1 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:10,920 We welcome you to the Via Zayan Sermon podcast. 2 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:13,600 We are a church based in Chennai, India. 3 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:17,640 We are so happy that you tuned in today and hope that as you 4 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:22,080 listen in, you will be inspired, strengthened and empowered to 5 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:27,080 live for Jesus everyday. As we enter 2026, we believe 6 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:29,560 that this is the year of a divine takeover. 7 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:33,160 We believe that when we surrender our lives to Him, He 8 00:00:33,160 --> 00:00:37,080 will take over every aspect and bring breakthrough and blessing 9 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:40,680 like only He can. Today we look at how we hand 10 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,720 over the details of our lives before He takes over. 11 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:48,240 Would you keep your eyes, ears, and hearts tuned into God today 12 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:52,480 and every day of this year? Would your hands and feet be 13 00:00:52,480 --> 00:00:56,560 strong to do what you have been called and created to do? 14 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:02,280 So as we saw last week, I think Geshom was leading us on an 15 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:04,480 introduction of the fear of God, right? 16 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:08,400 He was talking about how a fear of God is not actually a kind of 17 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:12,320 paralyzing, crippling fear, but it is a fear of, you know, just 18 00:01:12,320 --> 00:01:16,240 being in reverent awe of God. And when we were preparing for 19 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:18,840 it, when we were discussing about the theme, there was this 20 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:23,040 verse that kind of jumped out at us from Ezekiel chapter 14, 21 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,160 verses 12 to 14. And for the next three weeks, 22 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:28,840 we're going to be actually dwelling on the 3 characters 23 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:31,840 from this verse. Ezekiel chapter 14, verses 12 to 24 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:33,920 14. It says the word of the Lord 25 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:37,560 came to me, son of man. If a country sins against me by 26 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:41,040 being unfaithful, and I stretch out my hand against it to cut 27 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,520 off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its 28 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:48,560 people and their animals, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel 29 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:51,880 and Job were in it, they could save only themselves by their 30 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,160 righteousness declares the sovereign Lord. 31 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:59,080 You know, anytime in the Bible when cat characters from way 32 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:03,240 before are mentioned again in reminiscence or just like a a 33 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:06,120 recollection, we need to take take note of it. 34 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:09,080 We really need to go and look at why were they being mentioned. 35 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:11,320 So they're being mentioned in the book of Ezekiel, which is 36 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:15,360 during the time of exile. And these three characters were 37 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:17,680 way back. At least Daniel was close to the 38 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:21,720 exile, but it's it's talking about Noah, Daniel and Job. 39 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:25,120 So we're going to be looking at these characters over the next 40 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:28,520 three weeks to understand what what God was actually meaning. 41 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:31,520 Because think about it, the land was going had gone, was going to 42 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:33,520 go into exile. The people are going to be 43 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:37,240 punished at the hands of enemy kings, all because they had 44 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:40,600 wandered far from God. They had, you know, set up idols 45 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:42,360 in their hearts, idols in their homes. 46 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:45,560 They had abandoned the true worship of the true God. 47 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:48,960 And so God was getting their attention back in a difficult, 48 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:53,600 in a stern, fatherly, disciplinary way. 49 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,440 And yet he's saying in the midst of this, even if these three men 50 00:02:57,440 --> 00:02:59,640 who were there, obviously men who had touched his heart, men 51 00:02:59,640 --> 00:03:02,040 who were close to him, he says, even if they were there, I 52 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:05,840 wouldn't be able to save them. And he is talking about how this 53 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:10,520 country is so unfaithful and that even if these three guys 54 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:12,560 were there, it wouldn't save the land. 55 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:15,440 And that should get our attention that there was 56 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:21,080 something about Noah, Daniel and Joe which got God's attention, 57 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:24,440 which got God all gooey eyed and said, you know what? 58 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:25,880 These guys, they're special to me. 59 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:28,360 And so we're going to be looking today at Noah. 60 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,560 Specifically, we're going to be looking at Noah from Genesis 61 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:34,640 chapter 6. I'm reading from verses 5 to 8. 62 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:36,840 This is what it says. The Lord saw how great the 63 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:39,840 wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that 64 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:42,680 every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was 65 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:46,000 only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that He had 66 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,080 made human beings on the earth, and His heart was deeply 67 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:51,560 troubled. So the Lord said, I will wipe 68 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:54,840 from the face of the earth the human race I have created, and 69 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:58,160 with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move 70 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,240 along the ground, for I regret that I made them. 71 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:06,320 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. 72 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:09,800 Genesis chapter 6 verses 9 to 13, it says this is the account 73 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:12,880 of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, 74 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:15,920 blameless among the people of his time, and he walked 75 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:20,160 faithfully with God. Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham 76 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:22,079 and Japheth. We're going to just pause there. 77 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:27,840 If you notice it said, but Noah found favor in the eyes of God. 78 00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:30,280 God was angry with humanity. He had. 79 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:32,880 I didn't know that God could potentially have regrets, but he 80 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:34,440 had regrets that he had made man. 81 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:38,000 And he said that their every inclination of their heart was 82 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:42,120 evil all the time. But Noah was a righteous man. 83 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:44,480 And it's in the setting of this generation. 84 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:50,040 He says Noah was blameless among the people of his time. 85 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:52,800 This is the reason we're looking at Noah today. 86 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:55,920 Noah was someone who was considered by God to be 87 00:04:55,920 --> 00:05:00,120 faithful, to be considered righteous and walking blameless, 88 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:03,240 right? And the times that Noah lived in 89 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,040 is not really different from the times we live in now. 90 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:09,120 There was idolatry, there was immorality. 91 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:11,280 Men did as they liked. They harmed each other. 92 00:05:11,280 --> 00:05:15,680 They fed their own lusts and appetites, Very similar to the 93 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:19,200 times we're living in. Would God pick you out from the 94 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:22,640 crowd? Would God say, this is my child? 95 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:28,480 He or she walks blamelessly. He or she walks closely with me. 96 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:33,640 Would God be able to say that? I thank God that unlike no one, 97 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:37,640 no one lived in the time before Jesus came, and so his good 98 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:40,320 works assigned him a certain righteousness. 99 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:44,920 But today, you and I, we live in a time of the new covenant where 100 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:47,440 Jesus has made us righteous before the throne. 101 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:51,200 Jesus, because of his righteousness, it has now been 102 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:53,520 accounted to us and so it's credited to us. 103 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:56,680 And therefore, when the when God looks at us today, he sees us 104 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:59,560 through the lens of Jesus's righteousness and we are made 105 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:02,560 acceptable to him. But do we stand out in the 106 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:07,440 generation that we are in? Can we be called blameless in 107 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,640 our time? And the interesting thing is God 108 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:13,320 takes note of the relentlessly righteous. 109 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,600 God takes note of the blameless ones. 110 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:21,960 When you look at it, it said Noah walked with God, right? 111 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:27,600 It says he was blameless. He walked faithfully with God. 112 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:31,560 What does it look like? It talks about Enoch in a later 113 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:33,880 in an earlier chapter, it talks about Enoch walked with God and 114 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:36,560 then he was with God. He he just transitioned into 115 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:40,240 eternity. It symbolizes intimacy. 116 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:47,280 It symbolizes closeness, a daily intentional journeying with God, 117 00:06:48,280 --> 00:06:51,680 walking faithfully. It was the probably the reason 118 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:54,960 for his blameless ways, because on our own, we are wired. 119 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:58,840 We were conceived in sin, the psalmist rights, which means we 120 00:06:58,840 --> 00:07:02,280 are our tendency is to wander. We're prone to wander, we're 121 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:07,440 prone to leave God's side. But when you're walking closely 122 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:11,520 with God, you tend to do what God instructs. 123 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:15,800 It indicates a steady, everyday personal relationship between 124 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:18,880 God and Noah. To be blameless, to be counted 125 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:22,080 as righteous in that time was number small feat. 126 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:25,560 And yet it was because of his close journey with God that God 127 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:30,040 saw him for who he truly was. So you know, honestly, if you 128 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:34,160 look at this to the degree that you pursue God and walk every 129 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:36,480 day with him will be the degree that your life carries His 130 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:41,400 presence, carries his essence. It's really about how closely 131 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:46,480 you are walking with Him. Continuing from verse 11 to 13. 132 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:49,720 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of 133 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:52,760 violence. God saw how corrupt the earth 134 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:56,120 had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their 135 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:59,000 ways. So God said to Noah, I'm going 136 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,280 to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with 137 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:05,360 violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy 138 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:09,840 both them and the earth. Want to stop? 139 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:13,080 There again, God notices the blameless. 140 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:19,680 God loves the ones who walk steadily with him, faithfully 141 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:23,040 with him. But God confides in those who 142 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:26,240 fear him. Why would God have to tell Noah 143 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:29,560 the plans of his heart because he had been journeying with him 144 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:32,440 already? They had this, this familiarity, 145 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:37,559 this closeness because of which God confided in him about his 146 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:39,600 plans. And the interesting thing is, 147 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:44,400 you cannot actually discern God's taking confidence in you 148 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:47,640 unless you're actually paying attention, unless you're someone 149 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:53,000 who's attuned to his voice. You know, it's so interesting 150 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:56,600 when I have 3 kids and my second and third, their voice 151 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:59,680 frequencies are very similar. So when I call on the phone 152 00:08:59,680 --> 00:09:02,960 sometimes to talk to them on the landline, if I'm out somewhere, 153 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:06,720 I invariably mix up and I say oh Celeste or Calvin and they get 154 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:11,920 so mad with me. But the the truth is this God 155 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:14,760 when he walks with us, he doesn't fail. 156 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:20,520 His parents often do. He knows us so intimately when I 157 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:22,880 call on Him, He knows exactly who's calling on him. 158 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:28,080 Vice versa, when I am walking closely to Him with Him I can. 159 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:30,040 My ears are attuned to His voice. 160 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:32,200 I know when He's nudging me in my spirit. 161 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:34,280 I know when He's whispering something to me. 162 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:38,080 The problem is the noises in our life are so loud we sometimes 163 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,960 miss out on the small whispers of God and think about it. 164 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:43,640 I don't know and I was preparing this. 165 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:46,920 I was just my my mind was all over the place with thinking. 166 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:50,200 How did God speak to know? Was it through a booming voice? 167 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:53,120 Was it whispers? Was it impressions on the heart? 168 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:57,040 Was it a nudging in his spirit? I don't know, but all I know is 169 00:09:57,040 --> 00:10:00,480 this, that God confided in him and Noah responded. 170 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:03,520 Noah was listening. Obviously, Noah was used to 171 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:07,160 listening to God, that when he confided Noah was listening in 172 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:12,080 with rapt attention. Without an ongoing relationship 173 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:15,840 with God, you will not receive revelation of your assignment. 174 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:18,040 It's very clear. Sometimes we think about it. 175 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:19,800 You know what? Someone's living in the fullness 176 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:21,520 of their calling. They're doing so much for God. 177 00:10:21,680 --> 00:10:22,960 How come that's not happening for me? 178 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:25,800 And then I have to revisit my closeness to God. 179 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:29,440 I have to revisit if I'm really intentional about pursuing God. 180 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:33,440 I need to review whether, you know, what am I intentional in 181 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:36,040 following God every day? Am I getting deeper into His 182 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:38,480 word? Am I taking the easy way out? 183 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:40,080 Am I treating Him like fast food? 184 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:44,000 Or am I sitting at the banquet of his word in His presence, 185 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,640 enjoying him? Because the more intentional I 186 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:50,480 am, the more committed I am to pursuing him, the more I'm 187 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:54,680 attuned to his voice and the more I receive revelation for 188 00:10:54,680 --> 00:10:58,800 the assignment ahead. Genesis chapter 6, verses 14 to 189 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:01,760 21, continuing to read it says this is the instruction he's 190 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:03,120 giving. So he's telling him, this is my 191 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:05,040 heart. I'm going to destroy both them 192 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:09,000 and the earth. So verse 14 so make yourself an 193 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,000 arc of Cyprus would make rooms in it. 194 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:14,440 Coat it with pitch inside out. This is how you are to build it. 195 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:18,720 The arc is to be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, 30 cubits 196 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:20,760 high. Make a roof for it, leaving 197 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:23,280 below the roof and opening 1 cubit high all around. 198 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:25,120 Put a door in the side of the arc. 199 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:26,720 Make lower, middle and upper decks. 200 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,400 I'm going to bring flat waters on the earth to destroy our life 201 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:32,800 under the heavens. Every creature that has the 202 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:36,560 breath of life in it, everything on earth will perish, but I will 203 00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:40,280 establish, establish my covenant with you and you will enter the 204 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:43,880 earth Ark, you and your sons and your wife and your son's wives 205 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:46,040 with you. You are to bring into the ark 206 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:49,800 two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them 207 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:53,840 alive with you, two of every kind of bird, of every kind of 208 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:56,520 animal, and of every kind of creature that moves along the 209 00:11:56,520 --> 00:11:59,720 ground that will come to you to be kept alive. 210 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:03,360 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and 211 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:07,120 store it away as food for you and for them. 212 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:10,240 I'm going to stop there. This is a huge chunk of verses, 213 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:12,160 but I'm going to just split it into a few bits. 214 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:16,480 If you notice, God confided in him, then he gave him the 215 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:18,120 assignment. He said this is what you have to 216 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:20,520 do, build this arc. But the interesting thing is 217 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:22,320 he's not giving him superficial input. 218 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:25,280 He's telling him the material. He's talking about the 219 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:28,800 dimensions of the arc, how long, how high, what he should quote 220 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:31,760 it with. He's even giving him details 221 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:34,080 about the window, the doors and everything. 222 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:37,720 But here's the interesting thing. 223 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:40,280 Nowhere in it doesn't mention a rudder. 224 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:42,480 Nowhere does it talk about an engine. 225 00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:44,920 Nowhere does it talk about a steering wheel. 226 00:12:46,680 --> 00:12:51,400 Noah was not being commissioned as the pilot of the ship or the 227 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:54,040 captain of the ship. He was being commissioned only 228 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:57,120 as the builder. He was asked to build. 229 00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:01,480 God was going to be the captain. God was going to set them sail. 230 00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:04,880 God, there was no sails. Even if it would be carried by 231 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:06,640 wind, there should have been a structure of a sail. 232 00:13:06,640 --> 00:13:09,760 Nothing. Very interesting design, which 233 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:15,520 meant that this was a perfect setup for a divine takeover. 234 00:13:15,680 --> 00:13:18,280 There was nothing that Noah could have done once he got into 235 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:20,680 the boat. God would lead them. 236 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:23,960 Their job was to create this boat that would float. 237 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:27,200 That was it. God would lead them. 238 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:29,840 God would direct. And maybe you're in this 239 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:33,160 situation where you're probably believing that this is your 240 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:35,440 theme as well for the year, a divine takeover. 241 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:37,800 You're saying, God, I don't know what to do in this marriage, 242 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:39,600 Lord, I don't know what to do with my team. 243 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:41,400 I don't know what to do with my business. 244 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:45,360 My work is so difficult. Maybe you feel you're in this 245 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:48,560 arc where you just call to build something, but you don't know 246 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:50,280 where it's going. I want to encourage you. 247 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:54,240 It's a perfect setup for God to take over. 248 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:58,520 We are not the captains of our ships, our lives ship. 249 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:02,280 We are not the captain. Jesus is the captain. 250 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:06,080 He's the one who leads us. We are many times called to take 251 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:10,440 His yoke upon us, to rest, to rest and be refreshed in His 252 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:14,320 presence, and to do His will in our lives. 253 00:14:14,680 --> 00:14:17,600 Most of the time, the reason for our stress, the reason for our 254 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:20,800 anxiety is because we're trying to do all of it in our own 255 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:22,800 strength. And God is calling us into a 256 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,440 place of saying, hey, would you let me take this over? 257 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:29,720 No, I had to build the ark. There was number shortcut around 258 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:31,160 that. There was number like, you know, 259 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:33,960 just snapping it, putting it through a 3D printer, None of 260 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:35,520 that. He had to do the hard yards. 261 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:40,440 But directing that boat, getting it on water, floating it 262 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:42,800 through, moving it, navigating was God's work. 263 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:46,080 Would you trust God with your life right now? 264 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:50,160 You are not the captain. Surprise, surprise, you're not 265 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:51,360 the captain. He is. 266 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:56,120 If you look at that further down, God also gives him an 267 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:58,280 inkling of what's coming after the flood. 268 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:00,760 Noah just knows the world is going to be flooded. 269 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:02,720 I bet he didn't think of the semantics of it. 270 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:04,560 He was not planning on what's going to happen. 271 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:07,080 If it was us, we're probably going to think, should I want 272 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:10,520 some relatives or I hope that particular relative goes off in 273 00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:12,240 the flood. None of that. 274 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:16,800 It just talks about him getting down to work and then the rest, 275 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:20,520 as we know is history. The flood comes. 276 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:23,960 But Genesis 622 is where I want to take a quick pause. 277 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:29,720 It says Noah did everything just as God commanded him. 278 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:33,720 Isn't that amazing? And the thing about this is when 279 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:39,000 you are completely in in a trust relationship with God, when you 280 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:43,720 fear him in this reverent awe, you will become totally 281 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:47,880 submitted to his will. You will obey Him even at all 282 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:49,840 odds. Imagine the neighbors must have 283 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:52,240 been laughing, relatives must have been mocking them. 284 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:53,920 His own children must have had doubts. 285 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:57,880 If his wife is anything like me, she would have had 1000 286 00:15:57,880 --> 00:15:59,320 questions. She's like, what are you doing? 287 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:01,560 Why are you spending all our resources on this? 288 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:03,840 People are looking at us. Think about it. 289 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:10,080 And yet Noah did everything God had commanded him. 290 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:15,120 And that's when a divine takeover happens, when our 291 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,520 obedience is complete, when our obedience is is in this place, 292 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:20,520 we're saying, Lord, whatever you say, I will do. 293 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:26,640 Genesis Chapter 7, verses 6 to 9 says Noah was 600 years old when 294 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:28,320 the floodwaters came on the earth. 295 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:32,120 Noah and his sons and his wife and his son's wives entered the 296 00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:34,520 ark to escape the waters of the flood. 297 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:37,760 Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and all 298 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:41,640 creatures that move along the ground, male and female, came to 299 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:45,360 Noah and entered the ark as God had commanded Noah. 300 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:50,160 Where is the divine takeover? The divine takeover is that the 301 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:55,920 animals came to Noah. We cannot even control our pet 302 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:58,720 at home. She decides to do what she will 303 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:01,760 do, when she will do it. There is no controlling house. 304 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:03,760 Many times I've said, can you come here, go outside. 305 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:05,960 We have someone coming in to check on her, you know, a 306 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:09,440 plumber or she will not move. She will not do as told. 307 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:11,280 Maybe she's just untrained. That's my bad. 308 00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:16,200 But the point of this is every living creature at that point, a 309 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:18,400 pair of them had to come to the Ark. 310 00:17:20,079 --> 00:17:24,079 God said you need to take these guys along with you and the next 311 00:17:24,079 --> 00:17:28,319 verse says they came to the ark. God brought them. 312 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:34,600 Isn't that amazing when yours and my obedience is complete, 313 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:38,080 When we do everything that God says, we can trust that He will 314 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:41,360 take over and do the impossible. Our job is through the natural. 315 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:46,440 Noah built the ark, he prepared the three levels, he set all the 316 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,680 stalls in place, and then God did the supernatural. 317 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:54,760 What things do you need to do in obedience in the natural so that 318 00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:57,520 God can step in with the supernatural? 319 00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:02,760 The next thing that happens is the floodwaters start. 320 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:05,120 The great springs of the deep open up. 321 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:07,520 The rain start coming down and go. 322 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:13,640 Once they've entered in, it says God shut him in. 323 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:19,240 God shut him in. The interesting thing about this 324 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:21,840 is when God shuts them in, the rain picks up. 325 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:24,600 If any of you have been in a flood, we've been in a flood. 326 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:27,560 It's very scary when the rains don't stop. 327 00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:30,840 You freak out when the water levels of water bodies around 328 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:34,440 you start to rise abruptly. You get scared when the water 329 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:39,320 starts coming in from different crevices and openings and 330 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:42,720 starts, you know, piling up outside your paydio, outside 331 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:44,520 your garage. It is scary. 332 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:48,240 But what God was doing was he took Noah and his wife and his 333 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:51,960 three sons and three wives, puts them in the ark and shuts them 334 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:56,000 in. And then the the the springs 335 00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:57,720 break out, the rain start to fall. 336 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:02,080 It when God shut him in. What must have felt like, you 337 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:06,880 know, literally separation was God actually changing the 338 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:11,000 scenario as he knew it to be. And what happened was all the 339 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:14,880 animals that lived and breathed, birds, creatures on the ground, 340 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:17,520 humans, everything was wiped out. 341 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:21,000 Trees and other things were completely submerged. 342 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:25,760 It comes to a place where the mountains are submerged by many, 343 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:30,040 many feet, almost 23 feet, and the ark is floating above that. 344 00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:34,320 Thank God that Noah was shut in because he couldn't see what was 345 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:37,000 happening all around. He could not have fathomed it. 346 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:41,040 He would have doubted the possibility of surviving that 347 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:45,840 many times. God shuts us in for our good. 348 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:48,720 I know Geshom and I have been through seasons where we were 349 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:51,400 shut in. We felt anonymous, we felt 350 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:52,720 unseen. God could see us. 351 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:54,320 But you don't feel seen by people. 352 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:56,680 You don't feel used by anyone. You feel God. 353 00:19:56,680 --> 00:19:59,160 I've got so much potential, why are you not doing anything with 354 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:01,440 me? But he shuts us in. 355 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:06,240 To set the scene for us, to prepare things for us, to move 356 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:08,840 certain things out so that he makes room for us. 357 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:12,880 And the thing about Noah was he didn't have what most of us have 358 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:16,200 in today's world called FOMO. You know, the minute someone 359 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:18,880 goes off social media on a fast, they'll tell everybody they 360 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:20,960 know, you know what, I'm on a fast, so I don't know what's 361 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:23,880 happening on social media. But what that's actually 362 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:26,960 sounding like is severe FOMO, that you don't know what is 363 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:29,120 actually happening out there in the world of social media. 364 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:34,400 Noah didn't have FOMO. There was work to be done on the 365 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:36,080 ark. There were stalls to clean, 366 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:40,640 animal poop to be cleaned, stalls to be cleaned, animals to 367 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:44,640 be fed, probably a couple of fighting animals that had to be 368 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:47,400 sorted out. So many things to be done. 369 00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:52,760 Noah got busy with what he had to do while God shut him in. 370 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:56,160 And it it indicates A surrendered life, a life that 371 00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:58,520 says, Lord, I know you're shutting me and I know you're 372 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:03,040 doing something on the outside. I will trust you when I wrote my 373 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:05,600 book, The Wilderness, when I sometimes reread it now you know 374 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:09,040 when I'm looking for a post or when I have to teach somewhere. 375 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:12,200 I realized that sometimes the shutting in is the best thing 376 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:15,840 God can do for us because where we to understand the magnitude 377 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:19,080 of what He's preparing around us, it would scare the daylights 378 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:21,400 out of us. And God is bringing us into a 379 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:24,480 place where he's saying, you know what in this position of 380 00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:27,200 being shut in might feel like a wilderness to you might feel 381 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:30,680 like a barren land, but God is expecting you to work with what 382 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:33,520 you have there. The wilderness is not cause for 383 00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:36,400 you to just lay down and sleep. The barren place is not a place 384 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:38,440 where you just switch off and say no more, I'm done. 385 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:41,200 No, it's a place where you do what is in your hand. 386 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:44,960 You work with what you have. Noah kept doing what he had to 387 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:49,520 do while God was doing things all around him. 388 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:54,040 Scary things. But the degree of our surrender 389 00:21:54,640 --> 00:22:00,160 is is displayed with the contentment and satisfaction we 390 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:04,480 have in that season. Many times there's been a 391 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:07,920 tendency of going getting really angry with God and seeing God. 392 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:10,440 Nothing is happening. It's like a season of 393 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:16,160 nothingness, Lord, and I realize that that was me not being 394 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:21,640 satisfied with being shut in. Noah found satisfaction in his 395 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,200 surrender. He's completely content. 396 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:27,440 There is no mention of Noah going to that one window and 397 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:29,280 peeping out. There is no mention of him 398 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:32,280 sending his kids here and saying go check what's happening, 399 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:33,640 what's going on. Nothing. 400 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:37,880 Complete satisfaction in being shut in. 401 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:42,320 True surrender is displayed when we have that level of 402 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:47,000 satisfaction. So when you feel shut in, I want 403 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:50,160 you to trust God that He is doing something that you cannot 404 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:53,680 even begin to fathom. He's aligning situations and 405 00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:56,920 people for you. How satisfied are you in that 406 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:01,800 season of being shut in? Coming to Genesis 8 verse one it 407 00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:05,120 says but God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the 408 00:23:05,120 --> 00:23:08,800 livestock that were with him in the ark and he sent a wind over 409 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:11,680 the earth and the waters receded. 410 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:14,440 When I was reading this verse the word wind caught me. 411 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:17,760 So when I went to the concordance to check the word 412 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:20,240 Can you believe the word there is ruach. 413 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:26,160 God sent his spirit, the spirit that was hovering in Genesis one 414 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:30,440 over the waters. The same spirit is now sent as a 415 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:34,880 wind to cause the waters to recede so that the new season 416 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:37,840 can begin. A season when everything is 417 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:40,960 going to come back to a place of origin point where it's going to 418 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:44,040 be again. The land gets dry, trees come 419 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:48,280 up, the mountains are revealed, the waters go back to their 420 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:51,360 boundaries. The Holy Spirit did that. 421 00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:55,240 And I want to encourage you, no matter how how much you have 422 00:23:55,240 --> 00:24:00,560 felt shut in, hold on because the wind is coming. 423 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:03,520 A second wind is coming. The Holy Spirit was at work 424 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:07,080 before is currently at work. He never stopped working and 425 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:10,120 he's going to work even now He is bringing about the divine 426 00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:13,200 takeover. How ready are you for the wind 427 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:16,960 of the Holy Spirit to come into your life, to take away the 428 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:20,720 things that held you back in previous seasons and launch you 429 00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:23,080 into your next? You know, the things that maybe 430 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:27,200 caused you to wreak. Musty and smelly from the old, 431 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:29,360 The Holy Spirit is bringing in the new. 432 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:33,240 And the Holy Spirit cannot be rushed. 433 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:36,320 That's what I'm realizing. He has all the time in the 434 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:39,480 world, and so he shapes us as he sees fit. 435 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:42,720 We can't rush him. And if you look at the way Noah 436 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:45,120 comes out of the ark, there's a process. 437 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:49,440 He first sends out Raven Ravens. The Ravens fly around and come 438 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:51,000 back in because there's no place to sit. 439 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:55,320 And then he sends a dove out. The dove gets an olive tree's 440 00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:58,760 branch, a twig, but it comes back home. 441 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:00,280 And then he sends it out after a week. 442 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,640 This time it doesn't come back. So he knows, OK, it's found a 443 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:08,440 place to nest. And then God gives him the word 444 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:11,680 to step out. There is a way in which God does 445 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:14,160 things. We cannot bypass the process. 446 00:25:15,360 --> 00:25:18,760 God loves a good process in our life because that is where His 447 00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:21,720 Holy Spirit does His greatest work on us. 448 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,640 Genesis chapter 8 verses 13 to 19 says by the first day of the 449 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:30,880 first month of Noah's 600 and first year, the water had dried 450 00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:33,520 up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering 451 00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:36,960 from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. 452 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,960 By the 27th day of the second month the earth was completely 453 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:43,400 dry. Then God said to Noah, Come out 454 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:47,080 of the ark you and your wife, your sons and your wives, bring 455 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:49,320 out every kind of living creature that is with you, the 456 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:52,360 birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the 457 00:25:52,360 --> 00:25:56,240 ground so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and 458 00:25:56,240 --> 00:26:00,040 increase in number on it. So Noah came out together with 459 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:02,120 his sons and his wife and his son's wives. 460 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:05,560 All the animals and all the creatures that move along the 461 00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:09,080 ground and all the birds, everything that moves on land 462 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:12,240 came out of the ark, one kind after another. 463 00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:16,640 But look at Noah's response to coming into a new world. 464 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:19,320 It was literally a new world. The old had gone. 465 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:21,920 A new season had started. Genesis 8, verse 20. 466 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:26,440 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and taking some of the 467 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:31,040 clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on 468 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:32,200 it. I'm going to pause there. 469 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:36,560 How did Noah know what to do when he came out? 470 00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:40,160 If you remember, before the ark, God had this conversation with 471 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:42,880 Noah and he said, you know what, I'm going to wipe out the earth, 472 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:47,880 but I'm going to make a covenant with you and your family to 473 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:51,560 subdue the earth. He gives them this word in verse 474 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:55,520 18, right? And it feels like an Abel 475 00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:59,480 situation. You can and Abel where Abel just 476 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:03,840 brought the best of his cackle and he came and offered it 477 00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:07,280 before God, whereas Cain brought some old crops and came and 478 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:09,640 offered it and expected it to be, you know, accepted. 479 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:13,240 But God rejected Cain's and accepted Abel's. 480 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:18,360 How did Noah know what to offer? Because of the word covenant 481 00:27:18,360 --> 00:27:20,080 that God had already spoken with him. 482 00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:22,400 God said I will make a covenant with you. 483 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:25,280 He didn't tell Noah you have to make a covenant with me, but 484 00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:29,000 almost expecting that, anticipating what God was going 485 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:33,000 to do with him know or knows what to do in response. 486 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:36,840 So what is the word covenant that God gave him? 487 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:40,040 In six verse 18 he talks about covenant and the word for that 488 00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:43,680 is berith. Berith means a treaty that is 489 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:47,680 signed or a pact that is signed, and it is usually made by 490 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:51,680 passing through pieces of flesh. And I realized that in the time 491 00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:56,200 of Abraham further down, Abraham does that when he he cuts these 492 00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:58,680 animals, he chops them and he lays them on an altar. 493 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:03,000 And then this, this Lantern passes through it, indicating 494 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:05,200 that God was making a covenant with Abraham. 495 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:09,800 But this is way before Abraham. This is a covenant being made 496 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:14,280 with Noah, but Noah anticipated because of remembering God's 497 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:17,000 word to him that he said, I'm going to make a covenant with 498 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:20,040 you. Noah in preparation offers his 499 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:23,360 these the best animals, the clean animals as a burnt 500 00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:26,000 offering. And it says over here, I love 501 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:29,480 what God's response to this is. You can just see the friendship 502 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:33,560 between both of them. The Lord smelt the pleasing 503 00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:36,480 aroma and said in his heart, Never again will I curse the 504 00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:39,960 ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the 505 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:42,080 human heart is evil from childhood. 506 00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:45,600 And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have 507 00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:48,200 done. As long as the earth and yours, 508 00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:51,480 sea, time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and 509 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:57,760 night will never cease. Noah's remembrance of what God 510 00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:02,280 told him caused him to prepare this beautiful altar and offer 511 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:06,040 sacrifices on it. God responded to the flavor of 512 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:11,160 that that sacrifice, the aroma, and his heart was moved towards 513 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:14,360 humanity that was going to arise out of Noah and his family and 514 00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:16,680 makes this covenant and marks it with the rainbow. 515 00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:21,880 But here's the thing, what is the word that God has given you 516 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:26,520 in seasons past that you have probably forgotten about? 517 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:29,040 With all of the shutting in that happened, all of the darkness 518 00:29:29,040 --> 00:29:33,400 that you've experienced, all the chaos you've endured, it's time 519 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:37,200 to look back at what God has said He would do because God is 520 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:41,200 faithful to His Word. If He told you He is going to do 521 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:46,840 something, He is going to do it. Noah remembered and acted on it 522 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:50,320 in faith, and God responded by establishing the covenant. 523 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:53,480 You and I today live in the time of the New Covenant where Jesus 524 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:56,040 has put His law in our hearts and minds. 525 00:29:56,400 --> 00:30:00,000 The Spirit of God lives in US, moving us and urging us to live 526 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:04,680 in a way that pleases God. What is our response going to 527 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:07,120 be? What is the offering we bring? 528 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:10,600 Anticipating God coming through? Maybe you're still saying, you 529 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:16,120 know what Jan 2026 feels like. In the whole of 2025, God's 530 00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:19,920 barely begun. He who has started a a fresh 531 00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:22,160 thing is faithful to complete it. 532 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:24,680 But what is the offering you're bringing in the interim? 533 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:27,760 Because in the middle is where life happens. 534 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:31,640 So as you're waiting on that word, what is the sacrifice 535 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:34,480 you're offering? Is it one of praise and 536 00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:37,920 Thanksgiving for who God is, who God has been, and who God is 537 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:41,200 going to be? Or is it your pain, your 538 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:44,880 grumbling, your dissatisfaction? What is the offering you're 539 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:47,480 bringing? Is your very life a living 540 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:49,440 sacrifice? Have you said lot here? 541 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:52,120 Take all of Maine, Take over all of this? 542 00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:56,640 What is your position when it comes to worship today? 543 00:30:57,400 --> 00:31:01,440 So my question of you is, what is the offering you're bringing 544 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:04,280 to God? Irrespective of what your 545 00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:06,880 situation looks like, what is your offering? 546 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:10,160 Is it one of praise and Thanksgiving for who he is, who 547 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:11,960 he has been, who he's going to be? 548 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:16,720 Or is it one of blame and pain and complaining and grumbling 549 00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:19,600 and dissatisfaction? What is the offering? 550 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:23,760 Is your very life a living sacrifice to Him, Everything 551 00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:25,680 about you? Have you submitted it to him and 552 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:29,040 said, Lord, here I am, I'm all yours. 553 00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:34,480 Because the beautiful thing is that in Jesus, when we accepted 554 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:40,880 Jesus, the Holy Spirit is now in US and he moves us to to live in 555 00:31:40,880 --> 00:31:44,720 such a way that brings glory to God in such a way to please God. 556 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:48,960 So my question to you is this Noah was not perfect. 557 00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:52,800 Neither are we. The story goes that Noah 558 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:57,760 actually drank a bit of wine from his vineyard and got drunk, 559 00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:01,640 lay uncovered in his tent. One of his sons, Shem saw, 560 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:05,600 Sorry, not Shem Ham. Ham saw it and went and told his 561 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:09,160 brothers about it, and the other two brothers, without exposing 562 00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:13,200 him, covered him up. Because of which Noah in a fit 563 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:17,080 of rage, cursed one son and elevated the other two, blessed 564 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:19,680 the other two guys. He was not a perfect man. 565 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:24,080 He was not a perfect parent, but what he did in that moment set 566 00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:27,960 up Israel differently when he praised Shem and Japheth. 567 00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:31,440 Shem was where the Israelites came out of. 568 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:34,960 That's the the ancestry of Abraham and his sons. 569 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:40,080 God knew what he was doing. Noah was not perfect, but Noah 570 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:42,760 was yielded. He was yielded. 571 00:32:42,760 --> 00:32:44,960 He was in close connection with God. 572 00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:49,200 That set him apart. Today you and I in Jesus have 573 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:51,920 come close to God. We are no longer far away. 574 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:56,200 So we already have God's favour on our lives. 575 00:32:56,360 --> 00:33:00,120 We already have the Father's love lavished upon us. 576 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:05,400 But the question remains, have we gotten so familiar because of 577 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:08,480 Jesus, the Son of God? Because of the of God who came 578 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:12,720 down in flesh Incarnate, Have we gotten familiar with him? 579 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:17,520 I want to remind us today that we would come back to a place of 580 00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:23,320 a reverent awe of this God, a reverent awe which will cause us 581 00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:27,360 to not live ordinary lives, but to live lives that are first of 582 00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:32,040 all outrageously, outstandingly obedient. 583 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:34,960 The writer and me is going to give you a lot of alliteration, 584 00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:37,800 but I hope it sticks with you because God is going to ask you 585 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:39,680 to do things that are countercultural. 586 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:43,400 God is going to ask you to stand up for him in a, in a world that 587 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:46,120 sits down. God is going to ask you and me 588 00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:50,080 to do things that are close to his heart, to bring peace on 589 00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:53,800 earth in order to heal people, to restore people to original 590 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:56,400 design. And when he asks us, it's going 591 00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:58,480 to be the blueprint is going to look different for each of us. 592 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:00,800 He's going to ask each of us to do different things based on the 593 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:04,800 skills he's placed in US, based on the influence we carry, based 594 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:08,280 on the cities we are placed in. But my question to you are, is, 595 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:12,239 are you willing to be outrageously, outstandingly 596 00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:17,480 obedient? Noah was that he was obedient to 597 00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:21,480 everything God commanded him. Can that be said of you and me? 598 00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:24,400 The second thing that I want to leave with you is would you be 599 00:34:24,400 --> 00:34:27,679 radically and relentlessly righteous? 600 00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:30,040 What does that look like? You've already been. 601 00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:33,239 It's been credited to you as righteousness because of Jesus. 602 00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:36,320 So we are clothed in his righteousness, but this 603 00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:39,320 righteousness is one that grows with every passing day. 604 00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:43,159 The Spirit of God is constantly shaping us into the image of 605 00:34:43,159 --> 00:34:48,800 God, which means my everyday decisions, my choices, the way I 606 00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:53,560 live, the way I conduct myself in private and public, my the 607 00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:57,240 things that I consider secretive, all of it contributes 608 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:02,680 to how God views me. God loves me, He cherishes me, 609 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:06,960 but He desires that I live a blameless life before Him and so 610 00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:10,480 would I be radical about it, which means I say no to certain 611 00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:12,040 things which I said were OK before. 612 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:16,720 Would I be relentless in pursuing holiness because that 613 00:35:16,720 --> 00:35:19,360 is what God is calling me towards? 614 00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:23,120 And finally, would I be completely satisfied and 615 00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:25,920 surrendered when shut in? There will be seasons in our 616 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:29,840 life when we are shut in. It could be because of a health 617 00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:32,640 condition. It could be because of a certain 618 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:35,840 shift in your career. It could be because of just 619 00:35:35,840 --> 00:35:37,560 circumstances happening globally. 620 00:35:37,720 --> 00:35:42,160 Whatever it looks like, in that shut in season will you be 621 00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:46,280 completely satisfied and surrendered to God Because when 622 00:35:46,280 --> 00:35:50,000 you are, you can keep doing the thing that is at hand. 623 00:35:51,280 --> 00:35:54,160 Noah was called to build. He was not called to Captain. 624 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:57,320 You and I, we're rebuilders of the gap. 625 00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:01,400 We're repairers of the breach. We are not the commander in 626 00:36:01,400 --> 00:36:03,680 chief. We are not the Lord of all. 627 00:36:04,160 --> 00:36:06,040 We are not the master of everything. 628 00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:09,680 He is the minute we know our position and this whole thing, I 629 00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:11,920 think the divine takeover happens much easily. 630 00:36:12,120 --> 00:36:15,360 It's easier to say, Lord, here are the reigns. 631 00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:17,440 You take me where you need to go. 632 00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:20,160 I'm here. I'm just following after you. 633 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:25,280 So I want to encourage you that like Noah, when God looks at the 634 00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:30,000 earth at this point of time, 2026, January 18th, when he's 635 00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:33,600 looking at the earth, he will be able to pick us up by name. 636 00:36:33,600 --> 00:36:37,480 Saying that one there. She's righteous, blameless in 637 00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:39,960 her generation. I'm going to confide in her. 638 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:42,800 I'm going to tell her things. I'm going to act on it. 639 00:36:43,720 --> 00:36:46,280 Maybe you're thinking, you know what, I've been shut in for so 640 00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:47,680 long, I don't know what's going to happen. 641 00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:52,600 I want to tell you that the Holy Spirit, Ruach, he is moving in 642 00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:54,000 you. He's moving around you. 643 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:57,960 He's setting things in place. You're going to be launched into 644 00:36:57,960 --> 00:36:59,480 your destiny. You're going to be launched into 645 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:01,640 that trajectory which will carry you forward. 646 00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:08,920 God is doing something and whether you see it or not, it's 647 00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:11,880 happening. And it's time that we actually 648 00:37:11,880 --> 00:37:16,600 say, Lord, you know what? You take over, You lead, but 649 00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:20,880 when we live with the fear of God, we can obey, we can live 650 00:37:20,880 --> 00:37:24,600 surrendered, and we can choose to pursue righteousness every 651 00:37:24,600 --> 00:37:26,760 day. And that's my desire for you. 652 00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:29,080 Can I just pray for you? Father in heaven? 653 00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:33,440 I just pray that your people will right now experience Your 654 00:37:33,440 --> 00:37:34,960 love. Wash over them. 655 00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:39,320 I thank You that you see them as righteous because of your Son 656 00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:41,200 Jesus, because they have said yes to Him. 657 00:37:41,480 --> 00:37:44,240 I pray for those who don't know Jesus yet. 658 00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:48,720 I pray that Lord, they will say yes to Him at the time when you 659 00:37:48,720 --> 00:37:51,480 have marked for them. I pray, Lord, right now for 660 00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:54,560 those who need a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit upon their 661 00:37:54,560 --> 00:37:58,600 lives. Ruach, I invite you in that you 662 00:37:58,600 --> 00:38:02,840 would come in and move out of their way, every obstacle, every 663 00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:06,520 barrier, and set them on the path marked for them. 664 00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:10,400 Lord, I just pray for those who have been shut in, those who 665 00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:13,360 have been in a season of obscurity, those who have been 666 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:16,400 in a season of invisibility. I pray that God, they will be 667 00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:18,600 completely surrendered to you in the middle. 668 00:38:19,520 --> 00:38:21,640 They will wait on you, and I believe You're going to launch 669 00:38:21,640 --> 00:38:25,520 them at the right time. Father, I pray that our lives 670 00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:29,920 will be sacrifices. Lord, I pray that every element 671 00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:32,520 of our lives, we will expose it to your touch. 672 00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:35,440 Have your way, God, have your way. 673 00:38:35,680 --> 00:38:37,480 Continue to work deeply within us. 674 00:38:37,480 --> 00:38:41,160 We love you, we thank you. We pray that you will confide in 675 00:38:41,160 --> 00:38:45,200 those who fear your name. I pray that Lord, you will raise 676 00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:50,360 us up to be outrageously obedient, to be relentless in 677 00:38:50,360 --> 00:38:54,160 our pursuit of righteousness. I pray, O God, that you will 678 00:38:54,160 --> 00:39:00,160 help us to be so satisfied in the places you have placed us in 679 00:39:00,160 --> 00:39:03,960 right now. We love you and we thank you in 680 00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:06,560 Jesus name, Amen. Amen. 681 00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:08,760 God bless you. Even as you get into a new week, 682 00:39:09,200 --> 00:39:12,360 I would urge that you would get into the story of Noah yourself. 683 00:39:12,560 --> 00:39:15,040 Not just to look at it in animated form, but if you could 684 00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:18,080 read the story from the Bible from Genesis 6 to 9. 685 00:39:18,480 --> 00:39:20,800 If you could just read it. It is one of the most beautiful 686 00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:23,200 stories. I have such a renewed respect 687 00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:26,080 for Noah. I have a renewed love for God 688 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:30,120 after reading His word and his intervention that you would, you 689 00:39:30,120 --> 00:39:32,960 know, just take your life to him, leave it before him like 690 00:39:32,960 --> 00:39:34,960 that ark and say, Lord, I'm willing to be shut and I'm 691 00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:39,160 willing to be LED. You take charge, you do you. 692 00:39:39,360 --> 00:39:41,960 I pray that that would be the story of your life. 693 00:39:42,680 --> 00:39:46,520 Remember this, that whoever finds Jesus finds life. 694 00:39:46,720 --> 00:39:48,680 God bless you. Have an amazing week. 695 00:39:50,080 --> 00:39:51,920 Thanks for listening to this message. 696 00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:55,760 We hope you were blessed to hear more messages like this. 697 00:39:56,160 --> 00:40:00,080 Make sure to subscribe and check out our podcast channel for past 698 00:40:00,080 --> 00:40:02,440 episodes. If you like what you are 699 00:40:02,440 --> 00:40:07,000 hearing, consider rating us, subscribing and even sharing it 700 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:09,560 with friends. That would really help us. 701 00:40:10,280 --> 00:40:14,840 For more content from Via Zion and to connect with us, go to 702 00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:20,040 Via Zion dot in. Remember, whoever finds Jesus 703 00:40:20,280 --> 00:40:21,080 finds life.