Participants: Chris Holland
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201322
|
00:11 >>Announcer: It has stood the test of time.
00:15 God's book, The Bible 00:18 Still relevant in today's complex world 00:23 It Is Written 00:26 Sharing messages of hope around the world! 00:39 >>Chris: J. Robertson McQuilkin married the love of his life, Muriel. 00:43 Together they had enjoyed many years together. He was able to serve in a 00:47 ministry of education. After being the head master of an institution, 00:51 he and his wife served as missionaries in Japan. They he returned to the 00:57 United States and he enjoyed a long and successful tenure from 01:02 1968 through 1990 as the president of Columbia International University 01:09 in Columbia, South Carolina. His term came to end, not because he was 01:14 removed or fired, but rather he resigned from the position. Why would 01:21 someone who was truly at the pinnacle of his career simply resign? Because of 01:27 a promise, because of a commitment. During those final years, his wife, 01:33 Muriel, began showing signs of Alzheimer's. It was little things here and 01:39 there. Forgetfulness, doing irrational things. It finally came to the 01:45 point that Muriel felt insecure without her husband around her. So, J. 01:52 Robertson McQuilkin made what many would consider a hard decision and resigned 01:59 from his successful position to be there full time for his wife. Listen 02:05 to his own words from his memoir, A Promise Kept, " The decision was made, in 02:12 a way, 42 years ago when I promised to care for Muriel 'in sickness and in 02:16 health... till death do us part.' So... as a man of my word, integrity has 02:20 something to do with it. But so does fairness. She has cared for me fully and 02:27 sacrificially all these years; if I cared for her for the next 40 years I 02:33 would not be out of her debt. Duty, however, can be grim and stoic. But, 02:39 there is more: I love Muriel. She is a delight to me- her childlike 02:45 dependence and confidence in me, her warm love, occasional flashes of that 02:50 wit I used to relish so, her happy spirit and tough resilience in the face of 02:55 her continual distressing frustration. I don't have to care for her. I get to. 03:03 It is a high honor to care for so wonderful a person." Muriel died under 03:09 the care of the one who committed and promised, "until death do us part." 03:19 A story such as this begs us to question the truthfulness of the old 03:23 adage; Promises are like piecrust, they are made to be broken. Is this really 03:29 true? J. Robertson McQuilkin didn't think so. He kept his promise, even 03:34 though it meant great sacrifice on his part. The Bible speaks of 03:42 promises. In fact the Bible mentions the word, promise over 50 times. It 03:48 uses an even stronger word, covenant - which is a contract or an 03:53 agreement, over 300 times. The first use of the word covenant, in the Bible, is 03:58 found in the story we have been studying, the real and true story of Noah. 04:05 You'll remember that God made a covenant with Noah in Genesis 6:17-18, 04:47 Here God makes a covenant with Noah - a promise to save him in this ark. We 04:53 have studied Noah over the course of the last four programs - if you've 04:57 missed one of those programs, you can go to our website 04:59 www.itiswrittencanada.ca and find the programs or www.youtub.com/IIWCanada 05:08 and there you can watch the programs so you are caught up. God establishes 05:15 an agreement with Noah to save his family in the ark. And that is exactly 05:21 what He did. God gave Noah instructions, Noah was obedient to those 05:27 instructions and warned the people of the earth and then built the ark, 05:32 then God was faithful to His promise and through His grace, saved Noah and 05:38 his family and the representative animals of the earth in the ark. 05:47 Remember the flood teaches God's grace and mercy, although the whole earth 05:52 was absolutely corrupt, God extended an one hundred and twenty year 05:58 probationary period and He provided an escape.to get on the ark. It was just 06:05 one small act of faith and obedience. But the flood also teaches us about 06:11 God's justice.there is a day of reckoning; God must bring things to an end. 06:16 Jesus himself compared the last days to Noah's time. But the flood also teaches 06:21 us about a God who keeps promises. Noah, his family and the representative 06:28 animals were all safely on the ark. Notice how the story continues in Genesis 06:35 7:17-24: 07:46 This flood was universal in its affect. The floodwater rose to 15 07:51 cubits above the mountaintops. That is over 8 meters above the highest 07:55 mountains. Also, notice what the Bible says, all earth dwelling creatures 08:03 and birds of the air died - all of mankind, except for Noah and his family 08:09 died in the flood. There were no stowaways on the ark. No one else built a 08:13 boat; there was no fight for control of the ark. God made a promise, He 08:19 made a covenant that only those who got on the ark would survive. God was 08:27 true to his word. Can you imagine what Noah and his family went through? The 08:32 thunder, the rolling seas, the pandemonium.yet through it all, they had 08:39 God's promise. Friend, today we have God's promises! Are you facing a 08:45 crisis.maybe a marriage is falling apart, maybe you have growing health 08:49 challenges. Jesus says come to Him and He will give you peace. God is 08:55 faithful. He was faithful to Noah and He will be faithful to you. 09:02 What happened next? Did God leave Noah to float around on a boat forever? 09:09 Of course not. Listen to how the story continues in Genesis 8:1-5 10:00 God didn't forget Noah, He remembered Noah. In this vast universe of God's 10:05 creation - He didn't forget Noah. Friend He won't and doesn't forget 10:12 you either. 10:14 The floods stop, the rain stops, the water coming from the earth stops. The 10:21 Bible says that God sent a wind upon the earth and the waters began to 10:26 recede. So much so, that the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat as 10:31 the tops of those mountains were exposed. The Bile says that this 10:37 episode lasted 150 days or 5 months. Can you imagine? Noah and his family on a 10:45 boat for 5 months? In addition, the animals that they cared for. Yet they 10:52 trusted in God. They knew that He was faithful, they trusted in Him. 11:03 As the ark came to rest there in the mountains of Ararat, there was still an 11:09 abundance of water on the earth. They waited in the ark another three months 11:14 to even see if they could leave the ark. So, the Bible tells us that Noah 11:19 would test to see if land was ready for them to disembark. Genesis 8:6-12 12:30 Noah sent out messengers, so to speak, to see if the waters had receded enough. 12:36 He sent out a raven, which kept returning to the ark as long as there was no 12:40 place else to rest. He also sent a dove. I'm sure Noah and his family, not 12:46 to mention the animals, were all anxious to leave the boat and be on solid 12:51 ground. But he exercised patience. Noah trusted God, he had faith in Him. 12:58 Patience and faith, two very important qualities for those who follow the 13:05 Lord. That dove returned with a sign - a freshly plucked olive leave. It 13:12 was a true sign that the earth was soon to be inhabitable again. He sent 13:17 the dove out again, this time, never to return. The dove had found a home 13:23 outside of the ark. 13:27 Finally, after having spent just over a year in the ark, now they could 13:31 leave the ark to re-inhabit the earth. In Genesis 8:15-19 the story 13:38 continues, 14:19 Now friends, there is an important observation to be made here. Noah leaves 14:24 the ark when He is told to by God. Noah's faith and obedience continued. Too 14:32 often friends, we are ready and anxious to listen to God, but then 14:35 once we have what we want or need or once the trouble in our life is 14:41 past, we forget all about Him. Once again, let's learn from Noah and 14:47 continue our listening to God at all times. Noah listens and they leave the 14:53 ark. When Noah and his family left the ark, what was Noah's first act? The 15:00 Bible records what Noah did first: Genesis 8:20, 15:22 Noah worshipped God. Noah made sacrifices to God. Noah acknowledged that God 15:28 is faithful. He kept first things first. Friends, it is a call for us. It is a 15:38 call for us to remember God at all times. We should spend time with 15:43 Him, in His Word and through prayer - in the good times and the bad 15:49 times. Always spend time with God. As Proverbs 3:5-6 says, 16:05 The Lord will not let us down. Then God makes a promise to Noah. It is a 16:13 promise that we see evidence of even to today. Genesis 9:8-17 record that 16:21 promise, 18:02 Did you hear that? God made a promise, He made a covenant. Covenant is a 18:08 contract or agreement. He promised that the earth would never again be 18:15 destroyed in a worldwide flood. The sign that it wouldn't happen again? The 18:20 rainbow. The rainbow in the sky is a continual reminder of God's love and 18:27 His commitment to us. But it was even more than just a promise of there never 18:34 again being a worldwide flood. God makes a promise that the rainbow is a 18:39 reminder of the everlasting covenant. What is the everlasting 18:44 covenant, friends? It is the covenant made in the Garden of Eden, by God to 18:50 man - to reconcile us to Him even though we had sinned. In Genesis 3:15, 19:02 God promised, He covenanted, 19:21 God promised, there in the midst of that garden. He made a covenant, that even 19:25 though man had disobeyed and sent into motion an entire series of dominoes 19:30 falling that affected the entire universe - He promised to save man from 19:36 his sin. It is the everlasting covenant that God wants to make us His 19:44 sons and daughters. Every time we see a rainbow it is a reminder of God's 19:50 faithfulness. The rainbow is a symbol that reminds us of the goodness of God, 19:55 but it also draws our attention to the trust and obedience of Noah. The 20:02 rainbow is a reminder that we can only find true refuge with the Lord. The 20:10 rainbow surrounds the very throne of God, even now. Revelation 4:2-3 describe 20:21 the heavenly throne room, 20:49 The rainbow tells us that God wants to save us. The ark was a place of 20:55 protection; it was the vessel of salvation. It was the vessel that would 21:00 protect Noah and his family. God has made another ark. It is an ark 21:06 for today. It is an ark that isn't a physical structure but provides 21:12 even more protection. The ark that god has provided today is the outstretched 21:18 arms of Jesus. He is the only one who can save us from our sins. Just like 21:27 the days of Noah, God is calling to us to get in the ark. A relationship 21:37 with Jesus is our only safety in these last days. Jesus will ride with us 21:43 through storms of life and guide us safely. Do you want to be in the arms of 21:49 safety today? God is faithful. He has great faithfulness to us. 21:57 Everyday He shows us His mercy and grace. Don't you want to come to Him today 22:03 and be in his arms of safety? Listen to this song, Great is thy 22:11 Faithfulness and may each of us be drawn to the arms of Jesus. 22:22 Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father; 22:31 There is no shadow of turning with Thee; 22:39 Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not; 22:48 As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be. 22:59 Great is Thy faithfulness! 23:03 Great is Thy faithfulness! 23:07 Morning by morning new mercies I see. 23:16 All I have needed Thy hand hath provided; 23:25 Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! 23:36 Summer and winter and springtime and harvest, 23:44 Sun, moon and stars in their courses above 23:52 Join with all nature in manifold witness 24:00 To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. 24:11 Great is Thy faithfulness! 24:16 Great is Thy faithfulness! 24:20 Morning by morning new mercies I see. 24:28 All I have needed Thy hand hath provided; 24:37 Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! 24:49 Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth 24:58 Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; 25:06 Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, 25:15 Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! 25:25 Great is Thy faithfulness! 25:31 Great is Thy faithfulness! 25:34 Morning by morning new mercies I see. 25:43 All I have needed Thy hand hath provided; 25:52 Great is Thy faithfulness, 25:57 Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! 26:18 Let's pray. Lord we are thankful that you are a keeper of promises. We are 26:23 thankful that you are faithful. Today we give our life to you. Lord keep 26:29 your promise to us, save us we pray in Jesus name, Amen. 26:52 >>Chris: I hope you've been enjoying this series, Noah: The Real Story. I'd 26:56 like to offer you the six-part DVD set which goes over the whole series 27:03 of Noah and God's faithfulness for this time. Here's the 27:08 information that you need to get today's offer. 28:02 The story of Noah is the story of a loving God who wants to save his people. 28:09 I hope and pray that these programs have been stirring you, have been 28:16 drawing you nearer to want to follow Jesus more. He's calling and he's appealing 28:22 to do so. I hope that you will join us for next week's program, but until 28:29 then, remember, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that 28:36 proceeds from the mouth of God." 28:50 $$$$$$$$$$$$ |
Revised 2015-08-13