Welcome to the second message in this Noah series, 00:00:28.22\00:00:33.40 Noah, Another Storm is Coming. 00:00:33.43\00:00:35.90 It's a six part series and this is message number two. 00:00:35.93\00:00:40.27 If you missed message number one, 00:00:40.30\00:00:41.64 I'd encourage you to catch up on that. 00:00:41.67\00:00:44.91 Today's message is entitled, "Will God remember you?" 00:00:44.94\00:00:50.55 Will God remember you? 00:00:50.58\00:00:52.11 Those of you who are watching us, 00:00:52.15\00:00:55.58 wherever you may be watching from, 00:00:55.62\00:00:56.95 I want to give you a big warm welcome. 00:00:56.99\00:00:59.69 Joining the studio audience here in Morisset, 00:00:59.72\00:01:03.36 beautiful Lake Macquarie in the most blessed nation 00:01:03.39\00:01:07.10 on the planet, Australia, the land down under. 00:01:07.13\00:01:10.03 And I can say that because I'm an Australian. 00:01:10.07\00:01:12.37 It's great to be here and wherever you are watching 00:01:12.40\00:01:14.74 from or listening, whatever the fact may be, 00:01:14.77\00:01:16.91 I pray that God will bless you 00:01:16.94\00:01:18.87 as we journey through this 00:01:18.91\00:01:20.44 very important message together. 00:01:20.48\00:01:22.64 Will God remember you? 00:01:22.68\00:01:24.41 That's a bit of a strange title. 00:01:24.45\00:01:26.11 Does God forget things? 00:01:26.15\00:01:27.98 We're going to look at that in just a little bit. 00:01:28.02\00:01:30.22 But I certainly do. 00:01:30.25\00:01:31.59 I don't know if you anyone here forgotten anything? 00:01:31.62\00:01:33.89 Okay, a few of you have forgotten something. 00:01:33.92\00:01:35.92 It gets a bit annoying. 00:01:35.96\00:01:38.66 I never forget the day I forgot my wife's birthday. 00:01:38.69\00:01:43.33 Oh, my, oh, my. 00:01:43.37\00:01:45.90 We had only been married for just over 12 months. 00:01:45.93\00:01:49.24 We were coming up to our second anniversary. 00:01:49.27\00:01:52.34 And I forgot her birthday. 00:01:52.37\00:01:54.01 Now you're thinking, Danny, how on earth could you forget 00:01:54.04\00:01:57.08 your wife's birthday after being married 00:01:57.11\00:01:59.08 for not even two years? 00:01:59.11\00:02:00.45 Well, let me tell you the story. 00:02:00.48\00:02:03.12 Her birthday happens to be on December 23. 00:02:03.15\00:02:07.19 Two days before Christmas. 00:02:07.22\00:02:08.56 I mean, what was she thinking 00:02:08.59\00:02:10.73 being born two days before Christmas? 00:02:10.76\00:02:12.46 It's a crazy time of the year. 00:02:12.49\00:02:14.03 What do we call that time of the season? 00:02:14.06\00:02:17.20 The silly season. 00:02:17.23\00:02:18.57 We call it a silly season for good reason. 00:02:18.60\00:02:20.00 Anyway, what happened was my next door neighbor 00:02:20.04\00:02:23.54 we were living in Cooranbong at the time I was studying 00:02:23.57\00:02:25.94 at Avondale College, 00:02:25.97\00:02:27.68 where we're living, this is back in 1996. 00:02:27.71\00:02:30.21 I guess so many moons ago. 00:02:30.25\00:02:32.35 Were living in Cooranbong, my next door neighbor 00:02:32.38\00:02:35.58 bought a brand new jet ski. 00:02:35.62\00:02:38.05 And he says to me the day before my wife's birthday, 00:02:38.09\00:02:41.59 how would you like to go out with me 00:02:41.62\00:02:43.73 on the lake tomorrow morning, and enjoy some jet skiing? 00:02:43.76\00:02:48.43 And I'm like, of course, but of course. 00:02:48.46\00:02:52.20 Anyway, I'm just, I'm just ready and waiting. 00:02:52.23\00:02:55.94 And I can barely sleep all night. 00:02:55.97\00:02:58.07 I've never been on a jet ski. 00:02:58.11\00:02:59.44 This is my first opportunity. 00:02:59.47\00:03:01.38 We just had a brand new baby as well, by the way. 00:03:01.41\00:03:05.15 Our little bobs, Jay Melesh 00:03:05.18\00:03:06.88 was about a month and a half old. 00:03:06.92\00:03:09.92 And so I was looking forward to getting out 00:03:09.95\00:03:11.99 and being on this jet ski. 00:03:12.02\00:03:13.42 So anyway, we get up in the morning 00:03:13.46\00:03:15.79 and everything seems to be hunky dory and all good. 00:03:15.82\00:03:19.26 And I head off with my neighbor and my brother-in-law happens 00:03:19.29\00:03:22.43 to be visiting us as well. 00:03:22.46\00:03:24.57 He's from Brisbane. 00:03:24.60\00:03:25.93 Anyway we head off on the jet ski. 00:03:25.97\00:03:27.74 And before we head off, 00:03:27.77\00:03:29.24 I noticed my wife was a little bit cranky. 00:03:29.27\00:03:32.57 You know how you can just pick that up 00:03:32.61\00:03:34.11 that something's not right. 00:03:34.14\00:03:36.11 I just had the feeling. 00:03:36.14\00:03:37.48 I mean, I hadn't been married for long, 00:03:37.51\00:03:38.88 but I could pick up the vibes. 00:03:38.91\00:03:40.98 Anyway, she just didn't seem to be 00:03:41.02\00:03:43.42 in the best possible mood before Christmas. 00:03:43.45\00:03:45.82 I'm thinking what's up? Who knows? 00:03:45.85\00:03:47.59 Anyway, no time to discuss or worry about it now. 00:03:47.62\00:03:50.83 And so off I go jet skiing. 00:03:50.86\00:03:52.53 Anyway, I come home. 00:03:52.56\00:03:54.63 And when I come home, she greets me 00:03:54.66\00:03:57.60 and I've got a big smile on my face. 00:03:57.63\00:03:59.67 And I'm like, it was just amazing. 00:03:59.70\00:04:02.37 And she didn't even ask me how it was, 00:04:02.40\00:04:03.81 I was just telling her what it was like. 00:04:03.84\00:04:06.54 And the more I'm telling her how amazing this experience 00:04:06.57\00:04:09.88 was out in the lake jet skiing with my next door neighbor, 00:04:09.91\00:04:13.48 the crankier she is getting. 00:04:13.52\00:04:16.48 And I'm thinking you are just so jealous. 00:04:16.52\00:04:18.82 It's just so terrible. 00:04:18.85\00:04:20.49 Like, all you can do is think about yourself 00:04:20.52\00:04:23.29 and you're not even like thanking, 00:04:23.32\00:04:26.39 you know, you're not even thankful that he, 00:04:26.43\00:04:28.06 you know, I had a good time and like, what's up with that? 00:04:28.10\00:04:31.63 And anyway, finally she just couldn't help herself 00:04:31.67\00:04:34.60 and she said, "Well, I'm glad someone had a nice time today." 00:04:34.64\00:04:40.41 Emphasis on the today. 00:04:40.44\00:04:42.58 I can still hear those words ringing in my ears. 00:04:42.61\00:04:47.22 And all of a sudden it hit me like a bolt of lightning. 00:04:47.25\00:04:52.55 Talk about a storm. 00:04:52.59\00:04:53.92 I'm like, "Oh, happy birthday sweetie." 00:04:56.79\00:05:02.76 Let's just say, let's just say 00:05:02.80\00:05:06.30 I have never ever forgotten my wife's birthday again. 00:05:06.33\00:05:10.71 There's one sure way never ever 00:05:10.74\00:05:12.67 to forget your wife's birthday, Lionel. 00:05:12.71\00:05:14.98 And that is to forget it once, you'll never forget it again. 00:05:15.01\00:05:20.55 It's annoying. 00:05:20.58\00:05:21.95 I've got to set reminders for myself 00:05:21.98\00:05:24.25 because I forget things, 00:05:24.29\00:05:25.95 I forget when I'm supposed to take 00:05:25.99\00:05:28.49 the washing out of the washing machine 00:05:28.52\00:05:30.26 and put it up on the washing line. 00:05:30.29\00:05:32.19 And I just forget, but my wife's like, 00:05:32.23\00:05:35.10 you don't forget about your bike riding. 00:05:35.13\00:05:37.13 You don't forget about playing tennis, 00:05:37.17\00:05:38.70 but you happen to forget the washing 00:05:38.73\00:05:40.57 and putting it out on the line. 00:05:40.60\00:05:42.90 It's strange how we forget some things 00:05:42.94\00:05:44.57 and some things we don't. 00:05:44.61\00:05:45.94 Don't you think, ladies? 00:05:45.97\00:05:47.51 It's like I don't understand how it works, 00:05:47.54\00:05:49.24 but it just works. 00:05:49.28\00:05:50.75 Anyway, does God forget things? 00:05:50.78\00:05:53.48 Is God forgetful? 00:05:53.52\00:05:56.25 Does God need to set reminders? 00:05:56.28\00:05:59.39 No, He doesn't. Of course, He doesn't. 00:05:59.42\00:06:01.42 God doesn't forget anything. 00:06:01.46\00:06:03.66 So why this title? 00:06:03.69\00:06:05.46 Why this title, "Will God remember you?" 00:06:05.49\00:06:09.76 Well, before we unpack 00:06:09.80\00:06:11.60 this story from the book of Noah, 00:06:11.63\00:06:14.50 as we go to the very heart of the book of Noah 00:06:14.54\00:06:16.91 in this message, we need to do something very important 00:06:16.94\00:06:19.41 before we open up God's Scripture. 00:06:19.44\00:06:20.78 And what is that? 00:06:20.81\00:06:22.21 We need to pray. So let's do that right now. 00:06:22.24\00:06:24.18 Father in heaven, we ask and pray 00:06:24.21\00:06:26.68 that as we open Your Word together, 00:06:26.72\00:06:28.78 and we unpack a little more of this incredible, 00:06:28.82\00:06:34.02 relevant message of Noah for our day. 00:06:34.06\00:06:38.03 We pray that Your Holy Spirit will open our hearts 00:06:38.06\00:06:40.33 and our minds as we open Your Word 00:06:40.36\00:06:42.43 that we may be ready to receive what the Spirit has to say 00:06:42.46\00:06:46.13 to those who are living at the very close 00:06:46.17\00:06:49.37 of human history 00:06:49.40\00:06:50.74 awaiting the soon return of Jesus. 00:06:50.77\00:06:52.14 And we pray this in Jesus name, amen and amen. 00:06:52.17\00:06:56.91 Well, we are going to the story of Noah, 00:06:56.95\00:07:01.12 because of the significant words of Jesus 00:07:01.15\00:07:03.85 at the end of His sermon on... 00:07:03.89\00:07:05.82 At the end of His sermon, zeroing in on the signs 00:07:05.85\00:07:09.39 of His coming in Matthew Chapter 24, 00:07:09.42\00:07:12.19 Jesus shared these concluding words 00:07:12.23\00:07:15.63 that brings the signs to a climax. 00:07:15.66\00:07:18.67 And as we discovered in our last message, 00:07:18.70\00:07:20.67 apart from the gospel going to all the world, 00:07:20.70\00:07:23.34 the greatest sign I have discovered is the sign of Noah, 00:07:23.37\00:07:27.61 that will prepare people for the soon return of Jesus. 00:07:27.64\00:07:29.91 So let's go to scriptures. 00:07:29.94\00:07:31.91 If you have your Bibles, you may want to follow along 00:07:31.95\00:07:33.78 with me to Matthew Chapter 24. 00:07:33.82\00:07:37.05 Matthew Chapter 24. 00:07:37.09\00:07:38.59 And let's pick it up in verse 36. 00:07:38.62\00:07:41.42 Matthew 24:36, Jesus here is speaking regarding the days 00:07:41.46\00:07:47.13 that will proceed His coming, immediately proceed His coming. 00:07:47.16\00:07:50.27 Matthew 24:36. 00:07:50.30\00:07:52.30 "But of that day and hour no one knows, 00:07:52.33\00:07:54.64 not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only." 00:07:54.67\00:07:57.34 And He's speaking of what event? 00:07:57.37\00:07:59.37 Speaking of the Second Coming. 00:07:59.41\00:08:01.18 So we cannot know the exact time 00:08:01.21\00:08:03.55 when Jesus will come, 00:08:03.58\00:08:04.91 but He goes on now. 00:08:04.95\00:08:07.42 "But as the days of Noah were, 00:08:07.45\00:08:09.98 so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 00:08:10.02\00:08:12.45 For as in the days before the flood, 00:08:12.49\00:08:14.19 they were eating and drinking, 00:08:14.22\00:08:15.62 marrying and giving in marriage, 00:08:15.66\00:08:17.33 until the day that Noah entered the ark, 00:08:17.36\00:08:19.59 and did not know until the flood came 00:08:19.63\00:08:21.66 and took them all away, 00:08:21.70\00:08:23.03 so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." 00:08:23.06\00:08:26.07 So Jesus here says, as it was in the days of Noah, 00:08:26.10\00:08:28.47 so it will be before I return. 00:08:28.50\00:08:30.81 And He repeats this message, according to Luke, 00:08:30.84\00:08:34.78 Luke actually taps into these words of Jesus in Luke 17. 00:08:34.81\00:08:39.28 And He also attaches the days of Lot. 00:08:39.31\00:08:42.88 So the days of Noah and the days of Lot 00:08:42.92\00:08:44.85 will be just as it will be before Jesus returns. 00:08:44.89\00:08:49.59 So we've discovered three all important points 00:08:49.62\00:08:53.46 regarding the days of Noah in the story of Noah. 00:08:53.50\00:08:56.16 And that is our main focus, although we will be taking 00:08:56.20\00:08:58.63 a look at the days of Lot as well, a little. 00:08:58.67\00:09:02.24 But the first thing we discover is that the story of Noah 00:09:02.27\00:09:04.71 clearly identifies earth's final generation, 00:09:04.74\00:09:08.54 according to the words of Jesus. 00:09:08.58\00:09:09.91 Secondly, the story of Noah enables us to know 00:09:09.94\00:09:13.85 and understand how we can be ready 00:09:13.88\00:09:15.68 when the Son of Man returns, 00:09:15.72\00:09:17.35 because Jesus following this passage in Matthew 24, 00:09:17.39\00:09:21.22 on this, on the days of Noah, He says, 00:09:21.26\00:09:22.59 watch and be ready, watch and be ready. 00:09:22.62\00:09:25.23 And thirdly, the story of Noah provides instruction 00:09:25.26\00:09:29.23 on how we can prepare others for Jesus' soon return. 00:09:29.26\00:09:33.57 And that is just so critical that we understand that. 00:09:33.60\00:09:36.34 It's not just about preparing ourselves. 00:09:36.37\00:09:40.38 But let me suggest that more importantly, 00:09:40.41\00:09:43.24 it's being used by God through His Holy Spirit 00:09:43.28\00:09:45.88 to prepare others for the soon return of Jesus. 00:09:45.91\00:09:49.55 For that is the message of John the Baptist 00:09:49.58\00:09:52.15 that needs to be repeated at the end of time. 00:09:52.19\00:09:55.06 What was John the Baptist's message? 00:09:55.09\00:09:57.66 To make ready a people who are prepared for what? 00:09:57.69\00:10:01.16 For the Lord's coming, for the first coming. 00:10:01.20\00:10:02.93 And you and I have been invited by God to be God's end time 00:10:02.96\00:10:07.57 John the Baptist generation to make ready of people 00:10:07.60\00:10:10.51 who are ready for the second coming of Jesus. 00:10:10.54\00:10:14.08 We discovered in our last message 00:10:14.11\00:10:15.51 that Noah found what in the eyes of the Lord? 00:10:15.54\00:10:18.61 Grace in the eyes of the Lord. 00:10:18.65\00:10:20.42 We discovered that Noah was a righteous man. 00:10:20.45\00:10:22.92 He was a just man. 00:10:22.95\00:10:24.35 He was a man who was blameless, who was perfect, 00:10:24.39\00:10:26.69 who was filled with integrity. 00:10:26.72\00:10:28.29 And ultimately he was a man who walked with who? 00:10:28.32\00:10:31.89 He walked with God, 00:10:31.93\00:10:33.26 and He followed God in everything that God said. 00:10:33.29\00:10:36.50 He was a faithful man. 00:10:36.53\00:10:38.50 And because of his faithfulness, 00:10:38.53\00:10:40.54 God rewarded him in the salvation 00:10:40.57\00:10:43.71 of his entire family, his wife, his sons, his three sons, 00:10:43.74\00:10:48.34 and their wives, eight people in all were saved. 00:10:48.38\00:10:53.05 As I was going through the story of Noah in the Bible, 00:10:53.08\00:10:57.12 in the Bible, because there is another story of Noah 00:10:57.15\00:11:00.42 out there that sadly, the majority of people 00:11:00.46\00:11:04.99 would be more familiar with 00:11:05.03\00:11:06.63 than the biblical story of Noah, 00:11:06.66\00:11:08.73 when it comes to people living in Australia. 00:11:08.76\00:11:11.03 There was a movie back in 2014, 00:11:11.07\00:11:14.04 that was put out by Hollywood on Noah, 00:11:14.07\00:11:18.01 Noah is the title, I just watched the trailer. 00:11:18.04\00:11:21.34 And that was enough. 00:11:21.38\00:11:23.04 There was enough, 00:11:23.08\00:11:25.01 a story from Hollywood on Noah, the story of Noah 00:11:25.05\00:11:31.02 that was so horribly massacred, 00:11:31.05\00:11:36.93 from what the real truth is. 00:11:36.96\00:11:39.03 And so we want to go to what the story of Noah is 00:11:39.06\00:11:41.36 in Scripture, in Holy Scripture, 00:11:41.40\00:11:43.13 these four chapters, 00:11:43.16\00:11:44.50 chapter 6, 7, 8, and 9 are powerful. 00:11:44.53\00:11:49.94 And they encourage us with a message 00:11:49.97\00:11:52.54 that is so relevant for our time, 00:11:52.57\00:11:54.54 I cannot begin to help you understand 00:11:54.58\00:11:58.71 how relevant it is, you'll need to keep watching. 00:11:58.75\00:12:01.75 And you'll need to keep coming along 00:12:01.78\00:12:03.69 and finding that out. 00:12:03.72\00:12:05.05 But as I was going through my Bible, 00:12:05.09\00:12:07.72 and I bought a new Bible, 00:12:07.76\00:12:09.19 I bought this Andrews Study Bible, 00:12:09.22\00:12:11.39 which I have here in my hand, 00:12:11.43\00:12:13.19 as I was going through and reading my new Bible, 00:12:13.23\00:12:15.43 I was in the story of Noah there, 00:12:15.46\00:12:17.50 and I discovered something that I had never seen 00:12:17.53\00:12:20.34 before in the story of Noah. 00:12:20.37\00:12:22.70 And that is that the story of Noah 00:12:22.74\00:12:25.04 is written with a focal point. 00:12:25.07\00:12:27.74 It's written with a bull's eye, so to speak. 00:12:27.78\00:12:31.38 It's written in clastic form. 00:12:31.41\00:12:33.78 Now what is a classism or what is clastic form? 00:12:33.82\00:12:37.65 It's simply where the main message of the story, 00:12:37.69\00:12:42.16 the key point is found where? 00:12:42.19\00:12:45.03 In the middle, just as in a bull's eye. 00:12:45.06\00:12:47.66 So that's probably the best way to describe it. 00:12:47.70\00:12:50.30 So we're going to go to the very bull's eye 00:12:50.33\00:12:53.07 of the story of Noah, 00:12:53.10\00:12:54.44 the very heart of the story of Noah. 00:12:54.47\00:12:57.47 So let me share with you from the Andrews Study Bible, 00:12:57.51\00:13:00.84 what I've discovered here in the notes, 00:13:00.88\00:13:02.94 very, very powerful stuff 00:13:02.98\00:13:04.81 when it comes to will God remember you, 00:13:04.85\00:13:06.98 that's our subject for today. 00:13:07.02\00:13:09.58 Notice what we discover. 00:13:09.62\00:13:11.62 We discover God's faithfulness 00:13:11.65\00:13:15.56 is the very heart of the flood story. 00:13:15.59\00:13:18.39 Let me repeat that. 00:13:18.43\00:13:19.96 God's faithfulness to Noah 00:13:20.00\00:13:22.23 is the very heart of the flood story. 00:13:22.26\00:13:25.43 Notice how the story is composed. 00:13:25.47\00:13:27.64 We have it here from the Andrew Study Bible 00:13:27.67\00:13:30.41 here in the notes from Genesis Chapter 6, 00:13:30.44\00:13:35.38 all the way through to Genesis Chapter 8, 00:13:35.41\00:13:37.75 just the overall structure of the story of Noah 00:13:37.78\00:13:41.62 in the Book of Genesis. 00:13:41.65\00:13:43.69 Firstly, at the top of the story, 00:13:43.72\00:13:47.32 we have Noah's righteous character in a violent context. 00:13:47.36\00:13:50.83 We looked at that in our last message, 00:13:50.86\00:13:52.36 and we're going to look at it once again. 00:13:52.39\00:13:54.53 We have the book end to that in 8:20-22. 00:13:54.56\00:13:59.53 Noah sacrifices this righteous man. 00:13:59.57\00:14:02.40 Secondly, we have God instructs Noah to build an ark, 00:14:02.44\00:14:06.14 and the remnant enters the ark. 00:14:06.17\00:14:09.08 Second last, in this passage of the story, 00:14:09.11\00:14:11.81 we have God instructing Noah to leave the ark. 00:14:11.85\00:14:14.42 Thirdly, the beginning of the deluge. 00:14:14.45\00:14:17.49 Then we have the waters dry up, then we have the waters rise, 00:14:17.52\00:14:22.89 and then we have the waters received. 00:14:22.92\00:14:25.16 Now guess what's right there, 00:14:25.19\00:14:27.16 smack bang in the middle of the story? 00:14:27.20\00:14:30.10 The words in Genesis 8:1, 00:14:30.13\00:14:32.90 which read and God did what? 00:14:32.93\00:14:36.10 And God remembered Noah, and every living thing 00:14:36.14\00:14:40.74 and all that, and all the animals 00:14:40.78\00:14:43.45 that were with him in the ark. 00:14:43.48\00:14:45.61 The very heart of the story is that God remember Noah, 00:14:45.65\00:14:50.39 when it comes to, 00:14:50.42\00:14:51.75 when it comes to the time element 00:14:51.79\00:14:53.32 that we find in the Noah story. 00:14:53.36\00:14:55.22 It's also fascinating to find what's at the very heart 00:14:55.26\00:14:58.16 of the time element in the story. 00:14:58.19\00:15:00.36 Notice these words, once again, Andrew Study Bible 00:15:00.40\00:15:02.76 gives these wonderful, gives this wonderful insight. 00:15:02.80\00:15:06.40 We have seven days of waiting for the rain, 00:15:06.43\00:15:09.57 followed by seven days of waiting 00:15:09.60\00:15:11.17 to send the second bird toward the end of the story. 00:15:11.21\00:15:13.98 We have seven days of waiting for the flood, 00:15:14.01\00:15:16.38 followed by seven days of waiting to send 00:15:16.41\00:15:18.51 the first bird at the tail end. 00:15:18.55\00:15:20.82 We have 40 days of the flood, 00:15:20.85\00:15:23.05 then we have 40 days of waiting for dry land. 00:15:23.08\00:15:26.45 We have 150 days of the water rising in Genesis 7:24. 00:15:26.49\00:15:31.89 And in Genesis 8:3, we have 150 days of waters decreasing. 00:15:31.93\00:15:36.87 Guess what's at the very heart 00:15:36.90\00:15:38.23 of that particular part of the story? 00:15:38.27\00:15:41.50 And God remembered Noah, and God remembered Noah. 00:15:41.54\00:15:46.64 God's faithfulness to Noah 00:15:46.68\00:15:48.38 is the very heart of the flood story. 00:15:48.41\00:15:51.41 So I go to Google, you know about Google, 00:15:51.45\00:15:55.32 if you've been to Google. 00:15:55.35\00:15:56.85 So I go to Google, 00:15:56.89\00:15:58.25 and I googled the story of Noah, 00:15:58.29\00:16:01.02 and thee in Wikipedia, 00:16:01.06\00:16:03.39 I find an individual 00:16:03.43\00:16:05.76 by the name of 00:16:05.79\00:16:07.43 Gordon Wenham. 00:16:10.47\00:16:12.27 And he is the one who originally 00:16:12.30\00:16:15.37 put this clasm together, I discovered. 00:16:15.40\00:16:18.21 And notice what we have here. 00:16:18.24\00:16:20.58 It's a little, it's a little small, 00:16:20.61\00:16:22.18 because we needed to fit it all in on one screen. 00:16:22.21\00:16:25.88 But this is Gordon Wenham. 00:16:25.91\00:16:28.08 And this clastic structure of the Genesis flood narrative. 00:16:28.12\00:16:32.75 He's got the four chapters here lined up, 00:16:32.79\00:16:34.59 but he's missing two elements, 00:16:34.62\00:16:36.36 he's missing the first bookend and the second 00:16:36.39\00:16:39.89 and the last bookend of the story. 00:16:39.93\00:16:41.26 Now I'm going to get to that at the end. 00:16:41.30\00:16:43.23 That's going to be Danny's contribution to the clasm 00:16:43.26\00:16:45.47 So you'll get to that at the end. 00:16:45.50\00:16:46.94 But notice what he has here. 00:16:46.97\00:16:49.24 He has Noah and his sons, Genesis 6:10. 00:16:49.27\00:16:53.17 And at the back end, we have Noah and his sons once again. 00:16:53.21\00:16:56.75 We have all life on earth, all life on earth. 00:16:56.78\00:17:01.28 We have the curse on the earth, 00:17:01.32\00:17:03.32 we have the blessing on the earth. 00:17:03.35\00:17:05.39 We have the ark, the ark, 00:17:05.42\00:17:08.26 we have all living creatures mentioned, 00:17:08.29\00:17:10.19 all living creatures again, we have the flood, 00:17:10.23\00:17:12.19 the flood, animals in man's hand, 00:17:12.23\00:17:14.60 animals in man's hand. 00:17:14.63\00:17:15.96 We have entry into the ark, exit from the ark, 00:17:16.00\00:17:19.67 waters increase, waters decrease, 00:17:19.70\00:17:24.11 mountains covered, mountains visible. 00:17:24.14\00:17:27.81 Wow. 00:17:27.84\00:17:30.11 Just when you thought 00:17:30.15\00:17:32.61 it could not get any more amazing. 00:17:32.65\00:17:34.75 And what's at the very heart of the story, 00:17:34.78\00:17:37.15 no prizes for guessing this third time. 00:17:37.19\00:17:39.35 It is what? 00:17:39.39\00:17:40.72 God remembered Noah. 00:17:40.76\00:17:43.59 And you know what? 00:17:43.63\00:17:45.23 There is a little more to the story. 00:17:45.26\00:17:47.13 And I have been, I have been digging into this story like 00:17:47.16\00:17:51.90 I have never done before. 00:17:51.93\00:17:53.57 And I have discovered things 00:17:53.60\00:17:54.97 as we're going to discover in this six part series 00:17:55.00\00:17:57.57 that just blew me out of the water, 00:17:57.61\00:17:59.97 absolutely blew me out of the water. 00:18:00.01\00:18:04.25 As I was reading this story, unlike even Gordon Wenham 00:18:04.28\00:18:09.05 he begins in Genesis 6:10. 00:18:09.08\00:18:13.96 And he ends in Genesis 9:19. 00:18:13.99\00:18:18.23 But that's not the beginning 00:18:18.26\00:18:19.69 and that's not the very end of the Noah story. 00:18:19.73\00:18:21.76 Because the Noah story begins in Genesis Chapter 6 00:18:21.80\00:18:25.17 and verse what? 00:18:25.20\00:18:26.57 Verse 1, and the Noah story ends 00:18:26.60\00:18:29.50 in Genesis Chapter 9. 00:18:29.54\00:18:31.67 And let me tell you now as I look at it in my Bible, 00:18:31.71\00:18:35.28 Genesis 9:29. 00:18:35.31\00:18:40.05 So it ends in Genesis 9:29. 00:18:40.08\00:18:42.78 So what do we have at the very beginning 00:18:42.82\00:18:44.92 and what do we have at the very end? 00:18:44.95\00:18:46.76 And I just read the passages and you can do that too. 00:18:46.79\00:18:49.62 I asked my friend Joel, is it possible, 00:18:49.66\00:18:51.96 he's the one that put these graphics together. 00:18:51.99\00:18:53.93 He's done a fantastic job, a job Joel, 00:18:53.96\00:18:57.07 a fantastic job, Joel. 00:18:57.10\00:19:00.10 Not a fantastic job, job. 00:19:00.14\00:19:03.87 He's done a fantastic job. 00:19:03.91\00:19:05.41 And I'm like, Joel, 00:19:05.44\00:19:06.78 can we sneak this Danny contribution 00:19:06.81\00:19:10.21 into the clasm and he goes, no way, nobody will see it. 00:19:10.25\00:19:13.35 But if you go home 00:19:13.38\00:19:14.72 and you take a look at the first 00:19:14.75\00:19:16.82 eight verses of Genesis Chapter 6, 00:19:16.85\00:19:19.42 you'll discover that there is a distinction 00:19:19.45\00:19:21.69 between two lines. 00:19:21.72\00:19:23.19 There is the unfaithful and the faithful. 00:19:23.22\00:19:25.16 We looked at that in our last message, didn't we? 00:19:25.19\00:19:27.23 The sons of God and the daughters of men. 00:19:27.26\00:19:30.03 You have Noah who is faithful to God 00:19:30.07\00:19:32.43 who finds grace in the eyes of the Lord, 00:19:32.47\00:19:34.40 and sadly, those who refuse God's grace, 00:19:34.44\00:19:37.11 that's at the beginning. 00:19:37.14\00:19:38.47 What do we have at the end of the story? 00:19:38.51\00:19:40.14 We have Noah's three sons and Noah, 00:19:40.18\00:19:45.21 Noah sadly. 00:19:45.25\00:19:47.02 We don't know how it came to me but he planted a vineyard. 00:19:47.05\00:19:50.09 That's not a big deal, but he got drunk. 00:19:50.12\00:19:52.45 Okay, that happens from time to time, doesn't it? 00:19:52.49\00:19:56.62 We don't know how it happened. 00:19:56.66\00:19:57.99 The Bible doesn't tell us but he got drunk. 00:19:58.03\00:20:01.40 One of his sons, Ham went in 00:20:01.43\00:20:04.93 and saw his father drunk and naked. 00:20:04.97\00:20:08.00 And it appears from the text 00:20:08.04\00:20:09.94 that he made fun of his father 00:20:09.97\00:20:12.27 before his other brothers, Shem and Japheth. 00:20:12.31\00:20:16.44 Where as Shem and Japheth, 00:20:16.48\00:20:18.21 they didn't think it was funny at all. 00:20:18.25\00:20:20.25 The Bible says they went in backwards, backwards. 00:20:20.28\00:20:24.55 And they covered their naked father's body, 00:20:24.59\00:20:28.46 so that he would not be ashamed. 00:20:28.49\00:20:31.86 And so we have, we have Hem being cursed 00:20:31.89\00:20:37.80 through his son Canaan. 00:20:37.83\00:20:39.73 And we have Shem and Japheth being blessed. 00:20:39.77\00:20:44.07 Two lines at the beginning, 00:20:44.11\00:20:46.37 two lines at the end of the story. 00:20:46.41\00:20:48.91 Your choice, whose line you will be in. 00:20:48.94\00:20:52.05 Your choice and my choice whether we will receive 00:20:52.08\00:20:54.22 the blessing of God, or sadly, the opposite. 00:20:54.25\00:20:58.75 So it's right there all the way 00:20:58.79\00:21:00.12 through from the beginning of Genesis Chapter 6, 00:21:00.16\00:21:02.09 to the end of Genesis Chapter 9. 00:21:02.12\00:21:03.99 Now is that incredible? Amen. 00:21:04.03\00:21:06.03 That is absolutely incredible. 00:21:06.06\00:21:08.40 All right, we press on God's faithfulness, I repeat, 00:21:08.43\00:21:12.33 God's faithfulness to Noah is at the very heart 00:21:12.37\00:21:16.17 of the story of the flood, 00:21:16.20\00:21:18.54 very heart of the story of the flood. 00:21:18.57\00:21:22.44 Now, what's fascinating to me, 00:21:22.48\00:21:25.58 is that not only 00:21:25.61\00:21:28.52 is God's faithfulness to Noah 00:21:28.55\00:21:31.89 at the very heart of the Noah story, 00:21:31.92\00:21:34.76 but as we'll discover now, what's at the very heart 00:21:34.79\00:21:38.59 of the story of Lot is, guess what? 00:21:38.63\00:21:42.53 The faithfulness of God. 00:21:42.56\00:21:44.97 The faithfulness of God, 00:21:45.00\00:21:46.74 don't ever forget that for one moment. 00:21:46.77\00:21:49.00 Folk, those of you who are watching, 00:21:49.04\00:21:51.21 don't ever forget that God's faithfulness 00:21:51.24\00:21:54.54 always precedes your faithfulness, 00:21:54.58\00:21:57.65 my faithfulness, our faithfulness. 00:21:57.68\00:22:01.22 We can only be faithful to God because of His faithfulness. 00:22:01.25\00:22:05.25 He gives us the gift of faithfulness, it's a gift. 00:22:05.29\00:22:08.49 I don't have it. 00:22:08.52\00:22:09.92 I told you the story earlier on to begin this message 00:22:09.96\00:22:13.90 of how I'm faithful, I mean, 00:22:13.93\00:22:15.46 just remembering my wife's birthday, 00:22:15.50\00:22:18.43 little like anything else. 00:22:18.47\00:22:21.57 God's faithfulness always precedes 00:22:21.60\00:22:25.64 the faithfulness that He invites 00:22:25.67\00:22:27.44 in those that accept 00:22:27.48\00:22:28.81 His grace always. 00:22:28.84\00:22:32.25 Jesus went on in Luke, 00:22:32.28\00:22:34.88 after talking about the days of Noah, 00:22:34.92\00:22:36.99 and this is what he said, even as it was 00:22:37.02\00:22:41.26 or "Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot... 00:22:41.29\00:22:45.69 Even so will it be in the day 00:22:45.73\00:22:47.63 when the Son of Man is revealed." 00:22:47.66\00:22:49.40 So let's take a look at the story of Lot 00:22:49.43\00:22:51.47 one brief moment. 00:22:51.50\00:22:53.37 It says in Genesis 19:29, 00:22:53.40\00:22:58.11 "And it came to pass, 00:22:58.14\00:22:59.47 when God destroyed the cities of the plain, 00:22:59.51\00:23:01.61 that God did," what? 00:23:01.64\00:23:03.71 "He remembered Abraham," there's that word again, 00:23:03.75\00:23:06.92 "and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, 00:23:06.95\00:23:10.75 when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt." 00:23:10.79\00:23:13.69 They are Sodom and Gomorrah. 00:23:13.72\00:23:16.46 So before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah 00:23:16.49\00:23:20.00 and the cities of the plain, what did He do? 00:23:20.03\00:23:24.07 He remembered Lot and his family, 00:23:24.10\00:23:27.77 through the faithfulness of Abraham, 00:23:27.80\00:23:30.21 and Lot also who was faithful to God. 00:23:30.24\00:23:33.24 According to Peter... 00:23:33.27\00:23:35.44 According to Peter, 2 Peter Chapter 2, 00:23:35.48\00:23:37.88 he tells us very clearly that Lot was faithful to God, 00:23:37.91\00:23:41.02 he was a righteous man also. 00:23:41.05\00:23:43.35 Lot was someone who, who was grieved in his heart 00:23:43.39\00:23:48.02 to see the wickedness, 00:23:48.06\00:23:49.39 the immorality that was pervasive, 00:23:49.42\00:23:53.13 was pandemic in the cities of Sodom 00:23:53.16\00:23:56.13 and Gomorrah, where he lived. 00:23:56.16\00:23:57.50 He was a righteous man, the Bible says. 00:23:57.53\00:23:59.07 Let's never forget that. 00:23:59.10\00:24:00.70 He made the wrong choice, indeed, 00:24:00.74\00:24:02.97 to head toward and then into the city of Sodom, 00:24:03.00\00:24:06.41 but he was a righteous man. 00:24:06.44\00:24:08.98 He was a faithful man. 00:24:09.01\00:24:10.95 Notice what we read in Genesis 30:22, 00:24:10.98\00:24:13.35 where this term remembered appears again. 00:24:13.38\00:24:15.98 "Then God remembered Rachel, 00:24:16.02\00:24:18.52 and God listened to her and opened her womb." 00:24:18.55\00:24:20.92 Rachel, she's, she was the favorite wife of Jacob, 00:24:20.96\00:24:25.93 the favorite wife of Jake. 00:24:25.96\00:24:27.86 And God remembered her, and he opened up her womb. 00:24:27.90\00:24:31.83 So what is the key message 00:24:31.87\00:24:33.20 when God remembers His faithful people? 00:24:33.23\00:24:34.97 Here it is. 00:24:35.00\00:24:36.84 When God remembers His faithful people, 00:24:36.87\00:24:39.41 He stands up for them, 00:24:39.44\00:24:40.88 He stands by His promises and He places His arms 00:24:40.91\00:24:44.31 of protection around them. 00:24:44.35\00:24:45.85 And God does what to His people? 00:24:45.88\00:24:48.58 He delivers His people, don't forget this. 00:24:48.62\00:24:52.02 When God remembers you, He will deliver you. 00:24:52.05\00:24:57.33 So what are you experiencing right now? 00:24:57.36\00:25:00.03 Are you experiencing some very difficult 00:25:00.06\00:25:02.53 and challenging moments? 00:25:02.56\00:25:04.60 You too can call out to God, you too can cry out to God, 00:25:04.63\00:25:09.07 and He has promised that He will remember you. 00:25:09.10\00:25:11.81 And by remembering you, He will deliver you, 00:25:11.84\00:25:14.64 He will deliver you. 00:25:14.68\00:25:17.58 2 Peter Chapter 2. 00:25:17.61\00:25:20.42 Here we have Peter describing this deliverance 00:25:20.45\00:25:25.05 from God in these words. 00:25:25.09\00:25:26.42 2 Peter 2:4-6, "God did not spare the ancient world, 00:25:26.45\00:25:32.39 but saved Noah, one of eight people, 00:25:32.43\00:25:35.16 a preacher of righteousness, 00:25:35.20\00:25:36.87 turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes." 00:25:36.90\00:25:40.57 Goes on, and did what? 00:25:40.60\00:25:43.47 "And delivered righteous Lot... 00:25:43.51\00:25:45.47 the Lord knows how to do," what? 00:25:45.51\00:25:47.61 "How to deliver the godly out of temptations 00:25:47.64\00:25:50.11 and to reserve the unjust under the punishment 00:25:50.15\00:25:53.38 for the day of judgment. 00:25:53.42\00:25:55.22 Does God know how to deliver His people? 00:25:55.25\00:25:59.09 Yes, He does. 00:25:59.12\00:26:00.46 God knows how to deliver His people. 00:26:00.49\00:26:03.63 When His people are in slavery, 00:26:03.66\00:26:06.63 they are in bondage in Egypt, 00:26:06.66\00:26:09.76 God comes to them in their time of need, 00:26:09.80\00:26:12.87 in their time of suffering and sorrow. 00:26:12.90\00:26:14.87 And notice what Moses writes in the Book of Exodus. 00:26:14.90\00:26:18.74 Exodus 2:23-25 we read these words. 00:26:18.77\00:26:22.94 "Now it happened in the process of time 00:26:22.98\00:26:26.05 that the king of Egypt died. 00:26:26.08\00:26:28.15 Then the children of Israel groaned 00:26:28.18\00:26:30.29 because of the bondage, 00:26:30.32\00:26:31.65 and they cried out, and their cry came up to God 00:26:31.69\00:26:34.02 because of the bondage." 00:26:34.06\00:26:35.46 We keep reading. 00:26:35.49\00:26:38.26 "So God heard their groaning, and God," did what? 00:26:38.29\00:26:42.43 "He remembered His covenant with Abraham, 00:26:42.46\00:26:44.60 with Isaac, and with Jacob." 00:26:44.63\00:26:46.10 In verse 25, "And God looked upon the children of Israel, 00:26:46.13\00:26:50.67 and God," did what? 00:26:50.71\00:26:52.34 "He acknowledged them." 00:26:52.37\00:26:56.41 Do you find yourself in bondage? 00:26:56.44\00:27:00.78 I'm not talking about physical bondage necessarily. 00:27:00.82\00:27:06.25 There is a far greater, a far more dangerous 00:27:06.29\00:27:11.99 and deadly bondage than physical bondage. 00:27:12.03\00:27:16.63 And that is spiritual bondage. 00:27:16.67\00:27:19.90 For Paul says, "We do not wrestle 00:27:19.93\00:27:21.47 against flesh and blood, but against," what? 00:27:21.50\00:27:23.74 "Against principalities and powers, 00:27:23.77\00:27:25.81 and the rulers of darkness of this age." 00:27:25.84\00:27:30.85 God wants to set us free 00:27:30.88\00:27:33.65 from whatever slave device 00:27:33.68\00:27:37.59 or devices the enemy may have wrapped around us like 00:27:37.62\00:27:40.92 a ball and chain. 00:27:40.96\00:27:43.19 Wherever you are, my friend, whatever your experience, 00:27:43.22\00:27:46.76 I want to encourage you to cry out to Jesus. 00:27:46.80\00:27:51.23 Just like the children of Israel, 00:27:51.27\00:27:52.90 who cried out in their time of suffering, 00:27:52.93\00:27:56.10 and bondage, and God remembered 00:27:56.14\00:27:58.94 and He heard and He acknowledge and He saved them. 00:27:58.97\00:28:03.01 So too God wants to save you 00:28:03.04\00:28:05.91 from the taskmaster, the one whose aim 00:28:05.95\00:28:10.89 is only to steal, kill and destroy, 00:28:10.92\00:28:14.26 as John 10:10. 00:28:14.29\00:28:15.62 And his name is what? 00:28:15.66\00:28:16.99 Satan, the devil and Satan. 00:28:17.03\00:28:19.26 Jesus wants to offer you what? 00:28:19.29\00:28:21.50 He wants to offer us, John 10:10, the abundant life. 00:28:21.53\00:28:24.67 Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life 00:28:24.70\00:28:27.70 that they may have it," what? 00:28:27.74\00:28:29.07 "More abundantly." 00:28:29.10\00:28:30.51 This story of Noah 00:28:30.54\00:28:32.11 at the very heart of the story of Noah 00:28:32.14\00:28:34.58 is freedom, its release from the bondage 00:28:34.61\00:28:38.61 from the ball and chains 00:28:38.65\00:28:40.85 that the enemy has placed around us. 00:28:40.88\00:28:44.82 That's God's plan. 00:28:44.85\00:28:46.19 That's God's will. 00:28:46.22\00:28:47.96 And Jesus, in His words, "As it was in the days of Noah, 00:28:47.99\00:28:53.43 so it will be before I come," 00:28:53.46\00:28:55.50 gives us the promise, the unassuming promise 00:28:55.53\00:28:58.83 that if you and I put our faith and trust in Him, 00:28:58.87\00:29:03.37 He will set us free. 00:29:03.41\00:29:05.07 For Jesus came to do what? 00:29:05.11\00:29:07.24 To set the captives what? 00:29:07.28\00:29:09.44 Free, He said, "I've come to set the captives free." 00:29:09.48\00:29:14.05 The story of Noah gives us so much encouragement, 00:29:14.08\00:29:17.29 that there is hope, hope to be set free 00:29:17.32\00:29:20.22 from whatever bondage we may be in. 00:29:20.26\00:29:25.19 When it comes to... 00:29:25.23\00:29:26.93 When it comes to God remembering 00:29:26.96\00:29:29.20 and His people forgetting is probably no clearer example 00:29:29.23\00:29:32.53 than in the Book of Judges. 00:29:32.57\00:29:34.44 Notice what we read in Judges 8:33-34, 00:29:34.47\00:29:39.77 "So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, 00:29:39.81\00:29:43.04 that the children of Israel again played the harlot 00:29:43.08\00:29:45.91 with the Baals, and made Baal-Berith their god. 00:29:45.95\00:29:50.42 Thus the children of Israel did not remember 00:29:50.45\00:29:53.29 the Lord their God, who had," done what? 00:29:53.32\00:29:55.99 "Who had delivered them from the hands 00:29:56.02\00:29:57.96 of all their enemies on every side." 00:29:57.99\00:30:01.56 It's a sad reality, 00:30:01.60\00:30:03.87 that although God remembers His people, 00:30:03.90\00:30:06.50 and He stands up for them, and He delivers them, sadly, 00:30:06.53\00:30:10.31 His people, and I count myself as part of that group, 00:30:10.34\00:30:14.74 we far often, more often than we'd like to admit 00:30:14.78\00:30:19.95 or even acknowledge. 00:30:19.98\00:30:22.88 We do not remember the Lord our God, 00:30:22.92\00:30:26.45 who has delivered us. 00:30:26.49\00:30:28.62 I don't know about your prayers, 00:30:28.66\00:30:30.59 but my prayers far too often more often than 00:30:30.63\00:30:35.13 I would want are about me, me, me, 00:30:35.16\00:30:40.80 and my focus and what my needs are, 00:30:40.84\00:30:43.91 rather than praising God, 00:30:43.94\00:30:46.17 thanking God, lifting up His wonderful name, 00:30:46.21\00:30:51.75 and acknowledging Him for all of the deliverances 00:30:51.78\00:30:55.95 that I have received in my life. 00:30:55.98\00:30:59.22 Maybe it's, maybe it's time to do more praise 00:30:59.25\00:31:04.09 than petition. 00:31:04.13\00:31:06.19 Nothing wrong with petitioning God's throne of grace, 00:31:06.23\00:31:08.60 we're invited to do that. 00:31:08.63\00:31:10.53 But maybe it's time to spend a little bit more time 00:31:10.57\00:31:13.64 in praising God for His wonderful deliverances. 00:31:13.67\00:31:17.97 I repeat, "When God remembers and delivers His people, 00:31:18.01\00:31:22.51 He pours out His grace, mercy, longsuffering and forgiveness." 00:31:22.54\00:31:27.32 And that is why the Bible says in Genesis 6:8. 00:31:27.35\00:31:32.35 Genesis 6:8, 00:31:32.39\00:31:34.89 "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." 00:31:37.96\00:31:43.90 Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 00:31:43.93\00:31:48.87 As we pointed out earlier, Lot also found grace 00:31:48.90\00:31:52.57 in the eyes of the Lord. 00:31:52.61\00:31:55.34 And you and I today can find grace in the eyes of the Lord. 00:31:55.38\00:32:01.08 Noah and Lot, they both lived in societies 00:32:01.12\00:32:06.69 that were plagued with evil, with immorality, 00:32:06.72\00:32:12.06 with violence, with wickedness, with corruption, 00:32:12.09\00:32:16.77 and if I've missed out anything else, 00:32:16.80\00:32:18.60 you can fill in the blank. 00:32:18.63\00:32:22.14 But because of God's grace, they were able to live 00:32:22.17\00:32:27.88 a holy and a righteous life. 00:32:27.91\00:32:31.71 How is that possible? 00:32:31.75\00:32:33.42 How is that possible to be immersed, 00:32:33.45\00:32:36.45 to be marinated if I could use that word, 00:32:36.48\00:32:39.49 to be marinated in such immorality, 00:32:39.52\00:32:42.99 in such wickedness, in such evil? 00:32:43.02\00:32:45.69 How is it possible to live in such a society 00:32:45.73\00:32:50.90 and remain pure, remain holy, remain righteous, 00:32:50.93\00:32:55.47 remain true and faithful to God? 00:32:55.50\00:32:57.57 How on earth is that possible? 00:32:57.61\00:33:00.04 How? 00:33:00.08\00:33:01.41 It's impossible from a human point of view, isn't it? 00:33:01.44\00:33:04.88 There's only one way. 00:33:04.91\00:33:06.75 And it's the, it's the promise that we find 00:33:06.78\00:33:09.78 in the words of the Apostle Paul, 00:33:09.82\00:33:11.72 one of my favorite promises. 00:33:11.75\00:33:14.09 And it's in Romans 5:20. 00:33:14.12\00:33:17.36 Romans 5:20 where the Apostle Paul writes, 00:33:17.39\00:33:21.56 "Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound." 00:33:21.60\00:33:25.33 But these words are worth memorizing. 00:33:25.37\00:33:28.40 "But where sin," did what? 00:33:28.44\00:33:31.41 "Abounded, grace abounded much more." 00:33:31.44\00:33:34.94 Wow. 00:33:34.98\00:33:36.61 Where there is sin, there is more grace. 00:33:36.64\00:33:40.42 Why is that? 00:33:40.45\00:33:41.78 Because the most powerful force in the universe 00:33:41.82\00:33:44.45 is not wickedness. 00:33:44.49\00:33:45.82 It's not evil. 00:33:45.85\00:33:47.26 It's not sin in all its forms. 00:33:47.29\00:33:51.73 But the most powerful force, 00:33:51.76\00:33:53.50 the most powerful force in the universe is what? 00:33:53.53\00:33:56.67 God's love. 00:33:56.70\00:33:59.07 God's love, because God is what? 00:33:59.10\00:34:02.84 God is love. 00:34:02.87\00:34:04.21 God is love. 00:34:04.24\00:34:06.54 And that is why where sin abounds, 00:34:06.57\00:34:08.18 God's grace abounds so much more. 00:34:08.21\00:34:11.31 Noah was a man who received God's grace, 00:34:11.35\00:34:15.28 He was a man who received God's righteousness. 00:34:15.32\00:34:18.99 And the Bible says 00:34:19.02\00:34:20.36 he was a preacher of righteousness. 00:34:20.39\00:34:23.49 Back to the words of 2 Peter, 00:34:23.53\00:34:25.89 2 Peter 3:9-10. 00:34:25.93\00:34:30.07 Noah preached concerning a storm 00:34:30.10\00:34:32.53 and Peter picks up on these words and reminds us 00:34:32.57\00:34:35.10 for those of us who are living at the end of time. 00:34:35.14\00:34:38.21 2 Peter 3:9-10, and verses 17 and 18. 00:34:38.24\00:34:42.88 This is what it says, 00:34:42.91\00:34:44.25 "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, 00:34:44.28\00:34:46.05 as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, 00:34:46.08\00:34:49.02 not willing that," what? 00:34:49.05\00:34:50.92 "Any should perish but that," 00:34:50.95\00:34:52.39 how many should come to repentance? 00:34:52.42\00:34:54.26 "That all should come to repentance." 00:34:54.29\00:34:56.02 He goes on in verse 10, 00:34:56.06\00:34:57.96 "But the day of the Lord will," do what? 00:34:57.99\00:35:00.60 "It come as a thief in the night, 00:35:00.63\00:35:02.66 in which the heavens will pass away 00:35:02.70\00:35:04.37 with a great noise, 00:35:04.40\00:35:05.73 and the elements will melt with fervent heat, 00:35:05.77\00:35:08.34 both the earth and the works 00:35:08.37\00:35:10.07 that are in it will be burned up." 00:35:10.11\00:35:13.01 It will take place, once again, 00:35:13.04\00:35:15.31 this world will come to an end, 4,500 years ago 00:35:15.34\00:35:20.32 or so this world was destroyed by what? 00:35:20.35\00:35:23.02 A flood of water. 00:35:23.05\00:35:26.05 The Bible tells us at the end, this world will be cleansed, 00:35:26.09\00:35:29.52 sin will be cleansed forevermore 00:35:29.56\00:35:32.26 by a flood of what? 00:35:32.29\00:35:34.33 A flood, a fire, a flood of fire. 00:35:34.36\00:35:36.93 And then Peter gives an appeal, he gives an appeal 00:35:36.97\00:35:40.57 to those who are reading his epistle. 00:35:40.60\00:35:43.44 And that's us today, we are reading 00:35:43.47\00:35:45.64 this in the context of the Second Coming. 00:35:45.67\00:35:47.48 And notice his appeal verses 17 and 18. 00:35:47.51\00:35:51.25 He goes on, he says, "You therefore, beloved, 00:35:51.28\00:35:54.15 since you know this beforehand," 00:35:54.18\00:35:55.98 we have been given a heads up, the ultimate heads up, 00:35:56.02\00:35:59.85 "since you know this beforehand, 00:35:59.89\00:36:01.86 beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness," 00:36:01.89\00:36:05.26 or faithfulness, "being led away with the error 00:36:05.29\00:36:08.43 of the wicked, but grow in," what? 00:36:08.46\00:36:13.23 "Grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord 00:36:13.27\00:36:16.00 and Savior Jesus Christ. 00:36:16.04\00:36:17.47 To Him be the glory both now and forever. 00:36:17.51\00:36:20.51 Amen." Amen. 00:36:20.54\00:36:23.04 So what is Peter here saying? 00:36:23.08\00:36:25.28 You don't need to read between the lines 00:36:25.31\00:36:27.68 to understand what he's saying. 00:36:27.72\00:36:29.22 What Peter is saying, my dear friend? 00:36:29.25\00:36:31.72 He's saying that as sin abounds, 00:36:31.75\00:36:35.46 as wickedness abounds and grows exponentially, 00:36:35.49\00:36:38.79 and we are seeing that, we are experiencing that. 00:36:38.83\00:36:42.16 And in our fourth presentation, 00:36:42.20\00:36:44.23 when we take a look at crumbling foundations, 00:36:44.27\00:36:46.60 we will get an insight into the days of Noah. 00:36:46.63\00:36:50.57 And what is happening today, 00:36:50.61\00:36:52.57 the parallels are just out of this world, literally. 00:36:52.61\00:36:57.91 But as sin abounds, you and I are invited by God 00:36:57.95\00:37:02.95 to grow in what? 00:37:02.98\00:37:05.22 To grow in grace, grow in grace. 00:37:05.25\00:37:10.23 The truth is that the darker, 00:37:10.26\00:37:15.43 something is the darker a room, 00:37:15.46\00:37:18.30 the darker a space, the brighter is the light, 00:37:18.33\00:37:22.64 when it is shone, 00:37:22.67\00:37:24.01 when it is shone into that darkness, 00:37:24.04\00:37:25.64 isn't that right? 00:37:25.67\00:37:27.71 We are living in a dark sin filled world. 00:37:27.74\00:37:32.35 And God is looking for people who will take on board 00:37:32.38\00:37:37.32 the invitation of Jesus to be a light in the world. 00:37:37.35\00:37:43.32 If ever God needed a light, it's today. 00:37:43.36\00:37:46.93 Because you and I we are, 00:37:46.96\00:37:48.70 we are all living in the days of what? 00:37:48.73\00:37:51.30 We're living in the days of Noah, that is our day. 00:37:51.33\00:37:55.44 I repeat, if you have any doubts 00:37:55.47\00:37:57.21 that we are living in the days of Noah, 00:37:57.24\00:37:59.14 stay tuned, stay tuned. 00:37:59.17\00:38:03.01 In the next four presentations, in particular the next two, 00:38:03.04\00:38:07.15 we're going to discover how close we are indeed 00:38:07.18\00:38:10.65 to the coming of Jesus as we compare our day 00:38:10.69\00:38:12.89 to the day of Noah. 00:38:12.92\00:38:16.06 Another storm is coming, make no mistake about that 00:38:16.09\00:38:20.46 for over 200 years now since 1798, 00:38:20.50\00:38:23.53 we have been living in the time of the end, 00:38:23.57\00:38:25.83 as the Bible refers it, the time of the end. 00:38:25.87\00:38:29.24 And ever since 1844, 00:38:29.27\00:38:32.57 we have been living in earth's final judgment hour. 00:38:32.61\00:38:37.91 No time to unpack those two time prophecies 00:38:37.95\00:38:41.35 and the significance of them, maybe on another occasion. 00:38:41.38\00:38:46.12 But we are literally living at the very end of human history. 00:38:46.15\00:38:50.53 We are right there at the end. 00:38:50.56\00:38:53.70 We're right at the end, another storm is coming. 00:38:53.73\00:38:56.63 There is only safety to be found in one. 00:38:56.67\00:38:59.93 And that one is, His name is what? 00:38:59.97\00:39:02.90 Jesus. 00:39:02.94\00:39:04.27 His name is Jesus. 00:39:04.31\00:39:05.67 Because let's not forget what the angel said to Joseph, 00:39:05.71\00:39:10.61 "You will call His name Jesus." 00:39:10.65\00:39:13.21 And I'm going off the top of my head. 00:39:13.25\00:39:15.05 I think it's Matthew 1:21. 00:39:15.08\00:39:17.32 It's not up on the screen, Matthew 1:21. 00:39:17.35\00:39:20.16 You will call His name Jesus because Jesus means, 00:39:20.19\00:39:23.66 He will do what? 00:39:23.69\00:39:25.33 He will save His people from their sins. 00:39:25.36\00:39:29.60 Jesus is our only Savior. 00:39:29.63\00:39:32.27 Just like there was only one way to be saved 00:39:32.30\00:39:34.70 in the days of Noah, only one way to be saved 00:39:34.74\00:39:37.37 and that was to enter willingly into the ark 00:39:37.41\00:39:41.98 when Noah gave his final appeal and said, 00:39:42.01\00:39:44.41 "Come, come, come into the ark." 00:39:44.45\00:39:48.08 Only those who were inside the ark, 00:39:48.12\00:39:50.89 though it was smelly. 00:39:50.92\00:39:53.86 I can hardly imagine the smell, 00:39:53.89\00:39:56.22 but it was the only place of safety. 00:39:56.26\00:39:59.59 It's not going to be all that easy for those 00:39:59.63\00:40:02.76 that seek to remain faithful to God in the end, 00:40:02.80\00:40:05.60 but guess what? 00:40:05.63\00:40:06.97 I would rather be in a smelly ark with God, 00:40:07.00\00:40:11.37 than in the fresh air of those who are worshipping 00:40:11.41\00:40:16.11 at Satan's throne that will ultimately be destroyed. 00:40:16.14\00:40:21.08 We are heading very quickly to what the Bible refers 00:40:21.12\00:40:25.25 to as the final time of trouble 00:40:25.29\00:40:29.29 such as this world has never witnessed 00:40:29.32\00:40:31.83 or experienced in all of its history. 00:40:31.86\00:40:35.66 We are heading very quickly to that time. 00:40:35.70\00:40:38.37 So the question is, will God remember His people? 00:40:38.40\00:40:43.67 As He did in the days of Noah, 00:40:43.71\00:40:45.24 will He once again remember His people 00:40:45.27\00:40:47.48 during earth's final crisis, 00:40:47.51\00:40:50.65 when all hell breaks loose, literally? 00:40:50.68\00:40:55.52 Notice what God promises in the Book of Daniel, 00:40:55.55\00:40:58.52 the Book of Daniel 12:1. 00:40:58.55\00:41:01.26 We read these words, "At that time Michael," 00:41:01.29\00:41:04.86 which is another name for Jesus Christ, 00:41:04.89\00:41:07.70 or the name means one who is like God. 00:41:07.73\00:41:10.93 "At that time, Michael, shall stand up, 00:41:10.97\00:41:12.90 the great prince who stands 00:41:12.93\00:41:14.27 watch over the sons of your people, 00:41:14.30\00:41:16.17 and there shall be a time of trouble, 00:41:16.20\00:41:17.91 such as never was since there was a nation, 00:41:17.94\00:41:20.61 even to that time. 00:41:20.64\00:41:21.98 And at that time," writes Daniel, 00:41:22.01\00:41:23.81 "your people shall be," what? 00:41:23.85\00:41:26.08 "Delivered, everyone 00:41:26.11\00:41:27.55 who is found written in the book." 00:41:27.58\00:41:28.92 Once again, God's deliverance coming through, 00:41:28.95\00:41:31.65 as God delivered Noah and his family, 00:41:31.69\00:41:34.79 as God delivered Lot and his family. 00:41:34.82\00:41:37.66 Those who chose from his family to join him. 00:41:37.69\00:41:40.30 So too God at the end of time will deliver His people, 00:41:40.33\00:41:43.83 everyone who is found written in the book. 00:41:43.87\00:41:46.07 Now in the Bible, 00:41:46.10\00:41:48.37 there are at least two different books 00:41:48.40\00:41:51.84 that I've come across. 00:41:51.87\00:41:53.44 One of the books interestingly is called, guess what? 00:41:53.48\00:41:57.91 We read it Malachi 3:16-18, 00:41:57.95\00:42:01.88 the last book of the Old Testament. 00:42:01.92\00:42:03.35 Notice these words. 00:42:03.39\00:42:04.72 Malachi 3:16-18, 00:42:04.75\00:42:07.79 "Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, 00:42:07.82\00:42:10.96 and the Lord listened and heard them, 00:42:10.99\00:42:12.79 so a book of," what? 00:42:12.83\00:42:14.76 "A Book of Remembrance," can you believe it? 00:42:14.80\00:42:17.57 That word is there again, "A book of remembrance 00:42:17.60\00:42:20.34 was written before Him for those who," do what? 00:42:20.37\00:42:23.87 "Fear the Lord, and who meditate on His," what? 00:42:23.91\00:42:26.61 "On His name." 00:42:26.64\00:42:27.98 This is, this sounds like Noah, this sounds like Lot. 00:42:28.01\00:42:30.95 Let's keep reading, verse 17, "They shall be Mine," 00:42:30.98\00:42:35.05 says the Lord of hosts, 00:42:35.08\00:42:36.42 "On the day that I make them My jewels. 00:42:36.45\00:42:38.92 And I will," do what? 00:42:38.95\00:42:40.49 "I will spare them as a man spares," 00:42:40.52\00:42:43.32 or delivers, "his own son who serves him." 00:42:43.36\00:42:47.43 Will God have a book of remembrance 00:42:47.46\00:42:50.67 at the end of time? 00:42:50.70\00:42:52.73 Yes, He will. 00:42:52.77\00:42:54.34 And who will be placed in that Book of Remembrance? 00:42:54.37\00:42:57.54 All those like Noah that have chosen to follow God, 00:42:57.57\00:43:03.24 that have chosen to be loyal to God, 00:43:03.28\00:43:05.41 that have chosen to give their hearts to Jesus Christ 00:43:05.45\00:43:09.68 in full surrender, they will be remembered, 00:43:09.72\00:43:13.36 they will be remembered, and they will be delivered. 00:43:13.39\00:43:17.96 There is also another book, that is the companion book, 00:43:17.99\00:43:23.67 may I suggest to the Book of Remembrance, 00:43:23.70\00:43:27.10 and it's called the Book of Life, 00:43:27.14\00:43:29.27 the Book of Life. 00:43:29.30\00:43:30.64 Notice these words from the Apocalypse. 00:43:30.67\00:43:33.54 This time, we go from the last book 00:43:33.58\00:43:35.51 of the Old Testament 00:43:35.54\00:43:37.08 to the last book of the New Testament. 00:43:37.11\00:43:40.12 It's an interesting parallel, isn't it? 00:43:40.15\00:43:43.18 Revelation 3:5, "He who overcomes," 00:43:43.22\00:43:47.26 these are the words of Jesus. 00:43:47.29\00:43:49.46 "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, 00:43:49.49\00:43:52.49 and I," this is Jesus speaking, 00:43:52.53\00:43:54.23 "and I will not blot out his name from the," what? 00:43:54.26\00:43:57.93 "From the Book of Life, but I will confess his name 00:43:57.97\00:44:01.34 before My Father and before His angels. 00:44:01.37\00:44:04.34 "There is a Book of Remembrance, 00:44:04.37\00:44:06.54 and there is a Book of Life. 00:44:06.57\00:44:08.44 And God's plan, my friend for you and for me, 00:44:08.48\00:44:11.65 for all of us, is that we find our names 00:44:11.68\00:44:15.25 in the Lamb's Book of Life. 00:44:15.28\00:44:17.25 And that's exactly how Revelation 13:8 00:44:17.29\00:44:21.22 refers to this Book of Life. 00:44:21.26\00:44:23.46 Notice these words, 00:44:23.49\00:44:25.29 "All who dwell on the earth will worship him, 00:44:25.33\00:44:28.63 whose names have not been written in the Book of Life 00:44:28.66\00:44:31.97 of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." 00:44:32.00\00:44:35.94 There's only going to be two sides at the end of time, 00:44:35.97\00:44:39.27 just as there were two sides, two groups in the days of Noah, 00:44:39.31\00:44:44.25 two groups in the days of Lot, there will likewise 00:44:44.28\00:44:47.92 be two groups at the end of time. 00:44:47.95\00:44:51.35 One group will have their names written 00:44:51.39\00:44:54.96 in the Lamb's Book of Life. 00:44:54.99\00:44:57.66 They've accepted the grace that Jesus Christ alone 00:44:57.69\00:45:02.03 can impart, they have received that, 00:45:02.06\00:45:05.80 they have received God's Holy Spirit. 00:45:05.83\00:45:08.40 And they have chosen 00:45:08.44\00:45:09.77 through the power of the Holy Spirit 00:45:09.80\00:45:11.17 like Noah, like Lot, like all of God's faithful 00:45:11.21\00:45:13.98 men and women down through the ages, 00:45:14.01\00:45:15.51 they have chosen to be faithful to God, 00:45:15.54\00:45:20.12 no matter what the cost, 00:45:20.15\00:45:21.52 no matter what the consequences, 00:45:21.55\00:45:23.12 no matter what anyone says, or anyone does. 00:45:23.15\00:45:26.65 Their only interest has been, what does God say? 00:45:26.69\00:45:32.39 What is God's plan for my life? 00:45:32.43\00:45:34.50 What is God's will for my life and that by His grace 00:45:34.53\00:45:37.73 is all I want to do, is all I want to do. 00:45:37.77\00:45:42.94 In Luke 10:20, Jesus said, 00:45:42.97\00:45:46.98 "Rejoice because your names are written in heaven." 00:45:47.01\00:45:52.91 Rejoice because your names are written in heaven. 00:45:52.95\00:45:58.75 What a beautiful promise. 00:45:58.79\00:46:01.36 What a beautiful invitation to have your name written 00:46:01.39\00:46:06.83 in the books of heaven. 00:46:06.86\00:46:08.20 Rejoice. 00:46:08.23\00:46:09.86 So Christians, those who are faithful to Jesus, 00:46:09.90\00:46:14.30 those who choose Jesus to be their Lord and Savior, 00:46:14.34\00:46:17.27 they ought to be the most joy filled individuals 00:46:17.31\00:46:20.38 on the planet. 00:46:20.41\00:46:21.74 Amen? 00:46:21.78\00:46:23.18 And yet, many a time we walk around, 00:46:23.21\00:46:27.18 like we have swallowed 00:46:27.22\00:46:28.55 a whole bunch of lemons for breakfast. 00:46:28.58\00:46:31.25 Isn't that right? 00:46:31.29\00:46:32.62 That's how we look. 00:46:32.65\00:46:34.09 I've seen it on a Saturday morning, 00:46:34.12\00:46:36.52 as I've gone up to preach to my beautiful congregation, 00:46:36.56\00:46:40.36 and I look out and if they're not sleeping, 00:46:40.40\00:46:42.96 many of them look like they've swallowed 00:46:43.00\00:46:44.60 a bunch of lemons for breakfast. 00:46:44.63\00:46:47.10 When we're singing, hallelujah, praise the Lord, 00:46:47.14\00:46:49.40 rejoice in the Lord always. 00:46:49.44\00:46:51.37 We're not singing with joy on our countenances, 00:46:51.41\00:46:55.01 as we ought to. 00:46:55.04\00:46:57.81 And why ought do we, why are we be a joyful people? 00:46:57.85\00:47:02.12 Because our names, according to Jesus, 00:47:02.15\00:47:05.29 are written in heaven in the Lamb's Book of Life, 00:47:05.32\00:47:09.92 in the Book of Remembrance. 00:47:09.96\00:47:12.36 We can have the assurance if we have Jesus in our hearts, 00:47:12.39\00:47:15.83 and in our lives, we can have the assurance today, today... 00:47:15.86\00:47:20.44 That we have salvation, 00:47:23.51\00:47:26.11 not through anything we do, but through Jesus Christ, 00:47:26.14\00:47:30.51 and His merits. 00:47:30.55\00:47:32.21 So as we seek to land, 00:47:35.65\00:47:37.35 God gives an invitation for those 00:47:40.46\00:47:45.36 that want to be protected by Him 00:47:45.39\00:47:47.16 during this time of trouble, 00:47:47.20\00:47:48.53 such as the world has never seen. 00:47:48.56\00:47:51.40 And the parallel is striking with the days of Noah. 00:47:51.43\00:47:55.30 In Genesis 7:16 we read, "So those that entered," 00:47:55.34\00:48:00.58 the ark, "male and female of all flesh, 00:48:00.61\00:48:03.51 went in as God had," done what? 00:48:03.55\00:48:06.92 "Commanded him, and the Lord shut him in." 00:48:06.95\00:48:11.39 The Lord shut him in. The Lord shut Noah in. 00:48:11.42\00:48:15.26 The Lord sealed him. 00:48:15.29\00:48:18.09 He was sealed, he was saved. 00:48:18.13\00:48:19.46 Guess what? 00:48:19.49\00:48:20.93 At the end of time, we don't have time to go there. 00:48:20.96\00:48:24.50 But in Revelation Chapter 7, in Revelation Chapter 14, 00:48:24.53\00:48:28.80 we discover that God once again at the end of time seals 00:48:28.84\00:48:32.54 His people, He shuts them in by His grace. 00:48:32.57\00:48:38.35 And they can never ever be snatched 00:48:38.38\00:48:42.98 out of the nail scarred hands of Jesus Christ, 00:48:43.02\00:48:46.69 sealed and saved and delivered forevermore, 00:48:46.72\00:48:50.19 no matter what they may go through, 00:48:50.23\00:48:52.26 no matter what they may go through. 00:48:52.29\00:48:54.20 And it's going to be a difficult time. 00:48:54.23\00:48:55.56 Let's not kid ourselves, let's not kid ourselves. 00:48:55.60\00:48:58.83 It's going to be the most challenging time 00:48:58.87\00:49:00.97 that God's people will ever experience that time of trouble 00:49:01.00\00:49:04.54 such as never was not so much because of what God 00:49:04.57\00:49:09.14 is bringing into their lives, 00:49:09.18\00:49:10.68 but by what the enemy is bringing into their lives, 00:49:10.71\00:49:14.92 who is determined, hell bent 00:49:14.95\00:49:17.75 on somehow taking them away 00:49:17.79\00:49:22.26 from God. 00:49:22.29\00:49:25.63 Somehow, somehow encouraging them 00:49:25.66\00:49:30.53 to step away from the association 00:49:30.57\00:49:35.54 and clinging to Jesus. 00:49:35.57\00:49:38.74 It's going to be a tough time. 00:49:38.77\00:49:40.31 But we don't need to be afraid. 00:49:40.34\00:49:42.91 Because in Psalm 27:5, David writes, 00:49:42.94\00:49:47.78 "For in the time of trouble He," that is God, 00:49:47.82\00:49:51.05 "shall hide me in His pavilion, 00:49:51.09\00:49:53.09 in the secret place of His tabernacle 00:49:53.12\00:49:55.19 He shall hide me, 00:49:55.22\00:49:56.56 He shall set me high upon a rock." 00:49:56.59\00:49:59.53 And who is that rock? 00:49:59.56\00:50:01.06 Who is the ultimate rock in Scripture? 00:50:01.10\00:50:03.60 It's Jesus Christ. 00:50:03.63\00:50:05.17 Jesus Christ is the ultimate rock. 00:50:05.20\00:50:09.00 So no matter what comes your way, my way, 00:50:09.04\00:50:13.84 by God's grace and through His strength, 00:50:13.88\00:50:17.11 He will see us through to the other side. 00:50:17.15\00:50:20.08 He will see us through to the other side. 00:50:20.12\00:50:22.28 All you and I need to do today is cling 00:50:22.32\00:50:25.42 to those nail scarred hands. 00:50:25.45\00:50:27.92 Cling to the nail scarred hands of Jesus. 00:50:27.96\00:50:31.19 And He has promised 00:50:31.23\00:50:32.56 I will never leave you nor what? 00:50:32.59\00:50:34.16 Forsake you. 00:50:34.20\00:50:35.53 I will be with you always even till when? 00:50:35.56\00:50:38.13 The end of time. 00:50:38.17\00:50:39.87 Was God with Noah all the way through to the end? 00:50:39.90\00:50:43.44 Yes. 00:50:43.47\00:50:44.81 Was God with Lot all the way through to the very end? 00:50:44.84\00:50:48.21 Yes. Did God deliver both Noah and Lot? 00:50:48.24\00:50:50.98 Yes. 00:50:51.01\00:50:52.35 Will God deliver His people at the end of time? 00:50:52.38\00:50:55.42 Yes, yes, yes, God will remember 00:50:55.45\00:50:59.15 His faithful people 00:50:59.19\00:51:00.52 who choose to be faithful to Him, because Jesus said, 00:51:00.56\00:51:03.32 "As it was in the days of Noah, 00:51:03.36\00:51:06.56 so it will be when I come again." 00:51:06.59\00:51:11.30 So it will be. 00:51:11.33\00:51:14.20 I want to share a couple more promises with you. 00:51:14.24\00:51:16.64 This one from Psalm 91:1-2, and 15-16. 00:51:16.67\00:51:22.01 This is an end time Psalm. 00:51:22.04\00:51:24.95 This is a Psalm, especially for those 00:51:24.98\00:51:27.52 that are going to live through the Great Tribulation, 00:51:27.55\00:51:31.22 or the most frightening time in human history, 00:51:31.25\00:51:33.59 the time of trouble, as Daniel described 00:51:33.62\00:51:35.79 that such as never was. 00:51:35.82\00:51:37.53 These are beautiful words worth memorizing this entire Psalm. 00:51:37.56\00:51:41.00 But let's just take a look at the two bookends of Psalm 91. 00:51:41.03\00:51:45.03 Beginning in verse 1 and 2, 00:51:45.07\00:51:46.57 "He who dwells in the secret place 00:51:46.60\00:51:48.14 of the Most High shall 00:51:48.17\00:51:49.50 abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 00:51:49.54\00:51:51.77 I will say of the Lord, 00:51:51.81\00:51:53.27 'He is my refuge and my fortress, 00:51:53.31\00:51:55.71 My God, in Him," I'll do what? 00:51:55.74\00:51:57.91 "I will trust.'" 00:51:57.95\00:51:59.31 And notice how the Psalm ends, verses 15-16. 00:51:59.35\00:52:04.19 "He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him, 00:52:04.22\00:52:06.79 I will be with him in trouble, 00:52:06.82\00:52:08.42 I will deliver him and honor him. 00:52:08.46\00:52:10.56 With long life I will satisfy him, 00:52:10.59\00:52:13.29 and I will show him," my what? 00:52:13.33\00:52:16.20 "My salvation." 00:52:16.23\00:52:18.90 Beautiful words of encouragement and promise. 00:52:18.93\00:52:21.80 Amen? 00:52:21.84\00:52:23.27 God says, "I'll deliver you, I will show you My salvation, 00:52:23.30\00:52:28.44 I will give you a long life." 00:52:28.48\00:52:30.35 And that long life ultimately is how long? 00:52:30.38\00:52:34.18 It's eternal. 00:52:34.22\00:52:35.58 It's eternal. 00:52:35.62\00:52:36.95 It's eternal. 00:52:36.99\00:52:39.15 In Isaiah 54:9-10, we read these words, 00:52:39.19\00:52:43.32 "For this is like the waters of Noah to Me, 00:52:43.36\00:52:46.70 For as I have sworn that the waters of Noah 00:52:46.73\00:52:48.66 would no longer cover the earth, 00:52:48.70\00:52:50.30 so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, 00:52:50.33\00:52:53.30 nor rebuke you. 00:52:53.34\00:52:55.54 For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, 00:52:55.57\00:52:58.51 But My kindness shall not depart from you, 00:52:58.54\00:53:01.54 nor shall My covenant of peace," 00:53:01.58\00:53:04.08 there it is, the covenant of peace, 00:53:04.11\00:53:05.78 the covenant of grace, "'be removed,' 00:53:05.81\00:53:07.88 says the Lord, who has mercy on you." 00:53:07.92\00:53:12.25 So the question as we seek to end is this. 00:53:12.29\00:53:17.99 What must I do to have my name written 00:53:18.03\00:53:23.60 in the Book of Life, the Book of Remembrance, 00:53:23.63\00:53:27.74 the Lamb's Book of Life? 00:53:27.77\00:53:29.90 What must I do? 00:53:29.94\00:53:31.27 What must I do? 00:53:31.31\00:53:34.31 The answer to that question, there is no better place to go 00:53:34.34\00:53:39.18 than a hill called Calvary. 00:53:39.21\00:53:42.18 A hill called Calvary. 00:53:42.22\00:53:44.75 We're on that dark day 00:53:44.79\00:53:48.22 that today we refer to as Good Friday. 00:53:48.26\00:53:52.53 We're on that dark day, the creator of the world, 00:53:52.56\00:53:56.63 the creator of the universe. 00:53:56.67\00:54:00.94 He was there on that cross, hands outstretched, 00:54:00.97\00:54:05.01 nailed hands and feet. 00:54:05.04\00:54:08.28 And there were two individuals there by His side. 00:54:08.31\00:54:12.38 They both originally rebuked Him, 00:54:12.41\00:54:14.55 they both originally mocked Him, 00:54:14.58\00:54:17.05 and scoffed Him, 00:54:17.09\00:54:18.65 but one of them had a change of heart. 00:54:18.69\00:54:22.22 And these are his words to Jesus. 00:54:22.26\00:54:26.83 "Then he said to Jesus," that is one of those two 00:54:26.86\00:54:30.43 that were on either side of Jesus, 00:54:30.47\00:54:31.90 the two thieves or two criminals. 00:54:31.93\00:54:34.97 "Lord," do what? 00:54:35.00\00:54:37.41 "Remember me when You come into Your kingdom." 00:54:37.44\00:54:41.08 And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, 00:54:41.11\00:54:44.78 I say to you today, you will be with Me in paradise." 00:54:44.81\00:54:50.02 Is it your desire today to pray that prayer, 00:54:57.19\00:55:02.66 to call out to Jesus, 00:55:02.70\00:55:05.37 like that thief who had no hope? 00:55:05.40\00:55:08.37 You have no hope. 00:55:08.40\00:55:09.74 I have no hope, none of us have any hope without Jesus. 00:55:09.77\00:55:14.94 To cry out to Jesus, Lord, 00:55:14.98\00:55:18.15 here I am with my sin sick soul exposed before You, 00:55:18.18\00:55:23.15 You know me, remember me. 00:55:23.18\00:55:26.62 Remember me, Lord, when You come, remember me. 00:55:26.65\00:55:31.76 And the promise is to you as to that thief. 00:55:31.79\00:55:37.13 I'm promising you today. 00:55:37.17\00:55:39.83 I'm giving you the assurance today, 00:55:39.87\00:55:42.60 that I will indeed remember you when I come. 00:55:42.64\00:55:46.17 Assuredly I say to you, when I come, 00:55:46.21\00:55:50.48 no, when I might come, when I come, I will... 00:55:50.51\00:55:55.68 You will be with me in paradise. 00:55:55.72\00:55:57.72 You will be with me in paradise. 00:55:57.75\00:55:59.85 Hang on to Jesus. 00:55:59.89\00:56:01.39 Give Him your heart. 00:56:01.42\00:56:02.96 Give Him your all. 00:56:02.99\00:56:04.69 He will never let you down. 00:56:04.73\00:56:07.13 He will never let anyone down. 00:56:07.16\00:56:09.70 Today He's giving the invitation, 00:56:09.73\00:56:12.00 He's giving the invitation. 00:56:12.03\00:56:14.40 We are living in a day and age 00:56:14.44\00:56:16.37 when that final invitation is going out. 00:56:16.40\00:56:19.77 There was a final invitation 00:56:19.81\00:56:22.84 that Noah gave in His day. 00:56:22.88\00:56:26.01 There was a final invitation in the days of Lot. 00:56:26.05\00:56:30.12 And there is a final invitation today. 00:56:30.15\00:56:33.25 Jesus is inviting us. 00:56:33.29\00:56:35.16 He's inviting us to come, come into the ark, 00:56:35.19\00:56:38.73 the ark of safety that is Jesus Christ 00:56:38.76\00:56:41.33 and His salvation alone. 00:56:41.36\00:56:43.00 Won't you come? 00:56:43.03\00:56:44.37 Won't you come? 00:56:44.40\00:56:45.73 Let's pray together. 00:56:45.77\00:56:47.10 Father in heaven, we thank You for Jesus. 00:56:47.14\00:56:50.04 We thank You for the invitation that He gives to us to come. 00:56:50.07\00:56:54.64 We come as we are broken and sin sick. 00:56:54.68\00:56:59.15 And by His mighty grace, 00:56:59.18\00:57:01.55 by the power of His Holy Spirit, 00:57:01.58\00:57:03.18 He transforms us more and more day by day 00:57:03.22\00:57:07.42 into His perfect and beautiful image 00:57:07.46\00:57:10.59 from glory to glory. 00:57:10.63\00:57:11.96 O Father, we thank You for Jesus. 00:57:11.99\00:57:13.73 We thank You for His love. 00:57:13.76\00:57:15.10 We thank You for His mercy. 00:57:15.13\00:57:16.46 We thank You for His grace. 00:57:16.50\00:57:17.83 Today we come and we receive that, 00:57:17.87\00:57:21.00 not because we are worthy or deserving 00:57:21.04\00:57:23.30 but because of Jesus Christ and His worthiness 00:57:23.34\00:57:26.51 and His grace. 00:57:26.54\00:57:27.88 And we thank You in Jesus' name. 00:57:27.91\00:57:29.24 Everybody say amen. 00:57:29.28\00:57:30.61