Grace is defined: God's unmerited favor, kindness, and empowering gift of love given freely to humanity.
We SING about GRACE. We’re THANKFUL for GRACE. And if we’re truly followers of Jesus, we EXTEND GRACE to others. The first time GRACE is mentioned in the Bible is Genesis 6, where a fellow by the name of Noah experienced God’s Grace. So let’s go ahead and Genesis 6, Verses 1-8.
“And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
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.”
There has always been a lot of speculation about Verse 4 here in Chapter 6. Some claim that the “Sons of God” were actually ANGELS and when they came in unto the daughters of men, what was created from this was what people call Nephalims. Half HUMAN and half ANGEL.
That’s why these people were GIANTS.
That’s why they were “mighty men of old.”
And they were “men of renown.”
Some believe that’s where the GIANTS, like Goliath, came from. Now do I believe this? NO WAY!!! And if you do that’s fine. We can agree to disagree. I don’t believe that ANGELIC BEINGS can PROCREATE with HUMANS. We don’t find that anywhere else in the Bible.
So I’m gonna tell you what I believe this scripture means.
People began to multiply. They began to have children. THIS INCLUDED CAIN AND HIS WIFE.
In Genesis Chapter 4, Cain is cursed by God for killing his brother Abel. And here are parts of that curse. In Verse 12, “When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
In Verse 15, a mark is placed upon Cain so that anyone who saw him wouldn’t kill him.
Verse 16 says, “And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.”
This was the life of Cain. Living on the EAST side of Eden. Tilling the GROUND and BARELY scraping by. Wandering around with NO PERMANENT HOME and having CHILDREN.
And then the last two Verses of Genesis 4 tell us,
“And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.”
And so Chapter 4 tells us about the first MURDER that occurred and then it goes on to give us some details about the first MURDERER. But then it winds up by telling us that ALL was not LOST. Another son was born who, with his descendants, called upon God. And so we see two distinct groups of people. The lineage of Cain and the lineage of Seth. One was a group of wanderers who probably DID NOT worship God and the other group were those who DID. And both groups bore CHILDREN.
Genesis Chapter 5 is basically a GENEALOGICAL TREE of the LINEAGE of SETH and so when we get to Chapter 6, over a THOUSAND YEARS have passed.
And when the descendants of Seth, Adam and Eve’s third son, saw the daughters of Cain they noticed how pretty they were. And so, I believe, Verse 2 is telling us that the descendants of Seth took wives of the daughters of Cain. And this was NOT pleasing to the Lord.
In Verse 3 God says “My Spirit shall not always strive with man.” GOD WAS BECOMING WEARY OF THE SIN!!!
Let me tell you something. Mixing the RIGHTEOUS with the UNRIGHTEOUS has NEVER been pleasing to the Lord.
A. God commanded Abraham to SEPARATE himself from the Ur of the Chaldees to form a SEPARATE, RIGHTEOUS, GOD FEARING NATION.
B. The Children of Israel were to SEPARATE themselves from those that they would come across in the wilderness after they left Egypt.
C. And they were to stay SEPARATE from those from the countries that surrounded them in the Land of Canaan.
D. During the times of the Kings and the Old Prophets, God sent JUDGMENT upon them because they had NOT stayed separate from other nations.
E. Paul instructed the church at Corinth to do the same. In 2 Corinthians 6:14 -18 he says...
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
And I have to tell you something this morning. GOD HAS NOT CHANGED!!!
His Word is still true.
GOD WANTS A SEPARATION OF THE RIGHTEOUS FROM THE UNRIGHTEOUS.
Some people try to say that Verse 14 forbids intermarrying of different races of people.
“and what communion hath light with darkness?”
That’s just plain silly. It’s clear that the term LIGHT with DARKNESS is not talking about SKIN TONE but about those who have been made RIGHTEOUS through the BLOOD of Jesus and those who haven’t been.
So I believe the Sons of God, Seth’s descendants, came together with the Daughters of men, Cain’s descendants, in a physical way and children were produced.
Some of them were very large people. Giants.
Some were influential people of the time. Men of Renown.
But as God LOOKED DOWN upon mankind this is what He saw. I believe it broke His heart to see all of the wickedness that was going on. In just over a thousand years, mankind had fallen.
And so for the next few minutes I want us to look at four Verses and four things I see in these Verses.
Verse 5, God SAW the wickedness of mankind.
Verse 6, God REPENTED that He had made man.
Verse 7, God said, “I will DESTROY man.”
But then Verse 8, “But Noah found GRACE in the eyes of the Lord.”
Let’s Pray
I. In Verse 5 it says, “‘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.”
It would be easy to ignore these three words. Just read right over them. There are a lot of people back then and even today who have fooled themselves into thinking God doesn’t see what they are doing or He doesn’t CARE what they are doing.
“AND GOD SAW…”
God was not busy somewhere else. He wasn’t on Vacation. He wasn’t taking a NAP HE SAW. And the FACT that God saw INDICATES to me that God CARED.
This Verse clearly tells us that the wickedness of man was GREAT. The Bible tells us that the WICKEDNESS was great for a reason. These people were NOT just committing some MINOR infraction. They were NOT just spitting on the Sidewalk or Jaywalking.
They were doing the very things that God had established to be sin. Then it goes on to tell us how bad it had gotten.
All of the thoughts and intents of the heart were EVIL. They seem to have lost their conscience.
There was no right or wrong. It was a “Do whatever makes you happy mentality.”
ALL OF MANKIND WERE DEPRAVED AND LIVING IN THIS SINFUL LIFESTYLE EXCEPT FOR NOAH AND HIS FAMILY.
It’s been thousands of years since all of this happened. Since a Great Flood covered the earth. But God is still watching and He still sees. Listen, I can’t help but think people wouldn’t ACT the way they do and SAY the things they say and GO the places they go if they REALLY BELIEVED God was watching.
Folks I’ve got news ... HE IS. He IS WATCHING and more than that ... HE CARES.
ILLUS: There are so many things today that I just flat don’t care about but I kind of enjoy FACEBOOK. Our CHURCH FACEBOOK PAGE does serve a good purpose. Prayer requests, announcements, reconnect, and so on.....
But there are SO MANY things on SOCIAL MEDIA and FACEBOOK that I could care less about. What you had for supper last night. What Billy Bob bought Sally Sue for her birthday. How HOT you think your wife or husband is. YUCK!!!
BUT THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT I CARE ABOUT AND MORE IMPORTANTLY GOD CARES ABOUT THEM TOO
I’ve heard people say they don’t care what you do behind closed doors and in your bedrooms and I UNDERSTAND THE POINT. I GET IT. But the problem is those things don’t stay in your bedroom and they don’t stay behind closed doors.
The HOMOSEXUAL wants to march in the streets and tell everyone what he did behind those closed doors.
The DRUNK who drinks his booze at home wants to get behind the wheel and kill somebody’s wife, husband or child.
The PORN junkies, all over America, set in their houses, in front of their computers, looking at things they should never see and then we wonder why child abuse is so high in our land.
YOU CAN CALL ME HOMOPHOBIC, JUDGMENTAL and PHARASTICAL but I care and God cares. If you love this country you’ll care too.
GOD LOOKED DOWN AND SAW THE WICKEDNESS OF MANKIND, HE SAW THAT THEIR WICKEDNESS WAS GREAT AND HE CARED.
II. Then going on with Verse 6.
“And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”
THIS REALLY IS AN IMPORTANT VERSE. God doesn’t change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
When God created this world he KNEW that mankind would fall. He knew Adam and Eve….
He KNEW that the wickedness of man would become SO GREAT that He would have to flood the earth.
He KNEW that Jesus would have to come in the form of a man to REDEEM the world.
But God saw man's wickedness and He explained it in HUMAN TERMS so that we could UNDERSTAND IT. IT GRIEVED HIM at His heart. He saw it as a TENDER, LOVING FATHER sees a rebellious and disobedient child, and it HURT HIM.
I guess there is no one who can hurt us more than our own children. There have been a few times that I have seen people totally HEARTBROKEN, totally in ANGUISH and in GREAT PAIN and USUALLY it has to do with their children. Some of you here today know ALL TOO WELL what I’m saying.
Here’s my point. When you have children, you KNOW it’s not always going to be easy.
CAN I GET AN AMEN HERE?
There will be times you have to give them a SPANKING even when you don’t want to.
There will be times when you have to LAY DOWN THE LAW when it’s not easy.
Times when you want to KILL THEM but you can’t!!!
CAN I HAVE ANOTHER AMEN?
YOU HAVE CHILDREN EVEN THOUGH YOU KNOW IT WON’T ALWAYS BE EASY BUT YOU DO IT ANYWAY!!!! GOD DID THE SAME THING.
Jeremiah 31:3 “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
God loved us before we ever born and it’s a lot like future mama’s and daddy’s today.
I loved Eli, Mary, Hannah, Leah, Abby, and Silas before they were even born. I can’t ever imagine them hurting me so bad that I would wish that they had never been born. But I know with some parents it has gotten to that point.
I’ve wondered if Ted Bundy’s mother wished she wouldn’t have ever given birth to him.
What about Jeffrey Domner’s mother. Did she have regrets?
Did Mrs. Hitler ever say, “Boy having little Adolf was a big mistake.” I don’t know.
And, like I said, God used HUMAN WORDS and PHRASES so that we would Understand.
This scripture tells us that God REPENTED that He had created man. As a father or mother wished they wouldn’t have conceived a child, GOD DID THE SAME.
God SAW the wickedness of man, He REPENTED that He had created Him and then GOD…MADE…A…DECISION.
III. Verse 7 “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth.”
I think what He was saying is “I will start all over.”
What a drastic measure. To destroy EVERYTHING. Not just mankind but EVERYTHING. The animals, the plants, the whole layout of the world was destroyed.
But when you think about it, out of all of the people that were alive at that time, the only RIGHTEOUS people were Noah and his family. Things must have been totally out of hand.
Verses 11 and 12 tell us,
“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.”
Satan probably loved it as he went about seeking different ones he could devour.
Destroying families and lives.
No doubt influencing people to worship idols.
Immorality was no doubt rampant.
Many may have come to the point where they didn’t believe in this Creator God.
In 2 Peter 2 it tells us that Noah was a “Preacher of Righteousness” but it seems no one but his family listened.
Such a DRASTIC MEASURE but yet it had to be. If you have been asleep up to this point I want you to wake up for this.
LISTEN … GOD IS GOING TO ONCE AGAIN TAKE SUCH A DRASTIC MEASURE.
Matthew 24:37-39 “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”
Everything will be destroyed.
Everything that people hold dear.
Gold, silver, cars, homes, airplanes and yachts. ALL DESTROYED. All burned up.
Everyone who was alive when it started raining ……DIED.
Mama’s and daddy’s, brother’s and sister’s, grandma’s and grandpa’s. They all died.
I’m sure many regretted not listening to this “Preacher of Righteousness.”
Many may have ran up to the ark, trying to get in.
Screaming and crying as the waters poured from the ground and the sky.
“How highs the water mama, two feet high and rising, well we can make it to the road in a homemade boat, it’s the only thing left that we got that’ll float, it’s already over all the wheat and oats, two feet high and rising.”
WHAT A SAD DAY THAT WAS. IT REALLY HAPPENED. THE BIBLE TELLS US and there is GEOLOGICAL PROOF ALL OVER THE WORLD. That’s why I can find fossils of fish in rocks I dig up here at Skiatook … 646 feet above sea level. GOD DESTROYED THIS EARTH ONCE AND HE’S GOING TO DO IT AGAIN. DON’T DOUBT IT!!!!
Everyone died but Noah and his family. Eight people.
Everyone living here on this earth will … DIE.
Mama’s and daddy’s, brother’s and sister’s, grandma’s and grandpa’s. THEY WILL ALL DIE.
How HOT will the fire be? It will be a fervent heat. An ALL CONSUMING FIRE. It will destroy everything.
DON’T DOUBT IT MY FRIENDS BECAUSE IF YOU WAIT FOR THE FIRST SPARK … IT WILL BE TOO LATE.
DON’T DECEIVE YOURSELF. DON’T THINK YOU HAVE PLENTY OF TIME.
Because EVERYONE living here on this earth will die except for those who are in the ARK of SAFETY.
God SAW the wickedness of man, He REPENTED that He had created Him and then GOD…MADE…A…DECISION. He decided to start all over.
IV. The last thing I want us to see is found in Verse 8.
“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”
UNMERITED FAVOR. Do you see what this Verse says?
It didn’t say that Noah had lived a PERFECT life.
It didn’t say that Noah DESERVED a way out.
It TELLS US that Noah had done what God required. It tells us that NOAH found GRACE in the EYES of the Lord. Therefore, God showed him UNMERITED FAVOR.
We all know the rest of the story. He built an ARK. Material- Gopher Wood. Dimensions-300 cubits long-50 cubits wide-30 cubits high 510 long/85 wide/45 tall
What to take. Two of every animal, male and female. 7 of every clean animal. Food. How to build it. Pitch inside and out.
God gave Noah a way of ESCAPE. And after the flood when Noah got off that Old Boat it was a new world.
Everything was changed. There were mountains and valleys. Everything was new.
God has made a way of escape for us also. There will be a New Heaven and a New Earth.
Revelation 21:1 “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”
Revelation 21:5 “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
So what is this Way of Escape? How can we prevent the coming JUDGMENT of FIRE?
As Noah found GRACE you can find GRACE today.
Ephesians 2:8,9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
It was the Grace of God that caused Jesus to come to this old world.
It was the Grace of God that caused Him to die on the Old Rugged Cross for your sins.
And it will be by the Grace of God that He comes back to take us to Heaven for all eternity.
And it was all because of the LOVE OF GOD for you and I that God showed us this Amazing Grace.
Now the question is, will you accept this Gift of God? Will you get on board the ARK of SAFETY today? The CHOICE is up to you.
Let’s Pray
