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15 things you can learn about God at the beach

B is for Beach

 

B is for Beach – lessons to learn about God’s love and promises

We are surrounded by beaches.  Our juniors often study the Rocky Shore.  As we walk with our children on the beach it is a wonderful environment to teach some meaningful lessons.

1. God created the beach and it belongs to Him.

2.  God created the beach as a boundary for the sea – be amazed and fear God.

3.  Creation itself praises God – the sea roars!

4.  Sand was used to illustrate the vastness of the blessing that God promised to Abraham

5.  Sand illustrates a measure that is immeasurable

6. God’s thoughts are immeasurable towards us

7. Sand in and of itself is a terrible foundation, and so is human philosophy and man’s ideas to build our lives upon.  

8.  Sand is heavy like our inner world can be heavy within us.

9.  When waves overwhelm us – we are in trouble.  So our fears can overwhelm us too like waves of the sea.

10.  Sometimes the enemy is loud in your ears like the roaring of the waves at the beach.

11.  When our heart is overwhelmed we should look to Christ, our rock of refuge.

13.  His voice is louder than the seas

14.  God is more powerful than the churning sea.

15. As we follow God’s ways He pours righteousness over us like the waves of the sea.

 

1. God created the beach and it belongs to Him.

Genesis 1:9-10 – Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. 10 God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

Psalm 24:1-2 – The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.  2 For He has founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the waters.

Psalm 33:7-8  – He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses.  8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;  Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

Psalm 95:5 – The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land.

 

2.  God created the beach as a boundary for the sea, be amazed and fear God. 

Job 38:9-11 – “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb, 9 and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness?  10 For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores.11 I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come. here your proud waves must stop!’
Jeremiah 5:22 – Have you no respect for me? Why don’t you tremble in my presence? I, the Lord, define the ocean’s sandy shoreline as an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the boundaries I set.

 

3.  Creation itself praises God – the sea roars!

Psalms 96:10-12 – Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns; the world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously.”  11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;  Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;  12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.  Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord. 

Jeremiah 31:35 – It is the Lord who provides the sun to light the day and the moon and stars to light the night, and who stirs the sea into roaring waves. His name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and this is what he says:  “Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,” declares the Lord, will Israel ever cease being a nation before me.”

 

4.  Sand was used to illustrate the vastness of the blessing that God promised to Abraham

Genesis 22:17 – blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. (Genesis 32:12, Jeremiah 33:22, Hosea 1:12)

 * In all seasons God does not want us to forget His promises… sand for in the day… stars for at night!  How amazingly loving is our God!

 

5.  Sand illustrates a measure that is immeasurable

Genesis 41:19 – Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.
 
Joshua 11:4 – 4 So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots. ( picture of the enemy assembling against them). ( 1 Samuel 13:5, Deut 33:19, 1 Kings 4:20, 29)
 
* You can do some maths estimating to work out how much that is, but it is a number too big for our wee minds to comprehend see http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/math/how-many-grains-of-sand-are-on-earth%E2%80%99s-beaches?page=all for help on how to do that!
6. God’s thoughts are immeasurable towards us

Psalm 139: 17-18 – How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!  How great is the sum of them!  18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with You.

 *Put your hand through the sand on the shore and recite some of the thoughts God has towards you… He loves us beyond comprehension!

 

7. Sand in and of itself is a terrible foundation, and so is human philosophy and man’s ideas to build our lives upon.  

Matthew 7:26 – “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

 

8.  Sand is heavy like our inner world can be heavy within us.

Grief Job 6:2-3 –“Oh, that my grief were fully weighed, and my calamity laid with it on the scales!  3 For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea— Therefore my words have been rash.  

Anger Proverbs 27:3 – A stone is heavy and sand is weighty, but a fool’s wrath is heavier than both of them.

 

9.  When waves overwhelm us – we are in trouble.  So our fears can overwhelm us too like waves of the sea, the key then is to declare our hope in God.

Fear Job 22:11,12 – That is why you are surrounded by traps and tremble from sudden fears.  11 That is why you cannot see in the darkness, and waves of water cover you.  12 “God is so great—higher than the heavens, higher than the farthest stars.

Grief – Psalm 42: 5-8 – Why am I discouraged?  Why is my heart so sad?  I will put my hope in God!   I will praise him again—my Savior and 6 my God!  Now I am deeply discouraged;  but I will remember you— even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar.  7 I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me. 8 But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.  11 Why am I discouraged?  Why is my heart so sad?  I will put my hope in God!  I will praise him again— my Saviour and my God!

10.  Sometimes the enemy is loud in your ears like the roaring of the waves at the beach.

Jeremiah 60:32 – They are armed with bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. As they ride forward on horses, they sound like a roaring sea. They are coming in battle formation, planning to destroy you, Babylon.

Isaiah 5:30 – They will roar over their victims on that day of destruction like the roaring of the sea. If someone looks across the land, only darkness and distress will be seen; even the light will be darkened by clouds.

Isaiah 17:12 – Listen! The armies of many nations roar like theroaring of the sea. Hear the thunder of the mighty forces as they rush forward like thundering waves.
11.  False Teachers are also like reefs that can shipwreck people, or like waves that churn.
Jude 1:12 – 13 – Then these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots. 13 They are like wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their shameful deeds. They are like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness.
12.  When our heart is overwhelmed we should look to Christ, our rock of refuge.

Psalm 61:2 – From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety,

13.  His voice is louder than the seas

Psalm 93:4 – The Lord on high is mightier Than the noise of many waters, Than the mighty waves of the sea.
Ezekiel 1:24 – As they flew, their wings sounded to me like waves crashing against the shore or like the voice of the Almighty or like the shouting of a mighty army. When they stopped, they let down their wings.
Revelation 1:15 – His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves.
Revelation 19:5- 5 And from the throne came a voice that said, “Praise our God, all his servants, all who fear him, from the least to the greatest.”  6 Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder: “Praise the Lord!  For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.  7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honour to him.  For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself.
14.  God is more powerful than the churning sea
Psalm 65:7 – You who still the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples.
Psalm 89:9 – You rule the raging of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them.
Job 9:8 – He alone has spread out the heavens and marches on the waves of the sea.
 
Psalm 42:7 – I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.
 
Psalm 93:3 – The floods have risen up, O Lord. The floods have roared like thunder; the floods have lifted their pounding waves.
 
Psalm 107:25 – He spoke, and the winds rose, stirring up the waves.
 
Psalm 107:29 – He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves.
Isaiah 51:15 – For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea, causing its waves to roar. My name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
 
 Example of Jonah:  Jonah 2:3-6 – You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves.  4 Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence. Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’  5 “I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me. Seaweed wrapped itself around my head.  6 I sank down to the very roots of the mountains.  I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever.  But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death!
Zechariah 10:11 – They will pass safely through the sea of distress, for the waves of the sea will be held back, and the waters of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be crushed, and the rule of Egypt will end.
 Matthew 8:23-27 – Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”  26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.  27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” (Mark 4:37-41, Luke 8:24-25)
Jesus and Simon Peter walking on the water – Matthew 14:24 – Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves.  vs. 30 – But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.(Mark 6:48)
15. As we follow God’s ways He pours righteousness over us like the waves of the sea.
 
Isaiah 48:18 – Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.
 
 
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