Dennis Bevans - Noah - Saving Your Family in a Dark World - Class 1 - Walked with God

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1. 0:00

   Our third speaker this morning is our Brother Dennis Bevins from Austin Leander, TX. Ecclesia. The theme of Brother Dennis’s classes this week is Noah, Saving Your family in a Dark World. This topic for today is Walked with God, Genesis 6 verses one through 9. Let us give our attention to our brother Dennis. So this morning we have quite an interesting topic the. Stakes are high, aren’t they?

2. 0:34

   When you when you put it in perspective, saving your family in a Dark World is something we can all relate to. Positive. And negative, it is nice to be back in the saddle again. I recognize God got mad at the world and sent us all to. Our room for a couple years, but the opportunity to come back and reflect on that experience does exist. It’s a chance for us to reflect not only on our individual response, our community response, and where do we go from here?

3. 1:03

   What is this world coming to? What is the ecclesial world? Coming to what can I do about either of those things and how can I protect and preserve my family while we wait for the return of our Lord? Those are all profound questions that have crossed all of our minds from time to time.

4. 1:23

   And as we look to a story that’s one of the oldest stories in Scripture, we’re going to see that not only are what we experiencing, this is not new. It’s not new to us, It’s not new to the planet. It’s not new to our God. But he’s rather given us insight to a family and ecclesial setting that our Lord Jesus tells us was just like when he is going to return. So that you and I can go back to the story in the Bible and see that we are not alone, whatever it is we’re going through in a World of Darkness with ecclesial challenges, this is not. Our God’s first rodeo.

5. 2:04

   That’s a Texas joke, and those of those of you who didn’t get it, I understand. I’m not really a Texan either, but I just have to wear the badge. So thank you for joining me this week. We’re going to look at this story for some highly relevant lessons today. And I think from a very early point in this class you’ll see that it is.

6. 2:21

   Not only possible to gain value from this very old story, but it’s recommended by Jesus and his ministry. Yeah, the world we live in is forever changed. The ecclesial family has forever changed. So I’m just going to say, they said don’t be controversial. I everything I say. Is so sorry, I just might as well put it on record COVID. Now let’s talk about Zoom for just a minute. Zoom is great.

7. 2:47

   You and I can get content. From anything in the Bible classes around the world every day and some of us have really enjoyed that, right? I can’t be the only one. OK, thank you and I are loving this. This is the group participation part. You guys have been had a chance to do that, right?

8. 3:03

   But but what Zoom cannot do is replace contact. It cannot replace fellowship. You and I have to see each other to serve each other. So although there’s been some great advantages, especially those that have mobility issues, health issues that cannot come out to meeting, this is a huge upgrade from listening to a tape or.

9. 3:24

   ACD or whatever we do now. It’s a much better option than that, but it is not a replacement for memorial service. You do the best you can with what you have. When it was illegal for us to meet, but now there should be a longing to come back. And I’m sure every ecclesia in the world has an issue with members that may never come back, that they have got comfortable on Zoom and it’s become an adequate replacement for memorial service. And that is scary for the individual, for the family and for the ecclesia.

10. 3:57

    We have to acknowledge that we we’ve seen a world in chaos and that has created some issues in the ecclesia as well. Let’s think about that. Have you ever thought prior to two years ago that we would have ecclesial discussion, some of it quite heated, about whether wearing a mask was an act of faith or responsible, responsible act of service?

11. 4:18

    Every ecclesia in the world had that conversation. And some of those got ugly because they’re both right. The person that says if God wants me to get COVID, I’m going to get COVID, Guess what? They’re right. Whether they wear a mask or not, it’s not immunity, but the person that says, look, I have the information, I should use that information to protect my family and be respectful to those around me that they’re right too.

12. 4:39

    That’s the beauty of ecclesial service, isn’t it? Two people right opposite sides of the coin, finding a way to work together and love to show the gospel in their life.

13. 4:51

    Did you ever expect to hear talks or read articles in our community about the social injustices this world has created and continues to create? Did you ever expect that we have see things like the LGBT and whatever movement become mainstream in the world and even impact conversations in the ecclesia? Did you ever think social media would light up with heated political debate amongst brothers and sisters? Those are all real examples in our community right now. What’s even more astounding is all of this has happened before we can see evidence from a major worldview issue and their impact on the ecclesia all the way back in Genesis. I want you to picture your family here, and I know I’m not that skinny, but picture your family. Get a picture in your mind.

14. 5:40

    We all have family and friends that we care about and we would do anything within our power to help them find peace and hope in the Kingdom of God. Do you have a picture in your mind now? What could a story approximately 4500 years ago do to help me today? As we mentioned on Sunday, everybody knows this story and we got little cute songs and then going two by two and into the ark and all that’s cute. So let’s have a quiz.

15. 6:13

    How many of each animal entered into the ark? 7:00 and 2:00. So cleaner and clean. So we’ve got something started there. The detailed answer will come in a class titled by Sevens, so if you need more hints than that, this is going to be a. Rough week for you now. The point today is the children’s story is part of the story.

16. 6:34

    There’s nothing wrong with us talking about the animals coming in two by two, because that is true. But think about it for just a moment. If there’s only two cow, the first family BBQ end of a species. So it makes sense that God planned ahead and gave a little bit of detail to set the stage.

17. 6:51

    Well, there’s a little more detail coming because our God is reasonable and wants us to understand it. Well, there’s a few other questions we could ask. I’ll do another one for a baseline. What was the first fruit mentioned in the Bible?

18. 7:05

    Everybody’s like 17. That’s a subliminal message, isn’t it? What was the first fruit mentioned in the Bible? Fig. Somebody said it, and maybe it was mumbled somewhere else too. Fig. The lesson? Is in the. Details. How about the New Testament? We use this one in our exhortation. It’s why we care, because if we can better understand the days of Noah, we know what to look like. And expect in the days coming up to the the return of our Lord. So here’s where we’re going to start. In the days of Noah, Luke 1727, they did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage until the day Noah entered the ark, the flood came and destroyed them all. What’s wrong with that?

19. 7:51

    Eating, drinking, getting married. OK, let me let me see if we can condemn ourselves now. How many of you have had something to eat in your life? How many of you had something to drink in your life? How many of you are married? OK, how many of you love your mother? So that last one is just to show you some of you won’t raise your hands for anything.

20. 8:07

    Now here, here’s the point. If eating, drinking and getting married is bad, well, we’re all condemned. What’s wrong with eating, drinking, getting married? We give thanks for our meal, we enjoy the fellowship meal together. We get married. We get to learn the concept of family and ecclesial life and our Those are all good things, but there is a missing ingredient. And that was.

21. 8:28

    What was wrong with the world? The missing ingredient was God. They were eating, they were drinking, they were getting married, but it had nothing to do with to the glory of the Father. The absence of the glory of the Father is what put the world in a tailspin. And then we look at our day. The world has been trying to take God out of this world four years, four years by design.

22. 8:53

    So we’ll go back just a few years. You guys all remember 911, right? Let’s go back a few months before then. What there was a lot of talk about taking the name of In God we Trust off the coinage. OK, well, I don’t care about that, but we get why do we have to take God off?

23. 9:08

    OK, well, there’s one number. Two, there was a court, I think it was Illinois, the state Supreme Court had the 10 commandments on the wall and there was an uprage, an outrage about why we got to get them off the wall. Separation of church and state, which that was totally out of context nonetheless. And in California, at that time, it was made illegal for a child to say prayer in school.

24. 9:33

    So if I’m going to school, give thanks for our meal, I’m actually breaking the law. And then couple planes hit buildings in New York and Washington, DC, and the president declared a National Day of Prayer, and all of a sudden it was OK. Because when we’re scared, we turn to God. And when we’re not, we lean on self. That is our natural human inclination. And it’s been that way since the beginning of time. We are no different than the world around us, other than the fact that we know we have an opportunity to try to fight that struggle.

25. 10:03

    So when I did this in the teens class. So one of you is going to have to pretend you’ve not heard this before, What happens when a baby is sad? What does it do? And when it’s tired, what’s hungry? When it’s dirty? Some grow out of that, some don’t. But we are naturally selfish, we naturally see what our needs are and we cry for help. And so that’s I think partly why we have problems in this life is our God, His in his divine wisdom said this population needs challenges or they will leave me out. And every time we have a problem, our prayer life gets much better, does it not?

26. 10:40

    So here’s a challenge for us to acknowledge that if your prayer life is weak today, is it because you don’t have any problems or you’re asking or you’re not asking God to help you solve? Them that’s the ask the little hand on the inside. I’m not asking you to raise your hand out loud. Hebrews 11 verse seven.

27. 10:56

    I didn’t talk about it. We we read this in the exhortation and I just want to comment here, wouldn’t. All of us. Like to have our name inserted here. Knowing that Noah’s day represents the last days before Jesus returns, wouldn’t you love to be able to read? And Dennis, being warned of God, was moved with fear and prepared an ark to save his house.

28. 11:18

    We’d all love to insert our name there, and that is why we are here. So let’s go to Genesis, where Noah’s introduced. We’re at Genesis 5, verse 28. Lamech lived 180 in two years begat his son, and called his name. Noah saying This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.

29. 11:42

    This is the. First time his name is used. His name in Hebrew means Rest, So it’s appropriate we get to start with a man named Rest. And he’s named that way because, well, we think this guy is going to give us comfort in toil in our toil because of the curse. So the naming of Noah directly ties to the. Curse and promise In the first couple chapters of Genesis, we’ve got his name, the concept of what Noah Noah’s name ties to what God did on the 7th day creation account, and we have direct connection to the curse in Genesis chapter 3. So let’s look at the curse first. So he says to Adam, Because that was hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and has eaten of the tree which I commended thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it. Cursed is the ground for thy sake, and ensar all. Thou shalt eat of it all.

30. 12:34

    The days of thy life So Adam’s new role requires hard labor to produce food and provide his family. To protect and to guide, He has more responsibility. Now, prior to the curse, we were told in chapter 2, verse 15 that he was given a place in the garden to dress it and to keep it. Now let’s be honest here.

31. 12:55

    How hard is that job? This is before you’ve got challenges with cigarette butts and Styrofoam cups. We, we don’t have anyone making a mess but you. So here’s your job. Keep it clean. Oh, there’s nothing here to mess with yet. But you know, do your best. But as a result of sin, we’re not punished for our sins, but by our sins.

32. 13:17

    And so by their sins, we have Adam now having to work harder to do what he was commanded to do. To preserve and protect his family, to provide for them.

33. 13:30

    Verse 8:00 and 9:00 We get some gifts with purchase, thorns and thistles that shall bring forth unto thee, and thou shalt eat. The bread of the field. In this what do I face? Thou shalt eat bread till thou return to the ground. For out of this thou was taken. For dust thou art, and dust thou shalt return. So if not tended to, thorns and thistles will overtake any garden, much like sin can overtake our lives. If we don’t contend against the thinking of the flesh and carefully maintain our walk, thistles will creep in. So how do we?

34. 13:56

    Maintain our life to keep the challenges of sin outside of our minds. The answer readings Study conversations with people of like precious faith. Because when we’re focused on doing that which is right in the eyes of God, we spend less time focusing on the problems in our life, whether they’re of ourselves or those around us.

35. 14:19

    Keeping the word. Of God, paramount in our life, is critical for us to overcome the thorns and thistles that will inevitably bite us if we leave them too close to our garden and our thinking. Now, like sin, the result is not immediate but eventual. The the wages of sin is death, but it’s not the instantaneous thing one might think.

36. 14:39

    You know the from. Dust our to dust our shot return. God could have said Adam, you blew up, you’re gone. I’m going to start over with Bill, but he. Doesn’t. Gives them an. Opportunity because with everything that operates with our Father, hope is embedded in the problem. And so He does that same thing in Genesis. So let’s look at the promise unto Adam and his wife. Did the Lord God make coats of skins and he clothed them? So they clothed.

37. 15:05

    Themselves with fig leaves first fruit. Well, that one makes a little sense because fig is a big leaf. They didn’t pick up Fern and say let’s see what we can do with this. To start with, a fig. Leaf, which would, by the way, be a terrible covering. Can you? Fig leaf is big, but they’re also sticky. Anyone ever seen a fig leaf?

38. 15:23

    Imagine putting that on the sensitive parts of your body and walking around in a garden for a while. This. Instantly would have been a bad idea, but notice that bad decision our God picks up throughout the entire Old Testament as a representation of natural Israel. The root. Of the representation of natural Israel comes from the bad decision. Let’s cover ourselves with this terrible leaf and our God said, you know, we’ve got to teach a lesson here. Out of this tragedy must come hope. And the.

39. 15:53

    Concept of the covering of sin requires the shedding of blood is embedded in the story of. Genesis chapter 3. Obviously, this is not a slide for PETA. The. Primary lesson in this chapter of scripture is we can see the hope of redemption through the blood of Jesus prophetically. In fact, at the crucifixion, what materials were used to make a mock crown for Jesus?

40. 16:19

    Thorns and. Thistles so the connection from Eden to the crucifixion is clear as day and a bridge between those two. We have Noah whose name to bring us back to creation. Curse and promise. OK, Stage set. Genesis 3 everywhere. I love it. All right. Genesis 532. We have some. Math. Those of you who love math, today and tomorrow we’re going to do a little math quiz.

41. 16:45

    So, you know, if you’re excited right now, sorry, he’s 500. Years old he begets Shem, Ham and Japheth. So this verse is a very important clue that we will clarify a very dramatic detail by the end of today. So. Start. 500 years.

42. 17:04

    It came to. Pass. When men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, when was that? When did men begin to multiply in the face of the earth? Yeah, chapter. 4 chapter 5 That’s right away. You you’ve got Chapter 4, Chapter 5, we’ve got the beginning of families are introduced.

43. 17:21

    So what we’re reading now is a continuation from the last chapter. It’s a continuing thought. These. Problems didn’t just appear out of nowhere 14156 years later. Bam, everybody’s bad. The concept of serving self started in the Garden of Eden and got better at self-service through Genesis chapter 4. Genesis chapter 5 until we get to chapter 6 and the world is so good at it. God says time to wipe this out.

44. 17:50

    So what have we got? Up to this point, Genesis 1. And two, we have creation, Genesis 3, the curse and the promise. A covering of sin requires a shedding of blood. Chapter 4. We have the object lesson for that principle, Cain and Abel. And then we have the book of death, Genesis 5.

45. 18:03

    And he died, and he died, and he died. He died. Let’s read this verse carefully. When men. Began to multiply on the face of the Earth. This goes back again to Adam, the process leading to sin, the judgment that was going to come on the planet. Sin crept in wherever people were, and it happens right away. Now the word men.

46. 18:25

    In. Hebrew is actually the word Adam, and it’s singular. So in the Hebrew, this is actually what it’s saying, although we can. Get there the long way around the English language. Now, daughters. Women in Scripture often are used to describe the state of spirituality. This does not mean you know all the boys are good and all the girls are bad. That’s one way.

47. 18:44

    I guess you could take the first couple verses, but that’s not what it’s saying. It’s giving when men begin to multiply. So we’re going back to Eden again, and now we’re going to talk about the spiritual state. Of the planet. Specifically the Ecclesia, because the remnant is always the focus of Scripture. How do we use? That when we refer to the the ecclesia as the bride of Christ, for example, it holds true in the negative. Idolatry is referred to in Scripture as adultery or harlotry, as we’ve seen after going going after other gods. It’s used to describe the state of the Christian world at the time of our Lord’s return.

48. 19:19

    In Revelation, Jason actually made reference to that verse. This next one we’ll use to make the point. The Sons of. God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they took of them wives whom they were chose. There is evil. On both sides of this gender coin. So when we take a look at the planet, they see sons of God, daughters of men. Who are we talking about?

49. 19:41

    Well. It tells. Us the spirituality of the group. That not all was pleasant in paradise and quickly we begin to move to self-service, which is exactly what happens when we take God out as the missing ingredient. We know the. Story of Cain and Abel so. It should come. As no surprise, the world began to stray quickly. After God created it.

50. 20:04

    So. Remember, as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in our day. So we look around and see challenges in the world that are impacting the ecclesia. It should not be a surprise, it should be an expectation, should be something we’re prepared for to make sure that I individually am not a part of the drafting away that is natural to the last days.

51. 20:25

    Because if me individually and focusing on the things of the Kingdom and things of the name and it’s changing who I am so that God can fill me with his glory. I then can come to my family and share and you on the same time as trying to get you right. So that when we.

52. 20:42

    Come together. We are both sinners making mistakes in love, coming together to try to do things God’s way. And with that perspective, we have a training ground for the Kingdom of God. It’s actually a very beautiful design our God has put in play. But where the design falls is if I come to the meeting to fix you. Nobody can do that, so I’m appoint somebody else to. Come to the meeting to fix you or you or anyone. I can’t fix you.

53. 21:09

    I have a tough enough time trying to fix me. But if I make myself feel better by trying to fix you, I am not a servant of God. I am a servant of the flesh. And that is the breakdown of society that we see today. And it will be the breakdown of the ecclesia as we get closer to the return of our Lord. Knowing that gives us a chance to fight it here. So we can.

54. 21:29

    Share it there as opposed to fighting there. And I’ve become it here. Does that make sense? OK, now I want us to go to the Garden of Eden. And we remember Eve when she’s tempted, she saw, she took and she chose. And that is the same challenge in the world today. When we see, we take and we decide. We see things that might appeal to our flesh, the lust of our. Flesh, the lust of our eyes, the pride of our life, and before we.

55. 21:58

    Know it. We’ve rationalized and justified ourselves to a position where we’ve left no room for the Father to work. Marrying. Eating and drinking. So if the. Daughters of men represent the spiritual state of the world. Who were these sons of God? Good question. Let’s go back to when men began to multiply in Genesis chapter 4. And we have.

56. 22:17

    Seth Abel’s replacement to him was born a son. His name was Enos. And then began men to fall, to fall upon. That’s cute to call upon the name of the Lord. Well, let’s go to. Romans 8 and 14 as many as are led by the Spirit of God. Are the sons? Of God.

57. 22:37

    So we have two things at play here if we want to be led by the Spirit of God and do things God’s way. Those two verses. We just looked at. We are surrendering the path that leads to death. From dust thou was to dust thou shall return in exchange for a path that leads to life. The promise and the hope that.

58. 22:56

    Embedded within the curse. Now keep in mind that Spirit of God part, because that’s going to play a prominent role in Genesis 6. In verse 3, my spirit shall not always drive with man. In verse seven, I will destroy man whom I have created. Verse 13, the end of all flesh has come. So we’re looking at this early part of Genesis 6, the divine inspection started.

59. 23:18

    By the Spirit of God not always striving with men, God. Looked he decided. He withdrew a. Spirit. Made a decision. To destroy creation and terminate all flesh. Those are. Very graphic words to consider, especially given the parent child relationship, and I think that’s on purpose. See some of what? We’re going to do is going to be a little fun, some of it’s going to be very grave and this is one of those moments.

60. 23:46

    We have to put. Ourselves in the position of the Father right now, looking upon all the children he has made. And deciding. They are better off dead. The. Gravity of that is astounding. Picture your own children and coming to the conclusion. That child is. Better off dead. How about? Picture your parents thinking that about you. It’s very.

61. 24:13

    Grave. And we look at the Father taking stock at his creation. That concept is very grave. This was. Not a quick, snappy decision. You know what? I’m tired of this stuff. Let’s flood it clean and start the spin cycle. It’s not what our God did. This was a painful thing for the Father, and we’re going to see that through this story.

62. 24:34

    This is the. Inevitable result of children going the wrong direction. And our God recognized it and let us know this is how he would solve it. Anyone know what the only one of the 10 commandments that was stated exclusively in the positive was?

63. 24:51

    Nine of them have a Thou shalt not in them somewhere. One of them does not. Anyone know #5 the number of grace? Honour thy father and thy mother. It’s the. Only. One stated in the positive. In fact, the Ephesians version, this is Ephesians 6, two and three, honor thy father, thy mother, which is the first commandment with promise. That it may be.

64. 25:11

    Well, with thee that thou mayest live long on the earth. So that’s what’s on the queue for us. It’s worth noting these commandments were on 2 stone tablets. The first one was 4 to God. This one. To the family and the second one was 5 all about individual behavior regarding how we treat each other supports the theory that we need to put God first, then our family 2nd and individual pursuits third, including fan of business other obligations.

65. 25:41

    Now the last thought on define the divine inspection of this chapter, we’re going to turn to Leviticus 14. When am I supposed to be done because my timer stopped up here? 12 Oh yeah, we got. Plenty of time, all right, Leviticus 14, sort of We’re going to look at verses 33 through 44.

66. 26:03

    I’m cherry picking for sake of time, so we. Have the divine inspection for a house that was infected by leprosy, and it’s commonly used to describe sin, so it’s relevant to our topic today. Here we have that it was in the house. You had to empty the house. If it was in the. Walls of the house?

67. 26:21

    Well you shut the house up 7 days re inspect. If it’s spread into the walls, take away the stones, cast them out of the city. Scrape and pour the dust outside of the city. Put new stones in. If it reoccurs well, verse 45 breakdown the house, the stones of it, the timber thereof, the mortar of the house, and you shall carry them forth out of the city to an unclean place.

68. 26:44

    Essentially what our God is doing in Genesis chapter 6. Is he’s looking. At his leprous house. In the days of Noah and deciding he has to clean it out and start over. We want to be. Part of the rebuild effort, which is why we focus on Noah and the family that’s saved, not the part that is torn down and cast outside the city, is unclean.

69. 27:05

    We’ll keep that back in our mind as we go back to Noah. We have. 2 camps. On the planet at this time and verse 2, we have the sons of God, those who are trying to do things God’s way, and the daughters of men, those who are following after the flesh. And here.

70. 27:24

    We have the line of E Nos and the line of Cain. You can read Genesis. 4 on your own if you want to get some fun with that now. In time, these two lines start intermarrying. Now let’s think about that. Whenever a marriage takes place, compromise is part of the equation. If it doesn’t happen that marriage doesn’t last, compromise.

71. 27:43

    Has to take. Place He thinks this should be green. She thinks this should be blue. So they compromise and they do it blue, right? OK. Exactly. So compromise is really, though I’m joking, But reality is compromise is essential because we come from different backgrounds and no matter how much we love each other, we come with different baggage and we come with different baggage to the family, the marriage unit, some things we have to go.

72. 28:10

    That doesn’t really matter that much to me. Let’s do it your way. Sometimes that really means a lot to me and we have to find a way to do it my way. And sometimes it’s like neither one of us has a way. Let’s make our way and we start compromising. Well, compromise is not a bad thing, but when you start compromising the values of God, now you’re in trouble.

73. 28:27

    See what color the wall is? It doesn’t really matter who wins that. That’s why she should win. Oh, I didn’t. Get any laughs on that one? All right? Doesn’t really. Matter who wins that the House is going to still stand we start compromising the things of God the promises of God the edicts of the father now that marriage is on very rocky ground oh and then anytime you start having marriage and compromise let’s make it easier and just have some children that makes it easier right OK so let’s. Keep that in mind.

74. 28:58

    So here’s the math quiz clue. The prior number. We had was 500 now in. Verse. Three we have. There’s 120 years of warning. Keep that thought 120 years of warning. Then with before we go to the the magic number, we say, OK, there were giants in the earth in those days, and after that the sons of God came to the daughters of men, bear them children, and became mighty men, which were men of old, men of renown, or in the Hebrew men of renown is the word shem, men of the name. Whose name?

75. 29:30

    That’s the problem. That’s why the missing ingredient of the name of the father is such a big deal. James Chapter. Two, verse 7 says, Do they not blasphemy that worthy name by which they are called? See, we are called to be part of a name, might be born into that name, married into that name, baptized to that name.

76. 29:48

    We are called to be part of the name of the Father. But if we’re building. A name for ourselves in a city with our own name. Now we’ve got Genesis chapter 4 and Genesis chapter 10 on the horizon. We’ve taken. God out of the mix. The name we’re building is for ourself. It’s shaky ground. So here, when the population is building things for their own name, for their own pride, for their own sake. No longer is.

77. 30:10

    God part of the equation. Now the word giants, the Hebrew is the Nephilim. The only other usage is Numbers 13, and it’s used twice in verse 32 and verse 33. So we’ll look at that for a minute. They brought an. Evil Report. The land which? They had searched the children, Israel said. The land that we have gone is a land that. Eateth up the inhabitants thereof. The people that we saw are men of great stratter. We saw giants and son of Anec.

78. 30:36

    Some of the giants were in their side as grasshoppers. We were there in their sights. We had the people are. Really big and mighty. Now this. Refers to men of war in the promised land. We know the story, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they were big people. Yes, we have reference to some big people, but the problem is they were mighty and strong warriors. See, a giant is relative.

79. 30:58

    I’ll give you an example. In Japan today, I’m a giant. I’m 6 foot four, 270 lbs. On an. NFL offensive line. I’m puny. It’s all relative. Most NBA centers are about 7 foot tall or higher. Again. Hi, how you do it? That might be bigger than me. Relative is a giant, so it doesn’t necessarily mean they were all 12 feet tall. No, they were bigger and stronger than we are and that made them huge in perspective.

80. 31:28

    Andre the Giant was 7 foot four, £500. In case you’re keeping score and trying to compare me, he had me beat by a few pounds. The Israelites. Were scared because their faith was in their flesh, not in the. Father and as a result. They missed out. On the Promise, at least initially. Well, who wrote Genesis? Moses.

81. 31:48

    Another tie in. So here in Genesis chapter 4 we have Moses commentary. This happens a lot. In Genesis Record, where it’s not actually the thoughts of the people, it’s a commentary on Moses. You can see that in a number of places. We’ll we’ll call out a couple in a minute. So. They were mighty warriors.

82. 32:05

    And we see that the sons of God, those following the way of. God, the line of Venus versus the daughter of man. Again, singular Adam in the Hebrew going the line of the flesh, the way of Cain. We have the compromise of life choices in a distance from the father. Now I want to pay particularly attention to the timing.

83. 32:23

    They get farther away from God, closer to the world around them, and they decide to have children. This is a. Recipe for disaster. Any one of our children going down this path, we go time out. This is bad. We can see it coming. So much harder to see it when it’s your thinking.

84. 32:39

    Now the Hebrew calls the mighty men of the name. What name? Well #16 and two, I think gives us a little bit of a hint. They rose up. Before Moses with certain children of Israel. 250 Princess of the Assembly, famous in the congregation. Men of the name. Who were they and. What did they do? Verse one tells us Cora, Dathan and Byram. Verse 3 says they gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron, so they were challenging. The authority of God and his appointed servants. It was not about.

85. 33:10

    God now it was about them being right. And this can happen in any ecclesia, just as it did in the ecclesia in the wilderness. The men of their own name in pride are no longer the men of God. Tower of Babel, Great reference to this. It’s the next story after Noah, and we’ll look at it in our intermission. Let’s look at first.

86. 33:27

    John, we’ve already said this out loud. We may as well put it on the screen. Obvious ties to Genesis chapter 3. We can. See this all the way back into the Garden of Eden. This is the. Key that we want to make sure we understand for our own purposes if we love the cosmos. The order of.

87. 33:47

    Things that we see in this world, there’s no room for the lover of love of the Father in us, so we have. To purge the things of the. Flesh to make room for the love of the Father. The world passeth away in the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.

88. 34:02

    And now? You’re going to find out very quickly, maybe right now, that I’m a Tabernacle geek. So. You might be there with me. I have Tabernacle Itis. I see it everywhere in the Bible. And. Every time I see words like dwell or abide, I mean the Tabernacle ones obviously, but dwell and abide get my attention because the purpose of our Father by extension into his family is that we might as his children, dwell with the Father and the Son forever. The concept of the Tabernacle is set in order for you and I to see us in the Kingdom briefly.

89. 34:42

    I love pictures that have the camp around the Tabernacle. Because our. God could have put a Moat around a castle on the top of the hill with barbed wire for people to look up and say, hey, there’s where our God dwells. But he doesn’t. He puts high accessibility and says I want to dwell in the midst of my children.

90. 35:01

    I want them to be encamped around me that I might dwell with them. And then he uses body part words to describe the decoration and the creation of the Tabernacle where other Hebrew words applied. I mean, you ever noticed that we have the mouth, the lips, the ribs, skin, all these things? There were other Hebrew words to describe the building of the Tabernacle, but in his inspiration he wanted us to see ourselves in that.

91. 35:27

    If we want to. Be part of the will of the Father forever. He wants to abide with us forever. And that’s the message we’ll we’ll do a little bit later in the week. We’ll play with some Tabernacle stuff, but that least hopefully wets your wets your appetite. All right. Verse 5 God saw the wickedness that was great in the earth, and that the imagination of the thoughts of the heart were only evil continually. Divine.

92. 35:50

    Inspection and commentary. God saw, He’s inspected, and now he’s giving us his summary version. All of this evil perpetually. He’d seen this all along. Now it was time for action. The majority? Of population was ignoring his established order of things and preferring their own order. What’s the epitaph to the judges? Did. Everyone did that which was right in their own eyes.

93. 36:18

    Let me ask you a question. How many of you intentionally do that which is wrong in your own eyes like it’s your goal? So we read. That we go. Everyone did that which is right in their own eyes. Those silly fools. Wait a minute. I think that’s what I do. Yeah, exactly. That’s why it’s recorded for our learning, so that when we see them, we see us. We see us as a people if we don’t acknowledge the sovereignty of our King in the life that we live and do what is right in our own eyes.

94. 36:44

    We are no different than wandering Israel in the time period of the judges. Good news for them and us is they could go back and go, wait a minute, we need to redirect and a strong leader came up and helped them go that direction and they served God all the days of the elder of Joshua and the elders that overlived Joshua. You all, you know all these verses. The point is.

95. 37:02

    They did that which. Is right in their own eyes. Nothing wrong with that. Until you take the Father out. Because if all I see is what the flesh is showing me, I am living the life of the judges. But. If I am. Letting God’s Word penetrate my thinking and alter my vision. It’s not what’s right in my eyes now. It’s what is right in the eyes of the Father. And what Father doesn’t want to see His children see the things He sees and learn and grow from them? That’s what’s.

96. 37:30

    On the table. Jeremiah. 19 and 9 says the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it for the time period they they felt that the the seed of thinking was the heart didn’t know what the brain was yet. So the. Thinking of mankind is deceitful and desperately wicked.

97. 37:53

    We are so good at self delusion. We are so. Good at it. It’s easier to pick out in others. It’s a lot more fun to pick out in others for sure. But we are. Really good at convincing ourselves what we want to do is write. Boy, that is a dangerous way to study your Bible. If you go to the.

98. 38:09

    Bible and you’re looking for what does it say? And follow your study to see what God’s teaching you. Sometimes you find out you’ve been wrong for a long time. It’s very refreshing, actually. It’s a little frustrating sometimes, but it is very refreshing. But if you only go to the Bible looking for evidence that what theory you have is right, you’re in danger because you’re going to find something. You’re going to latch onto it like it’s proof. But you’re not letting.

99. 38:32

    God guide your thinking. Now you’re trying to God guide the thinking of God, and none of us would intentionally do that. But all of us. Are naturally inclined to do it, and if we’re not careful, we go to the Bible for support and evidence of our thinking, not to reveal His thinking. Very subtle difference, but it is the difference between me as a person, us as an ecclesial community, getting closer to the thinking of the Father and doing things His way.

100. 38:58

     Or following. After my own flesh and doing what I think is right in my own eyes. It’s that big. Of a deal. We look at our day. We’re surrounded by news. Social. Media, anything that wants to get our attention for the flesh, we can have access to it. Most of us have them in our pockets or on our table.

101. 39:17

     Now I understand the power of the phone and the connectivity that can get and the value it can bring. And the disgrace that can happen, we have to be. Careful that we don’t let the thinking of the world penetrate our hearts and minds so far that we can’t even see it when it’s happening. Verse 6 It repented Yahweh that he made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart, the RSV says, and the Lord was sorry.

102. 39:50

     He was sorry. That he had made man this is a father disappointed. His name has been disgraced and he looks. At the divine inspection and comes to the conclusion. I should have, I never should have started with these people. What a sad. Thing for a father to say of his own household. So why did? God create mankind in the 1st place. I mean, he gave Adam and Eve free will, which means he knew they’d disappoint him so it wasn’t a shock when they did. He could have created him without free will and spared all of this but the thing that the Father wants from us. Is the free?

103. 40:27

     Will offering of our love. And the willingness. To be part of His love forever. And we can’t give Him that if He doesn’t give us the opportunity to disappoint Him and disrespect Him. Which means for the handful that will be in the Kingdom, the remnant, our God is willing to endure the tragedy of the millions or billions that will not be in the Kingdom, that have no interest in the Father.

104. 40:54

     That’s how precious this price tag is to Him. Why did he create? Mankind in the 1st place, what was His purpose? We all know this verse. You’re probably saying it in your head right now. Truly, as I live, all the years shall be filled with the glory of God. It’s His stated purpose.

105. 41:11

     So the question. Is what are we doing right now to represent the glory of the Father in our life? What am I? Doing right now to be part of that glory to in some small measure, be a representation of the Father. To all I come in contact with. The objective. Was glory. He saw the corruption and violence, which we’ll talk about tomorrow. People following their own way on a broad path that leads to destruction.

106. 41:41

     That’s what he saw and it was exactly opposite of what he wanted, so he says. I will destroy man, whom I’ve created from the face of the earth, both man and beast. Creeping. Thing fowls of the air, for it repented me that I have made them. Now the word. Destroy the RSV has blot out.

107. 42:01

     I will blot out man. See the time. For repentance has passed. This is the judgment of the Father. It’s no longer an opportunity to wake up, smell the coffee and get your life back in order. The time is up, and so he is. Going to reverse the order of creation. And if you go through what we just read, we’re going to see it’s a reverse order of Genesis chapter one. This is God’s message to Noah.

108. 42:27

     He says I. Will destroy man whom I’ve created. Because I’m. Repentant that I have made them Amos 3. And seven says, surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret to his servants, the prophets. And so here our God is giving some insight to a man and his. Wife of what he’s? About to do.

109. 42:49

     Not to. Terrify them. But in every. Tragic act of the father. There is hope, and this is the hope that’s being delivered. We saw it. In Hebrews 11 and 7 already. I want to go back to that just a moment.

110. 43:04

     He is. Acknowledged in Hebrews 11 and seven that he was being warned of God, of things not seen yet. God is giving him a warning, and we’ll talk about that in more detail tomorrow, but he’s giving him a very specific warning. What is Noah’s response to the warning of the signs of the times in his day? Mood with.

111. 43:27

     Fear. And prepared. A means to save his house. And by. Doing that, he had to condemn the world because that was the exact opposite of everything around him in the world, in the ecclesia and in his family. That’s all he. Had. We have been. Warned that the time of the Lord’s coming is upon us.

112. 43:49

     What is our? Response. The time is now. We have time to repent and change. How do we respond to that Is everything? Put aside your plans for a minute. Put aside. What you’re going to do when you get home from Bible school and ask yourself this question Inside not out. This is the inside voice. What?

113. 44:14

     Am I actually doing right now to be numbered amongst the faithful? Not what I’m going. To do not what I used to do, not what I could have done. What am I? Doing right now to be numbered amongst the faithful. If you don’t like your answer, you’re breathing and you can change. The more often we ask those reflective questions, the closer we can get to the thinking of the Father.

114. 44:41

     Because His define inspection we have access to. We can do it all the time. We say it every week. Let a man examine himself, because if we look at ourselves the way that God looks at us, we can do two things. We can be critical of the sin that we try to hide, but we know it’s there and we can see past the Sinner.

115. 45:00

     And look to the. Glory of what God can do with us if we let him. That’s how our God sees us. That’s why he can look past our sin, because He knows we are the miserable creatures we know we are. But He can see glory beyond that, and using the lens of the Father to inspect their own life gives us a chance to put those things in order so that when his inspection comes, we’re.

116. 45:23

     Ready because we’ve. Heeded the warning and acted. Let’s look at the. End of the verse. He’s going to. Move man beast creeping thing fouls the air and repented that he made them. And I want to make sure we get this point because it’s a very strong point in the beginning chapters of Genesis.

117. 45:43

     The animals are amoral. They are not capable of sin. God did not look down and say that squirrel is nasty, He’s got to go. The animals are not the problem. The animals have been condemned because of their proximity to the sinning human population. They are guilty by association. God’s not after the animals. Here the focus is on the human beings on the planet. Who had contaminated God’s glory by disrespecting and disregarding the Father and.

118. 46:12

     So when we look at this pool of nastiness that the Father is looking at, in the middle of that inspection, we have this verse. But Noah found grace. In the eyes of the Lord. What an. Epitaph, that is. Can you imagine having that been said of you in these last days? The inspection was awful.

119. 46:36

     My children were a disgrace. But Dennis. Is going to find my grace. That gives me chills just to say it. What an. Amazing epitaph, that is for this man and the rest of our time together This week will primarily be focused on what he did to find that grace. As that’s what. We all want for us and our. Families.

120. 47:01

     These are the. Generations of Noah. Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations and Noah walked with God. Here’s a first snapshot as to why he found grace. He was just. That means he was balanced. We all try to balance the character of the Father. We we struggle with finding that balance. Some of us are more loving.

121. 47:20

     Some of us could be more judgmental. Some of us are better extending mercy. Some of us are better at standing up and saying this is wrong. But our Father is capable of both in equal parts of demonstrating the love that’s required for the healing and the justice that’s required for preservation. And you and I lean one way or the other. We’re constantly fighting to find that balance, to emulate the character of the Father.

122. 47:43

     So we see that Noah was a balanced man, and he was perfect or upright or complete, which. Is what it means when we read perfect in the in the Old Testament, he was upright or complete. So what do we have? We have Noah, a balanced man who was upright and complete. But why? Was he balanced and upright?

123. 48:06

     Incomplete. Because. He walked God’s way. He walked. God’s way. And that’s why it was just and that’s why it was perfected. He wasn’t walking in the way of his own thinking. He was surrendering his thinking to doing things God’s way, and because he walked with God’s way, he effectively was walking with God.

124. 48:28

     And where was God going? To the Kingdom Ezekiel. 14 and 20, we focused on a little bit in the in the exhortation. Just want to touch it for a moment because we didn’t talk really about the efforts that these three made and how it impacted their family. And that’s what we’re going to close with today. All three of these, Noah, Daniel and Job, saved others by their efforts.

125. 48:56

     Both preaching and living a life of faith allowed them to rescue others in a time of trial. Ezekiel. Uses them as an example to Israel to save their households. So let us heed the warning. To save our household as well by learning what they did to inherit life as we see that day approaching. If it seemed.

126. 49:23

     Evil unto you to serve the Lord. Choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which our fathers served, that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, and whose land you dwell but as. For me in my house. We will serve. The Lord.