End Of The Grace Period

“END OF THE GRACE PERIOD”

GENESIS 6: 9-22

JANUARY 28, 2001

INTRODUCTION: An anonymnous pastor wrote the following: In the first five years of my ministry, I had a sign on my desk that read, “Win the World for Christ!” In my second five years of ministry, I put up a new sign that read, “Win One or Two for Christ!” Since that time I have this sign on my desk: “Try Not to Lose Too Many!” POSSIBLY GOD SIGNS ON THE INTERSTATE!

TRANSITION SENTENCE: Our text for today mimics this thought. The living God of all creation has gone from “They are all my children,” to “They must belong to someone else.” But, what has befallen humanity that the Creator HIMSELF would wish it was all a bad dream?

THESIS: GOD WILL SPARE THE RIGHTEOUS, BUT THE WICKED WILL PERISH!

I. SIN MAKES GOD RECONSIDER: “A GREIVED HEART”

A. Does God notice our “little bitty, insy winsy,” sins?

1. Gen. 6:5 “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” This has got to be one of the scariest verses in all the Bible.

2. God can read minds!!

3. In verse 11, the scripture states, “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all thepeople on earth had corrupted their ways.”

4. God notices STUFF. PSALM 139 IS A TESTIMENT OF THIS. You can’t hide anything from God! Hear what the Psalmist says: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.”

BLT HERE: GOD KNOWS!

B. Does God care about our insy winsy teeny tiny sins?

1. Gen. 6:6 “God was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.”

2. God is greatly affect by our sin! Read the Gospels and see how serious God takes sin! The entire tenure of the Scripture is focused on this one issue, “MAN’S SEPERATION FROM GOD BECAUSE OF SIN!”

II. SIN CAUSED GOD TO ACT: “A DAY OF JUDGEMENT”

A. A clean slate.

1. Gen. 6:7 “So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, who I have created, from the face of the earth -- Men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air -- for I am grieved that I have made them.”

2. Gen. 6: 13 “So God said to Noah, ‘I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.’”

3. Gen. 6:17 “I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.” 4. Would you call this PREMEDITATED? God had an agenda and he was going to fulfill it. SIN IS THAT SERIOUS TO GOD!

B. If God is so loving, kind and Gracious, surely HE would not destroy all living flesh? 1. 2 Peter 3:3-7 “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago, by God’s word, the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”

2. God really will judge the world and destroy it because of the wickedness of man. This is the principle lesson that Peter draws from the story of the Flood.

3. Do you believe in Judgement? Do you really believe you must accept Jesus Christ as your Savior or you are doomed to Hell? The reality of the text is that once God sets a plan in action, HE FULFILLS IT!