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The God of the Flood · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

• 0:00
  Would you turn with me in your Bibles, please, back to the passage we've read in Genesis chapter 6.
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  ! Genesis 6.
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  In the face of all of the wickedness of the world, we read in verse 8,
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  !
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  Noah found favor or grace in the eyes of the Lord.
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  Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
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  Let's just bow our heads in prayer.
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  Heavenly Father, as we come for a short time this morning to your word in the Bible,
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  we ask and pray for your guidance and your direction to lead us into the truth.
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  We need, Lord, your blessing continually.
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  We dare not come to the word of the Bible by ourselves without your leading and direction,
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  without your help.
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  And so we ask today that you would indeed open these things for us,
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  so that we would see the truth, that we would know the truth, that we would believe the truth and hold to it
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  and experience the preciousness of it.
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  We ask then these things in Jesus' name.
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  Amen.
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  So often when we come to stories in the Bible, we often put ourselves or humans at the heart of the story.
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  So the flood is a good example of this.
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  You know, when we think about the story of the flood or the ark, what do we think of?
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  Well, so often it's Noah's ark, isn't it?
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  It's the flood of Noah.
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  As if somehow Noah is who the story is about.
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  As if Noah is the one who's at the center of this account.
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  But that's just not the case.
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  The reality is that all of these stories, the whole of the Bible, is given to us not to tell us about Noah
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  or to tell us about any of the characters in the story.
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  But it's there to tell us about the God who is over it all.
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  The God who is working and acting in all of it.
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  It's not a story about the man who was saved so much as it's a story about God who does the saving.
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  And so this morning I want us to think about this salvation.
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  And I want us to think about the God of this salvation in Noah's experience.
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  The salvation itself, we should be absolutely clear, it is gargantuan.
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  We cannot begin to underestimate the scale of what's happened in Noah's experience.
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  Noah is facing, if you're a fan of the movies, maybe the phrase an extinction level event kind of rings home with you.
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  It's one of these moments in human history where everything is on the line.
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  There is about to be complete destruction.
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  And Noah, I think, knows it.
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  When God comes to him and says, I'm going to destroy everything and I'm going to start over,
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  Noah's fear must have been palpable.
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  It's the worst of all possible times.
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  It is a moment of extreme devastation.
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  Everything that Noah knows, everyone Noah knows except his immediate family,
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  is about to be blotted out of existence, washed away in the scale of this flood.
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  And I'm sure today, all of us can probably go to moments in our lives where that has been almost the case.
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  Where our life has felt like that.
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  Where moments of absolute calamity and catastrophe are before us.
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  Where it feels as if everything we know, even the ground under our feet, is being taken away.
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  Maybe you're there right now.
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  Maybe that's the way experience feels at this moment.
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  And the question for us today is really the same as the experience of Noah in this flood.
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  Where is God in all of this?
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  Who is God?
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  And how does God reveal himself in this?
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  The first of the things that we can note is that God chooses Noah.
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  That's one of the first things, actually, that happens in this account.
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  God is set on judgment and destruction.
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  And in the middle of all of this, God chooses to save Noah.
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  And we could ask ourselves, why?
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  Maybe it's because we think, well, Noah was the only good man around.
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  And certainly that's what the narrative tells us.
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  Noah was a good man.
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  Noah was someone who feared the Lord.
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  He walked with God.
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  His character was shaped by that experience of fellowship with God.
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  So we could say Noah, in that sense, was perhaps a good man.
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  And that might lead us to say, well, God, therefore, saves good people.
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  We might think to ourselves that God chose to save Noah because he was such a good person.
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  And maybe as you look around the church today, you might see Christians around you.
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  Some of whom, not necessarily all of whom, but some of whom are good people.
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  They might be exemplary people.
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  And you might think to yourself, well, that's what God does when he saves people.
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  When the salvation of God comes into someone's experience, you might think, well, God saves good people.
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  But that cannot possibly be the case.
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  Because the Bible is full of stories of bad people who get saved.
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  There are plenty bad sinners who discover the salvation and the grace of God.
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  And that was the case in Noah's life, too.
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  Because the verse that we tend to think says, well, God looked at Noah and saw a good guy and liked him and thought he'd save him.
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  Is that verse, Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
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  And the way we read that is we tend to think, well, Noah was somebody that God chose to bless because he saw something in him.
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  But that's not what the verse means.
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  The word that's translated favor there is the word for grace.
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  It's very close to the same idea we were thinking about actually last time I was preaching.
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  When we were thinking about God out of his good pleasure, revealing things to us in salvation.
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  What it's saying there is God took pleasure in saving Noah.
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  In showing grace to Noah.
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  God delighted in doing this.
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  God was pleased to do this thing.
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  It wasn't because Noah was offering sacrifices.
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  It wasn't because Noah was, in any respect, an outstanding person.
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  The initiative begins with God himself showing undeserved favor to a human.
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  Noah, who, although he is perhaps better than many, is still himself a sinner.
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  Is still himself someone who needs God's grace.
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  Not deserves it.
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  Not because he's earned it.
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  But because he needs it.
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  And God has chosen to show it.
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  And Noah is someone who, in the face of this, has already experienced it in his life.
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  Because long before the flood ever happened, Noah had been walking with God already.
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  Noah had a relationship with God.
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  A relationship of trust.
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  A relationship of faith.
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  The Bible tells us elsewhere that without faith it is impossible to please God.
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  So Noah must have heard things of God passed down from his parents and grandparents and great-grandparents.
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  A story that came to him of God being a God who saves people.
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  That goes all the way back to Adam and Eve.
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  And Noah was in a line of people who were believing God was a God who saves.
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  And so when the story and the time and the news of the flood comes.
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  When the news of ultimate judgment arrives.
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  Noah is saved because he has trusted God already.
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  He's already had faith in a God who offers salvation.
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  And today that's what each and every one of us desperately need.
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  We need to come to know and trust a God who offers salvation.
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  I wonder, is that today the God you've come to meet and to worship in our service today?
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  Is that why you're here?
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  Are you here because you want to meet and love and know and hear of and long to know better?
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  A God who brings salvation.
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  Undeserved salvation.
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  To men and women in the darkest of experiences.
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  God chose Noah.
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  Secondly, God taught Noah.
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  See, I think sometimes we tend to have this idea that maybe God doesn't help us out enough.
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  And some people I think maybe today think that way.
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  They think, well, I know God is a righteous God.
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  And I know God is going to send judgment on the earth.
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  And I know that maybe even I will experience that judgment.
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  I'm in danger of the judgment of God.
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  But I just don't know what to do.
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  I just don't know how to resolve this.
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  I don't know what's needed.
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  I don't know what's necessary.
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  And what we need to remember is that the story of the flood is a story not of Noah working out what needs to be done to avert disaster.
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  I mean, God doesn't leave Noah in that uncertain position where he can just figure out what to do.
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  God says to Noah, you need to build an ark.
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  And for Noah, that must have been really strange news because Noah had never seen an ocean.
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  Noah had never really seen a large boat before.
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  And you can go and see a mock-up of this boat today.
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  I think Ken Ham's organization built one.
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  I think it's in Kentucky.
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  They obviously used a lot of modern construction techniques to build it.
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  They needed cranes.
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  They needed mechanical engineering.
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  It is a huge feat of incredible engineering.
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  And God said to Noah, that's what you have to do.
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  And Noah, without any engineering experience, goes and does what God tells him to do.
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  And the key thing here is, God showed Noah what to do.
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  He didn't leave him in the dark.
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  He didn't leave Noah to work out for himself what was necessary.
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  God made Noah some instructions.
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  And Noah, to the best of his ability, followed these instructions.
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  He went and he got gopher wood, whatever kind of wood that is.
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  And he covered it inside and out in tar to somehow make it waterproof.
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  And he constructed this enormous boat.
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  But the key thing is, God told him what to do.
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  And today, when we're in the darkness of despair, confused about what we need to do to find and discover and experience the salvation of God,
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  God does not leave us in the dark about what to do either.
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  God does not leave us in a place where we can kind of flounder around,
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  desperately trying to work out what's necessary for us to experience and discover salvation.
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  He doesn't leave us in that darkness.
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  Instead, he has sent light.
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  For us, the instruction is not, go and build an ark for yourself.
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  The instruction is, go and discover the ark I have built for you.
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  Go and discover the salvation that I have completed for you with another piece of wood.
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  With the cross.
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  Because there, that cross, that wooden ark of salvation,
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  I have done what is necessary there for your salvation.
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  In fact, curiously, just the same as he did for Noah.
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  Because I don't for one second believe that Noah's engineering skills
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  were up to the task of building a 250 meter long boat of wood,
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  having never built one before.
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  The ark was not an effective means of Noah's salvation
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  had God himself not intervened.
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  Remember when Noah goes into the ark,
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  we didn't read it, it's in chapter 7,
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  but God, when he puts Noah into the ark,
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  he says, you go into the ark now,
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  and I will shut the door.
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  I mean, God's salvation is in operation
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  right the way through this story.
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  Not Noah's ingenuity,
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  not Noah's technical skills,
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  but God's provision of security
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  and protection for him.
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  And once again,
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  Noah has to respond to God's instructions
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  with obedience and trust.
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  And today, God hasn't left us in the dark
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  in just the same way.
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  He has said to us,
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  if you want to discover the salvation
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  that I am calling you to,
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  if you want to discover the hope
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  and the peace that you are invited to,
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  you need to come to Jesus
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  in faith
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  and cast yourself upon him.
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  It's one of these other moments
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  of calamity in the Bible
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  when the Philippian jailer
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  comes trembling before Paul and Silas.
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  The prison has been destroyed by an earthquake.
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  He's fearful for his life
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  because if the prisoners have escaped,
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  his life is forfeit.
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  He will have to die
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  for these escaped prisoners.
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  And trembling,
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  he comes before Paul and Silas
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  and he says,
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  what do I have to do to be saved?
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  His world is collapsing.
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  And Paul and Silas say to him,
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  believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
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  and you will be saved.
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  Today, the same instruction is there for us
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  in whatever darkness
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  and calamity we are experiencing.
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  Whether it is the ultimate darkness
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  and the fear and the calamity
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  of our lostness before God
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  or whether it is the experience of darkness
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  and the consequences of sin
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  and brokenness in this world
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  and all of the different ways
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  in which that manifests itself
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  in our experience,
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  the solution that God provides
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  and the pathway that he has shown us
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  and the road that he lightens for us
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  and directs us towards
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  is the same.
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  He says to us,
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  believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  Put your trust in my son
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  because he is your ark of salvation.
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  And we might say to ourselves,
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  well, I don't know if I can really do that.
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  Well, friends, the truth is
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  it is the only thing you can do.
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  You can't start behaving
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  as if somehow your own ingenuity
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  will get you out of a lost eternity.
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  And you can't start imagining
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  that your own ingenuity
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  is going to get you out of the darkness
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  of broken relationships
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  and misery
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  because of things that have happened
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  in this world
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  and in your experience
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  it won't.
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  But I know
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  that Jesus will.
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  But I know
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  that the love of Christ
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  and the fullness
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  of what he has done
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  for sinners
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  and the greatness
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  of the joy
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  that he holds out
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  to his people
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  is sufficient
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  for our sorrow
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  and our pain
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  and our lostness.
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  And so just as God taught Noah,
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  he teaches us
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  not to remain in the darkness
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  but to come into
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  his wonderful light.
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  And Noah obeyed.
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  There's another verse as well
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  which we don't,
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  you know,
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  we didn't have time to read
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  the whole story today
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  of the flood.
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  But as the floodwaters continue,
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  the ark is there
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  floating on the floodwaters.
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  God has shut the door.
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  God has sustained them.
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  And there's this wonderful phrase
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  that comes across
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  after God has shut the door
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  that God remembered Noah.
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  The word remembered
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  in the Old Testament,
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  it's a fascinating word
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  because it means more than just
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  I had forgotten something
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  and suddenly I remembered it.
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  The word remembered
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  in the Old Testament
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  is written remembered
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  in an era
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  where there wasn't
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  Microsoft Outlook,
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  where there wasn't
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  a Google Calendar.
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  And so I would be
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  completely lost.
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  In fact,
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  I still am completely lost
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  some days
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  without Outlook
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  and Google Calendars.
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  I'm really thankful
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  for my staff at work
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  who help me out
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  sometimes reminding me of things.
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  But the word remember
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  is crucial
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  because in the ancient world,
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  alliances and treaties
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  and commitments
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  had to be constantly
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  called to mind.
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  You had to remember
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  your commitments.
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  You had to remember
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  that you had promised
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  your allies
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  you would send troops
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  to help them
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  if they were attacked.
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  You had to remember
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  that if someone
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  had shown you favor
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  when you were on the run
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  that you would have
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  grace towards them.
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  You had to remember
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  the promises
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  that you had made
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  to people in the past.
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  You've got examples of this
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  with David, for example,
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  in Mephibosheth,
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  where David has to remember
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  to show mercy to him
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  for his uncle's father's sake.
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  The fact that God
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  remembers Noah
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  is rooted in something
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  that God has already done.
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  God,
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  when he put Noah
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  into the ark,
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  the Bible tells us
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  God established
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  a covenant with Noah.
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  God made a commitment
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  to Noah
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  to save him.
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  And so when the Bible
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  tells us that God
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  remembered Noah,
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  what it's telling us
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  is that God honored
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  the commitments
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  he had already made.
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  That God
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  didn't suddenly think,
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  oh well,
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  there's Noah
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  in the ark.
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  I better do something
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  about that
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  until the floodwaters
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  abated.
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  It's that actually
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  through that whole experience,
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  through that whole
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  terrifying experience,
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  Noah is never
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  distant from the thought
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  of God.
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  Noah is never
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  absent from the care
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  of God.
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  God is
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  intimately familiar
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  with what Noah
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  is going through.
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  And God
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  is mindful of him
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  at every point.
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  And so,
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  simply today
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  for us,
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  going through
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  these difficult
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  experiences
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  and these painful
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  moments
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  where we just
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  can't see the light
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  because of how
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  dark it is,
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  or for those
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  who are going
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  through these
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  experiences
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  of realizing
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  and recognizing
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  your lostness
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  without salvation
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  and the
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  grim reality
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  of an eternity
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  without God
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  in outer darkness
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  in a place of weeping
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  and gnashing of teeth.
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  I want to say
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  to you
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  that God
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  is a God
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  who remembers
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  his people.
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  it's there
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  for you
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  to come into
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  and enjoy
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  and experience
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  the moment
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  you trust
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  in Christ
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  Jesus,
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  the moment
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  that salvation
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  comes to you,
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  there is that
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  sense of
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  absolute security
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  because God
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  is not going
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  to forget
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  about you
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  at some point
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  in the future.
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  He's not going
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  to abandon you.
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  He's not going
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  to let you go.
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  He's not going
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  to leave you
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  in the dust.
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  He will carry you
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  and uphold you
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  and be with you
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  eternally
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  and forever.
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  And for those
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  of us
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  who are believers,
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  we can sing
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  Psalm 23.
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  Yes,
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  even though I walk
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  through the valley
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  of the shadow
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  of death,
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  you are with me
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  and your rod
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  and your staff
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  comfort me.
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  in the midst
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  of my enemies,
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  you furnish
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  a table for me.
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  You provide for me.
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  You have not
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  abandoned me.
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  You are with me
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  always.
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  God,
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  simply put,
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  remembers
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  us.
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  He remembers
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  you.
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  and he calls
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  to mind
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  continually
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  his promise
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  to you.
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  And I'm
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  fairly sure
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  that the reason
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  for that today
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  is actually none
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  other than Jesus
• 24:04
  himself.
• 24:05
  Because the New
• 24:06
  Testament tells us
• 24:07
  that Jesus,
• 24:07
  now that he's
• 24:08
  ascended to heaven
• 24:08
  and is seated
• 24:09
  at the right hand
• 24:10
  of God,
• 24:11
  what that says to us
• 24:12
  is the function
• 24:13
  that Jesus now has,
• 24:13
  the work that Jesus
• 24:14
  is doing today,
• 24:15
  is making intercession
• 24:17
  for us.
• 24:17
  And there may
• 24:19
  well be times
• 24:20
  where that means
• 24:21
  God the Son,
• 24:23
  the person of Jesus,
• 24:24
  is at the Father's
• 24:25
  right hand
• 24:26
  and is mentioning
• 24:26
  us by name.
• 24:28
  That's certainly
• 24:28
  possible.
• 24:29
  I think,
• 24:29
  I don't deny that.
• 24:31
  But at a more
• 24:32
  basic level,
• 24:34
  there is his presence.
• 24:37
  The dust of this world,
• 24:40
  incarnate in the
• 24:41
  person of God the Son,
• 24:42
  resurrected to life,
• 24:44
  following his death.
• 24:45
  And he is there
• 24:48
  as the representative
• 24:49
  of all of the people
• 24:51
  who are in the
• 24:51
  Lamb's book of life.
• 24:54
  And so all of the
• 24:55
  believers in all of
• 24:56
  the history of this
• 24:57
  world and in all of
• 24:58
  the future of this
• 24:59
  world until the Lord
• 24:59
  returns, all of the
• 25:01
  believers are there
• 25:02
  represented immediately
• 25:04
  at the Father's side.
• 25:06
  And the Father cannot
• 25:08
  forget us.
• 25:10
  He cannot forget the
• 25:11
  ones for whom his
• 25:12
  son died.
• 25:15
  And so he will not
• 25:16
  abandon you to abject
• 25:19
  despair and lostness
• 25:21
  and overwhelmed,
• 25:26
  unmitigated sorrow and
• 25:28
  separation from him.
• 25:32
  He will send the
• 25:34
  Spirit.
• 25:36
  He will send the Holy
• 25:38
  Spirit to come in as the
• 25:39
  comforter who will enter
• 25:41
  into the lives and the
• 25:43
  experience of God's people
• 25:44
  in the midst of all of
• 25:46
  that sorrow and all of
• 25:47
  that disaster.
• 25:48
  And he will comfort us
• 25:51
  because that is what he
• 25:53
  has promised.
• 25:55
  And because that is what
• 25:56
  his son has earned.
• 25:58
  And that is what Jesus
• 26:00
  has done for us.
• 26:02
  A covenant has been made,
• 26:05
  a commitment bounded up
• 26:07
  in the blood of Jesus,
• 26:09
  sealed in Christ,
• 26:11
  has been made towards
• 26:12
  God's people.
• 26:13
  And so today,
• 26:15
  we cannot be lost.
• 26:19
  We cannot be isolated
• 26:21
  and separated from God.
• 26:24
  We cannot know
• 26:25
  the fullness of calamity
• 26:27
  overtake us.
• 26:30
  And it's interesting again
• 26:31
  to see Noah's response
• 26:33
  to that.
• 26:35
  Because just as
• 26:35
  Noah had seen
• 26:38
  the grace of God
• 26:39
  and believed in him,
• 26:40
  and just as Noah had
• 26:41
  received the instruction
• 26:43
  of God and obeyed him,
• 26:44
  so Noah,
• 26:45
  when he sees the
• 26:46
  remembrance of God,
• 26:48
  Noah does something.
• 26:50
  Noah,
• 26:51
  when he came out of the
• 26:52
  ark,
• 26:52
  having been remembered
• 26:53
  by God,
• 26:55
  built an altar
• 26:56
  and worshipped.
• 26:58
  And that's what's
• 26:59
  necessary for us today.
• 27:03
  That when we remember
• 27:05
  and when we discover
• 27:06
  the abiding
• 27:08
  covenant
• 27:09
  commitment of God
• 27:10
  to us as his people,
• 27:13
  we're moved
• 27:13
  simply to worship.
• 27:16
  We're moved to awe
• 27:17
  and wonder,
• 27:19
  marveling at the grace
• 27:20
  God has shown us,
• 27:22
  marveling at his redemption.
• 27:25
  So I want to encourage you
• 27:26
  today,
• 27:26
  if you've known
• 27:27
  answered prayer,
• 27:29
  if you've been delivered
• 27:30
  from the black dog
• 27:31
  of depression
• 27:32
  in your experience,
• 27:34
  if you can look back
• 27:36
  on times of profound
• 27:38
  sorrow,
• 27:40
  and you can say,
• 27:41
  God has not failed me,
• 27:44
  then worship.
• 27:47
  Sing with joy
• 27:48
  a new song of praise
• 27:49
  to our God,
• 27:51
  because he is good
• 27:52
  and his mercy
• 27:55
  lasts forever.
• 27:57
  And so Noah worshipped
• 28:00
  a God who remembered him.
• 28:02
  The story, though,
• 28:03
  doesn't quite end
• 28:04
  with Noah's worship.
• 28:06
  And this I find
• 28:07
  quite telling.
• 28:07
  The story ends
• 28:08
  with the verses
• 28:10
  that we read
• 28:10
  at the beginning
• 28:11
  of Genesis 9.
• 28:13
  God blessed
• 28:14
  Noah
• 28:15
  and his sons.
• 28:18
  See,
• 28:18
  the story doesn't end
• 28:19
  because we're here.
• 28:22
  Whatever
• 28:22
  the outworking
• 28:24
  of this is,
• 28:25
  the reality
• 28:26
  is the human race
• 28:27
  was not extinguished
• 28:29
  in the days
• 28:29
  of Noah.
• 28:31
  The human race
• 28:32
  survived.
• 28:35
  And grace
• 28:36
  and mercy
• 28:37
  has been shown
• 28:38
  over and over.
• 28:41
  And the reason
• 28:42
  for that
• 28:43
  is because
• 28:43
  when the ark
• 28:44
  does come to rest
• 28:45
  and Noah
• 28:45
  and the rest
• 28:45
  of the survivors
• 28:46
  come out of the ark
• 28:47
  and they leave it
• 28:47
  and they worship,
• 28:49
  God renews
• 28:50
  his covenant
• 28:50
  with them.
• 28:52
  And one of the
• 28:53
  outworkings
• 28:54
  of God's
• 28:54
  covenant commitment
• 28:55
  to us
• 28:56
  is blessing.
• 28:59
  The word blessing,
• 29:00
  it's a really
• 29:01
  interesting word
• 29:02
  when you try
• 29:02
  to work out
• 29:03
  what it really
• 29:04
  means.
• 29:05
  I think
• 29:05
  the best thing
• 29:06
  it can mean
• 29:06
  when we experience
• 29:08
  the blessing
• 29:08
  of God,
• 29:10
  the best
• 29:10
  interpretation
• 29:11
  I would have
• 29:11
  of that
• 29:11
  is that
• 29:12
  we receive
• 29:12
  everything
• 29:13
  that is
• 29:13
  necessary
• 29:14
  for us
• 29:15
  to thrive
• 29:16
  and flourish
• 29:17
  in what God
• 29:19
  has called
• 29:19
  us to do.
• 29:20
  So when God
• 29:22
  blesses you
• 29:23
  he blesses you
• 29:25
  for the tasks
• 29:26
  he's called
• 29:26
  you to.
• 29:28
  He equips you
• 29:29
  for what you're
• 29:30
  called to do,
• 29:31
  what you're
• 29:31
  called to go
• 29:32
  on doing,
• 29:32
  what you're
• 29:33
  called to
• 29:33
  continue to do
• 29:34
  serving him.
• 29:36
  You're called
• 29:37
  by God
• 29:38
  to go on.
• 29:42
  When times
• 29:43
  of sorrow
• 29:43
  and turmoil
• 29:44
  and tragedy
• 29:44
  come in the
• 29:46
  lives of God's
• 29:47
  people
• 29:47
  there is a
• 29:50
  temptation for us
• 29:51
  to respond
• 29:52
  like the world
• 29:52
  which has
• 29:55
  no hope
• 29:55
  in a world
• 29:58
  which doesn't
• 29:59
  have the
• 30:01
  inherent strength
• 30:02
  to move on
• 30:03
  and sometimes
• 30:05
  we might become
• 30:06
  locked
• 30:06
  in that past
• 30:08
  trauma
• 30:08
  but actually
• 30:11
  Noah
• 30:12
  is a lesson
• 30:13
  for us here
• 30:13
  because I think
• 30:15
  in a sense
• 30:15
  that's what
• 30:15
  Noah almost
• 30:16
  wants to do.
• 30:16
  He has an
• 30:17
  experience of
• 30:18
  some sort of
• 30:19
  I think
• 30:20
  survivor guilt.
• 30:21
  It's really
• 30:21
  interesting that
• 30:22
  one of the
• 30:22
  first things
• 30:23
  Noah consciously
• 30:24
  does when he
• 30:24
  comes out of
• 30:24
  the ark
• 30:25
  is he goes
• 30:26
  and he plants
• 30:26
  a vineyard
• 30:27
  and he gets
• 30:28
  drunk.
• 30:30
  Noah is still
• 30:31
  a broken
• 30:32
  sinner
• 30:32
  and his
• 30:34
  trauma is still
• 30:35
  with him
• 30:36
  but God
• 30:39
  doesn't want
• 30:40
  Noah to stay
• 30:41
  there
• 30:41
  and so God
• 30:43
  says to Noah
• 30:44
  I'm going to
• 30:45
  bless you
• 30:46
  and I'm going
• 30:47
  to reiterate
• 30:47
  a command
• 30:48
  a function
• 30:49
  an ordinance
• 30:50
  in fact
• 30:51
  that I gave
• 30:52
  to Adam
• 30:52
  at the very
• 30:53
  beginning of
• 30:53
  creation.
• 30:55
  Be fruitful
• 30:55
  and multiply
• 30:56
  it and fill
• 30:56
  the earth
• 30:57
  and subdue
• 30:57
  it.
• 30:59
  Noah is
• 31:00
  the evidence
• 31:01
  of God's
• 31:02
  new creation
• 31:04
  God's new
• 31:06
  work going
• 31:06
  on
• 31:06
  the new
• 31:08
  world that
• 31:08
  is now
• 31:08
  created
• 31:09
  is now
• 31:10
  under the
• 31:11
  same
• 31:11
  creation
• 31:11
  ordinance
• 31:12
  that Adam
• 31:13
  was given
• 31:14
  be fruitful
• 31:14
  fill it
• 31:15
  subdue it
• 31:16
  be my
• 31:18
  overlord
• 31:19
  within it.
• 31:20
  The same
• 31:21
  task is there
• 31:21
  for Noah
• 31:22
  he has to
• 31:23
  move on
• 31:23
  and we
• 31:26
  in our
• 31:26
  lives
• 31:27
  we're given
• 31:29
  the same
• 31:30
  blessing
• 31:30
  by God
• 31:31
  that our
• 31:33
  lives will
• 31:34
  not be
• 31:34
  defined
• 31:35
  by where
• 31:37
  we have
• 31:37
  been
• 31:37
  they'll
• 31:39
  not even
• 31:39
  be defined
• 31:40
  by what
• 31:40
  we have
• 31:40
  come
• 31:41
  through
• 31:41
  but we
• 31:43
  will be
• 31:43
  defined
• 31:44
  by the
• 31:44
  call of
• 31:45
  God
• 31:45
  on us
• 31:46
  to continue
• 31:47
  to serve
• 31:48
  him and
• 31:48
  honour him
• 31:49
  in the
• 31:50
  mission that
• 31:50
  he has
• 31:50
  given us
• 31:51
  and in the
• 31:53
  New Testament
• 31:53
  that is to
• 31:54
  honour him
• 31:55
  in the
• 31:55
  great
• 31:56
  commission
• 31:56
  to go
• 31:58
  forth into
• 31:58
  this world
• 31:59
  into our
• 31:59
  families
• 31:59
  into our
• 32:01
  workplaces
• 32:01
  into our
• 32:02
  communities
• 32:02
  into our
• 32:03
  neighbourhoods
• 32:03
  and to
• 32:05
  there
• 32:05
  make
• 32:06
  disciples
• 32:07
  of all
• 32:07
  nations
• 32:08
  and the
• 32:10
  amazing
• 32:11
  thing is
• 32:11
  God
• 32:12
  blesses
• 32:13
  us
• 32:13
  for that
• 32:15
  task
• 32:15
  that if
• 32:19
  we've
• 32:19
  come to
• 32:19
  Jesus
• 32:20
  if we
• 32:21
  followed the
• 32:22
  instruction
• 32:22
  of God
• 32:23
  in coming
• 32:23
  to him
• 32:23
  and trusting
• 32:25
  in him
• 32:25
  he blesses
• 32:27
  us
• 32:27
  to continue
• 32:29
  moving
• 32:29
  forward
• 32:30
  as his
• 32:32
  servants
• 32:32
  and so
• 32:35
  be lifted
• 32:35
  up today
• 32:35
  with renewed
• 32:38
  strength
• 32:38
  and boldness
• 32:40
  in God's
• 32:41
  service
• 32:41
  because there
• 32:43
  is work
• 32:44
  to do
• 32:44
  and he
• 32:46
  has given
• 32:46
  it to
• 32:46
  us
• 32:47
  and he
• 32:49
  will give
• 32:49
  us everything
• 32:50
  that we
• 32:50
  need
• 32:50
  to finish
• 32:52
  the task
• 32:54
  let's
• 32:55
  pray
• 32:56
  heavenly
• 33:01
  father we
• 33:01
  thank you
• 33:01
  today that
• 33:02
  you are
• 33:02
  a God
• 33:03
  who saves
• 33:03
  and just
• 33:05
  as you
• 33:06
  saved
• 33:06
  Noah
• 33:06
  you
• 33:07
  so
• 33:07
  also
• 33:08
  save
• 33:08
  us
• 33:08
  in the
• 33:11
  one who
• 33:11
  is known
• 33:12
  as the
• 33:12
  way
• 33:12
  the truth
• 33:13
  and the
• 33:13
  life
• 33:13
  we thank
• 33:15
  you today
• 33:15
  for Jesus
• 33:16
  the ark
• 33:17
  of our
• 33:17
  salvation
• 33:18
  we thank
• 33:19
  you that
• 33:20
  there's hope
• 33:20
  to be found
• 33:20
  in him
• 33:21
  and we
• 33:22
  pray that
• 33:23
  you would
• 33:23
  help us
• 33:24
  to live
• 33:24
  and walk
• 33:25
  according
• 33:26
  to what
• 33:26
  he has
• 33:27
  said to
• 33:27
  us
• 33:27
  help us
• 33:29
  Lord
• 33:29
  in the
• 33:30
  midst of
• 33:30
  sorrow
• 33:31
  as well
• 33:31
  to remember
• 33:31
  that we
• 33:32
  still have
• 33:32
  a purpose
• 33:33
  that you
• 33:34
  have given
• 33:34
  us a
• 33:35
  mission to
• 33:36
  get on
• 33:36
  with
• 33:36
  work to
• 33:37
  do in
• 33:38
  this
• 33:38
  world
• 33:38
  and so
• 33:39
  we pray
• 33:40
  father that
• 33:40
  you would
• 33:41
  make us
• 33:41
  winners
• 33:42
  of men
• 33:43
  and women
• 33:44
  people who
• 33:46
  make disciples
• 33:47
  and who
• 33:48
  seek to
• 33:49
  disciple others
• 33:50
  coming after
• 33:50
  us in that
• 33:51
  great work
• 33:51
  as well
• 33:52
  and so
• 33:53
  father bless
• 33:54
  us today
• 33:54
  in the work
• 33:55
  of the
• 33:55
  church
• 33:55
  bless us
• 33:57
  in the
• 33:57
  ministries
• 33:57
  that we're
• 33:58
  called to
• 33:58
  and we
• 34:00
  ask all
• 34:00
  of this
• 34:00
  in Jesus
• 34:01
  name
• 34:01
  and for
• 34:01
  his
• 34:02
  sake
• 34:02
  amen
• 34:03
  we're going
• 34:14
  to sing
• 34:14
  in conclusion
• 34:15
  again in
• 34:16
  sing psalms
• 34:17
  in psalm
• 34:17
  98
• 34:18
  this is
• 34:19
  page 129
• 34:21
  in the
• 34:22
  blue book
• 34:22
  page 129
• 34:23
  we're going
• 34:34
  to sing at
• 34:34
  the beginning
• 34:35
  verses 1 to
• 34:36
  3
• 34:36
  you'll sing a
• 34:37
  new song to
• 34:37
  the lord
• 34:38
  for wonder
• 34:39
  she has done
• 34:39
  his right hand
• 34:40
  and his holy
• 34:41
  arm the victory
• 34:42
  have won
• 34:42
  the lord
• 34:43
  declared his
• 34:44
  saving work
• 34:45
  and made it
• 34:45
  to be known
• 34:46
  to all the
• 34:47
  nations of
• 34:47
  the world
• 34:48
  his righteousness
• 34:48
  is shown
• 34:50
  his steadfast
• 34:51
  love and
• 34:51
  faithfulness
• 34:52
  he has
• 34:53
  remembered
• 34:53
  well the
• 34:54
  covenant he
• 34:55
  made with
• 34:55
  them the
• 34:56
  house of
• 34:56
  israel and
• 34:57
  all the
• 34:58
  nations of
• 34:58
  the earth
• 34:58
  have seen
• 34:59
  what god
• 35:00
  has done
• 35:00
  our god
• 35:01
  who brings
• 35:02
  deliverance
• 35:02
  by his
• 35:03
  right hand
• 35:03
  alone
• 35:04
  and we're
• 35:05
  going to
• 35:05
  sing these
• 35:05
  four stanzas
• 35:06
  to god's
• 35:07
  praise the
• 35:07
  tunes warwick
• 35:08
  will stand
• 35:09
  to sing
• 35:09
  oh sing a
• 35:09
  new song
• 35:10
  new song
• 35:21
  to the lord
• 35:23
  for wonder
• 35:25
  the lord
• 35:26
  he has
• 35:28
  the lord
• 35:55
  to all the nations of the world
• 36:06
  His righteousness is shown
• 36:12
  His steadfast love and faithfulness
• 36:21
  He has remembered well
• 36:27
  The covenant He made with them
• 36:35
  The house of Israel
• 36:40
  And all the nations of the earth
• 36:50
  Has seen what God has done
• 36:56
  Our God who brings deliverance
• 37:04
  By His right hand alone
• 37:10
  Now the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
• 37:15
  The love of God the Father
• 37:16
  And the fellowship of God the Holy Spirit
• 37:18
  Be with each one of us now and always
• 37:20
  Amen
• 37:21
  Amen
• 37:29
  Thank you.