Right Back Where We Started

I have a photograph, taken of my paternal grandfather. It was taken around 1910, when he was 28. I put that photograph next to a photo of me that was taken in 1977, when I was 30. The poses were just about the same.

Surprisingly, the only real different between the two photos is he was wearing a big handle-bar mustache. Other than that, we could be identical twins. That happens in families. And that also happens in society in general. Sometimes, we end up coming full circle to where we were before.

There have been many changes throughout the years. That is one thing history is good at; changing things. George Washington traveled from Virginia to Washington D.C. on horseback. It would take about 10-12 days to make that journey with an average speed of three miles per hour.

Today, our astronauts travel at speeds up to 25,000 miles per hour! It would be possible today to have breakfast in New York City, and eat an early lunch in Paris. Speaking about a history of change, one man said, “My great-grandfather rode a horse because he was afraid of trains, my grandfather rode on a train because he was afraid of a car, and my father rode in a car because he was afraid of planes. Now, I ride a horse because I am afraid of planes, cars, and trains.”

So, as much as things change in our world, sometimes, things resemble what they looked like years ago; like my photo resembling my grandfather’s, or how the man rode a horse now just like his great-grandfather did way back then.

Today, I would like to discuss how some things change dramatically as time goes by, and other things tend to repeat themselves without changing much at all. Let’s start by talking about Noah.

1. IT WAS BAD AND GETTING WORSE

GENESIS 6:5-6.

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and every thought of man’s heart was only evil, continually. And it sorrowed the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him in his heart.

Verse 7.

“And the Lord said, ‘I will destroy the man I have created from the face of the earth ….”

And in Verse 11, Scriptures read,

“The earth was totally corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.”

We have been given this picture of a society having gone very wrong! Every thought was only evil, and then so we wouldn’t miss the entirety of the situation, God adds the word, “continually.” Everyone was corrupt. Everyone was violent. It was as normal to them as watching TV is for us today. How very sad that nobody in the world, except for Noah and his family, even thought about God.

And so, after saving Noah and his family, God destroyed everyone else. Do you think those people expected anything to happen? What do you think people were doing in those days?

MATTHEW 24:38 gives us that answer.

“… They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark.”

They were just going about their daily routines, having not a care in the world, and then …. it began to rain. And it didn’t stop. And they drowned a few days later. Do you think they would have done anything differently if they had been given some kind of warning about what was going to happen? We would like to think they would, but in reality, they were given many warnings throughout the years, and they ignored all of them. And then they found out what the word “consequences” mean.

2. BEING AWARE HAS ITS ADVANTAGES

Yes, those people in Noah’s day had been given every possible warning, but they chose to ignore it, because they were more comfortable living like they wanted to live instead of living like God wanted them to live.

2 PETER 2:5 says,

“Noah was a preacher of righteousness.”

Noah was found righteous in God’s eyes, and he preached, but nobody would listen. There is always to be found a man whom God can trust. Noah was that man in his time. Now we don’t know if Noah ever gave an actual sermon, but he preached in other ways; like in his obedience to God.

How many of you know that all believers are called to preach, but only a few of them are called to do it with words? Whether we use words to preach or not; we are all mandated to preach. We preach through our daily actions and attitudes. Do people on your block know you are a Christian simply by seeing how you live your life? One man asked, “If being a Christian were against the law, would there be enough evidence in your life to convict you of the crime?”