Sermon: As in the Days of Noah

[Music] humans have an amazing capacity to adapt to various situations even in the midst of water of some very hard circumstances and I've often wondered why people will continue to live for instance in war-torn areas when everything is literally coming apart being destroyed they'll continue to live in those areas or they'll live in areas where natural disasters regularly impact the quality of living might be near storm fronts on the ocean it might be earthquake prone areas it could be any number of circumstances but I suspect a big part of why people continue in those areas is that humanly we don't like change once we're somewhere even if things go sideways we tend to stay there even as situations or circumstances deteriorate around us it seems that once we're invested in where we are we don't want to change we don't want to move I think it's human weakness so we can become like that provoked proverbial frog in the pot you know at first things might be very good they can be very okay but as things get worse we simply accept that and we continue hoping that it will get better when God created the Garden of Eden he created it perfect for the needs of Adam and Eve he also created it to flourish with minimal attention I can only imagine what that looked like no weeds nothing there that shouldn't be there everything growing in the perfect time in the perfect way but of course we know that Adam and Eve rejected God is the revealer of truth and righteousness and once they accepted the wrong tree took up the wrong tree the tree of the knowledge of good and evil then God had ejected them from the garden they couldn't have both they couldn't have it both ways and the choice they made separated them and so then mankind had to make his own way but then we know as well that mankind wasn't simply implementing what he thought was good or right we that Satan has had his hand thoroughly immersed in stirring up the pot of Cardinal thoughts of mankind ever since then and we can only guess what life was like as mankind began to populate the face of the earth after the Garden of Eden God had created mankind in an uncorrupted physical state as perfect as physically possible we know that as we look at some of the lifespans of those individuals that lived in that pre-flood world exceeding more than 900 years and it was quality of life but that long life didn't serve mankind well because it only aggravated mankind's embrace of sin they simply had longer to sin evil was added to evil and justification of that evil and knowledge of sin was passed on to subsequent generations let's go to Genesis 6 to begin with I'm going to take a different approach the message today use a different illustration and perhaps you haven't considered in this light but I'm going to consider Noah's story if you will the example that's recorded for us and as mankind proceeded and the roughly next seventeen hundred years or so after the Garden of Eden it got to the point of Genesis 6 and verse 5 it says here that the eternal saw the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually there was no reprieve from it there was no thought it seems the way this is written here to stop and ponder the morality God's morality of things and so verse 6 it says the eternal was sorry that he had made man on earth that's not a really good translation and unfortunately no other translation really gets to it the Hebrew word has the indication of a heavy sigh have you ever been so overwhelmed by something you have no recourse no Avenue to repair or fix the situation and you just sigh you know that it is what it is and this is where God is here and so it says he was grieved in his heart it made him full of sorrow centuries had passed since that Garden of Eden event and the evil of mankind became so bad as it said there in verse five that God to use our modern analogy had to hit the reset button he couldn't let it continue on and I don't know if you've ever given how much thought to how evil that pre-flood world was as it says there in verse five the thoughts of his heart mankind's was only evil continually but this is another way of looking at it this is the way I put it how bad did it have to get before God with all of his mercy all of his patients all of his love towards his creation had had enough whatever it was they had reached that point we were gathered before God today because this is the first day of unleavened bread he commands us to come before him not just to tick a day off on a calendar not just to fulfill the requirement but he asks us to come before him to learn lessons to draw closer to him and this week we've put leavening out of our homes as a symbol of how pervasive sin can be the nooks and crannies that it can get in it seems that those cars are designed to hold the crumbs in the most inaccessible places hardly but there's the lesson isn't it how deep does this get into our lives and we don't even realize where it is at times but this week also pictures the need for us to show God that we want sin removed from our life and that we want to change we want to have what was mentioned in the sermonette we want that eternal life and what God has designed this life to lead to so my sermon titles today is simply as in the days of Noah and we're going to consider this matter of D leavening our lives in the sin that we are to come out of and again going back to my introduction how evil was that pre-flood world a world thoroughly immersed in sin was the reason that God had Noah create that art wasn't it God had to take that few those few individuals that were still clinging to some form of righteousness listening to God and move them forward in time through a process of also removing those who would not repent if you have a marker please hold it here in Genesis we'll be back to this section but let's go to Matthew chapter 24 next Christ even used this example of the pre-flood world to illustrate a point in Matthew 24 and verse 36 he writes here crowd speaks here Christ he says but of that day in the hour no one knows now earlier in the chapter disciples had asked him what was the world going to look like at the time of the end what we're going to be the indicators the markers if you will as they progressed in time to know when he would return and it goes through those signs of the end of the age the signs of the Great Tribulation and all that will lead up to it but he cautions them here in verse 36 but of that day and hour no one knows not even the angels of heaven we've often wondered maybe I'm speaking too broadly here I've often wondered if it wouldn't be simply a steady progression that we could sort of see but I don't know that that's the case anymore a month ago we wouldn't have anticipated any of where we are now would have happened how quickly everything changed but it nonetheless he says no one knows that time so verse 37 but as the days of Noah were so also will the coming of Son of Man be what did that pre-flood world look like again they had no expectation that it would ever end did they they went on marry and marrying that's not wrong but they gave no thought to the future they continued in their sins that continued removing God from their lives they continued in the evil that persisted as if it would never change and they're caught off guard aren't they suddenly the rains come down Noah and his family are inside the ark and they have no recourse Christ is telling us here in Matthew that in the end time mankind would be behaving as they were during that time of Noah's life and what was that time like well let's go back to Genesis and pick the story up again but let's go to the beginning of the chapter Genesis 6 verse 1 it says now it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and the daughters were born to them that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful we're looking at two different perspectives here some have tried to make out the daughters of men were physical the daughters or this rather excuse me the sons of God were angels fallen and that's not the case at all when you look up the Hebrew words it's very clear we're talking about physical beings here you had people that had a way of life focused on the physicality of life and you had some that were still at least in part following God sons of God those that should have known God's instructions saw the daughters of men and they took wives for themselves who they chose they drifted they left God's instruction and so then verse 3 the eternal says my spirit shall not strive with man for ever for he is indeed flesh there's only a short time even a thousand years is a short time compared to God's existence he says for he is indeed flesh yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years and there were giants on the earth in those days and again that were giant is not some spirit hybrid this is simply someone who has power and stature the hebrew word indicates tyrants there were giants on the earth in those days and afterwards when the sons of God came into the daughters of men and they children of them they were mighty men who were of old men of renown men who wanted a reputation a legacy if you will apart from God mankind had strayed extremely far from God in 1700 years of ignoring God's instruction how far could they have gotten well we read Matthew 24 didn't we it said that when Christ returns is going to look very similar to that time of Noah's life mankind would be behaving the same way and so in approximately 1,700 years from the time of creating Adam and Eve until the time of the flood that span of time mankind had gotten to the point of being so evil again that God as we read a little earlier was sorry that he had made man it grieved him but that's not where it ends is it we read verses five and six let's read verse seven Genesis 6 verse 7 so the eternal said I will destroy man whom I've created from the face of the earth and many will unfortunately read this and say well see God is no different than the gods of the Romans or the Greeks or any other capricious God when he doesn't get his way he simply kills off his creation and that's not what God is doing here at all in the balance of Scripture we know their fate don't wait through the holy days we know their fate they will live again God was simply stopping them before it got so so bad that they couldn't repent and so then he says I'm gonna take that life away both man and beast creeping things and birds of the year for I'm sorry that I've made them God was needing to restart things he needed to stop it before it got too far beyond what they would be able to come back from he could have addressed whatever but it's about us isn't it about mankind becoming like him and so God didn't wipe off all earth and literally start over but verse 8 Noah found grace in the eyes of the eternal this is an aside here but it's an interesting thing to note here oftentimes we'll say can one person make a difference and the answer is yes we find that answered repeatedly in Scripture Noah was such a man at a time how big was the population of the earth at that time we have no way of knowing billions potentially Noah and his family were the only ones as it says here he was a just man does God lie does he fudged the truth God doesn't do that from God's perspective no was just and it says perfect in his generation that matter of perfection is not completely without sin it has to do with his character how he behaves perfect in his generations and he walked with God this was someone who valued God's instruction valued his time valued what he wanted from mankind God saw that and he used it for the sake of one man in his family God was willing to adjust how he would work with mankind and in this we find many other examples don't we as I mentioned in passing just a moment ago we have the example of lot lot and his family didn't want to leave did they it's interesting if you go back and read that account when lot moved his family into that area at first they lived outside those cities they were shepherds but at some point lot moved into the city and when he did then his families integrated in that city much like we read here the beginning of Genesis 6 and in that wicked City they had become comfortable they didn't want to change didn't want to leave in fact God had to take him by the hand didn't he the Angels had to literally lead them out of the city we find other similar examples in Scripture and the point is that God will work with as few as are willing to work with him but he will work with mankind he looks for reasons to do as opposed to reasons to wipe us out let's go to chapter I'm sorry we're still in Chapter six Genesis 6 verse 11 so it says the earth was corrupt before God and it was filled with violence I've often wondered - if you read the account in the previous chapter about how long the lives were of many of those individuals we can be amazed at nine hundred plus year almost a thousand years in some cases but consider this verse here it says it was filled with violence I don't know that that was the average age perhaps many died with very short violent life's but nonetheless the whole earth was filled with this violence and God looked down on the earth and it was corrupt for all flesh had corrupted after their way notice after their way and so God said to Noah the end of all flesh has come before me and the earth is filled with violence through them and behold I will destroy them with the earth make yourself an ark of gopher wood make rooms in the yard covered inside now with pitch and this is how you shall make it and he begins to lay this all out instruction for Noah and what to do and so then let's move down to verse 22 after God gives him all this instruction tells him what he's going to do and why and verse 22 it simply says thus Noah did I find that very encouraging enlightening thus Noah did he didn't question didn't argue didn't give excuses not yet why he simply did did the world at that time even know what a flood would be some have speculated not at the beginning of the book of Genesis it talks about a heavy dew that would go up on the earth you have a heavy enough do you don't need rain it will sustain plants the water will collect and pool and you can have ponds and such maybe they didn't understand what Noah was saying thought it was fanciful that God would literally cover the earth with water we don't know did the world of that time taking seriously perhaps Noah became a sight attraction a little industry sprung up around him and people would go and see this crazy man prophesying about this flood that was going to come and this huge ship why would they need a ship this big maybe they bought the t-shirts and the concessions and so forth I can just picture that sort of thing human beings love to have something to laugh at and dried did Noah himself understand that his obedience was saving the human race from extinction that through those eight people God would then continue human life that he would continue his plan of redemption I believe he did maybe not thoroughly maybe not the way we did but maybe he knew more no matter what Noah thought he did what God asked him to do there in verse 22 again thus Noah did he built the ark he preached to the people for 120 years how tiring would that be after the first five to realize no one's listening no one's changing hoping that they would turn to God before it was too late and again you and I live today according to what Christ has said surrounded by a world very similar to what was happening in Noah's time again Matthew 24 as in the days of Noah but let's go next to 2nd Peter again hold your verse or your place here in Genesis in 2nd Peter chapter 3 second Peter 3 in verse 3 it says knowing this that scoffers will come in the last days in addition to the evil that will be surrounding us at the end time we're gonna have a world full of scoffers and we're getting there very quickly if you mention religion in most contexts people will at best politely avoid you but in many cases they will ridicule why do you believe that scoffers will come in the last days walking according to their own lusts and saying where is the promise of his coming really yeah we know scripture says that but that was said 2,000 years ago and look and that's even what Peter goes on to say here for since the father's fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation look nothing has changed these prophecies have been made and we're still here we're still living life in fact we have less reason to need God mankind seems to say verse 5 for this they willingly forget that by the Word of God the heavens were of old in the earth standing out of the water in the water they forget the stories like Noah and relegate them to children's bedtime stories maybe there's a moral lesson in there if we even stop to consider that but most don't even know that it's in the Bible anymore and then verse 6 by which these waters by which the world that then existed perished being flooded with water what do we need to do or what do we need to become in the face of an increasingly hostile culture on September 11th 2001 some of you remember that date terrorist attacks on this country mostly in New York but a few other areas made many people stop and ask a question where was God why did God allow this some did briefly turn back to God the churches were full for several weeks after that but it didn't last very long did they did it quickly everything went back to normal again normal shifts but they went back to their lives and then in September 8 we had one of the sharpest economic market Corrections this country had seen since 1929 a very deep recession boertie lean abhorred OD bordering excuse me on a depression very few asked about God then some did but not many look at what has changed in the culture around us in the last 20 years gay rights have been normalized to the point of acceptance of same-sex marriage in fact it has to diminish the value of marriage because even heterosexual relationships are increasingly not defined by marriage anymore there are no longer two genders polyamorous relationships are growing and acceptance drugs that were once considered dangerous to us as a nation are now legal personal behavior that would have been career-ending three or four decades to go now barely raises an eyebrow we have violence we have families that are broken in deep ways language and behavior is vulgar on an unprecedented language and those that don't accept these things or even promote them our scene is the problem the culture has not drawn closer to God it's running in the opposite direction I don't believe I'm often saying these things because with all that's happened recently with this Kove advice I've not heard anyone in the world ask about God in all the news reports that I've read and all the videos I've watched all the things that have come across my attention I haven't had any I haven't heard anyone ask why is God allowing this let's go next to first Timothy 4 first Timothy chapter four and in verse 16 Paul makes this statement that we're well advised to listen to he says to Timothy take heed to yourself and to the doctrine what is the doctrine the doctrine is what we review every Sabbath every holidays in our Bible studies personally and congregationally it is God's Word his teaching Paul reminds Timothy take heed and pay attention to that he says continue in them for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you this is the safety we have in a culture that is running the opposite direction from God part of the value of this week that we're starting today is to be reminded of the doctrine that Paul is referring to here that doctrine is God's plan of salvation as we move through this calendar year we'll rehearse these different steps that God has already taken in place and the steps yet to come that show us what he is doing with mankind that he is not the disinterested watchmaker winding up the clock and walking away from his creation he's not an impotent God that can't fix the problems of the world and so mankind has walked away it's simply that he has a different timing and a different way of working with us that almost everyone realizes part of what we're going through this week is to remember that we're to put to death that old carnal man that were to put on the mind of Christ it's realizing that our sin brings death not life not eternal life not true life that Christ talked about there that last night of his physical existence and that we need to change our carnal nature to godly righteousness it's truly believing what God says and desiring to live the life that he intended so the question for us we can look at the world and we can criticize and point fingers all we want but it still comes back to us do we do gently seek him in a perverse world Genesis 6 a world that only thought evil continually and as Christ said in Matthew 24 how that world at the end time will reflect that very same world back in Noah's day they didn't seek God but do we let's go to Hebrews chapter 11 it mentions Noah again here in a list of the faithful Hebrews 11 and verse 6 we read but without faith it is impossible to believe him for he who comes to God must believe that he is that's a challenge in the culture around us church attendance is down dramatically compared to even three decades ago God is not in our culture not in our churches not in our government not in our business people don't seek God they don't believe that he is in most cases and certainly in the balance of the verse they don't believe that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him but this is what we're called to so verse 7 by faith Noah being divinely warned of the things not yet seen that's why I asked that question do they understand what a flood was it seems that they did not he says because they warned of things not yet seen moved with godly fear he believed God and that's an aspect of faith isn't it believing God but what did Noah do he could have believed God until the rains came and didn't do anything I wouldn't have served him would it notice what he did he prepared an ark for the saving of his household which by wish excuse me he condemned the world and became heir of righteousness which is according to faith he condemned the world not in judging them he condemned the world by his actions he showed that God was right and we know from second Peter 2 verse 5 that he didn't spare that world let's go to first Peter 3 next though first Peter 3 in verse 18 Peter writes here for God excuse me for christ also suffered once for sins for the just the just for the unjust rather excuse me that he might bring us to God see we don't bring God to us we don't come on a Sabbath day we don't come on a holy day we don't go before God in our prayers to bring him to me to us we go before him so that he can bring us to him and so because Christ did these things put to death in the flesh but made alive by the spirit by whom also he went and preached the spirits in prison who formerly were disobedient when once the divine long-suffering waited in the days of Noah and that's another great question how long did God wait many people think God is this quick angry bloody God but how long did he wait he waited 400 years just to see if the amorite s-- would repent he told Abraham that you're your family's gonna go down to Egypt because they're not at a point where I have to stop them yet the amorite s-- so he waited it says in the days of Noah the long-suffering he waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared and which a few that is eight individuals were saved through water Christ suffered once for our sins for all of an kind sins we rehearsed that it Passover didn't we we rehearse it every time we go before God and ask for forgiveness and do fruit worthy of repentance but God waited patiently you see if mankind repent would repent and they didn't he's waiting again patiently to see if mankind will repent and so far they have not but God saved Noah and his family through water as it says here didn't he the end of verse 28 individuals were saved through water that's a type of baptism every one of us that have gone through that process of repentance and coming to baptism we reflect this very same thing to be saved from those sins to take what Christ is given willingly laid down so that we can have life do you see the parallels between what Noah went through Passover and unleavened bread if we go back to chapter 2 first Peter 2 in verse 21 Peter writes this he says for to this you were called because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that you should follow in his steps that's why we do the New Testament symbols and not the old it's not that the older meaningless they're full of meaning but Christ fulfilled those things and he added deeper understanding to it that's what we follow if we expand that out our daily lives our weekly lives our whole life is to be striving to follow his example that perfect sinless life as a man what example then do we show to those around us as I mentioned I suspected Noah was hated for his preaching but I know something else too every one of those people believed him when the rain started coming down they believed him then didn't they let's go to Philippians chapter 2 Philippians 2 in verse 12 Paul again writes therefore my beloved as you have always obeyed not in my presence only but now much more in my absence work out your own salvation with fear and trembling my job as a pastor has never been to make sure people are doing things I have no desire to be a sheriff my job as a pastor is to help people and their calling to be helpers of their joy but this last month or so it's all shifted hasn't it you can call we can call we can email we can text we can phone we can do these different things but this verse is much more real now isn't it to every one of us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling it's not a matter of showing up at a building it's not a matter of driving with your family to a certain gathering it's not those physical things that we can easily be distracted with it's a reminder these days our reminder that this is about our relationship with the father to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling do we fear the times to come not in a paralyzing way but knowing that there's nothing we can do to stop them do we want to just go along with the culture as they did in Noah's day as Christ said they will at the end of the age or do we want to follow God we strive to obey God's instruction and to follow his example we do that in his absence don't we he's not literally standing here beside us but we can say that and yet on the other hand we've got him living in us now but even so at times it's not easy is it again you look at some of these examples how much political intrigue did Daniel have to put up with in the responsibilities he had and not one but two world-ruling empires they wanted to kill him what did Moses put up with you know 40 years herding cats it's just he couldn't do anything right even his brother and sister took exception with him even as cousins wanted to usurp his position and tried to do so but look at any of the prophets of God how long did Isaiah preach and what did it fundamentally change in the nation we can look at those things and say well it's just what's the point and yet look at what did change those individuals and what we now have recorded for us as an example I mentioned law and his family back in Genesis 19 earlier they had a hard time leaving what they knew as I asked in my introduction they couldn't do it they'd become so comfortable with it they didn't see how evil it had become but what challenges do you face and coming out of sin the world that were immersed in what challenges do you face coming out of this world this is not a condemnation not any statement of judgment on any level but simply this is the week that we're in now aren't we this is what we should be considering does knowing God's plan for you in his family make that worthwhile whatever you dealing with whatever lessons he's leading you through whatever challenges or trials in the world around you does knowing God's plan for you and his family make that worthwhile because we won't invest in something we don't see value in and what God is offering needs to be seen in that light or we'll give it up as I've seen too many people do over the course of my life what challenges do you that are young face you can oftentimes think perhaps that well this is just my parents church and it is but it isn't God's calling you as well God is with you now he wants you and his family you don't have to be a part of this culture to learn that it's not gonna work we have 6,000 years or so of history to show it's not going to work he'll go back to the example of Noah I don't know if you've ever done a study on just the physicality of what he created it's impressive we don't know what gopher wood was there's no tree called gopher some think it was a sort of either like a plywood or a laminate that they even had that technology but how do you make a ship essentially the size of a modern ocean tanker out of wood and have it float in fact mankind never replicated a ship on that size until the mid or so from 1950s and they made it out of steel but that Ark is the same proportions as those modern ocean tankers are very stable and open water very stable in rough water and this is what he created he had to have skill and ability to be able to take God's instruction and to create that craft to be able to stock it to be able to design basically a float little floating city that they needed to live on for more than a year you think being quarantine quarantine for a month is bad they had no place to go did they literally I found at one point a calculation I found interesting someone figured up the amount of space that it would take for the animals and most people overestimate the space that's needed we're dealing with kinds one pair of dog not one pair of every type of dog things of this nature and most animals are not that large there's also the possibility that Noah took babies and they matured on the ark they would have taken up much less space but nonetheless this calculation said one level would have been just for the animals one level would have been for Noah and his family living quarters and various supplies fresh water and things of this nature which would leave one level completely empty wouldn't it why would that be necessary well God had Noah preached for 120 years what if somebody says you know what I need to repent where were they gonna go Noah would then say oh well build your own Ark mine's full I think there needed to be space there so that they couldn't argue well you never really wanted me there to begin with God wanted them to be there God wants us to be there look at the Ark that he's creating in his church if you will let's go to second Corinthians though next second Corinthians chapter 6 and in verse 17 2nd Corinthians 6 verse 17 Paul writes therefore come out from among them now he's quoting here and he's not quoting from just one place he's quoting from several sections probably Isaiah 52 11 Ezekiel 20 verse 34 and maybe a few others and he's amalgamating them here so he says therefore come out from among them and be separate says the eternal do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you this is no different than what God told Israel as they started to leave on this day in back in history come out from among them don't stay in Egypt don't stay in sin when God began to work with each one of us as he called us into his church he said essentially the same thing come out from the world that you're in and be separate verse 18 I will be a father to you Satan has done a wonderful job of destroying what the family is intended to be like to be a loving father I will be a father to you you shall be many sons and daughters as the eternal Almighty God in essence said this to Noah as well and again he's saying it to us come out of sin come out of the sinful world be delivered yes will endure it in terms of experiencing many of the consequences of the sin around us of the world we can't change that but we don't have to be a part of it let's go back a little bit to 1st Corinthians chapter 5 first Corinthians 5 and verse 7 we read here that Paul writes therefore purge out the old leaven we have to change he seems to be riding this around this time of the year to the church at Corinth he says therefore purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump we're to put to death the old man and become a new man aren't we you can't do that in pieces you have to do it whole cloth you can't patch an old wineskin with a new piece of leather it'll it'll it won't stretch the same way it'll tear it apart so overtime we have to replace that old man with the new man it says here this is the old leaven the new lump for he says indeed Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us this is why he came why he died the death he did why it was necessary for him to even come in the first place so that we could go through this process so that we could come out of sin so that we can overcome and grow and change and take on godly character so then he says in verse 8 let us keep the feast he wasn't doing away with any of God's instruction let's keep this day he says not with the old leaven northern Lebanon of malice or wickedness but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth let's go back to Romans three Romans three verse 25 Paul was writing here about God's righteousness through faith and speaking about Jesus Christ in verse twenty four so then in verse 25 he says whom God set forth as a propitiation by his blood God sent Christ as payment for us through his life through faith to demonstrate his righteousness Christ had to have tremendous faith in the father didn't he and there was no doubt that he would do what he said he would do that Christ could give up his divinity come as a physical man die a death like everyone else has died and trust in God that he was going to restore him with confidence he had no doubt in any of this because in his forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed prior to the sacrifice of Christ God knew this was coming and so in his patience he allowed mankind to sin all those sins before he called us we lived in our sin and he was patient with us until it was the time to show us we needed to change and so then in verse 26 to demonstrate at the present time his righteousness we're here because of God we're not here because of our ability our talent our wisdom our knowledge our gifts whatever they are we're here because of God to demonstrate his righteousness that he might be just and justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus going back to verse 25 when it talks about God passing over the sins the Greek word used for the two he words passed over it's only used one in scripture here the word is paresis PA r es is in it's a medical term it's a condition typify by weakness of involuntary movement almost like a palsy where you you don't have complete control over your muscles it's also indicating a partial loss of voluntary movement or impaired movement and so the term paresis is used to describe weakness not paralysis weakness and so God passed over our weakness were weak aren't we we're temporary carnal flesh we age we slow down our our bodies wear out we sin and we can't change we can consider the things that we've covered in this message to this point we can point to the world but they're there in paresis aren't they they're very weak to even have a desire to overcome this is what God is building in us and so we moved down to chapter 4 and verse 7 romans 4 verse 7 it says blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered we're blessed or blessed of all people to know this and to have this to know that our lawless deeds our sins are forgiven and covered that's a clean slate it's a fresh start we have that not just at this time of year but every time we go to the Father and repent so let's conclude in acts 17 acts 17 and in verse 30 Luke is recording Paul and him being at Athens this is the incident at Mars Hill and Paul is using the example of the the pedestal with no statue on top of it in the inscription that says to the unknown God just to make sure they hadn't missed someone to cover their bases and so acts 17 verse 30 Paul says truly these times of ignorance God overlooked God has been very patient with mankind hasn't even last 6,000 years look at what it took to have God have to sort of restart everything in Noah's days I have to wonder how many times he's done that in less dramatic fashions in mankind's history to stop me and kind from going too far too quick too soon or to be too deep into sin that he can't turn back from they said in those times of ignorance God overlooked them but now commands all men everywhere to repent this is where you and I are this is why you and I are here today before God this is why we're reminded of these things repentance is not a one-time event it's an ongoing process the flood of Noah's days covered the sins of the world didn't it literally washed that world clean it started knew afterwards the Passover we partook of just two evenings ago reminded us of our sins being covered you know in a similar fashion washed with the blood of Christ we've put leavening out of our homes our cars our businesses whatever we have control over for the next week so we can be reminded of how pervasive sin is this week we can picture our desire to show God that we want that sin removed it's not just an obligation that we go through to make sure we're right with him we desire this that we want to change and while we live in a time that's like the days of Noah let us come out of sin this coming week let's consider the lessons of this week let's truly internalize all of those things and truly live the meaning of these days of unleavened bread

Channel: UCG Milwaukee

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Keywords: UCG Sermon, UCG, UCG Milwaukee, United Church of God, United Church of God Milwaukee, noah, flood, sin, sorrow, pain, regret, pervasiveness of sin, leavening, remove sin, repent, change

Id: rQPPOt2usQU

Length: 49min 53sec (2993 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 09 2020