Wednesday, July 12, 2023 PM

Well, good evening, I I am NOT Dwight Smoot. He was supposed to teach tonight lead tonight, but still fell off their porch and broke her leg. So they are being well taken care of right now at the st Anthony's down off of I -44 134th Street, and they're gonna have to transfer her probably downtown somewhere kind of finish up so I Talked with Rachel their daughter.

She said their mom was in a lot of pain but her brother showed up and so they're looking after looking after their mom and So just be in prayer for her for recovery and healing and all that and And pray for Dwight as he will now be tending the garden in Jill's stead and keep all of her deer plants Going so, all right.

The Flood, Human Sin, and God's Judgment in Genesis

Well, we're going to study a little bit out of Genesis and Here's some notes I never got to in Sunday school, so I might as well take care of him tonight. They stand on their own fairly well so Genesis Will be kind of surveying through Genesis 6 through 9 and Let's begin with a word of prayer father.

I thank you so much for the night. Thank you for the opportunity to gather together and to feast together and enjoy this meal Lord. I pray that she would Bless our time in your word. I pray that you would encourage us help us to trust you And to rejoice in your truth.

Do pray for miss Jill. She would ease her pain and Heal her leg and to help her family. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. All right, so Romans 5 tells us that through one man sin entered the world and Death came to all men because all men sinned and As we read the early chapters of Genesis we see how this sin begins to spread and Get worse.

Additional novel expressions of sin begin to show up and The Chapter 6 of Genesis God gives his evaluation verse 5. Genesis chapter 6 verse 5. 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 only evil continually and The Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth and he was grieved in his heart.

So 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. And so, of course, how does God engineer?

This wiping of the slate says 120 years and there'll be a flood a Flood where every living thing will be destroyed upon the earth except he makes it. He makes a promise to Noah gives him instructions to build an ark.

Noah and his wife his three sons and We're Shem's wife and Ham's wife and Japheth's wife. Eight persons Peter says on the boat on on the ark are preserved and with them two by two male and female male and female.

All these different animals going on to the ark if you were in Sunday school, you know the reason why. And if you weren't in Sunday school, sorry, you should have to guess. Or watch the YouTube. So The flood came covered all the mountains everything that had the breath of Breath of life in it.

It all died except for who was on the ark and That wiped the slate clean. But it did not change the heart of man it it cleansed the earth. But it didn't wash Sin out of the heart of man. For all that water and all that turmoil all that disaster.

You'd think you know, you watch enough disaster movies. Everybody comes out of it a saint you know at the end of the disaster movie all humanity comes together and they all love one another and all Sin has disappeared.

Hollywood's version of that but actually in the Bible, that's not how it works. In Genesis chapter 8 in verse 21 Noah builds an altar. Offers up an offering to the Lord verse 21. The Lord smelled a soothing aroma.

Then the Lord said in his heart I will never again curse the ground for man's sake. Although watch this the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth. Nor I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

While the earth remains sea time and harvest cold and heat winter and summer and day and night shall not cease so in other words Man was just as evil and as wicked after the flood as he was before the flood.

So after the flood what man deserved was a whole nother flood and there have been many moments in history Where the Saints of God have said, how about we just do away with all this? Many many times in history that has been the the prayerful query of the Saints.

Or why don't you just do away with all this seems pretty hopeless too far gone. Now God has made his assessment. He says never again. Well, I'll destroy all living things as I have done. He says we're gonna keep things going and we see that it's an entirely a matter of grace.

The do we deserve to have Spring summer fall winter. Do we deserve to have day and night? Do we deserve to have the cycle of the day with the Sun coming over in the weather cycles and the rainfall and and have crops and Produce in life here on this earth.

And the answer is clearly no what we deserve is a whole nother flood. What we deserve is A whole nother disaster to wipe everybody out because that's how wicked man is and to remind us of This grace God makes a covenant With Noah and all creation.

The Creation Mandate and the Noahic Covenant

Now in chapter 9 verse 1 He says so God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth now that sounds familiar. That's from Genesis 1 that's called the creation mandate.

It flows inexorably From what it means to be made in God's image to be made in God's image. By nature by definition and by design. The function of our nature and design is to engage in this to be fruitful multiply fill the earth and subdue it.

The two are Together and God says in the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth and every bird of the Air and all that move on the earth and all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand exercise dominion over them and.

And again, he says in verse 11 Genesis 9 thus I establish my covenant with you never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood. Never again, should there be a flood to destroy the earth.

Now y 'all deserve it. We all deserve it and God gives instructions about what to do when the bloodshed and the violence starts up again. That was the problem before the flood with the earth was filled up with violence.

And so he filled up the earth with water and he knows that the violence is going to start up again. Men will be will start killing men again, you know Chicago. Just this is going to happen. Chicago is not unique in Know in the annals of history not unique.

You think we live in the bloodiest time of history was there's more of us around but There's been a lot of violence throughout history. What did God tell the descendants of Noah to do to stem the violence by use of capital punishment.

Put a stop to it. So we deserve. We deserve Judgment, but God in response to Noah's soothing offering His peaceful restful offering. God says See time and harvest cold and heat winter and summer day and night shall not Cease now.

That's hard to believe it's hard for us to believe. But you know, it's it's actually Way bigger of an ask for God in all of his holiness. It is long suffered to be long-suffering and gracious to be patient and to not Reach forth in wrath and just end it all a much bigger ask on God's side.

And so God said verse 12 This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature. That is with you for perpetual generations. He says I set my rainbow in the cloud and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

It shall be when I bring a cloud over the earth that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud and I will remember My covenant. God says I will remember my covenant. Which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh.

The water shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. God so desired that that cloud just keep on raining. God so desired that water just keep on coming. I Remember old-timers in Tennessee, we'd be driving around and there'd just be water everywhere and they'd say didn't God say this would never happen again.

But God gives us a sign and he remembers now when God remembers it's not that he has misplaced the information. It is that he is now acting upon something that he has promised. If he forgets something, it's not that he has lost the information is that he is not going to act upon certain information to put our sins away from him as far as the East is from the West to forget our Transgressions means he will no longer act toward us.

Based on those because he is remembering his son Jesus Christ. So here when he says I will remember my covenant mean he'll stop the rain. He'll stop the storm. Something is it's a. Whenever you see a massive storm, it just builds and builds and builds.

Except for the mercy of God there goes everything and so God puts his rainbow in the clouds a sign in the cloud for us to see by which he will remember his covenant and Where where do we see the rainbow in the sky in the breaking of the storm?

Correct in the breaking of the storm when the when the Sun disrupts the evening rain shower. We look to the east. Very often we see our rainbows in the east don't we sometimes in the West? Sun has to be at a 42 degree angle either in the morning or the evening.

For us to see that rainbow. But there has to be a storm and a break in the storm. There has to be there has to be water that God has Interdicted it stopped and moved and done something with for us to see that rainbow.

And so let's say it's in the evening. We look there to the east and what do we see? We see an arched entrance. We see an arch. An arch is an entrance something to go through. You ever chase a rainbow, you know, you never get there, do you?

But the entrances to the Garden of Eden and the tabernacle and the temple are all east. We see most of our rainbows off in the east and. To look to the east and see the entrance means what we're already on the inside.

If you were in the Garden of Eden and you saw the entrance to the east that means you were in the inside of the Garden. If you were in the tabernacle or the temple and you looked to the east and saw the entrance that means you are on the inside and If we look at the rainbow in the east.

It means we're already on the inside of something as Noah's descendants. We have been brought into this covenant not because we deserve it, but it's the grace of God, right? It's the grace of God He provides for us and he keeps us.

Loving Enemies as Children of the Father

Now there's a lesson in that. About how we are to to live and walk in the light of God's grace and follow in Jesus. Jesus makes a big deal of this actually in Matthew chapter 5. So let's go over to Matthew 5.

In Matthew chapter 5 as Jesus is explaining how things work in his kingdom that he builds. Which is superior to the previous one. What are things like in the new creation? What are things like in the new covenant?

In Matthew chapter 5 verses 43 through 45 and he gives a Pretty good summary of the law. Mosaic law. Verse 43 you have heard it that it was said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. And how you did both was pretty well spelled out in mosaic law and there are ways to do both of those things.

As full of content you can look that up. Leviticus 19 be a good place to start. So you've heard that was said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say to you Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.

Well, there's a change. There is a change. That's not exactly how the Israelites treated the Jebusites if you know what I mean. In the new covenant things are different in Christ. Now why would we love our enemies and do kind of those who don't deserve a single thing.

You don't deserve a single thing. You worthless enemy. Why would we why would we? Bless those who curse do good to those who hate pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. Why verse 45?

That you may be sons of your father in heaven. Meaning that you would that you would live as children of your father in heaven and exhibit those traits of having God as your father. You know as any as any child would exhibit similarities and traits of their father.

So also we should do this. We're mimicking our father in heaven. You see why. Because what does he do? Now imagine this. He makes his son rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust so I would think that.

That many People many violent people from the past and the present. Would really hate to hear this word from Jesus. About how to treat our enemies. As we see kind of look at what happened in Genesis Chapter 6 and so on it seems like violence was all the only way for those pre-flood people to deal with anything.

And for some people today violence is just the only way to deal with anything and that violence became Becomes more and more prevalent if sin is left unchecked. And we and we looked back and we saw that no soon Noah was really the only one left.

It was just Noah and his family. It's the only one left. But Noah being dead still speaks of Christ. What does Jesus say he says if you want to be true sons of God. Think of how he gives his son and gives his reign on the undeserving.

He preserves life. Undeserving life he preserves life by his grace and When God sends his son and his reign At the same time What do you get? Get a rainbow. So you go back to Genesis and The discussion was about the sons of God.

There were the sons that God gave such as Seth and Enosh when men began to call upon the name of the Lord and Then there were the sons of God who? Were corrupted themselves and went after sexual immorality and were polygamists there at the beginning of chapter 6 and Again with sexual immorality comes major waves of violence as it always does and So God responds by dealing with the with the one left Noah.

It was named by Lamech. He named his son Noah because he desired rest the promised rest that God would give. The concern was about who are that? Where are the sons of God, right? And when there was a lack of the sons of God There was a lot of violence and a lot of disaster.

People were hating each other and murder everywhere but then God Preserves Noah makes a covenant with him gives a sign of the rainbow. Because he's going to preserve life on earth and God and Jesus says hey if you want to be true sons of God.

You know that group of people that was lacking before the flood. You need to follow In the example of your father who is in heaven who gives his son and his reign upon those who don't deserve it and you know when he does both of those at the same time you get a rainbow and Reminds you that you don't deserve life.

You're on this earth. What have you been given? You know in in just your life. So so how do we think of those who are enemies? How do we think of those who curse us? How do we think of those who hate us?

Our sonship. Of course, it doesn't depend upon our own behavior. But it depends on upon Christ's own merits, you know, he's the he's the fulfillment of Noah. He's the real man of rest. He's the real Shiloh.

And it was Christ who sends forth the dove the spirit of peace that brings about that new creation that Noah's story only hinted at and As the first fruits of the resurrection all who are born again into him.

What are we told? We are seated with him in the heavenly places. We are seated with Christ in the heavenly places. Seated by with him by faith by the Holy Spirit and we're with Christ. Christ is at the right hand and What do we find?

We find that are all around the throne where Christ sits. Is a what? It's a rainbow. That's right. Preserved by God's grace all judgment has been spent. We are forever preserved. So in Christ we have our sonship and then walking forward and living out that sonship.

It looks like we are we we bless those who curse us. We love those who hate us. We do these things to those who don't deserve and Thereby demonstrate that we're like our Heavenly Father who gave us the sign of the rainbow.

Questions and Closing Comments

Okay, we'll leave it there any questions or thoughts. Began thinking about that July 3rd, there was an amazing rainbow. I was just it was a double Double rainbow lasted like two hours. It was pretty remarkable.

All right. Well, let's.