{"id":232,"date":"2016-05-06T07:19:11","date_gmt":"2016-05-06T14:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smallchelle.com\/?p=232"},"modified":"2016-05-06T07:19:11","modified_gmt":"2016-05-06T14:19:11","slug":"genesis-6-part-1-impending-doom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smallchelle.com\/?p=232","title":{"rendered":"Genesis 6 Part 1 – Impending Doom"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Cor 12:10<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Recently I have prayed and cried with various dear friends going through some radically difficult circumstances. They are being affected by other people\u2019s\u00a0sin in faith shaking kinds of ways. As we\u00a0look at the account of Noah we\u2019ll see just how grieved God was by all that sin in the hearts of people on the earth. Then we\u2019ll get a picture of how God help us in times of trouble. Finally we\u2019ll see that there is a way to suffer well so that Christ is glorified and we are strengthened.<\/span><\/p>\n

Impending Doom<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u00a0 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. <\/span>These are the generations of Noah.<\/span>
\n<\/span> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Noah was a righteous man,<\/span> blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.<\/span>
\n<\/span> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Now the earth was corrupt in God\u2019s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, \u201cI have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.<\/span>
\n<\/span> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Genesis 6:5-14<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

My heart is breaking for my friends as they suffer in difficult circumstances\u2026 Can you imagine how grieved God\u2019s heart is to see all the hurt among all the people all the time? In Noah\u2019s day it was crazy bad! But God chose Noah and his family, to rescue them. He set them apart, called them to do His work and then hid them away while His wrath was poured out and the wickedness of mankind was judged. When we are hurting our tendency is to hide from God, but the secret to survival and strength to keep putting one foot in front of the other is to hide in God.<\/span><\/p>\n

Help is on the Way<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell\u2026 \u00a0if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly\u2026 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked\u2026 <\/span>then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials,<\/b> and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. 2 Peter 2:4-10 (paraphrased, emphasis mine)<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Noah watched society boiling over with wickedness, for possible as many as 120 years, while he build the arc. Are you watching some part of your life fall apart right before your eyes? Are you in pain every day? Are you watching people that are supposed to love and care for each other implode with selfishness? What if it never changes? What if you die before that person ever repents and does the right thing? What if you are never healed this side of heaven?<\/span><\/p>\n

It is such a comfort to know that God knows how to rescue us. Do you believe it? If not, why not? Maybe there is some misinformation about God you\u2019ve been believing instead. If God has already gotten ahold of your spirit and rescued you from utter judgment don\u2019t you think He will be with you in the storm you\u2019re in now?<\/p>\n

Get in the Ark<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u00a0 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. Hebrews 11:7<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

My hope and prayer is that by faith my friends, knowing the flood is coming, will stand firm in their faith in the Gospel, climb in the ark of God\u2019s arms of comfort and mercy and love, and for the sake of the glory of Christ be content with hardship, because when they are weak, then they are strong.\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0In the six hundredth year of Noah\u2019s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. Gen 7:11, Gen 17-18<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We might feel like God doesn\u2019t love us when the flood comes, but that is a lie of the enemy. You were chosen in Him before the foundations of the world, He will bear you up in an ark and rescue you. You will be in the flood, but as a beloved child of the Most High God, you have nothing to fear.<\/span><\/p>\n

Psalm 32:6-7 offers great encouragement:<\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore let everyone who is godly
\n<\/span>offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
\n<\/span>surely in the rush of great waters,
\n<\/span>they shall not reach him.
\n<\/span>You are a hiding place for me;
\n<\/span>you preserve me from trouble;
\n<\/span>you surround me with shouts of deliverance.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jesus is the ark. And you are not alone there. Just like Noah had his family, hopefully you have a community of gospel friends that God has been building into your life\u2026 you didn\u2019t know you would need them, but He did. If you don\u2019t have a network of friends who will help you fight for your faith, do all you can to plug in at church, get in a small bible study or prayer group. Noah wasn\u2019t alone, and neither are you. The fountains of the deep are bursting forth, the flood is coming\u2026 but so is rescue. Don\u2019t hide <\/span>from<\/span><\/i> the Lord, instead hide <\/span>in <\/span><\/i>the Lord.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I hope this has been encouraging for you. If you are suffering and in need of prayer you can email me or be bold and share in the comments. If you have a friend suffering pass this along to encourage them. Tell them you love them and are praying for them. It\u2019s part of what the Church is for. As always, thanks for reading.<\/p>\n

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