Point of Grace – 8.25.24 Sermon Notes – “In the Beginning God…” Genesis 9-11

The Repeated Cycle

-God is gracious creator/provider of “good” for humans!

-Humans drift from “trusting” God and “receiving” the “good” of life to determining for themselves how to get/take the “good” life God promised

-This always results in increased evil, wickedness and man’s inhumanity to man.

-God responds with some judgement but prevailing mercy to rebuild the relationship with humans.

Gen 9-11

The Noah story concludes with a restart for humanity!

Genesis9:1 “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.” Genesis 9:20-23 “20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. So the cycle continues…. But ….. God has introduced something new into the picture as “creator and provider of ‘good’” Genesis 9: 8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

God wants us to: “Remember He remembers His gracious promises to us. Even when it seems life (or even He) is against us (clouds) He is always for us because He loves us (rainbow).”

Even after Noah and his son try to “take” the good life for themselves God sends a reminder through the author of Genesis for us to, “Remember, He remembers His gracious promises to us. Even when it seems life (or even He) is against us He is always for us because He loves us.” Genesis 10 is all “genealogies” “32 These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.”

Genesis 11 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” 5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” 8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

The people of Babylon had forgotten to, “Remember, He remembers His gracious promises to us. Even when it seems life (or even He) is against us He is always for us because He loves us.”

When is it hard to “Remember He Remembers”?

-When life is hard!

-Divine Thwarting

-The Father’s discipline

James 5 “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father…. but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. “Remember, He remembers His gracious promises to us. Even when it seems life (or even He) is against us He is always for us because He loves us.”

We need so much encouragement to “Remember he remembers His gracious promises to us.”

“Take eat this is my body given for you …

“Take and drink this cup is the new covenant in my blood shed for you …

… do this in remembrance of me! (… do this for my remembrance!)

“Remember, He remembers His gracious promises to us. Even when it seems life (or even He) is against us He is always for us because He loves us