Catechism L5-06 Obeying God the Father

Prayer Before Studying

Incomprehensible Creator, the true Fountain of light and only Author of all knowledge: vouchsafe, we beseech Thee, to enlighten our understandings, and to remove from us all darkness of sin and ignorance. Thou, who makest eloquent the tongues of those that want utterance, direct our tongues, and pour on our lips the grace of Thy blessing. Give us a diligent and obedient spirit, quickness of apprehension, capacity of retaining, and the powerful assistance of Thy holy grace; that what we hear or learn we may apply to Thy honor and the eternal salvation of our own souls.

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Holy Spirit, giver of all good gifts, enter into my mind and heart. Give me the gift of knowledge, wisdom, understanding and the grace to use it wisely. Help me in all my endeavors. Give me perseverance and fortitude. Help my memory, that I may remember what I learn and recall it when necessary. Guide me in my studies. You who are the Way, the Truth, and the Life, let me not be deceived by false teaching. Our Lady of Good Studies, pray for me. Amen.

Prayer for Divine Graces
Prayer for Gift of Faith
Lord, I believe in You. Let my faith be full and unreserved, and let it penetrate my thoughts, my way of judging divine things and human things. Lord, let my faith be joyful and give peace and gladness to my spirit, and dispose it for prayer with God and conversation with men, so that the inner bliss of its fortunate possession may shine forth in sacred and secular conversation.

Prayer for Gift of Humility
O God, Who resists the proud and gives grace to the humble; grant us the virtue of true humility, that which Your Son showed in Himself a pattern for Your faithful; that we may never by our pride provoke Your anger, but rather by your meekness receive the riches of Your grace. Amen.

Prayer for Courage
O Lord, give courage before men against their threats and against their seductions. I need courage to bear unkindness, mockery and contradiction. I need courage to fight against the devil, against terrors and troubles, temptations, attractions, darkness and false lights, against depression, and above all fear. I need Your help, dear Lord. Strengthen me with Your grace. Console me with Your blessed Presence and grant me the courage to persevere until I am with You forever in heaven. Amen.


Topic/Agenda:

• To tell the stories of Noah and the great flood;

• Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac;

• David & Goliath.

• What is Covenant

Points to Ponder:

•What you will do if I ask you to build a house underground, will you do it?

•How will you feel if I given you the specification and you’re not even an engineer to build such a house like that?

•How you will feel with those people around you?

•Have you watch 2012 Movie (starting John Cusack) regarding end of the world?

Points to Ponder:

• How can we respond to God when He speaks to us?

–To respond to God means to believe him. (CCC 142-149)

Anyone who wants to believe needs a heart that is ready to listen (see 1 Kings 3:9). In many ways God seeks contact with us. In every human encounter, in every moving  experience of nature, in every challenge, every suffering, there is a hidden message from God to us. He speaks even more clearly to us when he turns to us in his Word or in the voice of our conscience. He addresses us as friends. Therefore we, too, should respond as friends and believe him, trust him completely, learn to understand him better and better, accept his will without reservation.

Noah and Great Flood:
God told Noah that he was going to destroy everyone except him, his family, and some of the animals. He told Noah to build a large boat called an ark and to take two of every kind of animal and put them into the ark. So Noah obeyed God, build the ark, collected two of every kind of animal, male and female, and put them in the ark. Then he and his family got in the ark and God started to let it rain. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights. Anyone not in the ark was drowned. Finally the rain stopped. The water began to go down. Noah sent a raven which did not come back. Later he sent out a dove but there was no place for it to land so it returned to the ark. Seven days later he sent it out again, and it returned with an olive branch. Finally he sent the dove once more and it found a place to nest, and so it did not return to the ark. Noah knew then that it was safe to leave the ark. God gave Noah a sign that he would never let a flood destroy the earth again. This is the rainbow sign.

      Why did God send the Flood?
Who did God choose to save from the flood?

Human Experience

Challenges faced by Noah & his family:

•Building the Ark  à Needs of the Animals; Problems for the builders (Noah & his 3 sons)

•Accommodating all those animals

–A pair of clean & unclean animals

–Limiting the cargo to “kinds”

–Genetics & their different species (taxonomy)

–Getting an accurate count

•Surviving the Flood ==> size & effects of the flood, 40 days & night of raining & waters prevailed during 150 days, tidal waves, etc.

•Caring for the Cargo 

–371 days (Hebrew calendar),

–Animal Hibernation à Feeding & Special Dietary needs

–Storage of Food & Water

–Sanitation & water disposal

–Specialized needs of animals

–Ventilation, Light & temperature levels

–Problems for the crew

•Disembarking ==> Landing on Ararat, Release of Animals

•Survival & redistribution

God destroys creation ==> The wickedness of fallen angels and men

Genesis 6:1-8:  When people began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that they were fair; and they took wives for themselves of all that they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My spirit shall not abide[a] in mortals forever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown.
5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord.

    

    

    
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2.      Abraham & Isaac:
 Long after Noah, God saw another man who loved him. His name was Abram (became Abraham). Abraham is our father in faith because he loved God enough to do anything God asked him to do. God promised Abraham and his wife Sarah that they would have a son (explain before that because of old age they cannot have a son and so Sarah gave her servant Hagar so that could bore a son - Ismael). Abraham believed but Sarah doubts God’s word – she’s laughing secretly. Finally they have a son named Isaac. They loved him very much because they had always wanted a child but never had one. They were very happy when Isaac was born. God promised Abraham that he would become the father of a great nation. To make sure that Abraham was worthy, God tested Abraham’s faith. The test was a hard one – sacrificing his own son - Isaac. God blessed Abraham because he was obedient even in difficult things. (Show some pictures now).

Human Experience

Challenges faced by Abraham:

•God had called Abram to leave his country & family to travel to a new land. His 75 years old at that time. à Abram brings also Lot with him.

•Experienced famine in the land of Canaan where God had promised him. à Finds food to Egypt.

•Concerns for his life than his wife in Egypt

•Abram & Lot separated themselves because the land was not able to bear them enough.

•Rescue Lot from the hands of the enemies with just few army.

•Frustration of being childless. à Both him & Sarai turn to Hagar for having a son (Ishmael)

•Sacrificing Isaac for God.

•Would you willing to give-up something that God or your father or mother is asking from you?

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3.      David and Goliath:

Many years after Abraham there was a young boy who pleased God very much, his named was David. He was only a shepherd boy but he trusted and loved God greatly. During that time, Saul was anointed by God through prophet Samuel as the first king of Israel. King Saul fought many enemies and victorious in all that battles because he always obeyed God. One time he disobeyed God’s command just to please the people that he commanded, and the Holy Spirit left him. God ordered Samuel to find a man that will replace Saul as a new king of Israel. He send him to Jesse and select one of his sons. Samuel expected that God will choose a the eldest of Jesse’s son or a tall and handsome man. But God not judge as people judge. David at that time was still very young and God chose him to be the next king. Now after the Spirit of God left King Saul, an evil spirit tormented him from time to time. Only a musical harp can heal him whenever an evil spirit attack him. And so he ordered his servants to bring him the best person who can play a harp. So they call on David the son of Jesse and ask him to be his servant as musician as well as care taker of his weapons and armory. The Israelites and Philistines are in a war. One day as they were getting ready to fight, one of the enemy, Goliath (their champion), sent a message that instead of having a big battle, he would fight any man in their army, and that whichever man won, his army won the battle. No one wanted to fight the ten-foot giant Goliath. No one but little David. David was sad that no one trusted God enough to fight Goliath so, even though he was not a soldier, he told the king that he would fight Goliath. When the king tried to talk him out of this David said that when he was a shepherd he killed bears that tried to kill his sheep, and so this giant did not scare him. He also said that he knew that God would protect him. The king made David put on his armor but David was so small he could not even move in it. So he took off the armor and took neither spear nor shield. He simply took his slingshot.  David hit Goliath right in the eye and, when Goliath fell, David cut off his head with the giant’s own sword. David became the new hero and famous to all Israelites. 


Human Experience

David’s Challenges:

David's Rise

David's Decline

•        God choose David to be a new King •        The battle with Goliath •        Saul’s anger & jealousy turns to David •        David in Exile •        David spares King Saul in the Cave •        Nabal’ Folly à refused to give something to David & his men after giving him protection. •        David spares King Saul again in the Desert •        David in Foreign Exile •        King Saul died in battle –       David becomes King of Judah –       David becomes King of Israel •        Bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem •        Preparations for the Temple

•        David’s Scandal with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife. •        David didn’t exercise justice against his son Amnon after raping her half-sister Tamar. •        Refusal to pardon Absolom after killing Amnon. •        David’s son Absolom’s Rebellion •        Sheba’s Rebellion •        David’s  son Adonijah’s Rebellion

Are you will face challenges and trust God completely?
Are you willing to defend God even the cost of your life?


Faith – what is it?

• Faith is a knowledge and trust. It has seven characteristics:
• Faith is a sheer gift of God, which we receive when we fervently ask for it.
• Faith is the supernatural power that is absolutely necessary if we are to attain salvation.
• Faith requires the free will and clear understanding of a person when he accepts the divine invitation.
• Faith is absolutely certain, because Jesus guarantees it.
• Faith is incomplete unless it leads to active love.
• Faith grows when we listen more and more carefully to God’s Word and enter a lively exchange with him in prayer.
• Faith gives us even now a foretaste of the joy of heaven.

[CCC 153-165, 179-180, 183-184]


What is Covenant?

• an agreement, usually formal, between two or more persons to do or not do something specified;  a binding agreement; contract

• in the Bible:

–The conditional promises made to humanity by God, as revealed in Scripture.

–The agreement between God and the ancient Israelites (or His people), in which God promised to protect them if they kept His law and were faithful to Him.

What are the Covenants that God made to us?

•Adam’s Covenant -- Adam was promised he could eat any fruit in the garden whatsoever, except one.  Eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil would cause him to surely die. (Genesis 2:16-17) à Conditional

•Noah’s Covenant -- Lord promised to never destroy creation with a flood again. (Genesis 8:20-21) à Unconditional

•Abraham’s Covenant – God promised Abraham’s descendants would be a great nation. à Unconditional

•Moses & Israel Covenant – God setup laws for His people to follow so they could be become a great nation. (Exodus 20:1-21,31:12-18; Deuteronomy 30:1-20;) à Conditional

•David’s Covenant – David’s descendant’s will rule forever, the promised of Messiah à Unconditional

•The New Covenant – It is the fulfillment of all God promised us through the sacrifice of Jesus.  The new covenant for is for Jews & Gentiles alike. (Jeremiah 31:31-33; Hebrews 8:7-13) à Unconditional & Conditional

The New Covenant Benefits:

There are numerous promises:

1.Mercy to our iniquities -- Hosea 6:6, "I will have mercy and not sacrifice". God's heart is to forgive.  All He asks is that we do likewise.

2.Redemption of our transgressions -- literally means to 'buy back' or to pay a ransom. It is a little like we had been kidnapped by the devil, and Jesus rescued us by paying the ransom demands of the kidnapper. 

3.Remembering our sins no more -- Truly forgiving is one thing, but forgetting it ever happened? God says He can do it.

4.Cleansing of our conscience  -- God has promised to wipe our minds clean of progress-inhibiting guilt feelings, paving the way for a new way of thinking (Romans 12:2). Our 'hard disk' needs to be totally reformatted, to rid it of old and outdated programs and insidious viruses causing unanticipated malfunctions and crashes.

5.Writing His laws upon our hearts and minds  -- It will reveal the Spirit of the Law, the reason for its existence and the goal it is intended to achieve.  "A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another, as I have loved you." (John 13:34) 

6.Personal intimacy with our Maker -- '... all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest of them’… With God's laws written on our hearts and put in our minds, we really have no need for anyone else to teach us Truth.

7.Partaking in the eternal inheritance -- Jesus marries us (Revelation 19 and 21) and we will become joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8).

Life Application

1. Lessons from Noah:

a.      God is angry with sin and will punish it one day.

b.      God loves us and sends us a way of salvation, if we will only repent and turn to Him.

c.      Noah is called the “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5) -- Even when he wasn’t saying anything, his labor on the Ark would have been his witness.

d.      Live a good and faultless life so God will have a fellowship with you.

e.      When you have a fellowship with God, He will save you and your households.

2. Lessons from Abraham:

a.      Abraham fulfills the definition of faith –

                                     i.     “Faith the is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

                                    ii.     "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness" (James 2:23)

                                   iii.     Because he was "strong in his faith," Abraham became the "father of all who believe" (CCC 146)

b.      Abraham had faith in God that he would fulfill his promises, even when it seemed that Abraham was being asked to sacrifice the promised fulfillment in his son Isaac.

c.      Just as God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son to God, so many years later, God would sacrifice his own Son on the cross for us.

3. Lessons from King Saul, David and Goliath:

a.      Be full obedient to God so that God will never reject you instead bless you.

b.      David had confidence in God’s hand (I Samuel 17:20-26)

                                  iv.     Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.” (Timothy 4:12)

                                    v.     Your abilities combined with confidence in God are a combination that can’t be beat.

                                  vi.     Each of you has a special strength, gift, or talent. Use it to honor God and to stand up to those who want to defy your God.

c.      David took command (I Samuel 17:32-36).

                                     i.     He make a stand to fight Goliath

                                    ii.     He took command to fight bears and lions against their sheep and he can do the same against any Philistines.

                                   iii.     He has confidence to God that he will be saved against Goliath.

4. So do you believe that God will protect and save us? – Yes
5. How do we avoid being jealousy and envy? – Be thankful for what we have.
6. What does God judge in men? – the heart
7. In what way is God our shepherd? – He leads and we follow. He takes us to safe places.
8. How can we tell what a person is like inside? -- How they act and what they say, over a period of time and in different situations.

Prayer for the Help of the Holy Spirit
O God, I thank you for this day and the lessons that we have learned today.  May You send forth your Holy Spirit and stay forever into my heart that I may perceive and understand You more, into my mind that I may remember, and into my soul that I may meditate.  Inspire me to speak and behave with patience, piety, holiness, tenderness and mercy. Teach, guide and direct my thoughts and senses from beginning to end. By Your grace, we may live and preach on the Words that You spoke to us today. May your grace ever help and correct me, and may I be strengthened now with love and wisdom from on high, for the sake of your infinite mercy. Amen.