God’s Signature
Genesis 9: 1-17 (NLT)
Intro: A few months back, my eldest son and I were leaving wal-mart in Covington. While we were in the store, a storm had come and we were driving out of the parking lot and DJ said look at that dad, pointing to the sky. In the sky was a beautiful rainbow arcing over the sky. He asked me to pull over and he took out his phone and took a picture of the rainbow and immediately sent it to his girlfriend. He was taken aback by the beauty that he had seen with that rainbow and he wanted to share it with someone he cared about.
. As I looked at that rainbow, many thoughts came to mind.
. I remembered the song by Judy Garland in the Wizard Of Oz. Somewhere over the Rainbow.
. These are some of the words.
. Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, there’s a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.
.Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.
. Then I thought about the movies that show the little leprechauns there at the end of the rainbow with a pot of gold.
. As I was preparing this sermon and thought about these things, I realized that both of those things are true.
. You see, as you look up into the sky, there is a land that we hear of where our dreams will come true.
. Heaven is waiting at the end of that rainbow for those who place their faith in Jesus and dream of an eternity with him.
. There is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. You see at the end of the rainbow, we find riches in Christ Jesus. Nothing is more valuable.
More than anything else though, what I saw and see is God’s signature on a contract that He has made with mankind.
. Every time I see a rainbow, I think if Gods first promise to mankind.
. We are back in Genesis this morning.
Last time we were in Genesis, we saw that the very first thing Noah did when he left the Ark was to thank and worship God. That was the most important thing to Noah.
. Acknowledging what God had done for him and worshipping him.
. Then we come to chapter 9 where Noah, his family and all the animals leave the boat.
. I’m going to share the story with you and comment on a few things as we go through and we will look at several verses specifically.
. God blesses Noah and his sons and gives them the command to be fruitful and multiply. You can trace back all the people groups of the world to Noah’s three sons. Shem Ham and Japheth.
. Then God does something that many times we read right over.
. God changes the order of things. Up until that time, man and the other animals had lived in harmony with each other.
. Mankind was vegetarian and therefore the animals had nothing to fear from him. Now God gave the animals over to man. Man was to rule over the animal kingdom and also they were now available for food.
. The order in the world has changed. Adam had a relationship with the animal kingdom, he named them but now, this was a new order.
. God then explains to them just how precious the sanctity of human life was by declaring that if a human or an animal takes a life, then their life should be taken from them.
. There are many connotations with this verse and a different sermon altogether.
. God then talks about a covenant.
. The covenant that He had mentioned briefly in chapter 6 but now was about to explain to Noah just what was in that covenant.
. This is where we will camp out for the remainder of our time this morning.
. God’s covenant or promise to Noah and to all mankind and what part the rainbow plays in this covenant.
. Let’s look at verses 8-17 of chapter 9.
8Then God told Noah and his sons,
9“I hereby confirm my covenant with you and your descendants,
10and with all the animals that were on the boat with you—the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals—every living creature on earth.
11Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth.”
12Then God said, “I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come.
13I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth.
14When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds,
15and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life.
16When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth.”
17Then God said to Noah, “Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth.”
. The rainbow, God’s signature on a contract that He has made with mankind.
. Look at verse 9 again.
. 9“I hereby confirm my covenant with you and your descendants,
. Covenant is a translation of the Hebrew word berith and it means to bond with something.
. To attach to something and never let go.
. God said to Noah that on this day, I will bond with you. I will make a contract with you.
. Not only is this contract with Noah and his sons, it is with us also.
. 9“I hereby confirm my covenant with you and your
descendants.
. Folks we are the descendants of Noah. We get confused sometimes in thinking that the Old Testament is just talking about the Jewish people.
. The nation of Israel was not even in existence yet. That nation sprang from the descendants of Abraham.
. All mankind are descendants of Noah and his son’s.
. Look at verses 18&19 with me.
. 18The sons of Noah who came out of the boat with their father were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham is the father of Canaan.)
19From these three sons of Noah came all the people who now populate the earth.
. When we see a rainbow, we can be reminded that God made promises to Noah that he and we can depend upon.
. God’s promises apply to all mankind.
.Look at verse 11 again:
. 11Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth.”
. God will never again destroy the earth by covering it with water.
. We can depend upon that.
. We can depend on God’s promises.
. Dr. Reginald Dunlap went through the Bible and tells us that there are approximately 30,000 promises in the Bible.
. Let me share a few of those 30,000 promises with you this morning.
. We as a church can take hold of this promise.
. Matthew 16: 18
. 8Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
. Peter had just acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah and Jesus tells Peter that he is blessed because God has chosen to reveal who Jesus was to him.
. Jesus was telling Peter that on this revelation that I am the Messiah, my church will be built and even the powers of hell cannot prevail against it.
. If you are here this morning and have a saving relationship with Jesus, you are part of that church.
. The church started at Pentecost and has been in existence ever since. It has faced and continues to face attacks from without and within but through it all, the church survives.
. That is the promise Jesus makes to us.
. Another promise is that God will be with us, no matter what.
. God has made this promise throughout time.
. Deut 31:6
. 6So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
. The mantle of leadership was being turned over to Joshua from Moses and Moses was encouraging Joshua and he told him to be strong and courageous.
God is with you.
. Joshua 1:5, God talks directly with Joshua.
. The Jewish people are getting ready to take possession of the promised land and God says this to Joshua.
. 5No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.
. In the great commission, recorded in Matthew 28, Jesus tells us this:
. “…And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
.In 1994,. Two Americans were invited to Russia by their Dept. of Education to come and teach morals and ethics to the children based on biblical principles. They went and when they came back, they shared one of their encounters in Russia. It was close to Christmas and they went to an orphanage and decided to share the Christmas story with the children.
. They told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem and finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where Jesus was born and placed in the manger.
Throughout the story, the children, according to one of the Americans, “sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word.”
As a follow-up activity to the story, each child was given three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manager. Each child was also given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins which the children tore into strips the paper and carefully laid them in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel from a thrown away nightgown were used for the baby’s blanket. From pieces of tan felt a doll-like baby was made.
As they made their way around the room to observe the children this is what one of the Americans noted, “All went well until I got to one table where little Misha sat. He looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project.
As I looked at the little boy’s manger, I was startled to see, not one but two babies in the manger. Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger.”
The observer goes on to note that Misha very accurately recalled the story that had been told until he came to the part where Mary put Jesus in the manger. “Then Misha,” it is noted, “started to ad-lib. He made up his own ending to the story as he said, “And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no momma and I have no papa, so I don’t have any place to stay.
Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn’t because I didn’t have a gift to give him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift.
So I asked Jesus, “If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?” And Jesus told me, “If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me. So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I could stay with him – for always.”
As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed. The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon or abuse him, someone who would stay with him – FOR ALWAYS!”
. God will always be with us.
. We could spend hours looking at the promise of God to always be with us.
. God has promised that He will come again. Bringing and giving eternal life.
. John 14:1-3
1“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.
2There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
3When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.
. We use these words many times @ funerals to remind us of this promise of God.
.1 John 2:25
. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.
. 1 John 5:13
. 13 I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.
. God’s promises have been with us and have been kept by God since the beginning.
. When you see a rainbow folks, look at its beauty but also realize that it is the signature of God. The signature confirming that God is a covenant making God. A God of promises.
One final promise of God is this:
9If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.
. Have you trusted in this promise this morning.
. Invitation
*** To my Christian brothers and sisters, thank you for taking the time to read this sermon. I ask that you take another second and score this for me. I am always open to feedback so that I can continue to grow in the proclamation of God’s word.
May God bless you as you continue to strive to walk worthy of His calling.
Sources: The Holy Bible, NLT
Illustration from sermon central
