Genesis 6:5-8
[5] And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. [6] And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. [7] And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. [8] But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD …
We are-in dark times, there-is no sense in pretending that it's not true. There is no sense in trying to whitewash it, There is no sense in trying to convince ourselves that it's just a little bump in the road, or-it's Just a little turbulence and everything is going to smooth out.
We need to be honest with ourselves, we need to-Face the Facts.
We are in the times the Bible speaks about. In Isaiah he speaks about a people that pulls sin like a cart with a rope.
And he Says = There Is a generation that has No shame and they can't even blush when they sin. He says: They call evil good, and good evil, they put light for darkness and darkness for light and sweet for bitter and bitter for sweet.
He says.-There is no fear of God before their eyes.
2 Timothy 3:1-5
This know also, that in the last days perilous times 5h all come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady big b minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God: Having a form of godliness, but denying the power there of--from such turn away.
Isaiah spoke with unbelievable prophetic insight and discernment about the times and the people,the hour that we are living in.
Isaiah 1: 4-6
Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a Seed of evil doers, children that are corrupters; they have 'forsaken' the Lord, they have provoked the Holy one of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the Sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither mollified with ointment
I know this is sounding really bleak, and depressing and that is intentional because it is the plain simple unvarnished truth.
The truth is; these are dark, evil, times, and I feel mandated by God to truthfully and accurately present to your minds the reality of the times we are in.
I feel like I am one of Few that are really speaking accurately and truthfully concerning the conditions and the atmosphere of these times.
The Majority of the voices that we are hearing today are not speaking accurately or truthfully.
Jeremiah 6:14 spoke of these pillow prophets;
They have healed the also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
Jeremiah said: For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest everyone dealeth falsely.
Jeremiah 14: 14
Then the Lord said unto me, the prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a (false Vision) and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
I wish I could get up here and preach to you that we are Just going through a rough patch but we'll be through it in Just a little While; but if I am going to be a true man of God, and speak truthfully and accurately to you; then I can't do that because I would be lying to you.
The truth-is; everything we have seen and experienced up until now has Just been the pre- cursor. the tremblings, the pre- birth pains of what is coming.
Pastor. Why would you say such things? We come to church to be encouraged. We come to church to hear a bless me word. We want to hear how everything is turning around and how that our society-is suddenly going to wake up and be good again.
We want to hear how - Jesus loves everybody and he's not mad at anybody, and how he doesn't Judge anybody, and how everybody-is saved already they Just don't know it yet.
We want to hear how Grace is this great big blanket that covers all of our sins, past, present and future--- So it doesn't matter what we do, because it's already covered.
We want to hear that the Holy spirit Never convicts us of sin anymore, all he does now is convince us how righteous we are.
Well all I can say is this: If that's what you want to hear, this is the wrong preacher and the wrong church for you.
Because I'm glad the Holy spirit is still convicting the sinner of their sins.
And I'm glad that I know that Grace is not Just a Giant Blanket For sin. But Grace is the divine gift of God working through my humanity to give me power over sin.
Grace is not a Floaty that I wear So I can Float in a sea of sin and call myself saved. Grace delivers me from the Sea of sin.
I Was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within sinking to rise no more, but the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry, from sins waters lifted me now safe am I.
Love lifted me, Love lifted me, when nothing else could help, love lifted me. Oh Love lifted Me, Love lifted me, When nothing else could help, Love lifted me.
Thank God: from sins waters, he lifted me, it doesn't say; in sins waters he Joined me. He lifted me. He delivered me. He Saved Me. He gave me a new spirit.
If any man be in Christ he is a new creature old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.... 2 Corinthians 5:17.
I might make somebody mad today, I might accidentally knock over somebody's Sacred Cow, but I'm going to say it anyway.
I am not a sinner saved by grace.
There's a beautiful song that says: I'm Just a sinner saved by Grace-
But-its not biblical, it's beautiful, it makes me emotional, but it's not biblical.
I can't be a sinner while being saved by Grace.
I can't be both.
Because this work of salvation is not Just about Saving me from the Sea of sin that I'm floating in-
This work of The Holy spirit has made me a new creature, He took the sinner Out of me.
He didn't Just pluck me out of sins Ocean. He pulled the sin nature out of me, He went to The roots and pulled it out by the roots, And he put a new nature in me.
If any man be in Christ He is New creature....
The Bible Says: He that committeth sin is of the devil, 1 J n 3:8..
If you still have a nature, an appetite and a desire to sin, then you haven't been Born again yet.
you may have been forgiven but you're not born again...
When you get born again, you get a new nature, and that new nature has no appetite and no desire for sin.
You see: I'm not a sinner, I was a sinner I had the nature of sin in me.
But I have a new nature, and for me to call myself a sinner now, -is to repudiate the power of the blood and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
We are in the world, but we are not of the world. The Bible Says: If any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him 1 Jn 2:I 5
Friendship with the world is enmity with God, whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God, James 4: 4.
Come out from among them and be ye separate, touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you. And will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters saith the Lord... 2 Co 6:17-18.
In our text God said: I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
Then listen to the words of Jesus:
[26] And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. [27] They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.… Luke 17:26-27.
This is what is happening in the world today; it is no surprise, it is Jesus words being fulfilled.
And I’ll be honest with you; if that was all the word said, I would be completely overwhelmed and cast down without hope. But I want us to go back to Genesis. There is a word here we need to hear.
Genesis 7:19-24
[19] And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. [20] Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. [21] And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: [22] All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land , died. [23] And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive , and they that were with him in the ark. [24] And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days. …
Somebody said: That doesn’t sound very encouraging, I agree, thats not the encouraging part.
I agree;
This is the encouraging part...
Genesis 7:17-18
[17] And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. [18] And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face f of the waters. …
This is the word that we need in this hour; we don’t need someone deceiving us with smooth, sweet, silky, flowery words of how great everything is, we need to know and hear the truth: it is bad, it’s getting worse, Jesus said it would.
But Just like Noah and his family inside of that Ark, (they were safe,) they were protected; and those who have their hope in Jesus Christ, are Just like Noah.
Just like Noah was hid inside of that ark, we are hidden in Christ.
Colossians 3:1-3
[1] If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. [2] Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. [3] For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. …
As the flood waters rose; as destruction came on every living thing upon the earth; the ark rode on top of the waters.
The waters increased and bare up the ark, and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
The waters increased and bare up the ark.
Which means that, that which was destruction to one was salvation to the other.
And the worse it got around them, the higher they went.
Thats the the word the Holy Spirit spoke to me:
"The higher we go" The Higher We Rise!!!
