we're taking a larger section this morning in genesis so i'd ask you to turn your bibles to genesis chapter 8 and i wrestled with how to do this you can micro preach something and that's never that helpful you can also look at something so largely that you miss the details of it but i think this morning this section is is meant to be looked at with a big picture so that we see what God is doing and how he is making a platform for the coming of his son and the cross to happen that the gospel message would be taken to the ends of the earth. And so we see how the Lord made that plan so that what took place at the flood would not be continually, continually, continually repeated throughout history, but there would be one last final judgment. And so we're looking at that this morning in Genesis chapter 8. That's found on page 7 in your pew Bible. Let's give our attention to the word of the Lord. We'll read through 917. But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth and the water subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed the rain from the heavens was restrained and the waters receded from the earth continually at the end of 150 days the waters had abated and in the seventh month on the 17th day of the month the ark came to rest on the mountains of errat and the waters continued to abate until the 10th month in the 10th month on the first day of the month the tops of the mountains were seen. At the end of 40 days, Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made and sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. Then he sent forth a dove from him to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground. But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him he waited another seven days and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark and the dove came back to him in the evening and behold in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf so no one knew that the waters had subsided from the earth then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove and she did not return to him anymore in the 601st year in the first month the first day of the month the waters were dried from off the earth and noah removed the covering of the ark and looked and behold the face of the ground was dry in the second month on the 27th day of the month the earth had dried out then god said to noah go out from the ark you and your wife and your sons and your son's wives with you bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth that they may swarm on the earth and be fruitful multiply on the earth so no one went out and his sons and his wife and his son's wives with him every beast every creeping thing every bird everything that moves on the earth went out by families from the ark so no built an altar to the lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar and when the lord smelled the pleasing aroma the lord said in his heart I will never curse the ground because of man for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth never will I again strike down every living creature as I have done while the earth remains seed time and harvest cold and heat summer and winter day and night shall not cease and God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and on all fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is its blood. And for your lifeblood, I will require a reckoning. From every beast, I will require it. and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God has made man in his own image. And you be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it. Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark, it is for every beast of the earth. I will establish my covenant with you that never again shall all flesh be cut off by waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, this is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you, and every living creature that is with you. For all future generations, I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the water shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth. God said to Noah, this is the sign of the covenant. that i have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth may the lord bless the hearing of his word one of you said to me the other day as we were been going through uh genesis and then coming uh at the prayer meeting said i just don't know how much longer the lord can be patient with this messed up world and not put an end to it. It's a remarkable thing that here we are in 2013 and I don't need to rehearse because I've been doing it with you for the past months, the state of things, how bad it has gotten. You know this, you've seen this, we've considered this, you're living this. But when we think about the fact that by the time we reach Genesis 8, the entire first world was deluged and destroyed the effect of that even though i know it spans larger periods of time the effect of it in reading it this way is to make us look at things and say my my look at how quickly everything's spinned out of control and god had to put an end to it that that's the effect of this that that's the consequence when we study this well what we have today before us in the beginning, here is the beginning of the world that now is. The world as we know it. That's essentially what is being shown to us. But the text still presents a huge problem. It's in verse 21. In verse 21, we have something that should really trouble all of us. Lord says, I'm never going to curse the ground again, not going to flood again, even though the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Nothing's changed with the heart of man. You see, same problem that led to the judgment before the flood now resides in man. Remember John 2, Jesus knows what's in man the same problem resides in man it's his heart he's only thinking evil continually same problem exists now at the beginning of the world that now is so the question is that we all should naturally ask is well why hasn't this world yet been destroyed then why don't we read over and over and over in the bible if this is the problem that god just kept stopping and starting over that God just kept destroying and starting over. It's a remarkable thing to consider. Think of how many thousands of years has passed since this flood event. And if that problem brought the destruction of the first world, why is God being so patient now? Well, that's where considering this morning helps us and this Noah narrative as we work through this is showing us something. It's showing us that God started over and it's teaching us His desire. He has a great desire to make all things new. This is what He wants. He is ready to do it. He is ready to put an end to all this and make all things new. But the reason He started over then was because the promised seed of Genesis 3 had not yet come. He had promised He'd send the Christ. He had promised he would send a Savior, and in verse 21, we'll see that something had been offered up to the Lord that was a smooth-smelling aroma to him, and that has all sorts of scriptural implications as we look at this throughout history. So what God did in this section for a big picture for us this morning, what God did is put certain things in place so that the world would not be continually destroyed. and that the plan of his salvation would work through history and fulfill his determination that he would send his son and in the fullness of time he would once and for all put an end to this and start over brand new. So what we have in Genesis 8 is God showing us this plan to send the Redeemer and how he has restrained things in our world and made provisions so that this plan of redemption would unfold and today i don't know if there should be any other response to a sermon like this other than to walk out of here praising god that's our response he's been that good to us where we left off last time was that noah had been encapsulated in this three-room kind of house and i don't know if you've ever done the math and i wish i had a diagram this for you. I made a mistake in not putting a diagram and an outline this week. But Noah went in to the ark in the 600th year of his life, in the second month on the 17th of the month. Well, notice here that he comes out in the 601st year in the second month in the 27th of the month. That means that he was in that ark about one year and 10 days about the time i've been encapsulated in escondido by the way listen this judgment ordeal was scary and i can't imagine the struggle that noah went through having and seeing this whole earth flooded with water as he's locked into a floating house with all these animals and the question i mean think about a year and 10 days think about the time duration of this the question that must have been going through his mind is is god gonna remember me has he forgotten me and i left off with that thought last time didn't i it's it's it's a provoking question i've often thought you know as i left off the sermon last time when god comes in all of his glory, and he is renewing things, and he's judging this world, is he really going to remember me? Is his mind that great to remember me? And what about you? Will he remember you? What becomes of us? Well, I love what this narrative is doing and the structure of it, which is, I wish I had diagrammed it. If you want the diagram, email me. You know, it's fascinating. What you have here is, before he goes into the ark, if you can picture this, seven days, seven days, and then he has seven more days of waiting, and then 40 days of flood, and then 150 days of the waters rising in the earth, and it's right at the heart of that. Because when you come back, then he has, go back down. Another 150 days of receding. And you'll see that. Another 40 days and then seven and seven. So it's a perfect structure. In the heart of that, it says in Genesis 8.1, and God remembered Noah. So put that together. Right when the waters were as high as they possibly could have been and every peak on the earth was covered, Right then and there, the text says God remembered Noah. Now, what is the Lord showing us? Well, I want everyone, if you have your Bibles open, to look back to chapter 6, and I want you to look at verse 17. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh, in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. Now, verse 18. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you and your sons, your wife and your sons' wives with you. And then he says, I'm going to keep you alive. Now, this is a fascinating section here that God tells Noah, I'm destroying it all, but I'm going to keep you alive. This covenant is, you're going to go in the ark, and you are going to be saved. And think about all that we've considered so far. When God announces this and God says this and God makes this covenant with his people, this is a special act of his friendship and kindness that God would speak and let even Abraham know what he's about ready to do to Sodom, that he would tell his friends all things that he's received from his father. God was doing this for Noah. I'm establishing a covenant, Noah, with you and your family. You know, that's the first time covenant's used in the Bible. What kind of covenant is this? Well, it's the same kind of covenant that God made with Abraham, isn't it? When Abraham was off to the side and he's watching the Lord pass through the pieces, taking on the fiery judgment, he is spared from that. It's the same kind of covenant of grace that God made that Noah and his family would pass through the judgment and be saved and the judgment would not touch them. And what does Scripture highlight as the response of Noah? Well, Hebrews tells us, Noah believed. Noah believed God and he was an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. When you come to Genesis 8-1, you should be thinking, did God fulfill his covenant with Noah? Did God fulfill that specific covenant with Noah and the answer is in genesis 8 1 yes and god remembered noah at the height of the judgment when it was poured out right then and there what do you have god saying i've delivered you and so what begins to happen right after genesis 8 1 well then you have 150 days of what the water's receding and then you have 40 days of waiting and another seven and another seven and the narrative is leaving us on the edge of our seats he opens up the window of the ark doesn't he and the waters are coming down and noah's noah's experiencing this he's he's beginning to see this and so he sends out a raven and it keeps going back and forth and he sends out a dove the dove has no resting place for its foot. I was just thinking, I'd imagine it was probably like when they came back, these things walking right up here during the service, these stupid crows. And they, you know, you wish they would go find another place. This is what happened. Noah would take back in the bird. But finally, what happens? This dove one day brings back a freshly plucked olive leaf. New growth, new growth. And then we read in verse 14 that the earth was dried, was dried out. And what does God say to Noah? Noah, go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your son's wives. And the thing that you see is, and you can imagine this, they go out by families. They go out by families. And the question I want you to think about is they're entering now this brand new earth, if you will. What was God doing when the waters reached their peak and God remembered Noah this whole time of receding? What does the text want us to think about? It's having us think about not what Noah's doing. Everyone focuses on the birds going back and forth. It's not having us ultimately focus on that. Noah has to wait patiently. It's focusing on what God is doing. The New Testament has told us that we should look at this whole event and see the parallel of what is going to happen at the very end in the ushering in of the new world. And remember what we've considered. What was God doing at creation? Remember? Well, there was this firmament that he had to separate the waters from the waters, if you will. And so this flood in Genesis 6 was a massive undoing. The waters, says Peter, they came together. And that expands. The waters now, what happened? The waters return. Well, who shows up in Genesis 8, verse 1? And God made a wind to blow over the earth. Well, it's the same word for spirit that was in Genesis 1 when the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Here again is the Spirit hovering over the face of the waters and creative acts are happening and the waters are now being separated. This ruach, the wind, the Spirit here is separating again just like Genesis 1. And all these same themes are coming up from the creation account. You have a recreation going on here. The Holy Spirit shows up. The waters now are gathered back into one place. Guess who appears? What appears? Land. Birds are sent out to fill the air. And in verse 13 and 14, you have the statement that the surface of the ground was dry and just like day six of creation, who comes out together? Who was made on day six? Man and beast. Who comes out together out of the ark? Man and animals. Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you, birds and cattle, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that you may abound on the earth, be fruitful and multiply on the earth. God was starting over. God was making things new. They passed through the judgment, and they came out on the other side to a new earth, if you will. Now, do you see the connections for a minute? Do you see what Genesis 8 wants to encourage us with as Christians? When he comes in all of his glory, you will be sheltered in him. We've looked at this. And then there's going to be this great final judgment that's going to take place. And Isaiah describes it using the words of the flood. Come, my people, enter your chambers, shut your doors behind you, hide yourself, as it were, for a little bit. Until the indignation is passed, for behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. What happens? Where do they go? Into Revelation 20, the lake of fire. But what will happen to God's people? Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth. for the first earth had passed away and there was no more sea. See how all these themes are picked up in Revelation. Then I, John, saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people. God himself, what's he going to do? He will be their God and he will wipe every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death. There will be no more sorrow nor crying. There shall be no more pain for the former things have passed away. Then he who sat on the throne said, behold, I make all things new. Write these words for they're faithful and true. It's going to happen. An infant will no longer die a few days. nor an old man not fulfill his days. You're going to build houses and others will not inhabit them. They'll be yours. You'll plant vineyards and you're going to get to eat its fruit. My elect, says Isaiah, will long enjoy the work of their hands. They're not going to labor in vain. They're not going to bring forth children for trouble. They're not going to go through that. It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer. And while they're still speaking, I'll hear because I'm making it all new. And this is meant to encourage us that the ultimate goal of God, this is His goal. His goal is not the final judgment. His goal is to make all things new, that we will enter a place in the true heavens and earth, if you will, a new heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells we get that it's ours it's not this sad world it's ours we get the new heavens and the new earth purged we get all things in christ it's not theirs it's kind of sad when we hold on pretty tight to this sad world don't we you know the story of the flood and god's covenant of grace is shown everywhere in the scriptures. Here's where your Bible, if you've ever studied it this way and you begin to look at the big picture, it starts shrinking. And you begin to see that it's telling us the same story over and over and over again. Think about this just for a minute with me. Noah, I want you to go out of the ark and I want you to enter the land, you and your family in safety so noah goes out and what's the first thing he does he worships worships i've delivered you i brought you through the judgment who's writing this moses moses must have stopped as he's getting having this revelation and thinking this is my story i went in this little ark through the Nile. And then, whoa, look at the big picture here. This is the very language God said to us coming out of Egypt. Rise, Exodus 12. Go out, both you and the children of Israel. Go and serve the Lord. Take your flocks and your herds and be gone. Isn't that the same language of the Exodus from the ark god raises up moses and the whole flood scene is reenacted at the red sea remember what happened moses stretches out his hand over the sea and the waters part all this is the creation language all of this is is the language of of genesis and the the the magnificent body of water parts forming two walls and an expanse is made this way and the lord sends an east ruach he sends the spirit and all night he made the sea into dry land and the waters were divided so the waters were separated from the waters using peter's language and the waters were a wall to them it says on the right and on the left and they started entering and what happens as soon as they started entering a massive cloud the glory holy spirit comes he was in front and he moves to the back and He shields them like a canopy as they pass through the waters. Well, they get through safely. Who decides to enter? The Egyptians and all of their mighty men and all the world's strongest army. What do they do? They enter into, and what happens? The very flood event, the waters came together. Moses, stretch out your hand over the sea. Then the waters, Exodus 14, returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea. What does Moses do right after? Sings a song, worships. I will sing unto the Lord for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider he's thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation. He is my God and I will praise him. my father's God and I will exalt him the Lord is a man of war the Lord is his name Pharaoh's chariots and his army he cast into the sea his chosen captains are drowned into the red sea the depths have covered them they sank to the bottom like a stone you blew with your wind the sea covered them you and your mercy have led forth your people whom you have redeemed You've guided them in your strength to your holy habitation. Same story. And at the very end, we're singing the song of the Lamb because we have passed through into judgment and what has happened to us, this is the whole Christian gospel, we have passed through the judgment, we have passed through death, we've reached the other side, we've been resurrected and the Lord has gathered us to Himself and what has happened? All of Pharaoh and his armies, All of the wicked have been cast into the sea, and it is over. You see it? The Bible just went, phew. In verse 20, Noah builds an altar to the Lord. And we read the Lord smells this smooth-smelling aroma. It was a burnt offering. There would be a lot of history about the burnt offering, wouldn't there? God smelled it. And this was a smooth, soothing aroma to him. And God, completely pacified, does something that should shock us at this moment. What does He do? Well, this is telling us that there was a way for God to be satisfied. And that the terrible problem of verse 21, that man is a sinner from his youth, that he's born in sin, that God would be satisfied when the true burnt offering would come. that when his son would come and God would send his deliverer and he would be offered on the cursed tree, God would smell that. God would accept that. And here so early in history at the beginning of the first world, what does God say in anticipation of that event in 8030 in the month of Nisan at about the sixth hour of the day? What does the Lord say as soon as he smells that and anticipates that what's the first thing that comes out of his mouth i'm not doing this again the lord smelled this and he says in his heart and notice how he was grieved to his heart in chapter six now he's satisfied to his heart here and he says in his heart i will never curse the ground again because of man even though his intention of his thoughts and hearts are only evil from his youth i'm not going to continue to strike down every living creature as i've done i will not continue to do that even though man is that bad even though the problem has not changed i'm not going to keep on repeating this i'm not going to keep on going through this because my gospel plan has to unfold i'm going to restrain this i'm going to restrain things so that it doesn't get as bad as it was over and over and over and over and over until the very end right so he says in verse 22 while earth remains seed time and harvest cold and heat winter and summer day and night it's not going to cease i'm going to continue to now think about god's mercy and paul used this when he's preaching the gospel in lystra think of his mercy i'm going to continue to feed this world i'll do that there are going to be seasons i'm not going to let it fall apart. There will be a normal course of day and night until the end. And then as he looks upon the sacrifice of Noah, think of the beautiful thing that's shown here. As I'm not doing this again, God says three things that he puts into place to restrain it so it doesn't just run wild again. Number one, Noah wants you to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. I'm going to continue to bless life. Every time you see a baby born, you should say God is still showing and demonstrating his mercy. And I've always thought it's such an amazing thing when one saint dies that the Lord gives life. I've always experienced that. I've seen that over and over, and I'm sure every one of you can testify to that. That's not coincidental. I'm putting the fear of you on all creation. In other words, the animals went crazy before the flood and they overtook man. God says, I'm not letting that happen again. I'm going to intensify their dread. They will not dominate you. Creation will not dominate you. Third, I'm not going to allow men to lawlessly kill one another as started happening. I'm going to institute justice in the earth. There will not be lawless aggression. and then god does what i said is just overwhelming to consider and we'll close with this this morning then god said to noah verse 8 and his son behold i established my covenant with you and your offspring after you and with every living creature that is with you the birds and the livestock the beasts of the earth with you as many as come out of the ark it is for every beast of the earth what that's not the covenant of genesis 6 not even close this is a covenant with the earth i'm making a covenant with every living creature on the face of this earth verse 10 birds cattle beasts here's the covenant verse 11 i establish my covenant with you that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth the whole covenant promise that was made there in genesis 9 is god saying to us one great thing i'm going to preserve this sad world with common blessings so that my plan of salvation would go on unhindered and then god says you want to see it i'll even give you a sign of it i'm going to hang a bow in the sky. Notice it's just called a bow. Everyone knew at this time in Near Eastern representation of kings that when they were ready to strike, the bow would go up and you get hit. God takes the bow and where does it point to? He sets it this way on the earth for us. I'm not aiming the bow right now. God sets a bow in relaxed, horizontal position saying, I'm not going to do this over and over and over. Boys and girls, every time you see the rainbow, you should stop and say, look at what God just showed me. God just reminded himself. Guess what it says here? God just reminded himself he's not going to continue to do this. I often wonder when things are this bad in the earth, if he doesn't put up the bow to tell us. And think of the providence of when you see it. Think of what's going on around you. to tell us he's remembering that promise. The promise that he is long-suffering. God has stayed, I close with this, God has stayed this sad world for thousands of years after the flood. And he's telling us today that he is extremely long-suffering, isn't he? Every time a farmer brings in his crops, every time you have fruit on the tree, every time your avocados come, every time the seasons change, Well, we don't get to see that as much here. Every time you see the sun and the moon, you should remember that is God being long-suffering with us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Every time a child is born, you see the image of God being preserved. Every time you sit down at the table and enjoy a meal, you see Him filling your hearts with food and gladness. That's why we sit down first, and we don't just, but we say, thank you, Lord. Every time a policeman comes to your house because somebody broke in or tagged your wall, you thank God. Every time a fireman comes and puts out a fire, every time a nurse cares for you, every time you see in society, in this messed up world order, you see God's preserving hand continuing to uphold heaven and earth. Every time you look at the sky and you see that bow, you're taught God is patient. For what end? So that where Michael Vanderwaude stands up today and says, I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, God has given us another sign of his patience, bringing in one of his sheep, and that's why the end has not yet come. That's pretty exciting. God is announcing the gospel of His Son to the ends of the earth. And so I close with the words of James. Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. All who come to Jesus and believe in Him will be brought safely through and soon we will enter a new heavens and a new earth where righteousness shall dwell and there will be no more no more sin sorrow or suffering let's praise God today O Lord our God we are grateful that you show us this and that you care to continue this sad world so that your plan of salvation be extended to all the earth and Lord when we see all of these common blessings that even the pagans get to enjoy we praise you and we learn to say to this sad world look at how God has filled your hearts with food and gladness you do this so that people would turn to you seeing your goodness and repent and be saved from the wrath to come and so Lord as we study these things may we be overwhelmed with your goodness as we should be and your kindness and your faithfulness that you are continuing to save. May that birth in us patience as we learn every day of our life to praise you and to not grow weary in doing good. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.