“As it was . . . so shall it be”
Luke 17.26-30
September 20, 2015
CFBC, Chester, IL * Dr. Mike Fogerson, Speaker
Introduction:
A We are in a period where many are wondering if God is about do something in terms of His Coming, judgement, rapture, or revival.
1 Shemitah, etc.,
2 There is nothing wrong with studying prophecy, eschatology, signs of the season . . .but it should not be the only issue we’re concerned about.
a We should be busy doing Kingdom work, serving the Lord, living the life of faith, praying, leading our lost friends to Jesus even when the Lord returns.
b Not running for the hills, hiding in bunkers, stocking up on ammo . . . praying, worshiping, and
B Luke 17:26-30 (NASB) 26 "And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 "It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; 29 but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 "It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
1 Jesus gave us two Old Testament examples of how His own people will be living in the last days.
a He offers the lives of Noah and Lots as two types of lives that the believer in the last days will more than likely be living.
b Both men lived in sinful times, people had ignored God’s voice, refused to embrace grace offered . . . both men escaped God’s judgement when He poured it an all those around them.
2 However, we do not consider Noah & Lot as equals or possessing the same degrees of faith. (If you were gonna BBQ some ribs, who would you rather invite over?)
a Jesus is telling us that when judgement comes, there will be those who survive in the style of Noah and some who survive in the style of Lot.
b How are their styles different? How can I have the style that gets me the BBQ invite?
I Noah made it out of judgement alive.
A Noah lived in a world described in Genesis as:
Gen. 6.5, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was on evil continually.”
Gen. 6.11-12 (KJV) 11 “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.”
1 In Noah’s day were the days of Nephilim, when fallen angels who had copulated with women and produced giants (cf. Gen. 6.4), corrupting the bloodline of humanity. . the devil, band of fallen angels called demons, (who are not able to receive grace, redemption, saved), if the bloodline was altered with demonic DNA, then mankind would be unable to receive grace/redemption/salvation.
a It was a time of all out satanic assault on humanity that manifested not only with the giant, but also in the actions, behaviors, thinking of the populace.
b It was a time marked by violence, debauchery, broken families/vows, rampant sin, wickedness, perverse minds, and exploding violence.
2 Genesis 6:8 (KJV) But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
a God’s grace came to Noah in the form of His warning that judgement in the form of a flood was coming.
aa Prepare your family, built the ark, and warn your neighbors. . . and Noah did just that.
bb Noah kept one eye on the sky and the other on getting his family ready (and warning his neighbors) for the judgement.
cc Why did Noah did this? Because Noah had faith, “believed in the LORD: and he counted it to him for righteousness.” (Gen.15.6)
b Noah didn’t get saved from the flood because he was perfect, good, but because he 1)believed in the LORD by faith and 2) He put in right standing (righteousness) with God.
aa Noah received grace the same way everyone receives grace: Phil. 3.8-9 (NASB) 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
bb When the rain came, flood waters arose Noah & his whole family was saved.
B Our world is treading in shifting sand because it has condemned holy ground: We are living in the days that Noah lived in.
1 There have been over 40 million abortions since Roe vs. Wade (Adolf Hitler only killed 8 million. He could have learned a thing or two from Planned Parenthood.)
a In 1940s, Teachers were asked to identify he top problems in public schools and the teachers identified talking out of turn; chewing gum; making noise; running in halls; cutting in line; dress code infractions; and littering.
aa When teachers were asked the same question in 1990, it was a completely different assessment they identified drug abuse; alcohol abuse; suicide; rape; pregnancy; robbery; and assault.” In the last several years we can also add terroristic threatening, mass murder.
bb The homosexual lifestyle is now not just protected, it is celebrated.
cc Preachers cannot preach the Word of God from the pulpit because of condemnation of the homosexual or gay lifestyle. (IL.) This month in Britain (Home of Spurgeon, Welsh Revival) there is law being suggested to crack down on street preachers who are preaching on morality for the fear of making their hearers feel “insecure” with their preaching. The Council received complaints that the preachers were nuisances. Mr. Pat Karney, Manchester Councillor said, “Preachers do have a right to be out on the streets, but I do not think it right they are talking about morality. Some talk about race or sexual orientation and that is not proper at all. They’re perfectly entitled to talk about Jesus and the world of God, but not to make anyone feel insecure or threatened.”
dd This week in Canada, they are making progress on criminalizing speaking critically against Islam to be a hate-crime. (If you preach like I do, speak like you do, your name will go on a hate-crime list like a sexual-offender list)
b As I preach, I wonder if I am committing a hate crime. I do not hate homosexuals; I simply believe that the lifestyle choice (that’s right, choice) is wrong.
aa I believe in the Word of God but that Word condemns this lifestyle. Why? It is not natural and with it come consequences.
bb I believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation, the only name given under heaven by which men are saved.
cc Telling people the truth is love.
2 As the coming of the day of the Lord draws near, judgement looms nigh, in these uncertain times we must be certain that our faith is in Christ alone for our salvation.
a It’s not enough to say, “I’m a good ol’boy/girl. I go to church. I’m a conservative. I’m patriotic. I’ve been faithful to my spouse. I love my family.”
aa You do not get in right standing with God by being anything you do/have done.
bb You become righteous by trusting in Jesus by faith.
b No matter where the world stands, you stand by faith in the ark that is Christ. That’s were Noah stood!
T.S.: I get why Jesus chose Noah, he’s awesome. But why Lot? He’s creepy.
II Lot made it out of judgement alive.
A Lot proved he was selfish (as we all are) when Uncle Abraham told him to pick the pasture land he wanted to have for his own flock (Gen. 13.) He picked the best land for digging wells/greenest pastures and left Uncle Abe to get what was left over.
1 Lot compromised his convictions/purity by small steps/degrees.
a Uncle Abe went to Canaan (North) and Lot set his tents “toward Sodom.” Genesis 13:12 (KJV)
aa Then he moved and started “living in Sodom” Gen. 14.12 (NASB)
bb Then he started taking part in the city’s government at the gate (Gen. 19.1) (Courthouse)
cc Lot, by steps, ended up living in a wicked city/sharing in a city that God was determined to destroy.
b So how did Lot make it out of the judgement? BECAUSE HE WAS RIGHTEOUS—God said it, I didn’t, “And [God] delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation [lifestyle] of the wicked: for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds . . .” (2 Peter 2.7-8) KJV.
aa The sin that Lot saw & heard bothered him, but not resist it or remove himself or his family from it . . . but Lot was spared judgment.
bb Not because Lot was good, felt bad about what was going on around him . . . but rather because God honored Lot’s very small faith in his Uncle Abe’s God, which was enough to make him in right standing with the Lord.
cc I know what you’re thinking, “That’s not fair.”: There’s nothing fair about grace, grace isn’t fair. If it was then it isn’t grace.
dd It wasn’t fair that Jesus went under the judgment of God for my sin and absorbed the full measure of God’s wrath on Calvary . . . but I think God He did.
2 Lot made it out alive, but not with the swagger that Noah did.
a He lost his testimony in Sodom because his life was just as sinful as the people in Sodom. “This one fellow came here to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee” Gen. 19.9 KJV.
aa Lot, who are you to tell us that we’re wrong, sinning when your life is no better than ours.
bb That is the problem of the church/Christians, our lives are no different than the people we’re trying to bring to Jesus.
b Noah kept his family, Lot lost his.
aa All of sons & son-in-laws are consumed in fire from heaven when the judgement came.
bb Even his wife, who should have be one with her husband, turns back in longing look on the wicked Sodom and becomes a pillar of salt (Gen. 19.14,26.)
cc Our churches will be hurting in 10-20 years because the young people today are not embracing the faith of their parents, they are adopting the secular worldview
of society.
dd In my opinion, the root cause of the exodus from the faith is Jr. & Jr-ette have not seen real Christianity, they’ve only been taken to church. (Coming to Church one day a week is not daily walking with the Lord in a life-changing relationship.)
c Lot lost his testimony, family, and his legacy.
aa Lot gets hammered drunk, has sex with his own daughters, fathers his own grandchildren (Gen. 19.35-36.) Noah=Awesome; Lot=Creepy.
bb The kids grow up to be the nations of Moab/Ammom, which today are Israel’s hostile neighbors.
cc None of Lot’s descendants would know the God of Uncle Abraham w/ the exception of Ruth (many generations later.)
B Lot had enough belief in God to stand as righteous, to taste the grace. . . and seemed to live his life like he wanted to.
1 If you’re saved to today, know that it’s not because you’re good . . . but because of God’s Grace.
a If we got what we deserved, or what was fair, we’d all be drowning in the flood or getting consumed in the fire.
b Grace is not your “Get-Out-of-Hell-Free” card.
aa Will it keep you out of hell? Yes.
bb We can’t accept God’s grace and then live like hell or maybe even worse, live like His grace has not made a difference in our lives.
2 God is not mocked, and we will reap tragedy/loss if we don’t radically follow Jesus.
a It’s the difference between the awesomeness of Noah and the creepiness of Lot.
aa Both knew righteousness because of God’s grace through faith.
bb However, one we’ll invite over for ribs and let him watch our kids . . . the other not so much!
b Judgement is coming soon and Jesus is not only calling us to forgiveness but to holiness/witness.
c Saint Peter gets the last word here, “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,2 Peter 3:11 (NASB)
d “What sort of people ought you to be?”
Conclusion:
A Are you more like Noah or more like Lot?
B The time is now to be like Noah as we are living in his days.
1 Luke 17:26-30 (NASB) 26 "And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 "It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; 29 but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 "It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
2 If you are going to get saved, sanctified, live in holiness, follow Jesus . . . the day is today, this is the hour.
3 Invitation
Notice to Sermon Central Users:
My name is Mike Fogerson, and I pastor a Southern Baptist Church in Chester, Illinois. I have been a long-time user of Sermon Central and truly appreciate its content and contributors. Some of the best sermons I’ve ever preached have been reworked material from this website. As you use the material from my sermon bank, understand that it is work that has been done from not just myself, but from hundreds of other pastors as well. If you see part of your message, or a bunch of your message with my name on it and this upsets you, please email me and I will quickly respond and cite you as the main source. My intent is not to claim someone’s work as my own. I am disclaiming up front that I use the resources from Sermon Central and appreciate the tool. I simply want all those who use my work to know that some of these messages were inspired by the Holy Spirit working through other pastors. Because I do use the messages of other pastors I waive all claims of originality or origin of creativity for the messages posted under my messages. I pray God blesses your preaching ministry for the glory of His Kingdom.
Respectfully,
Mike Fogerson
