← ArchiveGenesis (Foundations)Sunday, May 8, 2016DateMay 8, 2016Speaker—TextGenesis 6Passages in this sermonGenesis 60:12Genesis 312:502 Peter 320:55TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00And he called his name Noah saying, this one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands because of the ground which the Lord has cursed. Today we are going to look at Genesis chapter 6 in a man named Noah. Next week we're going to look at the flood. So if you're expecting a Mother's Day sermon only for mothers, you're going to be disappointed. If you were cringing because you're expecting a Mother's Day sermon only about mothers, you'll be happy.0:27Or you might have grown up like I did and your mom looked at you when you were misbehaving and said, boy, if you don't quit, I will flood down upon you my wrath. And so a flood sermon is perfect for Mother's Day for you. But the reality is we have been journeying through the book of Genesis as a church. Walking through Genesis that way we may walk closer with the Lord. So if you have your Bibles, your copy of God's Word, please turn to Genesis chapter 6.0:53Genesis chapter 6, and we will begin reading in verse 5 and looking through verse 12 this morning. They called his name Noah because he will bring comfort. The message this morning is entitled, Comfort in the Midst of Evil. Comfort in the Midst of the Evil. We are going to be walking this tightrope as does God's Word of how does God respond to sin1:18and then how does God respond to the sinner. Now for those who realize you're sinful, you are thankful that God does not respond to sin in the same way he responds to the sinner. For those of you who don't recognize that distinction yet, my prayer is that you will see your sin, that you will be convicted, and that you will find salvation in the cross of Jesus Christ. Thank God that he does not look at me and say, I will respond to your sin,1:49but I will look to Jesus Christ and his death on the cross, which satisfied my wrath over your sin. Genesis 6, 5. Let's begin reading. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he made man on the earth, and he was grieved in his heart.2:19So the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And this is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God, and Noah begot three sons,2:48Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them, and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.3:15And then verse 14, he says, The Lord, make yourself an ark. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your grace and your mercy that you pour out freely upon those who will accept. So Lord, I pray that you will convict us of our sin this morning. And Lord, that that conviction will lead us to repentance.3:43And that repentance will lead us to the throne of grace. And that while we're at your throne, we will find mercy in our time of need. And that we will find salvation through Jesus Christ and him alone. Father, for the mothers that are in this room, today is a day of joy. I pray that their joy will overflow. Lord, and for those that today is a day of sadness, I pray for healing.4:11I pray that you pick up the pieces. And I pray for Noah in their life. I pray for comfort that only our Savior can bring. Lord, we pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen and amen. Well, if you're following along in your handouts, I think we have eight points. So pay attention very closely this morning. Verse 5. The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great upon all the earth.4:40God's comfort in the midst of evil. And the first reality we see in Genesis chapter 6 here is that we live in a broken world. We live in a broken world. Verse 5 says that the Lord saw wickedness. And it doesn't take someone that's very observant to see wickedness. So Wednesday, I just pulled up on the interweb. I clicked news and I clicked on the first news site.5:09And I looked at the first news site. And I looked at the first five news events. So I didn't cherry pick these. I didn't create these. On Wednesday of this week, these are the first five news events. Okay, you're following me there? Here they are. Number one, Trump's first challenge is to unite a fractured party. Now, I don't know where you fall on the political spectrum.5:38Really, that's not our goal this morning. But that news headline says, unite a fractured party. Why would you unite something unless it's broken? We live in a broken world. Number two, wildfire destroys homes in Canada. And then I saw on Friday that the smoke from the wildfires in Canada actually reach as far as Atlanta. And then I saw on Friday that the smoke from the wildfires in Canada actually reach as far as Atlanta. And then I saw on Friday that the fire from the wildfires in Canada.6:08Number three, prince died before he could see a doctor. Now, that's not royalty, prince. That's the artist. That's the symbol. Number four, after Navy SEAL's death, Pentagon says war with ISIS far from over. And then number five, this is the most neutral out of the five. Data shows job growth cooled in April. So listen to those words that secular news is picking up on.6:38Fractured, destroyed, died, war cooled. If that doesn't indicate we live in a broken world, what will? And this is the reality that Genesis hits us with. The Lord saw that wickedness on the earth was great. Here's what God's word shows us though. In the midst of a broken world, our God will not sit idly by, and he will not ignore it, and he will not be silent.7:02So the question I have for you then, in the midst of brokenness, where is your comfort? And that is a drumbeat you're going to hear eight times. Why? Because Noah means comfort. In the midst of brokenness, where is your comfort? Verse five, then the Lord saw that the wickedness.7:32Now, let's just stop there, right? So we live in a broken world. We live in a world where some of you are fighting through cancer in your life right now. We live in a world where, for some of you, Mother's Day is not a day of joy. It's a day of sadness because of brokenness, because of death, because of hurt. But it's not just because we live in a broken world. Look at verse five. Secondly, God saw that the wickedness of man, and our ladies are saying, thank you, Lord, right?8:00Was great in the earth. Verse five, in that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And you see what God's word is pressing in on us here? Not only do we live in a broken world, but the reason it's broken is because of us, because of you.8:29We are the cause of the evil. And before we point fingers and say, no, it's them, it's terrorists, it's this, it's that, it's the water we drink, it's the chicken that they give us that we, you know, we pump full of steroids so we can eat it, and it's other things that are causing us sickness and brokenness, but it starts from us. It starts from you. Verse five, wickedness of man was great in the earth.9:00Every intent of his heart was only evil continually. And that word great there goes back to verse one, where the Bible says, when men begin to multiply. So where men multiply, sin multiplies. Sorry. We have to get to the point where we look at ourselves and we say, it is our fault.9:26It's like that sign you see sometimes when you go to the grocery store or the store and says, if you break it, you buy it. I'm not going to incriminate anyone here. I'm not going to mention names. I'm just going to look straight at the clock. Last month, this is vividly portrayed to me. I was at a local flea mall, and I saw a family I recognized.9:53And the patriarch of the family was walking towards me with a dejected look. I'm like, this is not good. You know, when you're a pastor and people come to you sad, you're not sure if it's your fault. You're not sure if something bad has happened. You just don't know where this is headed. Brad will tell you. Yeah, I don't want late night calls. Don't call me at midnight just telling me hello, because I'm thinking the worst has happened. That's just where my job description fits. And I found out that this man in our church had broken something in the flea mall.10:24And he was going to man up and pay for it. And it was probably like a 10 cent, I don't know, glass something. That's my worst nightmare. Not only do I wake up at Cold Sweats thinking about garage sales sometimes at night, having to go, but knowing I went to a garage sale and broke something I didn't even want. But that's horrific to me. You guys don't realize how traumatic. And I want you to know, I'm not going to mention, I'm not going to look,10:55but the man in this church manned up and said, I broke it. I don't want it, but I'm going to buy that thing. Thank God for that humility, right? But that's where we have to get to in our sin. That we go to God and we don't say, it's my neighbor's fault. It's this person. It's my friend's. It's Instagram. All these things. I just live in a world where all these images are bombarding me. I can't help it. We have to get to the point where we say, God, it's broken and it's me. Fix it.11:25Fix it. Fix me. And God's word says that your heart is always evil constantly. Guys, we broke it. It's our fault. And may the Lord renew us. He will not be silent. And he will not ignore our sin. Where is your comfort? Where is your comfort? Verse six. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth.11:54And he was grieved in his heart. So you see what the Bible's doing? The Bible says that your heart is evil. And because your heart is evil, God just doesn't sit in a far off place saying, well, you guys, I'm going to leave you to your own devices. Good luck with that. Actually, God says this. Because you sin in your heart, what does it do to the heart of our Lord? It pains him. It pains him.12:25Your brokenness pains the Lord. He is not a king who sits on his throne ignoring his people. He is a God that is intricately involved with your life. Your brokenness hurts God. It doesn't take away from his Godship. It doesn't make him any less God. But your pain causes him his pain. And actually, in Genesis 3, the same word here in pain is the same word that God spoke to Eve when he said,12:53because you sinned in childbirth will now be in pain. Right, ladies? And then for the man, he says, now of the dust of the ground when you would work, you'll do it in sweat, in toil, in pain. So because of your sin, it causes us pain. And because of your pain, it causes God pain. He says, looks at man, he says, I was, he was sorry that he created. How does that make you feel that you bring pain to your heavenly Father?13:21I remember growing up not wanting to disappoint my parents. But I was the one that would, you know, the Bible says, spoil the rod, spare the rod, spoil the child. I was the child that, like, a talking didn't work with me. And my dad could say, you hurt my heart. And I was like, okay, that's my punishment? Good. I'm sorry.13:51I'm sorry. I was the one that dad, my dad spanked me. And then I got it. And then he said, by the way, your bad choice does bring me pain. And I was like, I understand now. Because my dad was like, look, this pain in your backside is going to bring you pain, which brings me pain. And it's interesting seeing our kids. We have a four-year-old almost now and a one-year-old. My four-year-old is just like me. And our one-and-a-half-year-old, we can look at her and say no, and she just melts. Which brings me a little joy14:20because I don't have to spank her. But I'm seeing that in my kids, how their pain can bring their father pain. And the reality of our sin is when you sin, it causes God pain in his heart. But I don't want us to be ignorant because God will not look at our sin and see his pain and ignore it or sit silent. When you pain your heavenly father, where is your comfort?14:48And in pain, where is your comfort? Verse six. The Lord was sorry that he made man on earth and he was grieved in his heart. And he said, I will destroy man who I have created from the face of the earth with man, beast, creeping thing, birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them. Here's another thing we see in God's word. God always responds to our sin. He always responds to our sin.15:18Verse six. God was sorry. He was grieved in his heart. So God didn't sit there and say, oh no, what am I going to do? These people that I have made sins. Look at verse seven. Then God said, he always responds to our sin and he always acts upon our sin. So may we not be fooled to think, well, one day I guess I'm going to have to pay the piper. But, you know, God's just quiet now.15:46He always responds to our sinfulness. Sometimes I think we're under the impression that God's like the IRS. For those of you who are in the tax season of your life, you'll get this illustration. We know the reality of the IRS is to collect taxes, right? If you don't know that and you should be paying taxes, see me after church, but I'll help you however I can. Those of you who pay taxes16:16know in the back of your mind that eventually there is a possibility that you could always be audited by the IRS, right? If you don't know that, there's a possibility. In the tax software I use, there's a little audit meter that says, this is the chances. I don't want mine to be red because that means warning. I want mine to be green. It says you should be good. But that's not a guarantee. But I think the struggle is sometimes that idea morphs into our faith16:43that we just think, I know I'm going to be audited by God one day. I know I've sinned, but it's not going to be today. God is not like the IRS. He will always respond to our sin. He's not understaffed and underfunded. So if you are sitting here and if I'm sitting here thinking, I know I've sinned, but I'll repent later because God just can't get to me yet. God looked at sin.17:14He was sorry. It grieved his heart. And then God said, he acts upon our sin. He responds to our sin. Verse seven, he said, I will destroy man who I have created. Not only does God act upon our sin, but the Lord alone is our judge. Verse seven, the Lord alone is our judge. The Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created. Verse 11, the earth was also corrupt before God17:44and the earth was filled with violence. Does it not seem possibly harsh to you that God looked at sin and said, I'm going to destroy everything? I mean, let's be honest, right? Let's be honest with what we see. Verse seven, God said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth. Both man and beast. We have a dog at our house that we call the wild beast.18:14What guilt do they have? Verse seven, not only beast, but creeping things, birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made man. Does that not seem a little bit harsh that God would judge flood the whole world? And we're going to get there next week, the flood. But does that not seem harsh that, man, well, we sin, but God's just going overboard sometimes. But let's look at the reality of our sin.18:44Verse 11, the earth was corrupt. That word is used seven times in this passage. The word corrupt could mean spoiled or disfigured. It was so corrupt before God that the earth was filled with, the earth was filled with violence.19:08Now let me, let me give you the Hebrew word. You probably actually know this word. The earth was filled with Hamas. Hamas. Sound familiar? There's a terrorist group by that name. Why do they want that name? Because they are violent and their intent is violent. Our sin only brings violence. And not only does it bring violence19:37within this group against ourself, but our sin is a constant attack against the sovereignty and the holiness of God. So before we say, God, you're harsh. Can't you just spank us? We sin. You're our heavenly father. No, when we sin, we are committing violent acts against our father. And not only are those violent acts, but our God is eternal. So our violent acts20:05are reverberating throughout eternity. So the fact that God even lets us live today with sin in our life is gracious enough. Our God alone is our judge. And not only will he judge here, but there will be a second judgment. So I don't want us just to think, well, I know pastor that, I mean, God sent the flood. He was an angry God in the Old Testament. God is still20:35in the judging business. Now, I don't want to scare you and to say, look, if you have sin in your heart and you don't come to Christ right now, where's your comfort? But I want you to not be ignorant. That one day there will be a second judgment. So the first judgment, God looks at the earth and he floods the whole earth. And then in 2 Peter chapter 3, Peter, yes, that Peter, reminds us of a second judgment. 2 Peter verse 3, I mean, chapter 3 verse 521:05says this, for this they willfully forget that by the word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of water and in the water. By which the world that then existed perished being flooded with water. So Peter is talking about this judgment that God thousands of years ago judged the earth. Then he says this,21:34verse 7, chapter 3, but the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. The first judgment presumes a second judgment. And that the great judge whose name is Jesus Christ will come one day and judge us all. And the reality of our sin is this,22:03is this, if we are content to cling to our sin, when the flood comes, your sin will not float and it will not carry you through. So if we are content to live a life as a God, I know the pastor's talked about sin and I know this is not really a good Mother's Day message, but Lord, I'm just gonna, I'm okay with my sin today. I'll wait till next week. If God in his sovereignty judges me today and I cling to my sin, I have no chance. But if I cling22:34to Jesus Christ, the one who will judge me, but the one also who took my place, that I will find salvation in my time of need. So may we not be ignorant and only think that God judges in the Old Testament, but that one day our hearts will be laid bare and if we do not accept Christ, we'll be judged according to our merit and it will not be a judgment of goodness. It will not be a great day.23:04It'll be a day of horrific terror like the flood. God alone will judge. You say, well, pastor, you're getting a little difficult here. There's more. Verse eight. The Bible hits our sin. Where is your comfort in the midst of evil? Where is your comfort in the midst of brokenness? Where is your comfort in the midst of violence? Where is your comfort when the Lord will judge? Then verse eight. But Noah found grace23:34in the eyes of the Lord. But Noah found grace. You can find grace in the midst of evil. Noah lived in a difficult time and God looked down and found grace. Some of your versions say hen, which is the Hebrew. It means favor or grace, but it's really grace. You know why I love this verse? In the midst of all this judgment, verse eight shows us that the intentions of God24:03even in the beginning was salvation. But in the midst of our ungodliness and violence against God, God looks at us and says, Josh, but there's grace. There's comfort in Jesus Christ. Second Peter says that God is not slow or slack concerning his promises, but that God's desire, he's long-suffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. That's the same passage24:33of that judgment chapter in second Peter. God's intention in our life is not to judge us. It is to save us. But we cannot be saved unless there is judgment. And thank God that Jesus died on the cross. In the midst of evil we can find grace. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Verse nine. And this is the genealogy25:02of Noah. Noah was a, Noah wasn't just a man. This is why words matter, right? God's word matters. Noah was a just man. Not only was he just, but he was what? Perfect or blameless in his generations. And Noah walked with God. Actually in the Hebrew there, it's almost as if God's word is just telling us about Noah's life. The Hebrew there, Noah walked with God, is this. It's awkward in English, but just bear with me. It is God walked he, Noah.25:33As if to say everything in Noah's life was about God first. God walked he, Noah. Noah didn't just walk with God. He put God first in his life. And we can be a comfort in the midst of evil. Verse 10. Noah begot three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And the world was corrupt before God, filled with Hamas,26:02with violence. So God looked upon the earth. Indeed it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah. God said to Noah. We can find comfort and be a Noah to others in the midst of evil. We can find comfort and be comfort in the midst of an evil world.26:30How does that happen? Look at verse 9. This is the genealogy. Noah was a just man and perfect. Just means that he was different. He was righteous and he was a man whose conduct was beyond reproach. And the word perfect there is the same word used for the blameless sacrifice. He was without spot. Now, before we put Noah up on a pedestal, wait a couple chapters and there are spots showing. But Noah was a man27:00who looked at the world and said, I am going to be different. What does it take to be a comfort? It takes people who say, I'm going to stand up and be different. Moms, if there is no one in your family that is living for the Lord, it only takes one person to be that comfort. Not just to be comfort in time of need. And most of us understand that, right? When we need comfort,27:29even when I was out of the house, even in college, even up until this last year, when I'm sick, the first person I want is my mom. And I just, I realized finally, look, she's not coming. I was in the hospital last month. You know, mom's not coming to the hospital. But she did come the next day to help with my children. And as much as our families need physical comfort, our families need someone27:59to stand up and say, I'm going to be different. I'm going to walk with the Lord. And I'm going to be that Noah. I'm going to be the comfort. That in the midst of darkness, I want God to look upon my life and say, but so-and-so walked. Are you willing to stand up and be different? To be the comfort that you need. Also Noah lived in a way that left his contemporaries no excuse. Left his contemporaries28:31no excuse. And many times we struggle. God, how can I share my faith? Are you living in a way that people look at your life and have no excuse? Now, I didn't say you only share faith with your actions because if your mouth, if your heart do not back up what your actions say, then your actions are void. Because we are commanded to make disciples. We are commanded to speak forth his truth. Be ready to give a defense of the hope that is within you. But are we people29:02that are living a life that others may have no excuse? And I know the chances are high that someone in this room has a child that is a prodigal, that is wayward. And that you constantly hit your knees and you cry out to the Lord and you say, God, I raised them the best I could. What is their problem? And I think God is saying live in a way that leads them without any excuse. That their sin may lead to conviction, that may lead to repentance, that may lead to salvation.29:32Are we living in a way that brings others comfort? Comfort without godliness is not comfort. We can also find comfort in this way. Look at verse 13. And God said to Noah, God said to Noah, Noah walks with the Lord and in the midst of all this ugliness30:01of the world that is not different in my opinion than what we live today, God reminds us that he is not silent and he is not inactive. That when we are struggling and we say, God, I need to hear your voice, we have in verse 13, then God said, then God said. Some suggest that from the moment God spoke to Noah to the moment30:31the flood came was 120 years. Some of you have waited 20 years and you say, God, I just need to hear your voice. God wants to, I just believe God wants to encourage you and say, look, I am not silent. Listen to me. Then God said to Noah, how does God speak? In the midst of darkness he speaks through his word. What a treasured gift we have here that we can open up.31:00These aren't just words, but these are God's words that we can open up God's word and we say, Lord, speak to me and he says, I am. Noah, I am speaking to you when you need comfort, when you need struggle, when there is darkness, when we walk through the shadow of the valleys, God says, I am there and I will speak through you. Not only does he speak through his word though, I think God speaks in a way that he wants our trust.31:30our trust. He wants our trust. We didn't read that, but you have to go home. But Noah is given distinct proportions of the ark. Three levels for all those animals. I guess the stinky ones down below. You guys can stay up top. It's these cubits. But you know what's not given in the ark? There's one thing that's very important on a ship that is missing in the ark. There's no rudder.32:04There's no steering wheel. There's no Siri. There's no GPS. There's a window on the side so there aren't really stars to navigate. Why would God give Noah an ark to protect himself but no way to offer direction? Because I think in the midst of darkness God is saying, Josh, just trust me. I'm not going to give you the plan32:33and I'm not going to let you take the steering wheel. But if you trust me, I will steer the boat. I will steer your life. And we say, God, but you are quiet. I don't hear you. God says, get in the boat. I will shut the door. Trust me. Be a comfort. Be a comfort. And that word corrupt was used seven times in this passage. But you know how many times God spoke to Noah in the midst of evil?33:02Seven times. So when we cry out, God, we need to hear you. God, there's darkness. God, I'm struggling. God, there's brokenness. I think God just shares with us, Josh, my voice is louder than the brokenness. My voice is louder than the sin. My voice is louder than the wickedness. And my voice will shine through on the darkest days if you listen and if you trust in me. May we be a comfort33:32a comfort to those who desperately need the grace of God. The heart of man is continually evil always. And then verse 8, but Noah, are you going to be a Noah this week to bring comfort, to walk blameless, to listen to God's voice, to say, God, I trust in you. I will do that. Our Savior responds to our sin. He is not silent. He is not inactive.34:01And as Peter has already shared with us, there will be a day where everyone sitting here and everyone out there will be judged. There will be a day where the flood that has been predicted, there's a flood coming. There's a flood coming. I know you don't see the raindrops, but it's coming. There will be a day where that flood will come. But God's word says this, if you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, when the waters34:31rise, when the judgment comes, that there will be comfort in the throne. The Bible actually says this, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord not might be saved, not possibly will be saved. Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. That's just not something you do with your voice. It's something you do with your heart. And James reminds us that faith without action is dead, that faith and action go hand in hand. Actually, faith without action is not faith. So if you have35:03never trusted God as your salvation, I pray that you hear the echo of our God is not silent concerning your sin, he is not inactive, but that everything we do in our life will be judged and put upon Christ if you trust upon him. So if you need to trust Jesus, what are you waiting for? What are we waiting for? God, heal our hearts. God, guide us to the throne. God,35:32God, when the floodwaters rise, when the fire rains down, may we be safe because Christ, the blood, covers our sins. Let's pray.← Previous in Genesis (Foundations)Sunday, May 1, 2016Next in Genesis (Foundations) →Sunday, May 15, 2016More sermons on Genesis →
