Greg Laurie - Noah: A Last Days Believer (01/23/2018)
- Watch
- Donate
- Become Partner
Pastor Greg Laurie draws powerful parallels between Noah's time and our last days, showing how widespread evil, deliberate rejection of God, and overflowing wickedness grieved the Lord then just as today. Amid judgment, Noah found grace by walking with God, preaching righteousness, and obeying in faith—building the ark as a testimony while warning of coming flood. Even after great faithfulness, Noah's later stumble reminds us no one is above falling, yet God calls us to finish well, restore the fallen in meekness, and stay ready for Christ's return.
Noah: A Last Days Believer
Okay, quick poll before we begin. How many of you believe we are living in the last days? Raise up your hand. Yeah, I thought you might. Have you been checking out what is going on in the news lately? I mean crazy stuff is happening over in the Middle East and all of it has prophetic possibilities. And by that I mean that place is such a powder keg that once that first domino falls all the others are going to fall in rapid succession as we have pointed out.
But we watch with great interest any hostility toward the nation Israel because clearly scripture tells us that Jerusalem is going to be the focal point of the end time scenario. We have this conflict in Syria right now. We have the Russians supplying them with attack helicopters to supply our own people. So Russia functioning as an ally of Syria. We have this terrorist strike against Israeli civilians that just happened and how Israel believes it is Iran and how a conflict could just break out between the two of them. And Iran happens to be one of the allies that marches with Magog against Israel in the scenario described for us in Ezekiel 37-39.
There is a lot more I can say about that. And we will get into this a little bit more on Sunday as we look at the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Which is sort of a flyover of the book of Revelation as a matter of fact. But we are living in the last days. That is just an established fact. And all around us are the signs of the times telling us that Jesus is coming.
As It Was in the Days of Noah
Well on one occasion the Lord's disciples came to Him with this question. What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? And Jesus said in Matthew 24, just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. For on the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
So that is a very significant statement. In saying this Jesus was not only verifying the historicity of the great flood spoken of in Genesis, but He was encouraging us to look carefully at the way things were before the flood came because these would be characteristics that would be prevalent in the time before He comes again.
There are a number of striking parallels between Noah's time and our time. And that is why I have called this message, Noah, a last days believer. Now though his story is years old, yet he was living in his last days, if you will. He was living in a time right before judgment came in the form of a flood. And we are living in the last days waiting for the judgment that will come in the great tribulation period.
Here is one thing we see straight away as we dig into Genesis. And that is things had gone from bad to worse. And things were extremely wicked. So let us read a few verses. Genesis 6 verse 1. "Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply in the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful, and they took wives for themselves of all they chose."
"And the Lord said, My spirit will not always strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh, yet his days shall be 120 years. There were giants on the earth in those days. And also afterward, when the sons of God came to the daughters of men and bore children of them, these were the mighty men of old, men of renown."
"Then the Lord saw that the wickedness was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry he had made man on the earth, and he was grieved in his heart. So the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry I made them."
We will stop there.
Now what exactly was going on here in planet earth to cause God to want to bring his wrath down in such force? So the answer is given in verse 5. "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
I find it interesting that it says only evil. A better translation of this would be their wickedness has reached a fever pitch. Or it was overflowing. You ever have an overflowing trash can where she had an overflowing septic tank? That is what the world was like. It was overflowing with wickedness.
But first God is going to extend grace and give people an opportunity to repent. You know sometimes people say, well I believe in the God of the New Testament, but not the God of the Old Testament. Because the God of the Old Testament, He is wrathful and angry. And the God of the New Testament is loving and gracious. Well that is just a stupid statement. Okay? Because the God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament.
And to say that God did not extend mercy in the Old Testament shows that one has not really read much of the Old Testament. God didn't want to bring this judgment upon planet earth, But man was bringing this upon himself.
God's Grief Over Sin
Now things had gone dramatically downhill after the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden. Everything was good until our first parents ate of the forbidden fruit. And we see that the Lord is saying, I'm actually sorry I made man. And God was grieved, verse 6 tells us. Now you only grieve for those you love. You know, if someone you don't know is hurt, you know, you're maybe concerned, but you don't grieve. You're just sorry, or maybe you're inconvenienced.
But if it's someone you know, it hurts. And if it's a family member, if it's someone close to you, like a wife or a husband or a son or a daughter, you can almost literally feel the pain. And that's the word grieve. God is saying, man I am grieved because this pains me to think that my creation is living this way.
This shows the heartache of God over the rebellion and wickedness of men and women. And in the New Testament we see Jesus grieving over the city of Jerusalem and weeping over her in Luke 19. And He looks and says, Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I would have gathered you together as a hen gathers her chicks. But you would not. And we read, He wept over the city.
Listen, God takes no pleasure in bringing judgment. Ezekiel 33:11. The Lord says, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. I want the wicked to turn from his ways.
So then the question probably arises, well then why does God send judgment? Answer. Because He is a just God. Abraham rightly said in Genesis 18:25, Shall not the judge of the earth do right?
Listen, if a man can flagrantly and continually break God's laws and murder and pervert everything and anything that is right and good, would it be wrong for, or excuse me, would it be right for God to turn away and ignore it? Do you expect God to just turn a blind eye to all injustice? Or do you expect Him to do something?
Yeah, but it's not loving to bring judgment. Really? Well, let's say your little toddler, two years old, was playing in your backyard. And a wolf came along. And you saw that wolf climb over your fence and he was running toward your toddler. Now what are you going to do? You're going to go give that wolf a big hug? I'm going to pull up my shotgun. Wolf's going down, baby.
You know why? Because I love that child. I don't love the wolf. The wolf, effectively, becomes my enemy because he is trying to hurt my child. So in a way, when you love something, you also hate something. Because you love something, you hate anything that would harm that something, or in this case, that someone that you love.
So God says, I love you. And I hate this wickedness. And I hate this sin. And I want you to turn away from it. And this wickedness comes out of their hearts. Verse 5 says, The thoughts of their heart was only evil continually.
Now we might wonder, well, wait a second. We talk about God judging these people. Did they really know any better? Or as the question is often phrased, how could a God of love judge someone who has never heard the gospel?
Well, we have to remember that there are a lot of ways that people become aware of God's presence. For instance, there is the light of nature, if you will. Because you will be judged according to how much light you have received. So you are held responsible for what you know.
There is a testimony of nature that shows the handiwork of God. Romans 1:18 says, God shows His anger from heaven against sinful people who push the truth away from themselves so they know about God instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their heart from the time the world was created. People have seen the earth and the sky and all that God made. And they can clearly see His invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.
And understand at this time, God's creation was still relatively unblemished. Sure sin had entered in, but it was still much closer to that pre-fallen state than it is now. And they could see just the handiwork of God all around them. Haven't you ever been to a beautiful place and just said, wow. I mean, God did this. God created these things.
So they had that testimony. And that passage we just read from Romans 1:18 talks about a deliberate pushing away of the truth in their lives. Jesus said the reason people don't come to the light is they don't want their wicked deeds exposed.
So there is a testimony of nature. Then number two, there is a testimony of human conscience. Romans 2:14 it says, even when Gentiles, or we could say non-believers, do not have God's written law, instinctively follow what the law says. They show it in their hearts they know right from wrong. They demonstrate God's law is written within them for their own conscience, either accuses or tells them what they are doing is right.
So in our conscience we have a general sense of right and wrong. So there is a testimony of nature. There is a testimony of conscience. And thirdly, they have the promise of a Redeemer. Remember God had said in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve sinned that there was coming one, a deliverer, who would crush Satan's head. But Satan would bruise his heel. So they knew that one was coming to deliver them.
Number four, they knew they could have atonement for their sins through sacrifice. After Adam and Eve ate of their forbidden fruit. Remember they covered themselves in fig leaves. And God provided animal skins. And He was effectively saying that there must be a covering of your sin that will come through a death of an animal. And this was foreshadowing what was to be the whole system of animal sacrifice and the old covenant and the tabernacle later in the temple, ultimately fulfilled in the complete sacrifice of Christ on the cross. So they knew this.
Number five, they had the example of those who lived godly lives. I mean, Adam and Eve were still around. Okay, Adam messed up, granted. But hey, this guy knew God. He used to take walks with God every day. So they could walk up and say, so Adam, tell us a few stories. And then there was a testimony of the godly Enoch, who was so close to the Lord, we simply read that the Lord took him.
So all around them were signs of the times, if you will. Reminders that God was alive. And that's even more true today in many ways. We have all the same things they had. But we have, in addition to this, the signs of the times of end time prophecies being fulfilled before our eyes.
Noah Found Grace in the Eyes of the Lord
So here is the backdrop. All this wickedness. And God could only find one godly family on earth. Noah and his wife. And by the way, if you've ever wondered what her name was, Noah's wife was Joan. A little known detail, Joan. Joan of Arc. That's true. That was a joke. And not a very funny one, obviously.
So God finds one family. Noah and his wife, who actually is unnamed. We don't know her name. So here they are. These godly people that the Lord reached out to. But the Lord is going to bring his judgment on the earth. But in contrast, Genesis 6:8 says, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
I mean, he is just a radiant light in a very dark place. A rare Jewel indeed. Not unlike how a jeweler will display a ring or a fine piece of jewelry. He will put it against that dark black velvet perhaps. And put a little light on it. And you will notice that your eye will be drawn to it. That is what Noah was like against all this darkness and wickedness. Full to the brim. Here is Noah just shining like a light in the midst of it all.
And by the way, when it says Noah found grace, grace, it means that God extended grace toward him. You know, God thought, this is a man that I will extend my grace to. This is a man who responded to what he knew was true.
And verse 9 says, Noah walked with God. And by the way, that is only said in Scripture of two people, Enoch and Noah. Noah walked with God.
What does that mean? Well, the prophet Amos actually gives us an insight into what it means to walk with God. He says in Amos 3:3, shall two walk together unless they have agreed. And that can be translated multiple ways. But the idea is to move in rhythm with someone. Like if you take a walk with someone, you have to keep pace with them.
And I walk my little grandchildren. I can't walk at my normal speed. It is too fast. It would be dragged, you know, drug behind me. So I slow down. And I take the little hand. And you walk like this. You know, because that is, you have to slow down. And then, you know, when you walk with someone else, maybe you will speed it up a little bit.
So the idea is we are not like running and dragging God along. Nor is it God is running and dragging us along. It is that we are getting in rhythm with God. The objective is, I am to get in sync with God.
Now I try to get God in sync with me. Years ago I was in Hawaii scuba diving. And we went down 100 feet, which is pretty deep. And so it was off of the island of Molokini. And so I was down there. We had an instructor with us. And I don't know. I got so excited. I breathed too much of my air. I was like an air glutton.
My friend looked over. He said, and all I saw were just bubbles, bubbles, you know. And I got to the bottom. And I looked at my Gauge, seeing how much air I had left. And basically I had hardly any left at all.
So I went over to my instructor. This is all under water. You are 100 feet down. Now you can't just go to the top. You get the bends. It could be serious. You have to go slowly. And so, you know, I am looking around. I go over to him and I give the universal sign for I am out of air. Which is... No, it isn't. It is this. It is like I need air.
So, he gestures like this. And hanging up the back of his tanks is something called an octopus. Not a real octopus. But an extra regulator. Or aqualung, you know. So, it is coming off his tanks. And so, I grabbed it. And I took my aqualung out and put his in.
But the problem was wherever he went, I had to go. And the other problem was, the tube to this regulator was really short. Like this long. So, as he would go down, I had to kind of do these little like, you know. So, everywhere he went, I am just kind of hovering around him and doing these little shallow things, you know. Feeling like a complete idiot.
All the other guys are looking at me mocking. It is hard to mock under water though. But you are either pointing, you know. And then, when he went up, I went up with him, you know. So, I had a choice. Stay in rhythm with my instructor and live. Or break free and die.
So, I decided to stay in rhythm with him. And that is the idea of walking with God. That is the idea of prayer. Sometimes we think, you know, through prayer I am going to wrestle with God and get God to do what I want him to do. No. Through prayer you are to align your will with God's will. And then as you pray according to God's will, you will see your prayers answered in the affirmative.
The reason your prayers aren't answered with a resounding yes from heaven is you are probably out of sync with God. But anyway, Noah walked with God.
Noah's Faith in Action
And then God told Noah to build an ark. Now, Noah's walk with God caused him to work for God. One must always precede the other. If you really walk with God, you will want to work for God. You know, works don't save you. Faith does. But if your faith is real, it will produce works. And that is how Noah's faith worked.
God told him to build an ark. Now, this would require a supreme act of faith. Because here is something you may not know. There was no body of water nearby. In fact, it had never rained on the earth before. There were no umbrellas. There was no rain.
See, up to this point there was sort of this water canopy over the earth that God had placed there, creating sort of a greenhouse effect. So in one of the greatest practical acts of faith in all of human history, Noah cut down the first gopher tree to build this ark.
It was such a bold act of faith that he has memorialized on what we call the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. When we read in Hebrews 11:7, "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, he prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness, which is according to faith."
Now, that passage gives us a number of important insights into what made Noah tick. First of all, Hebrews 11 says he was divinely warned. God spoke to him. And the Bible says faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
So, you know, the way your faith is going to grow is when you read what the scripture says. And then you need to take that next step and put it into action. And say, well, let's just see what the Lord will do.
Also, we read there that Noah reverenced God, because verse 7 of Hebrews 11 says he moved with godly fear. He had this reverence for the Lord, this fear of the Lord.
Do you fear the Lord? What does it mean? Does it mean you are like cowering, oh, God is going to hit me? A good definition I have heard of the fear of the Lord is...I. forgot it. Oh, I got it. Good thing I wrote it down. Really memorable definition that I can't remember. Right. Here it is. A good definition of the fear of God is a wholesome dread of displeasing him.
So it is not a fear of retribution, as in God is going to smack me, but it is a wholesome dread of displeasing him. See, the idea is I love God so much, I don't want to disappoint him. I want to honor him. I want to reverence him.
And then Noah also was a witness for God. We are told in 2 Peter 2:5 that he was a preacher of righteousness. Now a lot of people don't know this. Noah was a preacher. Did you know that he lived 120 years and never had a single convert?
So he stands as an example to all of those faithful seed sowers out there that don't see a lot of results. Are you one of those people? You know you have been talking to your family for years and not one of them has come to believe in Jesus. You have talked to your neighbors. You have talked to your coworkers. You have gone out and shared your faith. You have never had anybody believe as a result of your testimony. And you feel that you are the worst evangelist of all time.
I don't know if you have ever heard the story of a missionary whose name was George Smith. He thought his ministry was a failure. He felt called to Africa. And he was only there for a short time when he was driven from the country. And he left behind one convert. One. A poor woman.
Not long after that George Smith died on his knees praying for Africa. Years later. Now fast forward. A group of men stumbled to the place where George Smith had prayed. They found a copy of the scriptures he had left behind in Africa. And they met the one convert of his ministry who led them to the Lord.
So a mission organization did this study and determined that a hundred years after the ministry of George Smith, 13,000 people had come to faith. As one person reached another, who reached another, who reached another, who reached another.
Okay. So here is how it works. It is not over till it is over. Or as it is sometimes said, it is not over till the fat lady sings. I am not sure who this fat lady is. Or why she is singing. But the idea is, here is how it could work in your life.
So you know, you try to reach your family. And none of them respond. And then one day the Lord calls you home. And in your memorial service, the gospel is preached. And let's say three people believe. And those three people reach six other people. And those six other people reach 20 other people. And then one of those people turns out to be the next Billy Graham. You know. Or some woman that God uses in a powerful way. Like a Johnny Erickson. Or a Corrie ten Boom. Or an Elizabeth Elliot. Or whoever.
But the idea is, years later now, maybe 10, 15, 20 years, your testimony has turned out to bear tons of fruit. So here is your job. Don't worry about all that. Your job is just to be faithful. Your job is to just do your part and leave the results in the hands of God.
When we stand before the Lord one day, it's not going to be about quantity. It's going to be about quality. It's not going to be about how much. It's going to be about why. And if we were faithful to do what the Lord set before us. Actually, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3, I planted, Apollos, another preacher, watered, but God gives the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything nor he who waters. God gives the increase.
Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his reward. You know, when we go to a crusade and I give an invitation and people come forward, don't think that those are my converts. Those people are there because you brought them. And those people are there because you earned the right to share the gospel with them. And I had the privilege of proclaiming the gospel, but we are all just working together, you see.
God gives the increase. We all have our place. We all have our role. We all have our job to do. And we need to be faithful to sow a seed. And then sometimes we'll water a seed that somebody else sowed. And other times we'll reap where others have sowed and watered. But it's God that does the work.
But Noah was a faithful preacher. And now the Lord says, Okay man, it's time to take action.
Building the Ark in Faith
In Genesis 6:13, God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before me. The earth is filled with violence through them. And behold, I will destroy them. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark and cover it inside and outside with pitch."
Now some would just dismiss this as a child's story, as a fable, as a myth, as a fantasy. Because they would say, There is no way that you could build an ark, a boat big enough, for all the species of animals that are out there right now.
But let's consider a few things. Starting with the size of the ark. According to Genesis 6:15, When Noah was commanded to build the ark, The length of it was 300 cubits. The breadth was 50 cubits. And the height, 30 cubits.
Now most biblical scholars believe that a biblical cubit is around 18 inches. That means that the ark itself was about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. That means the ark was massive. It would weigh in at about 13,000 tons. Which would place it in the category of large metal ocean going vessels today.
As a matter of fact, not until the 1800's was a ship built that exceeded the capacity of Noah's ark. Now it was no Titanic in beauty. But it was certainly more seaworthy. It was actually a really ingenious design. It was effectively a giant box causing it to be very stable in the water. Impossible to capsize.
Now as we think about all these animals they put in there, Consider a couple of things. I read something from a great website called Answers in Genesis. And Kenningham, who is an expert on this topic, pointed out that 16,000 animals would be all that were needed To preserve the created kinds that God brought into the ark.
The ark did not need to carry every kind of animal, nor did God command it. It carried only air-breathing, land-dwelling animals, creeping things, and winged animals such as birds. They wouldn't have to carry fish in the ark, would they? They had the ocean. They could swim around.
They didn't have to pull a whale into the ark. The whale could swim on the outside. They are aquatic creatures. And only the parent kinds of these animals were required to be on board to repopulate the earth. In other words, they didn't have to have every variety of dog that is out there, but just two dogs. And then later, through breeding and such, we have all these crazy dogs.
Some people are coming up with these wacko dogs, you know. I saw one of Labradoodle, you know. It is just... And some of these things, I am really questioning if they are even dogs anymore. I don't know what. They are like large rats, you know. And people push them around in strollers. I just don't like them. But anyway.
I want to move on to Noah's spiritual life. And here is why. Here is why. Because a lot of times when we talk about Noah, everybody fixates on the ark. That is not what the Bible focuses on. It tells us the dimensions. How big it was. He built this ark. The animals were in there. It is just assumed. It is a given. It is done.
Now, let us talk about the life of this man. So he gets all these animals in the ark. How did he get the animals in? God helped him. You see. That really, really helps a lot. The Lord directed these creatures into the boat. The door is shut. And it begins to rain. And as the rain comes down, the flood goes up. And it rains for 40 days and 40 nights.
That ark floated for about a year. And he is just bobbing around on the ocean knowing his wife, his children, and all these stinking animals. I am sure it was getting pretty old. And you know, the sea can be a pretty lonely place.
I wonder if he ever had a doubt. Like, was this a good idea? Is this really what I should have done? And he hadn't heard anything from the Lord? Do you think he may have wondered, did God really speak to me?
But I love the way Genesis 8, how Genesis 8 begins. Verse 1. "Then God remembered Noah." Now that is not implying that God forgot Noah. It is using our language to help us to get a picture of God. God did not forget about Noah. And God doesn't forget about us either.
You know, sometimes the Lord works in a dramatic way in our lives. But then maybe months, years go by. And nothing dramatic happens. You are just living the Christian life by faith. And you wonder, is God even paying attention anymore? Yeah. He is.
And you know what? You need to just do the last thing He told you to do. And be faithful there. And remember this. God always finishes what He starts. Greg often does not finish what he starts. But God always does.
That is why He is called the author and the finisher of our faith. Philippians 1:6 says, being confident of this, He who began a good work in you will carry it to completion unto the day of Jesus Christ.
So you just hold your course. Maybe you have felt a call to ministry and there hasn't been a lot of fruit in your ministry. Sort of like missionary George Smith that I referred to. You just hold your course. You just carry on.
Or maybe you are in a marriage that has hit a rough patch and it is not the marriage you had dreamed about or hoped for. But you hold your course. You just carry on and honor those vows that you made.
The immortal words of the great theologians, Kansas. Carry on my wayward son. There will be peace when you are done. Actually the guy who wrote that, Kerry Livgren, is a Christian who I know. But carry on. Hold your course. Keep doing what God told you to do.
So Noah's voyage is about to come to an end. Now understand that there is no life on earth at this point. On the land. It is all in the ark. Except for the aquatic life around the ark.
God's Spirit blows across the land. The clouds begin to dissipate. The sun appears. And eventually the grass, plants, and trees begin to come back to life. Yes. God remembered Noah. And to his credit, Noah remembered God.
Because when he lands, we read this statement. Genesis 8:20. Noah built an altar to the Lord. How easily he could have just said, I want to just run around on land for like a month. I am so sick of being on a boat. I mean, have you ever spent time at sea? And after you are off the boat, you are still like this, you know?
Imagine how Noah felt. Basically a year at sea. He is so glad to be on terra firma again. Oh, this is great. Hey man, first thing he says, let's build an altar to the Lord. Let's remember the Lord.
How often we call upon the Lord in our hour of need. And then when He answers our prayer, we are like, God who? Right? We forget about Him. But Noah did not forget about the Lord.
Mind you the story of those ten lepers that came to Jesus and asked to be healed. He healed them. And only one came back. And Christ had a question. Where are the other nine?
And we are often like those nine lepers. We are quick to ask for help. But when the Lord answers, do we give Him glory? Do we say, Lord, thank you for the answer? It is like the guy was up on his roof, nailing down his shingle. And he lost his footing. He is sliding down the side of the roof. He is saying, God, help me. God, don't let me die. God help.
And suddenly his pant loop caught in the nail. And it broke his fall. It stopped him. He said, it is okay, God. I got caught in the nail. Oh, I just found out I have cancer. Oh, this is bad. Let's pray.
And we pray. And then you go and say, wow, they came back with the tests. And you know, I don't have cancer. I guess they just misdiagnosed me. Yeah, maybe God healed you. Give Him glory. Don't think you are lucky stars or say it was good luck.
And so Noah remembered God. And he called on the Lord. And he brought this sacrifice before the Lord. We can do the same thing. Here is just a simple way. When your food comes, give thanks to God. Do you do that? We call it saying grace.
It is fun teaching kids to pray, isn't it? Because when they are young, they really don't want to pray. You know, they will be making a lot of noise. They will say, be quiet. I often get the children to pray. You know, you go ahead and pray. Maybe I pray and they pray after me. Or they have their own little prayers.
And the other day, I was with some of my grandkids and my granddaughter, Stella. We were praying. She had her eyes closed. But she was eating with her eyes closed. Oh, that is okay. But here is the problem. Sometimes when the food comes, people pray too long.
You know what I am talking about? Let's get on with this. Yes. The food is right. There it is. They are like, Lord we just want to thank Thee today. And I am thinking, and they are praying for everybody everywhere. Just give thanks for the food.
You would be surprised how short my prayers are when food comes. But the idea is, let's give thanks. And you know, I even like to do that in a public place. Not in an ostentatious way. Not in a strange way. But just, let's just bow our heads and pray.
I think it is a really great thing when you are maybe in a restaurant and you look over and you see a family bowing their heads and praying. I think, I love that. What a testimony that is. But make sure you tip when you do that. I am serious. Don't be a lousy tipper. If you are going to do that, don't pray publicly.
So, that is one way to remember the Lord. Another way is remembering the Lord with the faithful giving of your finances. Proverbs 3 says, Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your crops. And your barns will be filled to overflowing.
When the Lord blesses you with your income, you say, Lord, I am giving a percentage of this back. By the way, the word tithe means a tenth. And tithing is in the Old and New Testament. Christians should tithe. Every Christian should give. It is not just for some and not for others.
Some say, well, I can't afford to tithe. Well, I can't afford not to tithe. You know, I figure, you know, when I take my money that I earn, a percentage of that goes to the Lord. It is not an option. It is something you just do. And I will tell you what. If you are faithful in honoring the Lord, this way He will bless you for it.
And another way to do this is, you know, just before you go to sleep at night, let's just read some Scripture. You know, you take your magazine with you to bed, or your favorite book, your novel, whatever. No, you know, listen. Read some Scripture before you go to sleep. You know, when you get up in the morning, make time for the Word of God.
These are doing what Noah did. You are making time in your life for things that matter. Scripture tells us to remember God. And often we forget to do that.
Noah's Fall After the Flood
So it would be really great if the story ended here. I mean, it is like a movie, isn't it? Here it is. It is a closing scene. The camera goes in for a close-up. There is Noah's tear-stained face at the altar, giving thanks to the Lord. His family has their hands lifted. The animals are all munching away. And you go for the long shot, and there is a beautiful rainbow, and the credits roll. And they lived happily ever after.
Ah. That is not the way the story ends. You know why? Because the Bible is not a fairy tale. The Bible is a historically true book with a lot to say to us. And it is an honest book. And now we are going to see old Noah messes up.
After all these things he did right, after his godly living, he was a witness for God. He worked for God. He built the ark. He did all these things. He messes up. I want to read that too. Go to Genesis 9 verse 20.
Verse 20. Verse 21. "And he drank of the wine and was drunk and became uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it on both their shoulders, went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away and they did not see their father's nakedness."
"So Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his younger son had done to him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants. He will be to his brothers. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem. And may Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth. And may he dwell in the tents of Shem. And may Canaan be his servant."
"And Noah lived after the flood 350 years."
Now, there are some things we can learn about the fall of Noah. First of all, it shows that anyone can fall into sin. No one is above it or beyond it. I mean, Noah is first introduced to us in Genesis 6:9 as a righteous man who is blameless and walking with God. And then we are told he is a preacher of righteousness. I mean, he is a bonafide, card carrying hero of the faith.
And yet he messes up. Here is something that might surprise you. Sometimes those who have known the Lord longer are more vulnerable to falling than those who are brand new believers. Does that make sense? Let me explain.
See, when you are a brand new believer, you know you are weak and vulnerable. Hopefully. And if you don't, you are. So you are thinking, I need help. I need prayer. I need to be around Christians. I need to be in church. You know, you are really aware of your vulnerability and your weakness because you are new in the faith.
When you have known the Lord for 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, 50 years, or longer, you are thinking, you know, I am so strong now. I would never fall to that. How could anybody fall to a sin like that? And suddenly, your unguarded strength becomes a double weakness.
Oh, I am so strong here. I would never fall in this area. Oh, where have I heard that before? In the upper room, Jesus says, one of you is going to betray me. Peter protests. Oh, well, I would never do that. I love you more than anybody here, Lord. Hey, you know, since you brought it up, Peter, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you knew me.
Oh, that will never happen. Peter actually says, though I will deny you, I will never deny you. Excuse me. Didn't Jesus just say you are going to deny him? And now, what, you are saying Jesus is wrong? That is what he was saying. So what was Peter saying? Lord, you have got it wrong. You are talking to Peter here. I would never fall.
The Bible says pride goes before a fall. Don't say you would never fall. And don't ever say, I could fall in some areas, but I would never fall in this area. No, you could fall in that area too. And when I say you, I mean me. I mean us. Any of us could fall at any time.
So we can never rest in our laurels or think we are somehow above it. That certainly is shown in this story.
I mean there is other men of God who fell later in life too in Scripture. Moses, that we are going to talk about soon, sinned later in life by striking the rock instead of speaking to it. Moses, the man of God. Moses, who faced off the Pharaoh and led the Israelites out of Egypt through the wilderness. Moses, who received the commandments of God on Mount Sinai. Moses, whose face shined reflecting the glory of God. Messed up in the end.
And the Israelites were complaining. He got ticked off and said, you know, the Lord said, speak to that rock and water will come out. And he hit the rock. Boom! Two times. And he said to them, you rebels, must we fetch you water out of this rock as we have done before?
The Lord says, Moses, come here. Come here. Let go behind the woodshed. What are you talking about, must we? I thought I was doing the miracles here, not you. I am the one that brought water out of rocks. I am the one that provided many in the wilderness. I am the one that parted the Red Sea, not you.
And you know, Moses, I am not going to let you enter into the promised land. You have done your job. He kind of messed up in the end. It is really kind of sad, really.
David messed up later in life, too. We all know that. When he should have been in battle, he was idle. He is in his 50s. What is he doing? He is kicking back in his rooftop, scoping chicks. You think it is just an accident? He saw Bathsheba? Oh, what beautiful architecture. Oh my, a woman bathing herself. No, I think David knew exactly what he was doing up there. Kind of looking over. Oh, look over there. Look here.
And he sees the beautiful Bathsheba, ironically, bathing herself. He lusts after her. Could have stopped there. He could have repented. But you know the rest of that story. Lust gave way to a sexual encounter. She became pregnant. He tried to cover it up and get her husband to come back. So he will think that it was his child after sleeping with her. But the husband wouldn't sleep with Bathsheba. So effectively, David had the husband named Uriah killed on the battlefield. He married Bathsheba thinking he had covered it all up. He messed his whole life up.
And then he saw his own behavior repeated in his children. But here is my point. This is all in the Bible. The Bible tells us about David out there tending his sheep. David slaying Goliath in the Valley of Elah. David being such a righteous man while he is being hunted down by the paranoid King Saul.
But then it tells us about David the adulterer and David the murderer. Because the Bible gives us its heroes, warts and all. And we see the right things they did. And we see the wrong things they did as a warning so we don't have to repeat their behavior.
And on the list goes. These are heavy hitters. Noah and Moses and David. So our goal is to finish well.
Now number two in the life of Noah we see the destructive power of alcohol. Verse 21. He was drunk and became uncovered. By the way scholars tell us that the Hebrew word here for uncovered indicates a deliberate act, not a mere unconscious effect of drunkenness. In other words he did this on purpose. He was a spiritual leader. He was a bad example to his boys, passing out drunk, laying there naked.
So he was not living as he should have lived. And it is just a warning about the effects of alcohol, isn't it? Speaking of the devastating power of it, Proverbs 23 says, In the end it bites like a snake, and it poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind imagine confusing things.
You know, I have never seen anything good come out of drinking. And you all know I was raised in an alcoholic home. I mean my mom was a raging alcoholic. She got super drunk every night. I would start off with a few cocktails, and then she would go out and come home screaming, yelling, throwing things.
She got into a head on collision on Jamboree Boulevard in her 65 Mustang and almost died that night. And I just saw alcoholism up close and personal. And I have even seen it, you know, in the lives of believers who, you know, they come to Christ, and maybe they have come out of that background and they turn away from it. But then they start having a few drinks here and there, and oh we have got this great Liberty.
And I have seen what this Liberty can lead to. And it seems like it is always negative. I don't see anything positive coming out of it. And then when someone has trouble, and it starts devastating their life, we say, well it is not a sin. It is a disease. Oh really? Alcoholism is a disease? Oh yes it is.
If alcoholism is a disease, it is the only disease that is bottled and sold. It is the only disease that is contracted by the will of man. It is the only disease that provokes crime. It is the only disease that is habit forming. If alcoholism is a disease, it is the only disease that is spread by advertising. And it is the only disease without a germ or virus cause.
It is not a disease. So stop calling it that. It is choices you make. Here is the biblical word. You won't like this. It is getting real quiet in here by the way. The Bible says when you have a weakness in this area you are a drunkard. Okay we will abbreviate it. Well I don't like the drunkard. Well I am an alcoholic.
You are calling yourself what you like. The Bible says it is a sin. Now wait a second Greg. You are kind of like this is a little tense for me now. What is wrong with a few drinks here and there?
Here is my question. If you have a drink and then another and then another could you get drunk? Well yes but I know my limitations. But could you get drunk by drinking? Yes. If you don't drink will you get drunk? Not usually. No.
So I have an alternative for you. Instead of being filled with the Spirit be filled with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit. This is what the Bible says. The Bible says don't be drunk with wine wherein is excess but be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Yeah but I have the Liberty. But here is the problem. Someone else may not. So you go out and you have your dinner and you have your little glass of wine or your cocktail or whatever it is and then there is someone that just came to Christ one week ago who is a raging alcoholic. They were like on the streets because of their drinking. But they have given that up to follow Christ and God has gloriously delivered them.
But they see you having your little drink so they have a little drink and they are back in the place they used to be and they fall off the wagon. Well that is their problem not mine. No friend. It is your problem. Because we are all together in this. And we are the church.
And the Bible says don't use your Liberty in a way that it can cause someone else to stumble. So look what it did to Noah. Look where it led. And it is a warning to all of us who serve the Lord that we can get off track.
You know it is interesting that the last three hundred years of Noah's life are a blank. All this activity, all this action, this amazing stuff the Lord did and you come to the end and it is just a blank.
How to Respond When Others Fall
Now a word about the way his sons dealt with this. And we will close with this. You know Ham sees his dad laying there naked. I do not know where his head was at. But it seemed like he almost exploited this situation. I am not defending what Noah did. It was wrong as I have already pointed out. But yet, okay, there he is. His dad is uncovered in this vulnerable place.
And it is almost like Ham was kind of excited to tell his other brothers, hey, look, check out Dad, man. And the other brothers are so respectful of their father they actually back into the room and cover him and go out. They do not want to expose it.
And Noah wakes up and he knows exactly what has happened. So what does this say to us? It says that when a fellow brother or sister is in sin, love covers a multitude of sins. I am not saying cover it up. But I am saying let us not make it worse.
You know, by the way some people behave, you would think that the Bible says if a brother or a sister is overtaken in a fault, you who are spiritual should first gloat about it, make sure you condemn them for it and then tell as many people as possible. I mean, is that what the Bible says? Not my Bible. But that is what some people do.
Here is what the Scripture says in Galatians 6:1. If a person is overtaken in a fault, you who are spiritual, restore such a one, listen now, in a spirit of meekness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted.
Because one day, God forbid, it could be you. And it is a sad thing if you are down and somebody comes and kicks you when you are in the gutter already. Man, the idea is to lift the person up, not condemn them. The idea is to restore them, not destroy them.
You who are spiritual, the real godly man or woman will seek to restore such a person. And we are told that, as I already said, that love covers a multitude of sins. And then James 5:19 says, Brothers, if one of you should wander from the faith, then someone should bring him back. Remember, whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover that multitude of sins.
So what do we learn from the life of Noah, both positive and negative? Number one, we should remember that God never forgets about us. So we shouldn't forget about him. Even when circumstantially. things are hard. Perhaps we haven't heard from him for a time. We should be obedient to the last thing he told us to do.
Number two, we should never lower our guard or rest on our laurels spiritually. I don't care how long you have known the Lord. Don't think that you are above falling because you could fall. Any of us could. That is why we want to always be moving forward. Not even being in neutral. Walking with God and progressing spiritually.
Number three, if you know someone who has fallen in sin, your goal should be to restore, not to destroy. To help them. Because next time it could be us.
For a long period of time, Noah proved it is possible to live a godly life in an ungodly world. You say, man, things are so messed up. Greg, no one can live a godly life today. Oh no, you can't. You can't. I mean Noah did it. And actually it was really insane when he was living. So certainly you can do it.
So we want to seek to walk with the Lord and have that testimony like Noah and be faithful in the things that God has called us to.
And you know, God warned and warned and warned and finally he got in the ark and the door was shut and all the mockers were outside laughing. And then drop number one. Drop number two. Drip, drip, drip. Little raindrops falling. But it wasn't a Disney movie. This was the flood. And it came down in torrents. And it was over.
They had the opportunity. And maybe God has been warning some of you. Maybe some of you have been doing things you know you should not be doing. Maybe you have been raised in the church. You know what is right. And you are strained from what you know is right.
Or maybe you have never given your life to Jesus Christ. And you are hearing this for the first time and it is like the Lord is warning you. You need to get right with me. And here is why He is saying that. Because you are living in the last days. And Christ could come back at any moment. Christ could come back tonight. He could come back tomorrow morning.
And He is coming for those who are watching and waiting. And Jesus even warned about that wicked servant who would beat His servants and then be drunk. You know. Out partying whatever. Oh you know. Hey listen. He says He will come in an hour that you are not ready.
Don't be that person. Be ready. Be watching. Be right with God. And if you are not sure right now if you know the Lord in a personal way. I want to close with an invitation for you to believe in Jesus. And if you are a prodigal son or daughter I want to give you an opportunity to come back to the Lord. Right now. As we close in prayer.
Invitation to Salvation and Restoration
Okay. Let's all bow our heads. And Father I pray now for every person here. Every person listening. Watching. I pray that you will help them to see their need for Jesus. And Lord if they do not yet know you. Help them to come to you this night. We pray.
Now when our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed. And we are praying together. How many of you would say tonight. Greg pray for me. I want Jesus Christ to forgive me of my sin. I want to know that when I die I will go to heaven. I want to be ready for the Lord's return. I am ready to say yes to Jesus.
Pray for me now. If that is your desire. If you want Jesus Christ to come into your life. If you want him to forgive you of your sin. If you want a second chance in life. Raise your hand up and let me pray for you right now. God bless you. Just lift your hand up. God bless you. God bless each one of you. Anybody else? God bless. Lift your hand up or I can see it please. Lift it real high if you would. God bless you. You want God's forgiveness tonight. Let me pray for you. God bless you there in the aisle. God bless you. God bless you too. Raise your hand if you want God's forgiveness tonight. Lift it up. God bless you.
Lord, I thank you for each one of these. And there might be some more here that your prodigal sons or daughters, you know what's right. And you've been doing stuff that is wrong. And the Lord has spoken to you tonight. And he has told you to stop it. And he's going to forgive you. And he wants to restore you. But you have to admit your sin and come back to him.
If you need to return to Christ tonight, lift your hand up and let me pray for you. Wherever you are. He loves all of you prodigals out there. But you need to come home again. God bless you. Anybody else? Raise your hand up. If you need to return to Jesus Christ tonight, God bless you. God bless you. One final moment. If you haven't lifted your hand yet, lift it now. If you want to commit your life to Jesus or come back to the Lord, God bless you.
Father, I thank you for each one of these. Now give them the strength to stand up and follow you. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
Now listen. Everyone that Jesus calls, he calls openly and publicly. And our group is going to lead us in a song of invitation in a moment. And I'm going to ask if you raise your hand with me during that last moment of prayer, saying that you want God's forgiveness. Saying that you want Christ to come into your life. Or saying you've fallen away from the Lord. You want to come back to him again.
I'm going to ask that when this song begins, you would get up out of your seat and walk down these aisles. And stand up here in the front. And when you all get up here, I'll lead you in a prayer of commitment or recommitment.
Maybe you did not raise your hand, but you want to make this commitment to Jesus. You get up and come as well. Why do I ask you to come forward publicly? Because Jesus said if you will acknowledge him before people, he will acknowledge you before the Father and the angels in heaven. But if you deny him before people, Jesus says, he'll deny you before the Father and the angels.
This is a way to acknowledge him before people. You're saying, hey, I don't care who sees. I mean this. I'm serious. So again, if you raise your hand, even if you did not, you want your sin forgiven. You want Christ to come into your life. You want your guilt taken away. You want to come back to the Lord again.
As the group sings, get up out of your seat. Come on down here and stand here. And I'll lead you in prayer when you get here. Get up and start coming right now. Come on. There's the first one. Come on. Thank you. Thank you.