Gtcotr/ss112419
This morning we are going
to pursue three truths that run the length of God’s Word. Without regard as to
where we are or what we may face in life:
1.
It’s
not always easy to do God’s will.
2.
Many
will work for a paycheck they will never cash.
3.
Yet,
we all have so much for which to be thankful.
Before we take a closer
look at the points for today, let’s read our text from the Bible. You can find
it in the Book of:
Genesis 8 NKJV
15 ¶ Then God spoke to Noah, saying,
16 “Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and
your sons and your sons’ wives with you.
17 “Bring out with you every living thing of all
flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that
creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful
and multiply on the earth.”
18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife
and his sons’ wives with him.
19 Every animal, every creeping thing, every
bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families,
went out of the ark.
20 ¶ Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and
took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings
on the altar.
21 And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then
the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s
sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth;
nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.
22 “While the earth remains, Seedtime and
harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.”
For who? Not to be
blasphemous or accusatory in any way but only to voice the obvious concern so
that we can find the right answer from God’s Word. God is not afraid of you
finding out the truth and He always welcomes sincere pursuit.
So, in that vein, after
smelling the aroma of the sacrifice God’s heart was touched with compassion for
every living thing and He decided to not allow the evil imaginations of man’s
heart to destroy life. Then God declared: “Seed time and harvest; Cold and heat;
Winter and summer; and day and night shall not cease.” – But for who shall it
not cease? Certainly not for those animals who had just been sacrificed! Their
life is over … they will never get to enjoy all they worked for.
The account of Noah and
the Ark is a moving story of 8 people and a large number of every kind of
animal in whose lungs were the breath of life. Each one of them followed the
leadership of the Lord and got on a boat. Every kind of bird and animal, 7 pair of
the clean, male and female, and 2 pair of unclean, male and female, came to the
ark at the inspiration of the Lord and got on the boat. They obeyed. Then Noah
and his wife, and his three sons and their wives followed the same leadership
of the Lord and they got on the boat as well.
When Noah and the animals
finally got off the boat, one year later, they all had so much for which to be
thankful. And, Noah was thankful, as I’m sure were all of the animals that made
the arduous journey.
It took one year from the
time they all got on the ark until the door opened and they were told they
could get off. I can imagine, especially in the early days, the motion
sickness; and later on, the smells; every day, the hard work; occasionally, the
desperate feelings that go along with being all alone on a vast ocean subject
to the wind and waves; the anxieties associated with not knowing what the
future will hold and if things will be better or worse; the loss of family,
friends, and familiar surroundings. Everyone must have dealt with constant
temptations to feel insecure, forgotten, and afraid. But they had made a
decision, a life changing decision to do what they felt was best in the moment.
And now it was forever too late to change their minds.
Then … just when the decision
looked like it was going to pay off and they finally stopped rocking and were
told they could get off that smelly boat … Just when things were looking up - - - it’s sacrifice time! Somebody’s been working
for a paycheck they’re never gonna cash. And, you know Noah is not going to
sacrifice the skinniest or the ugliest, or the stupidest, or the sickest
animals on the boat. No … no way! Noah is looking for the best!
He wants the fattest, the
strongest, the smartest, and the healthiest he can find. Noah wants a leader
... an example … you see, only the best is worthy.
If the animals could have
talked what do you think they would have said? “Wait Noah. We obeyed God. He
said go and trust Noah and get on the boat and we did. We haven’t caused you
any problems. We did everything that was asked of us and now you say we can’t
enjoy what we worked so hard to make happen? That doesn’t seem fair.” Well –
you can see where I’m going with this. It seems sad that those animals who did
everything they were asked were the ones chosen to work the plan and to make
the new world a God-blessed place in which to live.
God looked down on their
sacrifice and made a new covenant with all living creatures. God still
remembers that covenant and because of the sacrifice, He will continue to bless
the earth. God remembers the sacrifices we make to follow Him.
The early 1600’s was a
tumultuous time in Europe as far as religion and Christianity goes. In the
aftermath of the Reformation, the Catholics and the Protestants were virtually
at war with one another. Pope Paul III had excommunicated King Henry VIII in
1538 for divorcing and remarrying without the consent of Pope Clement VII. Years
later, needing a Bible the general English-speaking people could read and
understand, King James I of England commissioned a new translation which would
forever bear his name. The Authorized King James Bible was completed in the
year 1611.
Not only were there
divisions between Rome and England during those years, but there were also
great divides within the Protestant groups, none greater than those ongoing in England.
At the center of the debates was doctrine. Some wished to relax the religious
morals mentioned in the Bible and the authority of the Church while others
fought to keep their lives and their congregations pure and separated from sin
and the influence of worldliness.
There was a woman named
Mary Norris who was born around 1590 in the small town of Newbury, England, the
same little town in which Brenda and I lived in the 70’s while serving in the
military. Newbury is such a picturesque place with rolling hills and patchwork
fields. Some records at hand indicate that Mary was the granddaughter of Sir
Henry Norris (Norreys) who was accused of committing adultery with Queen Anne
Boleyn and beheaded on Tower Hill in 1538 by her husband, King Henry VIII. It
was at that same time and place where King Henry VIII also beheaded Queen Anne.
Back to Mary Norris …
Mary Norris was a
religious young puritan woman living a separatist lifestyle in Newbury, England.
I can’t imagine anyone ever wanting to leave there, but she did. It seemed all
Europe was embroiled in religious division and the world was creeping into the
Church on every front. In 1609 Mary joined a group of religious separatists and
left England seeking religious freedom in Holland.
Soon after arriving in
Holland, Mary met and married a man from London whose name was Isaac Allerton. Mary and Isaac had 3 children. A son named Bart; a daughter
they named Remember; and a third child, a daughter named Mary. After a
few years this group realized their children were speaking Dutch and had become
attached to the Dutch way of life. This worried the separatist since they considered the Dutch frivolous and
their ideas a threat to their children's education and morality.
In February of 1620 Mary
gave birth to a son who lived only a few days. Life was not what Mary and Isaac
expected but they felt compelled to continue seeking the Lord’s will for their
family. The group of which they were a part called themselves “saints.” These
saints decided to leave Holland and travel to the New World. They arranged for
their trip to be financed by a group of English investors. It was agreed they
would be given passage and supplies in exchange for 7 years work.
On Sept. 6, 1620, 44
saints, along with 66 others whom they called “strangers,” boarded the
Mayflower and set sail from Plymouth, England, for the New World.
The long trip was cold and
damp and took 65 days. Since there was the danger of fire on the wooden ship,
the food had to be eaten cold. Many passengers became sick and one person died
by the time land was sighted on November 10th. It wasn’t until December 21st
that they finally reached their destination at Plymouth where a small landing
party went ashore. The next day, on December 22, 1620, Mary gave birth to a
stillborn son while on board the Mayflower.
The long trip was hard and
dangerous and led to many disagreements between the "Saints" and the
"Strangers." After land was sighted, a meeting was held and an
agreement was worked out, called the Mayflower Compact, which guaranteed
equality and unified the two groups. They joined together and named themselves
the "Pilgrims."
That first winter was
harsh and devastating to the Pilgrims. The cold sleet and snow were heavy, and
they faced continual fear of attack from the local Native American Indians as
they tried to build shelter. Of the 110 Pilgrims plus the 30 crew who had
sailed the Mayflower that year, less than half survived until spring.
In February of 1621, Marry
Norris Allerton died at the age of 30. Her husband and her three children
attended that first Thanksgiving in New England that fall. Mary may not have
gotten to enjoy all the hopes and dreams she made possible, but she played her
part in helping God fulfill His plan for America. She supported her family with
her faith and her participation even in hard times.
Isaac Allerton helped
weave representative government, popular elections, and the rule of law into
the fabric of American society. Bart Allerton returned to England and became
the pastor of a congregation in Suffolk; Isaac and Mary’s two daughters,
Remember and Mary, began New England’s dairy industry on their farm in
Kingston. Little Mary who was only 4 years old when she sailed on the Mayflower
married a minister and lived to enjoy another 78 Thanksgivings. Mary was the
last living member of the original Mayflower Pilgrims when she died on November 28,
1699 at age 83. It had been almost 100 years since her mother first felt the
inspiration of the Lord and left Newbury to follow Him on that faithful
journey. Like those on Noah’s Ark and like Father Abraham, Mary had no idea
where she was going or what it would take to get there … she just followed
Jesus.
Hebrews 11 NKJV
12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as
dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in
multitude — innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
13 These all died in faith, not having received
the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them
and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14 For those who say such things declare plainly
that they seek a homeland.
15 And truly if they had called to mind that
country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to
return.
16 But now they desire a better, that is, a
heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He
has prepared a city for them.
Remember our three points
for today?
1.
It’s
not always easy to do God’s will.
·
Yet everything we do is connected to the plan of God. Not
only do our efforts pave the way for others, we also, like Abraham, will see
the impact of our lives on those who follow. On that you can depend!
2.
Many
will work for a paycheck they will never cash.
·
But history is still being written and our reward will be
given to us in heaven. God is faithful and He will not forget our labor of
love.
3.
We
all have so much for which to be thankful.
·
Count your blessings and be thankful. Someone paid for
them all!
