Well, I'm glad you tuned in today, and I hope you're going to have a fantastic day. Today we're going to look at Genesis chapter 8, and I think I said this last week. As we go through the month of January, I am reading through my Bible again, and I'm taking a lot of thought to the book of Genesis, so there may be a number of topics we discuss out of the book of Genesis. Some of them I have preached sermons out of in the past. But on this particular topic this morning, this is one that I shared with our teachers a couple weeks ago. And I believe this is helpful to the believer. It is a reminder of the battle we have in our own flesh as believers. But the story itself deals with Noah. Noah and his family have been on the water for nearly 150 days. It's not raining anymore, but the earth is covered. And so the water seemed to have calmed down. Noah decides to open the window and take a look around. And so he opens the window and he has two birds that are with him. He has a raven and a dove. He releases them, and the Bible tells us that the raven never returned, but the dove returned. And so let me read this passage, and we'll get into some of the meaning and the application it has for us. Genesis 8, verse 6, And it came to pass at the end of forty days that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. And he sent forth a raven which went forth to and fro until the waters were dried up from off the earth. So the raven stayed outside of the ark until the waters were dried up. Also he sent forth a dove from him to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground. But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark. For the waters were on the face of the whole earth. Then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. And the dove came into him in the evening, and lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off, so no one knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other seven days and sent forth the dove, which returned not again unto him anymore." Something I need to correct. We started the reading where it says after 40 days in verse six, That actually refers to the 40 days of raining, continual raining and flooding. And the water has stopped, and as soon as the water stops, as soon as Noah is aware that it's not raining any longer, he opens the window. And that's when he lets forth the birds. Two things I want to point out here. First of all, why did the raven not return? Apparently the raven survived. The Bible says it was able to survive until the waters were dried up from off the earth. What was it? Well, it's significant that the raven is an unclean bird. And the raven in Exodus or Leviticus, the Bible tells us about the raven being an unclean bird. And the raven apparently was able to live off the dead bodies and the carcasses that were floating in the water. We could say it like this. The raven was able to live off the old world. The raven was able to live off that which God had condemned and cursed. The dove, on the other hand, when it was released, the Bible says it found no place of rest for the sole of its foot. And so she came back. The raven felt comfortable on the old world, on the flesh of the old world. The dove did not. The dove, throughout the Bible, is a picture of the Spirit of God. And in this essence, we know we're talking about an actual bird, but this bird did not want to land on a dead carcass and abide there until the water completely abated. What did the dove do? The dove came back to the ark. Why? For rest, for food. And then finally the dove is released again. And what does the dove do? The dove this time brings back a leaf, an olive leaf, revealing that the waters are subsiding and the new world is appearing. So the dove bared witness to the fact that there was a new world. Now consider this. Consider this, the dove being a picture or a type of the believer. When you and I received Christ, the Spirit of God came in us to abide. 2 Corinthians 5, excuse me, verse 17 says, Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. We have a dove nature in us, but if you know your Bible or you've been taught correctly from the Scriptures, when you received Christ, you did not get rid of your old nature. It's still there. You still struggle with sin and selfishness and greed and envy and vainglory and bitterness. You still struggle with those things. And so you have a raven in you and you have a dove in you. Now, the question you need to ask yourself is this, which one am I feeding? Am I living off the old world? Am I satisfied with the old world, that which God has condemned? Or am I feeding the dove? Am I of the Spirit? The dove, did not want to rest upon the old world, the carcasses and the flesh, the things that God had condemned. The dove separated itself. And if you and I are going to grow in grace and honor the Lord, we're going to have to separate ourself. The dove also goes back to the ark. Why? For rest. You know, we have an ark. The Lord Jesus Christ is our ark. Remember what he said, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. You know, our fellowship with him is so necessary. Our time alone with him is so necessary to rest, to cast our care upon him, for he cares for us. So we need that, but not only do we need that rest, that stillness of heart and mind and spirit, but we need to feed. We need to feed, not in the old world, but we need to feed from the ark. And we know that the Lord Jesus is our sustenance. He's our provision. Fellowship with him is strengthening and encouraging. His word is bread to our soul. As a matter of fact, the Lord Jesus would say in Matthew 4, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Father. Are you separated? Are you resting? Are you feeding? Finally, what did the dove do? The dove bared witness of the new world, made it clear that the new world is coming. Are you and I being the witness that God wants us to be? Are we testifying of the work that Christ has done in us? Are we testifying that there is a better world to come heaven? Maybe we're unable to do that because we haven't separated. We haven't rested. We haven't fed. Maybe we're living like the raven. I don't know. We're all capable of either one if you're saved, if you're saved. But the reality is this, if we want to make an impact for the cause of Christ, let's live like the dove. Let's not get comfortable in the things that we know God has condemned. And let's feed and let's rest in the Lord and let's be a witness for Christ. Well, I hope that helped you. And I hope you have a fantastic new year. And once again, I want to say this, I'm praying that God would allow you to see the possibilities of faith and works. Faith, meaning you can see the things that God wants to do that only God can do. and works, you see the things that you can do that you're supposed to do and you take advantage of it. You have a fantastic week and Lord willing, we'll hear from you another time.