2005-01-02 Communion Dedication - Baldwin Christian Church

Genesis 8:15-22

15. And God spake unto Noah, saying,
16. Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.
17. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
18. And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him:
19. Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.
20. And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour;

What was this sweet savour? God is a spirit; THE SPIRIT. Could it be that the odor of animals being wholly burnt appeals to His sniffer? (skins, guts and all?) Heavens no. God smelled what Noah was cooking in his heart. What was it?

Noah lived during a time when the wickedness of man was at it's worst. Every imagination of the thoughts of men was only evil continually, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

At a time when all of mankind walked after it's own lusts, the Bible tells us that Noah walked with God (Genesis 6), and Noah had been walking with God for a long time. He was 600 years old at the time of the flood. Most folks are pretty-well set in their ways when they reach that time of life, but even so, the Bible tells us that Noah did according to all that God commanded him.

At a time when people were living only for the "here and now," Noah listened to and followed God's instructions for the future, even when it wouldn't make sense to anyone else but him.

Then, as If building the ark wasn't a great enough test of Noah's faith by itself, when he finally enters the ark with his family and all those animals, seven days passed by without even a sprinkle from the sky. How many times have I given up waiting on the Lord to fulfill His promises in my life, and His promises to the other people in my life? I give up, but Noah remained faithful, and the promised rains came. The boat floated.

Then, after almost ten months of being cooped-up with his family and all those noisy critters, Noah finally looks out and sees that the land is dry. Did he do as I would have done? Did he yell, "Yippee, I'm free," then immediately jump out and start exploring? No, Noah waited inside the ark almost another three months before the Lord told him to, "Go forth" out of the ark.

Then, after one year and seventeen days after he entered the ark, the first thing he does when he gets out is build an altar and offer burnt offerings.

21. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
22. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Mankind might show virtue sometimes, but God tells us our hearts are carnal and profane even when we're young. If the imagination of man's heart is evil, why does God allow us to go on? Our minds are corrupted with contempt toward Him, with pride, with love of ourselves, with hypocrisy and deceit. Out of our hearts these things come, and here God tells us that they are natural, engrained flaws. You may be saying to yourself, "I'm not like that," but you are, and so am I. You might be saying to yourself, "Well maybe so, I'm not as bad as he is (or she is)." No, let's face up to it, and count the cost of serving the God of grace and mercy.

Noah didn't jump out of the ark and start building his own house. He first showed gratitude toward the Lord of his salvation, and built first an altar of worship. That's what Noah was cooking. The sacrifices didn't save him.

What motivated Noah? Hebrews 11:7 tells us: By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Today I believe with fear and trembling that one earthquake can snatch the breath of life from 150,000 people, but I believe that because I've seen the news reports. The faith of Noah acts when God gives a warning, even when the danger remains unseen, because that's what it means to "fear God."

Why does He allow us to go on? Maybe it's because He knows how difficult it is for us to go on in these times, in these bodies, in this world, and it pleases Him to see that we still choose to follow Him rather than the devil. In this house, right now, He's "sniffing" around to see what our hearts are cooking. Is He pleased with the savour?

Hebrews 13:15-16
15. By him (Jesus) therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
16. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

All the people who were celebrating the changing of the calendar year completely forget the most important thing about it: A.D. 2005 means, The Year of Our Lord - 2005. The calendar we use everyday is based on the fact that He was born into this world, He walked with us, and yet He lived a life free from sin that He might become the burnt offering for all men. Let's try remember that fact as we open the covering on a new year, as we see the world before us with all it's possibilities, as we decide whether we should build first an altar of worship or build our own house.