February 11, 2018

Christian Trials

Preacher:
Passage: Genesis 7:11-8:5
Service Type:
  • Devastating floods
    • But none compares to the great flood in Noah' time
    • All died apart from those in the Ark
    • This flood was an act of judgment
    • It is a foretelling of the Final Judgment - in which Christ is our ark
    • We will be safe in Jesus Christ
    • Choose life
  • Chapter 8
    • 150 days into the flood
      • 40 days of rain
      • The water from above and below had covered the land
      • Noah and his family floated in the ark (along with the animals) for the next 110 days
    • How might Noah have felt?
      • Remember Noah was human
      • Explanation:
        • How Noah might have felt
        • What life must have been like in the ark
        • Noah had been through a traumatic time
        • Doubts and questions likely arose in his mind
        • A trial in the ark
  • There are accounts in the Bible of believers that have doubted after a prolonged trial
    • The Psalmist
    • Kind David  (e.g. running from his own son)
    • Do cries like this strike a chord with us?
    • Christians go through times like these
  • Gen 8:1 – "God remembered Noah"
    • Hebrew meaning: Not simply a mental recall but meaning action
      • 1 Samuel 1:19
    • Hebrew meaning: Acting to help someone in accordance with a promise previously given
      • Exodus 2:24
    • God had not forgotten or forsaken Noah
    • God left Noah in the trial, sustained him through the trial and at the right time delivered him from the trial
  • Perhaps you feel that God has left you in the trial?
    • You are too precious to God for Him to give you up
      • Isa 49:14
    • He has promised to never leave nor forsake us
    • We must not interpret God from our circumstances – we must interpret our circumstances from God
    • God will act when the time is right
  • Trials are part of Christian life
  • Jesus was forsaken – so we will never be
  • The Biblical teaching on trials:
    • This trial is not out of God's control
    • This trial is not a judgment
    • This trial is working to your eternal good
    • Our Father is with us and will uphold us during this trial
    • He will in due course bring us out of the trial
  • David says of God "You have answered me"
  • Affliction is the time to exercise faith
    • Not blind faith
    • Faith that has been proved time and again
  • Closing Remarks

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