Moving in faith for 2023 Genesis Chapter 9
Good Morning
Stand with me and lift your bible and repeat after me.
This is my Bible.
I am what it says I am.
I can do what it says I can do.
I am going to learn how to be what it says I can be.
Today I will learn more of the word of God.
The indestructible, never ending, living word Of God.
I will never be the same.
I will never be the same.
In Jesus Name
Amen?
Before you sit down, say good morning to your brothers and sisters, safely.
Good morning.
Faith is something that all of us have in that we know that if we do a
certain task, then we will get the proper response.
For example, when we put a key in the car ignition and turn the key, by faith we know the car will start or if we want to sit in a chair, we must have faith when we let go of our weight that the chair will support us.
Faith operates the same way concerning the things of God. When we humble ourselves before the Lord and pray and claim the promises He has made in His covenant, then God will be faithful and just to meet our every need.
Faith must be showed by action once we pray, meaning that if we pray for healing, we shouldn't go on complaining of how sick we are or how much pain we are in. That is not faith in action, but instead after we pray for a healing, we need to praise and thank the Lord that He has heard us in prayer and we know by the promises in His Word that the answer is on the way.
Giving thanks in advance is such a powerful way to an answered prayer.
Walking in faith is another. In the trying times we are all in, walking in faith is the strength that we need to rely on.
Turn with me to the book of Philippians chapter 4:6 and say, “Amen” when you are there.
Read with me. "Be careful, for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."
Are we letting the Lord know or are we trying to still do it on our own?
Noah was a man of faith.
Turn with me to Genesis chapter 8 and say, “Amen” when you are there. Let’s go to verse 22.
22 "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.”
Let us continue in Chapter 9,
1 God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth. 2 The fear and terror of you will be in every living creature on the earth, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are placed under your authority. 3 Every living creature will be food for you; as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything. 4 However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it. 5 I will require the life of every animal and every man for your life and your blood. I will require the life of each man’s brother for a man’s life.
When Noah started building the ark, I am sure he was ridiculed every step of the way. Can you imagine doing that now?
All the TV stations would be going crazy covering you.
Why are you doing something that crazy we would be asked.
Who told you to do it?
How do you know God wants you to do it?
How come you did not just hire a contractor?
How do you know God is real?
A couple of interesting questions.
You answer by saying, “I have a personal relationship with Him.”
They might then say;
“Oh really?
Why are there so many bad things happening in the world?
Why does your God allow this?”
That is a few great questions.
I have an answer that may upset some of us.
Because He is.
God gives us free will in our lives but,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Sometimes.
He steps in.
Over the years, people have been tested to take steps to move on.
Have you ever heard a song that came out by group King and Country not long ago?
It tells a story of what it was like for people moving on in the 16th and 17th centuries as they moved on from the past life. They were leaving Europe to head west to a new life.
The song is called, “Burn the Ships”
The interesting part is that when explorers crossed over the Atlantic and landed on the shores in the New World, like Noah, they were starting out new following the call of God.
When they landed and unloaded their ships, a few of them stayed on board the ship and made sure everything that was needed had been taken off and then they would set it on fire.
Those that came across the ocean were like Noah and were starting a new life.
It would be the start of a new life with the past being in the past.
Maybe we need to start getting ready for a new life that is here when we put Him first in all that we do.
We are all heading through 2021 with 2 choices in the direction we take.
Going through life by following our direction and purpose or His.
My choices have varied over the years and as I get older, I head more toward the direction that I have been trying to follow since 1983 when I accepted Jesus into my heart. His purpose.
What is His purpose in your life?
Are you being called like Noah to abandon all that you have been doing on your own, build your ark and prepare for the journey that is to come?
With your being willing to be a Noah, He wants you to continue moving forward in your life with Him directing the way more closely toward what He wants you to do.
The hard part is going to be burning the ship that directs you to your past.
Our past we cannot change, we can only learn from it.
Every single person that is in the Bible has been shared with us in the Word for the purpose of each of us learning something to help through life. They are not just stories to read. They are writings of what has happened and is to be shared with us.
Accepting Christ to live inside us is not changing everything so life becomes a walk in the park. It is allowing us to have something to have faith in.
Life will never be perfect. If you ask someone how things are in their life and they say, “Perfect.” Keep them in prayer. Nothing is perfect except for the life that was given for you and me on the cross.
As the New Year starts, I encourage you to take the step and allow your steps that you take each day to be done with and after prayer and quiet time with the Lord.
The other suggestion is one that I share often to those who will listen, having quiet time with God and be like Jesus, listening.
Remember what we read in Genesis chapter 8
22 As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.”
Things will continue to be trying at times, but comfort is there when we need it. We just forget to ask.
As we prepare for the new year, let us get back into some old habits.
Prayer,
Caring,
Being thankful,
Loving others,
Sharing His love,
and having quiet time with the one who loves us more than we could ever imagine.
Amen?
Let's go to Him in prayer right now.
Please stand with me.
