New Things – Part 5 (A Blast from the Past)

Happy Wednesday, girls! I hope your time in the Word this week has been as exciting as mine. I hope you’ve started your year off spending sweet time at your Savior’s feet this week. That’s where we really get to know God more. That’s where we gain wisdom for this journey called life. It’s at the Savior’s feet where we find comfort, hope, joy and peace. It’s truly sweet at the Savior’s feet!

Before we dig into the Word, you may have noticed something new on my blog. Yes. I played around and made a blog last night. I somehow wanted to tell you how much I love you and appreciate your heart for the Word. But in the process of my attempts to load that thing, I completely wiped out Part 4 of our study. I’m not sure how that was possible, but I have a way of messing up all things tech. 🙂 Sorry!

Let me know what you think about my first attempt to vlog. All I can say is I’d rather speak to 1,000 faces than that little webcam positioned conspicuously at the top of my computer.

Today we are going look at the lives of some of those who have gone before us and have seen God do some awesome new things in their lives. Each one should remind us that God is still just as interested in doing new things in our lives as He was in theirs. The question is, are we ready?

You may remember our text for this week is Revelations 21:5 –

“Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’”(NKJV)

As we studied yesterday, He began our existence by making all things new. He will one day do it again, sweet friend – my guess is sooner than we think!

Let’s get started as I introduce you to some recipients of “new things” and see what we can learn from each of them. But I wanted to let you know that I won’t be providing all of the verses on the post today. I will, however, be sure to put the key verses here for your review. I’d love for you to read the entire text mentioned, but if you don’t have a Bible available, at least you will have the main verses for our study together.

Since today, we’re going to look at how God may desire to work in our lives in light of how He’s worked in the lives of our forefathers (& mothers), our questions will be a bit more reflective in nature.

LESSONS FROM NOAH
Text: Genesis 6:9-8:22

The Bible tells us Noah was a righteous man who lived in a world of extreme unrighteousness. But God didn’t lose sight of Noah in the midst of the madness. He chose Noah as the man who was to carry on the human race after everything else was destroyed.

“Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.” Genesis 6:9
“Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark–you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.” Genesis 6:17-18
“Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.” Genesis 6:22

1. What was the new thing God was going to do?

2. What were the results of the new thing God was doing in the lives of Noah and his family in comparison to the lives of everyone else?

3. Describe Noah’s character before God chose to do a new thing in his life.

4. Would you respond like Noah did if God called you to do something that would make you look ridiculous to others – that would cost you a lot of time and resources – that would mean you had to prepare for something you had never seen and couldn’t even imagine?

5. Is God laying anything on your heart right now that He has called you to do, but that you haven’t been obedient to do yet?

LESSONS FROM SARAH
Genesis 18 – 21

Sarah was well beyond child bearing years when the Lord showed up at her tent door with the good news that she would give birth to a son about a year later. With her ear to the tent wall and laughter in her heart, she was more amused at the thought than compelled to believe it could be true.

“Then one of them said, ‘I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.’ Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?'” Genesis 18:10-12 (NIV)

6. Has God ever put something on your heart that He wanted to do or wanted you to do in your life that you thought was impossible?

7. In the last part of verse 12, it’s almost as if you can hear Sarah say, “Yeah, right!” Have you ever done that when the Lord called you to something that was beyond yourself?

8. Sarah had given up on an old dream. Do you need the Lord to speak life into your barren dream?

9. If He did, would you be willing to do what was necessary?

LESSONS FROM ENOCH
Genesis 5

Not much is said about Enoch, yet God’s description of Him was greater than anything anyone else could say.

God’s Word says, “Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”Genesis 5:24

10. Are you willing to remain obscure if the new thing God wants to do in you means you must?

11. What do you need to do in order to have a testimony as a woman who walks faithfully with God? Are there things you need to change?

12. If the new thing God wants to do in your life is sweep you off into an unknown land, would you be willing?

In Noah’s life, God showed up in a big way and did something that had never been done before – He made it rain. But Noah believed God from the beginning to the end. He trusted that even though the new thing God was about to do meant he was going to have to tread some dangerous waters, Noah knew God had called him to that place and would protect him there.

Noah’s faith before the flood positioned and prepared him to take the ride of His life with the Living God. Has your faith prepared you for what God wants to do in your life?

In Sarah’s life, God literally showed up at the door and declared His plan to do something new in her life. To fulfill a dream she had let go of long ago.

Do you need to dig up an old dream and ask God to speak life into it?

Enoch walked faithfully with God. Then God took him. Are you willing to go anywhere God leads you to accomplish what God desires to do in you, through you, for you and around you?

Sweet friend, I don’t know where you are in your walk with God, but I do know that when the Lord desires to do a new thing in our lives He sometimes wants us to be prepared first. Other times, (like Sara) He does it in spite of us.

What do you need to see the Lord do in your life?

I love walking through the Word together. I hope you’ll grab a cup of coffee and a girlfriend and join our study this Friday. You can subscribe by clicking here for an email subscription – or click on the Google button on the top right hand side of the page.

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