>>Announcer: It has
stood the test of time.
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God's book, The Bible
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Still relevant in
today's complex world
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It Is Written
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Sharing messages of
hope around the world!
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>>Chris: Jean Francois Gravelet
was born in France in 1824. At a
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young age he found his calling.
At the age of five, he strung a
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rope between chairs and
attempted to walk that tight
rope. He fell off of that rope
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and it would be the last rope
that he ever fell from. He was
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sent to an acrobat school and at
the young age of eight became
known as boy wonder or the
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little wonder. Eventually
Jean would be known as Charles
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Blondin or the Great Blondie. He
would become known as the
greatest tightrope walker
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to ever live. He walked
tightropes until he was 70 years
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old. His act was both a great
show of ability and showman
entertainment. His most
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famous act is his crossing of
Niagara Falls. He would stretch
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a rope almost 400 meters in
length from the Canadian falls
to the U.S. side. Blondin would
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famously cross the falls
blindfolded, on stilts, pushing
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a wheelbarrow and even pausing
on the rope to eat breakfast.
The most terrifying of his
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stunts was an offer to carry
someone on his back across the
falls. No one would
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volunteer, so Blondin's manager
Harry Colcord was forced into
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duty. As recorded in the book,
Blondin: His life and
Performances, Blondin gave
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these instructions, "Look
up, Harry.. you are no longer
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Colcord, you are Blondin. Until
I clear this place be a part of
me, mind, body, and soul.
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If I sway, sway with me. Do
not attempt to do any balancing
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yourself. If you do we will both
go to our death." Colcord had a
choice, would he trust
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Blondin or choose his own way.
Not trusting would surely cost
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him his life. The real story of
Noah is a story of trust. Many
have perceived the story
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of Noah to be the story of a
harsh unforgiving God. Many have
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thought that God is a vengeful
tyrant. However a careful study
of God's word, the Bible
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demonstrates the complete
opposite. The story of Noah and
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the flood paint a picture of God
who is very patient and gracious
and trustworthy. It paints a
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picture of a God is seeking to
make the universe perfect once
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again and seeks to reconcile His
relationship with humankind. A
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relationship, which He did
not break, it was a relationship
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broken by mankind when the
choice was made to be
disobedient and sin against God.
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The flood was an attempt to
bring things back around in a
world that had become
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so corrupt that man's very
nature was evil to the very
core. God gave man an
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abundance of time to turn things
around and turn from his evil
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ways. He provided ample
opportunity and then provided a
safety vessel in the ark built
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by Noah. He sent a message in
the name of Methuselah - a name
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that meant - at his death, it
will come. And the flood did
come the very year of his death.
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Noah preached for 120 years
warning of the impending doom. A
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boat was the width of a hockey
rink, the length of 2 and ½
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hockey rinks and a height of
almost 16 meters. God sent
warning after warning, yet only
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8 people got on that boat. Just
Noah and his wife along with
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their children their spouses.
Only 8 people. Friend, not only
is the story of Noah the
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story of the grace, mercy and
justice of God, but it is also
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the story of warnings gone
unheeded. It is the story of man
ignoring His creator. It
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is the story of neglect.
Friends, the story of Noah
speaks to our heart and
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tells us of One who is seeking
to repair a repair relationship.
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The story of Noah is a reminder
that Jesus is setting up a new
kingdom and world of
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perfect peace and happiness. It
is a reminder that God will not
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allow things to continue down
this road of violence and
terror. A new kingdom
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is coming and He
wants you to be there.
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C2 <----------
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new earth. Friend, let's look
to the example of Noah and as
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Genesis 6:9 states,
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Friends let's look to Noah who
yielded his life to the Lord and
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follow the Lord, let's not
follow in the ways of those who
didn't get on the ark.
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Let's yield our hearts to
the One who is the repairer of
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hearts. But with such a powerful
lesson about the character of
God what would happen
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on this earth? Obviously things
didn't continue in purity and
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righteousness. The world today
tells us that even with starting
over, evil has risen
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again. How long did it take?
Unfortunately not very long.
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Genesis 9:20-21
tells the sad story,
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Although God had given Noah
permission to eat of the clean
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animals, Noah also chose to farm
and undoubtedly provide his
sustenance through that
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farming. As a part of his
farming, Noah planted a
vineyard. There is no
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question that he planted the
vineyard for the grapes and for
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the juice of those grapes. Noah
was familiar with the result of
drunkenness and the
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terrible results of drinking
fermented beverages. He would
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have seen that in sin and
rebellion of the pre-flood
world. No doubt Noah would
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have been familiar with the
principles of drinking alcohol.
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He would have known God's
timeless principle found later
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in Proverbs 20:1, He would have
known the changeless principle
found in Proverbs 23:31-32,
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He saw the results in the
pre-flood world. But one of the
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beauties of the Bible is that it
doesn't just give us stories of
victory. It doesn't just
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tell us the nice things. It also
shows us failures. Noah, as the
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Bible calls him, was a righteous
man. Noah lived according to the
truth found in 1 John
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2:1,
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The goal of the Bible, the goal
of our relationship with Jesus
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is to live like Him and to live
a victorious life under His
grace. But if we might
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stumble, Jesus will lift us up
and encourage us to continue on
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the path of eternal life.
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Part of the post-flood story
is that our previous spiritual
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experiences and victories are no
guarantee of future success in
the spiritual life. Noah
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walked with God, but for a
moment took a detour. And isn't
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it interesting, in the aftermath
of the flood, I extremely high
spiritual moment is when
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Noah sins. Friends, we can never
let our guard down We need Jesus
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at every moment of every day so
we can be faithful to Him. While
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Noah had this weak moment, it
led to another sin, but not his
own. Genesis 9:22-23 continues
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on in verses 22-23,
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Noah's drunkenness led him
at some point to disrobe. And in
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disrobing he would have been
completely naked and exposed
himself. God has made it clear
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in His word that it is shameful
for a man to expose himself.
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What Noah did was shameful.
However, Ham also acted
shamefully. Upon finding his
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father, he could have privately
covered him. But instead, he
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broadcast the embarrassment to
his brothers. Some have come up
with some very creative
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thinking on what it means that
Ham saw the nakedness of his
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father. In fact, I like what The
Bible Knowledge Commentary
directly says about this
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text, "Many fanciful ideas have
been proposed..But the Hebrew
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expression here means what it
says: Ham . saw his father's
nakedness. He was not
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involved with Noah sexually, for
in that case the Hebrew would be
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translated "he uncovered
his father's nakedness." Instead
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Noah had already uncovered
himself , and Ham saw him that
way. Because of Ham's sin and
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his own character, the
generations that followed him no
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longer desired to follow God,
but desired their own ways. What
did these descendants then do?
00:13:05.36\00:13:14.26
Let's read in Genesis 11:1-4,
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These group of people decides to
build a city. There is nothing
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inherently wrong with a city
in general. However these people
00:14:06.66\00:14:10.83
were instructed to scatter. But
the more problematic issue was
with their building a
00:14:10.83\00:14:19.30
tower to the heavens. Why would
they do such a thing? Is it
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possible that this group of
people was trying to make their
own way and create their own
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salvation? Some might say, what
do you mean by that? Here is
00:14:32.36\00:14:39.53
what I mean. These descendants
must have been familiar with the
story of the flood. They knew of
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the destruction that had
happened on the earth. And so
now, in order to avoid
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any other type of pending
destruction and to escape any
possible judgment of
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God, they were going to build
a tower to the heavens to avoid
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any possibility of destruction
by a flood. However, in so
doing, they were directly
00:15:01.30\00:15:07.33
rebelling against God and his
promise. They made a decision to
00:15:07.33\00:15:15.33
trust in their own way and do
their own thing than to trust in
God and His ways These ancient
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people were intelligent and God
could not allow this to happen.
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So the Bible goes on to tell
us in verses Genesis 11:5-9,
00:15:34.43\00:15:40.90
Isn't it fascinating, the
diversity of language and
culture all captured in
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these few short verses. The
language is confused. No longer
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can they communicate with one
another and the building stops.
Can you imagine the
00:16:43.86\00:16:49.20
scene? The mixers speaking
Polish, the brick makers
Chinese, the bricklayers
00:16:49.20\00:16:55.83
French, so on and so forth - the
confusion that abounded there.
00:16:55.83\00:17:02.26
But I want you to take clear
notice of the name that is given
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this place.Babel. It literally
means confusion. It is where God
00:17:10.90\00:17:17.73
confused the languages. But, of
greater significance is the
lesson that God is trying to
00:17:17.73\00:17:23.30
teach us. And it is a lesson
that has been passed down the
00:17:23.30\00:17:29.90
pages of history. Here at this
place called Babel. Man made a
00:17:29.90\00:17:36.90
decision to not follow the paths
that God had outlined. They
faced a choice.to obey God or to
00:17:36.90\00:17:47.00
obey the desires of their heart,
ultimately the ways of Satan.
00:17:47.00\00:17:54.13
Here Babel serves as a picture
of rebellion and confusion
against God. Here at Babel
00:17:54.13\00:18:04.30
comes to fruition the
text found in Isaiah 55:8, 9
00:18:04.30\00:18:17.66
The lesson of Babel is that
God's ways are best, but when we
00:18:34.06\00:18:41.16
choose to go another way, we
have placed ourselves on a road
that has a very bleak
00:18:41.16\00:18:45.76
outlook. This city of Babel
in the land of Shinar would
00:18:45.76\00:18:52.93
eventually be known as Babylon.
Throughout time Babylon would
00:18:52.93\00:19:01.73
become a fitting symbol of
rebellion against God. And what
emerges throughout the
00:19:01.73\00:19:07.00
Bible is the tale of two cities
and the tale of a decision to be
00:19:07.00\00:19:14.76
made by each individual on this
earth. What emerges from the
story of Noah and the
00:19:14.76\00:19:19.66
flood is the story of a
decision. It is the decision to
00:19:19.66\00:19:25.96
follow God or to follow man. The
fitting symbol that emerges from
the story of Noah is
00:19:25.96\00:19:31.60
Babylon as a city of rebellion.
Then throughout scripture while
00:19:31.60\00:19:39.40
Babylon represents a city of
rebellion, Jerusalem represents
00:19:39.40\00:19:45.93
the city of obedience
and submission God's way.
00:19:45.93\00:19:52.83
We fast forward to the time of
Daniel. In the time of Daniel,
00:19:53.86\00:19:59.73
you have Jerusalem that is home
to God's people, but then you
have Babylon and king
00:19:59.73\00:20:06.63
Nebuchadnezzar. Babylon became a
city filled with the worship of
00:20:06.63\00:20:11.76
idols and false God's. Paganism
abounded. Babylon the city of
rebellion and Jerusalem
00:20:11.76\00:20:17.10
the city of obedience and
submission to God. It is in the
00:20:17.10\00:20:36.16
book of Revelation that this
choice comes into full view. The
book of Revelation is a summary
00:20:36.16\00:20:44.36
of the entirety of scripture.
The book of Revelation is a
00:20:44.36\00:20:50.26
story of choices, the Lamb or
the dragon, obedience or
rebellion, Babylon or
00:20:50.26\00:21:01.83
Jerusalem. Babylon symbolized
rebellion and religious
00:21:01.83\00:21:09.10
confusion in these last days.
Remember the words of Jesus in
00:21:09.10\00:21:17.63
Matthew 24:37-38, Babylon was
set up in the time just after
Noah. The book of Revelation
00:21:47.53\00:21:55.03
warns of the religious confusion
that exists in our day and the
00:21:55.03\00:22:04.50
days to come. Revelation
17:5 says this about Babylon,
00:22:04.50\00:22:11.03
Babylon is the mother of
harlots. What is a harlot? A
harlot is a prostitute.
00:22:19.33\00:22:25.53
Babylon represents the religious
and spiritual institutions that
00:22:25.53\00:22:32.06
have prostituted themselves with
beliefs and traditions other
00:22:32.06\00:22:36.56
than that which is found in
the scriptures. What is God's
00:22:36.56\00:22:42.83
solution to such a problem?
Revelation 14:8 says that
00:22:42.83\00:22:51.23
Babylonian confuse religion is
bankrupt. God's way is the best
00:23:03.30\00:23:14.73
way. We need to follow
the counsel of Proverbs 3:4-5,
00:23:14.73\00:23:24.10
Our only surety in these
last days is to stop trusting in
00:23:33.66\00:23:39.56
ourselves and trust in
God. Revelation finally makes an
00:23:39.56\00:23:48.30
invitation, in áááRevelation
18:4ááá, "Come out of her, my
people," God is calling
00:23:48.30\00:23:57.30
people out of Babylon and
calling them to the safety of
his ark. He is calling
00:23:57.30\00:24:04.16
you and calling me into His arms
of safety. The story of Noah is
00:24:04.16\00:24:17.76
the story of a loving God trying
to call you back. The choice is
yours. Will you choose
00:24:17.76\00:24:25.96
Him? Or will you choose your own
ways? Will you come to the open
00:24:25.96\00:24:31.53
arms of Jesus and into His ark
of safety? Or will you wander on
00:24:31.53\00:24:41.26
your own path. Harry Colcord got
on the back of Charles Blondin.
And he trusted Blondin
00:24:42.76\00:24:47.53
fully. He followed the
instructions to a T. The two of
them made it safely
00:24:47.53\00:24:53.00
across. Friend, Jesus loves you.
He died for you and He died for
00:24:53.00\00:24:59.36
me. He's calling us home.
He's saying trust me fully. He's
00:24:59.36\00:25:04.36
calling you and calling me to
get on His back, and to hold on
for life. Friend, we don't
00:25:04.36\00:25:11.03
have to be people with no home.
Jesus wants you to be God's son,
00:25:11.03\00:25:17.80
God's daughter. All it takes is
to give your life to Him. The
choice is yours. What
00:25:17.80\00:25:25.33
is holding you back today? Today
do you want to say to the Lord,
00:25:25.33\00:25:32.50
the Real Noah teaches me that I
can trust God and trust Him
fully. Today, I give my
00:25:32.50\00:25:40.63
life to Him. Today Jesus won't
you change my life and help me
00:25:40.63\00:25:48.06
to follow you all the way. Let's
pray. Heavenly Father, we have
seen from the story of
00:25:48.06\00:25:54.80
Noah that it is a story of
choices. And so today we choose
00:25:54.80\00:26:03.70
to follow your son Jesus. Please
help us, help us in our choice
to be faithful to Jesus.
00:26:03.70\00:26:11.93
Change us from the inside out
Lord and help us to become like
00:26:11.93\00:26:21.86
your Son and be examples to
those around us. Please be with
us we pray in Jesus name,
00:26:21.86\00:26:28.40
Amen.
00:26:28.40\00:26:29.66
I hope you enjoyed today's
program. This program is only
00:26:46.40\00:26:51.76
one in a series of six programs.
In fact, it's the last program.
I would like to offer you
00:26:51.76\00:26:56.26
today the DVD series of those
six programs, Noah: The Real
00:26:56.26\00:27:03.16
Story, where you can study and
learn about a God who loves us
and who is seeking to reconcile
00:27:03.16\00:27:09.23
his relationship with us. Here's
the information that you need to
00:27:09.23\00:27:14.83
get today's offer.
00:27:14.83\00:27:16.46
Dear friend, the story of Noah
teaches us about God, about a
00:27:55.96\00:28:01.93
God who is gracious, who is
loving, who is merciful, but who
00:28:01.93\00:28:08.63
is also just. Our wonderful God
reaches down, and the story of
Noah teaches that He wants
00:28:08.63\00:28:14.60
to bridge the relationship,
repair our relationship with
00:28:14.60\00:28:18.86
Him, to save us and take us
home. I hope you'll join us
again next week. Until
00:28:18.86\00:28:24.63
then, remember, it is written,
"Man shall not live by bread
00:28:24.63\00:28:30.00
alone, but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God."
00:28:30.00\00:28:34.90
$$$$$$$$$$
00:28:37.86\00:28:39.46