WEBVTT 00:01.516 --> 00:04.916 Welcome to the Valley Baptist Church sermon podcast. 00:04.916 --> 00:06.396 We're so glad you're here, 00:06.396 --> 00:08.356 and we hope this message inspires you, 00:08.356 --> 00:09.516 builds your faith, 00:09.516 --> 00:12.556 and moves you toward a deep relationship with God. 00:12.556 --> 00:15.636 Today, you'll find great insight into the Bible 00:15.636 --> 00:18.336 and learn how you can apply it straight to your life. 00:18.336 --> 00:20.176 So welcome and enjoy the message. 00:20.176 --> 00:20.995 If you have your Bibles, 00:20.996 --> 00:25.036 open them to Genesis chapter nine. 00:25.036 --> 00:26.876 We've been in a series of messages 00:26.876 --> 00:29.496 through the book of Genesis, 00:29.782 --> 00:34.622 describing to us how everything began. 00:34.622 --> 00:37.142 And so far in the book of Genesis, 00:37.142 --> 00:42.142 we've seen that God creates everything very good. 00:42.302 --> 00:44.822 There's perfect love and harmony and fellowship 00:44.822 --> 00:48.382 between us and God, one another and creation. 00:49.255 --> 00:54.255 But then we see that mankind rebels against our Creator, 00:54.775 --> 00:59.415 and it plunges us into sin and death. 00:59.415 --> 01:02.215 In fact, ever since sin came into the world, 01:02.215 --> 01:06.275 death has been our constant companion. 01:06.275 --> 01:11.275 In fact, mankind becomes so evil and so sinful 01:11.635 --> 01:16.055 that God sends a great flood of judgment. 01:17.335 --> 01:22.335 Now, you think about the story of Noah 01:22.495 --> 01:24.595 and the story of the flood, 01:24.595 --> 01:29.475 and what we see is that Noah's life is about two things. 01:29.475 --> 01:33.235 It's about building an ark and building an altar. 01:33.235 --> 01:36.275 And our church really is about those two things. 01:36.275 --> 01:39.435 It's about salvation and it's about worship. 01:39.435 --> 01:43.635 We are wanting to be a place where people can come 01:43.635 --> 01:46.755 and experience salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. 01:47.558 --> 01:50.138 You see, the ark was temporary, but Jesus is eternal. 01:50.278 --> 01:53.658 He's the Savior and the only way that we come to God. 01:54.258 --> 02:00.078 We also want to be a place where we worship, where we worship the Lord, 02:00.078 --> 02:03.838 and you can come with those who love God and love you, 02:03.958 --> 02:08.818 and we can worship the Lord together in spirit and in truth. 02:10.407 --> 02:18.387 Now, when we think about the great flood, it kind of seems cute when we look at it in a picture book, doesn't it? 02:18.387 --> 02:24.247 I mean, you get this big boat and you got all these cute animals entering the ark and so forth. 02:24.247 --> 02:28.767 But the reality is much more destructive than that. 02:29.560 --> 02:34.720 It is the most deadly and destructive event in all of human history. 02:35.260 --> 02:40.460 Millions of people lose their life in the judgment of God. 02:41.491 --> 02:44.311 Now you say, well, you know, I'm really bothered 02:44.311 --> 02:46.591 that God had to judge man. 02:46.591 --> 02:48.791 Well, so was God. 02:48.791 --> 02:51.931 If you read the story, you see that God was grieved 02:51.931 --> 02:55.011 in his heart over the sinfulness 02:55.011 --> 02:58.091 and the rebellion of mankind. 02:58.091 --> 03:01.051 Did you know that God grieves over every sin? 03:02.112 --> 03:06.872 The Bible says do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, 03:06.872 --> 03:09.372 but instead surrender to the Lord. 03:09.372 --> 03:11.112 God grieves over every sin 03:11.112 --> 03:14.852 and God judges every sin as well. 03:16.012 --> 03:19.032 Now many modern people have a problem 03:19.032 --> 03:21.492 with a God who judges sin. 03:21.492 --> 03:23.872 But if you don't believe that God judges sin, 03:23.872 --> 03:27.752 you actually have more problems, not less problems. 03:28.403 --> 03:37.003 If God does not judge sin, then you have to believe that you live in an unjust world forever, 03:37.003 --> 03:42.103 which may be okay for you because you live in the suburbs and your life is all good and 03:42.103 --> 03:46.083 no one's ever committed great, terrible evil against you. 03:46.083 --> 03:52.163 There's not been any travesty of injustice within your life, but when you read history, 03:53.277 --> 03:55.137 and you look at many parts of the world, 03:55.137 --> 03:59.037 you realize I need a just God. 04:00.061 --> 04:07.821 I need a good God who judges sin, and I want to live in a just world forever. 04:07.821 --> 04:15.061 Now, maybe an extreme example of this is the Sandy Hook shooting that happened many years 04:15.061 --> 04:16.401 ago. 04:16.401 --> 04:19.401 It was a terrible and tragic event. 04:19.401 --> 04:25.501 A guy kills 20 kids and six staff members, and then he kills himself. 04:26.639 --> 04:32.439 Now let me ask you, how could justice ever be served in that situation? 04:32.779 --> 04:34.559 You say, well, he killed himself. 04:34.679 --> 04:35.699 Well, what if they got him? 04:36.959 --> 04:39.819 What could you possibly do... 04:40.595 --> 04:42.975 that would make up for the murdering 04:42.975 --> 04:45.655 of 20 elementary students. 04:45.655 --> 04:47.654 You can. 04:47.655 --> 04:49.215 You could give them the death penalty, 04:49.215 --> 04:51.955 you could give them life in prison, 04:51.955 --> 04:54.835 but none of that would make up 04:54.835 --> 04:57.935 for the evil that he committed. 04:57.935 --> 05:01.215 And by the way, if there's no resurrection from the dead, 05:01.215 --> 05:02.595 what about all those kids? 05:02.595 --> 05:05.015 What about justice for them? 05:06.535 --> 05:07.775 You see, it's silly. 05:08.978 --> 05:13.738 The idea that God doesn't judge sin is silly. 05:13.738 --> 05:17.278 It is a lack of thinking about life. 05:17.278 --> 05:21.138 It is a lack of thinking about the implications for life. 05:21.138 --> 05:24.418 Of course God judges sin, 05:24.418 --> 05:26.738 and it's actually a great comfort to us. 05:27.862 --> 05:32.282 to know that God is a good God 05:32.282 --> 05:35.922 and that God ultimately will bring us 05:35.922 --> 05:38.982 into a just world forever. 05:40.242 --> 05:41.782 Now, I think one of our problems 05:41.782 --> 05:44.102 with the judgment of sin 05:44.102 --> 05:46.262 is that we ourselves are sinful. 05:47.442 --> 05:48.482 And have you ever noticed 05:48.482 --> 05:52.042 that we want there to be justice in the world, 05:52.042 --> 05:55.022 but we want us not to be judged? 05:56.161 --> 06:01.001 God, would you judge all those other sinners and the sins that they're committing, but 06:01.001 --> 06:03.921 God, would you not judge my sin? 06:05.141 --> 06:08.521 Now, we innately understand justice. 06:09.141 --> 06:17.781 When a great evil is committed, our hearts and our souls cry out that justice would be 06:17.781 --> 06:18.540 served. 06:18.541 --> 06:21.121 And so justice is not surprising. 06:21.361 --> 06:22.641 It's what we would expect. 06:23.781 --> 06:25.221 What is surprising? 06:26.232 --> 06:34.472 is grace. God's amazing grace. It's a surprise, and it's amazing to all of us. The Bible says, 06:34.872 --> 06:39.892 Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Maybe a better way to say it is that God's 06:39.892 --> 06:45.232 grace found Noah. And aren't you glad that God's grace found you in your sin? 06:46.465 --> 06:49.525 that God reached down from heaven 06:49.525 --> 06:52.665 and pulled you out of the muck of your sin 06:52.665 --> 06:54.345 and through the Lord Jesus Christ, 06:54.345 --> 06:58.085 God forgave your sin, restored you to a relationship 06:58.085 --> 06:59.645 with him and gave you a new purpose 06:59.645 --> 07:01.545 and a new destiny with him. 07:03.185 --> 07:05.925 Now we're gonna read the end of the story 07:05.925 --> 07:09.845 of the great flood and Noah's life 07:09.845 --> 07:12.005 beginning in verse number 18. 07:13.904 --> 07:17.904 It says, now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and 07:17.904 --> 07:19.284 Ham was the father of Canaan. 07:20.124 --> 07:23.624 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated. 07:24.404 --> 07:27.184 And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. 07:27.964 --> 07:35.244 Then he drank of the wine and was drunk and became uncovered in his tent. 07:36.084 --> 07:42.104 Now, one of the things that I love about the Bible is how honest the Bible is. 07:43.182 --> 07:45.842 The Bible doesn't tell us what we wanna hear 07:45.842 --> 07:48.422 or what we think should be. 07:48.422 --> 07:51.922 The Bible tells us life as it really is. 07:51.922 --> 07:53.622 This is no hagiography. 07:53.622 --> 07:57.882 This is a brutal reality within Noah's life. 07:57.882 --> 08:02.882 Now the end of Noah's story is kind of a strange ending 08:03.662 --> 08:05.282 when you think about it. 08:05.282 --> 08:09.382 Because this man who is a preacher of righteousness, 08:09.382 --> 08:11.542 this man who walked with God, 08:12.123 --> 08:15.563 The end of the story is him getting stone cold drunk 08:15.563 --> 08:16.863 and being buck naked. 08:16.863 --> 08:19.503 I mean, it's kind of an odd ending to the story, 08:19.503 --> 08:21.123 wouldn't you say? 08:21.123 --> 08:23.923 It's kind of the ancient equivalent of tequila 08:23.923 --> 08:25.843 makes his clothes fall off, you know, 08:25.843 --> 08:29.363 and he's uncovered in his tent. 08:30.283 --> 08:32.543 Another way to say that, that it says a little bit later, 08:32.543 --> 08:34.003 is he's naked. 08:35.183 --> 08:37.783 Now, this is not the part of the story 08:37.783 --> 08:40.403 that makes it into the Bible picture books. 08:41.317 --> 08:46.277 or the nursery Noah's Ark wall mural, you know? 08:46.277 --> 08:50.077 We kind of leave this part of the story out, 08:50.077 --> 08:52.597 but it's an important part of the story. 08:52.597 --> 08:55.057 It's not here to embarrass Noah. 08:55.057 --> 08:59.257 It's here to teach us something about the nature of God 08:59.257 --> 09:01.537 and our own nature and how it is 09:01.537 --> 09:04.397 that we are to relate to God, 09:04.397 --> 09:08.297 and that is that we all need God's grace. 09:10.983 --> 09:15.423 You see, past success is not a guarantee of future success. 09:16.743 --> 09:19.963 And so we all need God's grace within our life. 09:19.963 --> 09:30.383 You see, the problem is that what went into the ark and what came out of the ark was Noah and his family, the animals, and sin. 09:31.363 --> 09:33.103 Because Noah was still a sinner. 09:33.103 --> 09:34.421 Sinner. 09:34.422 --> 09:41.142 And fairly quickly we see that sin begins to destroy Noah and his family. 09:42.202 --> 09:45.382 Now the point is not that just all can fall into sin. 09:45.482 --> 09:48.222 I think the point is that all do fall into sin. 09:48.222 --> 09:55.942 The Bible is full of sinners sinning, believers falling, and God's grace being more abundant than all our sin. 09:56.842 --> 09:59.882 Aren't you glad that God's grace is greater than your sin? 09:59.882 --> 10:00.982 Amen. 10:00.983 --> 10:08.263 Aren't you glad that God's grace and God's love is stronger than your sin? 10:09.243 --> 10:12.363 Now, all of us are going to fall in life. 10:12.463 --> 10:15.943 And so one of the keys is that we fall quickly and we repent quickly. 10:16.783 --> 10:21.743 Because the longer we take to repent, the further we seem to fall. 10:21.743 --> 10:28.643 And so we need to learn to wake up, to start thinking, and get back to God as soon as we can. 10:29.806 --> 10:33.066 Now, sometimes we think of the story of Noah 10:33.066 --> 10:35.746 as Noah is this really good guy 10:35.746 --> 10:39.206 and everyone else is a sinner, 10:39.206 --> 10:42.346 but then there's Noah and he doesn't sin. 10:42.346 --> 10:43.185 Guess what? 10:43.186 --> 10:45.286 That's not the story at all. 10:46.726 --> 10:50.626 The story is that God is gracious to Noah 10:50.626 --> 10:54.026 in spite of who he is and in spite of his sin. 10:54.026 --> 10:56.206 You see, grace is for the undeserved. 10:57.835 --> 11:02.835 We don't perform for God's approval. 11:03.175 --> 11:07.215 We can't merit it, we can't do anything for it. 11:07.215 --> 11:11.315 It is God's grace as we put our trust in Jesus 11:11.315 --> 11:14.235 and what he did on the cross for us. 11:14.235 --> 11:17.655 The Bible says God gives us forgiveness 11:17.655 --> 11:21.735 and imputes the righteousness of Jesus to our account. 11:21.735 --> 11:25.695 It's not deserved, but I sure am thankful for it. 11:26.185 --> 11:30.525 I am sure I'm glad that God is a God not only of justice, 11:30.525 --> 11:33.825 but of grace. 11:33.825 --> 11:36.665 And so get out of your mind that Noah is this perfect guy. 11:36.665 --> 11:38.245 He's not. 11:38.245 --> 11:42.705 And get out of your mind that you and I are either, right? 11:42.705 --> 11:47.705 We all like Noah need the grace of God. 11:47.785 --> 11:51.425 And all of us are standing here and not in hell right now 11:51.425 --> 11:54.745 because God's grace towards us. 11:55.430 --> 12:02.150 Now how is it that God could be gracious to Noah and how is it that God can be gracious 12:02.150 --> 12:03.150 to us? 12:03.150 --> 12:09.450 If God's a good God that always judges sin and ultimately will bring about a just world, 12:09.450 --> 12:13.010 then how is it that God can be gracious? 12:13.010 --> 12:19.470 Well it's because God's judgment fell on Jesus Christ instead of Noah and instead of us. 12:20.725 --> 12:24.725 You see, the Bible teaches that God's judgment ultimately falls in two places, 12:25.225 --> 12:27.525 in hell and at the cross. 12:28.927 --> 12:33.067 God poured out his judgment for our sin upon Christ. 12:33.487 --> 12:35.947 He who knew no sin became sin for us 12:35.947 --> 12:40.067 that we might experience and become the righteousness of God. 12:40.367 --> 12:44.807 And so because the judgment of Noah's sin fell on Jesus Christ, 12:45.227 --> 12:47.647 Noah could experience grace. 12:47.947 --> 12:50.707 You see, the cross is where the justice of God 12:50.707 --> 12:54.767 and the grace of God all converge because of the love of God. 12:54.767 --> 12:57.767 And so you too... 12:58.880 --> 13:00.280 if you will trust in Christ, 13:00.280 --> 13:04.600 can experience God's unmerited favor. 13:04.600 --> 13:06.480 You too, the Bible says, 13:06.480 --> 13:09.300 "'It's not by works lest we boast, 13:09.300 --> 13:14.300 "'it is by grace through faith that we are saved.'" 13:14.340 --> 13:17.220 And so when we put our faith in Christ, 13:17.220 --> 13:21.100 God gives us grace. 13:21.100 --> 13:22.500 Let's read the rest of the story, 13:22.500 --> 13:25.460 beginning in verse number 22. 13:27.820 --> 13:34.340 It says, and Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers 13:34.340 --> 13:40.600 outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and 13:40.600 --> 13:46.660 covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their 13:46.660 --> 13:48.700 father's nakedness. 13:51.209 --> 13:55.729 Now, what exactly is Ham's sin? 13:56.549 --> 13:59.189 Now, there's been all kinds of speculation of, 13:59.909 --> 14:03.029 was there more going on here than that we're told? 14:03.329 --> 14:05.529 What exactly is happening here? 14:05.989 --> 14:09.509 And the reality is, I don't want to speculate about what we do know. 14:09.969 --> 14:11.889 I want to point out what we do know. 14:12.309 --> 14:14.589 God doesn't tell us everything we want to know, 14:14.589 --> 14:17.449 but he does tell us what we need to know. 14:17.450 --> 14:22.850 Now, I personally think that what happens is exactly what he says, that something was 14:22.850 --> 14:27.010 going on in Ham's heart and his actions betrayed his heart. 14:27.010 --> 14:29.650 We don't know, but here's what we know. 14:29.650 --> 14:35.990 Ham delighted in his father's disgrace, and Shem and Japheth treated their father with 14:35.990 --> 14:38.450 dignity and grace. 14:38.450 --> 14:41.390 Do you know that's what love does? 14:41.868 --> 14:46.448 Love treats sinners with dignity and grace 14:46.448 --> 14:51.448 rather than delighting in someone else's disgrace. 14:51.868 --> 14:54.568 Now Ham sees his father's sin 14:55.828 --> 14:59.868 and he goes out and he talks to his brothers about it. 14:59.868 --> 15:02.768 Instead of covering it, he spreads it. 15:02.768 --> 15:06.808 And by the way, did you know that that is what gossip is? 15:07.771 --> 15:13.371 Gossip is taking pleasure in someone else's shame and sin. 15:14.491 --> 15:18.951 And so let me ask you, what kind of person do you want to be? 15:19.191 --> 15:25.011 Do you want to be the kind of person who delights in other people's shame and disgrace and sin? 15:25.631 --> 15:30.231 Or do you want to be the kind of person who delights in grace? 15:31.111 --> 15:35.251 You see, you can either delight in disgrace or you can delight in grace, 15:35.251 --> 15:37.511 but you can't do both. 15:38.770 --> 15:44.890 Now the two older brothers, they knew that their dad was a sinner, but they 15:44.890 --> 15:49.870 were trying to honor their father, even in the midst of his sin. 15:50.150 --> 15:56.010 And so the question becomes, how do you honor someone when they have sinned? 15:57.090 --> 16:04.330 Well, you recognize the sin, but you extend grace and you continue to 16:04.330 --> 16:07.370 treat them with worth and value. 16:08.690 --> 16:13.690 Let me ask you, when someone else's sin sins, 16:13.770 --> 16:16.010 do you cover it or do you spread it? 16:17.210 --> 16:19.590 Do you delight in their disgrace 16:19.590 --> 16:22.750 or through gossip or through ridicule 16:22.750 --> 16:25.270 or do you delight in extending grace? 16:25.270 --> 16:28.390 The Bible says we who have become recipients 16:28.390 --> 16:30.950 of God's grace are called upon 16:30.950 --> 16:34.450 to extend grace to one another. 16:36.061 --> 16:40.461 Now, we have to be very careful not to define people 16:40.461 --> 16:43.881 by their vices and by their sin. 16:44.861 --> 16:49.861 Instead, we need to define people by God's love 16:49.921 --> 16:52.501 and by God's grace. 16:52.501 --> 16:57.081 And by the way, that includes ourselves. 16:57.081 --> 16:59.801 Do you define yourself by your vices, 16:59.801 --> 17:01.861 your struggles, and by your sin? 17:01.861 --> 17:02.941 And by the way, 17:03.500 --> 17:07.540 Satan wants to define all of us by our sin, doesn't he? 17:07.540 --> 17:09.140 He's got all kinds of words. 17:09.140 --> 17:12.660 You are an alcoholic, you are an adulterer, 17:12.660 --> 17:16.240 and all these kinds of words that he wants us 17:16.240 --> 17:21.240 to define people by, and he wants us to define ourselves by 17:21.260 --> 17:23.780 rather than defining ourselves by the love 17:23.780 --> 17:25.720 and the grace of God in Jesus Christ. 17:27.665 --> 17:31.045 You see, God's infinite love and grace 17:31.045 --> 17:33.765 gives us infinite worth. 17:35.705 --> 17:37.545 And so we need to treat one another 17:37.545 --> 17:42.985 with the love and the grace that God has treated us with. 17:43.825 --> 17:45.725 Now, I think there's another principle here 17:45.725 --> 17:47.785 in these verses, and that is, 17:48.165 --> 17:50.545 you often find what you're looking for, don't you? 17:51.765 --> 17:55.205 If you tend to see what is wrong with you, 17:55.897 --> 18:00.857 other people and situations and relationships, then that's what you're going to find. 18:01.597 --> 18:07.417 In fact, it'll become a self-fulfilling prophecy because if you're looking for 18:07.417 --> 18:10.357 what is wrong with your spouse, guess what, you're going to find it. 18:11.677 --> 18:14.977 If you're looking with what's wrong with your parents, you're going to find it. 18:15.517 --> 18:18.877 If you're looking for what's wrong with other people within the 18:18.877 --> 18:19.596 church, you're going to find it. 18:19.597 --> 18:20.076 You know why? 18:20.077 --> 18:24.057 Because the common denominator between all those people is that we're all sinners. 18:25.293 --> 18:29.393 And so if you're looking for sin, there's plenty of places to find it. 18:29.393 --> 18:35.373 I want to challenge you that instead of looking to other people's sin, 18:35.613 --> 18:38.933 that you look to God's grace in other people, 18:39.013 --> 18:41.893 because when you look to God's grace, you'll find that as well. 18:43.393 --> 18:49.353 God is always at work within our lives, right? 18:49.627 --> 18:55.727 And whether it's common grace or it's particular grace, anything good within our life comes 18:55.727 --> 18:58.287 as a gift from God. 18:58.287 --> 19:01.527 And so what kind of person do you want to be? 19:01.527 --> 19:05.307 Do you want to be the person who's always looking for sin or do you want to be the person 19:05.307 --> 19:08.147 who's always looking for God? 19:08.147 --> 19:13.867 The person who's always looking for fault or the person who's always looking for grace? 19:15.125 --> 19:21.685 I want to challenge you to make God's glory, God's grace, and God's love the most prominent 19:21.685 --> 19:27.125 thing in your mind and your heart when it comes to your life and your relationship with 19:27.125 --> 19:28.125 other people. 19:28.125 --> 19:32.265 Look what it says in verse number 24. 19:34.413 --> 19:39.133 It says, so Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his younger son had done to him. 19:39.993 --> 19:44.053 And then he said, cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants, he shall be to his brethren. 19:44.693 --> 19:48.673 And he said, blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant. 19:49.553 --> 19:55.473 May God enlarge Japheth and may dwell in the tents of Shem and may Canaan be his servant. 19:56.893 --> 19:58.393 Now, the obvious question 19:59.422 --> 20:03.442 in this passage is that Ham is the one who sinned. 20:04.022 --> 20:07.222 Why is the curse directed towards his son, Canaan? 20:08.602 --> 20:12.142 Now, perhaps Noah could see in Canaan 20:12.142 --> 20:16.822 the same ungodly attitudes that existed in his father, Ham. 20:17.630 --> 20:23.070 And so I think that the point is not that the Son is responsible for the sins of the Father. 20:23.730 --> 20:24.809 That's not biblical. 20:24.810 --> 20:28.150 The Bible is very clear that we are responsible for our own sin. 20:28.150 --> 20:30.430 We're not responsible for other people's sin. 20:31.710 --> 20:36.890 The point is that the Son often perpetuates the sins of the Father, 20:37.030 --> 20:38.810 and we see that throughout the Bible. 20:40.010 --> 20:44.670 You see, our sin is often perpetuated by our children. 20:44.670 --> 20:46.738 Right? 20:46.739 --> 20:51.739 Now children grow up in the world that their parents create. 20:52.779 --> 20:54.659 And so let me ask you, mom and dad, 20:54.659 --> 20:56.519 what world are you creating? 20:57.893 --> 21:00.153 What world are you perpetuating? 21:00.733 --> 21:05.653 Because whatever world you're creating is going to be a lot like the world that your 21:05.653 --> 21:10.653 grandchildren grow up because that world will be perpetuated to the next generation. 21:11.753 --> 21:17.933 You see, we often pass on the good and the bad of our character to our children and to 21:17.933 --> 21:19.153 our grandchildren. 21:19.153 --> 21:24.693 And so for parents, what that means is that we need to work on our weaknesses and grow 21:24.693 --> 21:25.893 in Christlikeness. 21:27.745 --> 21:30.805 We need to break the chain of sin 21:30.805 --> 21:33.685 that's being passed from one generation to the next, 21:33.685 --> 21:36.265 the habits and the patterns of sin. 21:36.265 --> 21:38.225 Let's just say, Lord, give me the grace 21:38.225 --> 21:39.925 for it to stop with me. 21:41.285 --> 21:43.265 And help me to have a godly lineage 21:43.265 --> 21:46.525 and to pass on a godly repentant attitude. 21:46.525 --> 21:48.745 We need to learn to repent quick 21:48.745 --> 21:52.845 and allow God to change us and to change our family tree. 21:52.845 --> 21:55.105 Now that's for the parents. 21:55.105 --> 21:56.505 For the children, 21:56.990 --> 22:02.730 It means that we need to learn to emulate the good in our parents and not the bad. 22:03.790 --> 22:05.390 And here's the reality. 22:06.390 --> 22:11.310 You get to choose what to emulate in your parents' lives. 22:13.010 --> 22:17.570 Noah's righteousness is reproduced in Shem and Japheth's life. 22:17.570 --> 22:22.010 His unrighteousness is reproduced in Ham's life. 22:23.010 --> 22:26.970 And the truth is that all of us have parents... 22:27.567 --> 22:29.427 who are sinners. 22:29.427 --> 22:32.767 And so don't emulate what they got wrong, 22:32.767 --> 22:35.647 emulate what they got right. 22:35.647 --> 22:37.807 Even if there's a whole lot of bad, 22:37.807 --> 22:41.287 find the few things that they did right 22:41.287 --> 22:46.287 and try to emulate that and to disregard all of the rest. 22:47.507 --> 22:48.887 Now there's an important principle 22:48.887 --> 22:52.907 that I think is important for personal spiritual growth 22:54.331 --> 22:59.631 in our own life, and that is you are not the way you are because of your parents. 23:00.811 --> 23:07.391 You are the way that you are because of what you choose to be, how you choose to think, 23:08.051 --> 23:09.671 and what you choose to do. 23:11.511 --> 23:18.571 So often, we want to blame other people for our choices, and all that does is perpetuate 23:18.571 --> 23:19.510 our bad choices. 23:19.511 --> 23:20.807 Right? 23:20.808 --> 23:25.808 It's not until we take responsibility for our own choices 23:26.048 --> 23:29.608 that we begin to grow spiritually within our life. 23:29.608 --> 23:33.088 That's not to say our mom and dad didn't influence us. 23:33.088 --> 23:35.188 It's not to say that they didn't affect us. 23:35.188 --> 23:36.588 But here you have three kids, 23:36.588 --> 23:38.888 two that chose one direction 23:38.888 --> 23:41.268 and one that chose the other direction. 23:42.188 --> 23:43.848 And you get to choose. 23:44.703 --> 23:46.203 You get to be responsible. 23:46.203 --> 23:50.283 You are responsible for your own choices 23:50.283 --> 23:52.363 and not the choices of others. 23:52.363 --> 23:55.263 Now you may live out the consequences of others, 23:55.263 --> 23:58.563 but you're not responsible for the choices of others. 23:59.563 --> 24:02.603 Now there's another principle I think that we find 24:02.603 --> 24:06.923 in this passage and that is that often we assume 24:06.923 --> 24:10.643 that God's posture towards us is neutral, 24:10.643 --> 24:13.943 but actually God's posture towards us is blessing. 24:16.141 --> 24:19.521 From the very beginning, God begins to bless us. 24:19.521 --> 24:23.501 Now what does it mean to be blessed by God? 24:23.501 --> 24:25.861 Now, God's blessing is multifaceted, 24:25.861 --> 24:27.861 but I wanna give you one aspect. 24:27.861 --> 24:31.001 God's blessing is God's enjoyment 24:31.001 --> 24:33.141 and empowerment over your life. 24:34.552 --> 24:37.152 God made us and he blessed us. 24:37.232 --> 24:43.792 He gave us his enjoyment and he gave us his empowerment over our life. 24:43.792 --> 24:47.252 And the key to being blessed is to know God. 24:48.552 --> 24:52.592 Notice that Shem was blessed because he knew the Lord. 24:53.852 --> 24:57.572 The greatest blessing of life is not what we get from God. 24:58.012 --> 24:59.212 It's to get God. 25:00.438 --> 25:05.558 The greatest blessing we have in life is to experience a relationship with God 25:05.558 --> 25:09.618 through the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit. 25:11.158 --> 25:14.158 Now, if you want to understand God, 25:15.138 --> 25:18.038 you have to understand that God is highly relational, 25:19.158 --> 25:22.678 deeply committed, and he always has a greater plan. 25:23.878 --> 25:25.418 That is always true. 25:26.318 --> 25:29.718 And so if you want to experience God's blessings, 25:30.543 --> 25:33.043 It comes from being highly focused 25:33.043 --> 25:34.963 on your relationship with God, 25:34.963 --> 25:37.883 being deeply committed to following him, 25:37.883 --> 25:41.443 and trusting in and connecting yourself 25:41.443 --> 25:44.583 to God's greater plan for your life. 25:45.943 --> 25:48.283 Another principle we see in this passage 25:48.283 --> 25:52.463 is that you are blessed in order to be a blessing 25:52.463 --> 25:53.563 to other people. 25:54.743 --> 25:59.943 Shem is blessed so that he can be a blessing to others. 26:00.665 --> 26:03.265 And so how do we bless other people? 26:03.385 --> 26:07.165 Well, we bless other people by speaking God's word 26:07.165 --> 26:10.545 and living out God's word very personally and practically 26:10.545 --> 26:12.025 into other people's lives. 26:13.270 --> 26:18.770 And as we see and say the grace of God within our life, it becomes a great blessing. 26:18.770 --> 26:21.490 They experience God's enjoyment. 26:21.870 --> 26:27.110 They experience God's empowerment as we point people to the Lord. 26:27.370 --> 26:30.970 And so let me ask you, are you seeking to be a blessing to your family? 26:32.090 --> 26:34.770 Are you seeking to be a blessing to your church? 26:36.136 --> 26:39.376 and to the people that God has put within your life. 26:39.376 --> 26:41.036 You say, well, how do I do that? 26:41.036 --> 26:45.176 We bless by communicating God's enjoyment 26:45.176 --> 26:48.576 and empowerment to others with our lips and with our life, 26:48.576 --> 26:52.216 with our speech and with our service. 26:53.516 --> 26:56.356 And as God works in you and through you, 26:56.356 --> 26:59.696 it becomes a powerful conduit 26:59.696 --> 27:02.496 of God's blessing to other people. 27:02.496 --> 27:04.536 We want to be blessed by God. 27:05.718 --> 27:10.478 But that blessing causes us to want to be a blessing to other people. 27:11.838 --> 27:19.438 Now, this prophecy about Shem is ultimately fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. 27:20.738 --> 27:27.218 Shem is blessed because through him will ultimately come the Lord Jesus Christ. 27:27.537 --> 27:33.297 And through Jesus, all the families of the earth will be blessed. 27:33.557 --> 27:37.697 You see, the greatest way to bless someone else is to point them to Christ. 27:38.675 --> 27:39.875 to bring him to Christ. 27:39.995 --> 27:42.135 He's the greatest blessing of life 27:42.135 --> 27:45.075 because through him, we have a relationship with God. 27:45.355 --> 27:47.695 Through him, we experience the glory 27:47.695 --> 27:50.895 and the goodness and the grace of God. 27:52.035 --> 27:57.575 Now, blessing is a major theme in the book of Genesis 27:57.575 --> 27:59.775 and for the rest of the Bible. 28:01.175 --> 28:06.555 God makes us in his image and he blesses us 28:06.805 --> 28:11.145 He says, I want you, I bless you and I want you to be fruitful and I want you to multiply 28:11.145 --> 28:12.765 and I want you to fill the earth. 28:12.865 --> 28:18.605 I want you to represent me and I want you to reflect me and it gives us everything that 28:18.605 --> 28:22.285 we need and we have this wonderful relationship with God. 28:22.705 --> 28:25.405 God blesses us from the very beginning. 28:25.405 --> 28:29.505 But then the temptation was to be blessed apart from God. 28:31.477 --> 28:34.337 And every time we seek to be blessed apart from God, 28:34.337 --> 28:37.517 it ends in disaster and it ends in death. 28:38.517 --> 28:43.197 And ever since we tried to be blessed apart from God, 28:43.197 --> 28:47.337 death and destruction has been our constant companion. 28:48.337 --> 28:52.917 And so the rest of the Bible is God's plan 28:52.917 --> 28:54.977 through the Lord Jesus Christ 28:54.977 --> 28:59.097 to restore us back to the blessing of God. 28:59.523 --> 29:04.523 to restore God's blessing within our life. 29:05.483 --> 29:10.483 Notice what it says in verse 28 and 29. 29:12.643 --> 29:17.643 It says, and Noah lived after the flood 350 years. 29:18.443 --> 29:23.443 So all the days of Noah were 950 years and he died. 29:25.543 --> 29:27.063 It's interesting 29:27.923 --> 29:32.923 that God uses Noah to save humanity, at least temporarily, 29:35.703 --> 29:39.303 and then the very same thing happens to Noah 29:39.303 --> 29:42.363 that happened to everybody before the flood. 29:42.363 --> 29:45.223 Noah ultimately dies. 29:46.103 --> 29:49.643 Now Noah, in many ways, is like a second Adam. 29:50.232 --> 29:56.332 There are many similarities between Adam, the first man, and Noah, kind of this new 29:56.332 --> 29:59.952 representative of humanity that comes out of the ark. 30:00.332 --> 30:03.232 Both had three sons, and one does something terrible. 30:04.292 --> 30:09.872 Both started out with everything being very good, and by the end, they had sinned. 30:10.732 --> 30:17.352 Both end up naked and ashamed, and both need to be covered by someone else. 30:18.447 --> 30:22.587 Now there are many other similarities between Adam and Noah, 30:22.587 --> 30:24.707 but I think the big idea of the passage 30:24.707 --> 30:28.607 that I want you to go away understanding is this. 30:28.607 --> 30:32.027 You and I need more than just a fresh start. 30:32.967 --> 30:34.127 We need a savior. 30:35.147 --> 30:37.487 We need more than a new beginning. 30:37.487 --> 30:38.707 We need Jesus. 30:39.085 --> 30:43.065 You see, Noah had everything that he needed to obey God, 30:43.065 --> 30:44.465 and yet he still sinned. 30:44.465 --> 30:47.385 And so we don't just need a fresh start, 30:47.385 --> 30:50.085 we need forgiveness of sin. 30:50.085 --> 30:52.225 We need a new heart. 30:52.225 --> 30:56.205 And Jesus is the only one who can forgive our sin 30:56.205 --> 30:58.885 and give us a new heart. 30:59.885 --> 31:02.025 You see, we're always trying to change everything 31:02.025 --> 31:05.145 on the outside, thinking that's gonna solve everything. 31:06.541 --> 31:11.701 but it doesn't work. Why? Because we bring ourselves to whatever fresh start we have. 31:12.701 --> 31:16.661 What we need is forgiveness, redemption, and transformation. 31:18.501 --> 31:23.941 Now, in the Bible, there's going to be another flood of God's judgment that comes, 31:24.341 --> 31:33.981 but it's going to come upon the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus is going to take God's judgment 31:35.144 --> 31:37.304 for our sin. 31:37.304 --> 31:40.604 You see, Noah was naked because of his sin. 31:40.604 --> 31:43.444 Jesus was stripped naked because of our sin. 31:44.444 --> 31:47.664 The flood did something external. 31:47.664 --> 31:50.884 It gave a new fresh start, a new world. 31:51.547 --> 31:56.287 but it didn't do anything internal. 31:56.287 --> 31:58.747 Jesus does something external 31:58.747 --> 32:00.787 in that he dies on the cross for us, 32:00.787 --> 32:03.307 but it transforms us internally. 32:03.307 --> 32:05.227 It changes us. 32:05.227 --> 32:07.687 The ark was a temporary salvation, 32:07.687 --> 32:10.127 but Jesus is an eternal salvation. 32:11.467 --> 32:14.047 And so if you're here today, 32:14.047 --> 32:16.167 you don't just need a fresh start. 32:17.687 --> 32:19.007 You need a savior. 32:19.812 --> 32:22.092 You need Jesus to forgive your sins, 32:22.612 --> 32:25.692 to change your heart, to give you a new purpose, 32:26.312 --> 32:28.152 and to give you a new destiny. 32:29.932 --> 32:32.072 You see, Jesus is the only one 32:32.072 --> 32:36.012 who can restore us back to relationship with God 32:36.012 --> 32:40.292 so that we can experience the blessing of God 32:40.292 --> 32:45.092 and the blessings of God forever and ever. 32:45.972 --> 32:49.652 With a good God in a just world, 32:51.301 --> 32:52.561 for all eternity. 32:54.021 --> 32:58.601 Let's bow together in an attitude of prayer. 33:02.061 --> 33:03.841 Here in a few moments, 33:03.841 --> 33:07.861 we're gonna have a time of response. 33:08.741 --> 33:10.961 We call it a time of invitation 33:11.841 --> 33:15.021 because God is always inviting us to come to him. 33:16.293 --> 33:18.933 Jesus says, behold, I stand at the door and knock. 33:18.933 --> 33:20.433 If anyone comes and opens the door, 33:20.433 --> 33:22.773 I'll come into them and have fellowship with them, 33:22.773 --> 33:24.673 have relationship with them. 33:26.753 --> 33:28.953 And so I wanna invite you today to come and say, 33:28.953 --> 33:32.493 I wanna trust Jesus as my Lord and Savior. 33:34.993 --> 33:36.693 I don't want just a fresh start. 33:36.693 --> 33:38.253 I want forgiveness of sins. 33:38.253 --> 33:39.653 I want redemption. 33:39.653 --> 33:41.513 I want a new heart. 33:41.513 --> 33:43.473 I wanna be clean before God. 33:45.622 --> 33:48.342 I want the guilt and the burden of sin to be gone. 33:50.622 --> 33:54.882 And I want a fresh start with a fresh heart and a new destiny. 33:57.082 --> 33:59.402 Maybe you say, well, I've been living for myself. 33:59.542 --> 34:01.162 Well, let me ask you, how's that going? 34:05.662 --> 34:10.882 Even if this life, you're able to avoid many of the consequences of sin, 34:10.882 --> 34:13.622 the Bible's very clear, in the next life you will not. 34:15.845 --> 34:19.345 God will judge every sin either at the cross or in hell. 34:20.585 --> 34:25.585 And so I want to encourage you to put your trust in Jesus. 34:27.405 --> 34:31.725 See, God is inviting you into fellowship with him 34:31.725 --> 34:34.325 so that you can have redemption, 34:34.325 --> 34:38.265 so that you can have transformation. 34:40.111 --> 34:43.411 And so here in just a moment, we're going to have counselors here at the front, 34:43.471 --> 34:45.851 and you can come forward and say, I want to give my life to Christ, 34:45.951 --> 34:47.611 and we'll talk to you about that. 34:47.611 --> 34:48.871 They'll know just what to do. 34:50.067 --> 34:53.767 Maybe you've given your life to Christ, but you've never followed him in believer's baptism, 34:54.467 --> 35:00.607 and you'd like to come like some who are baptized today and say, I want to get baptized. 35:00.727 --> 35:02.827 We'd love to set up a time for you to do that. 35:02.827 --> 35:09.447 In fact, here in just a couple weeks, we're going to have our anniversary Sunday where we celebrate 40 years as a church. 35:10.167 --> 35:18.587 That would be a great day for you to go public with your faith and declare your allegiance and your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 35:21.893 --> 35:24.093 Maybe the Lord's leading you to join this church. 35:24.873 --> 35:28.013 You say, I want to be a part of a church that's about salvation and worship, 35:28.393 --> 35:32.173 about leading people to Christ and helping people to follow him 35:32.173 --> 35:33.753 and worship him within their life. 35:35.073 --> 35:36.453 We'd love for you to come. 35:36.833 --> 35:38.473 Maybe you've been coming for a while, 35:38.633 --> 35:41.873 but the Holy Spirit's just nudging on your heart. 35:41.953 --> 35:43.332 This is the time. 35:43.333 --> 35:45.332 Let's make it official. 35:45.333 --> 35:46.433 Let's come forward. 35:46.573 --> 35:47.833 Let's be a part of the family. 35:47.833 --> 35:49.922 Amen. 35:49.923 --> 35:56.323 Did you know that God uses and gave us the church, that is the people of God, to be a blessing to us, 35:56.483 --> 35:59.863 but also for us to be a conduit of his blessing to them? 36:02.263 --> 36:04.963 And so we come to church and we're just trying to bless each other. 36:06.063 --> 36:10.063 And really what we're doing is we're allowing God to be a blessing through us to others. 36:11.583 --> 36:13.863 So maybe you want to come forward. Maybe you've... 36:16.484 --> 36:19.844 giving your life to Christ. You've been baptized. You've been a member of this church, 36:20.244 --> 36:25.624 but God's working your heart. He's moving your heart. Maybe there's some sin in your life, 36:25.664 --> 36:28.584 and you're creating a world that you don't want to pass on to the next generation. 36:30.124 --> 36:35.684 There's some habits and patterns in your life that you can't change, but only God can. 36:37.848 --> 36:41.548 You can pray right where you are that God would help you to do that. 36:41.688 --> 36:43.508 You've got to surrender that to the Lord. 36:43.648 --> 36:45.467 You've got to repent. 36:45.468 --> 36:48.168 Instead of you trying to be the master of your faith, 36:48.228 --> 36:51.428 you've got to let God have control of your life and your heart. 36:52.948 --> 36:58.028 Maybe there's some other area of your life that God is moving in. 36:58.368 --> 36:59.908 You can come forward and pray and say, 36:59.988 --> 37:01.328 God, help me to be a blessing. 37:02.988 --> 37:05.088 Help me to experience your blessing. 37:06.181 --> 37:12.181 Help me to walk with you and love you and trust you and follow you with my life. 37:12.281 --> 37:19.661 You know, I don't want to get to the end of my life and wonder what God would have done if I had been all in for Jesus. 37:21.861 --> 37:29.081 I want to be blessable so that I can be a conduit of blessing to other people. 37:30.852 --> 37:34.872 You and I have no idea what God could do in our life 37:34.872 --> 37:38.192 if we would fully surrender to following him, 37:38.192 --> 37:42.172 to allow him to make us a blessing to other people. 37:42.172 --> 37:43.492 And so maybe you wanna pray for that, 37:43.492 --> 37:45.572 you wanna pray for someone else. 37:45.572 --> 37:48.232 There's so many needs represented here today 37:48.232 --> 37:49.692 in all of our lives. 37:50.242 --> 37:52.482 This is a time where we seek God 37:52.482 --> 37:56.442 and we let God have his will and his way within our life. 37:56.442 --> 37:59.622 Our heavenly Father, thank you for this time. 37:59.622 --> 38:02.102 God, I pray that you would use it greatly. 38:03.082 --> 38:07.002 God, that we would not leave here the same as we came, 38:07.002 --> 38:10.702 but God, we would see your glory and grace today 38:10.702 --> 38:12.962 in a deeper and greater way. 38:14.162 --> 38:15.822 God, that you would give us new hearts, 38:15.822 --> 38:17.982 that you would create in us a clean heart 38:17.982 --> 38:20.102 and a right spirit, Lord. 38:21.393 --> 38:26.013 That you would do what we cannot do, and that is that you would give us a heart of flesh, 38:26.153 --> 38:29.493 that you would give us a heart after your own heart. 38:30.953 --> 38:32.553 So Lord, bless this invitation. 38:34.173 --> 38:43.253 Draw everyone to the Lord Jesus Christ, because he alone is our salvation. 38:44.613 --> 38:48.973 He alone is our Lord and our Savior. 38:51.143 --> 38:52.383 Help us to follow him. 38:53.783 --> 38:55.003 Help us to love him. 38:56.003 --> 38:59.323 Help us to trust him and to honor you. 39:00.123 --> 39:01.683 In Christ's name we pray. 39:01.683 --> 39:03.303 Amen. 39:06.500 --> 39:07.940 Thanks for listening today. 39:07.940 --> 39:09.620 We hope you enjoyed this message. 39:09.620 --> 39:11.700 And if you did, we would be so grateful 39:11.700 --> 39:13.400 if you left us a review. 39:13.400 --> 39:15.820 Also, go ahead and subscribe to the podcast 39:15.820 --> 39:17.140 if you would like to be notified 39:17.140 --> 39:19.020 when a new sermon is released. 39:19.020 --> 39:20.680 If you feel the Lord calling you 39:20.680 --> 39:22.300 to take the next step in faith 39:22.300 --> 39:26.620 through salvation, service, or giving, don't wait. 39:26.615 --> 39:29.715 reach out to us by texting podcast to 88988. 39:30.055 --> 39:32.335 That's podcast to 88988 39:32.335 --> 39:35.295 or connect with us on one of our social media platforms. 39:35.955 --> 39:39.055 You can also visit our website, valleybaptist.org 39:39.055 --> 39:41.055 to find even more great resources. 39:41.615 --> 39:43.395 No matter where you are in your journey, 39:43.975 --> 39:45.234 know that we love you. 39:45.235 --> 39:46.355 We're praying for you 39:46.355 --> 39:49.375 and we can't wait to see what God will do in your life.