Unlocking The Bible - Lesson Three | Associate Pastor Chad Erickson

praise the Lord everyone thank you for giving tonight in the offering amen and I do want to say just in a few minutes Bishop croucher came forward and we need to have special prayer for sister croucher we'll pray for her as we pray over the Word of God today does everybody have and unlocking the Bible handout if you do not if you just want to kind of wave your hand and our Usher's have them and they can give you one if you don't well they've done a good job already great great great have you been enjoying this series about the keys to unlocking the Bible pastor Carper has taught less than one and taught less than to the first lesson if you aren't here always buy a CD buy the DVD get online but this is this is a very important Bible study it's very similar to search for truth or exploring God's Word you've probably recognized a lot of the same facts and the same of course stories it's it's from the same book so there's a reason for that but we are we're looking to implement this Bible study called unlucky in the Bible we're going to implement it into our care groups and we're also going to implement it as one of our main I don't think we'll ever just stop teaching these we have so many Bible studies that we teach from but I believe this is going to be one of the most important Bible studies for a couple reasons number one there's there's a system called Acts net and it is a it's a system that helps the church in almost every single Avenue of ministry whether it's in finances whether it's in children's care we drop off our kids there's a there's a portal for that taking attendance for the services has a dead database in it keeps track of care groups keeps track of who's in Bible studies who's teaching Bible studies and a part of that there is a there's a teach the teacher section of this accident program and all of you that are interested when we get through this we're doing this for the that we want the whole church to go through this so that when it's time for you to teach it you've already been through it so this is just a great way for us as a church family to go all the way through the Bible study because why we want to see not just 10 not just 20 we want to see hundreds of people that are willing to get on this accident it's called teach the teacher every lesson before it releases it to you so you can teach it goes through and teaches you how to teach the lesson so here we've been through it on the Wednesday nights the first twelve Wednesday nights we've been through it started in February and then we're going to be getting ready to get into this program and we're gonna be able to teach this Bible study because listen this world needs to hear what we've been hearing on Wednesday nights this world needs to understand that this is the word of God infallible Word of God ha ha and who's going to tell them if the people of the name don't tell me there's a lot of people brother states are teaching Bible studies that don't quite have the revelation of this book but I think the people that are sitting in this room this is who we need out there teaching this Bible study called unlocking the Bible so if you will look at your handout with me lesson 3 why don't you stand we're gonna we'll start with the text and then I'll kind of get into into the actual lesson itself but we're gonna read a text in Genesis chapter 4 starting with verse 1 through verse 5 we're gonna pick up where Pastor left off last week by the way pastor sister Carper send their love they said they're gonna be watching watching tonight and they always miss us when they're not here and we miss them when they're not here and we love them so much Genesis 4 and 1 says now Adam knew Eve his wife and she conceived and bore Cain and said I have acquired a man from the Lord then she bore again in this time his brother Abel now Abel was a keeper of sheep but Cain was a tiller of the ground in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of fruit of the ground to the Lord Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock in of their fat and the Lord respected Abel and his offering but he did not respect Cain and his offering and Cain was very angry and his countenance fell we are gonna begin tonight with lesson 3 with the offspring of Adam and Eve and kind of see what happened in Chapter 3 we're gonna see the outcome of what happens in chapter 4 but before we go any further let's remember his sister sister croucher and let's ask God that he would just touch her body give her strength in her body and let's pray over the word tonight let's pray together Church family law we love you O God we need you to touch sister Crouch her Lord God though we want you Lord God just to step into her room right now where she is God and Lord God we want you to let her know that your presence is with her that your healing power is with her Lord that just strength Lord got the Holy Ghost that is within her Lord God is there to comfort her and it's there to be the healing power in her life God just touch her raise her up in Jesus name law will give you all the praise Lord anoint this Bible study tonight Lord anoint the teaching of your word Lord god help us open our minds let us see Lord God which you would have us to see and hear what you would have us to hear from your word we ask all this Jesus name in a church that amen you may be seated for our lesson summary in this lesson by the way I'm getting started very early this is a forty-five minute lesson these lessons are made are created to be taught in 45 minutes so we are going to get out early tonight somebody said Amen Oh somebody said Amen I want you to know Pastor Carper is pretty proud of himself because he's been lent us out early he has been you know he'll come he'll come to the family you know say hey y'all see with time I let y'all out tonight I love it I love it but this is a 45 minute lesson so we will move through quickly I see what time it is now I know how much time I have in this lesson we will explore life outside of the garden Pastor leftist in the garden we're going to explore life outside the garden in the lives of adam's children Cain and Abel we're gonna see how the problem of sin which obviously began with Adam and Eve we're going to see how that problem continued not just in his family but throughout humanity leading to God's judgment and in the midst of judgment God introduces a plan of salvation to a man called Noah in Noah's demonstration of faith and obedience to God led to the saving of his household so let's begin we've just read our opening text in Genesis chapter 4 but we are gonna we're gonna study the results in Genesis chapter 3 we have Adam and Eve disobeyed we have Adam and Eve doing exactly the opposite of what God commanded and now we're gonna see in chapter 4 the very next chapter we're gonna see the progress of the fruit of sin you know this fruit of righteousness but there's also fruit of sin things are produced as a fruit tree it's whatever seed you sow in the ground that's the kind of fruit tree that's gonna come up out of the ground we can't think that we're gonna so one type of seed and get it fruit of another type of seed amen in Chapter three sin in the very first family we moved to chapter 4 and sin spreads to the family of mankind sinned against God in Chapter three turns into chapter four sinned against his fellow man you start off sinning against God and all the sudden you you sin against your own brother we're gonna read about that enmity prophesied in Chapter three is enmity as in it's evidence in chapter four so let's talk about these two sons I got to believe that Eve bear the first son Cain never having bore a child or never obviously she was the first woman so she never she was not around anybody else bearing children it was the first child to be born and so she named him Cain which means acquired or possessed it could be that he believed that she had acquired the child who God said would be the promised child if you think about it soon after though she had Abel and and now she sees Abel and she calls him breath it means breath or vapor that's what that's what Abel means and and maybe it was a prophecy that his life would just be nothing more than just a vapor uh a short time just a fleeting time here on earth but we know the story that came is a tiller of the ground Cain is a farmer enable a shepherd in this word keeper literally means feeder he was a feeder of animals Cain and Abel they brought God two different types of offering representing two different types of worship one offering was God directed and one offering was man created and how many understand that God only receives an offering that he commands we found out what later on that God doesn't like to be dealt with just any old way the man wants to deal with him we know the story of David bringing the Ark of God back into the City of David and we understand that they tried that they tried to bring his presence and they tried to handle his presence in a way that the law taught them not to handle it don't touch the presence of God don't touch the very things represent God where God abides where his spirit of eyes you have to carry it a certain way with priests and staves that come through the Arkin and there has to be a certain ritual that goes along with the presence of God and these are good things because church family we can never get so used to being in the presence of God that we decide we're gonna worship Him any way that we want to worship Him but he had a certain way that he wanted to be worshipped there had to be the shedding of blood there had to be something that would die in the place of sin so Abel's offering that so we're talking on it's it's God commanded it's God directed in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 4 the fake chapter it says by faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain through which he obtained witness that he was righteous God testifying of his gifts and through it he being dead still speaks so Abel approaches God the prescribed way the way that God taught his parents to sacrifice the firstborn he brings the firstborn it's the tithe of his flock he brings the Bible said he brought the fat of his flock which suggests that Abel offered the very best part to God he did not bring the scrawny animals of his flock but it says he brought the fat he brought the ones that were healthy to God as an offering Abel's offering was more excellent it was greater in quantity it was greater in quality than Cain's Abel's offering reveal but he also came with the right attitude in worship oh my god we've got to have the right attitude in worship it's more than just giving up finances that makes up an offering there's got to be a heart there's got to be joy the Bible talks about you ought to be a cheerful Giver because that's what God loves and I'm not and it's not just talking and referring to finances it's talking about your worship there's got to be joy there's gotta be something there's got to be happiness in our worship God don't ever let me just talk the talk and walk the walk without having the joy inside of my worship my attitude of worship but then we have Cain's offering which was man created cain came up with his own offering in Jude 1 and 11 the Bible says woe to them for they have gone in the way of Cain and that simply means they've gone into a self-centered lifestyle that's what Cain it wasn't that Cain and I like how John Bevere I like how he brings out the thought that Cain probably worked harder on his offering than Abel did there was probably a whole lot more work that went into tilling the ground day after day and planting and watering and sowing and and waiting for the crop to come up there's a lot more waiting that went on then you had Abel who was you know I think I think John I think he says something like you know you feed him in the morning you kind of wait around and you kind of have some time during the day then you feed him in the evening you feed your flock in the evening there wasn't near as much work but but but it's not about if Cain came to God and said God I've got a better offering because it took more work that's not what God was looking for he wasn't looking for he who works the hardest has the best offering he was looking for he that is most obedient has the right offering first John 3 and 12 says not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother and why did he murder him because his word were evil and his brothers righteous kami come to God as God prescribed worship to come to him he brought an offering to God based on his own terms or he brought it the Cain way so man created ways of worshiping God and it's considered evil to God because there's no an obedience with the worship proverbs 14 and 12 says there is a way that seems right to a man but it's end is the way of death so the first key in tonight's a lesson is this we must approach God on his terms and not our terms but let's look because here's here's where where our God is such a God of mercy but then God didn't just look at Cain and say you know what you messed up get out of my sight I never want to see you again you didn't bring the right sacrifice you had the wrong attitude you came here with a with a with a grudge and with an attitude you just get out of my sight that's not what God did God gave him an opportunity and how many know that we are opportunists in this house tonight this church this church all we are is opportunists to our County we're saying listen we've got something that you need we've got a God that can change your life can turn you around can put you up on solid ground if you'll just come and be a part and give your life to Him and live for him and walk the walk and talk the talk that he gives us in his word we're just opportunists and that's what God was doing he was being an opportunist to came in Genesis 4 and 6 look look at this with me because Genesis 4 and 6 through verse 8 this is God speaking and he says to K he says why are you angry why have you come with an attitude why are you upset with me you're the one that did this your own way why are you angry and why has your elements falling God said if you do well if you'll just do it if you'll just obey if you'll just do it right will you not be accepted and if you do not well sin lieth at the door and it's the desire is for you but you should rule over it sin wants to to rule you but god's saying you've got to be able to rule over sin but you cannot rule over sin unless those are shedding the blood because there's no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood so here he is here Cain is trying to come and give God a sacrificial offering and he has no blood to cover the sin in his life and so simply God is just saying listen if you're not gonna do it my way sin is gonna be a lion at your door it's always gonna be ruling you because there's no way to cover it there's no blood to cover it so when God confronted came he gave Cain an opportunity to recover God's presence the king gives us an understanding of God's character God is a God of another chance so many times they'll preach that God's a God of a second chance but I don't know about you I need a whole lot more than two chances because they had two chances I'm out I've been gone a long time ago but god is a god of another chance and he's trying he's trying to just explain to Cain it's it's not a big deal you messed up I'm happy with your brother I'm upset with you I accept your brother's sacrifice I decline your sacrifice but it's okay you can still get in to you can still do good all you have to do is be obedient as your brother has been obedient so the key the second key the key that we're studying tonight is before God passes judgment he will always extend mercy don't we know that God could have judged Jonah and couldn't let that fish swallow him and digest him and Jonah would have been gone but God looked at Jonah and thought you know what you've made a bad choice you made the wrong choice you've disobeyed me but I'm gonna give you another chance because I just believe if you will keep on trying and you'll keep on pressing on you will by chance he will do the right thing and the same thing with our God before he passes judgment he always gives us an extension of mercy somebody say Amen so how did God extend mercy to Cain he extended Cain his mercy by giving him the opportunity to change his offering he said if you do well will you not be accepted Hebrews 12 and five and this is a different this is a different translation but it kind of brings it out really beautifully he says you have forgotten his encouragement words for his sons said my son don't think the Lord's discipline of you is worth nothing and don't stop trying when the Lord corrects you the Lord corrects of those he loves he punishes everyone he accepts as his child that beautiful if we get taken behind the woodshed by God and I do quite often it's not a bad thing the worst thing would be if God didn't care and God never did anything about our faults and never did anything and never put any kind of conviction within us that that's what conviction is conviction is a beautiful thing don't despise conviction conviction is God saying I'm gonna give you another chance I want you to feel bad for what you've done so that you'll make a change in what you're doing don't be like Cain and get wrong say you prefer my brother because what what's his response was Cain's response well it's quite simple he becomes the first murderer Genesis 4 Nate now Cain talked with Abel his brother and it came to pass and that's interesting to me it doesn't say that he they had a screaming fight or anything it says he talked with his brother Abel and it came to pass when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him then the Lord said to Cain where is Abel your brother he said I don't know am I my brother's keeper that statement has become so popular but that's a very sarcastic response sarcasm we could preach against that for a little while sarcasm dear God if you're gonna be sarcastic don't be sarcastic to God when you're the third person on earth it's just not good it's not good timing yeah it's never good timing but definitely I will you the third person on earth so Cain rejects God's mercy commits the first murder and he chose not to repent but he chooses rather to be sarcastic with God he would rather instead of owning up to what he's done he would rather lie to God and say I don't have a clue am I my brother's keeper he would rather lie and God said his blood is crying out to me from the ground you know exactly what you've done so two things you've refused to take my mercy you've refused to bring me the sacrifice that I have asked for number one and now when you've messed up and you've killed your own brother your only brother the only sibling that even there is now of a sudden you're not gonna fess up you're gonna lie and you're still not gonna repent God could have killed him but I believe that God obviously knows the future and he understood where sin was going in mankind and so he sins Cain away if you read in Genesis 4 10 through 16 I'll show you this quickly because it's you kind of if you've not heard the story you kind of got to know where Cain's going God said what have you done the voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground so now you are cursed from the earth which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand when you till the ground it shall no longer yield its strength to you of fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on earth and Cain said to the Lord my punishment is greater than I can bear surely you have driven me out of this day from the face of the ground I shall be hidden from your face I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth and it will happen that anyone who find me will kill me and the Lord said to him therefore whoever kills Cain vengeance shall be taken on him Sevenfold and the Lord set a mark on Cain lest anyone finding him should kill him then and here I underline this right here then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord oh god I never want to be there I never want to make decisions in my life that carry me out of his presence I never want to make decisions for my family that carries our family out of his presence how many of us have seen people who have made such quick split-second decisions got offended and make decisions to take their family out of the church never to have their family returned to church and we've seen the parents return but many times the kids and the grandkids they never do return because so much has been put into them out of just slight offense just a small little thing somebody didn't acknowledge me I didn't get enough credit somebody to shake my hand when I thought they should have shook my hand or didn't give me a solo or didn't let me sing on the praise Him whatever whatever the reason is come on Cain you just messed up all of the rest of your future your family's future all of your offspring is now out of the presence of God the Bible said forever so what does God do because Abel's death and Cain's departure God gave Adam and Eve another son to continue the line because the world needed a savior the world needed a promise a promise child the seed of woman and so a man named Seth is born in Genesis four twenty five and Adam knew his wife again and she bore a son and named him Seth for God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel whom Cain killed Seth simply means substitute and aren't we thankful that there's a substitute aren't sure aren't we thankful that we understand that the promise became our substitute amen substitute Enoch we're just going to kind of go down through the very first page of your handout you kind of see we're just gonna walk down through the lineage of Adam and and we're gonna see his offspring in the genealogy of the seed of the woman Enoch stands out because it was said that he did not see death he was the seventh descendant from Adam in Genesis 5:24 says in Enoch walked with God and was not for God took him New Testament this is what the New Testament says in Hebrews the faith chapter 11 to 5 by faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death he was not found because God took him for before he was taken he had his testimony watch this that he pleased God God I believe that God has a look done and finally found somebody that pleased him and said you know what I'm not even gonna he's only gonna go to the grave I'm just gonna go ahead and take him right now I'm just gonna open up open up a portal into heaven he's just gonna walk on through Enoch never saw death we keep on going because we got to keep on going through this line this this this this lineage if you look at chart the next chart picture here we were kind of going down through pastors started with the promise and we're kind of working our way through the wrong sacrifice the right sacrifice let's go back one yeah there we go we have Seth we have Seth being born we have the promised seed as we come down come down through to Enoch but then we have a man with the name of Noah a descendant of this Enoch who is also a righteous man in the midst of probably the most wicked generation in Genesis 6 and 5 we're going to talk about the judgment first look with me in Genesis six and five let's we do it let's be a few verses here this introduces us to this man that found grace in the sight of God Bible says then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thought of his heart was only evil continually and the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth and he was grieved in his heart so the Lord said I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth both man and beast creepy thing and bird of the air and God simply said because I'm sorry he repented that he had made these creatures and mankind God was going to send judgment upon this evil earth but Genesis 6 and 8 simply says but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord one man in this generation found grace in the eyes O Lord this is the genealogy of Noah Noah was a just man perfect in his generations and Noah here it is again Noah walked with God so we have a plan of salvation for Noah because he walks with God and he's obedient to God and he loves God and he serves God if so God told Noah his plan to destroy the earth and he he also had a plane to save Noah from this destruction it was in Genesis 6 and 13 turn there with me we're gonna read some scripture here Genesis 6:13 we're gonna find out the first plan of salvation that it folds in the Bible God said to Noah the end of all flesh has come before me for the earth is filled with the violence through them and behold I will destroy them with the earth make yourself an ark of gopher wood make rooms in the Ark and cover it inside and outside with pitch and this is how you shall make it the length of the ark shall be 300 cubits its width 50 cubits its height 30 cubits you shall make a window for the ark and it shall finish it to a cubit from above and the door of the ark in its side you shall make it with lower 2nd and 3rd decks skip down to verse 19 and of every living thing of all flesh ye shall bring to me every sort into the ark to keep him alive with you they shall be male and female of the birds after their kind of the animals after their kind every creeping thing of the earth after its kind two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive so here Noah's plan of salvation involves building some giant boat called an ark according and here it is to the commandment of God he wants that boat built two blueprints he's not what he didn't say Noah man builds just something they can house a bunch of animals he said I'm gonna give you the exact plan of salvation I'm going to tell you exactly how to do it and it's crucial that you follow my plan word-for-word to be saved so let's look at Noah's response this one man who's who's he and his family they're fighting to be righteous in an unrighteous world in a in a world filled with debauchery they are trying their best and they are succeeding in being righteous Genesis 6 and 22 says thus Noah did according watch this right here according to all that God commanded him so did he Hebrews 11 and 7 says by faith Noah being divinely warned of things not yet seen moved with godly fear how many know that we need some godly fear in this day and age sure God speaking to me I've been working on a message on on godly fear we listen people people fear is is such a bad word and everybody's talking about don't fear don't don't listen God there there has to be godly fear in our life because if there's no godly fear there's no morals it's godly fear because what moral and who we are in character is all happening behind closed doors it's not what we say we are is who we really are in know ahead godly fear he prepared an ark for the saving of his household by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith didn't understand listen please I know so many times we will reach stories and and even will hear stories and Sunday school as children and we know the end we know the end of the stories we know what happens we know how the outcome but we got to back up and rewind and realize that Noah had never seen rain no one's trying to preach to a bunch of sinners and say there's gonna be water coming out of the sky so much water that this whole world is gonna become one big see one big ocean and people are like you are out of your mind old man you're crazy and I got to thinking today brother ham I got to thinking that Noah was going on a hundred-year commandment taking a hundred years he was thinking well 95 years ago God said 97 years ago God told me to build this boat I'm still working on it people are laughing at me they're coming up they're coming up they're mocking me they're called me all sorts of names but I'm building a boat where there's no water I've never seen rain before and I'm working on a hundred year revelation from God and a commandment from God but he was righteous in all his ways and he obeyed the commands of God because he understood the only way I can be saved is by following this plan of salvation and God has still given us a plan of salvation oh I'm so thankful tonight that there's still a plan of salvation that Sunday night we saw people receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost right here in this altar we saw people repenting of their sins and saying I don't want to be who I've been and who I used to be we saw people following a plan of vation and they got into the water and were baptized in the name of jesus christ for their mission or since that was the plan of salvation they were following not to be saved from a flood but to be saved from one day they're being fire that's gonna feel this earth plan of salvation god I thank you that you always give a plan of salvation the story of Noah teaches us say that God's Way of salvation involves three important elements now this is for Noah the three elements were grace faith and obedience again grace faith and obedience grace God's favour grace is a gift his favor towards us causes him to initiate something to help us that's what grace says it's not us begging him for something grace is him seeing us with the need and saying I'll bring it to you no human effort can earn salvation we understand this or or make ourselves right with God unless he first initiates it I can't stand the statement and we've heard it all our lives and in the denominator it's so popular than people accept the Lord as their personal Savior that's not what grace is about grace is about him accepting us we're the ones lost were the hopeless ones we don't have to accept him he's God of the universe but grace says I accept you it's God's part of the transaction Hebrews 12:15 from the New Living Translation says look after each other so that none of you Falls or fails to receive the grace of God watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you corrupting many how many been enjoying the bait of Satan has that been awesome we've been this place and I hope I hope you're availing yourself to this this this great ministry but at seven o'clock on Monday and seven o'clock on Tuesday and Thursday Friday 10 o'clock on Saturday we're coming in we're watching this series bane of saying it's all about offense and blocking offense from controlling your mind blocking because listen offense is coming if it's not already there it is coming and you got to know how to block it to where you don't allow the root of bitterness to grow up within your mind that's great then we have faith when we believe the Word of God and what he's telling us to do and we believe it's true and we believe in instruction and we believe that his word is right in righteous that's faith the root word for faith in Greek is Python which means to be persuaded to trust to have confidence in faith is our part in response to God's grace God extends grace to us and we have to have enough faith to receive His grace it's our part and in 3 obedience true faith is a merely mental assent but it has to correspond with action called obedience obedience is a proof of our faith obedience is also our part in response to God's grace do you see this if Noah would not have obeyed it wouldn't matter if he had faith in God I believe the rains coming I believe there's gonna be a flood I believe I'm a man that should have these couldn't help save these animals from dying and help save these birds from time I believe I'm the man but if he would not have acted on his belief and on his faith if he would not have obeyed there would have truly not been any faith so the three are grace faith and obedience by faith and in Hebrews 11:7 by faith prepared Noah in Ark James 2 and 18 says and now someone may argue some people have faith others have good deeds but I say how can you show me your faith if you don't have good I will show you my faith by my good deeds how many have ever heard you know and we understand that that works do not save us but works are a result of our faith you can't separate the two you obviously I can't be good enough to be saved there's nothing I can do to merit salvation however with salvation and with grace and with mercy I ought to be doing something in response to those things how can you say I have faith unless I have good deeds so our third key is we receive God's gift of salvation by responding in faith and obedience so here we have God establishing a covenant so with the water subsides Noah just the case you don't know the story I don't want to leave the story out no when his family get inside the ark the animals come they close the door there is a flood all mankind all the rest of the animals every living thing dies except what's in the boat the water subsides and Noah comes out it's a long story but I'm kind of paraphrasing Noah builds an ark before God and he sacrifices clean animals to him and then God gave Noah and his family the commandment he gave Adam initially do you see this ray look with me in Genesis 9 and 1 because he gives Noah the very same commandment that he gave Adam he said be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth God made a covenant with Noah and his family look with me at verse 12 Genesis 9 and 12 God said this is the sign of the Covenant which I make between me and you every living creature that is that is with you for perpetual generations I set my rainbow in the cloud and it shall be for the generations or it shall be for a sign of the covenant between me and the it shall be when I bring a cloud over the earth that the rain Bell shall be seen in the cloud I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh and I like that because God sent himself a reminder anybody ever put a reminder in your phone yeah I do like 10 a day but God said I'm gonna put a rainbow in the sky in the cloud as a reminder for myself of the covenant between me and mankind every living creature of all flesh the water shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh the rainbow shall be in the cloud and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth and God said to Noah this is the sign of the Covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth so let's talk about the difference between a contract and a covenant because there's a big difference a contract is an obligation that says I have to if I purchase this house the contract says I have to pay monthly payments on this house I gotta pay a monthly mortgage that's a contract you have to if you don't sooner or later you don't have a house however a covenant on the same wavelength a covenant is opportunity that says I want to so God is not making a contract with us he's making a covenant it's not that I have to I want to a contract is impersonal and involves something I have to do we're a covenant is personal it involves all that I am a contract is conditional if you do your part then I'll do mine however a covenant is unconditional I'll do my part whether you do yours or not on a contract there's a leverage I look out from my own best interest but a covenant is a loyalty I am looking out for your best interest a contract is filled with suspicion I want to assure its that you will do your part however a covenant is trust I will certainly do my part a contract is a is a compromise I'll meet you half away you do your part I'll do my part we're a covenant it's sacrifice I will give 100 percent I'm talking about a God that gives a covenant to his people a contract is temporary once all stipulations have been met the contracts over however with a covenant it's permanent I will continue to draw to do what I've told you I'm gonna do and I'll continue to be who I've told you I'm gonna be covenants best describe God's relationship toward us covenants always include a token or a sign somebody help me a sign between God a man every covenant there has to be a sign the signs seal the agreement in the Covenant so the fourth key is God save man to establish a covenant with them so then we just go in we're almost through but we go into comparing Noah's day with our day if you've taken search for truth this is one of my favorite charts because it goes back and forth and it compares the days of Noah the wicked days of Noah and as we read about the wicked days of Noah where God said I'm done you know game over you know everybody on the pool we're looking at those same things right now great wickedness found in Genesis 6:5 in the days of Noah 2nd Timothy 3:13 says evil men and seducers will be here in our presidents in our presence if a coming of Christ earth full of violence in days of Noah perilous times in our day Noah a preacher of righteousness in our day the gospel will be preached in all the world in Noah's day ungodly punished by flood but in our day ungodly will be punished by fire I want to read just a few and we're going to kind of end by reading some scripture turn with me to second Peter chapter 3 in verse 3 second Peter 3 and 3 this is so serious of a matter so serious of a subject if we're not careful we can get so long to sleep that we don't even realize what's coming through the Supreme Court we don't even we don't even realize the things that are coming down through Congress and sinnin and the lifestyle that we live today we can grow cold and not even realize that God hates the sin around us Publicis knowing this first that scoffers will come in the last days walking according to their own lusts in saying where is the promise of his coming for since the father's fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation for this one will for this they willfully forget that by the Word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of water and in water by which the world that then existed perished being flooded with water but the heavens and the earth earth which are now preserved by the same word are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men but beloved do not forget this one thing that with the Lord one day is a thousand years and a thousand years as one day the Lord is not slack concerning his promises as some above some count slackness but is long-suffering toward us not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance I thank God for that verse right there but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements will melt with fervent heat both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned Matthew 24:37 but as the days of Noah were so also with the coming of the Son of Man be for as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the Ark and did not know until the flood came and took them all away so also with a coming of the Son of Man be sure I don't know if we've realized pastor preaching about heaven and hell about a month ago how those videos appreciate brother chase con and he he followed up and made out just an amazing video I think it had a over a quarter million views it's just gone totally viral because people are starting to wake up and realize I've not heard hell preached on in 10-15 years and even heaven I we really haven't heard heaven preached on in years and but definitely not hell preached on in years and people it's going viral because people are waking up people who have been walled asleep are waking up insane there is gonna be a hell there is gonna be a place reserved for those that don't obey and don't follow the plan of salvation and obey what God has given them to leave this earth but we are the church I want you to stand with me my time is over I want you to stay with me but the fifth key is we need to prepare ourselves for coming judgment we have to prepare ourselves for coming judgment and judgment is not a bad word a lot of times we look at the word judgment and it's like a negative like whoo oh don't judge me it doesn't have to be bad because he's gonna judge the good he's gonna see the same PBS I see people in this in this auditorium tonight and he's gonna start listing off the many great things that you have done in your life for the kingdom of God but we gotta prepare ourself for that day because I sure want to be on that side of the and not the other god help me I wish we just close our eyes we're gonna end this in prayer but let's pray a prayer together that says God remember when I'm gonna worship you the way you want me to worship you come on somebody right now just pray that prayer say God I'm gonna sacrifice to you the way you want to be sacrificed to Lord God I'm gonna approach you in the way Lord that you want to be approached in to your terms and under your conditions God I don't want this to be a man-made worship that I come up with and then I invent but God I want to go straight to your word and understand how you want me to worship you lord what kind of sacrifice do you want me to bring when I come into the house of God call somebody pray that prayer lord I don't want this to be self-centered a man-made sacrifice but I want this to be God's sinner I want this to be prepared from the throne room of God help me O God to bring that kind of worship before you and Lord God I thank your Lord that you have mercy upon us and you have grace upon us and you give a second and third and fourth and fifth chances but I thank you for the 700th chance that you've given me in the seven thousand chance that you've given me in my lifetime and Lord God I'm gonna keep on trying to do your will and to be what you want me to be lord god I'm gonna continually Lord God come to you in the right spirit and have the right attitude Lord God I don't ever want my motives o God to be incorrect but God give me pure motives and of your heart it appear in righteous mind and Lord God I want to take advantage of your mercy come on somebody you'd say God I want to take advantage of your mercy I want to take advantage of your grace you came looking for me and you found me in a place or I'm not proud of but I'm so thankful that you drew me up out of there you pulled me a pile of sin and miry clay and you set my feet on a rock to stay and god I'm so thankful for that and because of that I'm gonna be obedient to you I'm gonna follow your plan of salvation Lord if it's in your word I'm gonna follow after I'm gonna obey it I'm gonna learn it gonna study it I'm gonna hide it in my heart that I might not sin against you come on one more time to give God praise if you believe come on give God praise if you agree with the Word of God tonight lord help us so God as a church family help us as a movement as the Apostolic Church Lord God just stay directly in line with your word but I don't want to go to the left I don't want to go to the right I want to stay directly in line to your word and Lord you're gonna be pleased come on somebody praise Him in this house he's pleased with the praise and the worship of the saint of God who is obedient and faithful to his word Jesus name in Jesus name Amen and amen its 8:40 it's early hallelujah somebody gonna get some sleep tonight Amen come next week we're gonna we're gonna keep on continuing but before next week tomorrow night 7 o'clock be here prayer service prayer revivals gonna start back up god bless you in Jesus name love you all so much