. Sadly, what many people recall of his life was the time he planted a vineyard, drank wine and got naked. Dumb! Yet, God included the story for significant reasons.

While it is true that many Christians use the story to show the sin of drunkeness, it is not the purpose of the story. First, the prohibition on drunkeness was not given until later in Scripture. What is clearly sin for me in the twenty-first century because of Ephesians 5:18 and the principles of many Scriptures was not necessarily sin to Noah. You cannot violate a law that isn't on the books yet. God did not chastise Noah beyond the natural after effects of his stupidity. Let me be clear, I am not licensing this behavior for us, I am saying we cannot ask Abraham to keep Kosher when he lived long before the Law, and you cannot hold Noah responsible for what was not yet revealed.

Besides, many believers today are quick to condemn the Biblical usage of wine, but take an aspirin when their head hurts or a pain killer when they have a tooth ache. The Biblical writer had no such luxury, and used alcohol in ways that were not ungodly. The wine was a necessary part of their diet, albeit a different product than we can buy at the local ABC store today. If a believer wants to abstain from the use of alcohol, that makes good sense. If the Spirit so leads, He should be obeyed. Yet, that isn't the point of this story at all.

If the issue isn't really drunkeness per se, than what is the story recorded for? Because there are seven truths that God wanted us to know about the errors we will all make. Knowing these seven truths will be helpful to anyone who wants to follow God.

1. Mistakes can come up when we are otherwise obedient (9:20). "Then Noah began farming and planted a vineyard." Noah didn't appear to set out to get drunk, and he certainly didn't set out to get naked in the open tent. He did something stupid. He allowed his mind to be surrendered and his decision making center to be highjacked. We are ALWAYS responsible for what we think and what we do. Wandering minds produce sinful actions. Obedience is a moment by moment set of choices. We must be vigilant even when we are doing right in most areas.

A newspaper in Kansas, trying to correct a mistake that had occurred in a previous issue, carried the following item: “We wish to apologize for an error in the wedding story in last week’s paper. Due to a typesetter’s mistake we said, ‘THE ROSES WERE PUNK.’ What we intended to say, ‘THE NOSES WERE PINK.’” They tried to correct an error and only made it worse!

2. Mistakes can bring shame on us (9:21). Genesis 9:21 He drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. We must keep in mind that failure to be vigilant leads to shameful and guilt producing idiocy. Guilt and shame were mechanisms first seen after the Fall in the garden and are a result of knowing we have not conducted ourselves as the Lord would have us. Conviction should lead us to change that moves us toward the Lord. Guilt does no such thing, and is a tool of the enemy to defeat us. As a believer I should love conviction, and allow God to remove guilt.

3. Mistakes bring out the hidden nature of those around us (9:22). When we do something dumb, it gives those around us to show what is under the surface. For some it is an opportunity to condemn and demean (9:22): "Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. " Without the love that covered the honor of his father, Ham showed his true colors of disrespect and contempt. Yet, for the other sons, the mistake was an opportunity to show grace (9:23): "But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness. They were able to show respect, honor and grace. The mistake of the father set up the tests for the sons. Here is an essential principle: When people around us make mistakes, we are set to the test. How will we respond?

4. Mistakes lay a foundation (Genesis 9:24-27): For those who use the occasion to embarrass or demean, it lays a foundation for bitter feelings and broken relationships in humiliation (9:24-25): "When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. 25 So he said, “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants he shall be to his brothers.” For others who responded well, in grace and honor, it gave rise to praise and blessing (9:26-27): "He also said, “Blessed be the LORD, The God of Shem; And let Canaan be his servant. 27 “May God enlarge Japheth, And let him dwell in the tents of Shem; And let Canaan be his servant.”

5. Mistakes aren’t the end of our story if we know God (9:28): "Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood." It is good to read that God kept working in Noah and his family. The earth didn't swallow him up, and the lightning didn't strike him. God is incredibly patient! That should not instill in a believer a sense of entitlement to do wrong, but it should help us to be encouraged when we are alone with Him and embarrassed at a whole string of stupid choices that are totally our own fault. God isn't done with you yet - that is the message of His grace!

6. Mistakes overcome become our experience (9:29): "So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died". That seems like a sad sentence, until you examine it more closely. Noah lived longer than most anyone in the history of the planet. He lived a good LONG life. That means that he wasn't DONE when he was EMBARRASSED. He moved on from that dark night. Denis Waitley, American motivational Speaker and Author of self-help books was quoted as saying: "Mistakes are painful when they happen, but years later a collection of mistakes is what is called experience.” This is similar to what  Winston Churchill said:“All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes.”

7. Mistakes make us models for others (9:20-29)."So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died". [Yet he is remembered here!] God included the lesson of Noah's mistake so that we could be warned not to do the same thing. We cannot be lax in our lives, we must stay vigilant. We all let our guards down, and the enemy knows we do. Expect him to try to use that!

The comedian gone to Washington, Al Franken said: "Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it's a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from." :-)

The Majesty of the Messiah - Micah the Prophet

Sharon was in a hurry. Her boss would never understand if she was late again. When her alarm didn’t go off, she awoke so late that she could barely get her makeup on and hair ready. Because of the snow and ice, she ran out to the car in her bathrobe and turned the car on, so that it might warm up a bit before she had to go to work. It was then she noticed the windshield was completely frozen over. She knew she was in trouble, because her scraper had broken and she wasn’t sure she could get the ice off the window. Back in the house, she hoped in vain that the warming of the engine would help to clear the ice a bit. By the time she got in the car to leave for work only a small portal was clear, barely enough to see, but she had so little time…

A few blocks away, Tommy was leaving the front stoop dressed in winter gear and very proud to be walking with the big boys. His mittens were on tight, and the snowsuit he was wearing barely gave him the ability to bend either arms or legs. He was warm, but barely able to walk. He looked like a child swallowed by a blueberry. His momma was gave him a hug, and watched in the doorway in spite of the rush of wind that almost burned as it hit her face and her legs. Snow was still swirling in the air as she waved goodbye to her little big man and lost sight of him…

Sharon had no idea how close to the curb she was riding. The street hadn’t been plowed in hours, and her viewing area of the windshield allowed her a very limited view of the world. She did not see little Tommy and his friends. She did not know how important this little guy was to a woman who was cleaning up breakfast in the house by the corner. She knew she was late, and she knew what she could see – and that wasn’t much. The power and weight of the car was unequally matched to the protection of the little blue snow suit. Tommy tripped while walking along the curb, and moments later Sharon and Tommy’s lives tragically crossed…

The truth is that we are a lot like Sharon. We don’t see the truth about life. Our windshield is quite small and our attention is on our immediate problems. We are focused only on PART of what is out there. We don’t see things as they are, and the consequences can be TRAGIC.

Let me explain: The created universe is all about drawing our eyes into the wonder of the glory of God. When we exchange God's glory for lesser things, the disorder yields greater depravity and distance from God. Sensing the Lord's direction for us at Grace, we will be breaking from our series today simply to look at the incredible promises of the Messiah that were given to Judah through the prophecies of the Book of Micah. If you haven't explored this prophet before, you are in for a treat!

Key Principle: When people see the majesty of the Messiah, all self strength will flee away. In His presence we will know that we have faced God! Doubt and trouble will flee, and we will be immersed in a view of HIM.

Take a moment to consider the message of an ancient prophet named Micah. His book, called by his name includes four oracles (messages) of judgment, each ending with a snapshot of Messiah and His future Kingdom. Look quickly at the bitter messages of judgment as each funnels into a beautiful picture of Messiah :

1:1-2:11 Round One of Judgment – ending with a Messianic snapshot in 2:12-13. The message was to the Kings of God’s people located both in Jerusalem and in Samaria. The sins of the north did not stop at the border… they spread into the city of God’s Temple. Micah outlined those sins as:

•    Idolatry (1:7) which was an outward manifestation of inner rebellion (1:5)
•    Greed (2:1) that showed itself in ill gotten gain (2:2).
•    Compromised lifestyles (2:5) that wish the standards to be silenced (2:6).

To these God offered an answer – Messiah’s Kingdom will stand in contrast to the compromised world and human perception.

Micah 2:12 “I will surely assemble all of you, Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel. I will put them together like sheep in the fold; Like a flock in the midst of its pasture They will be noisy with men. 13 “The breaker goes up before them; They break out, pass through the gate and go out by it. So their king goes on before them, And the LORD at their head.”

UNITY: God will gather His people together against all historical odds and hide them in a fold of the fields when the clamor of the world presses in (2:12). His Spirit will unify in a world that divides. His power will renew in a world that is decaying. Israel will live again, because Messiah says so. The same is true of the Spiritual Kingdom today – we are reborn, renewed and united. Many ideas may be different, our paths may not come from the same woods, but we are one church still. When the shade of darkness falls on the land, God will show the candles in the window that burn for Him – make no mistake. He gathers and protects His people and His plan. No enemy will break down the wall that He builds to protect us.

Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The message to Israel was unmistakable – God would re-gather and renew the nation – all of them – north and south, to the land of their fathers and no one will stop Him. The message to us is also a spiritual truth – God knows how to draw together people in His love and grace and hold them amidst the clamor of the world about them.

POWER: The flock would be re-gathered and held in the Father’s fold amid a clamoring field of men’s evil devices. Eventually, in a time of God’s own choosing, the flock would break out of the fold and follow the shepherd with the Good News of freedom (2:13). A breach would be “punched” in the wall of the fold, and the sheep would push through, widening the way as they went. God was going to offer power to spread the message of the Kingdom and the way would widen as His sheep went through the breach!

Jesus used this passage to craft a response to questions about who John the Baptizer was. He said in Matthew 11:7 “As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 “But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ palaces! 9 “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. 10 “This is the one about whom it is written, ‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’ 11 “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 14 “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. 15 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Did you catch it? Jesus used the “remez” or hint technique, citing a passage from Micah about breaking out of a sheepfold. He said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. 13 “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John…” The terms “suffer violence” are hard to relate, but the problem is linguistic. Micah used a Hebrew idiom of a “breacher” or “poretz” in Hebrew. This common image didn’t translate well into Greek, but Jesus was explaining that the words of the prophets were “holed up” and John was breaking them out with the message the King had arrived. 

It was five of John’s followers that started following Jesus first. The message began with a handful of men – and has reached into 2 billion lives. That’s effective. That’s power. That’s movement. Never underestimate the power of God to save people. Never look at someone and think, they are beyond saving. If they are breathing, there is a chance.

Kindness is the eloquence that the hardest of hearts can feel, and the dullest of ears can hear. Philip Jenkins has noted: “Christianity is flourishing wonderfully among the poor and persecuted while it atrophies among the rich and secure.” It isn’t money the church in America lacks to reach neighbors – it is a heart that cares about what God cares about.

Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision said this: “Let my Heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God…” The power is there, and the resources have never been greater to reach people. The third characteristic is the one that is lacking…

SUBMISSION: Look at the end of Micah 2:13. The phrase is poetic, but powerful. “So their king goes on before them, And the LORD at their head!” The kingdom is led by a Great King – even the LORD.

Herein lies a problem. The message to Israel is that God will lead them with the King on the throne of Zion that He promised. It will happen. The people will be re-gathered, and Messiah will lead the nations after the Great Tribulation. Revelation 20 tells of the Kingdom that follows Revelation 6-19 and three sets of judgment of the Tribulation. That isn’t the problem. The spiritual principle to the spiritual kingdom is the problem. The verse clearly suggests that the kingdom of God is lead by Him. It says that His mastery over His people is the great character trait that marks them out.

The problem gets worse. Micah 3:1-4:8 offers another round of judgment – ending in a Messianic snapshot in 4:1-8. For time sake, I cannot look at the judgment, but we dare not miss the snapshot of the Messiah, for it amplifies His Majesty and Lordship over His people. Look at the passage in Micah 4 that finished round two of judgment:

4:1 “And it will come about in the last days that the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it. 2 Many nations will come and say, “Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD and to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths.” For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 3 And He will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war. 4 Each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, With no one to make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. 5 Though all the peoples walk Each in the name of his god, As for us, we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever. 6 “In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will assemble the lame And gather the outcasts, Even those whom I have afflicted. 7 “I will make the lame a remnant and the outcasts a strong nation, And the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on and forever. 8 “As for you, tower of the flock, Hill of the daughter of Zion, To you it will come— Even the former dominion will come, The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”

God promised the Jewish people that:

•    The UN will relocate to Zion and the world would look to the place of conflict for the answers to peace when the Prince of Peace resides there.

•    Nations will see in the God of Israel, the God of the Universe.

•    War will become a thing of the past because disputes will be settled in truth, not politics and power plays.

•    The beleaguered and scattered Jews will be gathered into their homeland and go from OUTCAST to STRONG NATION.

Why? Because of submission to their King. A kingdom with a strong submission and Righteous King empowered by God is unstoppable.

Why is that a problem? Well, in the physical future of Israel it isn’t – but in the spiritual application of the modern church it most definitely IS a problem.

We are punching cultural holes in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many so called “churches” are proclaiming that God’s plan is to bring Heaven to you, and to do it in the here and now.

Does God expect more than a belief that makes me strong, healthy and happy from me? Does He ask for more than a few Sunday hours from my schedule and the avoidance of the “big sins”?

What if the call of Christ is for His mastery over our whole lives – every thought, every decision?

Richard Steans asked: “What if belief is not enough, Sunday worship times not enough, personal morality not enough, Christian community not enough”… what if God was searching for the person He spoke of in 2 Chronicles 16:9 "For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His…."

The gospel wasn’t meant to give us concrete edifices and stain glass cathedrals. It was to CHANGE LIVES. Pastor John MacArthur’s prophetic words ring in here: “The true gospel is a call to self-denial. It is not a call to self-fulfillment.”

If the Kingdom’s character is about FULL SUBMISSION to the King, let me ask this pointed question: ARE YOU READY TO SURRENDER TO GOD’S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE? Again to Richard Stearns words: “When we say we want to be His disciple yet we attach a list of conditions, Jesus refuses to accept our terms. His terms are unconditional surrender.”

For time sake, let me share that there are two more judgment oracles in the book, each capped off with a picture of Messiah. The THIRD round of judgment is found in 4:9-5:5a. The FOURTH is found in 5:5b-7:20 (the end of the prophecy). The last two oracles paint a majestic picture of Messiah.

If you are to submit to Him, don’t focus on the meager things this world offers, or you will make the mistake of Eve in the Garden. You will miss all the beauty and lushness and focus only on that which separates you from full use by you Father. If you are to submit to Him, see Him as He is revealed in Scripture. Stand in the warmth of His Presence. Take in a view of His Majesty.

We are starved for a true understanding of the Lord, and because of it many are half yielded, and half following. We dare not license this new Gospel of self fulfillment. It is selfishness clothed in misused Bible verses – nothing more. It promised to feed Eve’s desire to be like God – but it was a sham –and still it.

Gaze at the Messiah in the description of Micah in the THIRD Messianic snapshot:

Messiah is the product to TWO WORLDS: Heave and earth were joined when in Micah 5:2 the prophet proclaimed:  “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” Messiah was from the children of David – a man. Yet Messiah was from eternity – God’s eternal Son.

Messiah came with a PLAN: Micah said in 5:3 “Therefore He will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren Will return to the sons of Israel.” It looks like He has forsaken Israel. They aren’t following Him today, and though the re-gathering has clearly begun, the Holocaust scars their hearts. That was because of the attack of the enemy, but it was also because of US. God’s plan was to “give them up” for a time, and then return to them. He has not cast off His people, Israel. He has allowed a time of bitterness that the world may hear of the Gospel. The verse ends with God’s return to Israel’s welfare. It is what Paul said:

Romans 11:25 “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.” 27 “THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.”

Messiah comes to bring PEACE: Micah promised: 5:4 “And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God.  And they will remain, Because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth. 5 This One will be our peace….”

Yet, you must recall that peace comes through acknowledging His rightful mastery of the world. Israel will see it. The day will come, as the Book of Revelation shares that the world will not be in peace, but in terrible turmoil:

Revelation 16:1-18:19 tells of a set of future devastating judgments that are shockingly powerful and furiously crushing  - called the bowl or vial judgments. In them putrid boils form on all the followers of the beast – an anti-god Satanically empowered system. ALL the sea and its creatures are destroyed, the stench of which is unmistakable. The fresh water sources around the globe are fouled and fresh water marine life dies en masse. A horrible scorching sun causes the people of the earth to curse the God that made them until God answers them with a plague of darkness. The fouled Euphrates River is dried up, and the Near East gathers for one great and final war to crush the people that claim to be God’s personal possession – Israel.

With the sudden destruction that left their religious system in shambles (Rev. 17) and their markets and economy destroyed (Rev. 18), the people of the earth are convinced that Israel is somehow to blame and the nations turn to annihilate her. In desperation, Israel cries out to the God of the Ages, and He comes to them with a myriad of thousands in the sky. Dropping to their knees, the people acknowledge the Prince of Peace! (Rev. 19:11-20:10).

His rule brings peace, and Israel gets the long awaited Kingdom. As Micah says in the FOURTH Messianic Snapshot of Micah 7: 14 says: “Shepherd Your people with Your scepter, The flock of Your possession Which dwells by itself in the woodland, In the midst of a fruitful field. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead As in the days of old.”

The deliverance is striking and miraculous, as Micah goes on to say in 7:15 “As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt, I will show you miracles.”

The world’s mouths will drop open and they will see His Majesty, most for the very first time. They will know He is Lord and there is no other. Micah says: 7:16 “Nations will see and be ashamed of all their might. They will put their hand on their mouth, their ears will be deaf. 17 They will lick the dust like a serpent, Like reptiles of the earth. They will come trembling out of their fortresses; To the LORD our God they will come in dread And they will be afraid before You.

His people will see it, they will understand it. They will know that He is not one that shares the stage with any other important figure. He alone is the Lord of the Earth, the Creator of the Universe, the King above all Kings. But they will know HIS FORGIVENESS, HIS COMPASSION and HIS FAITHFULNESS.

The people will say: Micah 7:18 “Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love. 19 He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea. 20 You will give truth to Jacob And unchanging love to Abraham, Which You swore to our forefathers From the days of old.

The very appearance of the Savior is stunning. The realization that I am standing in His presence will remove all strength from ME and leave only a view of HIM.

Daniel went through it: Daniel 10:5 I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz. 6 His body also was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a tumult. 7 Now I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great dread fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves. 8 So I was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me, for my natural color turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength. 9 But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.

The Disciples went through it: Matthew 17:1 Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” 8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

John the Apostle went through it: Rev. 1:12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; 13 and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. 14 His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. 15 His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. 17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last…

When we see the majesty of Jesus, the Promised Messiah, all self strength flees away. In His presence we know we have faced God! All fear recedes, and life takes shape in truth.

CS Lewis said: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sin has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

Reading the Map: “The Instruction Booklet to Your Brave New World” - Genesis 9:1-19

Noah never saw Paradise, but he had six hundred years to get to know his neighborhood and his neighbors. Now they were gone and a new life was beginning! God met Noah at the beginning of his new adventure. He meets us there too. He is the one holding the directions! 

Key Principle: Your new life comes complete with instructions – but they must be taken seriously!  

Noah needed five of them to get things going. I believe God recorded them because every new life, every new creation of God that has come out of an old life and is trying to grapple with their new one will find themselves faced with five new areas to grapple with:  

God’s Five Big Change Instructions  

Change One: New Responsibilities: When God renewed the world and Noah got off the boat, it was time to face some new responsibilities. Noah need God to spell it out. Get busy. Work the land. Have children and fill the place back up.   Genesis 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. God said it again in more elaborate terms in Genesis 9:7 “As for you, be fruitful and multiply; Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.”  

Though it seems simple, consider Noah’s perspective. He saw a full earth before, and it wasn’t good. The sinful practices of others could easily have made him GUN SHY. People in Port Au Prince are reporting they are struggling to sleep indoors after the earthquake. Some people say they don’t even want to go inside and WON’T live in a low rise building anymore. I think we can all understand that.   Noah lived in a time of darkness that would make anyone afraid to have kids. The Biblical description of his day was in Genesis 6:5 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” We have all seen those neighborhoods. The places where you feel sorry for small children and old people. The bad side of the tracks. Wouldn’t it be easy for Noah to conclude that there was no need for people to work at filling the place again?   Six hundred years of life was probably wearing him out. Watching all that you knew be destroyed was likely harder than anyone could understand. Being a preacher of righteousness to a doomed generation was no picnic, either. Losing everyone you ever knew beside the few on the ark with you had to come with nightmares. I cannot say for sure, but I do think we gloss over this restart too fast.   God helped Noah focus on the FUTURE and NEW LIFE, not on the past and the old one. That is a good word for those of you that have recently come to Jesus. Your new life has a new set of responsibilities – and they include gaining the strength to share what you have with others.   Back in May 2002 the Lilly Endowment sponsored a survey that involved interviews with 300,000 worshippers in 2,200 churches, representing 8 denominations. And they found that that ¾’s of churchgoers reported they came to church the 1st time because someone invited them. Yet 54 percent of those surveyed said they had not invited anyone to church in the past year. (Pentecostal Evangel, June 23, 2002, pg 11). Apparently, a lot of Christians just don’t invite people to come to Jesus. The “be fruitful and multiply” thing isn’t a popular message to the modern believer.  

Let me ask you something. Was Francois Fenelon right to ask this question: “To just read the Bible, attend church and avoid the “big sins” - is this passionate, wholehearted love for God?”   I truly believe what one writer said: “It is not scientific doubt, not atheism, not pantheism, not agnosticism that in our day and in our land is likely to quench the light of the Gospel. It is a proud, sensuous, selfish, luxurious, church going, hollow-hearted prosperity.”  

Men and women, less than 3 percent of the non-Christian people in the world ever just walk into a church. One man commented on that statistic by saying: Based on that information (only 3%) “…we will NEVER fulfill the Great Commission by building great buildings or by relying on flashy programs. If great cathedrals would win the world, Europe would have won it long ago.   The modern Christian – in so many cases – can best be pictured by the Lukewarm water of Laodicea in Revelation. I appreciated how Francis Chan offered some ideas about lukewarm believes (adapted):  

• Lukewarm people attend church regularly, because they do the expected thing. They give to charity and they act nice to people. The problem is they usually do the popular thing over the right thing.
• They hear about radical commitment to God, but they don't yield. They think it happens to SOMEONE, but not to THEM. They just cannot see it happening in their heart – breaking free from comfort, pleasure, FLESH – which barring one letter is nothing more than SELF spelled backwards.
• Lukewarm people make Jesus a part of their lives instead of giving their WHOLE LIVES to Him, because they trust Him for salvation, just not for their inner longing to be affirmed and significant.
• Lukewarm people love others, just not as much as they love themselves. They will give until it is inconvenient, love until it is a scheduling issue, sacrifice until it is unnoticed. They do enough to assuage guilt but not enough to break through to real intimacy.
• Lukewarm people play it safe, as slaves of the god of control. They won't forgive boundlessly, they won't love with abandon. Enough for salvation, but not enough for conversion. Their churches don't walk by real faith – but by a program, a statement of faith in place of a broken spirit and contrite heart.
• Lukewarm people measure Jesus by what they would give up, not by the size of His Majesty, the elegance of His Creation, the depths of His loving sacrifice to reach them. They are salt without taste – a bland and forgettable lot – a carefully cultivated tree without fruit.

I wonder if the reason we don’t invite our lost friends is that it would add to our responsibilities – and we just don’t want to do that. We like a new life that saved us from a devastating flood but doesn’t require any inspection – any expectation from someone else. 

Change Two: New Relationships: The animals were Noah’s friends. In a lot of ways they were great companions. They got care from Noah, and he was comfortable with them. God was about to change all that – He was going to make the relationship that used to feel natural seem everything BUT natural.   Genesis 9:2 “The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given.   The same thing will happen to you when you begin your new life. Your long time friends will sound different to you. They will not have the same desires as you do, and you will want to do things they cannot understand. If 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” Means anything – it means a change of relationships comes into our lives.  

Look at an example from Paul’s life in the Book of Acts. Acts 9:10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; 19 and he took food and was strengthened. Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ. 23 When many days had elapsed, the Jews plotted together to do away with him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were also watching the gates day and night so that they might put him to death; 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket.  

It is worth noting that when you make a commitment to Christ, it takes time for your old reputation to die. It also takes time for believers to learn to trust you. You may have been an important person in your old life, but when you come to Christ you start new. You may have been a great teacher, but only a foolish church would hand you a class too soon. We want to see God use your talents, but we know something a new believer does not – God is more interested in your character than your productivity. Young men and women are being inducted into pro sports because of talent, but without the development of character –the talent will not get them where they need to be.  

Change Three: New Diet: Noah was going to add meat to the grocery list. They knew that meat existed, but the altar barbeque was, up to this time, for God alone. Now God was adding to the menu. That may have seemed an easy switch to us in this day, but at first it probably looked as strange as our introduction of fried locusts to our menu.   Genesis 9:3 “Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant.   Biblically speaking, our DIET is all that we take inside ourselves. When God calls us to Himself, He carefully warns us to regulate the intake valves of the world’s goods. Their diet is not our diet. The world comes into a believer’s life through sense that are allowed freedoms – we must choose wisely.   Remember, sin is an appetite that intensifies when we feed it. If you lust and watch lustful things, your desire to lust will grow. If you gossip – the more you do, the more you will desire to gossip. It is because the WORLD system is bent that way:  

1. The world system has developed an opposing sense of wisdom to God’s truth and misunderstands and often hates those who trust God. Col 2:8 - Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 1Jo 3:13 - Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

 

2. Our salvation was (in part) to pull us out of the world system and empower us to walk pleasing to our Heavenly Father. Galatians 1:4 [Jesus] Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: 2 Peter 1:4 - Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

 

3. It is possible for a believer to show greater allegiance for this fallen world then for the things of God by their walk. 2 Tim. 4:10 - For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

 

4. Believers can please God while in this world, but only if we walk according to the teachings of His Holy Word. Jas 1:27 – Pure [godly practice] religion [that is] and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. 1John 5:4-5 - For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

 

5. Believers do not have the option of straddling the fence of both the fallen system of influence and pleasing God. Jas 4:4 - Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.  1John 2:15-16 - Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

 

6. God offered a Solution: transformation of your MIND will stop you from being pressed into the mold of the world system. The specific agent of our transformed mind is the truth of the Word of God, empowered by the Spirit of God. Rom. 12:2 - And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 1 Cor. 2:12 - Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Let me tell you the modern fable of a rat that decided to chew through a steel cable. You know a rat can’t chew through steel, but he thought he could. So he began to chew away on this steel cable. Of course, his little mouth hurt to start with, but before long, he couldn’t even feel anything. His mouth became deadened. That’s the way sin is. But then he chewed and chewed, and before long he saw blood on the steel cable. Thinking in his little rat brain, “I’m hurting this steel cable, it’s bleeding.” not knowing it was his own blood. In this little modern fable, the rat chewed and chewed away until it chewed itself to death. That is exactly the picture of a person who gets into sin. Oh, it bothers you to start with, but then you get used to it. And then you say, hey, “This is all right.” Before you know it, death. The Bible promises sin always leads to death. The Bible says where lust has conceived, it brings forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death. That is the word of God.  

Change Four: New Values: To a follower of God, something has value because God says it does. His Word is the mark of truth, and we follow a value system He has set. God told Noah that life was incredibly precious. I suspect that Noah felt that way after the flood. All that death had to affect him deeply – good people or not.  

“He played the French Horn at age 12. By the time he was 15 he was playing professionally with some of the top jazz musicians of the day. He became the first black musician to break the Hollywood color barrier as a composer. He’s best known as the composer of the score for The Color Purple. But it hasn’t come easy. Quincy Jones has been married three times, survived two brain surgeries, and endured a complete emotional breakdown. Many years ago he faced surgery for an aneurysm that threatened to kill him. The doctors told him that his chances of recovery were 100 to 1. Miraculously, he survived. Jones was asked, "What did you start doing differently after your operation?" Jones said, "The first thing I started doing was hugging a lot. When you get to be 50, you start dealing with the countdown, and you can deal with it in a positive or a negative way. I [see] this little life to be this great gift. You know that old cliché about your life passing in front of you? Well, it really does." —Ray Pritchard    

What Quincy Jones discovered is that life is short and that affected his values. When you look at Scripture, what you see is that PEOPLE have value because God put a stamp of Himself in them:  Genesis 9:4 “Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 “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. 6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man  

It is not the quality of life of the man – it is his Creator.  

Change Five: New Promises: God told Noah that he could COUNT on the fact that condemnation like that would not come again. God provided a sign that people could see and periodically recall for themselves. Noah could walk through life with a covenant promise from God:  

Genesis 9:8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, 9 “Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. 11 “I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; 13 I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. 14 “It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, 15 and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 “When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.” 18 Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth; and Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.  

Seven times God used the word COVENANT. The term BERITH is a Hebrew term for CUTTING. God literally “cuts” a covenant. He SACRIFICES something to offer a covenant to men – it is the way a covenant works. God sacrificed His absolute right to completely destroy men at the time of their sinning. He sacrificed a right that Peter showed later would cause people to say the flood never happened and there is no God to bring judgment on sinful man.   God then promised them a symbol that would explain His patience with men – not to judge them before the end. It was a symbol of great colors and creativity. It was refracted light – bent light – ways of looking at something.   God told Noah he had a new life – but it was to FOLLOW HIM!   The preacher of a large church in MO went to see an advertising executive. He said his church had marketing dollars to spend and wondered which medium would be most cost effective for them. Television? Radio? Newspaper? The executive paused, then said, “I recommend that you construct a single billboard.” The answer was surprising to the preacher to the point of being comical, but he listened patiently. The executive said, “Build that billboard on your church property and face the message inward, toward your parking lot.” Huh? The confused preacher suspected his question had been misunderstood. The executive went on to explain, “You don’t need advertising. In your church members you have what amounts to the largest sales force in town. Use the billboard to encourage your people to do what God has called them to do.” 

(From Francis Chan's book: Crazy Love) “Brooke Bronkowski was fourteen years old when she wrote these deep and touching words in an article in her journal called “Since I Have My Life Before Me”. She wrote: I'll live my life to the fullest. I'll be happy. I'll brighten up. I will live more joyfully than I ever have been. I will be kind to others. I will loosen up. I will teach others about Christ. I will go on adventures and change the world. I will be bold and not change who I really am. I will have no troubles but instead help others with their troubles.   You see, I will be one of those people who live to be history makers at a young age. Oh,  I'll have moments, good and bad, but I will wipe away the bad and only remember the good. In fact, that's all I remember, just good moments, nothing in between, just living my life to its fullest. I'll be one of those people who go somewhere with a mission, an awesome plan, a world-changing plan, and nothing will hold me back. I'll set an example for others, I will pray for direction.   I have my life before me. I will give others the joy that I have, and God will give me more joy. I will do everything God tells me to do. I will follow the footsteps of God. I will do my best!!!   “During her freshman year in High School, Brooke was killed in a car accident while driving to the movies. Her life on earth ended when she was just fourteen, but her impact didn't. Nearly 1500 people attended Brooke's memorial service. People from her public high school read the poems that she had written about her love for God. Everyone spoke of her example and her joy.   I shared the Gospel and invited those who wanted to know Jesus to come up and give their lives to Him. There must have been at least two hundred students. On their knees at the front of the church praying for salvation, ushers gave a Bible to each of them. They were Bibles that Brooke had kept in her garage, hoping to give them to all of her unsaved friends. In one day, Brooke led more people to the Lord than most ever will.   In her brief fourteen years on earth, Brooke was faithful to Christ. Her short life was not wasted. The words from her essay seemed prophetic: “You see, I will be one of those people who live to be history makers at a young age.”  

Your new life comes complete with instructions – but they must be taken seriously!