Verse 11: 
There’s nothing that makes you feel smaller than when you contemplate the great deeps and the great heights. Sailing across the ocean with no land in sight makes you feel so small—all alone out in that great, massive body of water. Flying in a plane, you keep climbing and climbing, and everything that you thought was so big just keeps getting smaller and smaller. Things get put into perspective when you consider and experience these things.
But we see in this passage that God had absolute control over all this. God commanded it all to happen. He commanded Noah, his wife, his sons, and his sons’ wives to enter the ark, he brought the animals in, and then he himself closed the door. It was God who commanded all the fountains of the great deep to burst forth and the windows of the heavens to open.
Verses 17-24: “Prevailed” means “triumphed; conquered” and the words “all/every/everything” express totality. Notice how many times those words are used in these verses. The Flood was a supernatural, comprehensive catastrophe. The waters prevailed and triumphed over all things, everything. In this final paragraph there is also a list of the different creatures that were blotted out, and it’s interesting that they are listed in the same order that they were created. Just as God created all these things, he blotted them out. And just as God was powerful enough to create out of nothing, he was powerful enough and had the prerogative to erase it all. God uncreated his creation.
God Is Powerful
We talked about heights and depths–consider the heights and depths of God’s power. He is capable of awesome things and awful things. He is capable of terrific things and terrible things. His power is three dimensional, fully orbed, and beyond our understanding. Perhaps the message for you and me is just this: Remember God’s Power.
When God’s People Are Afraid, He Whispers to Them: “Remember My Power”
When Moses led God’s people out of Egypt, they reached the Red Sea and all seemed lost as Pharaoh and his armies descended upon them. Moses said to the people, “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Ex. 14:14). God’s message was “Remember my power.”
When God’s People Are Suffering, He Whispers to Them: “Remember My Power”
Job is the epitome of suffering in the Bible, and the whole book of Job is about him talking to his friends trying to figure this suffering out. God finally speaks to Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding” (Job 38:4). To him God’s message was “Remember my power.”
When God’s People Worship, He Whispers to Them: “Remember My Power”
In the Psalms–which was the hymnbook for ancient Israel–you could pick almost any one and it would be about God’s power. “Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies” (Psalm 68:34).
When God’s People Need Wisdom, He Whispers to Them: “Remember My Power”
Solomon, when he was made king of Israel, said he felt like a little kid, overwhelmed by the responsibility, and he asked for wisdom. God responded by giving him great wisdom, and much of it is recorded in Proverbs. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Prov. 9:10).
God Is Powerful–Whatever you’ve got going on in your life right now, fasten that truth to the forefront of your thinking.
Response Starters
- Read Genesis 7:6-24 together. It’s lengthy, so you might want to break it up and have several people read parts.
- The one big takeaway in the sermon is that God is powerful. Share with the group the area of your life in which you most need to remember God’s power? It might be an area of fear, suffering, confusion, etc.
- What scriptures come to mind about God’s power and goodness in relation to these specific things?
- Take the rest of the time to pray for one another. You may want to break apart in to pairs or have everyone pray for the person on their right. Be sure to get specific about what you’re praying about, and keep the scriptures you thought of in mind.
- Commit to pray for one another this week. If God answers these prayers, share with the group by text, email, phone call or in person.
