Sermon Notes – February 21, 2016 Blindsided: We're One Bad Decision Away

Genesis 9:20-28

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Bible Reading Plan

2016-17 Bible Reading Plan OT, NT & Poetry: Week 8

Monday Genesis 44

Matthew 16:5-20

Psalm 33

Tuesday Genesis 45

Matthew 16:21-28

Psalm 34:1-8

Wednesday Genesis 46

Matthew 17:1-20

Psalm 34:9-22

Thursday Genesis 47

Matthew 17:21-18:6

Psalm 35:1-11

Friday Genesis 48:1-49:27

Matthew 18:7-20

Psalm 35:12-28

Discussion Questions

What are circumstances that blindside people?

How was Noah described (Gen 6:9)? Why is this description significant to the story?

At what point did Noah sin? Why?

What did Ham do to his dad? What were the consequences of this action?

What are examples of how someone’s bad decisions effect the people around them, even for generations?

Read 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. What hope does this verse offer us?

Monday – One Bad Decision By Kel Cunard

“He drank of the wine and became drunk…” Genesis 9:21

Noah is one of the great heroes of the Bible. He was the lone righteous man

in an entirely godless age. The Lord honored his faithfulness so much that he

entrusted Noah with the preservation of His creation. He charged Noah with the

construction of the great ark and the care of a small remnant of every type of

creature. At every turn, Noah was obedient. He was so compliant the narrative

never records any of his responses. It just says, "Noah did all that the Lord had

commanded him." God told him to do one strange thing after another, and Noah

did them, every one.

We shouldn't overlook that Noah's assigned task gave him plenty of reasons

to doubt or even disobey. When he started building, the sky was clear and blue.

When the animals started to assemble, dark clouds weren't even on the horizon.

His friends and neighbors likely were relentless in their ridicule of the crazy man

with the landlocked boat.

Things went from bad to worse once the rains came. The ark was tossed by

the raging sea. Land was nowhere to be seen. He had to wonder if this voyage

would ever end. And you know that smell when you visit the zoo and wind is just

right? Noah and his family were locked up with it for more than a year!

Thankfully, that long year came to an end, and Noah, his family and all of

creation got a fresh start. God made a covenant to never send another flood and

sealed His promise with a rainbow, and Noah's first act was to build an altar and

worship the Lord. Noah, this man who had witnessed the wrath of God toward

sin, this man who had done "all that the Lord commanded him," would surely

make the most this fresh start. If anyone in history had an opportunity to make

good decisions, it was Noah.

Sadly, what is true today was true then. We are only one bad decision from

wrecking it all. One of Noah's first decisions in this fresh start was to drink too

much wine and shame himself in front of his family. Read Genesis 9:18-30. The

consequences of Noah's bad decision were immediate and generational. His

poor decision set the stage for his son's indiscretion and disrespect. This rift in

the family became a curse on his descendants. All of this happened because a

man who had once obeyed God at every turn was blindsided by sin.

If Noah was vulnerable, what makes us think we're immune? Sin is always

"crouching at the door" (Genesis 4:7) waiting to strike. The moment we think it's

not, the moment we think it won't happen to us, is the moment we are most

vulnerable. Over the next few weeks, we are going to explore how we can

prevent and respond to the blindsided attacks of sin.

Tuesday – Noah's Gait By Keith Thomas

“But I say, walk by the Spirit…” Galatians 5:16

I recently asked a group of elementary students their definition of the word

“gait”. A precious Kindergartener answered, “The thing that goes back and forth

in my front yard that I swing on that you can lock and unlock. Other attempts

were, “A rusty metal thing in my mom’s flower garden”, and this one from a Fifth

Grader showing off, “An entrance or doorway with a hinged barrier that allows

ingress and/or egress from an enclosed area.” They assumed the word was “g-

a-t-e”, not “g-a-i-t”, defined as, “A manner of walking; or a person’s characteristic

walk.”

Famous gaits might bring to mind John Wayne, Charlie Chaplin’s “The

Tramp” or Michael Jackson’s “Moon Walk”. Or maybe your mind got stuck on

the other “gates” like Nixon’s Watergate or Brady’s Deflategate. The true

monumental “walks” through the years have been, Sir Edmund Hillary’s climb to

the top of Mt Everest in 1953, the marches from Selma to Montgomery during

the Civil Rights Movement in 1965, and Neil Armstrong’s moon walk (the

original) in 1969.

Another famous walk was French high-wire artist, Philippe Petit, for his high-

wire walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974. A high-

wire walk like this (1,350 feet above the ground) was not only dangerous, but

highly illegal. Petit never asked for permission to make the walk; he just decided

to secretly rig the 200 foot, 450 pound cable between the Twin Towers at night.

On the evening of August 6, 1974, Petit and his team successfully tethered the

cable between the buildings. The six long years of planning, practicing, and

teamwork, paid off. The walk lasted only 45 minutes, but Petit achieved the

fame he sought but was arrested in the process.

Imagine the amount of planning, effort, and teamwork required for Noah to

build the ark. Some say 50 – 75 years; a long time to be obedient while ridiculed

for building a boat where there was no water. Noah had a “spiritual gait” that

proved his love and devotion to God. Genesis 6:9 says he was “righteous”,

“blameless”, and “walked faithfully with God.” It’s our walk with God that

prepares us for the high-wire challenges of this world. The problem comes

when we get out of step with God’s plan. Don’t let your life get labeled with

Impuritygate, Hategate, Jealousgate, Envygate, Selfishgate, etc. Let your life be

identified by your “spiritual gait”; a walk of character that leads to the gates of

heaven.

Read Galatians 5:13-26. How can you keep in step with the Holy Spirit this

week so you are not blindsided by sin?

Wednesday – Dog Pile By Cathy Slusser

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

We have way too many dogs in our house. I love them all, but often feel like I

have to wade through dogs. There is always someone under foot. At feeding

time, they have to be separated and if someone doesn’t finish their food, we

must immediately pick up the bowl so that fights do not break out. Sai, the Corgi,

thinks he rules the roost and can be vicious if he thinks that one of the other

dogs is after his dinner. Lucy, the Doberman, is actually the matriarch and is

lenient up to a point. She tolerates everyone for a while, but can put even Sai

under her thumb, or paw.

There is a solid pecking order, and my darling Cory is at the bottom of the

chain. Mornings are particularly rough for her. For some reason, in the mornings

when the dogs first go out, the other three love to torment and harass my little

girl. She runs as fast as she can with Sai swinging like a necklace from his grip

on her collar, but eventually, Summer and Lucy will corner her. Then, the

growling and snarling kicks into full gear with Cory on the bottom of the

snapping, barking dog pile. They roll her around in the dirt as she tries to

surrender by putting all four paws in the air, but they won’t give up.

I interrupt, of course, and as long as she is right at my side, the others will

leave her alone. We get some great heeling done during those morning bully

sessions as she knows that leaving my protection will put her back under their

control. But, sometimes, she can’t resist, thinking she can make it to the kitchen

door on her own and despite my warning, she takes off running away from me

only to find herself wedged underneath the car trying to get away from the mad

dog pack. I rescue her once again and with my hand on her head guide her to

safety.

I cannot help but think how I so often choose independence instead of the

protective hand of my Heavenly Father. I can handle this, I think. I don’t need

any help and then, like Cory, I am surrounding by the raging world, hurt and

afraid. For me, submission, constantly walking with God, is a minute by minute

choice. What about you?

Read Psalm 23. We often equate these verses with death or dying, but they

apply to our daily walk through life as well. What does it mean to you to know

you have a shepherd beside you every moment? Notice that the verses say God

guides us along the right paths. He does not force us to make the right choices

and though He shows us the right way, we must chose to follow His lead. What

choices face you today? How can you follow your shepherd?

Thursday – What Do We Expect? By Nick Molick

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, 'So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this

time tomorrow.' Then [Elijah] was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life…” 1 Kings 19:1-3

Expectations can be a tricky and dangerous thing when they are not

grounded in a biblical worldview. I suffer this on a daily if not hourly basis. I

disappoint myself continually, and many times those disappointments follow a

time when I have done something I perceived to be “good.” We all know what

follows. If you can relate to anything in this scenario then you should be able to

take heart because literally all of the greatest heroes in the Bible suffered these

same situations. Not to put us on their level, but you take the meaning. What

God is showing us is that His love is not only constant and redeeming; it is also

there in the valleys as well as the mountain tops.

Moses, David, Elijah and many others all had great spiritual experiences and

saw God move in a mighty way in their lives, until the other shoe dropped

bringing the enemy and familiar struggles back into the picture. Contrast this

with situations in our own lives when we have something happen that follows

our failures and sins. When that happens, we get it. It makes sense to us. We

earned that outcome. However, we don’t come to that conclusion as quickly as

we would like. We have the outcome on our minds and hearts first, and begin to

shake our spiritual fist at God while conveniently forgetting the sin that preceded

the outcome.

This is not to say all sin brings about some type of heavenly punishment, just

the opposite. In this post Genesis 3 world, sin is present and it does present

earthly consequences. But with eternity in mind, Christ has paid the price for our

sins if we have fully surrendered to and are following Him. The redemptive work

of Christ on the cross has allowed us to take heart even when the valley

experiences come. We don’t have to dwell on them or stay there. That is not

where Christ wants us to stay. The people in the Bible who followed God,

whether it be in the Old Testament or the New, all faced struggles and were all a

little “blindsided” by them. We are much the same, but with a biblical world view

and with the promise of future grace in mind, we can rest easy in the fact that

our Father in Heaven loves us and wants to see us through both our peaks and

valleys.

Read 1 Kings 18:30-40. How does this great God-given success contrast with

the verses at the beginning of this devotional? How can you relate to that

happening in your own life and how can you prepare for both the peaks and the

valleys? Know that He is there!

Friday – One Good Decision By Kel Cunard

“And such were some of you…” 1 Corinthians 6:11

Charles was born to a working-class, Boston family in 1931. Overcoming his

humble upbringing, he received an Ivy League education and graduated from

law school in 1959. His love for politics led him to be one of the youngest

assistants on Capitol Hill where he learned to navigate Washington's dark side.

Charles worked on Richard Nixon's 1968 presidential campaign and stepped

aside from a lucrative law practice to become the White House Special Counsel

where he was known to be Nixon's "Mr. Fixit."

During this time, Charles allegedly hired thugs to assault anti-war

demonstrators, plotted to firebomb the liberal Brookings Institute, and compiled

a list of the president's political opponents, later known as Nixon's Enemies List.

In reference to his political determination Charles once quipped, "I would walk

over my own grandmother if necessary." His role as political hit man was never

more evident than when he conspired to cover-up the Watergate scandal.

Charles' role in the cover-up led to his resignation in March of 1973 and his

indictment for obstruction of justice. Charles pled guilty and entered Alabama's

Maxwell Federal Prison in 1974 to begin a 1-3 year sentence.

Charles' story would be a footnote in American political history if not for the

providential intervention of a born-again friend who gave "Chuck" Colson a copy

of C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. The truths the book contained brought him to

tears and to a realization he needed Jesus. He obsessively studied the Bible

during his time in prison, and upon his release, published a bestselling memoir,

Born Again. Nixon's "hatchet man" became a man surrendered to God's will. His

prison experience gave him a burden to reach inmates with the freedom of the

Gospel, and the Lord used him to establish the Prison Fellowship ministry that is

active in over 100 countries. Before his death in 2012, Chuck authored over 30

books selling more than five million copies.

In response to his conversion, a Boston Globe columnist ranted, "If Mr.

Colson can repent of his sins, there just has to be hope for everyone." His

cynical jab was uncommonly accurate. Thirty-five years after his resignation,

Chuck Colson stepped back into the Oval Office to receive the Presidential

Citizens Medal from George W. Bush for his dedication "to sharing the message

of God’s boundless love and mercy with prisoners, former prisoners, and their

families."

Chuck Colson was a walking testimony to the power of one good decision. A

prisoner became a proclaimer when he decided to respond to the love and

mercy of Jesus Christ. Read 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. Some of you have lived the

items on this list. You have been the greedy, swindling thief, but no matter what

you have done, God's grace goes further still. Just as one bad decision can

wreck it all, one good decision can make all things new. Let today be the day

you make the decision to surrender your life to Christ.

Weekend – Blindsided by Pride By Kel Cunard

“Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, 'Rule over us.'” Judges 8:22

When conference rivals clash on the football field, amazing things can

happen. Utah was already winning 7-0 over Oregon when the Utes completed a

78 yard pass to their star wide receiver Kaelin Clay. Clay broke away from the

defender, scampered into the end zone, and began to celebrate. He raised his

hands to the sky, beat his chest and turned to repeatedly point to his name on

the back of his jersey. It was his moment, and Clay was going to be the star.

There was only one problem. The referee had not raised his hands, the

whistle had not blown, and Oregon was running the other way with the ball. You

see, Clay had started his celebration a little too early and dropped the ball

before he entered the end zone. One of the Oregon players ignored all of Clay's

antics, picked up the ball, and ran it back 100 yards for a touchdown. Kaelin

Clay's moment of pride came right before a big fall.

It is easy for us to shake our heads when we see these antics on

SportsCenter, but our lives have been marked by moments when our pride led

to our downfall. Sadly, this pattern is nothing new. Gideon is counted as one of

the great heroes of Scripture. He was used by God to deliver His people from

the oppressive rule of the Midianites, but then Gideon was blindsided by prideful

sin that became a snare for him and his whole family. In preparation for this

weekend's sermon, read Judges 8:22-28.

Pray for the World: Botswana The Republic of Botswana is a landlocked nation on the northern border of South

Africa. The Kalahari Desert covers 80 percent of the country, and the area is prone

to severe droughts. Only eight percent of the country's two million people are

Evangelical Christians. Some challenges for prayer are:

The Tswana were the first Bantu people in Africa to respond to the gospel;

several tribes turned to God in the 19th century. Today, the majority of Tswana

are Christian in name. Sadly, there is widespread immorality, drunkenness and

a breakdown of the traditional family structure, including a high proportion of

illegitimate children. Pray for a reversal of the moral decline and for renewal

among the Tswana.

Most mainline Protestant churches were established by Western missions

in generations past, but now are generally in decline. Some suggest that the

mainline churches’ struggles today are a legacy from the early missionaries’

failure to contextualize the gospel to local culture; this has resulted in

pervasive nominalism. Both local congregations and denominational structures

are affected. Pray for revival among these historic churches.

Prepare for Worship As you prepare your heart for worship on Sunday morning read Psalm 103 and

take time to thank the Lord for all He has done.