Where's The Noahs of Today — Sandeep Poonen

Alright, let's begin with the word of prayer. Father we thank you Lord that all of our words Can be submitted to you. Thank you Lord that you are the ones that make words into life. Lord you have to Infuse whatever is said by us created beings Lord with your Holy Spirit.

That's what brings it to life Lord Jesus. None of our ideas none of our words none of our speaking to the mind can make any difference Lord to Us we need Supernatural word that can bring light into darkness.

I pray Lord that you may Knowing the words that I speak Lord I pray that you may break it as the words are broken break it down so that it is simple to understand and nourishing. With the people that can that life can come out of this in Jesus name.

We pray Amen. So I wanted to share a few thoughts that I had From the from the story of Noah. I'm sure this is not the first time you've heard about the story of Noah and Also, especially at this time I hope that I will be able to what I say will either complement or underline what has already been said.

Jesus' Comparison of the Last Days to Noah's Generation

So I'd like to start from Matthew chapter 24 verse 37 through 39 where Jesus compares The coming of the Son of Man to the days of Noah and It says in Matthew chapter 24 37 through 39 for the coming of the Son of Man shall be just like the days of Noah for as In the days before the flood they were eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark and They did not understand until the flood came and took them all away.

So will the coming of the Son of Man be. Now what I thought was interesting for me as I was reading this passage was the way Jesus described The people and what they were doing compared to the Noah. Now if you've read the story of Noah in Genesis, even the children know this that the flood came and the reason why the flood came was because it was God's great judgment on people and So it says in Genesis chapter 6 that the world is very corrupt and there was all kinds of violence.

But interestingly over here Jesus uses a different Description of what was going on in the world. They were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage. Now we know even in the way they were doing marriage back then in Noah Was an evil way of doing marriage.

They had completely Distorted the way a union has to be between man and a woman back in Genesis chapter 6 you can read about that. But what that told me was it wasn't like if we were living in the days of Noah.

That we would go and we'd see complete utter Corruption all over the world any different than it is today. That's what I got out of this that there is corruption like never before there is violence there is murder the amount of ways in which babies are being aborted the ways in which the Institution of marriage and the sacredness of marriage has been distorted.

You see a lot of corruption in the world. But if anybody were to come and live at a time such as this we'll see a lot of Genuine general happiness. I mean forget the current pandemic which is restricting our lives little in many ways.

But look around you. I mean, I'm looking at your background. You look at my background and you see comfort. You see and if you look at our lives this Except for this time it was eating and drinking not sinful things doing good things doing wonderfully.

Normal things like all of us need and drink we're also marrying quite like the world. Not that they were sinful, but this was what Jesus was separating was it was a very normal kind of life. That was going on.

There was a lot of violence and corruption going on just like all of us would say that in the world today. We recognize that there's wild violence, but there's also a sense in which It was just normal.

Then now I can relate it to the days of Noah. It's not that foreign for me to think maybe I'm not unlike the days of Noah. There's a lot of eating and drinking and going to nice restaurants and Marriages and all kinds of things even the good kind of marriage.

But here's the thing. What was what I underlined in that verse was in verse 39. They did not Understand or they did not know that's that word. They did not know that's what my margin says. Said what they did not know until the flood came.

What did they not know. Very simple. They did not know God. That was the difference between Noah and The rest of the world it says about two people in the beginning before the flood that they knew God one was he not and The second one was Noah.

They are the two people who walked with God. They knew God. Here's the difference between the two kinds of people in Noah's time. It wasn't that one group was all committing murder and adultery and stealing and taking the Lord's name in vain and breaking all the Ten Commandments which they didn't even have at that time and here was Noah was doing it.

It wasn't those two camps there were two camps which was the one man who knew the Lord the one man who walked with God and the rest and. So to me the reason why that distinction is important is because we can easily get so caught up with the evil world out there and all the horrible ways in which the world is acting and Comfort ourselves into thinking.

Oh, we're not like that and We can fool ourselves into the separation between the two groups in the wrong way and. And I think you've been talking about the two kinds of groups between Jerusalem and Babylon on the two kinds of Ways in which we separate and the way I need to separate Myself is into the category of no God getting to know God and the opposite of that or the alternative to that and so I need to be laser focused on the one question before me today not.

Did I sin today or did I not sin today? Did I shout at my wife? Did I not shout at my wife? Did I shout at my children? I not try to my children. Those are all good questions to ask but those should all be side questions to answer the real big question.

Am I getting to know God better? That should be the question that I'm answering for myself. Every day every week every month Lord. Am I getting to know you am I walking? With you and there's a knowledge a Friendship that I have with God that I didn't have a year ago five years ago.

Knowing God as Our Father

Now in the Old Testament Noah could know God in a particular way and in a very restricted way. Yet he feared God. He was blameless and righteous. But I want to underline that word. No. See it says here about the people here that they did not know they did not know what they did not know God.

Now, please turn with me to 1 John chapter 3. Because here is the dink distinction the very first Distinction that we must make between ourselves and the world. Dear brothers and sisters consider these days like the days of Noah.

We should Peter thought that in the first century in both his episodes. He referenced Noah. It's clear in my mind that Peter had Noah very in front of him thinking those are the last days for him. John said this is the last hour in 1 John.

How much more than us should we embrace not just in this season of pandemic? But for the rest of our lives that we are living in the days of Noah. And if we are living in the days of Noah, we must separate Noah from the rest and We should say Lord.

We want to be of the company of Noah. And the company of Noah is not first that they're doing something else. The first thing is that they know. They know what the other group doesn't know. That's what I get from Matthew 224.

They did not know. No one knew no one knew God. And 1 John chapter 3 tells me in the new covenant. What it is that I know that the world doesn't know 1 John chapter 3 verse 1. See how great a love The father has bestowed on us that we would be called children of God and such we are.

For this reason the world doesn't know. Here's that word again. No, the world doesn't know us. That doesn't world doesn't know how to understand what we are what we're doing. What we're about why we make the decisions.

The world doesn't know us. Why. Because the world doesn't know him. That's the difference between us and the world. The world Doesn't know him. This is the fundamental problem with the world. They're not such evil people and we are such good people.

No, the difference between the world and us. Is that the world doesn't know God as a father. We know God as a father. That is why I do not fear. I'm living at a time when the educated leaders and Intellectual people in this world are telling me, you know how to get over fear.

Meditate every morning for 10 minutes. The art of Mindfulness is what I'm getting in my emails. I just got an email today saying we're gonna have special sessions every day for leaders and people who want to be in the workplace.

Just specially for you a devoted time so that we can practice mindfulness. They're all trying to deal with fear. How do we get over fear? It's not even through the memorization of Scripture. It is by knowing God as a father.

This is what The John is very clearly telling me through the Holy Spirit. This is what the world doesn't know, but we know. So we not we need to live our lives with a real sense that God is my father.

I must ask the Lord to open my eyes that I Actually have a father in heaven, it's not my bank account. It's not the job that I still have today, but might be gone tomorrow. It's not my health. Where I might think I have don't have coronavirus today, but I'll find out I have it tomorrow.

Fear is such a dangerous thing that we may think we're living without fear today because everybody is healthy. All of a sudden the situation can change. My boss can say we're laying off 30 and you're one of the 30

Suddenly I can't pay my mortgage. Suddenly, I find out that my child is having fever and a cough and all of a sudden fear where it feels very Serene now and all of a sudden come in like a thief. What are you going to go to then?

That is when we have to really say Lord in the times of peace in the times when we have given our situation the list I really want to know without a shadow of doubt that my confidence and my Freedom from fear is because I know God as a father.

This has got nothing to do with what Noah did. By building the ark it gives nothing to do with what Noah did by being with his family. This is a personal thing that I cannot Help my wife can't help me get there.

My husband can't help me get there. My children can't help me get there. I need to have this. Individually, I must say Lord. This is the fundamental difference between me and other people. Those who know God and those who don't know God and those who know God as a father not know God in any other way.

For the Christian I must know that God is my personal father. For those of you who have had fathers for those of you who have had good fathers. Just consider your relationship with your good father this must at least be how comfortable and how friendly you can be with your with the Heavenly Father and What we find is oftentimes the people who don't have a father like that end up finding God as a father easier.

Because they don't have anybody they go and see God and they find him but this is the Antidote to fear. Dear brothers and sisters. Let us not think that the antidote to fear is Is Any other thing not our Christian disciplines not our Christian lifestyle.

It is really saying Lord. I don't want to miss the Objective of this trial which is to know you as a father. You know, I work where I have to find out metrics. How well are we doing? How secure are we how?

You know, you have a thermometer that checks your temperature. We have a you have a thermostat that tells you how cold or hot it is. We should figure out how to build a Gauge in our lives Lord. How much do I know you?

Am I free from fear right now because I know you as a father or is it just because my circumstances are okay. And I must constantly say Lord I want to grow to know you as a father. Let that be the difference between me and the world so that when people come and ask me what's the difference?

I Won't talk to them about theology. I Won't go and listen to this preacher who preaches and gives a great reason on why Christianity makes sense. It'll be personal. I Have a father. That is what the difference was between Noah and the people of the world.

The people of the world didn't know God. No one knew God. Here's the difference between those who are Really know God and the rest those are the people who are the Christians. Those who know their God will take action and do exploits.

It says in Daniel chapter 11 at the end times. They're gonna know God it this this underlining of the emphasis of knowing God in the last days the love of many will grow cold that the love is that devotion and the knowing of God will grow cold that The what we should correlate with the end times is Lord do I know you and do I know you first of all as a father.

That is my foundation on which I build my life. I don't have that foundation. Then I'm gonna be in trouble. The next one is that God judges that God is a judge. Do you see this turn to 2nd Peter chapter 2?

Verse 4. 2nd Peter chapter 2 verse 4. It says for a God did not spare angels and when they sinned but cast them into hell and Committed them into pits of darkness reserved for judgment and did not spare the ancient world.

But there's Noah a preacher of righteousness and he was saved along with seven others. When God brought a flood against the ungodly Noah's unrighteousness stands out against today against man's ungodliness, so Noah's righteousness stood out against the world's ungodliness and Today we have to stand out against the world's sinfulness.

Noah as a Herald of Righteousness

I Love that word preacher. What does preacher mean. Preacher means the messenger or that word was actually a herald. Hark the herald the angels sing, you know that chorus that song Herald was somebody who in the olden days would come in and say hey, I've got news from the king I've got news from the king.

Everybody listen up and the herald was somebody who would tell you the message from the king. Today everybody is going. I don't know where to get messages from the king and in this case the king of this world is.

What's going on with kovat 19? I'm sure all of you have a place that you go to to find out What's the latest is the curve flattening? Are there more debts? Is it getting closer to Melbourne? Is it getting closer to Australia?

How is it going? You've got a herald in your life every day that you got you bookmarked it you've got some graphs that are showing you all the things that you want to see and That is what the world is listening to the herald that's shouting from the top some newspaper or some website thing this is how The world is going and Noah's was a herald That stood out in contrast to that Which was saying I'm not Interested in the going-ins of this world about the latest food and the latest drink and the latest this or that.

I'm a herald on Ungodliness, I am a preacher against ungodliness. We have to be so gripped With Ungodliness and saying Lord, I want to get rid of all ungodliness in my life. I'm gonna try and see if I can present Something on my screen this is what being gripped With righteousness is about and I got this picture as I was listening to one of my dad's messages recently.

And he was talking about how sin is like this iceberg and What God asked us to do is to see what is above the water that is conscious sin and God says attack all of this conscious sin seek to be holy just as I am holy and all God shows me is what's above the water and What God asks me to do is to be ruthless To fight every bit of this iceberg that I see above the surface.

There is no reason dear brothers and sisters. There is no reason zero No reason for us to excuse anything above the surface of the water that God says is a sin That is called conscious sin and God says I have given you grace So that you can rule over sin and when God says you can rule over sin He's talking about that sin that is above the water and God is saying I want you to rule over this.

There should be no excuse. God has given us grace. He's given us mercy and his blood that justifies us that says I'm not gonna look at all of your past sins but now I'm gonna start showing you the iceberg above the water and I've given you grace as You humble yourself and you can live just as Jesus lived with all of the things that is above the water and I hope that as we grow on Christ, we will not give ourselves any excuse to Fight this sin the sins that are above the water.

Repentance and the Hidden Iceberg of Sin

But here is the Realization that when we must also have as we seek to chop off every bit of ice above the water. Is that there's a huge Endless rock of ice that's below the surface that we don't see. There's this massive body of sin this nature of sin that is Underneath the surface that I cannot see and I must realize that this is my true condition that I will chop off everything above the water.

But the Lord in his soul marvelous mercy ignores and covers it with his righteousness and Says I will see you as Jesus. But what I will do is I'll keep decreasing the water level a little at a time so that you can chop off the level of grace and For us to be a herald of righteousness is for us to be obsessed with this iceberg that is our sinful nature and we must seek the Lord to say Lord, I don't have any time and Energy to be focused on so many other pursuits when this is the iceberg that will sink the Titanic.

Which is my life. It's a beautiful ship. It has been built. Well, this has been created in the image of God. You've given me a new self too. But Lord, there's this iceberg and I you all you asked me to do is to chop off the things above the water.

But I will not be so proud as to think just because I chop off the top of this ice. That there's nothing underneath the water. There's a whole body of sin underneath. So I will be humble and I will be so gripped with judging myself.

This is so important to your brothers in what it means to be a herald of righteousness. That we don't start trying to say all what's wrong with that group and this group and that other group and this political party and that Political party always looking around.

That's another thing. I picked up from my dad recently Animals, they're always looking left and right and that's a very appropriate word for even this political world. We live in you got the left side and you got the right side you got the left this and you got the right this and everything in between, but it's always horizontal and We as Christians have to be preachers off up and down.

Lord, I look up at you and I look down and I see this iceberg. And I will be faithful to chop off the top of the iceberg. But Lord, let me not fool myself into thinking just because there's no ice on top of the water that everything is great.

Lord in your mercy lower the water so that I can see the next level. That's what it means. I've seen that's what my dad means when he says seek to repent every day. How come you're not got nothing to repent of over and over again?

Well because the Lord's not Being able to lower the water. Maybe because the iceberg above the water is not being dealt with. Let us take a sword. Let us be violent against the water. That's above the ice now above the water.

Let's be violent with the ice that's above the water and when that goes to zero God be like, okay. This man is doing a good job. This woman is doing a good job to take care of this. I can lower the water a little bit.

We see a new sin. Where it used to be lust now, we see love of money where we see love of money now. We see envy when we see envy now, we see greed and we see unforgiveness layers that we never knew existed.

And the Lord says don't get discouraged. Be a preacher be a herald of righteousness that when people see you you see a man. They see a man whose eyes have been gripped with this iceberg in their own lives.

And they see that this iceberg is a great idol that stands up against God. That is the idol. That stands up against God and says God you're not on the throne. This iceberg is this horrible monument and I is a Christian and saying God I hit that iceberg and I'm gonna do war all the other icebergs.

Don't look that big because Lord use a lot need to go inside. Underneath the water and see a little bit of how deep this iceberg that is my own life is. So I don't have time to focus on this political issue or that political issue or that church group or that church.

It's not a church group Lord. Help me to focus on that iceberg, which is me because when you go to heaven, I feel like when Paul went to heaven, he said he finished the course. I Think God Paul must have felt like look Lord.

You kept dropping the water every day. Philippines three. Lifestyle Lord. Not as if I have attained but every day Lord, I seek to have a righteousness. Not my own forgetting what lies behind. I press on saying Lord lower the water lower the water.

Show me more of the iceberg and the end of his life. He says Lord. I've been poured out. I Think it's about as close as getting to the bottom of this iceberg that you can get. It seems like it's time for me to come home.

But Lord my whole life I spent attacking that iceberg and I dropped that iceberg, which is the greatest offense. Dear brothers and sisters that iceberg which is that body of sin is the greatest offense to God in the whole planet.

I have to see that that iceberg which is all my own body of sin. Much worse than my wife's body of sin much worse than my children and my prime ministers or the president's or whoever it is. That bothers you.

It is my iceberg Lord and my goal is to be a preacher of righteousness. This is not what the world is heralding. You will stand out like Noah stood out. Those of us who can see that iceberg and be gripped with living that iceberg grabbing a hold of that iceberg for the rest of our lives.

That was the second thing that I wanted to point out to you. My response is Lord I am clothed in the righteousness of Christ. I'm clothed in the righteousness of Christ. But I also recognize my deep wretchedness.

I'm not condemned dear brothers and sisters when you look at the iceberg don't be condemned. There's no condemnation for those on Christ Jesus. I put that verse Romans 7 24 all wretched man that I am who will deliver me from this body of Christ.

Don't stop there. Keep reading Romans 7 25 where it says. Thanks be to God through Christ Jesus. Therefore there is no condemnation for those on Christ Jesus. Those on Christ Jesus are clothed with the righteousness of Christ but are convinced that their one task on earth is to destroy that iceberg and It goes on and you say Lord, please in your mercy lower the water.

Help me to be faithful with the grace. You've given me to chop off that iceberg and let me show you That I can. I deserve that you lower the water a little bit more. I Don't need more money. I don't need better help.

I don't need a bigger house Lord. The only thing blessing I want is that you lower the water. So that I can see this ugly Iceberg that is causing shipwreck to my own life to my family around me to my co-workers around me.

It's this iceberg, which is my body of sin. That's the problem. Like Noah we can stand out. I have a father in heaven. I know God that is the foundation. Second I'm clothed in the righteousness of Christ and I also recognize my deep wretchedness.

Building the Ark Through the Body of Christ

The third is He built the ark as we all know that's Hebrews chapter 11 verse 7. We can turn there just so that you know Hebrews chapter 11 verse 7. I've given you a verse for each of the points that I made all about Noah.

Hebrews chapter 11 verse 7. It talks also about the faith of Noah. Faith no by faith nor being warned by God about things not yet seen. Look, this is what separates us from the world. The world doesn't know God.

It doesn't see the things that are gonna happen. We read scriptures and we see what's gonna happen in the fear of God knowing that that Iceberg is there in their lives. They prepare an ark. They prepare that vessel and That's how we condemn the world.

We do not condemn the world by going out and telling the world that they are evil by making Facebook posts or blog Messages or tweets that condemn the world. That's not the way we condemn the world. We condemn the world by building by preparing an ark.

That's how we become an heir of the righteousness, which is according to faith. We prepare an ark. The only way to safety is in the body of Christ. The only way to safety is in the body of Christ, which means That I must be gripped with building up the body of Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters. We have been meeting for months. We have been meeting for years. In a local church with this is our emphasis which is seek for the gift of prophecy. We have this is nothing new.

I Have been speaking that for 10 years. That's how long I not only knew it. But that's how long I've been speaking it to the brothers and sisters around me. Maybe some of you it's not been 10 years. Okay, but you've been hearing it as long as you're probably part of this group as long as you've been connected or listening to the Messages of brother Zach, you know that that's the truth that you we've been trying to fellowship around practice the gift of prophecy practice the gift of encouraging others.

This is why we were preaching that all those years was because that is how we build the body of Christ. It's the gift of prophecy it's the gift of Encouragement. It's not a fancy gift. It is the simple gift of encouraging and men and women.

Young men and women can prophesy. That's what Acts chapter 2 said. That's what 1 Corinthians 14 says all can prophesy. This is not something that only the men can do. It's not something only the elders can do.

Every single member in the family can build the ark and Very clearly to build the ark is to be able to encourage Others. If you build the ark you think of it like carrying a plank of wood or having a hammer and hitting a nail whatever it was.

Carrying the tar that stuck the wood pieces together. What is that? Dear brother and dear sister. Dear young brother dear young sister. You can build the ark. We must every day seek to encourage one another as it says in Hebrews chapter 11 especially as The day draws near for the Lord's coming.

We must seek to encourage one another. More and more encourage one another daily. This is what we can do to build the ark. So I hope it's very clear in my mind what I can do to build the ark and condemn the world and Save my family dear brother head of the home my job our jobs is to encourage our wives and Encourage our children.

Not just encourage them saying you're great. You're beautiful. You're lovely. Don't you know? I love you. That's ridiculous. That's even the world can do. What is the gift of prophecy? It's a spiritual gift that God says.

I want you to speak this word of Conviction or comfort or Something to build up your wife, but because it's coming from the Holy Spirit. It'll bring life just like the Word of God that's spoken to a Dead world brought the world to life.

That's what we need to seek for. Not just feedback not constructive Encouragement or constructive feedback that the people in the world can do but we must seek the Lord Lord touch my mouth today. Touch my lip give me Prophetically a word that I will know came from you because you needed me to encourage somebody today.

Every time I'm asked to speak I asked the Lord Lord, what do you want to put on my mouth to encourage them? I don't have prepared sermons. I don't have prepared things. I'm like, okay, let me just dig up.

I seek the Lord Lord. What do you want me to say, but it should be no different for my family and This is not a special gift. That some of us can only have to encourage our own families. All of us can have the gift the supernatural gift of Encouragement and we must seek that and our wives it's no different for you Young people it's no different for you.

The Holy Spirit's Power to Encourage

If you've given your life to Jesus ask the Lord to give you the Holy Spirit. That's what I did when I was 17 years old I said Lord, I wasn't even baptized in water and I said Lord. I want the Holy Spirit.

I Didn't know I needed it for gifts, but I wanted the Holy Spirit to overcome sin. But the moment we're born again young people if you've given your heart to Jesus Ask the Lord to fill you with the Holy Spirit so that he and you can encourage.

You can encourage your younger brother and sister you can encourage even your parents with a kind word with a kind action. By helping your mother with the dishes. By helping your mother clean up. It's an encouragement when the Holy Spirit can give you an Encouragement.

A word of encouragement is go and help your mom in the kitchen go and help your wife in the kitchen. There's so many beautiful ways in which that little act can really be spirit-filled and just like the hands of Jesus was full of the The Spirit of God so much so that even the hem of Jesus's garment Had power in it and I love what it says about it in the Acts that even the hem of the disciples garments Had power in it, too.

So it wasn't just Jesus. Even the disciples had it. I'm not trying to do physical miracles, but I want even small what I take from that is the smallest little action. Picking up a toy can have a prophetic influence to encourage Those who are hurting it can be a smile.

It can be a look. It can be a hug to my family can be allowing a child to To listen to my one of my children as they talk. It can be so many ways in which we can encourage. This is very different from what the world says in this that it is prompted by the Holy Spirit.

The source is very different and that's what tells us at this time go and do this. Peter and John when Jesus were going every day to the temple but one day the Holy Spirit told Peter now is the day to heal that man and He came right up to that man and grabbed that man up and he was healed.

Peter and James. Peter and John could have gone on some other day and grabbed that man and he would not have gotten up. He would not have been healed. We need the spirit to prompt us to say today is the day.

Grab that man. Give that word to your husband. Give that word to your wife and As we seek to live with the Lord humbly that can happen. Dear brothers and sisters. The only way to safety is in the body of Christ if we believe that we build the ark which means will be Zealous to seek to encourage not to encourage everybody but to encourage somebody.

A Practical Call to Encourage Others

Lord the work I want to do is to encourage somebody. I'm not here to build a whole ark by myself. I'm here to just put a couple of planks in and The other brothers will put the other planks in and the other sisters may put the tar and the other people may do something else.

But together we'll build the overall ark. But Lord, I want to do my part help me to seek to encourage somebody and almost always we start in the home. So that's what I wanted to share to you today. Three simple points.

The difference between Noah and the world. Noah knew God. The world did not know God. We know God as a father. Let us not reduce our life to Christian mindfulness. Let us not reduce our life of rest to Christian.

Grabbing a hold of a promise of God. All of the promises of God are supposed to take us to God himself. So that we can know God and we know God as a father that should be our anchor. That we take the promises of God to the source of the one who gave those promises.

Which is God himself and say God. I want to know you God. I want to know you show me who you are. Next point was Lord show me the iceberg of sin. Lord, I want to be a preacher. I want to be a herald that shouts out to the world about righteousness.

Lord your righteousness that covers me and is my robe. My royal festive robe, so I will never be condemned. But it's also a real passion to root out all that hidden unrighteousness. That's under the service that I know exists Lord lower that water.