Participants:
Series Code: FGW
Program Code: FGW210047S
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00:28 Welcome to the fourth episode in this series on Noah, Noah,
00:34 Another Storm is Coming, 00:36 and today's message is entitled Crumbling Foundations. 00:40 So wherever you are joining us, 00:43 whether it be somewhere here in Australia, 00:44 the land down under, or somewhere around the world, 00:47 I want to give you a very warm welcome. 00:49 And I am so glad that 00:51 you have chosen to spend this time 00:53 in God's Word with us here on Focus on God's Word. 00:57 I want to welcome 00:58 and thank the audience here at 3ABN, 01:01 Australia, for being here 01:03 as we share in God's Word together. 01:06 It's always a privilege to see smiling, happy faces, 01:08 continue to keep smiling, and looking up 01:11 because Jesus is coming soon. 01:13 Amen, and amen. 01:16 And that is why we are in this series together. 01:19 Because Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Noah, 01:22 and He also mentioned the days of Lord, 01:24 so it will be just before He returns." 01:27 And I am coming under stronger conviction day by day 01:31 that Jesus is indeed coming very, very soon. 01:34 And in this particular message 01:36 as we take a look at crumbling foundations, 01:39 we will discover how close 01:41 we indeed are to the sound of the trumpet. 01:45 We want to take a look at the three key points 01:48 that we have been looking at each and every time 01:52 we have been in this series together 01:54 that give us the overall importance 01:56 of why we are studying this message together. 01:59 Firstly, the story of Noah clearly identifies 02:03 the earth's final generation. 02:05 Secondly, it enables us to know 02:08 and understand how we can be ready 02:10 when the Son of Man returns. 02:12 And thirdly, and I believe most important of all, 02:15 it provides instruction 02:16 on how we can prepare others for Jesus' soon return. 02:21 So how many of you want to be ready 02:22 for the coming of Jesus? 02:23 Amen. 02:25 How many of you want to prepare others for the coming of Jesus? 02:27 Amen, you're at the right place, 02:28 you're at the right place. 02:30 So let's pray before we plunge into God's Word together. 02:32 Father in heaven, 02:34 we have yet another important study 02:37 in Your Word together, 02:39 as we examine the days of Noah in particular, 02:44 and as we also take a look briefly at the days of Lot. 02:48 Father, we ask and pray that 02:50 You will open our hearts and our minds 02:51 as we open up Your Holy Word, 02:53 that we may indeed not only understand the times 02:56 that we are living in, but more importantly 02:58 how we ought to respond, how we ought to respond. 03:01 So bless us now, 03:03 we pray through Your Holy Spirit 03:04 in Jesus' name. 03:05 Amen and amen. 03:08 Well, I want to begin by sharing with you that 03:11 I take no credit in some of the things 03:14 that I'm going to share with you. 03:16 As in the parallels from creation, 03:19 to the days of Noah, to our day, 03:22 God has given me these wonderful 03:25 and blessed insights, I give all the glory to Him. 03:27 In case you're wondering, 03:29 where did Danny get these ideas from? 03:31 I didn't get them in any book. 03:32 I didn't hear them in any sermon. 03:34 The Lord impressed me with 03:36 what I'm about to share with you. 03:37 So some of this will be brand new. 03:40 Well, I think it'll be brand new for most, 03:41 if not all of you and those who are watching. 03:44 So I want to give you an overall landscape 03:48 or airplane view 03:50 of where we'll be going in this message. 03:53 Firstly, we're going to take a look at the war 03:57 over God's three Edenic blessings. 04:00 We're gonna discover that God gave the human race, 04:03 He gave the world three blessings 04:06 at the beginning of time when He created this world. 04:09 Firstly, in Eden, 04:10 God blessed humanity with three precious blessings. 04:14 We're going to discover what they are in just a moment. 04:16 Over the next 1600 years, Satan's influence upon humanity 04:20 was responsible for destroying all three of these blessings. 04:25 And isn't that just like the devil? 04:27 As I pointed out in our previous presentation, 04:29 his name is evil with a capital D. 04:32 Isn't this just like the devil 04:34 who Jesus described as one who has come 04:36 only to steal, kill, and what? 04:39 And destroy, that's in John 10:10. 04:41 Where Jesus says, "I've come to give them life 04:43 and give them a more abundant life." 04:46 So whilst Jesus is in the business of giving us 04:48 the abundant life, 04:50 the enemy is seeking to take that away, 04:53 and so there's no surprises there. 04:55 So after the flood, as we continue, 04:58 after the flood through Noah and His family, 05:00 God restored all three blessings to humanity. 05:05 We'll discover that. But is Satan done? 05:09 Is he willing to let go now that God's people 05:11 and that the world may enjoy God's three Edenic blessings? 05:14 No. 05:16 Satan did not waste any time in seeking 05:18 to once again destroy 05:19 and dismantle God's precious blessings 05:22 to the human family. 05:23 His attack would climax in the period the Bible 05:26 refers to as the time of the end. 05:29 That's the last 200 years 05:31 or so that we have been living in, 05:32 the period immediately prior to the coming of Jesus. 05:37 However, however, 05:39 that's not the end of the story. 05:41 However, God will once again have a faithful Noah generation 05:45 at the end of time that will remain true to 05:48 and wholly embrace His Edenic blessings. 05:51 And may I add, share them with the world. 05:54 So what are these three Edenic blessings 05:57 that God blessed the world with? 06:00 When God created this world, 06:02 it was a beautiful world filled with, 06:04 filled with everything that was to provide, 06:07 joy and happiness, and peace and love. 06:12 In fact, Eden, the word Eden means 06:16 pleasure and delight. 06:19 You know what the word garden means in Hebrew? 06:22 It means to be enclosed. 06:24 So you put those two words together, 06:25 Garden of Eden, God's plan for the human race 06:29 was for Him to enclose His precious people, 06:35 the animals, everything, 06:36 in this garden filled with pleasure and delight. 06:40 Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that just like God? 06:44 Well, let's take a look at God's three blessings. 06:46 And God's three blessings are these 06:48 that He gave to the human race 06:50 at creation on day five, day six, and day seven. 06:53 At creation God blessed the animals, 06:56 all the animals, as we'll discover, 06:58 He blessed marriage and the family 07:00 and He blessed the seventh day. 07:03 Now, if we go to the scriptures there in Genesis. 07:06 In Genesis 1:22, we read these words, 07:10 "And God," did what? 07:11 "He blessed them saying, 'Be fruitful and multiply, 07:14 and fill the waters in the seas, 07:16 and let birds multiply on the earth." 07:18 This is on day five. 07:19 God blessed the fish and He blessed the birds 07:22 and He said to them, be fruitful and multiply. 07:25 That word blessed appears for the first time 07:28 there in that passage in Genesis 1:22. 07:30 The second time the word blessed appears 07:33 is in Genesis 1:28. 07:36 It says, "Then God bless them," that is Adam and Eve, 07:39 "and God said to them, 07:41 'Be fruitful and multiply, 07:42 fill the earth and subdue it, 07:43 have dominion over the fish of the sea, 07:45 over the birds of the air, 07:47 and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" 07:50 And before we, before we unpack this briefly, 07:53 the blessing was also in association 07:56 with the land animals that God created on day six. 08:00 Why is that? 08:01 That's because that will give him 08:03 the command as the fish 08:04 and the birds to be fruitful and what? 08:06 And multiply so they received the same blessing. 08:09 It's implied even though it's not directly stated. 08:12 But here in this passage, 08:13 God is specifically blessing marriage 08:15 and the family. 08:17 And the third blessing, 08:18 the third time that word blessed appears 08:22 in the creation narrative is here in Genesis 2:2-3. 08:28 We read, "And on the seventh day, 08:30 God ended His work which He had done, 08:32 and He rested on the seventh day 08:34 from all these work which He had done." 08:35 Verse 3, "Then God," did what? 08:38 "He blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, 08:42 because in it He rested from all His work, 08:44 which God had made and created and made." 08:48 So here we have God's three blessings. 08:51 At creation, all the animals were blessed, 08:54 and all of creation, you could say, 08:56 all of creation was blessed, 08:58 because in order for the animals to be 09:00 able to be fruitful and multiply, 09:03 they need to be surrounded by the right environment, 09:05 isn't that right? 09:08 In order for humans to grow and develop 09:12 and for humans to enjoy that, 09:15 that love and that grace that 09:17 God had poured out on the human family 09:19 in the Garden of Eden, 09:20 this garden of pleasure and delight, 09:22 they also need to have the right environment. 09:25 So that's absolutely critical. 09:28 And God blessed the seventh day Sabbath. 09:31 Well, let's take a look at this first blessing. 09:33 Let's take a look at this first blessing. 09:35 The first blessing of God 09:37 blessing the animals and nature. 09:42 After the flood, when God recreated this world, 09:46 I guess, while He didn't recreate 09:48 this world as He created it. 09:50 At the beginning of creation, it was a different world, 09:53 a very different world, but I believe God 09:54 had His hand upon this world even so, 09:58 as the dust settled 09:59 or should I say as the mud settled 10:01 after the flood. 10:04 In Genesis 8:17, notice what God tells Noah, 10:09 Genesis 8:17, 10:10 God says to Noah after the flood, 10:13 he's walked out of the ark with his family. 10:16 And God says to him, 10:18 "Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh 10:20 that is with you: 10:22 birds and cattle and every creeping thing 10:24 that creeps on the earth, 10:25 so that they may abound on the earth, and be," what? 10:28 "Fruitful and multiply on the earth." 10:31 So God gives the very same command to Noah 10:35 that He gave at the very beginning of time 10:38 to the animals, 10:39 when He said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply." 10:42 So God is seeking, 10:43 God is seeking to restore that blessing from Eden. 10:48 Now, the animals 10:50 and the environment did very well 10:52 or should I say, 10:54 at least reasonably well from the days of Noah 10:58 after the flood all the way through up 11:01 until the last 200 years. 11:04 In the last 200 years, 11:05 we have the advent of the industrial what? 11:09 The Industrial Age or the Industrial Revolution. 11:13 We have a time of population explosion. 11:18 We have a time of tremendous pressure 11:22 on the environment, 11:24 and especially on the animals. 11:26 We have meat eating, becoming stock standard 11:31 around the world. 11:32 And so we've got a lot of people, 11:34 we've almost got 8 billion people 11:35 as we've discovered, living in this world 11:37 that are eating more and more flesh. 11:40 Now, you may not know this, 11:42 but I discovered that livestock farming 11:46 takes up nearly 80% of global agricultural land, 11:50 80% yet only produces 20% of our calories, 11:57 20% of the world's calories for 80% of the land. 12:00 In fact, I discovered that prior 12:03 to the Industrial Revolution 12:05 some 200 years ago, 12:08 15% of this world's surface, 12:12 I should say land surface was made up of rainforest, 15%. 12:17 Today, rainforests make up 6% 12:21 of our total world surface. 12:25 Today, we are doing a great job in destroying our environment, 12:30 destroying the animals. 12:34 God said in Revelation 11:18, that He would destroy 12:37 those who destroy the earth. 12:39 Today, we are destroying the earth like 12:42 at no other time in human history. 12:45 In fact, young people, 12:46 if you ask young people aged 18 to 35, 12:48 what is their greatest concern? 12:51 What is their greatest concern? 12:52 You know what it is? 12:54 It's the environment, and rightly so. 12:57 The environment, 12:58 they care about the environment, 12:59 that's the most important thing for them 13:01 as young people because they're starting out, 13:03 they're wondering what kind of future 13:05 are we going to have? 13:06 What kind of future our children going to have? 13:08 And without getting into the whole debate, 13:11 God has given us 13:12 as His people very specific instructions 13:15 to take care of the environment. 13:19 We have sadly misunderstood and misinterpreted the words 13:22 that God shared with Adam and Eve, 13:24 at the very beginning of time 13:26 when He gave them very clear instructions 13:28 on how they were to deal with the environment 13:31 that God blessed them with. 13:33 Notice these words in Genesis 1:26-28. 13:37 We read, "Then God said," 13:38 He's speaking to Adam and Eve, let us, sorry, 13:43 God is speaking amongst Himself, 13:44 but He's giving instructions to Adam and Eve as well. 13:46 "Let us make man 13:48 in Our image according to our likeness, 13:50 let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, 13:53 over the birds of the air, 13:54 and over the cattle over all the earth 13:56 and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 13:58 And in verse 28, we read very similar words, 14:01 "Then God bless them and God said to them, 14:03 'Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, 14:05 have dominion over the fish of the sea, 14:08 over the birds of the air, and over every living thing 14:10 that moves on the earth." 14:11 Dominion. 14:12 Dominion does not mean dominate. 14:16 Dominion does not mean exploit. 14:18 Dominion does not mean abuse. 14:20 Notice what that word dominion means. 14:23 I was going through this passage 14:25 in my Andrews Study Bible 14:27 and I came across this very insightful comment, 14:33 and unpacking of this term dominion. 14:36 Notice, the term, that is dominion, 14:39 does not speak of exploiting the natural world, 14:42 but rather of sharing, 14:44 but rather of share in the divine rule, 14:47 given to humanity 14:48 because they are created in God's image 14:50 and are thus capable of distinguishing 14:53 between exploitation and stewardship." 14:57 So what are we to do? 15:00 We are to be caretakers. 15:03 We are stewards, we are responsible from God, 15:09 He has given us that responsibility 15:11 to take care of the environment. 15:12 Now, does that mean that we still need to go ahead 15:16 and cut down trees in order to build homes? 15:18 Absolutely. Absolutely. 15:20 To clear land in order to have gardens 15:23 and so on and so forth? 15:24 Yes, we need to do all that. 15:27 But there's a big difference between using responsibly 15:31 what God has given us and exploiting it, as we have. 15:35 So that's a little on where we are today, 15:38 and how the enemy is seeking to destroy that 15:40 first blessing from Eden. 15:42 And He's been doing a great job, don't you agree, 15:44 especially in the last couple of 100 years? 15:47 Let's take a look at the second blessing now, 15:49 the second blessing. 15:51 The second blessing 15:52 from Eden is in relation to marriage 15:55 and the family. 15:58 In the previous message, we discovered 16:00 that Satan destroyed marriage 16:05 and the family. 16:08 Before creation, sorry, before the flood, 16:11 He destroyed marriage and the family. 16:14 And as a result, wickedness, violence and so on and so forth 16:19 pervaded our world. 16:21 Notice what God says to Aaron, sorry, to Aaron. 16:24 Notice what God says to Noah after the flood. 16:28 In Genesis 9:1, and 6 and 7, 16:32 we read these words, "So God blessed Noah," 16:34 there's that word again, blessed, 16:36 "and his sons and He said to them, 16:37 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth." 16:41 We continue reading, "Whoever sheds man's blood. 16:43 By man his blood shall be shared, 16:45 for in the image of God He made man. 16:48 In verse 7, "And as for you, be fruitful and multiply, 16:52 bring forth abundantly in the earth, 16:54 and multiply in it." 16:56 So what was God's message to Noah? 16:58 God's message to Noah was the same message 17:01 that God gave to Adam and Eve, 17:03 to be fruitful and multiply. 17:05 And He reminded them of the sacredness of life, 17:09 the sacredness of not only humans, 17:11 but also animal life. 17:12 And He said, "You as human beings 17:14 have been made in My image." 17:17 Human life is precious, very, very precious. 17:22 Marriage and the family 17:23 is the very foundation of a society. 17:27 But sadly, today, we are experiencing 17:30 the dismantling and the disintegration 17:34 of the family unit. 17:35 Don't you agree? 17:37 It's absolutely crystal clear. 17:40 And especially 17:42 since the period of the time of the end, 17:44 and especially after World War II in particular. 17:47 In our first message, we discovered 17:50 that the breakdown of the family unit 17:51 led to wickedness, evil, violence, and corruption. 17:56 I want to take a look at that word corrupt. 17:58 Have a look at Genesis 6:11-12. 18:02 Genesis 6:11-12. 18:06 And this is what we read. 18:08 "The earth also was corrupt before God, 18:11 and the earth was filled with violence." 18:14 Notice, corruption leads to violence. 18:16 "So God looked upon the earth and indeed it was corrupt, 18:19 for all flesh had corrupted their way 18:22 on the earth." 18:24 This is fascinating. We have this word corrupt. 18:29 Now we've heard the word corrupt. 18:33 Often it's used in relation to politicians. 18:36 Yes, you are correct. 18:39 But what does this word actually mean? 18:43 Once again, back to the Andrews Study Bible, 18:45 a wonderful, a wonderful note here, 18:48 from the scholars of this wonderful Bible. 18:52 Notice the term corrupt 18:55 is used to indicate something that 18:57 is no longer fit for or intended use. 19:00 And there's a couple of scriptures given there. 19:02 The cause of this corruption is violence, 19:05 which is often associated with, notice, 19:07 social injustice, and scriptures are given, 19:11 or the incapacity to distinguish 19:13 between the sacred and the profane. 19:17 Well, isn't that an interesting insight? 19:21 So we have here, this word corrupt, 19:25 and it represents social injustice. 19:30 And it represents not being able to distinguish 19:33 between the sacred and the profane, 19:35 and it leads to violence. 19:38 Here's an interesting insight from once again, 19:41 Patriarchs and Prophets where Ellen White 19:43 under inspiration writes these words 19:45 more than a century ago, 19:46 she writes, "Polygamy had been early introduced, 19:49 contrary to the divine arrangement 19:51 at the beginning." 19:53 We read about that in a previous message. 19:56 "The Lord gave to Adam one wife showing His order 19:59 in that respect. 20:00 But after the Fall, men chose to follow 20:02 their own sinful desires, and as a result, 20:06 crime and wretchedness rapidly increased. 20:09 Neither the marriage relation 20:11 nor the rights of property were respected. 20:13 Whoever coveted the wives 20:15 or the possessions of his neighbor 20:16 took them by force and men exalted 20:19 in their deeds of violence. 20:21 They delighted in destroying the life of animals, 20:25 and the use of flesh for food rendered them 20:27 still more cruel and bloodthirsty, 20:29 until they came to regard human life 20:32 with astonishing indifference." 20:35 Wow! 20:37 So here we have, here we have immorality 20:41 and violence going hand in hand, hand in hand. 20:46 Marriage and the family was disregarded, 20:50 and violence followed. 20:51 That's just how it goes. 20:53 And we're going to discover that more and more 20:55 as we go along. 20:57 Now, what does God have to say about marriage? 20:59 Let's go to the words of Jesus, straight to the words of Jesus. 21:02 Notice what Jesus had to say, 21:04 and He reflects on the creation account. 21:07 Notice these words, Matthew 19:4-6, 21:11 "And He, that is Jesus, answered and said to them, 21:14 'Have you not read that He who made them 21:17 at the beginning made them male and female,' 21:20 and said, 'For this reason, 21:21 a man shall leave his father and mother 21:23 and be joined to his wife, 21:25 and the two shall become one flesh?'" 21:26 And verse 6, "So then they are no longer two but one flesh. 21:30 Therefore, notice these words, while God has joined together, 21:34 let not man," what? 21:36 "Separate." 21:38 Jesus here is saying, what God puts together, 21:41 what God blesses, you have no business, 21:46 and you would be absolutely foolish to mess with that. 21:51 Why? 21:52 Because as goes the family unit, 21:54 so go society. 21:57 I have discovered in my short life here on earth, 22:01 the further I move away from God's principles, 22:04 the more harm, the more sorrow 22:07 and sadness are caused, 22:08 not only in my life, 22:10 but more importantly, 22:11 in the lives of those around me. 22:13 God has given us a template, He's given us a GPS, 22:17 how best we can live our lives 22:19 in a way of peace and happiness, 22:22 and joy and prosperity. 22:24 And the further we move away from His original divine plan, 22:28 the more problems, 22:30 the more sorrow we cause ourselves. 22:33 So that's what Jesus had to say about 22:35 marriage and family. 22:37 notice what the Apostle Paul says about marriage. 22:41 He says, "Husbands love your wives, 22:45 just as Christ also loved the church 22:48 and gave Himself for her." 22:50 Wow! 22:51 What a powerful admonition to husbands 22:55 to love their wives as Christ loved the church. 22:58 And how did Christ loved the church? 23:01 Well, Paul goes on, and he says, 23:02 He gave Himself for the church." 23:05 Imagine as husbands, we put our wives first, 23:09 above and beyond our own needs, 23:11 and our own expectations for ourselves. 23:13 What a difference that would make. 23:14 Amen? 23:16 That would make a huge difference 23:18 if we thought of them before ourselves. 23:20 In Hebrews 13:4, we read these words, 23:24 "Marriage is honorable among all, 23:26 and the bed is undefiled, but fornicators, 23:29 and adulterers God will judge." 23:31 To sum it all up, "Marriage is Holy and Sacred. 23:37 It is the most important God ordained human institution 23:40 that ensures for a stable and prosperous society." 23:44 So let's take a close look at marriage. 23:47 It was God's plan at the beginning of time, 23:49 it was God's plan when He repeated that command 23:52 and that instruction to Noah and his family. 23:56 A marriage and the family has been doing reasonably well, 24:00 up until when? 24:02 The last 200 years in particular 24:06 since World War II came to an end. 24:09 And we have the advent of mass media, 24:12 the television and now the internet. 24:15 So let's take a look at marriage and the family 24:19 in the last little while. 24:22 Well today we have almost half of those sadly 24:28 who say I do come to the point 24:30 where they say I no longer do. 24:33 Very sad. 24:35 Today marriage has been redefined. 24:39 Redefined, it's no longer the biblical mandate that 24:43 God gave at the very beginning of time, 24:45 between one man and one woman, 24:48 with the exclusion of all others, is that right? 24:52 Now it's been redefined in many parts of the world, 24:56 including our own country. 24:58 Intimate relationships today 25:00 can be what you want them to be. 25:01 Whatever works for you, 25:03 whatever floats your boat is okay. 25:06 You make it up as you go. 25:08 You make it up as you go. 25:12 I found it fascinating to take a look at some statistics 25:15 from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. 25:19 And in 1975, so that's not many moons ago. 25:23 In 1975 25:27 15% of individuals 25:30 who got married lived together prior, 25:33 15% of individuals 25:35 who got married were living together 25:37 before they got married. 25:38 Today, you want to know what the statistic is. 25:41 Today, it's almost 80% of all who get married 25:45 were living together before they got married. 25:48 Well, from 15% to 80%. 25:53 Today, it's a ridiculous idea 25:58 to get married, 26:00 and for that to be your first intimate experience 26:02 on your wedding night. 26:04 That's a ridiculous idea, who would even do such a thing. 26:10 That's just where we are today. 26:12 Sexual immorality has pervaded 26:14 every aspect of our society. 26:19 I need to talk to you about the pornographic industry, 26:22 movies, books, music. 26:25 Today, marriage is entertainment. 26:27 Today, people turn on their televisions 26:30 to watch reality TV shows based on marriage. 26:34 It's like entertainment. 26:36 The sacred holy union has been denigrated 26:40 and degraded to simple entertainment. 26:44 And we don't have any problem with that. 26:47 Sexual immorality and violence, 26:49 they are twins that Hollywood feeds on 26:53 in order to bring in billions 26:55 and billions in dollars into its coffers. 26:57 Billy Graham, the famous evangelist 27:00 Billy Graham of the 20th century. 27:03 He once exclaimed that if Jesus does not come soon, 27:08 He will have to raise up Sodom and Gomorrah 27:11 and apologize to them. 27:13 We have gone that far. 27:15 I believe we have gone well 27:17 and truly beyond the days of Lot 27:19 and Sodom and Gomorrah, I really do believe that. 27:21 I really do believe that. 27:24 We're living in a culture 27:26 whose motto is here for a good time 27:28 and not a long time. 27:29 Nike. 27:31 We live according to the motto of Nike. 27:32 What's Nike's motto? Just do it. 27:35 And if it feels good, just do it. 27:36 Don't worry about 27:38 who's going to get hurt in the process, 27:39 because it's all about who? 27:42 It's all about me, myself and I. 27:45 This is the day of Noah and Lot. 27:47 We have arrived. We are there. 27:50 We arrived a little while ago. 27:54 Isaiah 22:13, really describes our day. 27:59 When back in the day God 28:01 was saying of His people that were, 28:03 their motto was let us eat and drink, 28:06 for tomorrow we die. 28:07 Fascinating words, let us eat and drink, 28:09 for tomorrow we die. 28:11 What did Jesus say? 28:12 In the days of Noah, they were eating and what? 28:15 And drinking until the day that Noah went into the ark, 28:20 and they did not know that their probation had closed? 28:25 Isaiah 5:20. 28:28 These words are so pertinent for us 28:30 living in the 21st century. 28:32 "Woe to those who call evil good, 28:35 and good evil, 28:36 who put darkness for light, 28:38 and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet, 28:41 and sweet for bitter!" 28:42 Woe, woe, woe. 28:45 God is warning us. 28:46 God is pleading with us. 28:48 God is saying, I love you too much 28:51 not to share with you that if you continue down this road, 28:56 you will go off the cliff 28:57 and there's no coming back from this cliff. 29:02 As goes the family so go society. 29:06 That is why our society is in a mess today. 29:10 And it's only by the grace of God, 29:12 only by the restraining power of the Holy Spirit 29:15 that our society is in the shape 29:17 that it still is, 29:19 it ought to be a whole heap worse 29:22 based on what our children. 29:24 And I'm sad to say this, I really am sad to say this, 29:27 but wherever you are watching this. 29:30 Most likely your children 29:31 if they're going to a public school 29:33 are being exposed to not God's ideal 29:39 for relationships and intimacy. 29:41 But the world's ideal. 29:43 It's so sad, it's tragic. 29:48 Notice these words 29:50 from the Book of Proverbs 14:34, 29:52 "Righteousness exalts a nation, 29:55 but sin is a reproach to any people." 30:00 Righteousness exalts a nation. 30:03 Noah was a preacher of what? 30:06 Righteousness. 30:07 The Bible says Noah was a righteous man 30:10 who preached a message of righteousness. 30:12 Lot was a righteous man, 30:13 the Bible says in 2 Peter Chapter 2. 30:17 But today righteousness has gone out the window. 30:19 Today righteousness is old fashioned. 30:22 I mean judgment, judgment, 30:25 you're gonna talk to me about judgment. 30:27 That's something that's in the dusty 30:32 pages of those ancient scriptures 30:35 that are no longer relevant 30:36 and no longer speak to us living 30:39 some 2000 years later, 30:41 when it comes to the New Testament. 30:42 And further, when it comes to the Old Testament. 30:46 As goes the families so go society, 30:49 make no mistake about that. 30:50 God has given us the Ten Commandments. 30:54 He's given us His law of love. 30:56 These 10 principles are principles of love, 31:01 because God's foundation is His law of love. 31:06 The universe only survives and thrives 31:10 because of God's principles of love 31:13 that are founded in His holy eternal law. 31:17 And God has given us the Ten Commandments, 31:21 in order to protect us, in order to preserve us, 31:25 in order to protect and preserve 31:27 our most important relationships, 31:30 that between our Creator God, 31:32 and that between one another. 31:39 I find it fascinating 31:41 that the commandment dealing specifically 31:43 with marriage and family ties the relationship 31:46 between God and our fellow man together. 31:50 Have a look at Exodus 24:12. 31:52 Exodus 24:12. 31:56 The commandment reads, the fifth commandment. 31:59 "Honor your father and your mother, 32:01 that your days may be what? 32:03 Long upon the land 32:05 which the Lord your God is giving you." 32:08 There's something fascinating that I had never picked up 32:11 until my friend Rosemary, 32:13 and I've got to give her credit shared with me. 32:17 This commandment 32:18 is the foundation of the commandments 32:21 that deal with our relationship with one another. 32:25 The first four deal with our relationship with God, 32:27 the next six deal with our relationships 32:28 with one another. 32:30 This is the very foundational commandment 32:32 that deals with our relationship 32:33 with one another. 32:35 When marriage and the family is strong, 32:37 the rest of our human relationships 32:40 work well together. 32:42 And Rosemary shared with me 32:43 that this commandment unlike any of the others, 32:49 in the second tablet, 32:50 dealing with our relationships with one another, 32:53 has the words, Lord your God in it. 32:55 And it's true. 32:57 The others don't have Lord your God. 33:00 The other five, from 6 to 10. 33:06 And so as I was thinking about what Rosemarie shared with me, 33:09 I couldn't help but ask, 33:12 could it be that marriage and the family is the hinge, 33:17 the hinge between the two tablets of stone 33:21 that God wrote with His very own finger on? 33:24 Could marriage and the family be the hinge 33:27 that that holds the rest of society together, 33:32 as well as encourages us toward God? 33:35 Could marriage and the family be that hinge? 33:40 And as marriage and the family goes, 33:43 so does our relationships with one another. 33:46 So does our relationship with who? 33:49 With God. 33:51 Wow. 33:52 What did God say? 33:55 That your days may be what? 33:57 Long in the land that 34:00 the Lord your God is giving you. 34:03 I believe our days are truly numbered. 34:05 Time is running out. 34:08 We now live in what is termed as the sexual revolution. 34:13 Or should I refer to it as the sexual devil-lution. 34:18 That's where it's come from, hasn't come from God, 34:21 hasn't come from God. 34:22 God did not need to revise the original plan 34:26 that He gave to Adam and Eve. 34:27 God did not need to revise the original plan that 34:30 He once again gave to Noah and his family. 34:34 God did not need to revise the plan 34:37 that Jesus set out 2000 years ago 34:40 that we read off in Matthew 19. 34:42 God does not need a revolution. 34:45 This has come from the devil himself 34:47 who once again I'll repeat, 34:49 His name is evil with a capital D. 34:52 Every blessing that God gives to the human race, 34:55 he seeks to dismantle. 34:57 Let me share with you a startling conclusion 35:01 by a historian 35:03 who has now passed away almost a century ago. 35:07 His name, if we're going to have 35:09 his statement up on the screen 35:12 is Joseph Daniel Unwin. 35:14 And He wrote 35:16 a 600 plus page book entitled Sex 35:19 and Culture back in 1934. 35:22 And this is a summary statement 35:24 of His conclusion 35:25 as He studied 86 different cultures 35:28 over 5000 years. 35:30 Okay, so this is, 35:31 this is a monumental piece of history and research. 35:37 Unwin found that when strict prenuptial chastity 35:40 was abandoned, within three generation, 35:44 within three generations, 35:45 the culture suffered self-destruction. 35:47 Wow! 35:49 Three generations and for Unwin, 35:51 a generation was 33 years. 35:53 So that's about 100 years. 35:55 And he's written that in 1934, 35:57 well, and truly before the sexual revolution 35:59 came to town in the 1950s, and 60s in particular. 36:03 Three generations before 36:05 it's all over for that particular society. 36:08 We're not far off 2034, are we? 36:14 We're not far off at all. 36:18 The downward spiral of morality, 36:20 let me suggest to you, as I've been pondering 36:23 the downward spiral of morality. 36:25 Firstly, immoral acts are abhorred, 36:31 then they are tolerated, then they are accepted, 36:34 then they are promoted, then they are finally defended. 36:39 That's a nutshell 36:40 of the downward spiral of morality. 36:43 We are now living in the day and age, 36:47 when immoral acts are no longer abhorred. 36:51 They're certainly not any longer tolerated. 36:54 They're not accepted, well, they are accepted, 36:57 and they're promoted and now they're being defended. 37:00 And dare you, dare you speak 37:03 against immorality in today's 37:05 day and age, dare you speak against it. 37:10 That's the times that you and I are living in. 37:12 Back to that word corrupt in Genesis 6-11-12. 37:17 The Bible says, 37:19 "The earth was also corrupt before God, 37:21 and the earth was filled with violence. 37:23 So God looked upon the earth and indeed it was corrupt, 37:25 for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth." 37:28 And then God goes on. 37:30 "And God said to Noah, 37:31 'And the end of all flesh has come before Me, 37:34 for the earth is filled with violence through them, 37:36 and behold, I will destroy them with the earth." 37:39 Now why have I highlighted 37:41 the three words corrupt and the word destroy there? 37:44 That word destroy appears again in verse 17. 37:47 We're gonna have a look at verse 17, 37:49 where God says, "And behold, 37:50 I Myself, am bringing floodwaters 37:52 on the earth to destroy 37:53 from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life, 37:56 everything that is on the earth shall die." 37:58 Why have I highlighted the word corrupt 38:01 and the word destroy? 38:03 The reason is, those two words corrupt 38:06 and destroy in the Hebrew are the exact same word. 38:10 The exact same word. 38:13 And so as I'm pondering this, 38:16 I'm like, wow, 38:19 corruption indeed leads to destruction. 38:24 Corruption leads to destruction. 38:27 That's what Unwin shared with us. 38:31 And that's what Arnold Toynbee, 38:35 the famous historian who, 38:39 who put an epic historical series 38:42 entitled A Study of History: 38:44 Why do they Disintegrate and Collapse? 38:46 So it was a 12 volume study. 38:48 You got the dates up there from 1934 to 1961. 38:52 He is Sir Arnold J. Toynbee, 38:55 and one of His concluding statements 38:58 on why do they disintegrate and collapse? 39:01 Why does societies disintegrate and collapse? 39:04 In five words, look forward I should say, 39:08 lawlessness leads to what? 39:11 Destruction. 39:12 Lawlessness leads to destruction. 39:15 Corruption leads to what? 39:17 Destruction. 39:19 God told us that in the story of Noah. 39:22 Two thousand years ago, 39:24 notice what Jesus said in Matthew 24:12, 39:28 He said, "And because lawlessness will abound, 39:32 the love of many will grow cold." 39:35 So here you have it cause an effect. 39:38 When lawlessness abounds, love grows what? 39:42 Cold. 39:44 Do we have a pandemic of love 39:48 growing cold in our world today? 39:51 Genuine love and the word 39:52 there for love is not that feel good, 39:57 you know, happy-clappy 40:00 in a warm fuzzy feeling kind of love. 40:03 That's based on emotion, that's based on feelings, 40:06 that's based on, 40:07 you know how you're feeling today. 40:10 The word there is agape, agape love. 40:14 And what is agape love? 40:15 Agape love is God's love, unconditional love. 40:20 It's that faithful love. 40:22 It's that love that's all about 40:25 serving the other person, 40:27 which is all about sacrificing for someone. 40:32 Love. 40:34 Take a look at that word corrupt. 40:36 Again, back to Andrews Study Bible. 40:41 And here, we take a look at social injustice. 40:45 The term corrupt also is a reference 40:49 to social injustice caused about by violence. 40:55 Notice what the inspired author 40:57 once again Ellen White has to say 40:59 as she gives some insights into the days of Noah. 41:02 She writes, "The earth also was corrupt before God, 41:06 and the earth was filled with violence. 41:08 God had given men 41:10 His commandments as a rule of life, 41:11 but His law was transgressed, 41:13 and every conceivable sin was the result. 41:16 The wickedness of men was upon the dare, 41:19 was open and daring, 41:22 justice was trampled in the dust, 41:25 and the cries of the oppressed 41:27 reached unto heaven." 41:28 So what was happening in the days of Noah? 41:31 Justice was trampled in the dust. 41:34 Are we living in a day and age 41:35 where justice is trampled in the dust? 41:38 Absolutely. 41:40 Notice here in Ezekiel, now God, God takes 41:44 a look at the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, 41:47 and He compares them to what was happening 41:49 in the days of His people, 41:51 the days of Judah in particular. 41:53 These are the days of Ezekiel. 41:55 Ezekiel 16:48-50, we read, "As I live, says, the Lord God, 42:00 neither your sister Sodom nor her daughters have done 42:03 as you and your daughters have done. 42:05 Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: 42:09 She and her daughter had pride, 42:11 fullness of food, and abundance of idleness, 42:14 neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 42:18 And that were haughty 42:20 and committed abomination before Me, 42:22 therefore I took them away as I saw fit." 42:26 So what was happening 42:27 in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah? 42:30 There was pride. 42:32 There was an abundance, and yet there was poverty. 42:37 Are we living in a world where we have an abundance 42:42 in some places and poverty in others? 42:46 Have you heard of the 1% Club? 42:51 If you haven't, let me remind you who they are. 42:52 The 1% Club, the 1% in our world 42:58 who own as much as 99% of the world's population, 43:03 that's the 1% Club. 43:04 Now, I'm not part of that club. 43:06 But living in Australia, I'm probably very close to it. 43:11 Because I've been to the third world 43:13 and I've seen what they have and what they don't have. 43:17 Oxfam, a number of years ago, a couple of years ago, 43:20 two or three years ago, 43:21 I can't remember how many years ago it was. 43:23 But they came up with an astounding, 43:26 an astounding statistic that just blew me out of the water. 43:30 And that was that. 43:32 Eight individuals, eight individuals 43:36 own as much as the 50% 43:41 of the world's poorest. 43:43 Let me repeat that. 43:44 Some of you are shaking your heads 43:46 and you're looking at me a bit like 43:47 what did you just say, Danny? 43:49 Let me repeat, 43:50 eight individuals on the planet own 43:53 as much as half the world's population 43:55 or almost 4 billion people. 44:00 We have never lived in a world like that. 44:03 We are indeed living in a world 44:04 where there is great social injustice. 44:08 James 5:1-8 speaks on that, 44:12 regarding the economic exploitation 44:14 that will be happening at the end of time. 44:15 We don't have time to read those verses, 44:17 you can do that in your own time. 44:19 God want His people Israel, 44:21 that when they entered the promised land 44:24 that were to take care of the poor, the widows, 44:26 the orphans, the marginalized, the helpless, the strangers, 44:32 who are the immigrants. 44:34 Notice these words 44:36 from Deuteronomy 14:19 and 22, 44:41 "When you reap your harvest," 44:43 God is speaking to His people Israel 44:45 through Moses, 44:47 who are, they are on the edge of the Promised Land, 44:50 they're about to enter in 44:51 after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. 44:54 God is speaking to them and He says, 44:56 "When you reap your heart in your field, 44:58 and forget a sheaf in the field, 45:01 you shall not go back to it, it shall be for the stranger, 45:06 the fatherless, and the widow, 45:07 that the Lord your God may bless you 45:10 in all the work of your hands. 45:12 And you shall remember that 45:13 you were a slave in the land of Egypt, 45:15 therefore I command you to do this thing." 45:19 God says, remember, that you were a slave in Egypt. 45:23 Remember that you were under oppression. 45:25 Remember that you experienced abuse. 45:27 Remember what that was like? 45:30 When you go into the Promised Land, 45:33 make sure you do not 45:35 follow in the footsteps of the Egyptians. 45:37 Make sure you do not follow 45:39 in the footsteps of the Canaanites, 45:43 because you too will end up back in exile. 45:48 And guess what? 45:50 One of the main reasons 45:52 why the 10 tribes were taken by the Assyrians 45:58 into exile and Judah 46:00 was taken by the Babylonians into exile. 46:03 One of the main reasons 46:04 was the exploitation of the poor 46:07 and the helpless and not fulfilling this promise 46:11 that God made to them. 46:14 Today, we're living in a day and age 46:17 where these words need to be remembered by all. 46:21 Proverbs 14:31, I pray that these words 46:24 will be remembered by all of us. 46:26 "He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, 46:30 but he who honors Him has mercy on the needy." 46:33 We need to look out for those who are most in need. 46:37 We need to look out for those who are the helpless. 46:41 And now I'm going to broach a subject 46:44 that not many want to talk about today. 46:48 And that is the subject 46:50 of those who are the most helpless. 46:52 And you know 46:53 who the most helpless in our society are. 46:56 It's the unborn, the unborn. 47:01 I wish I didn't have to share 47:03 with you the statistic of how bad it is. 47:11 But in the previous 12 months, 47:15 40 million children were aborted. 47:20 Forty million children were aborted around the world. 47:25 That's horrific. 47:26 That's horrific. 47:29 Around the world, 47:30 10 million people died of cancer, 47:35 15 million died of heart disease, 47:39 heart disease and cancer 25 million, 47:42 unborn children 40 million. 47:48 So how do we, how do we deal with this? 47:52 And maybe someone, 47:54 maybe someone 47:55 who has experienced loss. 48:00 It may be someone as I've shared these statistics 48:03 who are saying, yes, I'm sadly one of those. 48:07 I'm sadly one of those through 48:09 whatever your circumstances 48:11 may be that you chose an abortion. 48:17 I want to encourage you with the words of Jesus 48:20 to the woman who was caught in adultery. 48:22 And He said to her, "I haven't come to judge you. 48:27 I've come to forgive you and to save you." 48:31 So regardless of how it came to be, 48:35 I want to encourage you to turn to Jesus. 48:37 He is filled with forgiveness. 48:40 For Jesus said in John 3:16-17. 48:43 Notice these words that Jesus said in John 3:16-17. 48:48 He said, "For God so loved the world 48:51 that He gave His only begotten Son, 48:53 that whosoever believes in Him should not," what? 48:56 "Perish, but have everlasting life." 48:58 And notice verse 17, we don't often read verse 17. 49:02 And we ought to memorize verse 17, as well. 49:05 "For God did not send His Son into the world to do," what? 49:08 "To condemn the world, 49:10 but that the world through Him might be," what? 49:12 "Saved." 49:15 So no matter what our situation, 49:17 no matter what we are involved in now 49:21 or not involved in regardless, 49:25 Jesus has His arms outstretched wide, 49:28 those nail scarred hands are outstretched wide. 49:31 And He's saying to you, He's saying to me, 49:33 saying to all of us, 49:37 if you've got an issue with a sexual issue, 49:40 come to Me. 49:41 If you have an issue with violence, come to Me. 49:43 If you have an issue with pride, come to Me. 49:46 If you're having an issue with racism, come to Me. 49:49 If you have an issue with whatever it is, 49:51 you fill in the blanks, come to Me, 49:54 I will receive you as you are. 49:57 And then I will restore you into My image 50:00 more and more day by day. 50:01 Amen? 50:03 That's the good news of the gospel. 50:05 The good news of the gospel is that 50:07 we can come to Jesus as we are broken 50:11 and battered and bruised. 50:13 We can come as sinners, deep in our sins, 50:18 for Jesus Christ said, 50:19 I have come to seek and to save those who are what? 50:23 Lost. 50:24 Those who are well do not need a doctor, 50:26 a physician, but those who are what? 50:28 Are sick. Jesus is the divine physician. 50:32 And so Jesus says, 'Come unto Me, 50:34 all you who labor and are heavy laden, 50:35 I'll give you, come as you are." 50:37 But the good news of the gospel is that 50:41 Jesus not only receives us as we are. 50:45 And if you're not sure about that, 50:47 go ahead and read the story 50:49 of the prodigal son again. 50:52 You come as you are stinking and smelling of your sin. 50:57 And Jesus then like 50:59 in the story of the prodigal son, 51:00 He doesn't leave you as you are. 51:02 He then begins through the power of His Holy Spirit, 51:05 day by day to transform you more and more 51:08 into His image as to what He wants you to be. 51:12 Because God created you, He created me, 51:16 He created all of us in His what? 51:20 In His image, God created us in His image, 51:23 God created us to thrive, 51:26 not just to be alive, but to thrive. 51:29 He created us to enjoy life to the full. 51:34 And so, He wants to help us 51:38 move away from the net, 51:41 from the ball and chain 51:44 that the enemy has placed around us. 51:47 And He alone can do it. 51:48 He alone can do it. 51:51 So how should God's end time 51:55 Noah generation respond? 51:57 Micah 6:8. 52:00 I love this scripture. 52:02 And it's such a challenge to me each and every time I read it. 52:06 God's speaking here, He says, "He has shown you, 52:09 O, man, what is good." 52:12 And what is good? 52:13 He goes on, "And what does the Lord require of you, 52:16 but to do," what? 52:18 "To do justly, to love," what? 52:21 "Mercy and to walk," what? 52:23 "Humbly with your God?" 52:25 There's that word again, walk, walk with your God. 52:30 Who walked with God? 52:32 Noah, the Bible says Noah 52:35 walked with God, and you are right. 52:37 Enoch also walked with God. 52:39 He was the first one according 52:40 to Scripture that walked with God. 52:42 And we're now in Revelation 14:4-5. 52:45 They're God's end time people, those who are sealed, 52:48 those that are shut in by 52:50 God's grace at the end of time, will also walk with God 52:54 because the Bible says in Revelation 14:4-5 52:58 that they follow the Lamb wherever He goes. 53:02 Walk with God, walk with God. 53:07 So what about the Sabbath blessing? 53:09 What about the Sabbath blessing? 53:11 We've looked at God's original plan 53:15 for the animal kingdom and all of nature, 53:19 for marriage and the family. 53:20 But what about the seventh day Sabbath blessing? 53:24 Well, that is a subject 53:27 that deserves to be dealt with on its own. 53:31 And so in our next message, 53:33 we're going to take a look at the Sabbath blessing 53:36 from creation, through to the flood, 53:39 through to our time, through to eternity. 53:42 So you don't want to miss that. 53:43 You don't want to miss that. 53:45 That's in our next message 53:47 when we take a look at the Sabbath. 53:50 But for now, how then shall we live 53:55 as we prepare for the soon return of Jesus? 53:58 How then shall we live? 54:01 How then shall we live? 54:03 I can't think of better words, 54:06 as a final scripture than the words of the Apostle Paul, 54:10 as He speaks to those that will especially 54:13 be living at the close of time. 54:15 These words are for all in all generations, 54:19 but especially relevant 54:21 for those that are living in a time 54:23 when time is indeed running what? 54:26 Running out. 54:27 Notice these words, 54:28 Romans 13:11-14, I love these words. 54:33 He writes, "And do this, knowing the time 54:36 that now it is," what? 54:39 "High time to," do what? 54:41 "To awake out on sleep, for now, 54:43 our salvation is nearer than when we first believed." 54:47 I just want to pause there for a moment. 54:49 Based on what we have discovered in this message, 54:53 is our salvation today nearer 54:56 than when we first believed? 54:58 Indeed it is. 55:00 Indeed it is. 55:01 Jesus is coming soon. 55:02 I can almost hear the sound of the trumpet. 55:06 I can, I can almost hear 55:10 the angels practicing their harps. 55:14 I can almost see the preparations 55:20 being made for the greatest entrance 55:23 in human history that Jesus will bring in. 55:26 We are there, we are there. 55:29 Our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 55:31 We continue to reading. 55:33 "The night is far spent, the day is at hand. 55:36 Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, 55:39 and let us put on the armor of light. 55:41 Let us walk properly," there's that word walk again, 55:45 "as in the day not in revelry and drunkenness, 55:48 not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 55:51 But instead, let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ, 55:55 and make no provision 55:56 for the flesh to fulfill its lusts." 55:59 What a challenge, what an invitation. 56:02 Let us by the grace of God, 56:05 put off strife and lust 56:09 and the things of this world. 56:10 And let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ. 56:14 Amen? Is that your decision? 56:17 Jesus is inviting you. 56:18 He's inviting me to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. 56:24 And if there was something 56:25 that we desperately needed today, 56:27 it is to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. 56:28 Jesus is coming back soon, He really is, my friends. 56:31 He really, really is. 56:33 I'm convinced with all of my heart, 56:36 that Jesus' coming is even at the door, 56:39 even at the door. 56:40 And He wants you and I to be part of those 56:43 that will look up and say, behold, 56:45 this is our God we have daily by His grace 56:48 put on the Lord Jesus Christ. 56:52 And He has now come to save us. 56:54 I want to be part of that group that He is the words of Jesus, 56:57 "Well done, good and faithful servant." 57:00 Enter into the joy of your Lord. 57:02 You want to join me? 57:03 Do you want to join me on that day? 57:05 Let's pray together. 57:06 Father in heaven, 57:08 we want to thank You for Your Word. 57:09 We want to thank You for the promises of Your Word. 57:11 We want to thank You that You are coming back soon. 57:14 Oh Father, please, please daily encourage us, 57:18 impress us through Your Holy Spirit Father 57:21 that we may daily put on the Lord Jesus Christ, 57:24 and make no provision for the flesh. 57:27 For we pray this in Jesus' name and everybody say amen. |
Revised 2021-06-27